Noël à Venise de Lucy Gordon Quand le beau-père de Sonia vient la trouver pour lui proposer de paser les fêtes de Noël à Venise, en famille, Soia est tentée de refuser : voilà maintenant plusieurs mois qu'elle est séparée de Francesco, son mari. Mais quand Tomaso lui apprend que sa belle-mère mourante la réclame, Sonia n'a d'autre choix que d'accepter, et se préparer à revoir un homme pour lequel elle éprouve un mélange explosif de haine et de passion.
Un bébé surprise de Lynne Graham Après le scandale dont elle a été victime, Amber a tout perdu : son travail de directrice financière, son amour-propre, ses amis. Mais aussi Rocco, qui n'a pas cru en son innocence et l'a quittée, non sans lui reprocher sa trahison. Bouleversée de se retrouver nez à nez avec lui lors des fêtes de Noël, Amber a pourtant la tentatio, de lui pardonner : n'est-il pas, même s'il l'ignore encore, le père du petit garçon auquel elle a donné naissance?
Magie andalouse de Penny Jordan A la suite d'un accident, Meg ne peut plus travailler en milieu hospitalier. Aussi accepte-t-elle avec joie de devenir l'infirmière d'une vieille dame qui séjourne en Espagne, dans une résidence somptueuse où toute la famille se retrouve pour Noël. Dès son arrivée, Meg fait la connaissance du ténébreux Christian, qui l'attire malgré son incroyable arrogance...
Christine Sparks was born in England, UK. She wanted to be a writer all her life, and began by working on a British women's magazine. As a features writer, she gained a wide variety of experience. She interviewed some of the world's most attractive and interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guiness.
Single life was so enjoyable that she put marriage, and even romance, on the back burner, while she went about the world having a great time. Then, while on vacation in Venice, she met a tall, dark handsome Venetian artist, who changed all her ideas in a moment, and proposed on the second day. Three months later they were married. Her friends said a whirlwind romance would never last, but they celebrated their 25 anniversary, they are still married, still happy and in love.
After 13 years on the magazine Christine decided that it was now or never if she was ever going to write that novel. So she wrote Legacy of Fire which became a Silhouette Special Edition, followed by another, Enchantment in Venice. Then she did something crazy gave up her job. Since then she has concentrated entirely on writing romances for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette and has written over 75 books. Her settings have been European and her heroes mainly English or Italian. Christine now claims to be an expert on one particular subject. Italian men are the most romantic in the world. They are also the best cooks.
A few years ago she and her husband returned to Venice and lived there for a couple of years. This proved the perfect base for exploring the rest of Italy, and she has given many of her books Italian settings: Venice (of course), Rome, Florence, Milan, Sicily, Tuscany. She has also used the Rhine in Germany for Song of the Lorelei, for which she won her first RITA Award, in 1991. Her second RITA came in 1998, with His Brother's Child, set in Rome.
Eventually Christine Fiorotto and her husband returned to England, where they now live. She write and he paints, they have no children, but have a cat and a dog.
Lucy Gordon's was my favorite out of the three, seeped in the deep texture of Venice, drama about being scared of big enveloping family clan original. Penny's was, as usual, condescending to female character and ended abruptly to boot. Rocco and Amber's story by Lynne Graham was also a tad chauvinistic and had lots of confusing misconceptions towards the end, though not completely unbelievable.
The Lynne Graham story is better than I remembered it as being and I love the scene where the hero finds out about his son Freddy. More particularly, that he is asleep upstairs.
The Penny Jordan story is one that I had completely forgotten. It is good, but not memorable.
The Lucy Gordon story was always my favourite. It is steeped in Venetian society. However, not all the reasons why our heroine left are fully resolved. It is a good festive read though.