The Perfect Gift

4 stars for LOOK WHAT SANTA BROUGHT by Annmarie McKenna. Very nice romance. Very sensual. I like her style of writing about a guy who is focused on only one woman, and he's got to have her, and he treasures her. This is a sequel to Blackmailed, but the stories don't need to be read together. In Blackmailed Brianna becomes the mate of Cole and Tyler. Scot is Brianna's blind brother who lives with them. In this story, Tara has just broken up with an abusive boyfriend Eric who still wants her and tries to hurt her. Tara needs to find an apartment, and Scot invites her to live with him temporarily. Story length: 56 pages. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: one. Setting: current day St. Louis, Missouri. Copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance. Other Books: For a list of my reviews of other Annmarie McKenna books, see my 5 star review of "Finding Strength" posted on 7/12/08. 3.5 stars for HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Kate Davies. Nice, romantic lovers story. Very pleasant ending. Wonderful guy Ethan. Dan was husband to Sophie and business partner with Ethan. Dan died two years earlier. Sophie began working at the company with Ethan. Ethan has been attracted to Sophie but remained a platonic friend due to her mourning. Sophie decides to go on a Christmas cruise alone. Ethan discovers this as she is leaving for the airport. He hurriedly arranges to get on the same cruise. They become romantic and intimate for the first time on the cruise. Story length: 48 pages. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: two. Setting: current day U.S. and Caribbean cruise ship. Copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance. Other Books: To date, I've read one other book by Kate Davies. I gave 3 stars to the anthology "Lessons Learned" copyright 2008, posted 4/18/09. The anthology includes two stories titled "Lessons in Love" and "Lessons Learned." 3 stars for MIRACLE AT MIDNIGHT by Stacia Wolf. In 1507, a heartless countess Amara imprisons a poor man for stealing food for his children. She plans to sell his children into slavery for his punishment. Saint Nicholas, the protector of children, turns her into a statue saying that once every fifty years she will come alive for two days and must answer the question what is the true meaning of love. She has ten tries. If she fails, she will remain a statue forever. The story shifts to current day New York City, the day before Christmas. Six-year-old Samantha is visiting her divorced father. Samantha sees the statue turn into a human and convinces her father to help. They spend the two days together. Amara feels love for them and they love her back. There is a happy ending that brings some tears with it. This story reminds me of the Scrooge-type Christmas story about the heartless finding their heart. Story length: 56 pages. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: none. Setting: 1507 France and current day New York City. Copyright: 2007. Genre: fantasy roman

~Home for Christmas by Kate Davies~ With her husband gone and her daughter spending the holiday with her fiancée's family, Sophia books a cruise for Christmas this year, far from her memories and even further from the very distracting presence of her friend and business partner, Ethan. She just needs some time and space to figure out what she wants for the rest of her life, and whether or not her feelings for Ethan are real or just a by-product of their close friendship. Ethan has been waiting for the right opportunity to let Sophia know just how he feels about her. Having been careful to give her space in which to grieve her late husband, he has bided his time in reluctant patience - he'll be damned if he misses his chance with her now. Determined to finally make his move and tell the lovely widow just how much she means to him, he moves heaven and earth to land himself on the same cruise. He'll pull out all the stops to make both of their dreams come true, praying that those dreams will be possible together. Home for Christmas is an absolutely wonderful tale about a mature romance between two friends who have long loved each other from afar. With a starring couple who are both over forty, Kate Davies offers a realistic look at love the second time around for those of us who are long past the first bloom of youth, but still young enough to entertain dreams of love and forever. As a no-nonsense widow and the mother of a young adult daughter, Sophia is mindful of her family's needs, while still being very aware of her own as a woman. When the death of her husband left her as part-owner in his business, she never hesitated to roll up her sleeves and work in the family business alongside her friend and partner, Ethan. She knows Ethan would do anything for her, but worries that her growing romantic ideas about him are born of their close proximity and her dependence on his presence in her life. While she is ready to admit her feelings, she needs time away to be sure of them before running the risk of damaging their friendship. Of course, Ethan wouldn't be our story's hero if he let her get away with that. The man is romantically relentless, determined that he won't spend Christmas apart from the woman he loves more than anything. Even still, he gives her every chance to keep him at arm's length once he arrives on board the cruise ship, while hoping deep down inside that she doesn't take those opportunities. But Ethan means to make this relationship last for the rest of their lives, and his resolve that Sophia be sure of not just his feelings for her but hers for him are heart-warming. Home for Christmas is a wonderfully inspiring romance that will make readers rejoice in the belief that new life and new love can most certainly happen no matter your age. ~Look What Santa Brought by Annmarie McKenna~ Scott Wyatt may be blind, but he can see a good thing when it is right in front of him. And Tara Patrick definitely fits under the goo

The McKenna story was my favorite-the others were well written also. They were all closer to mainstream romance than most of the stories written by these authors. A very enjoyable read and the McKenna story has a tie to her Blackmailed.