Island magic Book

Neat Christmas-themed stories with a feel-good hum that resonated:

1. Christmas of the Red Chiefs by Linda Lael Miller was my favorite. It was also the longest. Nicely written. Set in Bent Tree Creek, California. Joe Courtland was a widowed father of two 8ish twin boys (the red chiefs). He was also the music teacher at the local high school and an active participate in an small, home-run, business that catered to singers (carolers). Sarah Jane Sullivan was the niece of the business owner (Delores) and due to circumstances beyond her control she was forced to move back to the town she went to high school in--with her unhappy 12-year old stepdaughter, Marlie, in tow.

The dynamics between Marlie, Sarah and Delores were fun to read about. The Christmas Song, "O Holy Night" is my favorite! Wonderful story and just goes to show short stories CAN be well-developed, heart-wrenching and absolutely well done. Bravo!

5 Stars (Favorites)

2. Once Upon a Christmas by Catherine Mulvaney was another excellent story featuring young love, rekindled. Hailey Miller was the high-school daughter of the widowed MacCormack's live-in housekeeper. She had a horrible crush on one of the two twin boys, Kennedy--who was an arrogant jerk--while the other twin, Thomas, loved Hailey. She thought they were good friends. Ah, the tangled webs we weave....:-)

The story takes places in Crescentville, Oregan on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere. It begins while the kids are in high-school, then jumps 10 years into the future. Nicely done. How things turned out was a bit of a surprise. Touch of mystical-theme in this one. Sad, at times.

5 Stars

3. Meltdown by Julie Leto

I couldn't get into this one. Took too long to set up. The two main characters, Simon Brennan and Isabel Ruiz, seemed okay, but the author had them in his office for too many pages. I grew tired of it and moved on to the next.

Unfinished

4. You Can Count on Me by Roxanne St. Claire (Bullet Catcher, #3)
I'm a big fan of this romantic-suspense series and finally backed up to read this third installment. It was the shortest in this anthology and featured Rachel Durant as the computer geek/bodyguard on her first assignment to watch the young daughter of Gregori Nyekovic while he was New York City on business during Christmas.

Gregorie (Gregg) was a wealthy Russian out to purchase one of the previous Czar's faberge eggs. Of course, Rachel and Gregg had been speaking on the phone when she was given the assignment. Of course, Rachel was attracted to Gregg and he had been wondering what she looked like taboot.

Nice story. Nicely done. Enjoyed the romantic-suspense plot that ran along with this Christmas-themed tale. Glad I read it! Nice romance, too.

4 1/2 Stars