Member Reviews
such amazing authors and great stories. i love reading Christmas stories in July. it is so much fun and magical. i was introduced to new authors with this anthology and reconnected with favorites as well. There is something for everyone in this book.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe is a compilation of three Christmas stories by Suzanne Enoch, Amelia Grey and Anna Bennett. Overall the stories were charming and I enjoyed revisiting the McTaggart brothers and their wives and seeing what they were up to in the first story by Suzanne Enoch. The other stories were nice additions to the first and enjoyable holiday reads. These Regency virgins did get themselves into such predicaments, and seemed very willing to give it up without the bonds of marriage!
Thank you to the authors, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.
Great Scot! Is a sweet novella continuing of the Wild Wicked Highlanders series. Cousin to the MacTaggert brothers, Brennan Andrews and Jane Bansil, cousin to Amelia-Rose MacTaggert, (It’s Getting Scot in Here) find each other during the MacTaggert Christmas holiday season. Jane has become a companion and is a spinster; Brennan, a widower. Neither were looking for love, neither are as vibrant as their cousins, neither feel life has much more to offer them. Yet, both are wrong on all accounts. They find each other; they are vibrant each in their own way; they realize life is still full of surprises as they reach for the other. Beautiful love story!
Christmas as Dewberry Hollow is adorable. Isabella and Gate just connected on a level that is enduring and real. Isabella knows hurt and is wary. Gate sees a woman like no other. Gate realizes he is not the ‘heir’ to the dukedom, but it does not stop him from doing what needs to be done to help his grandfather complete his life. In the process he finds purpose and love with Isabella.
My Mistletoe Beau begins with a startling, male strip tease – a bit of a surprise for the beginning of this novella! Jack is trying to force Eva to leave his bedroom since she entered it to steal a watch. The strip tease really is delectable. As a result of their bargain, they enter into a fake engagement. Their relationship only gets better from there, yet it seems their coming together has roots in their parents. It is always a good romance when each H/h learns from the other and grows in the development of their love and relationships.
This book has three novellas that are set at Christmas time. all three are very good stories.
the first one
Great Soct by Ms Enoch is set in the MacTaggert world. It was great reading about the characters and having a Christmas match. 4 stars
Christmas at Dewberry Inn by Ms Grey was very good -- I have not read any of her other books. This one I enjoyed a lot . very cute.
Mr Mistletoe Beau by Ms Bennett was fun -- it had some of the same theme as a few of her other books but was very good
I recomend this cute Christmas book ! worth a read
This is an anthology of three books. This had three stories in it. I enjoyed it a great deal and was glad to get another story from Suzanne Enoch. I thought the stories were sweet Christmas stories.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe includes three swoon-worthy novellas from three wonderful novelists – Suzanne Enoch, Amelia Grey, and Anna Bennet. All three stories are set during the holiday season and are filled with charm, wit, and lovely romances.
In Great Scot! by Suzanne Enoch, thirty-three-year-old Jane always feels like a third wheel and hasn’t quite found her place in the world. Taken in by the MacTaggerts, Jane meets their cousin Brennan and realizes that it might not be too late for love. Jane is a quiet introvert who prefers reading to socializing, and Brennan opens her eyes to the possibility of a future that doesn’t include spinsterhood. Brennan mourns the loss of his wife, but Jane makes him see that he could have a future with her. Jane and Brennan have a wonderful romance, and I like that they understood each other so well.
Since the novella is set in the Wild Wicked Highlanders series, the story includes many of the MacTaggert favorites, and I loved seeing how their stories continued. The beautiful backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, as well as the holiday spirit, contribute to the romantic tone of the story.
Amelia Grey’s Christmas at Dewberry Hollow begins as Isabelle, the daughter of an inn owner, accidentally shoots and wounds one of the Duke of Notsgrave’s guards. When she meets Gates, the Duke’s grandson, he is nothing like she imagined. As the couple tries to find an old tree engravement marked by the Duke years ago, their feelings for each other intensify.
I enjoyed the romance between Isabelle and Gates. They have instant attraction for each other, but Isabell fights her feelings. She loves her life and her home, and she works harder than most. She is very self-sufficient and independent, and she is very willing to speak her mind. I think that’s what draws Gates to her. He is so smitten with her from the start, but can he prove that they are meant to be together?
