Very cute! A collection of novellas featuring Christmas stories. A bookseller’s niece inherits his store in Philadelphia, but her life is in a different city. As she readies the place for sale, she meets new friends, sets up charity sales, and speed dating events! This was cute and Christmasy. We also had the story of second chance romance with high school enemies (and a swoony vet and a rescue cat!) And to finish things off, business partners who become friends to lovers when they get snowed in over Christmas. This one had some really cute stories!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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Three delightful stories that were quick and easy reads with engaging characters. Fern Michaels never disappoints, and I was delighted to read another story by Kate Clayborn as well as find a new-to-me author in Tara Sheets.

While the settings are all during Christmas, this would be a lovely read at any time of year! ( )

First novella was a DNF.

Second novella was a 1.5

Did I mention I basically hate novellas? So few can execute this art form satisfactorily, particularly in romance, where you have to count on intimacy without barfing it up in word soup on the page. There's gotta be tension too, because what is the point otherwise?

So now, we have Kate Clayborn up to bat to save this trio of novellas from, well, the garbage pile.

Friends, I swooned. Like usual, Kate Clayborn makes her ordinary love stories feel intimate and extraordinary and isn't that just the best thing about her? This absolutely could be your best friends love story. Or yours. Why? How? Things like this:

“My dad’s a singer, did you know that?”
“I did.” She told me once, not long after we first met, out at a bar in Houston with Ben. He may have asked all the questions, but I remember all the answers. Mac Fraser . Classically trained at a conservatory somewhere in Ohio.

But I remember all the answers. Look at this consistency-from Ben's unguarded interest in people to Jasper still using that information for his ambition.

Her use of kissing/missing, friendship, and here, Jasper clearly established as a trouble maker but follows all the rules for Kristen.

Kristen is a lovely character, and this is a strong novella. I wish I knew her better. Whether Jasper was so clear or dominant character, I'm not sure but I did feel like Kristen didn't feel as strongly (though still very strongly) characterized.

So, whew, the rare breed of fully satisfying, even swoony holiday novella? Just skip right to this one, which I give a 4.5.

(How the hell to rate the anthology itself??)