I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Night Before Christmas
by
Erin McCarthy, Jill Shalvis, Katherine Garbera, Kathy Love, Kylie Adams, Lori Foster
anthology, contemporary romance, short stories in Paperback edition that was published by Kensington Books on 2005 and has 346 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include High Stakes, My Immortal, Bit the Jackpot, An Enchanted Season, Fallen, The Taking, Bad Boys of Summer, Bled Dry, Flat-Out Sexy, Sucker Bet, Hard and Fast, Hot Finish, When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, First Blood, Slow Ride, The Chase, Out of the Light, and into the Shadows, Jacked Up, A Date with the Other Side, Heiress for Hire, Bad Boys in Black Tie, True, Seeing is Believing, Believe, Shatter, Sweet, Burn, Gone with the Ghost, Murder Drama with Your Llama, Beach Blanket Bad Boys, Instant Attraction, Instant Gratification, Instant Temptation, "Under the Mistletoe", Animal Magnetism, It Had to Be You, Simply Irresistible, The Sweetest Thing, Animal Attraction, Rumor Has It, Rescue My Heart, It’s in His Kiss, Head Over Heels, Lucky in Love, , He's So Fine, At Last, One in a Million, Forever and a Day, Second Chance Summer, My Kind of Wonderful, "Wrapped in You", Get A Clue, The Trouble with Mistletoe, Chasing Christmas Eve, “One Snowy Night”, Rainy Day Friends, Merry and Bright, Always on My Mind, Man of My Dreams, Bare It All, Run the Risk, Getting Rowdy, Dash of Peril, No Limits, Fighting Dirty
Six short stories in this anthology about Christmas Eve romances.
The Stories
Lori Foster‘s “White Knight Christmas” is a tale of Detective Parker Ross, a reluctant hero with a Scrooge mentality, who comes up against his very own Christmas wish when Lily forces herself on him.
I suspect Foster needed a few more pages to end this story. It was too abrupt and jerked the story to an end. Still, it was sweet.
Erin McCarthy‘s “Snowed Under” finds Claire Robbins the victim of a snowplow splash and run. When she takes refuge in her brother’s apartment, she finds her greatest fantasy hanging out. Justin Fairbanks, on the other hand, is worried more about not unwrapping this particular present.
I liked Claire’s attitude. Strong, assertive…even if she was rather sneaky about what she wanted as she evaded every hint Justin mounded up in front of her! Too funny and a nice switch. Could have used a few more pages as well.
Jill Shalvis‘ “Ms. Humbug” was too funny as well as the once too-fat Cami Bennett can’t believe that Matt Tarino would actually want her. It’s the mating dance in reverse as Matt pursues Cami past every denial.
Kathy Love‘s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” finds Rob Marsten stuck at the airport when a blizzard grounds all flights. By the time he gets to the car rental counter, he’s just missed the last available car which has just been taken by Erica. The Erica he threw away all those years ago so he could concentrate on his career.
Katherine Garbera‘s “Seducing Scrooge” was a cute one about two accountants. One is a sassy woman secure in her enjoyment of the holidays with a warm family history while the other is more of a jock with a Scrooge mentality he’s about to be blackmailed out of.
Kylie Adams‘ “Good Girl’s Guide to a Very Bad Christmas” finds Peri working as a barista between auditions while she counters her mother’s complaining phone calls. Lucky for Peri, Chase McCloud, the hot supporting star in Physical Evidence, has an interest in helping her career along.
Oh, what a treat this one was with its email insertions and chunks of script lending verisimilitude.
The Cover and Title
The background is a deep purple with a grid of lighter purple dots filled with either individual author’s names or handbags for a color scheme of purples, green, pink, white, and red.
The title is accurate enough as all the important action takes place on Christmas Eve, The Night Before Christmas.