My Mistletoe Beau by Anna Bennett is a wonderful enemies-to-lovers romance that starts with an attempted robbery and ends, like the other stories, with a HEA. When Eva breaks into Jack’s home intent on stealing a watch that her father lost in a gamble, she never expected to be caught. Jack is intrigued by Eva and, instead of punishing her, convinces her to pretend they are engaged. This will ease some of the pressures on Jack, and in exchange, Jack will give Eva the watch.
Eva and Jack have amazing chemistry, and I really enjoyed their love story. Their banter is funny, smart, and filled with sexual tension, and it’s so obvious they have feelings for each other. The characters are dynamically developed, and I loved the secondary characters, especially Jack’s grandmother.
This is a wonderful trilogy of novellas that I think will appeal to readers who like historical romances with great characters and a ton of holiday spirit. Thanks so much to the authors, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Great Scot!-Poor thing is so shy. Have a little fun!
Is he a widower?
It would be so awkward to design a mansion for your cousin, knowing you're too poor to live in one of your own.
I love Scotland.
Coll is so confused; I love it.
Why isn't she wearing a chemise and corset.
Christmas at Dewberry Hollow- I didn't finish this one.
My Mistletoe Beau-Do two wrongs make a right?
Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
Small world.
I'm sure her mother did not mean that she had to shackle herself to her father for the rest of his life.
Awww.
This was a hit-or-miss anthology for us. Here are our rankings for the 3 novellas:
Great Scot! - Suzanne Enoch: 4 stars. We enjoyed this low-key but sexy story between an "older" heroine (she's a 33-year-old spinster) and a Scottish architect. This follows Enoch's Wild Wicked Highlanders series and it was fun to get to know a Scotsman who isn't purposely being an OTT caricature of a highlander.
Christmas at Dewberry Hollow - Amelia Grey: 2.5 stars. The setup had potential: Gate, a duke's grandson, accompanies his ducal grandfather to the rural village of Dewberry Hollow on a romantic quest. Isabelle, his romantic interest, is the granddaughter of a viscount who also helps run the inn where Gate and his grandfather are staying. Unfortunately the execution was a bit lackluster and left us wondering what their attraction was to each other, and how Isabelle's grandfather the viscount had anything to do with it.
My Mistletoe Beau - Anna Bennett: 3.5 stars. This is definitely the sexiest entry of the anthology! It starts when Eva breaks into Jack's bachelor apartments to steal back a watch that he won in a card game with Eva's father. Unfortunately for her, Jack catches her red-handed. It somehow ends up with his proposing a fake relationship to fool his grandmother... and we all know what happens with fake relationships!
This was an ARC invitation to read and review this Anthology before release. My review is honest and simply my opinions on the three stories.
Christmas anthologies can be hit and miss. For me, Kissing under the Mistletoe was a miss. Not by much but not a book I would seek out each Christmas to reread.
I'll start with Suzanne Enoch's story of Jane Bansil and Brennan Andrews and is set in Scotland when all the McTaggart men are home with their brides for Christmas. Jane appeared in Amy and Niall's story. This is her story. I used to adore Suzanne Enochs's books, and many remain on the "my must read again" shelf. However, the past few years, Ms. Enoch has been firmly ensconced in Scotland with never-ending Scottish accents. How many Ochs, dinna's, and sassenachs can one reader take? The story was sweet but one-dimensional. An architect is designing a new home for Coll and Temperance, and they meet in the library when Coll is explaining to Brennan what he wants. There is an immediate attraction, but I sensed no great chemistry. This seemed to be a story that allows readers to reconnect with the McTaggart family and an epilogue to the three romances. Jane and Brennan were the bridge to make this happen. For me, there was no emotional pay-off.
Story two: Author Amelia Grey. For me, this story is the best of the three. It's about Isabelle, who runs a home that acts as a large up-market guest house for the well-to-do and elite. Isabelle and her mum are part of the Ton but prefer their life in the country running this unusual guest house. Sadly the new viscount who supports the two women is unwilling to support the two women to the previous standard they had enjoyed. So we find Isabelle out hunting deer to save some money, and naturally, her bullet hits a human. Thankfully not the hero Gate but his guard. Gate has bought his frail grandfather to the inn to find a tree where a heart that his grandpa and grandma had carved their initials many years ago. Gate is determined to find the tree so his grandpa can tie a ribbon on the branch. Now, how sweet is that as a setup? And so Isabelle and Gate's story and romance begin. There are some lovely layers to this story—long-term guests with their own stories to unfold. A frail Duke still commanding attention and respect. Softening as the story progresses. Isabelle's mum determined to continue as if money was no issue. Why does Gate have a bodyguard that's been with him since childhood? And, of course, the quest for the tree and the heart. Plus Gate trying to find his place in the world. It's a great little story and not one-dimensional as I found Ms. Enoch's story.
