Silver Bells / Dear Santa / Christmas Past / A Mulberry Park Christmas

I ORDERED THIS BOOK 12/6/08 AND RECEIVED IT IN 3 DAYS. EXCELLENT SERVICE. IT HAS FOUR CHRISTMAS-THEMED STORIES BY VARIOUS FAMOUS AUTHORS. THREE OF THE STORIES HAVE A ROMANTIC TALE AND ONE HAS A BIT OF A MYSTERY WITH SOME DANGER AND A HAPPY ENDING.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE.

In the title novella of this heartwarming romance collection, Fern Michaels introduces us to Amy Lee, a glamorous movie star bored with her success and her surroundings. Whoever said money can't buy happiness must have been thinking about Amy. All the trappings of her Hollywood lifestyle are unable to soothe her troubled past. As a teenager, her parents were killed in a gas explosion in their home in Apple Valley, Pennsylvania. Amy, known then as Amanda Leigh, was out shopping with her girlfriends when she heard the devastating news. Her Aunt Flo, a travel writer and adventurer in the Auntie Mame variety, quickly swooped in to care for her, and the two moved to southern California in an effort to start fresh. It was here that Amy got into acting and quickly ascended into film stardom. But her fame is simply a bandage on a wound too deep. After suffering through another tedious party at her Malibu beach house, Amy decides to abandon her movie career (at least for the time being) and return to Apple Valley in the hopes of regaining what was lost --- her holiday spirit and a truer sense of happiness and fulfillment. Once there, she runs into her high school boyfriend, Hank Anders, also recently returned to town to spend the holidays with his twin brother Ben, now deployed in Iraq, his wife Alice and their twin infant sons. What he hopes will be a restful holiday is anything but when harried new mother Alice confides in him that she's cracking under the pressure and leaves him in charge of the house and the boys while she takes a few days for herself. Despite the hurdles of their very different lives, Amy and Hank rekindle their old love, and she realizes that you can indeed go home again. In "Dear Santa," mystery writer Holly Berry is lost, both figuratively and literally. On the way to research a new novel, she swerves to miss a deer, and her car plows into a snow bank in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Just as she is wondering how many hours she can survive in this blustery cold, she is rescued by Gabriel O'Halloran, local sheriff, innkeeper and proprietor of the Christmas tree farm in the tiny hamlet of Santa's Village, the self-proclaimed "most Christmassy place on Earth." Gabe is a former Marine and single dad to five-year-old Emma, who mistakes Holly as the answer to her Christmas wish for a new mother. Despite her festive name, Holly is not a fan of Christmas. As a matter of fact, she "hated Christmas. The whole Christmas season. She hated the tinsel, the trappings, the decorated trees, the wrappings, and most of all, she hated Santa Claus, whom she quit believing in when she was seven years old" after her father was shot and killed by a mugger on Christmas Eve. Despite a move to sunny Los Angeles, Holly has not gotten over it and never feels the desire to celebrate the holiday again. But once ensconced in the cozy town and after spending time with Gabe, Holly is ready to believe again. Photographer and single mother Nicole Pip

"4 Tales of Christmas Romance" Each of these four tales of Christmas romance has a bit of danger and spice. Silver Bells is actually a bit trite; however, Dear Santa was heart-warming and refreshing. Christmas Past brought back a few of Mary Burton's characters that I so enjoyed in Dead Ringer and I'm Watching You. A Mulberry Park Christmas was a cute. These are not your typical holiday stories. Guns, single parenthood, police and marine hotties, and lust fill the pages. What a better way to prepare for Christmas? This is a book to read and recommend to your friends. It is the holiday season, so why not buy them their own copy?

Written by: Fern Michaels, JoAnn Ross, Mary Burton, and Judy Duarte Published by: Kensington Publishing Reviewed by: Stephanie Rollins for ReviewYourBook.com 11/2008 ISBN: 978-1-4201-0363-2 "4 Tales of Christmas Romance" 4 stars Each of these four tales of Christmas romance has a bit of danger and spice. Silver Bells is actually a bit trite; however, Dear Santa was heart-warming and refreshing. Christmas Past brought back a few of Mary Burton's characters that I so enjoyed in Dead Ringer and I'm Watching You. A Mulberry Park Christmas was a cute. These are not your typical holiday stories. Guns, single parenthood, police and marine hotties, and lust fill the pages. What a better way to prepare for Christmas? This is a book to read and recommend to your friends. It is the holiday season, so why not buy them their own copy?

"Silver Bells" by Fern Michaels. Although a star, Hollywood has not been fun for Amy Lee, who wants to leave the glitter behind her and just go home. This Christmas she returns to Apple Valley, Pennsylvania where her high-school boyfriend Hank Anders greets her in a way that makes her want to stay forever in his arms. "Dear Santa..." by JoAnn Ross. Mystery writer author Holly Berry has another reason to hate the holidays; a blizzard has left her stranded in Santa's Village, Washington at the lodge owned by Gabriel O'Halloran. He and his young matchmaking daughter give her a Christmas that makes her wish for more of their loving magic. "Christmas Past" by Mary Burton. The letter she receives provides hints to the identity of a killer. Having had a violent abusive husband, photographer Nicole Piper knows she cannot pursue this alone so she turns to homicide detective David Ayden for help. The widow and the widower face danger to their lives and to their hearts as both find a second chance at love if they survive their sleuthing ordeal. "A Mulberry Park Christmas" by Judy Duarte. Sugar Plum Lane residents know how to enliven the community for the Christmas season. However, this year Alyssa Ridgeway still reels from an ugly breakup and is not in the holiday mood until she runs into her first sweetheart, James MacGregor, who reminds her of the Christmas kiss past, present and future. These four heartwarming holiday romances each contain strong lead characters, a sense of the season, and entertaining story lines. Harriet Klausner