 | By: Judith McNaught Jude Deveraux et al Binding: Mass Market Paperback Publisher: Pocket Books ISBN: 0671536613 ISBN-13: 9780671536619 Released: 03 Feb 1997 RRP: Average Rating:  |
However, I saw this book in, of alll places, a bookshop in Manchester (yes, in the UK). An import, at a very reasonable price, so I decided to give it a try. And I'm delighted I did, having had several days of very satisfying reading from five authors, none of whose work I had read before.
These stories alll have a strong Christmas theme, which is done properly, in sharp contract to many Christmas-themed books these days in which the festive season gets perhaps a couple of lines at the end with no other mentions anywhere in the book. Each story in this anthology *feels* Christmassy, in different ways. And yet each story is very different. There are two contemporary romances in US settings, two British historical romances (in the Victorian period, though again each very different), & one time-travel, again set in the US.
We have a modern career woman reunited with the childhood hero who devastated her years ago by a careless act; a still-grieving widow who discovers that the boss of whom she thoroughly disapproves has an incredibly romantic heart; a poverty-stricken young woman finds out how it feels to play the role of angel to a lonely widower & his son; a young Victorian choolmistress enters into an arranged marriage with a reclusive Earl so that his orphaned niece will have a governess, & quickly finds a way to melt his frozen heart; & a 1990s woman is transported back to Pioneer country, finding herself married to the man of her dreams.
I loved each & every one of these short stories. None - well, except perhaps the last, which ended a little abruptly - seemed over-short or insufficiently well developed. And each had its share of humour, angst, romance & heartwarming seasonal cheer.
Highly recommended!
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