Love Under the Mistletoe

Forever Love by Leanne Burroughs Set in Kansas. The year is 1880. Hank Beaumont sold half his hotel to a couple by the last name of Ashbury. When the couple arrived, they would finish purchasing the other half. When Hank learns the stage coach has been set upon by bandits, he springs into action. The men on the stage coach have been murdered and one lady has been kidnapped. Hank catches up with the bandits just before they were about to harm the lady. Sure enough, the lady is named Jessica Ashbury, who has just witnessed the murder of her loved one and a couple of the bandits got away, taking the other half of his hotel payment. Hank and Jessica are now partners. Hank soon finds himself attracted to the grieving lady. If that is not enough, the hotel has two residential ghosts. It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judith Leigh Set in the present. Kasey Michaels is fed up with her ex-husband humiliating her. Kasey finally decides to start anew. An ad for Mistletoe, a small town near Nashville, Tennessee, catches her eye. The quaint sounding town claims that magic and dreams still come true there. Sure enough, Kasey finds herself falling in love with the town on her very first day there. Nick Klaus owns the toy store and he hires Kasey on-the-spot. It is obvious to Nick that Kasey has been hurt. So he holds hope that she may soon begin looking at him as something other than her boss. Gingerbread & Mistletoe by Amy Blizzard Set in the present. The state is Indiana. Matt Watson is a pastry chef. For the last three months he and Bethany, a coworker, have been planning an entry for the Hoosier Bakery's Gingerbread House contest. Should they win, they would get a cash prize and a guaranteed salary increase. However, Bethany drops out at the last minute. At home, Matt helps his upstairs neighbor take up a pink tree. Riley Callahan is an artist. Matt has always thought her pretty, but odd. When Riley offers to step in Bethany's place and help with the contest, Matt is shocked to hear himself agreeing. Calling Hailey's Bluff by Billie Warren Chai Set in the present at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. When the lunar rover stops working General West calls in Hailey James, the one that had fixed it last time. Hailey hoped to fix it and return to Vegas before HE could return to the space center. Hailey is eight months pregnant. The father is Lt. Col. Todd Coppersmith, for whom the USAF is his life. To keep the man she loves from resigning his commission and being miserable (and possibly end up hating her for being the cause), Hailey tells everyone she is only six months along and that Todd is NOT the father. Todd shows up before Hailey can finish fixing the rover though. She must now put on her best poker face and bluff. A Chorus Singing Love by Gerri Bowen Set in the Regency Era. When the Countess of Spode invites Melody to celebrate the Christmas holiday at Spode Hall, she accepts. The Countess's brother, Trevor Wilde, Earl of Ardmoor, is

FOREVER LOVE by Leanne Burrough Hank Beaumont can't help his attraction to the lovely young woman he rescues after her stagecoach is robbed and the men aboard murdered. He assumes that Jessica had been traveling with her husband, a man to whom Hank had agreed to sell his hotel. Hank is no stranger to the harsh realities of the West. He doesn't believe that Jessia will really stay but that doesn't stop him from constantly hoping she will. Will he be able to resist her allure and how will he feel when he learns that she isn't a widow after all? Leanne Burrough brings this story to life on so many levels and gives readers a true sense of pleasure in the fortitude of the characters. I loved being privy to Hank and Jessica's frustration with each other and the underlying sexual tension, but also adored the impact that the secondary characters have throughout this story. IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE by Judith Leigh Kacey Michaels's ex-husband's callous attitude has her making a radical decision. After viewing a travel magazine she packs up and moves to Mistletoe, Tennessee, hoping for a new lease on life. Once in Mistletoe, Kacey takes a delightful job at a toy store working for Nick Klaus. It's just too perfect and after meeting Nick and his children she's convinced that this is exactly where she wants to be, but can she learn to trust her heart and believe that magic and dreams truly can come true - even for her? What a delightfully fun tale. Judith Leigh brings a great deal of sensitivity into this storyline and really captures Kacey's emotional upheaval over her inability to have children - fortunately Nick has lots of kids and he'd be more than happy to share. GINGERBREAD AND MISTLETOE by Amy Blizzard Matt Watson's dreams of winning the annual gingerbread house contest have just met with disaster. His only hope of being able to enter and win lie in the hands of his eternally optimistic artist neighbor. Matt has a purely practical outlook on the whole project, while Riley sees the beauty behind of it and relishes the challenge. Through her Matt will begin to see the world through less cynical eyes and even view Christmas as a magical time - especially when he's got such a warmhearted giving woman at his side. Amy Blizzard won me over with this charming tale. There's no doubt Matt is a scrooge but Riley is free spirited and lighthearted enough for both of them. I loved the mixture of seriousness and joy throughout this tale and found myself crossing my fingers as I waited for the outcome of the competition. CALLING HAILEY'S BLUFF by Billie Warren Chai Hailey is determined to fix the problem with the lunar rover and leave Houston before Lt. Col. Todd Coppersmith returns from Cape Canaveral. She's a professional poker player and while she's still in love with Todd, she doesn't want him knowing that she's carrying his child because trapping him is the last thing she wants to do. Todd returns to Houston earlier than expecte

FOREVER LOVE by Leanne Burroughs - Set in 1880 Kansas, Jessica Ashbury traveled by stagecoach from the East to start a new life by buying a hotel with her beloved brother. Along the way the stage was robbed, her brother killed and she would have been raped if not for the timely arrival of Hank Beaumont. Assuming the man killed was Jessica's husband, Hank had to control his passion for the beauty, but a pair of resident ghosts knew better and made sure Hank would not make the mistakes they'd made in a previous life. Burroughs opens up this lively romantic anthology with an American western story that starts with an emotional dramatic flourish. Her dialogs are precise and laden with humor and heartfelt sentiment. Hank's ghostly grandparents appearing half-way through the tale were an unexpected pleasure and added another level of enjoyment to an already pleasurable story. Excellent imagery and a nice sensual level made this a quick and enjoyable read. IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE by Judith Leigh - It was a spur of the moment decision for Kacey Michaels to pull up roots leave behind friends after learning that her ex-husband and his new wife were expecting. A travel article describing a magical place in Misteltoe, Tennessee was just the nudge she needed to make her move. Magical or not, Kacey arrived and found a job and a place to stay within an hour of her arrival. All this plus a handsome hunk of a new boss named Nick Klaus, who caused all sorts of fluttering in a heart she thought long dead. Judith Leigh created a lovely story here that was a perfect blend of magic, forgiveness, and renewal. Kacey had been belittled and crushed by an ex-husband who had left her for another woman. Nick was an incredibly loving man, a widower who had a heart as big as himself, and shared all that love with his own and several adopted children. Leigh turned this into a very emotional and sentimental journey that fits right in to the holiday spirit of love and joy. GINGERBREAD & MISTLETOE by Amy Blizzard - Matt Watson's baking assistant took off on an unexpected honeymoon, leaving him in the lurch for someone to help create his entry for the Hoosier Bakery annual gingerbread house competition. Clearly he had to come up with a plan. After helping his wacky free-spirited artist neighbor Riley Callahan put up her pink Christmas tree, he took up her offer of a `favor' by asking if she'd help him with his creation. What they created was more definitely more palatable than either could imagine. This was definitely a charmer. Somewhere along the way, Matt had lost his zest for life as he worked hard for recognition from a parent who would probably never approve of his life's choices. Matt looked askance at Riley's free-spirited antics and in this way the author was able to let some of Riley's joy of life rub off and do wonders for both Matt's personality and his libido! This was so cute, romantic and heartwarming. Riley's approach to life was