Dreaming of a Bright Christmas & A Chef's Kiss: Two Heartfelt Romance Novels

by Robyn Carr, Nina Crespo

BESTSELLING AUTHOR COLLECTION
Reader-favorite romances in collectible volumes from our bestselling authors.

Dreaming of a Bright Christmas  by #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr, previously published as Informed Risk

Mike Cavanaugh is a firefighter—he rescues people. Inviting them home isn’t usually part of the job description. But when he pulls Christine Palmer out of her burning house, something about the gutsy single mom makes him want to protect her, to make her life a little better. Only, somehow Chris and her family end up giving Mike’s life new meaning, and he is happier than he’s been in years. Chris wants to get back on her own two feet—sooner rather than later. When she no longer needs Mike’s support, will she be ready to risk her heart with him?


FREE BONUS STORY INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME!

A Chef's Kiss by Nina Crespo

After their ill-fated fling quashed her dreams, small-town chef Philippa Gayle’s onetime rival turned lover, Dominic Crawford, upended her life. But when Philippa’s forced together with the celebrity cook on a project that could change her life, there’s no denying that the flames that were lit years ago were only banked, not extinguished…

Previously published

Genres: Christmas

439 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2024

About the author

Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, eleven-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of over sixty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series and Sullivan's Crossing series. Robyn's new women's fiction novel, THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB, will be released in January 2024. The new hit Sullivan's Crossing TV series (season 1) inspired by Robyn's book series was released in the USA in the fall of 2023! Plus, season 5 of the worldwide fan-favorite Virgin River TV Series is now streaming on Netflix (July 2023) with two holiday episodes coming November 30, 2023. Both TV series have been renewed for another season!
Robyn is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award 2016, and in 2017, VIRGIN RIVER was named one of the HarperCollins 200 Iconic Books of the past 200 years. Robyn currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr's website at https://www.robyncarr.com/.

Reviews

[Penny Perovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed the second story more than Robyn’s. The Christmas story started out good, but then it became tedious. I didn’t care for the two main characters as the story progressed. Too much whining. Aunt Flo wasn’t any better. Wasn’t much of a Christmas story.

However I did enjoy Chef’s Kiss. I had never read this author before and wanted to know more about the Tillbridge family and luckily I was able to get the three books in the series from the library. If I had known it was a continuation from a series, I would have looked for them prior to reading it. Hopefully I will like them as well.

Chef’s Kiss is the reason for the four stars.

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely tale about a wanna-be writer single mother and what happens when she's rescued from the fire that destroys the home she was renting. Who's she rescued by? Why, a firefighter, of course. But he does more than pull her from the burning building. When he learns she has no place to go, he invites her to stay in his house, a structure he rarely uses.

What follows is a love affair between Mike Cavanaugh and Chris Palmer and her two small children, with lots of angst and wishfulness for a complete family by each main character thrown in. A fun read.

[Alana Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't care for the first book, "Dreaming of a Bright Christmas." The storytelling was abrupt and choppy, and the relationship didn't have a natural flow (or one that would have really made sense to anyone else).

The second story, "A Chef's Kiss," was better. I enjoyed the relationship journey as well as the realistic background of restaurant life.

[Laura Aase · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chris is rescued by Mike as her house is burning down. He invited her and her 2 children to stay at hiss home we until they can get on their feet. But she is really an heiress- can he accept that when the news comes out. Average story.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my beach read for vacation. The characters seemed to be half-baked and at times seemed trite. The children in the book were more-so objects than characters. The plot seemed too predictable and thrown together. Not horrible, not great.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

he rescues her from a fire and then she moves into his home, kids and all. Interesting story.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet syrup story.

[Teri Pre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never come across so many perfect people in one book. Perfect fireman. Perfect parents. Perfect mom. Perfect kids. Sheesh!!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great two books in one! The second one was my fave!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt both books were very good

[Gloria Coonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet story