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Trueblood Christmas
After many years, Major Brad Henderson is released from prison, exonerated after almost 30 years for a crime he didn't commit. His mission: to be reunited with his three daughters. How to find them? Contact Dylan Garrett, of the Finders Keepers Detective Agency.
And so begins this brand-new anthology that reunites readers with characters from the successful Trueblood, Texas continuity.
And so begins this brand-new anthology that reunites readers with characters from the successful Trueblood, Texas continuity.
Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
45 people want to read
About the author
Jasmine Cresswell
115 books54 followersBorn in England, Jasmine Cresswell now divides her time between her winter home in Sarasota, Florida and her summer home in Evergreen, Colorado. Jasmine has been writing since 1975 and has published over 50 novels, with 9 million copies of her books in print.
Jasmine served for two years as the editor of the Romance Writer's Report. She also served as president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a founder and former president of Novelists, Inc. She received the Colorado Authors' League Award for Best Paperback Novel of the Year and the Romance Writers of America Golden Rose Award. Her books also have received numerous Romantic Times certificates of excellence.
Experienced as a public speaker, Jasmine has conducted college seminars and addressed many writers' conferences. Interviews and profiles have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, and Jasmine considers herself a veteran of talk shows and news broadcasts.
Married to Malcolm Candlish, whom she met while she was working for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Jasmine and her husband have lived all over the world. She has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in history and philosophy from Melbourne University, a second degree in history from Macquarie University, as well as a Masters Degree in history and archival administration from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
Jasmine served for two years as the editor of the Romance Writer's Report. She also served as president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a founder and former president of Novelists, Inc. She received the Colorado Authors' League Award for Best Paperback Novel of the Year and the Romance Writers of America Golden Rose Award. Her books also have received numerous Romantic Times certificates of excellence.
Experienced as a public speaker, Jasmine has conducted college seminars and addressed many writers' conferences. Interviews and profiles have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, and Jasmine considers herself a veteran of talk shows and news broadcasts.
Married to Malcolm Candlish, whom she met while she was working for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Jasmine and her husband have lived all over the world. She has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in history and philosophy from Melbourne University, a second degree in history from Macquarie University, as well as a Masters Degree in history and archival administration from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 29, 2015
Trueblood Texas Christmas is an omnibus of three Trueblood Texas stories that are set around Christmas and involve three sisters who are unaware of each other’s existence until their father sets out to find them.
Gabriella is the story of the eldest daughter, written by Jasmine Creswell. Now living in San Antonio, Gabriella Petri learns from her former Long Island neighbour (and teenage crush), Josh Taylor, that her adopted mother has been admitted to hospital with a heart attack. Josh discovered just the Christmas before how lovely his grown-up girl-next-door was, and hopes for more than friendship with Ella. And if chartering a plane to get her to her parents will help, that’s what he’ll do. But exactly what led to Mary’s heart attack, and why she is so fixated on a bunch of old photos is unclear. A sweet romance that begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the sisters.
Beth is the story of the youngest daughter, written by Tara Taylor Quinn. Beth Chenoweth is a successful businesswoman who lives on her beloved Vancouver Island. Adopted out as a baby to a loving mother and an indifferent father, Beth suffers from panic attacks. Usually, her medication is sufficient, but an unexpected forced landing of her charter plane sees her relying on her personal pilot, Joe Holden, more than she is comfortable with. Close quarters see them acting on a long-standing attraction. And Beth can see that Joe’s son, Joshua needs more than he is getting from his small-town school. But Beth knows her limitations, and she’s not going to saddle Joe and Joshua with her problems. Another sweet romance that sees the youngest and eldest sisters reunited.
Georgiana is the story of the second daughter, written by Kate Hoffman. Georgie Hewitt has just turned thirty and is annoyed with her four brothers for trying to match-make. She is much more interested in running the ranch, even if her mom would she have rather a more feminine approach to life. Escaping on her beloved horse Jesse, she rides out and runs into a neighbour. Wade Marshall owns the water rights that the Hewitts claim are theirs, but the long-standing fued between the families does not lessen the immediate attraction that he and Georgie feel for each other. But when they eventually decide to reveal their relationship to the family, Georgie finds she is in for a revelation of a totally different kind: a father and two sisters turn up in her life. This rather saccharine tale completes the Trueblood Texas Christmas trilogy, unravelling the mystery surrounding the sisters adoption.
