Title: Holiday Hideout
Anthology
Authors, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jill Shalvis, Julie Kenner
Genre: Harlequin Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
The Thanksgiving Fix by Vicki Lewis Thompson Finding Mr. Right is the furthest thing from Beth Davis’s mind when the Reno professor takes Thanksgiving break at a colleague’s Lake Tahoe cabin. Until Coinneach McFarland arrives to fix a suspicious leak. It looks like somebody’s playing matchmaker for two people sworn to stay single. But as things heat up, Beth is astonished to find she has discovered her soul mate just as she’d given up looking.
The Christmas Set-Up by Jill Shalvis Competing architects Zoe and Jason has two weeks to come up with the design to win a coveted new project. But when a snowstorm strands them together at a secluded cabin, Zoe sees her chance to show Jason how she really feels. With romance blooming under the mistletoe, can she get the gorgeous Scrooge into the true Christmas spirit?
The New Year’s Deal by Julie Kenner Five years ago, Cleo Daire and Josh Goodson said goodbye and went their separate ways. But first they made a promise to reunite. Now the ex-lovers are spending New Year’s Eve in a romantic cabin, where passion takes them by surprise and long-wished-for dreams can sometimes come true.
I picked up this anthology because I’ve really enjoyed reading the Harlequin Anthologies especially when Jill Shalvis has a short story in them. Well, unfortunately this one fell short. I finished it 2 days ago and I really can’t even remember the characters names let alone what happened in each story. Basically the setting is the same mountain cabin that has the reputation of having couples fall in love or rekindle a love lost. Each couple ends up in the cabin over either the Christmas or New Year’s Eve Holiday. The concept was really a good idea – but the stories were just kind of boring.
The Thanksgiving Fix by VLT was the one I liked the least. It was kind of slow reading and the heroine just didn’t sit well with me. Having said that, this is the story that I remember the most. Beth is an all career women and Mac is the local handy man. I guess the only good thing about this story was Mac – but he just seemed too good to be true. There also was some weird dialog that was going on between the couple while they were getting it on. It just seemed out of place. I’m actually a big fan of VLT, but this story seemed rushed. Grade: C-
The Christmas Set-Up by Jill Shalvis was the story that I liked the best, but it was not the Jill Shalvis I know and love. The couple both work in the same architect firm and they are set up by their co-workers to spend the weekend in the cabin. They get snowed in, have sex and finish a project for work. Yep – that’s about it. Grade: C+
The New Year’s Deal by Julie Kenner, I started out really liking this story, but I think the heroine killed it for me. She’s a lawyer (enough said, right?). This couple was college sweethearts and they broke up when he wouldn’t follow her to graduate college. When they broke up he made a pack with her to meet him 5 years later on New Year’s Eve. He has never forgotten her and still wants to be with her. She basically goes to the cabin to get him to be an expert witness for a big case she is working on. That’s what killed it for me. I do have to say that I do like Julie Kenner’s writing style and this story was probably the best written out of the 3. Grade: C
Grade: C
Hmm very disappointing. I’d like some anthologies on my shelves for the holidays.