Silhouette Christmas Stories, 1990

From the back cover: SANTA'S SPECIAL MIRACLE by Ann Major All widowed Noreen Black's son wanted for Christmas was a daddy, but even Santa couldn't bring the man she loved into their family. Grant Hale's comforting arms almost made Noreen forget why she'd run from him years ago. Yet when he discovered the child she'd kept secret, only a miracle would grant a little boy's wish... LIGHTS OUT! by Rita Rainville Despite a grandfather named Kris K. Ringle, Carroll Sitwell's holidays weren't starting out well. Grandpa's experiments with seasonal decoration kept putting out lights all over town, and their handsome new neighbor was complaining about the power failures. But despite his anger, Carroll kept wondering how he would look under her tree! ALWAYS AND FOREVER by Lindsay McKenna Fighter pilot Kyle Anderson waged a private war against desire for the one woman he could never have. Gale Taylor had sworn never to give her heart again...until a twist of fate at Christmas time sent her into Kyle's arms for always. THE MYSTERIOUS GIFT by Kathleen Creighton Christmas looked bleak. Karen Todd was broke, with eight-year-old Andrew to support. Ony mechanic--and guardian angel--Tony Angelo stood between her the total poverty. After all, no car, no job. Then Andrew asked Santa for a very special gift. Would Tony be an angel one more time? And my review: While this is an older book, it just goes to show that not all romances age badly. The last two stories in this book were wonderfully good, and didn't feel aged at all. But I'll back up and review each story in order: I didn't really expect much of Ann Major's SANTA'S SPECIAL MIRACLE. I find that this is an author who creates very unlikeable characters and often uses cliched, over-the-top situations to fuel her stories. This one almost blew the lid off the unlikeable characters expectation. The hero and heroine were both despicable! The hero is a man who makes a play for his brother's wife...and she reciprocates! Disgusting. Any man who will french-kiss his brother's wife ON HER WEDDING DAY deserves to be dumped into a barrel of pig swill. And any woman who will respond should be right in there with him. I'm supposed to cheer for these two? I felt like they deserved each other, and not in a good way. The fact that the heroine didn't really love her first husband does not make cheating okay. (Yes, the infidelity does go farther than just that kiss--I cheated and skimmed ahead.) I didn't get very far into this story, but that's not very suprising when you find yourself wanting to do physical harm to the two main characters. One star. LIGHTS OUT! by Rita Rainville was an okay story, but not one I would bother reading again. The character of the heroine's grandfather was a bit overdone, in my opinion. Eccentric older people as characters are enjoyable, but they shouldn't be charicatures. That's what Kris K. Ringle felt like. He didn't come across as endearing...he just came across as ridiculous. And weird. An

Anthology includes stories by Ann Major, Rita Rainville, Lidsay McKenna, and Kathleen Creighton. Here are the stories lines from the back of the book: (1)"Santa's Special Miracle" by Anne Major -- All widowed Noreen Black's son wanted for Christmas was a daddy, but even Santa couldn't bring the man she loved into their family. Grant Hale's comforting arms almost made Noreen forget why she'd run from him years ago. Yet when he discovered the child she'd kept secret, only a miracle would grant a little boy's wish ... (2)"Lights Out" by Rita Rainville -- Despite a grandfather named Kris K. Ringle, Carroll Stilwells' holiday's weren't starting out well. Grandpa's experiments with seasonal decoration kept putting out lights all over town, and their handsome new neighbor was complaining about the power failures. But despite his anger, Carroll kept wondering how he would look under her tree! (3)"Always and Forever" by Lindsay McKenna -- Fighter pilot Kyle Anderson waged a private war against desire for the one woman he could never have. Gale Taylor had sworn never to give her heart again ... until a twist of fate at Christmas sent her into Kyle's arms for always. (4)"The Mysterious Gift" by Kathleen Creighton -- Christmas looked bleak. Karen Todd was broke, with eight-year-old Andrew to support. Only nechanice -- and guardian angle -- Tony Angelo stood between her and total poverty. After all, no car, no job. Then Andrew asked Santa for a very special gift. Would Tony be an angel one more time?