A Gift of Love

I buy anthologies to sample the work of unfamiliar authors, which is a little unfair because the short story romance tends to lead to the ‘love at first sight’ device which for me is usually a turnoff. The best story by far is Jude Deveraux’ , a writer I am not enthused about, but this was witty and enjoyable, despite the love at first sight thing. Judith McNaughts was ok but not worthy of a second read. The remaining three were appalling drivel. Their only redeeming quality was their ability to avoid my buying any more of their books.

I normally don't care for anthologies, for two principal reasons. First, many stories in these anthologies suffer from being over-short; the usual 70 - 100 pages is simply not sufficient to develop the storyline in a sufficiently satisfying manner. Second, there is always at least one story in each collection which is disappointing and lets the others down.However, I saw this book in, of all 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 all 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), and 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 and his son; a young Victorian choolmistress enters into an arranged marriage with a reclusive Earl so that his orphaned niece will have a governess, and quickly finds a way to melt his frozen heart; and a 1990s woman is transported back to Pioneer country, finding herself married to the man of her dreams.I loved each and 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 and heartwarming seasonal cheer.Highly recommended!

The book captued my heart. All five stories were excellent. I always prefered the thicker romances to short stories. But I made an exception with this one. Regret is definitely NOT what I felt after reding it. I absolutely love the story by Kimberly Cates. This is something you definitely must read!

The book was great but, the Deveraux story was the best. If she were to take that short story and elaborate on it, and make it a full novel, I could die a happy woman. I more than recommend this book.

I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THIS BOOK FOR THE JUDITH MCNAUGHT STORY. WHICH WAS AS GOOD AS I EXPECTED. THE ADDED TREAT CAME FROM THE OTHER FOUR STORIES. ALL LOVE STORIES WITH A CHRISTMAS THEME, FULL OF MAGICAND HOPE AND CHARACTERS THAT TOUCH YOUR HEART. A BOOK TO TREASURE AND RE-READ.

It was hard for me to pick which of the five stories was my favorite. I just could not put the book down. I love and possess all of Judith McNaught's work, and have enjoyed several of Jude's books; but the other three stories from authors which were unknown to me, were equally deserving of praise. "Five Golden Rings" by Judith O'Brien, is the one that has touched me the most. It was definently a case of saving the best for last. If you are in need of "happily ever after", this book is for you.