Beneath a Christmas Sky

by Alissa Callen, Janet Gover, Jacquie Underdown

A collection of festive rural stories from five well-loved Australian authors.

Under Christmas Stars by Alissa Callen

Small-town teacher Freya George is determined to make up for last year's disastrous Christmas. This year she will stop at nothing to ensure that she and the Woodlea community have the best holiday season ever. But from the moment Freya meets cattleman Drew Macgregor, her plans unravel faster than red Christmas ribbon ...

Christmas at Coorah Creek by Janet Gover

English nurse Katie Brooks is here to stay after travelling halfway around the world to outback Queensland. But she hadn't anticipated being rescued on day one by Scott Collins: Coorah Creek's prodigal son ... who is determined to leave town as soon as possible. Can a small-town Christmas change their minds?

The Christmas Wish by Jacquie Underdown

Returning home, schoolteacher Brielle hopes a quiet Christmas will quash the ever-present feeling that she no longer belongs anywhere. For single dad Luke, romance is off the agenda - no matter how appealing his one-time antagonist Brielle has become. It's not only his heart that's at risk - it's that of his young daughter too. But after a Christmas wish is cast, the spirit of Christmas conspires to create some holiday magic.

Above the Mistletoe by Juliet Madison

Determined to escape all things Christmas in far-off Australia, Angelette hadn't counted on being forced to stay at the local Christmas-themed pub, where the owner is intent on enforcing holiday cheer. But embracing Christmas will mean opening up about the one reason Angelette vowed never to celebrate Christmas again. And that will take a miracle.

His Christmas Feast by Nora James

Jilted French chef Christophe has sworn off women. Until his sexy neighbour Emily turns up at the lavish Christmas party he throws at his country home. The trouble is, Emily, the queen of mixed signals, is hiding something. Will he ever understand her? Or will the fence they're building between their two properties keep them apart for good?

Genres: Christmas

624 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2022

About the author

When USA Today bestselling author Alissa Callen isn’t writing she plays traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who really does believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. After a childhood spent chasing sheep on the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. Once a teacher and a counsellor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She also is partial to historic homesteads and country gardens and has been known to drive hours to see an open-garden. She currently lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western New South Wales.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of easy quick read stories, loved 3 of them one of them was good but the last story there was so many mixed signals coming from Emily I was waiting for Christoph to give up on her - so glad she got some clarity when she did! Phew.
My initial book had 50 pages missing so I had to source another book to finish it properly… that’s why it took a couple of months for me but the stories are easily one afternoon reads each and a great collection to just stop, read and enjoy.

[Brendon Fehre]

Picked up this book for only $1 at Kmart. The first story by Alissa Callen has already appeared in a previous Australian Christmas book. I wouldn't want to be paying full price for a book to find out I had already read the story before.

The second story by Janet Gover I can't even remember what it was about now I have finished. It was so full of mistakes it completely ruined the reading experience - for goodness sake spend a bit of money and hire an decent editor if you're are lazy to do it yourself.

The third story by Jacquie Underdown was lacking the Christmas spirit. It was more about the problems to do with a young female teacher (family problems, relationship problems, work problems, personal problems - you name it she had it), who moves back to a small country town where she grew up, meets a local man, then the story turned into something more suitable for an porn magazine (or Mills & Boon) than a Christmas read. If I could give this story no stars I would.

The fourth Juliet Madison's where an American girl comes to Australia for Christmas, (reads more like it's set in America, with a few Aussie things thrown in to make it sound Australian). No pub in Australia would be called The Mistletoe ever. However it's a Christmas story with a brilliant twist I didn't see coming. And a nice fluffy ending.

The last Nora James story, the Christmas part of the story is over at the beginning and it just plods on and on to a very predictable end. Never had I wanted a couple NOT to get together as much as this couple. Basically she's a bitch who complains until the last 10 pages - and his French doesn't have an accent. Have you ever met a Frenchman without an accent! Disappointing.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 books in one is a good concept as it exposes the reader to new authors. I enjoyed 2/5 of the stories 1 was ok and the other 2 were blah.

I enjoyed the Alissa callen as it is a familiar author and familiar characters. It helped put other stories and characters into to perspective.

Nora James story was the other one i enjoyed as it was not really a christmas story and it was a different story from a mans perspective which u dont get much

[Tania Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable country romances