Sandy M’s review of Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift (Highland Pleasures, Book 4.5) by Jennifer Ashley
Historical Romance novella ebook published by CreateSpace 20 Dec 12

It’s so nice to see the huge, happy family these Mackenzies have become. Especially when you remember back through the series and all these men and their heroines have gone through to find such happiness. And what better way to showcase all that than at Christmastime.

The Mackenzie women are in full swing with preparations for the upcoming holiday, except for Eleanor, who is abed with her and Hart’s first child. The household is in a frenzy when Ian receives a package, one he’s talked about for some time now -a new Ming bowl to add to his collection. This one is very special, the blue adorning it is the very color of Beth’s eyes, something Ian just loves about his wife. While admiring the bowl, it slips through Beth’s hands to smash into pieces on the floor. Heartbroken, she vows to find another for Ian before Christmas arrives. Ian, though, has moved on to other things, the bowl now out of mind, not realizing that Beth is more upset about the situation than he knows.

While Beth enlists Hart’s and Eleanor’s help to procure another bowl for Ian, no matter how, the house is full of frenetic energy, and though there’s plenty of love play throughout, things happen to spear fear through everyone. Little Gavina, Cameron and Ainsley’s little girl, is missing. It’s a tense search through the house and outlying areas, and you see a very scared Cameron and Ainsley, both blaming themselves – they should have kept better watch on their daughter. Then everyone thinks Ian has gone into one of his muddles when he barricades himself behind locked doors. Even Hart threatening to break the door in doesn’t deter Ian, though Daniel volunteers to help out when he sees what his uncle has been up to.

And what fun that ends up being for the adults as well as the children. Ian and his mathematical and precise mind gives everyone the perfect Christmas surprise. After the parties are over and the guests have left, after the intensity of El finally giving birth, when Hart paces the floor, full of fear that he’ll lose his wife and child just as happened the first time, and he can’t control the situation any more this time than he could before, and after all the heartfelt searching by these characters leading up to this one special night, we get to share in the intimate moments when each couple exchanges that perfect gift to the other.

I have such fun with this family. It’s as though I’m sitting at the dinner table with them, dancing the waltz in the ballroom, and experiencing the laughter, the sadness, the fear, the joy, and the contentment of a wonderful life during the holiday season. Though the next book is about one of the Elliott brothers – which I know will be just as terrific as all previous in the series – I’m anxiously awaiting Daniel’s story. That young man steals hearts without even trying! He’s going to definitely be worth the wait.

Grade: A

Summary:

The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration–the first of Hart and Eleanor’s married life–one of Ian’s Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor’s baby will arrive, to whether Mac’s former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match, to who will be the first of the many guests to be caught under the mistletoe. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

The Seduction of Elliot McBride – January 2013
The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie (tentative title) – October 2013