Summary (in italics) and review: (These stories were really short - 4 stories within 135 pages, so my reviews will be short because there is not a lot to tell.)

Down through the years, enchantment touches a tall gray house in Grosvenor Square. The legend of Lady Winterson’s Christmas ball promises true love and happiness to one lucky couple. Who will feel the magic this winter?

The Seduction of a Duchess by Shana Galen

1803- Rowena Harcourt, the Duchess of Valère, never forgot the handsome footman who helped her escape the French Revolution. For fourteen years, Gabriel Lamarque has loved Rowena—now at Lady Winterson’s Christmas ball, has fate finally delivered a chance to win her hand?

I liked that the two MCs were older and shared a history that included the French Revolution. It is not a strict HEA, but the ending was a definite promising HFN. This story really helped to set up Lady Winterson's annual Christmas Ball (the thread that links the stories). 3.5 stars.

One Kiss for Christmas by Vanessa Kelly

1818- Nigel Dash is London’s most reliable gentleman, a reputation he never minded until he fell in love with beautiful Amelia Easton. Unfortunately, Amelia sees Nigel as a dependable friend, not a dashing suitor. At Lady Winterson’s famous Christmas ball, Nigel vows to change Amelia’s mind—by sweeping her off her feet.

I liked this book, but it took some getting used to the female MC until the author showed us her POV, then the story really clicked for me.  3.5 stars

His Christmas Cinderella by Anna Campbell

1825- At the season’s most glittering ball, a girl who has never dared to dream of forever after discovers a Christmas miracle.

I didn't like this story at all. The female MC was very inconsistent - she was more than willingly to accept being the Lord's mistress, but when he proposed, she made him go through hoops to show/prove his love. Also, I am not a fan of Cinderella-types unless it is in a fantasy genre; in romance, the rich MC usually comes across as a savior, making the relationship seem off-balance. 0 stars.

The Last First Kiss by Kate Noble

1830- Susannah Westforth has always loved Sebastian Beckett – but he’s only ever seen her as a friend. When Sebastian takes his Grand Tour, Susannah transforms herself into a woman he’ll notice. Now Sebastian is back, just in time for Lady Winterson's Christmas ball – but the last thing he expects to see is his little Susie, all grown up...

This was an unexpected, but happily taken, surprise. I have heard interviews with Ms. Noble and really enjoyed her talking about writing (both literature and for the screen). This story was a nice ending to the anthology; I enjoyed Philbert and Lady Winterson's relationship development more than the two MCs. 3.5 stars.

You’re invited to join the whirling dance at Lady Winterson’s sparkling Christmas ball, where miracles happen and true love shines forever. How can you resist?

Overall: 3 stars. Enjoyable while reading, but nothing that stays with you after you close the book.

Summary:

When a call for paws goes out, five friends bring their collies without question to a friend’s house. They learn the collies are needed to help seven children with the grief of losing a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan. Now, with seven friends, four collie yearlings and their mother, they set out to help the children.

Not far away, a mother hopefully leads her seven puppies to safety from a man intent on selling them for illicit purposes.

By a miracle of fate, the two mother collies find each other right before the man sells the puppies.

That Christmas morning will be one the children will remember all their lives as they are united with the puppies.

Review:

This book can be considered part of the Emily Dahill CID series, but you wouldn't have to read the series to read this book.

This was like reading a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie - you know going in it is going to be sappy and overly sweet, yet you end the book with a smile on your face.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of in the beginning, both canine wise and human wise. It was a bit confusing, especially in the first three chapters; it smoothed out over time.

Solid 3 stars.

Summary (in italics) and Review:

Entangled Publishing presents... A Very Scandalous Holiday Anthology. Four very spirited vignettes of holidays past. 

Erin's Gift by Nancy Fraser:

Chicago 1920, Widower, Seth Harrison, has no intention of falling in love again but will he be able to resist the sweetness of his son's nanny, Erin O'Mara - his sister's best friend? 

Oh, jazz age - more stories should be set in this time period. I liked this story a lot...up until that last chapter when it was wrapped up too easily and in a hurry. But a raid on a speakeasy and the resulting arrest is the cute meet that makes this historian happy. 3.5 stars.

An Eternity of You by Sophia Garrett

England 1833, The Duke of Sharrington left Rebecca with more than a broken heart six years ago - he left her with a son. He's rekindled their passion with his return, but it will take a Christmas miracle to earn her heart.

There were good parts to this book - class distinction was the main obstacle and Rebecca's work as a country doctor was a nice change. However, Andrew was too perfect - he said all the right things, got mad (and then even) with the villain (vanilla villain) and did countless random acts of kindness. He felt artificial to me. Rebecca was a good character, the kids were alright. This book was aptly titled....I felt it went on a little too long for a short story. 3.5 stars.

 Letters at Christmas by Amber Lin

England, late Regency, After three years at sea, Captain Hale Prescott has the means to marry the love of his life and his best friend's sister. Sidony Harbeck, however, might never speak to him again. Despite their whispered adolescent promises, he never wrote her a single letter... at least none he ever sent. 

