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12 Stocking Stuffers: Faith, Hope and Love\The Christmas Bride\Christmas Passions\A Seasonal Secret\Return of the Light\Star Light, Star Bright
Get out the mistletoe! Twelve days of Christmas...twelve stories filled with the magic of holiday romance...perfect reading for a snowy winter's day. Bundle includes Faith, Hope and Love, The Christmas Bride, Christmas Passions, A Seasonal Secret, Return of the Light, Star Light, Star Bright, Naughty or Nice?, Christmas Fantasy, A Christmas Marriage Ultimatum, A Prince for Christmas, The Millionaire's Christmas Wish and Merry Christmas, Baby
1168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
6 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Barton
300 books709 followersBeverly Marie Inman was born on 23 December 1946 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Daughter of Doris Marie and Walter D. Inman Jr. A born romantic, she fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Even before she learned to read and write, her vivid imagination created magical words and fabulous characters inside her mind. Movies fascinated her, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she'd penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry, and novels throughout high school and into college.
After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.
In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.
After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.
In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 1, 2010
I'm going to do this review just a little bit differently, since this Harlequin Christmas Anthology has 12 different books included in it and over 1467 pages. First I will give a run down on the titles and authors and then give my thoughts about the stories I liked best and the stories I didn't.
1.) Faith, Hope and Love by Beverly Barton
2.) The Christmas Bride by Heather Graham Pozzessere
3.) Christmas Passions by Catherine Spencer
4.) A Seasonal Secret by Dianna Hamilton
5.) Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne
6.) Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart
7.) Naughty or Nice? by Stephanie Bond
8.) Christmas Fantasy by Janelle Dennison
9.) A Christmas Marriage Ultimatum by Helen Bianchin
10.) A Prince for Christmas by Rebecca Winters
11.) The Millionaire's Christmas Wish by Lucy Gordon
12.) Merry Christmas, Baby by Monica Jackson
My Thoughts:
Out of all 12 stories I can definitely pick the ones I liked best and let you know why.
Faith, Hope and Love starts off the anthology and lets the reader kind of get a feel for how all the stories are going to be. Faith Sheridan and Worth Cordell have a date to keep, in the town square on Christmas Eve. When Worth doesn't show up Faith has to figure out where her life goes from here, now that she's pregnant and alone. A year later Faith is kidnapped and Worth reenters her life and meets his daughter, Hope.
I liked this one. A good love story about what happens when people miscommunicate and try to assume what the other is thinking.
Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne was definitely an interesting one. Dori left home to seek her fortune in the big city and found a whole lot more. When everything she's worked for goes down the tubes and she returns home, she finds Jason her old beau still waiting. He and the whole town have a lot to absorb when they find out that Dori is a Wiccan, a priestess even, who has helped the police in several missing person's cases.
I wasn't sure how to take this one, when I first started out. But, it ended up being one of my favorites in this anthology. I am very open minded and I found this one very interesting.
I liked Christmas Fantasy a lot. Teddy Spencer has a problem. Her boss is after her and her family wants to see her settle down, when all she wants is her independence and her career. When her best friends get her, her own private fantasy for her birthday, Teddy meets Austin McBride. Austin could be the answer to all her problems, but he definitely creates a few of his own.
This was the most erotic of the stories in this anthology and let me tell you, it packed the heat LOL. It also had a lot of humor and some real emotion thrown in the mix.
A Prince for Christmas was my favorite story in the whole anthology. Kristen Remmen and her beautiful niece Sonia travel across the ocean to meet a prince. Eric Thorvaldsen is fifth in line for the Frijian throne and takes his responsibilities seriously. When he discovers that Sonia is blind he goes out of his way to make her visit and that of her Aunt Kristen one of enchantment.
Not a single sex scene in this one and it's still my favorite, LOL. Just an all around feel good love story. Love at first site and a prince to boot.
There were not too many stories in this one that I didn't like. Though only those few did stick out. There was only one that I didn't care for and that was the last story, Merry Christmas, Baby. I'm not really sure why I didn't care for it, but it just didn't strike a romantic cord I guess.
Overall this was a huge book at 1467 pages, but each story can be taken separately and read accordingly. I liked almost all the stories and it didn't seem taxing to read them all.
