MISTLETOE MAGIC: A Christmas Anthology

Author: Phyllis Campbell, Liz Hunter, and Rebecca Goings ISBN: 1897261012 12/2005 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: CHAMPAGNE BOOKS

When life gets too complicated, you can always count on the enchantment of Christmas to lighten the heavy burden. MISTLETOE MAGIC is three incredible stories of lost faith, snowy mountains and the quiet magic of the Christmas season. In "Underneath The Mistletoe" by Rebecca Goings, Can Jeremy teach Faith about the magic of Christmas and get her to open her heart -- to him? After burying herself in work to avoid the pain of loss, is Betsy heading for another Christmas filled with broken hearts? Find out in "Blame It On The Mistletoe" by Liz Hunter. In the midst of a snowstorm, mistletoe is the magic needed to mend two broken hearts. See how in "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe" by Phyllis Campbell.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Just in time for Christmas, MISTLETOE MAGIC. If you don't have much time between the shopping and the baking, here's three short stories to get you in the mood. In the mood for what, you ask? Christmas, girls, Christmas. Get your mind off the gingerbread man! Here's the breakdown: Underneath the Mistletoe by Rebecca Goings is hilarious and has some intriguing situations beneath mistletoe. I really enjoyed the book (but am confused -- Is Rebecca an inspirational writer or a secular writer? Hmm). Jeremy Kitteridge is a determined man and I'd give in much faster than the heroine, Faith. But Faith has trust issues, which Jeremy cleverly works around.

And, of course, Phyllis Campbell is one of my favorite e-book authors and she does a great job with It Must Have Been the Mistletoe. It's another fun story about a fellow named Justin running away from his wedding only to find a lovely lady asleep in the back of his jeep. Of course, he doesn't discover her until he's way up into the mountains and the couple must spend enough time together to fall in love. It's a fun story and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Now, the third story I didn't care for so much. The author put it together well, she's a good writer, and all that, but I just couldn't warm up to the heroine, Betsy, in Blame it on the Mistletoe. Despite the fact that Ms. Hunter gave reasons for the heroine to act the way she did, the first scene totally turned me off the character. She could've acted like an angel through the rest of the book and I wouldn't like her. But, the rest of the cast is very nice. The hero is gallant and gracious. And, the story wraps up nicely.

So, there you have it. A reason to read through the holidays. Hope they're happy!

Cynthia Whitten