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Deck the Halls
Christmas comes but once a year, so take some time out to settle in, cuddle up, and ward off winter's chill with a hot toddy of hot romance from five of your favorite storytellers?
393 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Fern Michaels
421 books6,647 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 18, 2008
Merry Merry by Fern Michaels
Cute story. The characters always seemed a little anxious...the dialogue was funny. Not as well developed as it could have been...I didn't quite understand Gertie's point. The idea of Helen also seemed to have been dropped. It is a short story, though, and for that, I liked it.
A Baby for Christmas by Lisa Jackson
Another cute story. It began better than it ended, though. Maybe it is because it is a short story that it was tied up a little too loosely for me--it did get tied up, though. Well written and I would read more from Lisa Jackson.
24 Days of Christmas by Lisa Lael Miller
What an adorable story! Two childhood sweethearts come back together after some difficult times. The two kids are adorable (one belonging to each). It was light on the romance, but very sweet. And of course the best kind of ending...happy!
Christmas Eve by Virginia Henley
Ugh...I really didn't like this one very much. Eve was an annoying character that lacked depth. Henley's descriptions of sex were horrible...manroot???? puh-lease! The end also had far too many exclamation points. That is a pet peeve of mine...exclamation points can easily be over used and in the last couple of chapters of this story, they certainly were. I cannot see myself picking up another Henley book.
A Misty Harbor Christmas by Marcia Evanick
I loved this one! It was short and sweet. Just enough romance and heat. I will be checking out the rest of the Misty Harbor series now. :)
Cute story. The characters always seemed a little anxious...the dialogue was funny. Not as well developed as it could have been...I didn't quite understand Gertie's point. The idea of Helen also seemed to have been dropped. It is a short story, though, and for that, I liked it.
A Baby for Christmas by Lisa Jackson
Another cute story. It began better than it ended, though. Maybe it is because it is a short story that it was tied up a little too loosely for me--it did get tied up, though. Well written and I would read more from Lisa Jackson.
24 Days of Christmas by Lisa Lael Miller
What an adorable story! Two childhood sweethearts come back together after some difficult times. The two kids are adorable (one belonging to each). It was light on the romance, but very sweet. And of course the best kind of ending...happy!
Christmas Eve by Virginia Henley
Ugh...I really didn't like this one very much. Eve was an annoying character that lacked depth. Henley's descriptions of sex were horrible...manroot???? puh-lease! The end also had far too many exclamation points. That is a pet peeve of mine...exclamation points can easily be over used and in the last couple of chapters of this story, they certainly were. I cannot see myself picking up another Henley book.
A Misty Harbor Christmas by Marcia Evanick
I loved this one! It was short and sweet. Just enough romance and heat. I will be checking out the rest of the Misty Harbor series now. :)
November 29, 2018
Some of the stories are really sweet, but others not so much. So it evens out at three stars.
December 28, 2022
Cute! Because they were all so short, these stories moved pretty fast. I liked 4 of them well enough, but "Christmas Eve" was terribly misogynistic and sexist, I can't recommend against it enough. If you're looking for a sweet, quick read for the holiday season, this book can do that.
January 5, 2018
Full of short sweet Christmas romances. Perfect for the season.
December 17, 2018
DNF. It may be right up others' alley, but I guess I just did not like the 'they were so in love after two days of knowing each other' love story style.
February 22, 2020
Very good from the authors hard to put down
December 9, 2021
This is the most brain dead stupid book. Didn’t finish.
January 5, 2022
Virginia Henley - Christmas eve
December 26, 2023
I wish I thought to record my ratings for each story as I went because some stories were a 2 and some stories were a 5! Still a fun Christmas read!
July 20, 2015
I know it's not anywhere near Christmas time but I am up for a Christmas story any time of the year. There is just so much joy in these stories, they're always good for a pick me up or just a happy day. These stories were no exception and met my expectations.
Merry Merry by Fern Michaels
I have to say that didn't love this story. The Christmas was great and the characters were lovely. The storyline even had twists and elements that made it fresh. My only problem with it was the editing, which goes to the copy that I read but still. There were weird sentence phrasing, awkward paragraphs and details that didn't quite match up. That made it a frustrating read and difficult to get into. I think if I read a version with better editing, I would love it with no complaints but I just didn't have that experience.