Story Three Anna Bennet This has two different tropes underway, and I'm still confused why I didn't like it more. There is revenge and fake courting. Ms. Eva Tiding breaks into Jack Hardwick, Earl of Frostbough (how cute is that tile-Frostbough?) apartment to reclaim her father's watch that Jack had won in a card game. You guessed it to revenge his father. I won't tell you why. Naturally, Jack discovers Eva rifling through his drawers-Furniture and clothing. And so the battle lines are drawn, and a deal is struck. Eva is to pretend they are courting until Christmas, and the watch will be returned. The banter between Eva and Jack was delicious, witty, and entertaining. The tragedy was the story itself was not entertaining for me. I struggled to suspend disbelief in Jack's motives for revenge. Anyway, there are house parties, balls, soirees keeping this pair firmly attached. Fierce Jack, who scares debs witless, slowly changes, and Eva softens towards Jack and the potential for happily ever afters. I suspect many will love this story. I think perhaps I look for new twists in anthologies and tropes, and it wasn't here.
3.5 stars rounded up for the entertaining beginning and the sheer hopeful joy that was the last story in this collection.
Great Scot by Suzanne Enoch ~ 3.5 stars
At first, I found this story a bit hard to get into, because everyone except the hero seems to be established characters from a series I haven't read, but once I stopped trying to figure out who was married or related to whom, I immensely enjoyed this sweet story about a charming widower and a woman who firmly believes she belongs in the background, a hired companion and nothing more. I really enjoyed watching these two getting to know each other! The insta love was strong here, but it fitted. My favorite part was the writing and setting, there's just something special and magical about Suzanne Enoch's tangible love for all things Scottish.
Christmas at Dewberry Hollow by Amelia Grey ~ 2 stars
This started off with the heroine shooting the hero's attendant and then yelling at him for daring to carry her gun so she won't hurt anyone (she somehow thought this was theft?), and I never really understood her. To be honest, I already forgot most about this one.
Except I did like the hero, he was sweet.
My mistletoe beau by Anna Bennett ~ 5 stars
Definitely my favorite story. These two enemies to fake courting couple to lovers were so adorable! Their bickering and teasing was fun, and seeing him finally letting someone in and risk his heart and be hopeful was just so incredibly sweet and heartwarming. A perfect Christmas story of love and forgiveness, moving on and risking everything.
First and foremost, I am a fan of all three authors of “Kissing Under the Mistletoe”. All three novellas in this book were delightful reads and will make for good reading in the upcoming holiday season.
Suzanne Enoch: “Great Scot!” we see the MacTaggert brothers reappearing along with new intro of Brennan Andrews, a cousin and skilled architect. It also re-introduces Jane Bansil who was rejected by her aunt for aiding her cousin’s elopement to one of the brothers. This novella felt just a bit rushed in the romance department but hey love at first sight is always a possibility when two are willing to take that chance.
Amelia Grey: “Christmas at Dewberry Hollow” we have Isabelle Reed who is resigned to spinsterhood and helping her mother run her inn as she has done over the years. After she shoots and injures a guard of long-standing Duke, in steps his grandson Gate and all of his mischief to gain the love of Isabelle. I love a witty story that has angst and romance intertwined. Isabelle and Gate are loveable characters who are full of trouble and fun.
Anna Bennett: “My Mistletoe Beau” stars Lady Eva Tiding as a thief who sneaks into The Earl of Frostbough’s home to steal back her father’s pocket watch. Unfortunately, she is caught in the act and is somewhat blackmailed into becoming his fiancé when his grandmother visits to keep her from meddling into his love life.
Novellas with handsome and virile men who are sexy and romantic and waiting to ring in the holiday season with smart and intelligent women who capture their hearts. Entertaining and fun reads that I recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.