1.) Faith, Hope and Love by Beverly Barton
2.) The Christmas Bride by Heather Graham Pozzessere
3.) Christmas Passions by Catherine Spencer
4.) A Seasonal Secret by Dianna Hamilton
5.) Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne
6.) Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart
7.) Naughty or Nice? by Stephanie Bond
8.) Christmas Fantasy by Janelle Dennison
9.) A Christmas Marriage Ultimatum by Helen Bianchin
10.) A Prince for Christmas by Rebecca Winters
11.) The Millionaire's Christmas Wish by Lucy Gordon
12.) Merry Christmas, Baby by Monica Jackson
My Thoughts:
Out of all 12 stories I can definitely pick the ones I liked best and let you know why.
Faith, Hope and Love starts off the anthology and lets the reader kind of get a feel for how all the stories are going to be. Faith Sheridan and Worth Cordell have a date to keep, in the town square on Christmas Eve. When Worth doesn't show up Faith has to figure out where her life goes from here, now that she's pregnant and alone. A year later Faith is kidnapped and Worth reenters her life and meets his daughter, Hope.
I liked this one. A good love story about what happens when people miscommunicate and try to assume what the other is thinking.
Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne was definitely an interesting one. Dori left home to seek her fortune in the big city and found a whole lot more. When everything she's worked for goes down the tubes and she returns home, she finds Jason her old beau still waiting. He and the whole town have a lot to absorb when they find out that Dori is a Wiccan, a priestess even, who has helped the police in several missing person's cases.
I wasn't sure how to take this one, when I first started out. But, it ended up being one of my favorites in this anthology. I am very open minded and I found this one very interesting.
I liked Christmas Fantasy a lot. Teddy Spencer has a problem. Her boss is after her and her family wants to see her settle down, when all she wants is her independence and her career. When her best friends get her, her own private fantasy for her birthday, Teddy meets Austin McBride. Austin could be the answer to all her problems, but he definitely creates a few of his own.
This was the most erotic of the stories in this anthology and let me tell you, it packed the heat LOL. It also had a lot of humor and some real emotion thrown in the mix.
A Prince for Christmas was my favorite story in the whole anthology. Kristen Remmen and her beautiful niece Sonia travel across the ocean to meet a prince. Eric Thorvaldsen is fifth in line for the Frijian throne and takes his responsibilities seriously. When he discovers that Sonia is blind he goes out of his way to make her visit and that of her Aunt Kristen one of enchantment.
Not a single sex scene in this one and it's still my favorite, LOL. Just an all around feel good love story. Love at first site and a prince to boot.
There were not too many stories in this one that I didn't like. Though only those few did stick out. There was only one that I didn't care for and that was the last story, Merry Christmas, Baby. I'm not really sure why I didn't care for it, but it just didn't strike a romantic cord I guess.
Overall this was a huge book at 1467 pages, but each story can be taken separately and read accordingly. I liked almost all the stories and it didn't seem taxing to read them all.
March 30, 2022
Good enough
Not really much Christmas subject matter, but mostly nice stories. Two or three are a bit raunchy for my taste.
Not really much Christmas subject matter, but mostly nice stories. Two or three are a bit raunchy for my taste.
December 23, 2010
I was looking for some more Christmas reads and this looked to be just the ticket with 12 older romance stories - some short and some novella length. The collection starts out slow and picks up steam around the middle, I found that I really didn't like the stories with secret children at all and there were a fair number of them here. Overall though, there ending up being enough 'hits' that I enjoyed the anthology despite the 'misses'. Most of these stories are older (pre-2004) and I might mention that a fair number of the stories are available for kindle separately or in shorter anthologies, if any of these sound liked they appeal to you and you want to pick and choose.
Faith, Hope and Love Beverly Barton - A woman waits on Christmas eve for the man she has already planned a happily ever after with - so so, she needs a hero, and he is a died in the wool protector but I just never felt that loving feeling.
The Christmas Bride Heather Graham Pozzessere - A woman and her son are invited to a winter getaway with her boss and his daughter - liked it (even though the heroine is prickly)
Christmas Passions Catherine Spencer - A woman goes home and is still attracted to the man she's had a crush on for years, but he's supposed to be proposing to her best friend - so so - The manipulative friend just needed to be dealt with sooner.
