A Very Holly Christmas

Holly #1.5

by Sheila Roberts

Shelia Roberts is back with the hilarious short follow up to On Strike For Christmas. This short story will bring you right back to the spirited town of Holly, one year after the big strike! For even more Christmas (this time with a touch of romance) don’t miss The Nine Lives of Christmas, coming November 2011.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday, Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories, Chick Lit, Novella

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2011

About the author

With fifty books to her credit, both fiction and non-fiction, Sheila Roberts is a frequent USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller - and a fan favorite. Her books have sold over three million copies and have been turned into movies for the Hallmark, Lifetime and Great American Family channels. Before settling into her writing career, Sheila owned a singing telegram company and played in band. When she's not traveling, Sheila can be found hanging out with friends, playing tennis, and, of course, writing and reading. Sometimes she even remembers to post books she's read!

Reviews

[Arlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Very Holly Christmas was too short of a story to really get to know any of the characters and the intended outcome. I actually had to read it twice to understand what it was all about. Good thing it was free, otherwise this would have been a full on rant. Didn’t really care for it and I got nothing out of reading this Christmas tidbit. :/

[Preili Pipar · Rating 2 out of 5]

See lugu oli liiga lühike, et millestki aru saada :D
Tegemist oli lühijutuga, mis järgnes ühele ja eelnes teisele raamatule. Ehk oleks võinud olla veidi põhjalikum, et tekiks huvi teisi raamatuid lugeda.

[Patricia King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little short story about decorating and the meaning behind Christmas. It peaked my interest into reading the story that follows this one. Awh, heck, now I'll have to read the one before as well.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was confused as are many who read this as it starts with the first chapter of The Nine Lives of Christmas instead of starting at page one with the title short story.

A Very Holly Christmas shares a quick look at the changed households of two families, the Benedicts and the Robertsons, from a prior book. There isn't enough detail to fully tell what the prior book, On Strike for Christmas, was about although there are hints and this short story reveals positive changes. The story is rather sweet and shows the humor that invades Ms. Roberts' stories.

I was actually drawn in by the preview of The Nine Lives of Christmas which is a story told by Ambrose, an abandoned cat who adopts his new owner, a fireman named Zach. I might be interested in reading that story, or at least seeing the Hallmark movie!

[Frankiejohnny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a one page teaser to get you interested in a different book "On Strike for Christmas". It does have a Start & Finish point, so it is technically a "story". It is well written and I think it would be worth reading Sheila Roberts other works. However, I was a little turned off, since this was soooo short. (It ends at location 77 of 250... so most of book is a sample of her book "Nine Lives of Christmas". That sample is just chapter 1 and is not a complete story.) Anyways... well written, but don't waste your time... Just read the free previews on Amazon of this author's Full Length books to see if you want to read them. Thanks, Frankie

[Never Never Land · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this short story for free on Amazon through a promotion that is currently running.

Sometimes with short stories you pick up one and while reading it you have a feeling like you are missing something. That was the case with this read. While the story was cute and definitely Christmas theme I was so distracted by the lost feeling that it was difficult for me to get through the 19 pages. On Strike for Christmas, the novel that short story follows, is 394 pages long and that explains a lot.

While I think this is a lovely follow up to the novel it just doesn't do well alone and didn’t strike my curiosity towards the novel itself.

[Stacie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically a chapter long and gives a VERY BRIEF synoposis of the characters in Holly after ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS. Note this is a FREE Kindle download so you aren't out anything to read it. If you do the Kindle download, be sure to click your next page tab rather than click on the "Begin Reading" icon. It jumped ahead to a chapter from another book about a cat named Ambrose and a fireman named Zach.

It was a little too short for what I was hoping for. It seemed that it would have made more sense to make an epilogue at the end of the book rather than make this separate story.

[Cathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Grrr, I hate when authors publish a very very very short story and then use half of it to promote their new book.