I loved this book! Kissing Under the Mistletoe is three novellas by three very talented ladies. The first story is Great Scot! by Suzanne Enoch and great scot it is! This book contains strong, sexy Scots and their beautiful, intelligent women. The main character, Jane Bansil is a beautiful, vulnerable, intelligent woman who feels out of place in the midst of newlyweds, until she meets architect Brennan Andrews. Brennan is sexy, compassionate and just the man for Jane, if she will stay! The second story is Christmas at Dewberry Hollow by Amelia Grey, a story of wit, romance, and angst. It all begins when Isabelle Reed accidentally shoots one of the guards of the Duke of Notgrove's grandson, Mr. Gatestone. Of course, the guard is uninjured and 'Gate' is handsome, as well as mischievious. But Isabelle does not get involved with boarders at her mother's inn! The last story in the book is My Mistletoe Beau by Anna Bennett, a wonderful story of thievery, lies, and manipulation. It all begins when Lady Eva Tiding breaks into the home of Jack Hardwick, the Earl of Frostbough, to steal a pocketwatch. When Jack catches Eva trying to steal her father's wagered pocketwatch, he uses it to get her to pose as his fiancee' while his grandmother is visiting. But Jack is handsome, sexy and fierce, three things Eva can't resist In each of these stories the characters are so well written that you feel as if you know them personally. You feel the story, as well as live it with the characters. The stories are romantic and sexy but each one shows a vulnerability. You can't help but fall in love with this book. I would definitely recommend reading it!
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
These were fun stories! I enjoyed them thoroughly. Just what you want for some brain candy light romance reads. My only complaint is that I wish each of these had been a full novel in its own right, instead of a shorter story, because I would've liked to explore the characters and see them develop more. But still a very fun read!
Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book was well written by three amazing authors that will put you in the holiday spirit. Three short stories about three different women who find love when they least expect it.
Lovely collection of short stories, I read them in one night and loved them all :) The only downside is a really want to follow all the characters into their own longer books! Fingers crossed that might happen!!
An unexpected trio of stories of romance, some intrigue and overcoming misunderstandings. These ladies know how to write stories that keep you turning pages.
Fans of historical romance will be ready for Christmas with these three delightful stories filled with mistletoe, meddling relatives and a little magic.
In GREAT SCOT!, Suzanne Enoch brings back Jane Bansil from Book 1 of The Wild Wicked Highlanders series to fulfill her HEA — and also tie up loose ends of the earlier three-book series. A paid companion who is also family, Jane has choices to make as she worries about her place in the boisterous MacTaggert clan. Brennan Andrews, a MacTaggert cousin and architect, is immediately drawn to Jane, but must convince her to take a chance.
There’s magic in the air at Dewberry Hollow Inn in Amelia Grey’s CHRISTMAS AT DEWBERRY HOLLOW. Isabelle Reed is content with her life helping her mother run the inn. Her world is upended when Gate arrives with his grandfather, the Duke of Notsgrave, on a sentimental journey to recapture the past.
In MY MISTLETOE BEAU, Anna Bennett sets up Eva Tiding and Jack Hardwick, the Earl of Frostbough in a fake betrothal when Anna’s desire to make her father happy puts her in a compromising position.
All three authors weave beautiful HEAs for historical romance fans who are looking for quick reads during the busy holiday season.
This is a fun compilation including stories from three wonderful writers. Each story was engaging and included a fabulous couple as well as other interesting characters sprinkled throughout the story. I love when the hero and heroine have witty banter and each of these couples were so entertaining. I also loved the length of each story because they were long enough for me to become invested in the couple and didn't seem rushed.
This is an enthralling “keeper” ! their brilliantly crafted expressive prose drew me in from the beginning and held me fast till the end. The characters vaulted off the pages straight into my heart and kept me thinking about them long after I turned the last page. I fell in love with them immediately.
I thought each of the stories was romantic and sweet. There were some stories that got sexy but they were still wonderful. The first one is about Jane Bansil and the MacTaggert ladies. Jane is the only single one left now. But she meets a fella, (Brennan Andrews), and who knows.
The next is about Isabelle Reed and her love of Christmas time. She and her mother run a high-class Inn. They have reservations for a duke and his party. Mr. Gatestone is the duke's grandson and he loves him dearly. They are looking for a heart carved into a tree.
Miss Eva Tidings was breaking into a London townhouse of Lord Frostbough. He was single but had an awful reputation. He was Cold, Rakish, and had perverse habits. This was about her father's watch.
Each author has done a wonderful job keeping the stories unique and interesting. Even though they are short, they still keep your attention. The characters are outstanding, as is the scenery. How can you ask for more? A great read.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.