Holiday Hearts

by Dana Volney

Love is in the air this Christmas, but will they take a chance on romance?
The December Deal
Lilia Carrigan is under pressure to raise money for her dad’s cancer treatment. Wealthy Vincent Morgenstern has to marry in order to inherit the company he loves so much. A marriage of convenience solves both their problems, but as Lilia and Vincent fake their way through events, holding hands and kisses, will their December deal stay professional or will real feelings ruin everything?

A Heart for the Holidays
Silver Morgenstern is a hospital administrator who can’t understand why Fisher Tibbs would request to be removed from the heart donation list. She’s determined to convince this big-hearted charity founder with so much to give that life is worth the fight. What she doesn’t expect is that the heart that’s saved just might be her own...

December Deception
High-powered lawyer Henry Hale is dreading his exuberant family’s holiday celebrations. His co-worker, Lorelai Sullivan, jumps at the chance to be a buffer at Henry’s family events and prove she’s partner-worthy in the law firm. Can a little holiday magic bring the two workaholic legal eagles together for more than just business?

Warm yourself up with these three small-town novellas, published for the first time in one HEA-guaranteed Christmas collection. Perfect for fans of Jenny Hale and Karen Swan.

Genres: Christmas

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2020

About the author

Dana Volney lets her imagination roam free in Wyoming, where she writes romances and helps local businesses succeed with her marketing consulting company. Splitting her time between telling sexy, fast-paced suspense stories and sweet holiday romances, she likes to try new adventures in real life whenever she can (which, let’s face it, means tasting all sorts of delicious cuisines). Dana is bold, adventurous, and—by her own admission—good with dogs, having kept a tri-color corgi named Sealy Two Delta happy for over five years.

Reviews

[Tahera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have spent the last three days reading both Holiday Hearts and Kisses for Christmas simultaneously, a collection of six Christmas related romance novellas brought together in two books. And it was three reading days well spent! Set in Casper, Wyoming all six novellas introduce new characters but who are in someway related to characters mentioned in previous stories. The setting is absolutely gorgeous and since all the stories take place around Christmas time, the description of the town turns it into a wonderland of sorts. The likable characters, the clean romance and the overall Christmasy feeling these stories bring together make for a perfect Christmas read along with a hot mug of hot chocolate or coffee or chai to go with it ☕🎄💖!

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Canelo and the author Dana Volney for the e-Arcs of both the books.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
❄️❄️❄️❄️

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visit my blog here https://cnnamongirl.wixsite.com/websi...

Dana Volney is a new to me author. This is a book with novella length stories in it that have been previously released. The stories are fun and have a Christmas theme.
I enjoyed reading it with it's well developed characters.
Holiday Hearts will take the pressure off of your holidays when you prop your feet up to read it with your mug of tea.
Great holiday read to take your cares away for a few hours.
Recommended!

Published November 5th 2020 by Canelo Escape
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence of The December Deal: Lilia Carrigan set her cup down on the small table in the coffee shop and took her seat in the corner with a view of the mountains. There had to be something she could do to raise money quickly. She opened her laptop and slouched in the hard wooden chair.

Premise/plot: Lilia Carrigan needs a LOT of money--and quickly. Her father has been diagnosed with cancer and his insurance won't cover the experimental treatments that might save his life--or prolong it. When she overhears a conversation at the bar, well, she's brash and bold. Vincent Morgenstern needs a wife by New Year's Day if he's to keep his inheritance--his father's business. This is something he very much wants, but, he always dreamed of marrying for love and only love. Should he accept the bold offer of a stranger? Should Lilia and Vincent marry--for a year--to both get what they want???? Or will this marriage of convenience turn MESSY and UGLY?

My thoughts: I really love marriage of convenience stories. I do. This one was a solidly good read, anyone who enjoys that type of story will most likely enjoy it just as much as I did.

First sentence of A Heart for the Holidays: “He doesn’t want a new heart?” Silver Morgenstern snapped her head up from her emails, which were piling up by the second. No one on the National Organ Transplant List ever turned down an organ. Or purposefully removed themselves from the list.

Premise/plot: Silver (the sister of Vincent) Morgenstern, a former surgeon, manages the regional National Organ Transplant List. She notices that the man at the top or near the top of the heart transplant list has just submitted paperwork to remove himself from the list. WHY?????? She's tempted to take matters into her own hands. She decides to visit Fisher Tibbs and find out WHY he no longer wants a new heart. Can she convince him to change his mind? Will these two inspire hope and joy in each other?

My thoughts: I really loved this story. Maybe I didn't find it perfectly perfectly magically wonderful. But it was SO GOOD. I really enjoyed all the characters and just the story itself.

First sentence of The December Deception: Lorelei Sullivan sat statue still, waiting for the verdict. The file folders were neatly stacked on the wooden table in the high-ceilinged courtroom and her navy leather-bound notebook was closed. She’d argued Shelia Monroe’s case of wrongful termination well, and she lacked only the words “we side with the plaintiff” from the jury foreperson followed by a hefty dollar figure for the win to be recorded legally.

Premise/plot: Lorelei Sullivan has decided that if she isn't offered a partnership in the law firm, she'll give her notice and look for a job elsewhere. Her boss, whom we first met in A Heart for the Holidays, Henry Hale has no intentions of offering anyone a partnership. But he doesn't want to lose Lorelei--she's an amazing lawyer that brings in a lot of money. Can he keep her satisfied? Will more time together be his doing or undoing?

My thoughts: I really liked the character of Henry Hale in A Heart for the Holidays. I wanted to love this story just as much as the other two. And it is good--solidly good. I liked both Lorelei and Henry. I liked meeting BOTH their families.

Overall thoughts: I greatly enjoyed these THREE novellas newly published together. I would recommend to anyone looking for clean romance. OH. You should know this book and Kisses for Christmas are set in Casper, Wyoming. Through six novellas we are really getting to know the community--and time is passing so we get updates on previous couples as life goes on in town.

[Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this eARC form Netgalley in exhange for a honest review
1.5 stars.
I didn`t feel the holiday theme in these ones, and the stories were too short to get to know the characters properly. I didn`t really feel the chemistry either.

[Holly Doyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains three novellas that I found rather cute. The first novella, The December Deal, is a storyline we have read elsewhere - someone has to be married by the end of the year or something promised to them in a will won't happen. When the groom randomly meets a woman in a cafe that overhears his conversation with his lawyer, he asks if she is interested in faking the marriage. She agrees - and it's a cute story that happens after that.

The second novella, A Heart for the Holidays, involves the groom's sister from the first story. She has had some things happen in her life that make her question the decisions she has made regarding her career. But when she meets a man that is on the heart transplant list, she feels she has never truly lived before. But can he find a heart in time to save his life? And does he even want to take that chance? Again, I thought this was a cute story.

The third novella, December Deception, has people from the first two novellas as the main characters. The lawyer from the first story also happens to be the heart patient's best friend and the woman in the story is the second novella heroine's best friend. This is the story of a lawyer and his associate lawyer who works harder than anyone he has ever known (except him, perhaps). She wants to become a partner and she deserves it. In the meantime, she also becomes closer to the lawyer himself (who also happens to be her boss currently). In the end, will she make partner or does it go to someone else? And if she doesn't make partner, can she ever forgive him?

I thought all three of these were cute stories and they were easy reads. I enjoyed them. I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are mine without biases.

[Brandi]

A new to me author I enjoyed getting to know in this collection of stories. The stories are connected and introduce you to some wonderfully real characters. I love the sweetness and HEA each one offers. It is a nice escape to anticipate when I sit down to steal a few quiet moments in the holiday bustle. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
I liked these three novellas and their characters.
A heartwarming, festive and enjoyable read that I recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Shannon Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This contains three Christmassy stories that all intertwine slightly. They were all cute and felt full of Christmas spirit but the characters all fell in love with days of meeting eachother...