3.5★s
Gabriella is the story of the eldest daughter, written by Jasmine Creswell. Now living in San Antonio, Gabriella Petri learns from her former Long Island neighbour (and teenage crush), Josh Taylor, that her adopted mother has been admitted to hospital with a heart attack. Josh discovered just the Christmas before how lovely his grown-up girl-next-door was, and hopes for more than friendship with Ella. And if chartering a plane to get her to her parents will help, that’s what he’ll do. But exactly what led to Mary’s heart attack, and why she is so fixated on a bunch of old photos is unclear. A sweet romance that begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the sisters.
Beth is the story of the youngest daughter, written by Tara Taylor Quinn. Beth Chenoweth is a successful businesswoman who lives on her beloved Vancouver Island. Adopted out as a baby to a loving mother and an indifferent father, Beth suffers from panic attacks. Usually, her medication is sufficient, but an unexpected forced landing of her charter plane sees her relying on her personal pilot, Joe Holden, more than she is comfortable with. Close quarters see them acting on a long-standing attraction. And Beth can see that Joe’s son, Joshua needs more than he is getting from his small-town school. But Beth knows her limitations, and she’s not going to saddle Joe and Joshua with her problems. Another sweet romance that sees the youngest and eldest sisters reunited.
Georgiana is the story of the second daughter, written by Kate Hoffman. Georgie Hewitt has just turned thirty and is annoyed with her four brothers for trying to match-make. She is much more interested in running the ranch, even if her mom would she have rather a more feminine approach to life. Escaping on her beloved horse Jesse, she rides out and runs into a neighbour. Wade Marshall owns the water rights that the Hewitts claim are theirs, but the long-standing fued between the families does not lessen the immediate attraction that he and Georgie feel for each other. But when they eventually decide to reveal their relationship to the family, Georgie finds she is in for a revelation of a totally different kind: a father and two sisters turn up in her life. This rather saccharine tale completes the Trueblood Texas Christmas trilogy, unravelling the mystery surrounding the sisters adoption.
3.5★s
December 26, 2010
I bought this book because it's a Christmas-themed romance (supposedly). I know that most romance anthologies are a hit-or-miss proposition, given that the stories are so short, and this one was definitely a miss.
Jasmine Cresswell's GABRIELLA started off so well. I love the idea of life-long friends finding love. The interesting twist to this story is that the hero and heroine are secretly in love with each other, but each believes that the other is not interested in anything more than friendship. So while the sparks do fly, both are trying to pretend indifference to keep from being hurt.
But after this interesting set-up, the story just went downhill. The hero and heroine were constantly kissing, yet they still each continued to believe that the other person wasn't interested in a romantic relationship. So you just kiss all of your friends? Okay...but that wasn't the worst of it. They end up falling into bed (and I found it rather icky that they were using the bed of a stranger, since they were looking over the house--the hero was considering buying it), the characters finally admit that they love each other, and hero proposes. Great, now they can settle down to their happily ever after, right? Wrong! The heroine suddenly gets all weird and starts running away. This is what she's always wanted (since she was a teenager), yet she keeps pushing him away. Huh? It just made no sense. The man loves you, you love him, you've been dreaming of marrying him since puberty, and yet when he finally admits that he loves you and asks you to be his wife, you push him away. WHY? The author was unable to give me a compelling explanation.
It was just so ridiculous and totally out-of-character that I could not make myself finish this story. I can't stand stupid characters, and the heroine was one of the dumbest I've ever encountered. One star.
Tara Taylor Quinn's BETH was the next novella in this collection. I didn't have high hopes for this book, as I find that this author's writing just doesn't work for me. As this author does have a fan base, it could just be a personal thing. But I find that her stories feel rather choppy and unpolished. And the romance was really on the back burner. This felt more like a long-winded article about gifted children than it did a romance novel. The relationship had a very rushed feel to it, as if the author had just decided to tack romance on at the last minute. And the heroine's weird hang-ups detracted from, rather than adding to, the story. Two stars.
Last in this collection was Kate Hoffmann's GEORGIANA. This was a story that couldn't decide what it wanted to be about: forbidden love, two feuding families, or about an adopted woman (who doesn't know she's adopted) being finally reunited with her birth father. Unfortunately, none of these elements were done well, I'm sorry to say. The romance was so rushed you would miss it if you blinked. It was like the author wanted to get the "falling in love" part out of the way so that she could get to her "real" story. There was nothing between the hero and heroine but sexual attraction. She doesn't give the reader any reason why these two should love one another. They meet one minute, the next they're making out, the next, they're engaged. Without any real buildup or set up or character development. I need to know why the characters should be together. The fact that he's a man and she's a woman does not cut it. Two stars.