A Baby for Christmas by Lisa Jackson
I loved this story. It was so cute. A little bit predictable but very good despite that. The ending was a little bit abrupt but with the way the story goes, it worked very well and fit the story perfectly. I LOVED the characters, from Annie to Liam to even baby Carol and Nola. They all enhanced the story in their own ways.
The 24 Days of Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
This was my favorite story out of this book. Everything about it was very well done and lovely. There were little details that weren't really vital but Linda addressed them anyway, allowing for the story to become a reality. It was a world complete with little details that didn't matter but a real person would notice. I read this one twice, it was so awesome. The reality of the story was perfectly maintained, which made the happy ending and the love story all the more perfect.
Christmas Eve by Virginia Henley
I liked this story as I was reading it but thinking about it after the fact gave me pause. The entire story basically centered around the feminist issue. Ordinarily I wouldn't have a problem with that but it was a little bit extreme in this case. That made it hard to stay with at times because it was just so in your face throughout the whole thing. Other than that though, I liked it. The romance was cute and the happy ending was perfect.
A Misty Harbor Christmas by Marcia Evanick
The history of these characters was cute. It really added to the story. It gave it a lot of depth that I think it wouldn't have otherwise. I loved the romance and the happy ending was perfect, addressing every little thing. The addition of Carol Ann was something that a lot of stories like this don't have that added that perfect something it needed. I really enjoyed reading it, from beginning to end.
Merry Merry by Fern Michaels
I have to say that didn't love this story. The Christmas was great and the characters were lovely. The storyline even had twists and elements that made it fresh. My only problem with it was the editing, which goes to the copy that I read but still. There were weird sentence phrasing, awkward paragraphs and details that didn't quite match up. That made it a frustrating read and difficult to get into. I think if I read a version with better editing, I would love it with no complaints but I just didn't have that experience.
A Baby for Christmas by Lisa Jackson
I loved this story. It was so cute. A little bit predictable but very good despite that. The ending was a little bit abrupt but with the way the story goes, it worked very well and fit the story perfectly. I LOVED the characters, from Annie to Liam to even baby Carol and Nola. They all enhanced the story in their own ways.
The 24 Days of Christmas by Linda Lael Miller
This was my favorite story out of this book. Everything about it was very well done and lovely. There were little details that weren't really vital but Linda addressed them anyway, allowing for the story to become a reality. It was a world complete with little details that didn't matter but a real person would notice. I read this one twice, it was so awesome. The reality of the story was perfectly maintained, which made the happy ending and the love story all the more perfect.
Christmas Eve by Virginia Henley
I liked this story as I was reading it but thinking about it after the fact gave me pause. The entire story basically centered around the feminist issue. Ordinarily I wouldn't have a problem with that but it was a little bit extreme in this case. That made it hard to stay with at times because it was just so in your face throughout the whole thing. Other than that though, I liked it. The romance was cute and the happy ending was perfect.
A Misty Harbor Christmas by Marcia Evanick
The history of these characters was cute. It really added to the story. It gave it a lot of depth that I think it wouldn't have otherwise. I loved the romance and the happy ending was perfect, addressing every little thing. The addition of Carol Ann was something that a lot of stories like this don't have that added that perfect something it needed. I really enjoyed reading it, from beginning to end.
February 17, 2012
I'd give it half a star but the last story wasn't too bad. One of the stories - the one by Lisa Jackson - has been recycled at least once before. Actually, according to the page with all the publishing info, all but two are recycled.
On to shredding the stories...
Fern Michaels' entry: Oh what a tangled web we weave. The H's grandma has been impersonating a bag lady and befriending the h. The H wants the H's property for some unexplained reason. He did a background check on her that the PI took a bit more seriously than necessary (I don't think it's necessary for a business owner to know that some veterinarian uses a diaphragm - at least unless he's actually involved with her), and his ex (married) wants him back. Some silliness...ok, a lot of silliness.
Lisa Jackson - recycled and I didn't like it that much the first time.
Linda Lael Miller - Ooogly. H/h had once been engaged. She sent ring back. He married another woman. Other woman died. Heroine comes back home, a month goes by. He gives her an engagement ring - the very one she'd sent back years before. Uhh...yeah... Either he recycled it with late wife, or he had it stashed in the back of a drawer somewhere in which case, poor late wife. Well, poor late wife either way. blargh.
Virginia Henley's entry: H (and I use that term loosely) is buying piece of property. Heroine (also used loosely) is realtor in charge of property. She's also seeing someone. H sees her as available simply because she's female. They get stranded at property. Woohoo ensues. Heroine's dad rides to the rescue. Heroine's dad doesn't like boyfriend and has no problem whatsoever with the possibility that daughter has cheated on him. Wonder if he'd feel the same way if H had set his eyes on *his* wife. Heroine feels no guilt and if it weren't for the occasional blush, I'd guess no shame.
Martia Evanick's entry was the one redeeming tale, but it wasn't nearly enough to save this turkey. At least I found it in the bargain bin.
On to shredding the stories...
Fern Michaels' entry: Oh what a tangled web we weave. The H's grandma has been impersonating a bag lady and befriending the h. The H wants the H's property for some unexplained reason. He did a background check on her that the PI took a bit more seriously than necessary (I don't think it's necessary for a business owner to know that some veterinarian uses a diaphragm - at least unless he's actually involved with her), and his ex (married) wants him back. Some silliness...ok, a lot of silliness.
Lisa Jackson - recycled and I didn't like it that much the first time.
Linda Lael Miller - Ooogly. H/h had once been engaged. She sent ring back. He married another woman. Other woman died. Heroine comes back home, a month goes by. He gives her an engagement ring - the very one she'd sent back years before. Uhh...yeah... Either he recycled it with late wife, or he had it stashed in the back of a drawer somewhere in which case, poor late wife. Well, poor late wife either way. blargh.
Virginia Henley's entry: H (and I use that term loosely) is buying piece of property. Heroine (also used loosely) is realtor in charge of property. She's also seeing someone. H sees her as available simply because she's female. They get stranded at property. Woohoo ensues. Heroine's dad rides to the rescue. Heroine's dad doesn't like boyfriend and has no problem whatsoever with the possibility that daughter has cheated on him. Wonder if he'd feel the same way if H had set his eyes on *his* wife. Heroine feels no guilt and if it weren't for the occasional blush, I'd guess no shame.
Martia Evanick's entry was the one redeeming tale, but it wasn't nearly enough to save this turkey. At least I found it in the bargain bin.
May 4, 2016
The collection is quite alright. A fun and light read when you need a break. However, it could have been even better if the stories were a little more fleshed out, especially "The 24 Days of Christmas" by Linda Lael Miller. The end was just too abrupt for a story which began and continued very nicely. Had loads of problem with Virginia Henley's "Christmas Eve" but sometimes you just need to keep the political correctness out of your head when you pick a collection like this. Fern Michaels' "Merry Merry" was comedy of errors without the comedy. Lisa Jackson's "A Baby for Christmas" was stupid and Marcia Evanick's "A misty harbour christmas" was okay. I picked it up in a second hand shop so no harm done. Wouldn't have gone buying the new copy!
August 11, 2012
I think I'm getting old & cynical & should stop reading stuff like this. There was a time when I'd go "Awww, that's sweet." Now I'm going "Yee gods, who does that?!?"
For the Disney princesses, which I used to be, you'll enjoy it. It's romantic fluff that ends happily ever after.
For the Maxines, which I am now, you'll be digging around, looking for those air sickness bags you hoarded from Delta.
For the Disney princesses, which I used to be, you'll enjoy it. It's romantic fluff that ends happily ever after.
For the Maxines, which I am now, you'll be digging around, looking for those air sickness bags you hoarded from Delta.
December 31, 2012
This book was a condensed book of Christmas romance which was nice and heart felt. Some of the stories though the people just met and had sex, known eachother for 2 days and the next page engaged????? I think they should have either wrote a short story or just let them have flings cause it rarely works with the marriage thing so soon.
June 7, 2009
A great 393 page book to be read at any time. This incorporates five authors, Fern Michaels, Linda Lael Miller, Lisa Jackson, Virginia Henley, Marcia Evanick who now write other genres you may be reading now.
February 26, 2011
There are 5 short stories in this book.All romance theme.The best one is '24 days of christmas'.I liked 'a baby for christmas' and 'merry,merry' too.
December 5, 2009
Holiday treat.
December 28, 2010
A Baby For Christmas by Lisa Jackson was absolutely ridiculous!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews