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Dundee, Idaho #8.5
That Christmas Feeling: A Dundee Christmas / We Need a Little Christmas / Kiss Me, Santa
Wishes come true this holiday season in this heartwarming collection of three stories from your favorite Harlequin Superromance authors.
A Dundee Christmas
A woman seeking refuge in a strange town during a snowstorm is taken in by a man who helps her discover that home is where the love is.
We Need a Little Christmas
A prodigal son returning to his family ranch meets a woman with an unconventional way of bringing the holiday spirit into their town and hearts.
Kiss Me, Santa
The battle's on between a reclusive widower and the single mom determined to open his heart and banish his Grinch-like behavior.
A Dundee Christmas
A woman seeking refuge in a strange town during a snowstorm is taken in by a man who helps her discover that home is where the love is.
We Need a Little Christmas
A prodigal son returning to his family ranch meets a woman with an unconventional way of bringing the holiday spirit into their town and hearts.
Kiss Me, Santa
The battle's on between a reclusive widower and the single mom determined to open his heart and banish his Grinch-like behavior.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
11 people are currently reading
540 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Novak
238 books6,964 followersIt was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 24, 2015
For the most part, reading anthologies offers me the opportunity to try authors I am not familiar with. Whether I am visiting old places or trying new settings, the short stories offer me different writing styles. THAT CHRISTMAS FEELING contained three contemporary novellas; one that was part of a series.
Brenda Novak's A Dundee Christmas brought together some of the characters from STRANGER IN TOWN, one of stories from her Dundee, Idaho series. This time around, Kenny 'Ken' Price was all grown up when Cierra Roberts came knocking on his door. It was fairly predictable but still had some essence of romantic charm. *3 stars*
Kathleen O'Brien visited Joyland, Virginia with We Need A Little Christmas. Rough and tough Nick Araby returned to his hometown after a twelve year drought. His embittered relationship ended when he found out that his grandfather was dying and learned of some old secrets that gave him closure. In the meantime, he became involved with Annie Browning and small-town Christmas traditions. As I was reading, I thought I missed out on another story connecting all of the characters. I had a hard time believing the few times Annie and Nick met and got along allowed them to fall in love by the end. *2 stars*
Lastly was Karina Bliss's Kiss Me, Santa; the best of the short stories and the most believable. A widower and divorcee with a child were neighbors in Auckland, New Zealand. It was a few weeks away from Christmas and, in celebration, everyone was decorating their houses with lights. Except for Mike. The Grinch-like neighbor. Snappy dialog, some sparks of tension and a melting of good things to come helped to engage me. *4 Stars*
In conclusion, I can only recommend this book if you are a big fan of Brenda Novak's Dundee series or you follow Karina Bliss.
Brenda Novak's A Dundee Christmas brought together some of the characters from STRANGER IN TOWN, one of stories from her Dundee, Idaho series. This time around, Kenny 'Ken' Price was all grown up when Cierra Roberts came knocking on his door. It was fairly predictable but still had some essence of romantic charm. *3 stars*
Kathleen O'Brien visited Joyland, Virginia with We Need A Little Christmas. Rough and tough Nick Araby returned to his hometown after a twelve year drought. His embittered relationship ended when he found out that his grandfather was dying and learned of some old secrets that gave him closure. In the meantime, he became involved with Annie Browning and small-town Christmas traditions. As I was reading, I thought I missed out on another story connecting all of the characters. I had a hard time believing the few times Annie and Nick met and got along allowed them to fall in love by the end. *2 stars*
Lastly was Karina Bliss's Kiss Me, Santa; the best of the short stories and the most believable. A widower and divorcee with a child were neighbors in Auckland, New Zealand. It was a few weeks away from Christmas and, in celebration, everyone was decorating their houses with lights. Except for Mike. The Grinch-like neighbor. Snappy dialog, some sparks of tension and a melting of good things to come helped to engage me. *4 Stars*
In conclusion, I can only recommend this book if you are a big fan of Brenda Novak's Dundee series or you follow Karina Bliss.
December 12, 2020
Even in the bad times you can still believe in something. You can still make magic
April 25, 2013
I loved Brenda Novak's story best. The other two were a bit Meh.
November 30, 2010
Wow! I absolutely loved the Bliss novella, Kiss Me Santa. It was very well written and the scene where Mike brought out the beer bottles in only his boxers and a tie to scare off the potential buyers had me rolling on the floor! I will definitely be looking for more of her work! The Novak novella was a bit of a let-down. I felt like too much time was devoted to the beginning of the story and not enough to the end. I also had trouble believing Ken and Cierra knew each other well enough to fall in love. The O'Brien novella was my least favorite. It just felt very trite, formulated, and improbable. Prodigal grandson returns after TWELVE years away and....POOF!!....Grandpa miracously recovers from his deathbed, all misunderstandings are cleared up, all is forgiven, and.....of course.....Nate and Annie become a couple in the last paragraph!!! They kiss as it fades to black..................
September 8, 2015
I found this at the library and decided to read it because I saw that Brenda Novak had a story in this one. It was just okay for me. Three very short stories and none give you a satisfying HEA. The problem with short stories is that you never get much development in the story for obvious reasons. For what it was it wasn't bad but I have to have a little better ending to give it a higher rating.
April 19, 2024
Cute Christmas themed romances.
November 22, 2023
Enjoyable enough three-popper... but none of them really stood out as amazing.
Story #1 - Illegal immigrant's mail-ordering husband has a heart attack before he finishes the paperwork and puts the ring on her finger. His conniving ex-wife (who couldn't give him a child and is bitter about that and the divorce) promises Cierra a job if she can make it to ex's brother's home in Idaho. ((Job is as live-in tramp, but she doesn't know that, and she's desperate.)) After nearly freezing in a snowstorm, she stumbles on the cabin of uber-hot, ex-big league football player. Ugh.
Story #2 - Guy who suffered abuse/neglect at the hands of the grandpa he was dumped off at when he was twelve ran away the moment he turned 18. Now his grandpa is in the hospital fighting for his life, whilst his life's passion - a Christmas Farm Getaway - is falling apart. But not if ex-foster kid Annie has anything to do with it. She also helps heal our hero. Okay, but... it was really the most banal of the three stories.
Story #3 - American grieving the loss of his wife moves to NZ to get away, and finds himself next door to a woman newly divorced (cheated on) and her 8yo son. She happens to head the committee for the entire street's massive holiday light display - something he wants NOTHING to do with. And he's obnoxious (cussing, walking around in boxers on his porch, etc) about it. Until she softens him up, and of course they end up together. Except half the time he's talking with an Aussie accent, and there's weirdness that makes the story a tad disjointed. My favorite, but... hrm. ((Spoiler: also fornication/sex scene)).
I'll keep it, but... I wish one of them had really wowwwed me...
Story #1 - Illegal immigrant's mail-ordering husband has a heart attack before he finishes the paperwork and puts the ring on her finger. His conniving ex-wife (who couldn't give him a child and is bitter about that and the divorce) promises Cierra a job if she can make it to ex's brother's home in Idaho. ((Job is as live-in tramp, but she doesn't know that, and she's desperate.)) After nearly freezing in a snowstorm, she stumbles on the cabin of uber-hot, ex-big league football player. Ugh.
Story #2 - Guy who suffered abuse/neglect at the hands of the grandpa he was dumped off at when he was twelve ran away the moment he turned 18. Now his grandpa is in the hospital fighting for his life, whilst his life's passion - a Christmas Farm Getaway - is falling apart. But not if ex-foster kid Annie has anything to do with it. She also helps heal our hero. Okay, but... it was really the most banal of the three stories.
Story #3 - American grieving the loss of his wife moves to NZ to get away, and finds himself next door to a woman newly divorced (cheated on) and her 8yo son. She happens to head the committee for the entire street's massive holiday light display - something he wants NOTHING to do with. And he's obnoxious (cussing, walking around in boxers on his porch, etc) about it. Until she softens him up, and of course they end up together. Except half the time he's talking with an Aussie accent, and there's weirdness that makes the story a tad disjointed. My favorite, but... hrm. ((Spoiler: also fornication/sex scene)).
I'll keep it, but... I wish one of them had really wowwwed me...
November 27, 2023
Maybe it was just me but this wasn’t my favorite. This was a combination of 3 short stories. The third one was my favorite the second one not so much and the first one was just okay. Maybe it’s because it was a short stories that there it was like the stories were over before it really got started or what. I don’t know. Just wasn’t my favorite.
December 4, 2018
Three short Christmas stories, each different enough from the others and each sweet. I picked this one up for the Brenda Novak story (working on getting my 50 BN books pin) but enjoyed the others two as well ;) #HolidayBooks
August 26, 2017
I loved this book. A cute little short story to finish up the Dundee Series.
April 29, 2018
Awe, this was a great short story with Ken and Brent. So glad Ken helped Cierra. We all need help sometimes.
January 4, 2020
Sweet Christmas romances
Read
September 18, 202112/29/2015
March 21, 2022
3 cute stories.
December 31, 2022
great read
December 19, 2012
Wow – we’ve reached the end of TBR Challenge 2012! This month’s theme was holiday romance, so I had no trouble finding a book in my TBR pile to fit it. In the end, I decided I was in the mood for something contemporary, so I went with Harlequin Superromance’s 2010 anthology, That Christmas Feeling. I read the whole book, but it was definitely a mixed bag. Overall, I’d put it in the B-/C+ range.
The first story, A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak, was the most unique but also the most problematic. As it opened, I could tell this wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill Christmas story and I found myself looking forward to what might unfold. The heroine, Cierra Romero, is a young woman who came to the States from Guatemala on a visa to marry a much older man. However, her fiance has died and she is now overstaying her visa. Her family’s situation at home is quite dire, so Cierra has come to Dundee, Idaho, seeking work with a relative of her late fiance even though she feels constant fear of deportation.
