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Secret Santa: He'd Better Watch Out / The Nights Before Christmas / Mistletoe Madness

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He'd Better Watch Out by Janelle Denison
Amanda Creighton has always been the epitome of good--until the day her inner vixen convinces her to tease the office bad boy with a gift he can't possibly resist....


The Nights Before Christmas by Isabel Sharpe
When her Secret Santa leaves Cathy Ann Johnson barely-there lingerie, she can't help but think the gift comes with an invitation to model it. So she seduces Santa--the wrong Santa....

Mistletoe Madness by Jennifer LaBrecque
Tatiana Allen believes in giving her job as a restaurant critic her all. Heck, she's even working over the holidays! So how does she end up with Cole in her stocking?

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

3 people are currently reading
329 people want to read

About the author

Janelle Denison

159 books559 followers
It’s hard for me to imagine that I’ve been writing romances for over twenty years now! I started at the young age of 21, just after I got married. Reading romances, and then writing them, came about as a result of having too much time on my hands. When I first married my husband Don, I was working a regular nine to five job and he worked swing shift, from four in the afternoon until midnight. It wasn’t an ideal schedule for newlyweds, and in order to pass those hours when I was alone I started reading romances, and eventually tried my hand at writing them.
The road to publication wasn’t an easy one. It took me five years and dozens of rejections to make my first sale, which was to Harlequin for their “Stolen Moments” line. THE FAMILY MAN, written under the pseudonym Danielle Kelly, was one of the twelve novellas published in 1993 for this promotional line.

It took me another two and a half years (and more rejections!) to sell my second book. HEAVEN’S GIFT (written under my own name) was published in October 1995 by Leisure Love Spell for their “An Angel’s Touch” series. Another two years passed of collecting even more rejections before I finally sold to Harlequin Romance and Harlequin Temptation. At the time, writing for both Temptation and Harlequin Romance provided me with a wonderful creative outlet for both my modern, ultra-sexy stories, and my warmer, traditional romances. But as the years passed, I realized how much I enjoyed writing the sexier stories and streamlined my career accordingly so that I was no longer writing the sweet traditional romances, and instead focused on the hotter, sexier stories for Temptation and Blaze.

After writing over two dozen books for Harlequin, I decided to branch out. I wanted to write anthologies and single titles, and came up with an idea about three sexy brothers with the last name of “Wilde”. Little did I know that those Wilde brothers would become such a sensation with readers. In the second Wilde book, WILDE THING, four Wilde cousins were introduced, and readers started writing in for their stories, too. It’s been a joy and pleasure to write each of the Wilde stories, and I want to thank everyone for purchasing those books and putting them on the USA Today Bestseller list!

I’ve been a full-time writer for years, which consists of being deep in deadlines, writing proposals (growling at the husband to fix a glitch in the computer so I can get back to work!), perusing contracts, line-edits (stressing over a scene that won’t work or characters that just won’t talk or cooperate with my plans for them!), galleys, art-fact sheets, promotion, and other publishing paperwork. Admittedly, I wouldn’t trade all the craziness in for pantyhose, rush hour traffic, and a nine-to-five job again. Writing is hard work, but I find the rewards are well worth the effort. Fan letters are one of those priceless rewards, and can keep me on a high for days! I’ve met the most wonderful people through my books, some of which I now consider good friends.

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5 stars
71 (32%)
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75 (34%)
3 stars
57 (25%)
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13 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Dina.
1,324 reviews1,366 followers
December 18, 2011
This anthology contains 3 loosely related short stories: all the H/h work for Connoisseur, a food and travel magazine, and the stories take place during the week before Christmas and kick off with the Secret Santa played in the office. There's no need to read the stories in any particular order - or even read all of them, for that matter.

He'd Better Watch Out by Janelle Denison (4 stars)
Nice H/h with good chemistry and interesting plot with a touch of humor. There wasn't a definite HEA but that was good considering the whole story lasted only a week. It would have been completely unbelievable to have the H/h making wedding plans in such short time. On a side note: I don't know how the hero managed to keep his job after being caught in flagrante delicto with a co-worker in the boardroom; maybe the heroine's father (his boss) was more liberal than the average employer.

The Nights Before Christmas by Isabel Sharpe (2 stars)
The hero was bland, the heroine was a stammering idiot, the secondary characters (her two friends) were annoying, the plot was unbelievable and I didn't like the author's writing - she took forever to give the readers an insight into the hero's mind, which wasn't a smart move considering how short the story was.