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and cozy three short stories that all inter connect in a small way. I really enjoyed all three for different reasons, though I think the second story is my favorite one. A fun fast read.

[Tongeia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed each story. I think I liked Heart for the Holidays best.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of loosely connected holiday novellas with the common theme of deception running through them. They have all been previously released so if you're a long time Dana Volney reader you might want to check if you've read them before. For me, this ARC I got from Netgalley was my first experience with this author.

The December Deal is a modern marriage of convenience story in which some people know how Vincent and Lilia got together, and others they are trying to fool into thinking it's a real love story. Vincent's late father left him an inheritance on the condition that he gets married within a year, supposedly so he wouldn't end up sad and alone. I can never really understand why late fathers assumed that getting hastily married for the money would make you any less likely to end up sad and alone. Lilia needs money to help her ailing parent pay for treatment. She overhears Vincent talking about his predicament, and impulsively offers to be his bride. They agree to stay married for a year, and of course you can guess how it will go. I liked the beginning better than the end, because the strange notions of the late father notwithstanding, they got together rather naturally. But the ending feels a bit abrupt, as they go from virtual strangers to being in love within a few rather superficial conversations, and it's rather sudden for me. I think it would work better in a longer novel format so there'd be more room for romancing and heart-to-heart discussions so the reader could see why they were in love. A darker note in the sweetness is cast by Lilia's father who has pancreatic cancer and everyone I have ever known who had it died within a few months. But Lilia has hope for his survival.

Vincent's sister Silver got just a brief mention in The December Deal but she is the heroine in A Heart for the Holidays. Fisher Tibbs has a dangerous heart condition but he has asked to be removed from the heart transplant list that Silver is supervising. She volunteers in his children's charity, hoping to convince him otherwise. She has had health trouble of her own as she hurt her hand in an accident and lost her ability to do surgery. The deception part here involves Silver not telling Fisher her real name and the reasons for being there. It was an unnecessary complication, as she's not famous and they haven't met personally so he might not have recognized her name. And really he should have asked to see an ID anyway before letting her volunteer with the children. But alas, he does not, and of course the longer it takes the harder it becomes for her to come clean. There is an attraction between them but it's difficult to start a relationship because she operates under the cloud of dishonesty and he lives on the edge due to the constant threat of his own death and a past loss. The ending felt a little rushed here too. I don't want to get into spoiler territory but some of the medical details here seem a little iffy.

My favourite is the last one, December Deception which is the shortest tale but it doesn't feel as rushed because the characters Henry and Lorelei have already known each other for some time (we also met them both in the book about Fisher and Silver), and when their families maneuver them into interacting more privately during the holidays there is already some background for attraction. Despite the title, the deception here is a rather mild kind. Lorelei wants to become a partner in Henry's law firm, and he is hesitant. Nobody actually lies that much, it's just mostly just assumptions and expectations that don't get corrected to everyone's satisfaction. The families were nice and I would have liked to hear more about the reasoning behind some of their decisions that threw Henry and Lorelei together.

To sum up, it's a cute and quick read about characters who make some questionable decisions but all get into the holiday spirit eventually. There is no explicit sex, kisses are as far as it will go. Some of the stories might have been more satisfying in a longer format because the novella length necessarily cuts off some of the getting-to-know-you scenes that let the reader know why these people are in love.

I rated it four because I liked the last story I read best but the others are probably more like three, three and a half for me.

[Sophs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was free and sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley, however, all opinions are my own.
I saved this book specifically for December as I really wanted all of the Christmassy feels and it gave off just that. All three stories were different but both bought something to the table. I really enjoyed the spontaneous proposal one - I would have like to have seen how that progressed, but, nethertheless, such good short stories!