A Seasonal Secret Diana Hamilton - A man returns to sell the family mansion since he'll never have an heir, but may just have to rethink that plan - so so - I just am not fond of secret children.
The next two are both originally from an anthology Burning Bright. Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne and Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart Shayne's is a bit jarring to start - I wasn't expecting a wiccan Solitice ceremony in a Christmas anthology - but both stories had a touch of holiday magic for two woman starting new lives in a small vermont town and making connections with men they'd left behind, I liked both of these stories.
I also liked both of these which were also published together in an anthology :
Naughty or Nice -Stephanie Bond - A misfity hotel manager falls for the man sent to determine whether to give her hotel the ax - the woman is a magnet for disaster but still ends up appealing.
Christmas Fantasy - Janielle Dennison - A woman's friends fulfill her fantasy by giving her a 'cowboy' for her birthday, but he gets a chance for the reality he wants - This one was really good in the steamy tension building department
A Christmas Marriage Ultimatum by Helen Blanchin - I really did not like this one at all - A chance meeting forces a woman to deal with the lover she left behind when he discovers the child she's kept from him - The relationship between the pair is largely antagonistic for much of the story and I was alternately irritated and sympathetic to the woman who has hidden knowledge of her child from his father and the father was soo manipulative and heavy handed - argggh!
A Prince for Christmas - Rebecca Winters - A woman and her niece capture the heart of a prince - the price was definitely charming in this fairy tale come true.
The Millionaire's Christmas Wish - Lucy Gordon - A wealthy businessman is on the brink of a great success for his business but about to lose his family when fate steps in an offers him a Christmas miracle - I really liked this one and the way that hero discovers what's important to him before it's too late.
Merry Christmas Baby - Monica Jackson - A 'he said, she said' first person romance alternating between the hero and heroine's point of view - the pair's families are quite amusing.
Faith, Hope and Love Beverly Barton - A woman waits on Christmas eve for the man she has already planned a happily ever after with - so so, she needs a hero, and he is a died in the wool protector but I just never felt that loving feeling.
The Christmas Bride Heather Graham Pozzessere - A woman and her son are invited to a winter getaway with her boss and his daughter - liked it (even though the heroine is prickly)
Christmas Passions Catherine Spencer - A woman goes home and is still attracted to the man she's had a crush on for years, but he's supposed to be proposing to her best friend - so so - The manipulative friend just needed to be dealt with sooner.
A Seasonal Secret Diana Hamilton - A man returns to sell the family mansion since he'll never have an heir, but may just have to rethink that plan - so so - I just am not fond of secret children.
The next two are both originally from an anthology Burning Bright. Return of the Light by Maggie Shayne and Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart Shayne's is a bit jarring to start - I wasn't expecting a wiccan Solitice ceremony in a Christmas anthology - but both stories had a touch of holiday magic for two woman starting new lives in a small vermont town and making connections with men they'd left behind, I liked both of these stories.
I also liked both of these which were also published together in an anthology :
Naughty or Nice -Stephanie Bond - A misfity hotel manager falls for the man sent to determine whether to give her hotel the ax - the woman is a magnet for disaster but still ends up appealing.
Christmas Fantasy - Janielle Dennison - A woman's friends fulfill her fantasy by giving her a 'cowboy' for her birthday, but he gets a chance for the reality he wants - This one was really good in the steamy tension building department
A Christmas Marriage Ultimatum by Helen Blanchin - I really did not like this one at all - A chance meeting forces a woman to deal with the lover she left behind when he discovers the child she's kept from him - The relationship between the pair is largely antagonistic for much of the story and I was alternately irritated and sympathetic to the woman who has hidden knowledge of her child from his father and the father was soo manipulative and heavy handed - argggh!
A Prince for Christmas - Rebecca Winters - A woman and her niece capture the heart of a prince - the price was definitely charming in this fairy tale come true.
The Millionaire's Christmas Wish - Lucy Gordon - A wealthy businessman is on the brink of a great success for his business but about to lose his family when fate steps in an offers him a Christmas miracle - I really liked this one and the way that hero discovers what's important to him before it's too late.
Merry Christmas Baby - Monica Jackson - A 'he said, she said' first person romance alternating between the hero and heroine's point of view - the pair's families are quite amusing.
October 12, 2011
i recommend this book
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews