Friday 21 December 2007

"Under the Mistletoe" by Mary Balogh

Under the Mistletoe by Mary Balogh 2007

Description from back of book:
"Dear Reader, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, celebrating as it does all that is finest in the human experience - love, generosity, peace, and joy. I am delighted that this volume makes available again five of my novellas. They are love stories in which Christmas is shown to have the power to heal all the wounds of the human heart. "A Family Christmas" brings together a couple estranged since just after their arranged marriage the year before, and gives them the perfect chance to start over. "The Star of Bethlehem" features one betrothal ring lost but three that are mysteriously found as a broken marriage is abundantly mended. "The Best Gift" is the tale of a teacher who has never known family, love, or Christmas - then finds all three when asked to chaperon one of her pupils over the holiday. In "Playing House", a lonely aristocrat and his daughter are drawn to an impoverished young woman and her siblings, who are celebrating their last Christmas together with brave gaiety. An assortment of unhappy travelers stranded by bad weather at an inn on Christmas Eve encounter love after a young couple arrives to find that there is "No Room at the Inn" just as their child is about to be born. I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as I did writing them. Happy Holidays! Mary Balogh."

This is a charming collection of short stories. My favorite two were "A Family Christmas" and "Playing House." While these are quite good stories, I must say that I prefer her longer novels, where she takes the time to truly go in depth with the relationship between the characters and make their love real to the reader. I think Mary Balogh's true strength lies in doing that, and I think it's obvious in these short stories. While they're enjoyable and worth reading, certainly, the love sometimes seems to pop out of nowhere because it seems she just doesn't have time to develop it properly in sixty pages. Still, I enjoyed this fun holiday collection.

RATING:

1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

No comments:

RATING RUBRICS

OVERALL RATING

(or less)
Seriously. Don't waste your time. The author could spell and put together a sentence, but not a whole lot else.

This book might be worth reading, but it had some major flaws. Perhaps there were a lot of anachronisms, or plot elements that were not resolved. Perhaps the heroes were one-dimensional. Perhaps the love story was not believable. Perhaps the writing style left a great deal to be desired. Perhaps the plot was so complex that you got laden down with it about halfway through. These books are worth reading if you're really, really bored, but I wouldn't buy them at full-price.

This is a good book. There is a strong story line, the book is well written, and there aren't too many anachronisms. Still, there is something missing. Perhaps there are holes in the story. Perhaps one of the heroes is insanely annoying. Perhaps there are unrealistic elements in the plot. All in all, worth reading, and perhaps even buying, but there are better ones to be had.

This is an excellent book. Strong characters, good reader connection. The book is well written, interesting, and stays true to the time period. The heroes are engaging and three-dimensional. These books are worth having on your shelf.

These are books that are phenomenal, above and beyond the call of duty. They have everything that exists in a four-star rating, plus that extra little something that just throws them over the top. These books are worth having in hard-cover.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING

(or below)
There is very little to no sex in this book. What little that exists is not the least bit graphic. There is very little, if any, innuendo.

There is a small amount of sex in this book (one or two scenes). The scenes are loving and not incredibly graphic.

There is a moderate amount of sex and innuendo in this book. It is moderately graphic, but consensual and not violent.

There is a lot of sex and innuendo in this book. The sex is quite graphic, but not violent. The innuendo is quite coarse and descriptive.

This book is inappropriate for children. There is a good deal of graphic sex, some of which may be violent or non-consensual. The innuendo is very coarse and descriptive, and found quite frequently. The sex is the over-riding purpose of this book.

Historical Romance Novel Reviews

Friday 21 December 2007

"Under the Mistletoe" by Mary Balogh

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