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Getting ready to get CAUGHT UNDER THE MISTLETOE! 15 stories from 15 award-winning romance authors. https://books2read.com/cutm

Second Chances by Grace Augustine. I read this story when it was 1st released. Loved it then, but found a few errors in the timeline. Happy to see those errors have been corrected. A touching Christmas romance, perfect for a Hallmark Channel holiday feature. Dad and daughter, Tucker & Sabrina have both been burned by love. But when a son and mother come to town for business, all bets are off for all of them. 5 stars

Always on Christmas by Jacquolyn McMurray. Emma, single mom, and Ally moved from IA to HI and are struggling to make ends meet when they meet Hank, their neighbor, a rancher. Ally has a specific gift in mind for Christmas this year: a new daddy and Hank fits her bill. While the story is charming, I never bought the romance, which goes from 0 to Engagement, thanks to all Hank gives them. 3.5 stars

Christmas at the Aloha Cafe by Jacquolyn McMurray. A cute story about a house decorating contest and a bitter rivalry between old friends. Main characters not 100% likeable but redeemed by the end. 4.5 stars

Christmas Chemistry by Joanne Jaytanie. More of the same, this time with Gina meeting an attorney who’s gone to check on family issues. The conflict is a minor misunderstanding, lots of coincidences again, some inconsistent edit issues. 3 stars

Christmas Ivy by Joanne Jaytanie. I'm not wild about a multi-author anthology with the first 3 books all by the same author. And these seem cut and pasted from elsewhere. Do I need an About the Author and book list after each one? In Story 2, Ivy is homeless but winds up in a program that lands her at Glenville's Xmas Tree Farm, where she meets Mason, Colton's brother, a doctor. Coincidences, edit issues. 3 stars

Christmas Reflections by Joanne Jaytanie 4 stars
When the local Christmas tree farm is up for sale, a group of women buy it to create a tourist attraction. Juliet is a stained glass artist. The town's ski resort is also for sale and Colton, a corporate rep arrives to research a possible acquisition. Until he discovers his boss has bigger plans. Some farfetched coincidences, a few edit errors, but a charming story.

Okay, as I normally do with anthologies, I'm going to add comments on each story as I finish them. Stay tuned.

VENDORS AND VILLAINS by Angela K Ryan
A jewelry maker takes a booth at a local craft fair to sell raffle tickets for charity with a grand prize of a beautiful handcrafted necklace, only to have the necklace disappear at the event. A lot of setup and backstory at the beginning made this a slow go until the halfway point. 3.5 stars

HIJINKS IN AJIJIC by Vikki Walton. Another fun story about a widow who becomes a pet sitter so she can fulfill her travel bucket list and winds up in Mexico surrounded by an unusual cast of characters and a money scheme. 4 stars

WHEN THE CLOCK CHIMES TWO by Adriana Licio. I loved this darling story about a perfume maker who believes she may have been responsible for a shy, mousy woman being charged with murder, and her writer sister who helps solve the case. I'll definitely be looking for more by this author! Five stars.

MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN RING by Beate Boeker. Carlina and her mother are enjoying a lovely girls' week when a stranger attempts to steal Mama's purse. From out of nowhere, a woman named Tonia leaps into the fray. When the police arrive, they're not interested in the purse. They're focused on Tonia and a missing ring. Did Tonia steal it and how can Carlina and Mama help clear her name? A charming mystery. 5 stars.

RING GONE ROUND THE ROSES by Aubrey Elle. A woman returns to her hometown, takes a job working for a landscaping business and winds up the prime suspect in the theft of an expensive piece of jewelry owned by an old high school rival. A darling little bit of fun. I'll be looking for more from this author. 5 stars

TREASURES IN HEAVEN by Sarah Biglow.
Rev. Margot Quade is an army chaplain whose instincts are aroused when a soldier comes to speak with her but leaves before revealing what's troubling him. Shortly thereafter, he's injured by a sniper's bullet and Margot believes his visit to her spurred the attack. A good military romance - some editing issues. 4.5 stars

CLOSED OUT by Tamara Woods
After her embezzling husband's arrest, Fraya needs an escape from her small town. She picks up and moves to Hawaii (on a whim I still don't understand) and her series of misadventures begins from the minute she arrives. A beta reader would have picked up the typos and I think the opening should have either been deleted or further clarified to the reader's satisfaction. 3.5 stars

Buried by the Beach by Ellen Jacobson
3.5 Stars

Mollie McGhie and her friend, Ben, get drawn into a treasure hunt for an emerald that's been missing for decades. Cute characters. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue between Mollie and the local police chief, but the mystery itself had too many loose ends, a few villains that were never truly explained, and some actions that didn't make sense.

Story 1: Thanksgiving and Theft
Lois Stone has returned to Toronto to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends when she witnesses a mugging and decides to find the culprit. 4 stars. Heavy backstory, and some repetition but a cute story.

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A DNF for me. The author has potential, but the story is told in heavy narrative, rather than naturally unfolding to the reader with a balance of narrative & dialogue. A competent editor is a must since the prose is littered with punctuation errors that make the reader stumble over the most basic of sentences. I wouldn't be averse to reading a corrected version, but I couldn't continue this as written.

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Treasured Tails of the Heart by Kali Willows. Nerissa lives in Atlaria and works in the family's tourism business. One of the tourists, Wyatt, captures her attention but the two come to disaster when they're near each other. Neither one is honest with the other about who they really are, and the secrets held by them and a few other inhabitants could cause the end of Atlaria. Good story with editing issues. 4 stars

The Blue King by LJ Vickery. King Waylon is dealing with a thief and trying to forget the stubborn Lavarette who stole his heart and left him. Lavarette is a skilled warrior, a valuable member of her IT team, and she's in love with a man who wants her to be a pretty decoration on his arm. Now, she has to help him catch a thief. This is a refreshing twist on the typical romance and I really enjoyed the byplay. 5 stars

The Mermaid with the Seahorse Tattoo by Karen Vaughan. Mikayla, a mermaid, watches a cruise ship get attacked by pirates. When the pirates blow up the ship, the blast sends Mikalya to land where she's rescued by Damien, a DEA agent on vacation. This is another story that suffered from lack of editing. Dialogue is not realistic - even for a story about a mermaid. The story itself is good. Three stars.