Merry Christmas, Baby by Various Authors

Who will you find under your Christmas tree?
A cowboy?
Ranch hand Tucker Rankin isn't crazy about the holidays...until a wintry night before Christmas, when Lacey Evans shows him how much fun it is to be nestled all snug in her bed....

A wealthy New Yorker?
Stockbroker Jared Martin needs to get away, and Alaska's the perfect place to unwind. Especially once actress Theodora "Teddy" Monroe gets him to loosen his tie--and take it all off!

Or maybe even a man in uniform?
Soldier Silas Davenport is on Christmas leave. But when he arrives at his parents' home, no one is there...except for the irresistible Delphie Moreau. And she's one gift he won't be exchanging!

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Harlequin Blaze always bring out an anthology near to Christmas and this year's offering has stories from Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jennifer LaBrecque and Rhonda Nelson.


It's Christmas, Cowboy! by Vicki Lewis Thompson
This was a nice tale that definitely felt the most festive of the three stories. Having said that, Lacey seemed slightly fickle in her affections and Tucker wasn't exactly the ambitious or hard-working type that I would prefer to swoon over. Still a sweet enough tale.

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Northern Fantasy by Jennifer LaBrecque
This story forms part of LaBrecque's Alaskan Heat series and while other characters appear it does stand alone just fine. I didn't really get why you would write a series about a small town when all the characters hate it and want to leave. Couple that with the fact that neither Jared nor Teddy were particularly interesting and I didn't much care for this story. The fact that all the heroines in these stories also appear to have unusual names that shorten into men's names was the final irritation for me.

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He'll Be Home For Christmas by Rhonda Nelson
This was a pleasant enough story even if it was fairly forgettable. I liked Delphie and could empathise with her and Silas was likeable too. It was realistic which is fine but in a Christmas anthology I was looking for something a little more `happily ever after' or even a little cheesy.



All in all this was an average anthology that didn't really delight and just didn't feel festive enough or put me in the Christmas mood. Not bad but really not great. 3 stars.

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219 pages