I
am so disappointed--no Regency Christmas anthology this year! However, I have been reading a ton of other Christmas themed stories, and some of them almost make up for missing my beloved Regencies. My first need in Christmas stories is to feel a sense of old-fashioned comfort and joy. In other words, I want a story with heart and soul. I want a positive warm message to soothe me when it's cold outside and I'm feeling negative about whatever current drama's controlling my life. I want to be taken away to a simplier time and place, to lose my life for awhile and find something else. All of these stories did it for me, more or less. Although I'm determined not to be a Scrooge about any of the books, I've arranged them in order of personal preference
My favorite is a contemporary novel, Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews. Savannah antique shop owner Weezie Foley is having a hell of Christmas. Her lover hates Christmas, new shop owners are trying to run her out of business, and someone suspicious is lurking around, causing trouble. But, determined, creative Weezie turns trouble into adventure, whipping up a winning window for a downtown decorating contest and spreading joy without really trying. That's just the kind of woman Weezie is. Not that Andrews makes her perfect. No way! Weezie's down-to-earth. She overreacts, gets jealous, gets mad. Just like a real person. Andrews' prose is flawless, she's funny without working too hard for the laughs, and her scenes zip along with energy and verve. Plus I love the way she takes the reader on her character's decorating journey--better than a episode of Trading Spaces.
I'm a little suprised a contemporary took first prize for me this year, but I managed to fit in a few historicals as well. Anne Perry's fabulous Victorian Christmas series continues with A Christmas Secret. Perry is one of the few mystery writers I read regularly, I just adore her writing style. She matches character to setting in poignant ways. This time, a vicar and his wife take a temporary post in a small village when their beloved cleric takes an unexpected vacation. Soon enough, husband and wife sniff out trouble in the seemingly perfect place. It wouldn't be Anne Perry if there wasn't a murder to solve, and this one has a multitude of suspects. but the real heart of this story is in the interactions of the characters, particularly the husband and wife. A feel-good ending fits the season, too.
Ecco Press has a book of Christmas stories, The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories , by some of my favorite literary writers. The comfort and joy is cut with a little bit of realism, a dash of lemon in the punch, but that's okay too. At least the punch is spiked. Paul Auster and Ann Beattie, stellar storytellers, also, it turns out, know how to spin a Christmas yarn. Auster is at his most absurdly delicious in Auggie Wren's Christmas Story about a writer named Paul who has to write a Christmas story by deadline and gets help for his block from an unlikely source. There's a neat little analogy at the heart of this story that makes it especially memorable. And Beattie has written about Charlotte (cutely from Charlotte, Virginia) before. This time, Charlotte's disconnect from others is made clear: she's not suffering from ennui or existential angst as much as a teensy drinking problem, and this story touchingly explores the ways cocktails keep her from connecting to the important people in her life, particularly, her son. Horatio's Trick makes me want an entire novel about Charlotte. And if it had a Christmas theme, it would be at the top of this list.
Jennifer Crusie's Hot Toy is part of the Santa Baby anthology. Humor and heartfelt emotion are Crusie staples, and they show up in abundance when Trudy wants to give her nephew a perfect Christmas by scoring the hot toy of the year. Spies and thugs and secret codes all come into play as Trudy tries to decide which of two ardent suitors she should trust. The banter in a taxi (Crusie does dialogue like nobody else) is worth the price of the book. Carly Phillips is a new-to-me author and I liked her story alot, too. Lori Foster's was too sexy for my taste (I'm not a prude, just have never been fond of graphic sex scenes--must be all those Regencies...) rounded out the authors.
The contemporary anthology Sugar and Spice features four stories. Shirley Jump's Twelve Days was the standout in this bunch. Shy Natalie lets her inner wild girl loose when she becomes Secret Santa to the man of her dreams. Jump writes with such energy and vividness--it hardly matters what story she's telling. I'm not big on romance novels these days, but she wins me over every time.
It is not the fault of Stay for Christmas, a historical anthology, that it is set in the American west instead of Regency England. I tried not to hold that against the book;-) So far, I've only read one of these stories, Judith Stacy's A Place to Belong, set in small-twon Colorado in 1887. Maggie has a secret she's keeping from the new sheriff. Author Stacy keeps the secret from the reader, too, which makes for a page turner. Sherrif Jack has a secret, too, and this one may crush his budding romance with vulnerable, lonely Maggie. Then a dangerous stranger from Jack's past comes to town and changes everything...Stacy writes with real pathos--she draws Maggie's character so finely that the reader will yearn for a home and family, and a man to love, right along with Maggie.
Debbie Macomber's sentimental stories never leave me feeling like I overdosed on sugar. Christmas Letters has the kind of premise I love, too. Two writers clash in theory, but in reality, they're meant to be mates. Kathryn, a professional Christmas letter writer, opposes the philosopy of Wynn, a child psychologist with a bestselling book. Her sister's kids have become tiny tyrants since sis read Wynn's book, and Kathryn, in a chance meeting, can't help telling Wynn exactly what she thinks of his child-rearing theories. Even though the end is a given, the journey is full of sweet holiday surprises.
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Cindy Harrison loves books. As a reviewer for a Publisher's Weekly, she reads about 20 books per month, and still finds time to teach at her local community college."I am also deeply loyal to writers whose work changed my life in significant ways, even if I have not read them in ages. Plus, all kinds of books have marked meaningful moments in my life." Visit her at 