Customer Reviews

Under The Mistletoe: Bluebird Winter\Naughty Or Nice?

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bluekbird Winter.
My least favorite of the two. When divorced Kathleen goes into early labor during a snow storm she takes a chance and makes an attempt to drive herself to a nearby clinic. She ends up sliding into a ditch. Derek is driving by and stops to check if anyone is in the truck. He finds Kathleen clenching her stomach in pain. He manages to get her back to her farm house and prepares her for giving birth. By a miracle, Derek is an obstetrician specializing in critically ill newborns. Seeing Kathleen's passion for her new baby, Derek falls instantly in love with her and the new little girl. Shortly, while she is still recovering Derek proposes marriage. Kathleen is alone, broke and a new mother to a preemie so she accepts the offer. I felt Derek was creepy and maybe a little too obsessed with the baby, as well as, Kathleen. He was really too good to be true. I think his friends and co-workers redeemed him in the creepy category, but overall this story was just not believable and I did not feel any chemistry between the two, just awkwardness.

Naughty or Nice.
I loved this story. Cindy runs a beautiful hotel that caters to unusual clientele, such as, vampire conventions, adult toy conventions, and syfy conventions. Her problem is the hotel is run by a sophisticated money hungry corporation who is sending a consultant to evaluate the staff and the profitability of the hotel. The staff thinks they have it all figured out and believes a certain demanding guest must be the corporate spy. Handsome Eric, a "salesman" and hotel guest, experiences an instant attraction to Cindy. Cindy has an instant attraction to Eric even though she thinks his profession is unusual. Getting to the steamy romance that erupts between the two was full of amusing mishaps and hilarious misunderstandings that had me laughing and quickly turning the page to read more. Cindy needed everything to go right but everything goes wrong. Cindy falls in love with Eric, but finds out something about him that changes her mind and breaks her heart. Their romance stops abruptly (except for the one encounter on the roof, wink wink). But Eric, who also falls in love, will not let go and finds a way to confess his love and keep Cindy in his life. I loved the ending. If you love Stephanie Bond's Body Movers series like I do you will enjoy this story.

I really wished I had checked this site for reviews before purchasing this book. I am really tired of previously released stories being repackaged with other previously printed stories and sold as something new. I had already read the Bond story but not the Linda Howard story so it wasn't a complete waste of money - although a story from the 80's is a bit out of date. I don't think we should have to open the book to see if/when a story had been previously published - but I will in the future. Harlequin must love this marketing tactic.

"Bluebird Winter" by Linda Howard was first published in 1987 and it shows its age. A pregnant woman goes into labor prematurely in the middle of a snowstorm, and an ob-gyn specializing in premie births just happens to find her on the side of the road and helps her. After she gives birth, doc decides that he absolutely must have both the baby and her mother - despite knowing absolutely nothing about mom - and sets about manipulating and coercing mom into a marriage of convenience. Even though the doc's controlling and manipulative, mom comes to realize that it's just because he loves her and wants to take care of her. Blech.

"Naughty or Nice?" by Stephanie Bond was first published in 1998, and features a heroine who is too stupid to live and a hero who thinks she's just cute and adorable anyway. Our heroine of this story is the general manager of a quirky San Francisco hotel in danger of corporate downsizing. The hero is the man in charge of determining whether or not the hotel is up to corporate standards. A promising premise quickly disintegrates into ridiculousness, stupidity, and frequent eye-rolling. If you're a fan of Bond's TSTL heroines, you'll likely enjoy this story, but I recommend avoiding it.

I was pleasantly surprised when my order was delivered so fast and was in the condition that was promised in the listing.

This product was just as described and a much better bargain than buying it at the store.

As always Linda Howard was wonderful and so was Steph Bond. This was the first of Bond I've read but will go back for more of hers.