This was a cute little story (I've heard longer stories told around a campfire) about Christmas decorating that ends in the usual sappy Christmas cheer. It had humor which I love in a story, but also your typical cliche ending of life is good, everything is fine. I think the author probably actually used a napkin to write this mini mini novella on; it takes up just about that much space.

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say I was very disappointed in this short story. It wasn't even really a short story, it was more like a blurb! There was no story to it. No character development, no real setting and no plot. AND... honestly when I came to "The End" I thought the story was just saying the end, I thought there was more! I flipped forward, then back, the forward, then back again, and thought "Wow!, That's really it?!"

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it's a lead in to Sheila Roberts' new book The Nine Lives of Christmas (which I hope to read). More a preview instead of an actual short story, in my opinion. It was (is still?) a Kindle freebie.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Yaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book but a very short story. It let me wanting to know more.

[Shelly Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this super short story that follows, 'On Strike For Christmas', you get a bit of an update on the characters and where they are a year later. There really isn't much more I can say than that because it directly follows the first story. You really can't read this one without that one! It would be terribly mean of me to say too much. Thing is, this is a really good story. I was so happy to read about how everyone was doing after the great strike that threw the town of Holly into a tizzy. I would definitely recommend reading this if you read the first. There is also a chapter included in this for another of her books, 'The Nine Lives of Christmas', so this entire story is just a couple pages long.
You'll enjoy the catch up with the characters from the first book and if you get the right edition of the book, this story could be included in the back. Very good story!

[Lu Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Christmas read pulls you right into a small town preparing for Christmas Who will win the Best Yard Award??? A cancer survivor got engaged sharing her joy with her group of knitters . Boys baking ginger man X-Rated lol and giving them out to their friends. You feel like you already read half the book and know the characters on a personal level. You feel like you are in a winter wonder land with a white Christmas thats to come. Its a short somewhat romance that will give you a laugh or two. An added bonus is a Preview of The Nine Lives of Christmas by the same author still a very funny short preview that would warm your soul.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this short story.

This is a short story (as mentioned in the title.) If you have a few minutes to read this will keep you entertained while reading this short and sweet story. There is also a synopsis/chapter of a longer story which I bought and will read. This sounds like a sweet longer novel as well. I recommend this short story/chapter of the longer story if you enjoy Christmas stories. Read and enjoy for a little quiet time during the busy holiday season. Sometimes it is perfect to just be still and relax amidst all of the hustle and bustle. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

[Richard Goodrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a short an epilogue to "On Strike For Christmas" than a complete story. It does have a few nice scenes. The book comes with a preview of "THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS" which takes up about two thirds of the content.

Easy-to-read. Informative. Unpredictable. Whimsical. Witty. Wonderful characters.

[Debra Barstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and sweet story about a cat.

[Zindia Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice little short stories to the introduction to this author. But, now I might actually have to go read these book.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute little story

A cute little story, it was enjoyable and amusing. There's not much more one can say about a short story.

[Lauren Sparks · Rating 1 out of 5]

#69

[Janis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed like something was missing. Felt no involvement at all with the characters.

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sorry, but to me the short story made almost no sense. I like Ms Roberts writing, but this story was more confusing than entertaining.

[Kim]

This was VERY short and sweet! Cute for what it was!

[Anne Marie Cardone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story

This is a nice cheerful story. The characters are funny and it's nice to read it at Christmastime. I enjoyed it very much.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly well written but lacking focus

This story is nicely evocative of the small town atmosphere, but seems to meander to its conclusion without a climax or a point.

[Ginger Mcclintick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was way way to short would of been alot better if it was longer.

[Heather Bartlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute fast book. Too bad it wasn’t longer

[Sara Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too short!

I really enjoyed this cute short story. It was just a little too short for me, I need more! Very clever and quick character building.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story. Downloaded this freebie on my Kindle & it’s listed as an exclusive short story for Christmas. Can easily be read in 10-15 minutes depending on the reader.