I'd better finally write my review for this before it disappears into my mind forever.

This was a surprise find on my library's trade shelves, and I grabbed it because it had stories by Lynne Graham and Carole Mortimer. To my surprise, my favorite story was by Marion Lennox, who I had not read before.

The Lynne Graham story is very much in the vein of her full-length romances. The heroine who is young and bubbly, and becomes an unwitting sex toy for the hero (granted he fell in love with her, but he treated her like a sex object). He dumps her because he thinks she spills the goods on his sex life to a tabloid, and it turns out she got pregnant. Now she's working as a landscaper on the estate of a business associate and Rocco sees her and is reminded that he's not over her, despite his contempt. This story rubbed me the wrong way. I felt the heroine allowed the hero to treat her with minimal respect. She didn't stand up for herself enough and was willing to go back to him because she loved him and because he was her baby's father. I think he owed her a lot more than she was willing to accept from him. I don't like that in a relationship when the hero doesn't respect the heroine as his equal. In my mind, I don't see Rocco treating Amber as an equal. Graham is a good writer even when she's not at her best. But this one just offended my sensibilities too much. I couldn't give it more than three stars.

Carole Mortimer's story is a bit ho-hum in the sense that it's almost drama free (I admit that I am a drama hound, so I missed it). It's a decent Christmas romance, and the hero was a nice guy. He palliated my senses after the first arrogant, and in my mind, sexist hero. He was more of an everyday kind of guy (although wealthy). Cally has the wrong idea about Noel, and she comes to realize that he's actually a good guy. Cally has some issues in her past that made her reluctant to trust, but I liked how Noel earns her trust by being a straightforward decent guy and showing his love for her and her daughter. The family interactions (since Noel's family descends on them en masse) were good and what you'd want in a Christmas story. This was more of a 3.5 star read.

Lastly, Marion Lennox was a pleasant surprise. There is something very fresh about this story. I admit I was really impressed with the fact that the hero is a wedding planner. And no, he's not gay. Yay to bursting stereotypes. Guy's cold and precise and a bit snooty, but it's clear that he has a heart underneath that he buried due to tragedy in his past. The heroine was also refreshing in that she was a very down to earth girl who likes her quiet, small town life and embraces family obligations. She's a widow who has dedicated her life to taking care of her son who was burned badly in the accident that killed her hubsand and is recovering slowly from that debilitating accident. I loved her bond with her family-in-law and that she happily embraces their eccentricities. Her son made me cry, I mean big time. I can't believe how mean people are to people with disabilities and physical differences, but I could see what a good man (and a potential family man in the making) Guy was in how he interacted with Henry. I just plain liked this story, maybe because it taps into my fascination with wedding planning and my love for kooky people who don't read the book as far as being trendy and fitting in. Lennox also touches on the phenomenon of celebrity, since Guy is a celebrity wedding planner. Although this couple falls in love over a short time period, I believe in their happy ending. I have to give this four stars.

Because the first two stories weren't as satisfying, I'd have to give this one 3.5 stars.

This is basically a compilation of scriptures distributed into bite-sized readings over the 31 days of December. Some are more directly focused on the story of the Christ child, and others delve into his majesty and identity as the savior of all humanity and his fulfillment of the ancient prophecies that foretold of God's promise to reunite and redeem humanity through his Son. The scriptures featured are both Old and New Testament and show the unbreakable link between Mosaic Scriptures, and the work of the Prophets (looking forward to the awaited Messiah) and the New Testament, which focuses on the arrival of Jesus the Messiah. It worked very well as a devotional during the very busy month of December. It serves a dual purpose of reminding believers why Christmas has crucial spiritual importance and also as a reminder of our hope in Jesus. It's fairly no frills, but it serves its purpose and the scripture was food to this reader's spirit.

30 Scripture Readings for Christmas was a gem of a free read on Amazon. I could see me reading it again next year. It's great for readers who want to follow the scriptures through the Christmas story in December, but it could work any month, honestly. After all, the promised and fulfilled hope of Christmas can live everyday in our hearts.

This was such an exciting free book deal on Amazon Kindle. I am an admitted huge fan of Anna Campbell, so I ran to get it when she said it was free in her newsletter. What a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed all the stories more or less equally. One caveat, if you don't care for very short romance stories at all, give this one a miss.

The premise was quite pleasing. This collection of stories revolve around the concept of a ball held by a particular doyenne of the ton known for throwing a Christmas ball where a particular couple finds their true love match. You would think the stories would be samey with this idea. In fact, quite the contrary. Each story had a different feel. In fact, you could go down the list and suggest themes for historical romance and this short collection more or less covers the gamut.

I liked the fact that an older heroine finds a second chance at love in Shana Galen's story. The inclusion of a Scarlet Pimpernel-type hero who rescued her and her son from the bloodthirsty French revolution and the fact that that same man has been in love with her for many years made this a delightfully romantic story. I didn't think I would enjoy having a heroine with grown sons as the main character, but it didn't bother me at all. I liked it, in fact.

Anna Campbell's story was the most passionate. I am not much of a fan of forbidden lovers, but she makes the desperate, illicit passion work in this story. Plus the hero is delightfully Scottish. The heroine is of the Cinderella variety, so you have to be in the mood for a downtrodden heroine. However, the romantic in me loves how the hero makes her long-cherished wish come true at the end.

Vanessa Kelly has a nice guy hero who is sorely lacking in historical romance. Thanks to her for that. While I love bad boy, dangerous heroes, I also love sweet, kind heroes and I like the idea that the hero can be that really adorable guy that always has a kind word for a wallflower and is a really good friend. This story hit my 'aww' button.

Readers who like friends to lovers stories will enjoy Kate Noble's offering. Our hero realizes that he took his next door neighbor and boon companion for granted when he returns to find her a diamond of the first water who has no time for him, despite her tomboy past. I liked the turnabout is fair play aspect of this story. It also reminded me of movies like Sabrina, where the hero realizes that his heroine has been there waiting for him all the time when he is about to lose her.

All in all, a very enjoyable, and quick read that this reader enjoyed when she collapsed exhausted on her bed on Christmas evening. I am so grateful that this was a free Christmas present on Amazon. Thumbs up!

Another late posting review. This short story collection is great for readers who want historical western romance Christmas stories with a baby(ies) involved in the story.

Out of the three books, Cheryl St. John's story "A Baby Blue Christmas" was definitely my favorite. In this story, we actually get two babies, newborns, who are found in the stable owned by our hero, Turner. The heroine is related to their mom, but she allows Turner to assume she is their mother, so she can continue to care for them. Turner is a gruff hero who has a soft heart, especially for these two abandoned babies and their so-called mother. This story shows St. John's wonderful touch at crafting endearing 'beta' heroes that make you love them. Turner has a reason to keep at a distance from Gabrielle because of a past loss, but he really steps up and meets their needs. I admired Gabrielle for her loyalty to the mother of the babies, and especially the babies themselves. She stops at another to ensure that they get the best start in life. Although the babies are a huge part of the storyline, St. John doesn't stint on providing a heartwarming romance as well. I was very happy with this story, so I gave it 4.5 stars.

Although "A Christmas Child" wasn't a bad story, it was my least favorite. The writing didn't touch me that deeply, even though I admire Carolyn Davidson's storytelling abilities generally. On one hand, I did like Marianne a lot. She does rather remind me of Mary, Jesus' mother, which was probably intentional. The story set up kind of brings the original Nativity story to mind, but with a different twist. The hero is a pastor with a kind heart, who falls pretty hard and quickly for Marianne. However, I just didn't feel a big connection to this story in the way I did with the other two, and the small-mindedness of the town inhabitants towards Marianne was irritating to me. This one rated three stars.

"The Christmas Dove" by Victoria Bylin gives us a reunion romance between two souls who knew each other when they were young and wild, and to whom maturity brings a change of heart and a depth of character. Dylan is a great hero. He was once a callow hellraiser who realized he was wasting his life on carousing and playing around. Maddie was a spoiled rich girl who deigned to play around with him, even though he was way beneath her, and she runs off with a gambler when his flash attracts her adventuresome spirit. When his lost love, Maddie returns considerably fallen from grace as an unwed mother, he shows an incredible amount of grace to her, remembering his own past. While she hates herself for the bad decisions she makes, he supports her and builds her up with unconditional love. In return, Maddie has learned about what has true value in her life, and she has to gain the courage to reach out to a man who shows her with true love is. This story has a deeper message that speaks to me, and ties into this season very well, that no one is truly lost and beyond hope. The writing was eloquent and touching, and the characters were very well-developed despite the story's short length. This one earned four stars.

Overall, this was a successful and enjoyable short story collection to read around the Christmas holiday. Each story has an enjoyable western vibe and showcase some of the feelings and impact of the holiday. I enjoyed it, so my overall rating stands at four stars.