As warm, sweet and sexy as a quick kiss under the mistletoe.
An anthology of four short historical romances sends up the holiday season with a touch of mischief, mistletoe and Christmas magic.
In Enoch’s “One Hot Scot,” when a Highlander rescues an English lady who’s been kidnapped by a rival clan, he risks his safety to help her, not realizing he's risking his heart by spending time with her. The Christmas connection is a bit of a stretch, but the amiable characters and sensual storyline—including the hero’s clever outmaneuvering of the villain—win the reader over. In Hawkins’ “Once Upon A Christmas Scandal,” Lady Ellen is mortified and angry when her father increases her dowry to win her a husband, then confused when Lord Swainsbury finagles his way into their holiday party under false pretenses. He seems like her perfect match, but it’s clear he’s hiding something, so are his attentions to be believed? A hint of a housebound mystery spices up this warm yet sexy romance. In Essex’s “The Scandal Before Christmas,” a naval lieutenant must find a wife before his loathsome father forces him to marry his own choice. A colleague’s docile and shy spinster daughter seems like a perfect choice, and when a snowstorm forces them together, he finds himself falling for the intelligent, passionate woman emerging from beneath her dowdy exterior. There’s a satisfying plain-Jane storyline with the added bonus of outsmarting the insufferable father. Bowman’s “It Happened Under the Mistletoe” offers a magical cat, a Regency meet-cute in a closet, and a duke and an heiress who are perfect for each other, though they’re convinced they aren’t—with a bit too much emotional hand-wringing on her part, which detracts slightly from the story’s overall charm. Historical romance anthologies are as much a part of the Christmas season for some readers as trees and stockings, and this is a fun collection they’ll appreciate.
As warm, sweet and sexy as a quick kiss under the mistletoe.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-250-06056-3
Page Count: 413
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hannah, after eight paperbacks, abandons her successful time-travelers for a hardcover life of kitchen-sink romance. Everyone must have got the Olympic Peninsula memo for this spring because, as of this reading, authors Hannah, Nora Roberts, and JoAnn Ross have all placed their newest romances in or near the Quinault rain forest. Here, 40ish Annie Colwater, returns to Washington State after her husband, high-powered Los Angeles lawyer Blake, tells her he’s found another (younger) woman and wants a divorce. Although a Stanford graduate, Annie has known only a life of perfect wifedom: matching Blake’s ties to his suits and cooking meals from Gourmet magazine. What is she to do with her shattered life? Well, she returns to dad’s house in the small town of Mystic, cuts off all her hair (for a different look), and goes to work as a nanny for lawman Nick Delacroix, whose wife has committed suicide, whose young daughter Izzy refuses to speak, and who himself has descended into despair and alcoholism. Annie spruces up Nick’s home on Mystic Lake and sends “Izzy-bear” back into speech mode. And, after Nick begins attending AA meetings, she and he become lovers. Still, when Annie learns that she’s pregnant not with Nick’s but with Blake’s child, she heads back to her empty life in the Malibu Colony. The baby arrives prematurely, and mean-spirited Blake doesn’t even stick around to support his wife. At this point, it’s perfectly clear to Annie—and the reader—that she’s justified in taking her newborn daughter and driving back north. Hannah’s characters indulge in so many stages of the weeps, from glassy eyes to flat-out sobs, that tear ducts are almost bound to stay dry. (First printing of 100,000; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Doubleday book club selections)
Pub Date: March 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-609-60249-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
