Let it Snow [Mass Market Paperback]

Although Fern Michaels is obviously the author the editors are hoping will lure readers to this book, I brought it because of Marcia Evanick. I stumbled across her first two books about the residents of Misty Harbor, Maine and thoroughly enjoyed them and have been anxiously her next book. I have to say, that I was not the least bit disappointed in her story and I thoroughly enjoyed the other three stories as well.

In A Misty Harbor Christmas, Olivia Hamilton comes back to Misty Harbor for her grandmother's funeral. When she inherits her grandmother's house where she spent summers as a child, she decides to sell it because her life is in California. As a child, Olivia had a huge crush on Ethan Wycliffe, her grandmother's neighbor. Ethan still lives in Misty Harbor and still lives next door to grandma's house. When he and Olivia start spending time together, Ethan hopes there's still some of that crush left over because he's sure developing one for Olivia.

In All I Want for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin, all Abby Walker wants is to find a normal man fall in love with and have a family. While her life takes some pretty comic turns, you keep rooting for her to connect with the handsome stranger that she keeps running into (and I mean that literally).

Merry, Merry by Fern Michaels is a reprint from the mid-90's. Andi Evans is trying to keep her veterinary practice afloat and hold onto her family's land. Cosmetic tycoon Peter King thinks Andi's land is the perfect site for his new factory and is determined to buy it. The two butt heads aplenty on their way to romance.

Christmas Eve by Virginia Henley is also a reprint from the mid-90's. Feminist real estate agent Eve Barlow is sent to show a remote Michigan log home to hunky firefighter Clint Kelly on December 23rd. Clint has no use for feminists and he and Eve butt heads aplenty. When Eve gets mad at Clint while they are looking over the log home's grounds, she ends up falling through the ice on the small pond. Clint saves her and takes her into the house to warm up. The two get snowed in but is able to see Eve's vulnerability beneath her feminist façade and finds her very attractive. When the two get snowed in for several days, they quickly discover that maybe their differences aren't quite so insurmountable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will definitely look for the upcoming works by Marcia Evanick and Holly Chamberlin.

This is the perfect book to curl up with once you've finished your Christmas shopping, wrapped the presents and put them under the tree. My two favorite stories in this collection were by Holly Chamberlin and Marcia Evanick.

From the back cover:

Baby, it's cold outside...but downright sultry inside this unforgettable Christmas collection. Curl up by the fire and enjoy a stockingful of stories where anything can happen--especially love...

"Merry, Merry" by Fern Michaels

If cosmetic king Peter King thinks he's going to buy struggling verterinarian Andi Evan's family property out from under her, he's got another think coming. This Christmas, she's ready for war...or would that be love?

"Christmas Eve" by Virginia Henley

Pig-headed macho man. That's what real estate agent Eve Barlow thinks of firefighter Clint Kelly. But when they're snowbowund together, Eve discovers just how glad he can make her feel to be a woman...

"All I Want" by Holly Chamberlin

All Abby Walker wants for Christmas is hope that somewhere out there--beyond the weirdos and the heartbreakers--is her soul mate. But a gorgeous stranger is about to show her that Fate has a plan for bringing passion of the forever kind...

"A Misty Harbor Christmas" by Marcia Evanick

Olivia Hamilton comes home to Misty Harbor only to sell her late grandmother's house to Ethan Wycliffe, the obnoxious boy she remembers from childhood. But Christmas memories have a funny way of holding people, and boys have a funny way of growing up into breathtaking men...

No matter how low the mercury dips, these wonderful holiday stories will warm you heart and soul.

And my review:

"Merry Merry" has been reissued in Christmas anthologies so many times it's getting to be ridiculous. This story was terrible to begin with! Why bother to waste paper printing it again? Sorry to all the Fern Michaels fans out there, but I think this author's writing is terrible. This story reads like something written by a fifteen-year-old who's about to fail English class. What is with all those big long speeches? Can't anyone talk without flapping their gums for ten minutes straight? There was absolutely zip in the way of heat between the hero and heroine. I felt absolutely no spark between the characters, no passion, nothing. They talk, argue like preteens, and then at the end, it's like, "Let's get married."

"We can't get married, we haven't even slept together yet."

"Well, let's go do it now."

"Okay."

They walk up the stairs together. The end.

Yeah, really romantic - not! I forced myself through this novella and wished I hadn't wasted my time. One star.

Virginia Henley's story was so stereotypical it was roll-your-eyes material. Alpha male, ultra feminist female who secretly wants to be waited on and protected like a delicate little lady (you can't have it both ways!), a snowbound house, a near-death experience to bring them closer (which of course requires the hero to strip the harpie heroine naked and rub whisky on her, of all things), a garbage-truck-sized load of lust, and the characters having sex when they've known each other less than 24 hours. Yeesh. I was starting to wonder how many more cliches this author could pack into 100 pages. I kept waiting for it to get interesting or believable, but it didn't. When these two people who hate each other, yet can't keep themselves from having sex because their lust overwhelmes them, I skipped out on this story. One star.

Holly Chamberlin's story wasn't even readable, in my opinion. First of all, it was written in the first person, which is unusual for a romance. Still, if a story is compelling enough (eg Gabaldon's "Outlander") I will read it. This was a silly little piece of chick lit, which I don't like. Even then I could have got past that if the story had been enjoyable. But it wasn't. It was so choppy and poorly written. The attention kept jumping around until that it was like trying to watch an out-of-control tennis match. The dialogue was horribly fragmented. People kept interrupting each other, until the actual story was getting to be impossible to follow. I forced myself to the second chapter, but could make myself go any further. One star.

Marcia Evanick's story was the only decent one, and even it wasn't great. It pretty much felt like a cheap marketing ploy to get you to read her full-length novel "Blueberry Hill". There's even a thirteen page preview after "A Misty Harbor Christmas". I sense that this is an author who can write enjoyable full-length novels, but can't quite make it work in this squashed, 80 page novella format. Also, I don't like the whole "I'm going to have a brief affair with you, even though I'm going to be leaving you in two weeks" theme. I know not all readers out there believe in sex only within marriage, but I do feel that commitment is important before a couple hops into bed together. The characters were enjoyable (though I liked the heroine's best friend more than I liked her), but the plot felt pretty weak. I may try more of this author's full-length work in the future, but I would not bother re-reading this novella. Two stars.

Romance anthologies range from the heavenly to the horrible. This one was in the low end of the spectrum. If you can borrow this from the library or a friend, it might be worth it, if you're a hardcore Evanick fan, as that is the only story worth reading, and even it's pretty mediocre. Otherwise, don't waste your money on this book.

For a good contemporary Christmas romance, I highly recommend "Let It Snow" by Sherry Lewis, a Harlequin Superromance, available used on Amazon.com