Upon a Midnight Clear: A Delightful Collection of Heartwarming Holiday Stories Book

The Teacher - Jude Deveraux - 3 /5 - Kathryn is running from her son’s father, a wealthy Irishman, so she accepts a job in Legend, Colorado - a backwater mining town run by Cole Jordan, the man who hired her to teach his son. But when she arrives, Cole mistakes her for a woman of ill repute and a conniving actress looking to gain access to his money, so he refuses her the job. But Kathryn has a contract and desperately needs the job so she sues him for money so she can leave. Kathryn wins the case, but the stipulations mean she has to stay and teach Cole’s son. So she stays but does her best to avoid the man who humiliated her, even as he becomes frustrated that he’s falling in love with a woman who hates him. Kathryn is also falling in love, despite her efforts, but she knows they cannot have a future because her son’s father is still tracking her down and she is a wanted woman.

This reminds me of so many 90’s historical romances where the hero is actually a decent guy underneath it all, but basically acts like an ass in the beginning, and the heroine falls in love with him as he’s revealed to be good. I do wish however that there had been some more positive interactions between them to help me believe that they could have fallen in love with each other. It was more like a “falling in love from afar” thing. I loved that the heroine held her grudge through most of the story after the way the hero had treated her and that he actually suffered because of it. And then there’s the separation part, with a realistic anger from the hero that she was pregnant and hadn’t told him, but followed up by a loss of that anger and a gratitude that he’d found her. This also felt realistic because he didn’t seem all that moved by the pregnancy anyway…which is probably about right for 90’s historical heroes.

Christmas Magic - Margaret Allison - 3 /5 - Kim Risson hasn’t spoken to her father in 15 years, but when she gets the call that he’s had a heart attack she rushes to his bedside. Growing up he hadn’t been much a part of her life because he was so busy being a top-notch surgeon. Kim wants to re-establish that relationship. She meets her father’s surgeon, Tony, and the sparks fly. But she’s wary of a relationship with him - after all, her father doesn’t like him and she’d be setting herself up for the same pain her mother experienced being married to her father. But Tony is determined to win Kim’s heart and to prove that life with him would be different.

This was good. The relationship between Kim and Tony felt real and natural - nothing too fast or too insta-lusty, but a nice semi-slow burn relationship. Can’t be too slow burn, since this is a novella. And then Kim’s relationship was her father was also very interesting and quite heart-breaking considering. I think I wanted a bit more chemistry between Kim and Tony and a bit more emotional punch there at the end when they have their reunion. But this was a good, solid story.

Jolly Holly - Stef Ann Holm - 3.5 /5 - Set in California somewhere around 1900 or so, John Wolcott things Isabel Barache is an absolute loon with all the jobs she’s had and her determination to grow lemons in a property full or rocks. Isabel thinks John is an absolute slouch and a good for nothing alcoholic to boot. Then, Bellamy Nicklaus, local rich guy, holds a contest for who can bring in the most holly berries. Isabel and John end up teaming up in a pretty stiff competition and learn a lot about each other, even fall in love. But can they stay together if they don’t win the competition?

Cute story. I liked the characters and how Isabel was a self-sufficient, modern woman in older times and still struggled with the way people perceived her in light of that. Likewise, I liked that John was seriously flawed and grew through the story to realize that he needed to improve himself. I really liked how they fell in love gradually and nothing felt to instant or too fast for me. This didn’t really have a lot of romantic tension or angst - it was more about the characters themselves, their budding relationship and their personal growth. I think I also would have liked to see a bit more chemistry between the characters.

If Only In My Dreams - 2.5 / 5 - Quinn is back in town to spend Christmas with her family, but she doesn’t expect to run into her high school heartbreak and former professional baseball player, Cale and his twin four-year-old sons. Apparently 12 years earlier, Cale and Quinn were supposed to meet up and elope, but they each went to the wrong location and both left heartbroken at the loss of their love and moved on with their lives, never talking since. Now, thanks to a snow storm, Quinn is stuck in close quarters with Cale and his sons and she soon learns that neither of them ever stopped loving the other and maybe they can build a future together.

It’s not so much that this wasn’t well written or even an enjoyable story, but I honestly dislike second chance romance in novella form. And this one was no exception. Because of the length, once Cale and Quinn realize what had happened so many years ago and that no one really intentionally broke anybody’s heart, they just let it all go and enjoy their madly in love state. But although they’re satisfied with that, I’m not. I want them to deal with the fact that they lost 12 years together because neither of them had any faith in the other. I wanted them to hash out the fact that those boys could have been Quinn’s if maybe one of them had called the other to ask about why they weren’t there or even sent a letter. Why was that? Except for one wry comment about how they’d gotten together 12 years too late, not one of them seemed to have any regrets about this supposed heartbreak. That felt really unrealistic...or just overly optimistic to set all that by the wayside and just focus on how they get their second chance instead. Meh. Not my cup of tea.

White Out - Linda Howard - 3 /5 - Hope, a lonely widow, is riding out a blizzard in the hotel/lodge she owns, when a nearly frozen sheriff's deputy, Price Tanner, shows up at her door. She does what she can to prevent hypothermia and finds herself having sex with him, finally getting the sexual encounter she’s been longing for...and possibly the baby her biological clock has been ticking away for. She and Price engage in quite the affair before Hope hears on the radio about a prison bus break down and the prisoners that escaped. Suddenly, she realizes she has no idea who Price Tanner actually is and whether or not she can really trust him.

As a suspense story, pretty good because I definitely had my doubts about Price. The evidence mounts against him and I was pretty sure that he was definitely a villain. As for the romance, things happen fast, and I know that’s pretty much the point, since Hope has to realize that she doesn’t know Price at all, but while it worked for the suspense, it didn’t really work for the romance. I especially didn’t care much for the whole baby angle...but that’s kinda just personal tastes. I don’t love it when heroine’s realize they’ve had unprotected sex and start jonesing because they now might have a baby. Yeah, you also might now have an STD. And the whole initial sex scene...abrupt, startling and surprisingly sexy. I wasn’t quite sure if someone hadn’t just been raped, since neither of them was quite with it.