This time out, I have one of the many new holiday anthologies that are landing on bookstore shelves all across the country, Santa, Honey (Love Spell), with stories from Sandra Hill, Joy Nash, and Kate Angell. Angell leads things off with 'Ho, Humbug, Ho', and star baseball player Alex Boxer stuck in a tiny holiday obsessed town in Florida for a week leading up to the holidays because he got caught speeding. Now he's forced to play Santa and make nice with all the kids in town, when he'd really rather be partying with his buddies on the beach. Of course, Holly McIntyre could tempt him to actually be nice. If only she wasn't immune to his charm. Hill's 'Naughty or Nice' is next, a reprint from years ago, and it's still just as laugh out loud funny and steamy hot as it was originally. Jessica Jones didn't want to hold up the convenience store, but she's desperate. She didn't intend to take a hostage, too, but Luke is more than willing to hitch himself to Jessie for the long haul. 'Christmas Unplugged' from Nash has driven Casey 'persuaded' to go with her sister to a holiday weekend, only she didn't know she wouldn't be able to work on her New Year's project while she was there. Nor did she know the gorgeous Matt Van der Staappen would make her think about something besides work for the first time in a very long time. I didn't love Angell's story; Alex is pretty stereotypically drawn, a real player, and his conversion to a man who wants a relationship didn't convince me. Hill's story is hilarious, as she always is, and this one is well worth the read, even if you have the original from thirteen years ago. I love her stuff. And Nash's story is sweet and hot at the same time, and in just a perfect setting for a holiday story. For the two latter, I'm giving this one four and a half of Cupid's five arrows.
Until next time, happy reading!
