Alicia’s review of An Enchanted Season by Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Jean Johnson
Paranormal romance anthology published 02 Oct 2007 by Berkley Trade

Melting Frosty by Maggie Shayne

This story shows what happens when opposites collide. Matthew has hated Christmas ever since his father died, while Holly has embraced the holiday season more than ever since losing her whole family just before Christmas. Can these two apparently mismatched souls ever find love together? A certain black hat seems to think so….

Holly is sweetness and light as Sybil would say. *G* Matthew is a true scrooge. Maybe I’m just sappy-happy now but this story was so sweet! I loved the happy “Magic of Christmas” feel to it.

Grade: B+

Charlotte’s Web by Erin McCarthy

This story has three sisters who have been told by family that they are witches. The heroine doesn’t want to be a witch, she just wants to be normal. Her sisters pressure her to try casting a spell to attract her secret love who is also her best friend.

The witch aspect is secondary to the romance. The characters were appealing and the story was fun. The seventeen year old sister was a bit too sexually aggressive for my taste, but that’s me.

Grade B-

Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh (excerpt)

This story is part of her Psy-Changeling series.  Tamsyn Mahaire is the Healer of the DarkRiver pack, an unusually high position for one so young. The mating bond between Tamsyn and Nate Ryder snapped into place when Tamsyn was only fifteen years old. Now, at age nineteen, Tamsyn is ready to claim Nate for her own… or lose him forever.

I read this book for this story. I actually read it before I read Mine to Possess then came back to the rest of this book. While lighter than her full-length titles, Beat of Temptation is still classic Nalini Singh. The characters were consistent and the story drew me along. Nate went too far but that was the point Tamsyn was trying to make. Not to be missed for any Psy-Changeling fan.

Grade: B+

Gifts of the Magi by Jean Johnson (excerpt)

This story concludes this anthology. Steve Bethel and his fiancé, Rachel Rutherford, are trying to make a living from the Bethel Inn. A freak blizzard has led to cancellations of all of their scheduled guests, leaving a mortgage they can’t pay to their miserly banker. However, unexpected visitors have arrived and miracles will be in store this
Christmas.

This story was the weakest in the book. It read more like women’s fiction than a romance. I got the point but it was way before the story actually ended. The love scenes were sweet, showing the couple were solid and in love (not hot) but they felt like they could have easily been left out. I would have enjoyed more it if it were about a third of the length it was.

Grade: C-

Composite grade: B-
Blurb:

It’s the time of year when dreams come true, miracles happen every day, and love is the greatest gift of all…

The holidays always seem to bring out the best in everyone, with heartfelt hugs for long-missed friends, sincere smiles in the spirit of the season, and a feeling of magic in the air.

Here, for the first time, is a collection of paranormal romances celebrating the holidays as never before. From a shape-shifting leopardess who wants a packmate to be her soulmate to a snowstorm that brings a surprise gift, these all-new tales by Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Jean Johnson will stir your spirit in all the right places.