SANTA, HONEY

Author: Kate Angell, Sandra Hill & Joy Nash ISBN: 9780505527530 10/2009 ANTHOLOGY Publisher: DORCHESTER

KATE ANGELL Forced into a scratchy white beard and a red velvet suit two sizes too small, hotshot ballplayer Alex Boxer knows his goose is cooked when the woman supervising his community service turns out to be cute as a Christmas elf but channelling the nutcracker. SANDRA HILL Anyone can hold up a convenience store on Christmas Eve. But to do it impersonating Santa Claus, on behalf of a nun, handcuffed to a gorgeous hostage—that takes brass…bells. JOY NASH Two sisters, plus two brothers, plus one romantic Christmas weekend at Dutch Lodge with zero electricity. It all adds up to a sleigh load of mix-ups, breakups and happily-ever-after hookups.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

SANTA, HONEY is an engaging, funny, and sexy holiday novella collection. The three authors included are well matched in their senses of humor leading to a cohesive set of stories.

Ho, Humbug, Ho fits into Angell’s sports-related genre. Alex Boxer, an alpha male athlete, speeds through the wrong Florida town and finds his sports car locked up and himself shoved into a small Santa suit to perform in front of the town’s tots. He’s pining for a quickie with sexy blonde twins, but finds himself falling for a small town business owner instead. Lots of sex, lots of cute!

Naughty or Nice is a great read from the reliable Sandra Hill, but suffers from its extremely dated references. This was apparently written in 1996 so you may have read it before. Heroine Jessica Jones has endured a Christmas curse forever, and this year’s version has her leading a slapstick adventure with bodyguard Luke Carter in this crazy, yet heartwarming, tale.

Joy Nash’s Christmas Unplugged is a story that points out it’s important to look underneath the surface. It features busy NYC computer geek Casey dragged to the off-GPS Adirondacks by her impulsive, freshly jilted actress sister. Though it’s a couples weekend, they are lucky to find two studly guys to intrigue them. Without that distraction, Casey might just kill her sister because of certain things she forgot to mention…

Heather Hiestand