I decided to combine my review of these two holiday-themed books. Why, you ask? Why not, I reply! Read on…

Gwen’s review of Mistletoe and Molly by Janet Dailey
Contemporary romance published 2 Oct 07 by Zebra

This book is a revisit of one of Janet Dailey’s Harlequin Presents chestnuts, Green Mountain Man, originally published in 1978. It’s been updated and renamed. Why, you ask? Who the bloody-hell knows, I reply. The new title has fuck-all to do with the book, other than share a name with the heroine’s daughter, Molly.

Here’s the book blurb:

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

You never quite get over your first love…especially when the holidays roll around. Jonas Concannon can attest to that. He’s come back to Vermont at last and the first person he sees is Bridget O’Shea. Still young, still lovely, the auburn-haired beauty and her little daughter Molly are getting ready for Christmas. Sleigh rides…making hot cocoa from scratch…cutting out paper snowflakes and trimming a tree…it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Another kiss under the mistletoe should persuade her to say yes. The lady is willing—very willing. No longer lonely, Jonas is determined to claim Bridget’s heart. He can’t wait to share a season filled with joy…and a forever kind of love.

No excerpt available on author’s or publisher’s website.

There’s a reason Janet Dailey is one of the best selling romance genre authors out there. She tells emotionally rich, true love stories with complete characters. A true romancey-romance novelist. No action, not tons of suspense, normally a predictable plot twist or two (secret baby, etc.). This book was no exception.

It’s not enough to update a book by doing a simple “search-and-replace” – “radio” becomes “iPod,” “library” becomes “Internet,” “mail” becomes “e-mail.” I feel like that is all that was done to this book before it was released now, almost 30 years later. No real effort is done to update clothing. No effort is done at all to update character sensabilities.

On the plus side, I identified so strongly with the heroine and her predicament with her mother. Ms Dailey could have been describing MY mother – it was downright eerie. She also paints a vivid scene, if a bit long-winded.

On the negative side: the book’s p l o d d i n g p a c e. Worse still, the mind-bogglingly prosaic way the hero accepts the news that he (and this won’t be a spoiler to anyone who reads the first chapter – it’s so obvious) is the father of Bridget’s 10-year old daughter. Once he’s told, he’s not even pissed off at Bridget that she’s been actively LYING to him for MONTHS about this news, during the entire year+ they’ve been getting reacquainted. WHAT?! Oh C’MON! It’s not even remotely realistic. Gah! Might have been interesting 30-years ago, not today.

A good book for those of you who like old-guard romancey-romances, or for the die-hard Harlequin fans. Not for me.

Grade: C- (would have been an F for any other author, but this if Janet Dailey and even her worst is still pretty good)

Gwen’s review of I’m Your Santa by Lori Foster, Karen Kelley, and Dianne Castell
Contemporary romance anthology published 25 Sept 07 by Brava

This collection of three stories centers on three couples who meet and must marry. It’s a cute book and worth the effort to read, but probably won’t be winning any of these authors any prizes. Still and all, I had a nice holiday vibe by the end.

Here’s the book blurb:

He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice–and he’s hoping you’re more naughty than nice. He’s your own personal Saint Nick–sans beard, belly, and red suit–and he’s coming special delivery in this sizzling collection…

The Christmas Present by Lori Foster
When Beth Monroe catches her fiancé fooling around, she’s out for revenge…and the sweetest kind comes courtesy of Levi, the cheater’s best friend. But when their one-hour tryst stretches to an entire weekend, holiday cheer takes on a whole new meaning…
Read an excerpt.

It’s a Wonderful Life by Karen Kelley
Hollywood hottie Jeremy Hunter needs to get serious about his acting career, and that means Christmas spent researching his upcoming role. But going incognito as a preacher in a tiny Texas town soon brings wicked temptation in the form of beautiful Bailey Tanner…
No excerpt available on author’s or publisher’s site.

Home for Christmas by Dianne Castell
A philandering boyfriend plus an empty wallet add up to LuLu Cahill’s worst Christmas ever, until she heads home to O’Fallon’s Landing and crosses paths with jilted groom Sebastian Moore. Sebastian is determined to go through with his pre-wedding holiday bash. All he needs is LuLu to fill in for the bride…
Read an excerpt.

I have not been a fan of Lori Foster’s full length novels in the past. I’ve always felt they were poorly paced and the characters superficial, particularly the heroines. That said, her style seems to work with a short story. Foster’s The Christmas Present was very fun to read. I enjoyed her characters and fell in love with the hero, Levi. Her heroine, Beth was a bit on the weak side but it didn’t detract too much from a very enjoyable story. I had a good holiday vibe by the end. Grade: B

Kelley’s It’s A Wonderful Life was the weakest of this trio of stories and, while it was an interesting read, as the proverb indicates “interesting” isn’t always good. The plot was not believable – and for a contemporary romance that isn’t a paranormal, I would think suspension of disbelief to be an important element. I also felt the epilogue was overly corny and a little too unimaginative. No holiday vibe with this story. Grade: D

With Castell’s Home For Christmas, I felt like a chapter was missing from the beginning. The reader is dumped into the middle of a steamy public encounter between the hero and heroine. And while that was fun, it was abrupt and I felt lost for the first chapter or two. Even with that deficit, this story is an example of how an author can use “suspension of disbelief” to their advantage – I had some problems with a few points in the plot, but I was able to ignore them and just roll with the story because it was fun. In addition, the characters’ internal dialogue was a lot of fun to read, as was the normal dialogue. This was a cute story with a totally suitable epilogue and a nice holiday vibe. Grade: C+ (would have been a B if there had been a little more at the beginning to explain some things)

I enjoyed this anthology. It was cute, not great, but enjoyable. If you’re a fan of one of these authors, you’ll like it.

Overall Grade: C+

Here’s what’s next for a couple of these authors – authors not listed don’t have new releases coming up…

Lori Foster:
writing as L.L. Foster, out 2 Oct 07 from Berkley

Karen Kelley:
no release date, yummy cover – love the bedroom eyes