Mistletoe Madness by Jennifer Labrecque (5 stars)
Charming, sweet and funny H/h and well-developed plot that kept a smile on my face the whole time while I was reading this story. The HEA was completely believable considering how the H/h had known each other and had been skirting around a love/hate relationship (aka foreplay) for some years.

I'm giving this book an overal 4-star rating for the first and the last story only, as I've already erased the second one from my mind.
Profile Image for Maura.
3,883 reviews113 followers
May 26, 2019
He’d Better Watch Out - Janelle Denison - 2.5/5 - Amanda is the boss’s daughter and has a huge crush on the office bad boy, Christian (who was caught having sex in the boardroom several months ago). But he’s a reformed bad boy now, aiming for a promotion...which is why he hasn’t acted on his attraction to Amanda. The office gift exchange though reveals Amanda’s attraction to him and the two of them agree to a weekend fling. But there’s more intimacy then either of them expected and neither want the relationship to end.

First off, Amanda is a nutcase. She has two imaginary friends, Angie, the angel that sits on her shoulder and tells Amanda to be good and Desiree, the devil who tells her to be bad. She speaks to them, interacts with them and sees them in the mirror. That certainly isn’t normal behavior for a full-grown adult, and I was surprised that Christian took it all in stride when she told him about them...talking as though they were real people. And honestly, her conversations with them were quite distracting. On top of that, I was also pretty annoyed with the author’s clear stereotypes about homosexual men...I mean, Drew, the openly gay guy in the office, flirts with Christian shamelessly and makes him uncomfortable all the time...and his favorite movie is Brokeback Mountain. And Christian’s reaction, like he has to avoid Drew because he might come onto him is another ridiculous thing. Aside from those annoying things, this was a decent story. I liked that Christian had already reformed and didn’t approach things with Amanda thinking it was just another one-night stand or anything and that he was open to a relationship. They had some sexy times together and their relationship felt like it was developing for real (and the fact that their HEA didn’t include marriage after a weekend was good).

The Nights Before Christmas - Isabel Sharpe - 3/5 - Cathy’s neighbor Jake has been flirting her up and asked her out, but she still fantasizes about out-of-her-league playboy, Quinn. At her secret santa exchange at work, she receives some racy red underwear and a wink from Quinn, so she thinks they’re from him. This ups her confidence enough to go to his house and go for a one-night stand, which she does, and she’s surprised at how easily they connect with each other. But then the next morning, she finds out the underwear was from Jake. But now she’s had Quinn she really wants more of him before he leaves for London for a year, and after she’s had enough she’ll settle down with Jake. Maybe...because the more time she spends with Quinn, the more she’s sure it’s love.

The positive here is the relationship between Quinn and Cathy. Quinn isn’t really a playboy that’s just the reputation that he has, and in fact when Cathy walks in and starts whipping off her sweater, he was about to stop things and tell her to leave (nicely). But her reaction to a mishap makes him realize that he liked her (as if he didn’t know from working with her?) and so they connected not only physically, but also intimately. I didn’t like very much that Cathy kind of had two guys on her hook at the same time. She definitely needed to be upfront with Jake and/or Quinn about what was happening. And I’m kinda with Melinda...it’s a little off to spend the night with one guy and go out on a date with another the next morning. I’m sure people do it all the time, but it bothered me a bit. I still liked Quinn and Cathy’s time together and did my best to forget that Jake even existed. Cute story with those two, and Quinn was super genuine. Liked him a lot.

Mistletoe Madness - Jennifer LeBrecque - 3/5 - Cole and Tatiana have worked together for a year and despite the sparks flying between them, they can’t stand one another. Cole thinks she’s sharp-tongued and mean, while Tatiana thinks he has a silver-spoon in his mouth and got this job through nepotism. But having each other’s names for the secret santa exchange and being paired up to review some restaurants together means they’re starting to get to know each other better and their first impressions aren’t holding up. Turns out they actually like each other, and it’s turning into love.

This was kind of cute. Cole and Tatiana have a very contentious relationship...lots of barbs being traded and witticisms. Their conversations turn into flirtatious banter as they trade insults. I was kind of thinking, after Cole mentioned that he doesn’t do love, that this was gonna be a seduce and dump situation, but it wasn't’t at all. Cole is comfortable in his fall into love...more so than Tatiana who figured she’d try to avoid it as long as possible. This was a fun and quick read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jo Reads Romance.
945 reviews66 followers
January 28, 2021


Naughty but nice Christmas collection
4 stars

Secret Santa is a collection of three short stories all centred around the Secret Santa exchange at the New York offices of Connoisseur - a food and travel magazine.


He'd Better Watch Out! - Janelle Denison
Bosses daughter Amanda Creighton has always been a good girl - until she decides to put her name down as the Secret Santa for the office bad boy Christian Miller and give him a gift that he won't be able to resist.

The Nights Before Christmas - Isabel Sharpe
Cathy Ann Johnson considers herself as quite an ordinary sort of girl - so when her Secret Santa gives her some sexy lingerie she decides it's time to be a little bit naughty. So she seduces her Santa - only it's the wrong Santa!

Mistletoe Madness - Jennifer LaBrecque
Tatiana Allen's boss has decided to go all out with the office Secret Santa and have 8 days worth of presents and gifts. Unfortunately for Tatiana, she has to buy gifts for her office nemesis Cole Mitchell. But when they are thrown together for an assignment, Tatiana realises that this year she wouldn't mind getting Cole in her stockings afterall.


This is a sweet set of festive stories that you can't help but enjoy even if they are quite light on that warm Christmas feeling in some cases.

Janelle Denison's story is enjoyable although I wasn't sure about the angel and devil who advised the heroine throughout the story - that was slightly odd. But otherwise it was a sexy story with two enjoyable characters.

Isabel Sharpe's story is more sweet and poignant than the others and although it does have it's fair share of sexy scenes, it's more of an emotional tale with a heroine you will no doubt identify with.

The best of the three stories is Jennifer LaBrecque's offering with the arguing colleagues. It's funny, sexy and a really enjoyable story.

Overall - although there maybe aren't any classics in this anthology - it is a book that I'm sure you will enjoy whether it's Christmas or not! Definitely recommended for a fun, light read.


Profile Image for Laura.
3 reviews
January 2, 2026
I have a soft spot for this collection of short stories. This is one of the first spicy books I purchased as a young adult and continue to enjoy reading each holiday season. The nostalgia from the stories being set in the 2000s also makes this a fun read.
Profile Image for Cee.
111 reviews2 followers
December 31, 2018
Picked up the book to read the first story. Got through most of the second story. Don't want to continue.
Profile Image for S. Rutherford.
Author 4 books8 followers
December 23, 2014
The only saving grace that kept this book from receiving absolutely zero stars is the first story, "He'd Better Watch Out!" by Janelle Denison.

This story was remarkably well. I enjoyed it greatly and it didn't bog me down with extraneous, crappy detail that took forever to get through. The characters were likable, realistic (if even a little cliche), and the plot enjoyable. Likewise, the writing was simple and not cluttered with unneeded background detail. For a Harlequin story, I'm not looking for a whole lot of background detail. I'm looking for a story; short, simple, and sweet. If I wanted to read a huge story involving background story and extensive character arcs, I'd pick up a full blown romance novel instead. I wasn't looking for that at this time.

Unfortunately...

The two follow-up stories did not deliver.

"The Nights Before Christmas" by Isabel Sharpe... well, let's just say I did try. I really did. I actually started reading the first chapter, despite the excessive information put out for background.

Sadly, this did not last. Shortly after beginning it, I felt it was rather... oh, what's the word I'm looking for... flat. There was no entertainment. The "surprise" plot was already expected (and I didn't even read the back cover blurb!) so by the time I reached the two male characters that play a part in the star female's life, I kind of already knew what to expect. But aside from the expected plot twist, the main girl's motives were far out of character for her. I know it's fiction and the writer can make anything happen (to a believable point), but come on! If you're going to spend so much time inserting a full-blown character description with a detailed background, have it match the character's current personality, whether or not there's a little change involved. Having her be willing to wear her Secret Santa gift for the guy she thinks is responsible for buying it when it's not the guy the story makes you think she's head-over-heals crushes for, is downright idiotic. She crushes one particular guy in the beginning of the story; if for no other reason than to lick the flames of danger, wear it for him!

But no... I don't think a lot of writers think this way. Might be a good thing I'm writing my own version of said personality (Confessions of a Playerette).

