Underneath My Christmas Tree (Love in a ...

Underneath My Christmas Tree by Tawdra Kandle is a fairly short holiday read, perfect for those with limited time for reading.  Ms Kandle has delivered a well-written book.  The characters are sweet and lovable.  Elizabeth is a lawyer and not a fan of Christmas.  Trent is selling Christmas trees from the parking lot of her law office to help his uncle. Their story is a holiday romance with bits of drama, humor and sizzle.  I enjoyed this story but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't written in first person.  This is a complete story, not a cliff-hanger.

 

I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this clean romance. This is also book 11 of Christmas on Main Street Set. The heroine of the story had a hard time deciding what to do to help save the Inn, it works out in the end. It's set in a small town struggling to stay active and viable. I'll be reading more of this author's work. I've given it a 5*

Kissing Santa Claus -- Jill Shalvis

Short story -- Lucky Harbor #2.5

Part of the Small Town Christmas anthology

 

**I only read Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis. So the review and rating are for that short story alone and not the entire anthology as a whole.

 

**This short story (according to the text) takes place approximately 5 months after Lucky Harbor book #2, The Sweetest Thing.

To be totally honest, I had wondered how a short story for Logan Perrish, Tara's ex-husband, would manage so soon after their divorce and the end of his battle to reclaim Tara's heart. And honestly, had Logan been a different man rather than the man he had given me the impression he was from The Sweetest Thing, and maybe if I'd read this short story five months after I finished reading The Sweetest Thing, and maybe if Sandy and Logan had had more of a back story than they actually did... I might have been a little more inclined to enjoy it as a short and sweet little romance all on its own for Christmas and holiday's sake.

But really, it was a pointless, PWP (plot-what-plot) short story that doesn't sit well with me because I can't fathom how easily Logan falls in love with a woman he only spent a short time with after he'd spent the entire summer chasing after Tara. And to make matters a little more hard to take, I believe Logan and Sandy started off their little fling during THAT same summer he'd spent trying to win Tara back. The two of them were together for a week, then spent the next five months ignoring each other for REASONS, and now they want forever with each other.

Maybe if Logan and Sandy were merely starting a tentative, yet exclusive, steady relationship due to chemistry and maybe a bold need to make a change in each other's lives... But the forever "You're it for me and the rest of my life" type of love is a little too difficult to actually believe in and probably easy to brush off if this weren't a short Christmas fic.

And that's a lot of "maybes" and "probablys" to work with for such a deep romantic insight, packed into a 30 page short story.

Nonetheless, this was a cute little love story. And the guest appearance of Tara for a short scene was delightful enough. But the so-called romantic gestures on Logan's part were kind of tacky and might have been a bit condescending and cliched.

Not the best short story in the world.

 

***

 

Other stories in Small Town Christmas include:

• I'll Be Home For Christmas (Deep in the Heart of Texas #2.5) by Hope Ramsey
• O' Little Town of Bramble (Last Chance #2.5) by Katie Lane

 

 

Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis' story 5*I'll Be Home for Christmas by Hope Ramsay 4*O Little Town of Bramble by Katie Lane 3.5*

Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis - 4 Stars

I absolutely love Jill Shalvis's Lucky Harbor series so it's no surprise that this story was my main reason for wanting to read the Small Town Christmas anthology. We first met Logan in the second book in the series, The Sweetest Thing. He is Tara's ex-husband and came to Lucky Harbor hoping to win her back but was facing fierce competition from her first love Ford. Now I have to admit that while I was routing for Ford to win Tara's affections I did develop a little bit of a crush on Logan so it was nice to be able to see him get his own happy ending. My only disappointment with this story is that I wanted more and I'd have loved for it to be a full length novel!

Logan met Sandy five months ago and they ended up having a rather steamy affair but Logan broke her heart when he left her to return to his job as a NASCAR driver. His time away has made him realise how much she means to him but now that he is back and hoping for a second chance Sandy isn't quite so keen to let him back into her life. It's going to take all of Logan's sweet talking skills to earn him a place in Sandy's life. This was such a fun story and made a perfect Christmas read, anyone who is a fan of Jill Shalvis is sure to love this addition to the Lucky Harbor series.

I'll be Home for Christmas by Hope Ramsay - 3 Stars

After the death of her mother Annie is expecting to spend the holidays alone but when soldier Matt turns up on her doorstep with a stray cat it looks like things are about to change. Matt has come to Last Chance to make good on his promise to deliver his friend Nick's last Christmas present to his grandmother. Matt is also hoping that he might get to experience his first ever proper Christmas but he actually finds a whole lot more.

This is the first time I've read anything by Hope Ramsay but I'll be Home for Christmas has definitely made me interested in checking out more of the Last Chance series, I enjoyed meeting some of the quirky side characters like the town matchmaker and would like to get to know them better. I did find the romance between Annie and Matt developed a little too quickly for my taste but it is very hard to write a believable romance between two characters who have never met before in a short novella so I can forgive that. Overall I found it a sweet story and I liked the underlying message about what is really important in life.

O Little Town of Bramble by Katie Lane - 4 Stars

Sam has been away from her home town Bramble for years while she completed her studies to become a vet. Now she is taking time out to visit her family for the holidays before she finds a place to set up her own practise. She always had a crush on her neighbour Ethan but he always treated her more as a younger sister than a potential girlfriend. Ethan has missed his best friend while she has been away but now Sam is back and he realises that she's all woman! Can he get past his shyness and convince her to stay in Bramble and make a life with him?

Katie Lane was another new to me author but I enjoyed O Little Town of Bramble so much that I've already ordered the first three books in the series. I loved the humour in this story and just know that I've found myself another favourite series. The romance between Ethan and Sam is perfectly paced, they have been friends forever but now that they have developed deeper feelings they are so tongue tied around each other that it was hilarious to watch. They make a great couple though and I just hope we get to see more of them as the series continues. I have to mention how amusing the live nativity was and it really did put me in the mood for the Christmas holidays! I can't wait to go back and read the rest of this series.