Review: A Christmas To Remember by Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon & Marilyn Pappano

Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn’t mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?

Jill Shalvis’s story set in Lucky Harbor had Melissa regretting her breakup with firefighter, Ian, but she just didn’t know how to fix it. A life threatening experience puts everything into perspective, now she just has to get Ian to go along with the plan. Such a great story. Really, I love Lucky Harbor and all the people in it. This one was no different. Obviously shorter than the novels, this one packed no less of a punch in the romance department and had me smiling from ear to ear.

Kristen Ashley’s story was great. Christmas with the Chaos MC is new and different for Shy and his brother Landon. The fascination they have with Tack and Tyra’s kids is incredibly emotional and so heart warming it was awesome. I loved, loved, loved when Cutter, who is 4 years old, woke up in the morning and was running around announcing how “Sanna” had shown up. OMG so freaking cute!

Hope Ramsey’s was a probably the most upsetting book. Maryanne and her 3 month old baby are homeless and go looking for her aunt. She thinks she finds the house after having her car break down and walking in sleet but ends up in the barn when no one is home. What’s she really found is Daniel who has a kind heart and needs Maryanne to show him the true meaning of Christmas. While reading this book I was so heartsick over Maryanne’s choices near the end of the story. I understand the meaning of the story but I can’t say this was my favorite.

Molly Cannon gave us a story about a professional organizer who is hired by a man’s mother to organize her former home before she gets there for Christmas. Lincoln moved into his childhood home after his parents retired and moved away. He’s not big on cleaning the messes away so when Dinah shows up he’s surly and uncooperative at first. He kind of gets into it after a time and he certainly likes working with Dinah. Unfortunately Dinah remembers too late that she’s never to get involved with a client – especially one who doesn’t like Christmas. Lincoln has a secret up his sleeve that might make her change her mind about him. This was just a cute, fun story. It was pretty much upbeat from start to finish and I enjoyed the absence of uber-angst.

Last was Marilyn Pappano gave us a doctor who moves to a small town in Oklahoma to start a pediatric practice. His parents and practically his whole family are snooty surgeons and physicians and they don’t understand his medical career choice. He’s in Tallgrass for a two year contract but he’s just not sure that after that he’ll stay there. He starts to fall in love with Elena who is a military widow with a 6 month old boy. She’s sunshine and light but as much as he loves her he’s not sure what the future will hold. My first read by this author and I very much enjoyed it. Like the previous story it was pretty light and airy until near the end. Even then it wasn’t angst heavy and I got my HEA – bonus. 🙂

What a fantastic way to begin the Christmas Season! Truly. These stories all were such great reads and had such a sense of Christmas spirit that I can’t help but tell everyone to get this one and read it. My only minor complaint was that the stories were separated by excerpts from each authors upcoming novels. These were great to have but I think it took away the flow of the Christmas theme just a bit. I would have appreciated them more if they had all been at the back of the book. Despite that I very much enjoyed all the stories which is a definite plus when it comes to an anthology.

Rating: 4 out of 5