The final story, "Mistletoe Madness", by Jennifer LaBrecque... well, let's just say I actually read the back cover blurb for this one. I thought it would be a pretty good story, but as a warning let me say don't let the word "Cole" throw you off. It threw me off. I didn't catch the spelling difference or the fact that it began with a capitol letter. I assumed, "Oh, somebody's on the naughty list and gets coal in their stockings." "Cole" is the name of the male character. Needless to say, I attempted to read this story... but like the previous one, I wound up skimming through it. The characters weren't entertaining, the writing style wasn't enjoyable, and the whole feel of the story felt... bleh. Just bleh. I didn't much care for it, and I didn't even really skim through it as I had the other. I just... didn't care.

It's not a very good story if your reader doesn't much care for what you've written enough to even skim through the gist of things.

So needless to say, this whole harlequin book only receives a one star rating, and it's all because of the first story. Unfortunately, that one story doesn't help keep the book on my shelf. This has been labeled as "tossing", because there's no point in keeping it if I don't like much of what it offers.
Profile Image for Kerry-Ann (A Bookish Redhead).
135 reviews12 followers
February 18, 2013
Secret Santa is a novel filled with three very stunning hot festive reads all of which are incredible.

He'd better watch out - Janelle Denison

Janelle Denison's books just fasinate me the more I read them and Amanda Creighton was definately one of her best characters!

Amanda is Christians secret santa and vise versa. They both put alot of though into their gifts for one another, the main one is though each other!

The Nights before Christmas - Isabel Sharpe

Cathy Ann was such a fun character to read about she was so enjoyable and honest! One of my favourite scenes has to be when she turns up at Quinns apartment in the sexy red lingerie she's received from her secret santa who she thought was from Quinn.... When's she's trying to take her jumper off but gets it stuck!

Cathy Ann is such a normal down to earth character, she's just fab! And ofcourse so is the sexy Mr Quinn!

Mistletoe Madness - Jennifer LaBrecque

Tatiana and Cole are two of the best characters I've ever read about! They are two amazingly written characters. This is definately one scorching read!

All three stories were brilliant! I loved each and every single page, I just wish it was next christmas again so I could get back into the festive mood!
Profile Image for Laura.
316 reviews1 follower
December 26, 2008
HE'D BETTER WATCH OUT! by Janelle Denison
Loved it! Hot, steamy, and fun. Amanda finds herself when the office "bad boy" shows her there is more to her than she thinks.

THE NIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Isabel Sharpe
Cathy feels ordinary...her name, her clothes, her apartment, her life. Quinn proves her wrong. She may think she is ordinary, but not to him. A steamy, quick read. A little predictable, but ultimately, just a fun read.

MISTLETOE MADNESS by Jennifer LaBrecque
Mmm...this one is more fun than steamy. Tatiana doesn't want to be interested in Cole. She sees what she wants with him and when she starts to see the truth, she isn't sure what to think. Quick, with a nice, happy ending.
Profile Image for Michele.
443 reviews34 followers
January 31, 2009
Secret Santa Anthology includes He'd Better Watch Out!, The Nights Before Christmas, Mistletoe Madness

He'd Better Watch Out by Janelle Denison
Amanda Creighton has always been the epitome of good—until the day her inner vixen convinces her to tease the office bad boy with a gift he can't possibly resist….

The Nights Before Christmas by Isabel Sharpe
When her Secret Santa leaves Cathy Ann Johnson barely-there lingerie, she can't help but think the gift comes with an invitation to model it. So she seduces Santa—the wrong Santa….

Mistletoe Madness by Jennifer LaBrecque
Tatiana Allen believes in giving her job as a restaurant critic her all. Heck, she's even working over the holidays! So how does she end up with Cole in her stocking?
Profile Image for Dawn ♥ romance.
1,830 reviews29 followers
October 11, 2011
Three steamy holiday stories that were just so-so but I did finish them with some skimming. They were so heavy with internal debate about the relationship. One story even had a gimmick for internal dialog. First was about bosses daughter, next was red teddy gift, and the last was 8 days of presents.
Profile Image for Sonia.
936 reviews25 followers
October 11, 2012
Solo he leído He'd better watch out de J. Denison.
Amanda Creighton es la hija del jefe. Christian Miller el mejor ejecutivo de ventas de la empresa y chico malo oficial. La navidad y el amigo invisible la oportunidad de Amanda de hacer una travesura.
316 reviews3 followers
October 25, 2015
Great way to get in the holiday spirit!

Fun quick reads by three great authors. Fun premise on Secret Santa gifts. I really enjoyed watching the happily ever afters!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews

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