 "####PUTNEY SAVED THE BOOK####" | 2009-01-12 |
| - Reviewed By snowkrystle from WI, USA |
OH>>OH>>>Unlike up above, you gave Mary Balogh credit for Mary Jo Putney's story, and it seems the consensus is that hers was the best in the book. I have read every single book she ever wrote & would tell anyone that her books never fail to please.
Susan King's "Snow Rose" was my next favorite as I love all things Scottish. It was kind of a new twist with the snow rose gem that she had received as an infant.
Justine Dare's "A Light in the Window" was different from other light in the window stories that I have read because of the interesting story with the heroine caring for her sister's son. I feel that saved it from being the routine light in the window story.
Jill Barnett's "Boxing Day" was right up there with Snow Rose. Jill Barnett never fails to please with her stories either. It was very nice because it made the heroine to be an independent woman which was quite rare back in those days.
All in all, a Christmas book WORTH READING for anyone who likes anthologies. I personally love reading Christmas anthologies at Christmas as you can read a story and not be locked into a long book at that busy time of year. |
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 "read it for Putney's story" | 2008-12-10 |
| - Reviewed By D. K. Stokes |
** "The Snow Rose" by Susan King.
Bad, bad, bad. A paint-by-numbers historical romance.
The writing itself didn't stink, which is why it got an extra star. But mix the 3 most cliched plots in historical romances--a heroine who's being forced to marry against her will, feuding clans, and being snowbound. Throw in a "quirk"--a cat named "dog." Make sure the heroine's a saint: add a houseful of orphans that the heroine takes care of. And then kind of throw it all in a book without trying to actually make any of it, you know, make sense.
For example, the heroine has no qualms about asking the hero's family to attack the castle to take it away from her evil uncle, BUT she won't marry the hero because there's a 50/50 chance her uncle will renew the feud because of it.
And she can't stay with the orphans because her little cottage isn't big enough, so she worries about them constantly--but it never occurs to her to move into their large house. And.... ARGH.
This story feels like it was written by a committee of about a dozen people who weren't talking to each other.
***** "The Best Husband Money Can Buy" by Mary Jo Putney.
There's a reason why MJP is famous. She knows what she's doing.
The heroine unexpectedly comes into a huge inheritance and decides that what she wants most to do with it is to have a home and family of her own. And luckily enough, the man she's had a crush on since childhood is single and in need of funds.
She's smart, and there were so many times in this book where the cliches could have taken over, but didn't. In fact, in response to a secondary plot about a troubled marriage, the heroine asks "don't they ever talk to each other?" I laughed aloud.
Excellent example of a story that fits the novella length--it didn't feel incomplete at all.
*** "A Light in the Window" by Justine Dare.
Pretty standard Christmas novella, with a trio of orphans (the hero, heroine, and her young nephew), and a *maybe* Christmas angel. Magic of the Christmas season healing wounded hearts & all that.
Not horrible; not great either.
*** "Boxing Day" by Jill Barnett.
This might have been a pretty good story, of a 40-year-old spinster in 1893 NYC and a 32-year-old boxer, but the story kept getting interrupted by laundry lists of "this is how things were in 1893 NYC." It's like the author did a bunch of research, and damn it, it was hard work, so she was going to cram all of it in whether it fit the story or not. |
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| "Great Christmas Romance Anthology" | 2007-12-31 |
| - Reviewed By birdwoman from Bryn Mawr, PA USA |
This book was a joy to read from start to finish.
The stories span the ages - both of time and of hero/heroine combinations.
I won't go into the details of each story, as that is done in other reviews. But Ms. Barnett's story of the boxer and his landlord was fun; Ms. Dare's story of the cowboy and shattered family is so very touching; Ms. Putney's story of luck and love is fun and heartwarming, and Ms. King's story from the highlands is clever and romantic.
They are such a good combination - each story strong in its own way, but different than the others. I Highly recommend this to romance readers for a good Christmas tale.
(*)> |
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| "Not a bad anthology" | 2007-12-14 |
| - Reviewed By Jean from Huntersville, NC United States |
I love holiday anthologies, and was excited to get this book after seeing how readers rated it. Unfortunately, I couldn't be as enthused as the other raters.
Two stories, The Snow Rose and A Light in the Window (Susan King & Justine Dare respectively) contained the same major plotline: a man and woman stuck together due to bad weather. Of the two, I thought Justine Dare's story was better, altho her stoic, monosyllabic, terse hero rather grated on my nerves. (Plus, about 8 pages from the end, the author throws in a facet of the hero's backstory which was totally unnecessary.) However, the presence of the heroine's orphaned nephew kept the story from becoming too run-of-the-mill and formulaic. Susan King's Scottish Highland story was a bit less believable and not quite as interesting.
My favorite story was Mary Jo Putney's The Best Husband Money Can Buy. The characters were interesting, and altho the story seemed to hit the ground running, I liked how the conflict unfolded and resolved.
On the contrary, I'm a bit surprised at how many readers seemed to like Jill Barnett's Boxing Day. When we first meet the hero, he's obnoxious and rude, and when we meet the heroine she's a stiff, grim stick-in-the-mud. Once the two start spending time together, he apparently abandons his business. Plus, when we first meet Eleanor, we're told she's Conn's landlady. And, we're told she's "desperate" to find a job. I can't figure out why, since she has a place to live, and a steady income via the rent. That was never explained. Additionally, Conn smirks to himself that Eleanor will be sleeping on the top floor of the building, and he knows that the roof leaks in the building. Yet just a few days earlier he had been arguing that he kept his equipment up on that floor-- would he really keep equipment in a room that leaks? I doubt it. It's just poor storytelling. Also, there seemed to be a real lack of conflict in the romance; pretty quickly they started spending time together & enjoying each other. the only 'conflict' was that Eleanor thought she was too old for him. Oh, please! It's not like she was 50 and he was 20; the age difference was in single digits, and the older we are, the less that kind of difference means. I thought this, too, was weak. |
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| "All around great little stories to curl up with." | 2006-01-23 |
| - Reviewed By April Kempler from Reno, NV USA |
| I am not an anthology fan but I love Mary Jo Putney and Jill Barnett.I hadn't read anything by Susan King yet (although I have a few of her backlist, I'm a paperback junkie and collect and collect until I can't remember what I have!)Justine Dare was new to me. These were sweet and romantic stories, you won't be disappointed with any of them. I personally thought A Light in the Window was second best after Susan King's The Snow Rose. I just love Scottish Highland tales. The other reviewer's pretty much hit the nail on the head with the descriptions. This little book of anthologies doesn't disappoint but rather makes you want to go out and find every book these fantastic authors have ever written! See what I mean? I'm addicted! You will be too with these engaging stories of love and triumph! |
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 "Putney and Barnett save the day" | 2005-11-16 |
| - Reviewed By Susan Smith from A small rural village in the English Midlands |
Although it was a good enough read, there was nothing outstanding in this Signet Christmas anthology to compare it to some of their anthologies of the 1990s.
I have never come across Susan King before. Although the bio-blurb indicates she has academic credentials in history, she needs to pull up her socks in terms of her story telling. I gather her story is a little filler in a series of books: constant references to this appear and I found it annoying. Her portrayal of life in early 17th century Scotland was too twee for me. And, by setting most of the story in an unheated, uninsulated, isolated bothey (shepherd's hut) she stretched credibility. Highland winters are cruel. No one in their right mind would set out to live alone like that in the winter! Also, I was so diverted by imagining the stench of horse and cow "droppings" in the little hut that any romantic feel to the story evaporated. Overall, this one was a dud.
Jill Barnett's story was unusual for me. Set at the end of the 19th century in the less than nice side of New York, it gave us some very different characters and a storyline that was quite unique. The story of a feisty, direct but oh-so-vulnerable 40 year old woman who is harbouring a passion for a beefy but gentle (and younger) boxer was well done. I liked the peripheral neighbourhood characters - immigrants and artisans who enhanced the narrative.
Justine Dare's story has been done a thousand times - the light in the window being a metaphor for coming home for Christmas. The hero is akin to a Clint Eastwood nameless drifter who only needs the love of a good woman to settle down and become an instant family man. A little too melodramatic for me.
Putney's offering was the best of the bunch. Although I thought the story line was a little tired, Putney's crisp, sharp style made it an engaging read. Perhaps because she seems to have been allocated more space, her story was better presented with characters that at least had a chance of developing. I think stories of fortune-hunting men are hard to pull off but she did it here with great skill. The happy conclusion was credible and rewarding.
Overall, Putney and Barnett saved the day and that's why I'm giving this one four instead of three stars.
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