Letters of Opinion/ Recommended Reads
Anthology, Christmas Stories, Hanukkah, m/m romance, Regency Romance
I’m not a huge fan of a lot of aspects of the Halloween-to-New-Year’s marketing and consumption extravaganza. I think Halloween costumes should be left to the under-12 crowd, I prefer to leave the country for Thanksgiving, I haven’t put up… more
B Reviews
Anthology, Christmas Stories, Regency
Dear Ms. Metzger, When I was scanning my memory for good Christmas stories to recommend here, I remembered reading two of your other holiday theme books but this one didn’t ring bells for me. Turns out that’s because though I… more
C Reviews
Christmas Stories, friends-to-lovers, Interracial, multicultural, novella
Dear Ms. DeWinters, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to get based on the blurb and excerpt. It sounded like there’s some dark past event that heroine Naomi is trying to face down but you kept it hidden… more
B Reviews/ C+ Reviews
Christmas Stories, class-difference, country house party, holiday setting, London, Regency England
Janine: We’ve all read Christmas stories which feature cynics whose hardened hearts soften during the holiday season. From Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the Grinch in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, such figures are not… more
B Reviews
Christmas Stories, Contemporary, road-romance, second chances
Dear Ms. Matlock, One of the first books I read when I was getting back into romance was one of yours: “If Wishes Were Horses” which I think helped cement my interest in more working class/down to earth characters. This… more
Film Reviews
Christmas Stories, Fantasy, Friday Film Review
Bernard and the Genie (1991 BBC TV) Genre: Holiday Grade: Very cute While trying to decide on the next movie of this holiday season, I realized we were getting a bit top heavy with animation films. So a few are… more
Film Reviews
animation, Christmas Stories, Friday Film Review, holiday setting
Ziggy’s Gift (1982) Genre: Holiday Animation Grade: B “Love is the answer.” Ziggy’s Gift is a 1982 TV special about Tom Wilson’s cartoon character Ziggy and his dog Fuzz trying to do the right thing. Ziggy wakes up one morning… more
Recommended Reads
Christmas Stories, holiday setting
Given that this is the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to gather a list of holiday recommended reads. Unfortunately the list is largely Christmas oriented, in part because there are so few non Christmas holiday stories out… more
B Reviews/ B- Reviews/ C Reviews
Anthology, Christmas Stories, Contemporary romance, Kimani, lawyer / law related, reunited-lovers, sports romance
Dear Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Perrin, and Ms. Smith: I’m a sucker for Christmas stories, and anthologies are a great way to try out new authors, so a Christmas anthology can be a double winner for me. While I’ve read one… more
Film Reviews
Christmas Stories, Friday Film Review, Japan
Tokyo Godfathers (2003) Genre: Anime Dramedy Grade: B+ Looking for a Christmas themed movie that’s not gushy or overly sentimental? Or do you like anime? Then check this one out. Three homeless people, an abandoned baby and it’s Christmas in… more
A Reviews/ B Reviews/ C Reviews/ Recommended Reads/ Top Ten Lists
Anthology, Carina Press, Christmas Stories
I came to this holiday anthology in a non-traditional, non-festive way. During a Twitter conversation with another reviewer, I mentioned ménage scenes rarely raise my pulse. She suggested I read Anne Calhoun, an author I’d never heard of. I searched on… more
A- Reviews/ B Reviews Category/ C- Reviews/ Recommended Reads
Carina Press, Christmas Stories, enemies to lovers, fish-out-of-water, novellas, police, SF
When looking around at the holiday offerings this year, I saw this anthology from Carina Press. It was a complete stab in the dark for me as I knew nothing about any of the authors and SF/futuristic usually isn’t my… more
B- Reviews
19th century, Christmas Stories, Harlequin MIRA, Lady Julia Grey mystery, novella
Dear Ms. Raybourn: While waiting for the next “Lady Julia” mystery novel, I noticed that this little novella is on offer for the Christmas season. It’s not long, it’s not complicated and it’s not that different from any other Lady… more
Film Reviews
Action/Adventure, Christmas Stories, Friday Film Review
Die Hard (1988) Genre: Action Adventure Grade: B+ Three years ago I did a group review of some of my favorite Christmas movies. A number of you listed your own holiday standbys and for many of you “Die Hard” seems… more
Film Reviews
Christmas Stories, Friday Film Review, Thanksgiving
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Genre: Holiday/Comedy/Romance Grade: B+ “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” I had resisted watching this movie until now due to what I feared would be a schmaltz fest of… more