This book didn't satisfy on any level. All of the themes were barely touched on. None was really developed. The romance was basically non-existant. The "father being reunited with his long-lost daughters" felt like a plot device, as merely something to tie these three books together. I saw no real mention of Christmas. Nothing about this book put me in a holiday mood. The characters were just there. They never developed into real people the reader feels like they truly know. The stories didn't even have a "Texas" feel to them, as the back cover promises.
Jasmine Cresswell's GABRIELLA started off so well. I love the idea of life-long friends finding love. The interesting twist to this story is that the hero and heroine are secretly in love with each other, but each believes that the other is not interested in anything more than friendship. So while the sparks do fly, both are trying to pretend indifference to keep from being hurt.
But after this interesting set-up, the story just went downhill. The hero and heroine were constantly kissing, yet they still each continued to believe that the other person wasn't interested in a romantic relationship. So you just kiss all of your friends? Okay...but that wasn't the worst of it. They end up falling into bed (and I found it rather icky that they were using the bed of a stranger, since they were looking over the house--the hero was considering buying it), the characters finally admit that they love each other, and hero proposes. Great, now they can settle down to their happily ever after, right? Wrong! The heroine suddenly gets all weird and starts running away. This is what she's always wanted (since she was a teenager), yet she keeps pushing him away. Huh? It just made no sense. The man loves you, you love him, you've been dreaming of marrying him since puberty, and yet when he finally admits that he loves you and asks you to be his wife, you push him away. WHY? The author was unable to give me a compelling explanation.
It was just so ridiculous and totally out-of-character that I could not make myself finish this story. I can't stand stupid characters, and the heroine was one of the dumbest I've ever encountered. One star.
Tara Taylor Quinn's BETH was the next novella in this collection. I didn't have high hopes for this book, as I find that this author's writing just doesn't work for me. As this author does have a fan base, it could just be a personal thing. But I find that her stories feel rather choppy and unpolished. And the romance was really on the back burner. This felt more like a long-winded article about gifted children than it did a romance novel. The relationship had a very rushed feel to it, as if the author had just decided to tack romance on at the last minute. And the heroine's weird hang-ups detracted from, rather than adding to, the story. Two stars.
Last in this collection was Kate Hoffmann's GEORGIANA. This was a story that couldn't decide what it wanted to be about: forbidden love, two feuding families, or about an adopted woman (who doesn't know she's adopted) being finally reunited with her birth father. Unfortunately, none of these elements were done well, I'm sorry to say. The romance was so rushed you would miss it if you blinked. It was like the author wanted to get the "falling in love" part out of the way so that she could get to her "real" story. There was nothing between the hero and heroine but sexual attraction. She doesn't give the reader any reason why these two should love one another. They meet one minute, the next they're making out, the next, they're engaged. Without any real buildup or set up or character development. I need to know why the characters should be together. The fact that he's a man and she's a woman does not cut it. Two stars.
This book didn't satisfy on any level. All of the themes were barely touched on. None was really developed. The romance was basically non-existant. The "father being reunited with his long-lost daughters" felt like a plot device, as merely something to tie these three books together. I saw no real mention of Christmas. Nothing about this book put me in a holiday mood. The characters were just there. They never developed into real people the reader feels like they truly know. The stories didn't even have a "Texas" feel to them, as the back cover promises.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2012
When I picked up this book, I knew that I wouldn't care much for it or expect anything remarkable. I chose to read this book simply because it had Christmas in the title and with this, I definitely expected something with festive feeling, which I feel that this lacked. Apart from the odd mention of a Christmas tree a couple of times, there was hardly anything festive about this which was very disappointing! I thought that the storyline had good potential. It flowed surprisingly well considering each girls story was written by a seperate author. Whilst the book was not as trashy as I had expected, I can't say I enjoyed how 'perfect' everything turned out and how most characters were so stereotypically beautiful as it was just so unrealistic. I think that all in all, the plot had wonderful potential and could have been very interesting, but this way of writing, where everything is predictable and near perfect, will most probably never be my favourite.
July 18, 2020
Gabriella by Jasmine Cresswell ***
Beth by Tara Taylor Quinn **
Georgiana by Kate Hoffmann **
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
Beth by Tara Taylor Quinn **
Georgiana by Kate Hoffmann **
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
October 15, 2018
The middle story by Tara Taylor Quinn had a good plot.
January 23, 2012
The finders Keepers Detective Agency helps Major Brad Henderson reunite with the three daughters he was separated from for almost thirty years. All three sisters had been adopted in to different families, and they find love at the same time as they are reunited with their father.
March 18, 2012
cute, read it in a day...it was ok
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews