What Happens Under the Mistletoe

August 31, 2015
Kisses under the mistletoe are the theme of four novellas taking place between 1807 and 1885. Camp (Pleasured) delivers the standout story, “By Any Other Name,” a cross-dressing romp about a girl seeking her lost brother in the gaming hells of Edinburgh. Duran (Luck Be a Lady) goes the gently pleasant route with “Sweet Ruin,” about lovers kept apart by a scheming father. Unfortunately, Hawkins (The Prince and I) burdens “Twelve Kisses” with an unconvincing prince, hampering the story further with the hero’s extremely thick Scots dialect. Jeffries (A Hellion in Her Bed) never manages to give the impression that the lovers of “The Heiress and the Hothead” will successfully wrangle a marriage that requires one of them to move to the other’s continent. These stories provide a reasonable helping of holiday-season cheer.

October 15, 2015

Linked by the winter holidays and an abundance of greenery, these novellas by four best-selling historical authors bring Christmastime in 19th-century England to shimmering life and are perfect treats for the holiday rush. An accidental kiss under the mistletoe binds a strong-minded, unlikely pair in Jeffries's spirited romp "The Heiress and the Hothead"; a mistletoe kiss at a masquerade ball and a snowstorm reunite a pair of former sweethearts in Karen Hawkins's "Twelve Kisses to Midnight"; a young lady on a clandestine mission struggles to keep her identity secret from a persistent, attractive gentleman in Candace Camp's clever "By Any Other Name"; and a house party and search for a mysterious letter link a young woman with the man who unwittingly ruined her reputation in Meredith Duran's engaging "Sweetest Regret." VERDICT This diverse assortment of seasonal tales is just the thing for busy fans who want their historicals short, sweet, and laced with Christmas cheer.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.