Here’s
a confession: I’m a sucker for holiday romance. Though my love affair with the
Christmas holidays has somewhat cooled over the last couple of years, I still
love little more than curling up by the fire with a blanket, cocoa, and a great
holiday story. And like other times of the year when I need a little comfort
and stress relief, I turn to what I know. Here’s a list of my favorite
Christmas re-reads, starting with – of course – a little Eve and Roarke….
HOLIDAY
IN DEATH
No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New
York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring
lonely hearts together. But Lt. Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic
serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been
traced to Personally Yours. Eve soon enters an elite world of people searching
for their one true love--and one killer searching for his next victim.
I don’t usually wait for the holidays to indulge in some
J.D. Robb – but there’s no greater answer to the Christmas rush than a murder
mystery and…well, I’ll just say it again: ROARKE!!!
HOMESPUN
BRIDE
Montana
Territory in 1883 was a dangerous place-especially for a blind woman struggling
to make her way through an early winter snowstorm. Undaunted, Noelle Kramer
fought to remain independent. But then a runaway horse nearly plunged her into
a rushing, ice-choked river, before a stranger's strong, sure hand saved her
from certain death. And yet this was no stranger.
Though
she could not know it, her rescuer was rancher Thad McKaslin, the man who had
once loved her more than life itself. Losing her had shaken all his most deeply
held beliefs. Now he wondered if the return of this strong woman was a sign
that somehow he could find his way home.
This
Jillian Hart novel was a pleasant surprise. It’s my favorite Christmas re-read.
Surprising since there isn’t a lot of inspirational romance on my shelf. Though
the book is focused more on a wintry setting than Christmas, it’s still a must
read for the holidays….
THE
GIFT
On
a June day, a young woman in a summer dress steps off a Chicago-bound bus into
a small midwestern town. She doesn't intend to stay. She is just passing
through. Yet her stopping here has a reason and it is part of a story that you
will never forget.
The
time is the 1950s, when life was simpler, people still believed in dreams, and
family was, very nearly, everything. The place is a small midwestern town with
a high school and a downtown, a skating pond and a movie house. And on a
tree-lined street in the heartland of America, an extraordinary set of events
begins to unfold. And gradually what seems serendipitous is tinged with
purpose. A happy home is shattered by a child's senseless death. A loving
marriage starts to unravel. And a stranger arrives—a young woman who will touch
many lives before she moves on. She and a young man will meet and fall in love.
Their love, so innocent and full of hope, helps to restore a family's dreams.
And all of their lives will be changed forever by the precious gift she leaves
them.
I
read The Gift when I was fourteen and
I loved it so much that it has earned a spot on my keeper shelf. Danielle
Steel isn’t one of my favorite authors, but something about this novel touches
me deeply. Whenever I need to get in touch with the true meaning of Christmas,
I pick this baby up….
The following
books aren’t on the shelf yet but I’m hoping to add them very, very soon. Is it
obvious I’m feeling the western setting this holiday season? I certainly think
so….
A
TEXAS CHRISTMAS
In their fifth
novella anthology, Thomas, Pace, Broday, and Miranda (Give Me a Texas Ranger)
develop a shared setting of Kasota Springs, Tex., in the December 1887
blizzard. Thomas’s thrilling “One Wish”
brings together an outcast and a rich girl who were misfits together in grade
school. In Pace’s “Naughty or Nice,”
a female saloon owner rescues a scientist from the snow and seeks refuge at a
Christmas party where many condemn her as a “soiled woman.” Broday’s delightful
“The Christmas Bell” sends a rancher
into the storm with supplies after he spots a stalled train. Miranda’s “Away in the Manger” strands a gruff
blacksmith with a single mom and her twins. Readers will enjoy the recurring
cameos from minor characters and themes of Christmastime forgiveness and
redemption.
HOLIDAY IN STONE
CREEK
A Stone Creek Christmas: Stone
Creek veterinarian Olivia O'Ballivan communicates easily with animals, but men
are another story. Especially rugged architect-turned-rancher Tanner Quinn.
Olivia's uncanny bond with his daughter Sophie's pony has him questioning her
sanity, while she wonders if
he's not just a drugstore cowboy. Then twelve-year-old Sophie conspires with
Olivia to get Tanner into the spirit of Christmas. But will a holiday miracle
transform the globe-trotting Tanner into a rancher—and family man—for all
seasons?
At Home In Stone Creek: Everyone in Ashley
O'Ballivan's life is marrying and starting families—except her. But why bother
dating when no one can compare to Jack McCall, the man who left her heartbroken
years ago? Now he's back in town —and maybe he isn't who she thinks he is.
Who could resist covers like those,
huh? And here’s where I get to plug A
Holiday to Remember again…only this time for good reason – today my first
segment of the story posts. If you’ve read my western romances, you probably
won’t be surprised to discover that I introduce alcohol to the storyline.
Whiskey, to be exact. But, hey, with the heroine snowed in with the hero and
the temperature dropping by the minute, who can blame them? Tune in to The Roses of Prose today for Chapter Five of AHoliday to Remember…or start from the beginning with Chapter One here….
In the mood for a little holiday romance? Well, you’re in
luck because the free holiday romance novella, A Holiday to Remember,
which I co-wrote with other members of the Roses of Prose just received 5 stars
from Night Owl Romance Reviews and is one of this month’s Reviewer Top Picks!
Here’s what they had to say about it…. 
This was a wonderfully well written story. It left me
saying WOW! I found the characters very well developed, colorful and so
likable. They made this a very charming read. I know it is somewhat different
in that you have so many authors writing it. But they did a great job of coming
together to share their thoughts. It flows so smoothly from one chapter to the
next. I thought it was an amazing read. All I am left to say is that you must
pick this one up and see for yourself how good a read the story really is. 
