An Enchanted Season

A terrific anthology, to be honest - and an even better surprise because I wasn't expecting much. (Oct 2, 2007 Berkley Trade).

Don't worry - I have a lot of Harlequin books to blog about - but I own most of those, and most of these are library books, so, I try to knock these out before I forget. 

I got this book because there's a story in here written by Erin McCarthy. It was good, don't get me wrong - but what knocked me out was the short story by Nalini Singh. In fact, it sent me running out to the two libraries I have cards to, searching for her backlist books. This is a big deal, because I liked all the stories in this anthology, so for one to stand out so much is impressive.  

Maggie Shayne's  story Melting Frosty is cute and likeable, albeit a bit cheesy. Matt and Holly both went through traumatic events as children. For Matt, it made him hate the holiday season. As a result, he's a completely cold hearted person. (A bit overblown, but hey.) For Holly, it made her cling to the Holidays and all they represent. She goes over the top. Fate, and a special fedora bring the two together, as well as a winter storm. Nice and pat.

Erin McCarthy's Charlotte's Web, is probably the start to another Anthology series. (P.S. You Don't Know Jack is indeed tied to The Pregnancy Test) Charlotte and Will have been friends for a long time. Seven? Ten? Years (the book actually isn't too clear on the specific length. I'll admit to not remember the exact number, but some time in the story it mentions them being friends as kids, which is wrong.) Anyway. Charlotte and her sisters are witches. Charlotte, however, has always been the outcast in her family. She owns a Caribou Coffee, while the rest of her family eschews traditional things. (Especially the commercialized holiday of Christmas -that and Christianity?) Will is a detective, and just plain in love with Charlotte. Some supernatural interference as well as nagging from sisters pushes the two together very quickly. This is set in Cuttersville, OH where some of EM's other books take place so there's mention of those characters as well. Cute. 

Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh is interesting because she tells the story of Tamsin and Nate - who are clearly together in stories that physically predate this one. (As in, Tamsin and Nate are together in a book written in 2006). So, i actually read the stories in chronological order in the book-verse. These books deal were were-people, so Nate and Tamsin are leopards. They're mates, and in love. But Nate is 10 yeard older than Tamsin, and Tammie is young- only 19. He's been noble for 4 years, and trying to be noble. He wants her to have a life and live a little before he ties her down. Extremely well written.

 Gifts of the Magi by Jean Johnson was probably the one I liked least in the bunch. It was a cute story about a couple trying to keep it together and prevent the family inn from going under. Well, the inn has been in Steve's family forever - and Rachel is his fiancee. A winter storm hits and a bunch of strange things happen, and there are the "three magi" - only one is Jewish, one, Buddhist, and one... Muslim? There's a happy ending, and its a nice story, but I wasn't bowled over.

I really enjoyed this story and hope you'll like it too. (And yes, soon, there will be harlequin books - don't worry - and I just ordered some more today!)