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ginaardito's review
4.0
This is a group of Christmas stories with some hits, some misses. I've posted comments as I've gone along, but I'll go into more detail here since space did not allow that on update posts. The first three stories, all by Joanne Jaytanie were okay. I liked that the stories weren't necessarily about characters I expected them to revolve around. But I had a lot of issues with the coincidences: a group of friends quit their jobs to buy the local Christmas tree farm to make it a year-round tourist attraction. The farm just happens to have enough private homes on the lot for each of them to have their own place. (Which defies logic since it was a family-owned farm and the previous owners' kids had all grown and left the place, so who lived in all those houses before?) A doctor comes to town, and the town's doctor just happens to have retired and left them in the lurch. In two of the stories, people just happen to be descended from town residents they didn't know about when that information resolves the conflicts involving the romance. As my favorite former Navy SEAL is fond of saying, "Coincidence takes a lot of planning." Conflict is based on misunderstanding in each story. I never felt that any of the women were truly in love with the men; it was more basic attraction. There were some editing issues I found hard to ignore, particularly when it came to plural possessives and the tricky "Mom" and "Dad" vs. "my mom" and "my dad."
The next two stories were by Jacqoulyn McMurray and took place in Hawaii. I enjoyed the first one, about a pair of longtime friends who both have a lot of growing up to do, despite their ages. And I was particularly satisfied that the heroine realized the true reason why she wanted to win a silly competition, but it was a long time coming. In the second story, a single mom is struggling to provide a happy Christmas for her daughter in a new place, but money is extraordinarily tight for her until she meets the rancher next door. The more he provides for her, the more attractive he becomes to her. I know that wasn't what the author wanted to convey, but there really was little to no spark between the two main characters.
The last two stories were the best, in my opinion. Perhaps, it's because they were longer and the authors were able to allow attraction and conflict to bloom and resolve naturally. Second Chances by Grace Augustine was familiar to me, but it has been improved and many of my original misgivings about the story were improved and corrected.
Counting on Christmas by Lexa Fisher was an interesting read. While I did have some issues with the abuse and how no one came to the main character's aid, despite the public venue (and how her boss seemed more worried about her business getting a bad Yelp review), I did enjoy the slow simmer of attraction between Mary and Chris. I think the bit with the ex-wife could've been left on the cutting room floor without losing anything, but that's me. 4.5 stars
All in all, it's a 3.5 star read, rounded up to 4 because three of the seven stories did leave a smile on my face.
The next two stories were by Jacqoulyn McMurray and took place in Hawaii. I enjoyed the first one, about a pair of longtime friends who both have a lot of growing up to do, despite their ages. And I was particularly satisfied that the heroine realized the true reason why she wanted to win a silly competition, but it was a long time coming. In the second story, a single mom is struggling to provide a happy Christmas for her daughter in a new place, but money is extraordinarily tight for her until she meets the rancher next door. The more he provides for her, the more attractive he becomes to her. I know that wasn't what the author wanted to convey, but there really was little to no spark between the two main characters.
The last two stories were the best, in my opinion. Perhaps, it's because they were longer and the authors were able to allow attraction and conflict to bloom and resolve naturally. Second Chances by Grace Augustine was familiar to me, but it has been improved and many of my original misgivings about the story were improved and corrected.
Counting on Christmas by Lexa Fisher was an interesting read. While I did have some issues with the abuse and how no one came to the main character's aid, despite the public venue (and how her boss seemed more worried about her business getting a bad Yelp review), I did enjoy the slow simmer of attraction between Mary and Chris. I think the bit with the ex-wife could've been left on the cutting room floor without losing anything, but that's me. 4.5 stars
All in all, it's a 3.5 star read, rounded up to 4 because three of the seven stories did leave a smile on my face.
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