This is a collection of 4 short stories by Nalini Singh, Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy and Jean Johnson, all known for Paranormal Romances.
In Melting Frosty Matt and Holly both suffered the loss of their parents, but it affected each very differently. Holly keeps Christmas traditions alive to honor her Mother, while Matt tries to avoid Christmas altogether if he can because memories of his father, and the loss of a keepsake hat are too painful. The grow to care for each other when they are stuck together in Holly's old house during a snow storm. They both receive a few unmistakable signs that they are meant to be together.
In Charlotte's Web Charlotte has long been in love with her best friend Will, but doesn't think he returns her feelings. Though her sister insists they are witches, Charlotte has never believed it to be so, until her powers awaken quite humorously. She then goes along with her sister's idea of casting a lust spell on Will, but then she is left wondering if his actions are because of the spell, or because he really feels for her.
Beat of Temptation was my favorite of the collection as it dealt with characters I had read about before in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. Tamsyn returns from medical school for Christmas, to a mate who believes she is too young to handle his true feelings, so he forces them back. Tamsyn needs to make him understand that though she is young, she's more than ready to take him on, and wants nothing more than for them to be together as true mates should.
Gifts of the Magi is another story where a group of people thrown together in a snowstorm learn about themselves and each other, guided by a group of magical travelers from out of town.
I really enjoyed all of these short stories and highly recommend this as a Christmas read! The paranormal aspect, while important, is fairly light in all stories except Beat of Temptation, and they focus more on relationships, and the magic of cherishing another.
I'm currently reading We Three Dragons, which is another anthology of 3 holiday stories centered around dragons, something you just don't see too much of! Fantasy and Sci-Fi rarely have holiday based stories in the way that romance and mystery do. I do recommend Orson Scott Card's A War of Gifts if you're looking for a Sci-fi holiday read, it was excellent!
I've only seen part of a movie this week, and I don't think I'll be finishing it! LOL! When I saw the following cover on Netflix, I had to give it a try, wouldn't you?
It's just called Santa Claus, here's the synopsis from Netflix: José Elías Moreno stars as Santa Claus in this decidedly dark take on the Christmas season, a bizarre tale involving the devil, a demon named Pitch (José Luis Aguirre "Trotsky") and a plot to derail yuletide cheer with pure, unadulterated evil. But there's another big twist worth mentioning: This Santa Claus lives in outer space, and his only hope for saving Christmas lies in the hands of Merlin the Magician (Armando Arriola).
I do not recommend this one, unless you just like really bad sci-fi-esque older films (it's from 1959), because that's exactly what it is! (My husband is nodding in agreement, it was really bad!) Just in case you want to judge for yourself, it's available for instant watching on Netflix.
I have another one that I just can't resist trying out, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians from 1964, I expect this one will be bad as well, but with a title like that, I have to check it out!
I'll report in again next week!
That dragon book looks like a good one! Too funny on that movie. I had never heard of it, but I think I'll pass on it too. LOL!
ReplyDeleteGlad you seem to be enjoying the challenge. =O)