This was a decent, if underwhelming story that started the book. I liked the story and characters, but it was predictable. I even liked  the sex scenes in her and his respective bedchambers - they were emotional and hot, but I found the oral sex scene in the sleigh on their ride in the country a little much for a Regency romance (I could see the oral sex in the jazz age story or the WWII story, not Regency England and not in public place). 3.0 stars

Eight Tiny Flames by Crista McHugh

1944 Ardennes, WWII, Lt. Ruth Mencher has always secretly admired Capt. Joseph Klein, but it takes the lighting of a Hanukkah candle to uncover the spark of mutual attraction. Each night awakens a new facet of their relationship, but as the Battle of the Bulge begins, the approaching Nazi forces threaten to tear them apart.  

This story is why I picked up the anthology in the first book. A Hanukkah romance story - and a damn fine one at that. Freaking loved this story, and I hate 99.9% of military romances. Ruth is a kick-ass heroine and Joe is no slouch either. The secondary characters are a little under-developed, as the story is so focused on the couple in their private moments celebrating their holiday. And the sex scene was really well done. Seriously, I hope this author/publisher sells the story a part from the anthology so that everyone has the opportunity to read it. Yeah, that is my squeeing over here, don't mind me. 5 stars. 

Overall: 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4 stars).

I would recommend on the strength of jazz age and WWII stories; the Regency stories aren't bad, but they don't wow either.

Summary:

On the first day of Christmas, former wild child Dina Gregory returns home to New York on a mission: To find the father of her young son. Making him take responsibility for the child he helped create is the only thing on Dina’s wish list. Instead, she finds herself in an awkward run-in with his stuffy older brother, Ben.

Review:

For a plus size-ish female MC, this book was not really all that body positive. Dina hated how her body changed with the pregnancy (she gained weight.....like so many others) and need constant assurances from Ben that he was physically attracted to her. I say plus size-ish because she was underweight prior to the pregnancy and she is described as pretty filled out after the pregnancy. So by my reality....she is the normal size for an American woman today. This book was only 108 pages, so that is a lot of assurances in every chapter.

Another contemporary, another female MC who is childish, insecure, dumb as a box of rocks, and bratty. She named her son Dash because he looked "dashing" at birth....*eyeroll* She left her hometown after an incident with her stepsister's fiancé (she got drunk and kissed him at a party in the hopes of her sister dumping him for "cheating"). She moved to LA at the age of 32 to become a dancer in music videos....two years of partying, trying to get auditions/work as a dancer, and having wild sexy flings - she ends up pregnant by some flaky rich dude (Virgil, who is dead by the time the story starts).

Ben is a classic rich guy out to save the woman he loves...for the past five days. He has mourned his dead wife for nine years and worked to save the family company from bankruptcy (courtesy of little brother throwing cash at everything), then turned the company into a multi-billion conglomerate. He has little personality other than he is horny for Dina, always wanted to be a dad (instant fatherhood, yay!), and he works a lot. ZZZZZZZZZZZ....

I am passing on any more of this author's work.

This book has been on my TBR pile for over two years, after since I found out about it from SBTB March-madness style tournament of books (yeah, I forgot the long title of the yearly tournament Sarah runs with Jane from DA). I had very high hopes for this book. Those hopes were met and then exceeded, to the point I had a couple of tears and sniffles when I closed the book. I closed the book at 3:30 am today, having started the book last night at 11:00 pm - just couldn't put it down. **Good Book Sighs**

Summary:

In Redemption, Oklahoma, a young boy is found huddled in a Dumpster, clutching a Christmas book. Scared and refusing to speak, he captures undercover agent Kade McKendrick's guarded heart. Kade brings the child home until he can track down his family—and his story. All Kade has is a name, Davey, and the boy's trust of sweet, pretty teacher Sophie Bartholomew. With her kindness and faith, Sophie helps both the boy and the battle-scarred cop to smile again. And as they uncover the mystery of a very special child, a family is formed—just in time for Christmas.

Review:

I will admit that Sophie was a bit Mary Sue, but her one flaw/personal issue was her strained relationship with her mother. I loved Kade - best kind of take charge broody alpha without being an asshole - and I liked how well Sophie and Kade worked together to help Davey from the get go. Here is a contemporary romance where the main MCs talk to each other and work things out like adults. The townspeople, Sophie's dad, and Kade's great aunt round out the story gave life to the town.

This is a Christian romance (from the Love Inspired line) and there is a lot of faith/God/church etc stuff going on. On a scale of 1-10, this is a definite 7 or 8. The central theme was about forgiveness.

As for Davey, the eight year old boy was so sweet....but had a rough start in life. He has no other family and had been living on the streets for about a month before Kade and Sophie found him. He also had a disability that could be fixed with surgery; the money issue surrounding the surgery was solved and it was implied that in the new year Davey would get a new family (Kade and Sophie) and his surgery. I loved any scene with Davey and Kade's dog Sheba - something about kids and dogs make me happy.

Although this book is part of the Redemption River series, it was easy to read it as a stand alone. I am now looking at the other books in the series to read in 2015.

Recommend if you can handle a lot of Christian themes. Keeper shelf! 5 stars.