This was a pretty good book. I liked two out of three of the stories. The characters and plots were good. The first one was ok, but didn't really pull me in, the second and last one did. I liked the tempers and emotions, the personalities, humor, and pretty much the whole feel of those ones. I smiled and laughed, wanted to smack a few over the head, got a little huffed up, and loved the overall (semi) Christmas feel. Although these were definitely set in the season, the title still confuses me, for there weren't any actual Santas in any of these stories. ??? Oh well, a good read and great for a snuggle-up winter read or passing time. Enjoy I wish I could give this 2.5 stars, but I'll tip it up to three because of Shalvis' contribution and, to a lesser degree, Dimon's. "Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells" by Donna KauffmanIt's with greatly conflicting emotions that Holly returns to her childhood hometown at Christmastime to figure out what she's going to do with the store her mother left her when her parents unexpectedly retired. And who should she meet up with but her childhood crush Sean, who runs his family's restaurant across the street. I appear to be in the minority here, but I didn't like this story at all. Underwhelming is the word that comes to mind. From the beginning, it failed to pull me in or make me feel invested. Holly wasn't terribly likable or relatable, Sean was decent enough but nothing beyond that, and the plot arc involving the discovery of an old diary and the secrets it contains seemed haphazardly put together and poorly integrated with the main romance. Maybe it pulled together better near the end, but I started skimming before then - a rarity for me. "Bah Handsome!" by Jill ShalvisHope O'Brien is in a heck of a jam. In order to keep her bed-and-breakfast afloat, she's had to obtain a loan from her Grinchy stepbrother Edward, and the loan is about to come due. So one of the last people she wants to see on her doorstep is Danny Shaw, Edward's CPA. And sexy, sweet Danny is making himself more and more difficult to dislike...This is the best of the bunch. A sweet, sexy snippet of a story, with Shalvis' trademark humor, spunk, and steamy sex. It wasn't AWESOME, but it was quite good. "It's Hotter at Christmas" by HelenKay DimonAll Marissa Brandt wants this Christmas is to get home for a traditional snowy white Christmas. All Deputy Police Chief Ted Greene wants is to finally get her successfully on a plane out of Hawaii. But as events conspire to throw the two together, they may discover that they both want something entirely different after all...Meh. This was a so-so story. Decently paced, decent characters, decent action (aside from the underdeveloped mystery that didn't know what part it wanted to play in the story), decent sex scenes. In short, the whole thing was decent, but not fantastic.
What do You think about Kissing Santa Claus (2009)?
The first two stories were good and believable. The third was DNF.
—Grace
I love Christmas anthologies. I liked story 2 better than 1 & 3.
—Altea
Quick Christmas romance stories. I enjoyed them a lot!
—fantasyfen
Nice read for winter break. Interesting short stories.
—Vicky