This is a partial review. You can find my complete TBR Challenge column at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9194
The first story, A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak, was the most unique but also the most problematic. As it opened, I could tell this wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill Christmas story and I found myself looking forward to what might unfold. The heroine, Cierra Romero, is a young woman who came to the States from Guatemala on a visa to marry a much older man. However, her fiance has died and she is now overstaying her visa. Her family’s situation at home is quite dire, so Cierra has come to Dundee, Idaho, seeking work with a relative of her late fiance even though she feels constant fear of deportation.
This is a partial review. You can find my complete TBR Challenge column at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=9194
December 28, 2011
Three stories in one book. The first story involves a young woman who has come to the US to marry so that she can stay in the country. The problem is that he dies before she can marry him. So the ex-wife sends her to her brother but the woman gets to the wrong house in a snowstorm. The tale lies in what happens. Not too Christmassy but okay. The second story is about a young woman trying to save a Christmas tradition and a ranch. Help comes in a very intersting way. Good story lots of Christmas. The last story involves the Christmas spirit of the neighborhood and why the guy next store is a grinch. There lies the tale. Again though set in New Zealand was a good Christmas story.
February 13, 2016
"A Dundee Christmas" by Brenda Novak is a prequel of sorts to Novak's "Dundee" series. It was well written and made me want to learn more of some of the other characters in the series.
Kathleen O'Brien brings us "We Need a Little Christmas." Anne Browning and Nathaniel Araby have good chemistry, but the novella format requires an ending that comes too quickly for the rest of the story line. Anne helps take care of Nathaniel's grandfather, a man Nat thought cold and unfeeling.
"Kiss Me, Santa" by Karina Bliss is a contemporary story with a quirky heroine and a no-nonsense hero. In truth, it barely held my attention. I skipped from chapter 8 to the ending.
Kathleen O'Brien brings us "We Need a Little Christmas." Anne Browning and Nathaniel Araby have good chemistry, but the novella format requires an ending that comes too quickly for the rest of the story line. Anne helps take care of Nathaniel's grandfather, a man Nat thought cold and unfeeling.
"Kiss Me, Santa" by Karina Bliss is a contemporary story with a quirky heroine and a no-nonsense hero. In truth, it barely held my attention. I skipped from chapter 8 to the ending.
January 29, 2016
I only read "A Dundee Christmas" (thanks god I'm finished with that series). And I remembered why I avoid collection books. Writing a short story requires certain talent, it's not easy, and more often than not in Romance Books, they are a disappointment. I read it just to finished the Dundee series. I suppose it's a sweet short story, and it had potential as many Novak's stories have, but the restriction didn't work in her favor. Let's blame her editor and her publishing house, they should have known better too. I'll give it two; I always appreciate good grammar.
September 27, 2010
Brenda Novak's "That Christmas Feeling" was an interesting story with an out-of-the-ordinary heroine, and Kathleen O'Brien's "We Need a Little Christmas" was sweet, if predictable. But Karina Bliss's "Kiss Me, Santa" was five-star-worthy, my top Christmas read of 2010. I love the believability and the likeability of Bliss's characters generally, and she was in top form here. There were some laugh-out-loud scenes and some poignant ones. I expect to be rereading this one for Christmases to come.
October 25, 2016
A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak
A darling story of an almost mail order bride forced to find other work to support herself, while hoping that she would not be forced back home to Guatemala because of her immigration status. She finds warmth and comfort and maybe love in the town of Dundee.
Touching and satisfying for the holiday season.
A darling story of an almost mail order bride forced to find other work to support herself, while hoping that she would not be forced back home to Guatemala because of her immigration status. She finds warmth and comfort and maybe love in the town of Dundee.
Touching and satisfying for the holiday season.
November 6, 2016
A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak was nice, but the ending was rather abrupt. 3 stars.
We Need A Little Christmas by Kathleen O'Brien was nice, but also too short. 3 stars.
Kiss Me, Santa by Karina Bliss was DNF for me.
We Need A Little Christmas by Kathleen O'Brien was nice, but also too short. 3 stars.
Kiss Me, Santa by Karina Bliss was DNF for me.
January 18, 2012
A very nice Christmas anthology. O'Brien and Bliss were already know to me, but now I want to try some more Novak.
January 22, 2012
Enjoyable collection of contemporary Christmas stories.
October 30, 2012
It was great seeing Ken all grown up.
January 3, 2014
Enjoyed very much. Leaves you with a smile and that warm fuzzy feeling that's perfect for the holidays.
December 28, 2014
I really liked the Bliss story but was not really impressed by the other two
February 15, 2017
Please see individual stories for review.
December 21, 2017
Very good Christmas read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews