By
It's the Holiday Season! I love it. Really. But if you're
like me and sometimes find yourself up to here with your role as Director of
All Things Jolly, you might need an occasional respite from all that online
shopping, card addressing, school concerts attending, off-key caroling, outdoor
light hanging, and holiday Pinteresting. In the Connie-verse that means hiding,
er, withdrawing for a few precious hours with a good romance. But since it's
The Season, you don't want to withdraw too far from the battle lines; you never
know when you might be called upon to whip up a batch of cookies or don a Santa
beard and pinch hit for your neighbor at the local daycare. So here are some romances
guaranteed to take you away while still keeping you in the holiday mood.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe, Mariana Adair
A perfectly delightful, goopily sentimental holiday romance
(including cameos by Mrs. Claus) featuring single mom and wine marketer Regan
Martin going toe-to-toe with dead-sexy winery scion Gabe DeLuca. He thinks
she's a home-wrecker responsible for his baby sister's ruined marriage. She
thinks he's (unprintable). So why can't she keep her mind, and hands, off
him? First in a series I can't wait to keep reading!
What Happens at Christmas, Victoria Alexander
Ms. Alexander is at the top of her game in this wonderfully
funny, clever, and romantic tale. The lovely widow Lydington is ready to tie the
knot again, this time with an imported prince who is absolutely mad to
experience a perfect, traditional English Christmas. Unfortunately there is
nothing traditional, let alone perfect, about Lady Lydington's clan. So she
hires actors to take their places. The only thing she doesn't count on is old
flame Gray Elliot appearing at her door, out to prove to himself that he's
quite over the woman who broke his heart. I adore second-chance-at-love stories
and this one hits on all cylinders.
'Twas the Night After Christmas, Sabrina Jeffries
If I love second-chance-at-love stories, I adore a bad-boy
hero. And Pierce Devonmont is uber-bad: a gorgeous, cynical gambler given to
drinking, wenching, and tortured self-reflection"”hold on while I fan myself. But
when Pierce receives word that the mother, who for all intents and purposes abandoned him, is dying, he nonetheless flies to her side. And
to the side of her companion, the very disapproving Camille Stuart. Camille is
determined to bring about reconciliation between Pierce and the woman she has
grown to love. Even if it means lying about that same lady's imminent death. An unrepentant rake and a brusque, no-nonsense spinster? The combo is flat-out combustible.
A Cowboy for Christmas, Lori Wilde
A touching, tender story with a nice dollop of animal
magnetism. After Lisette's husband dies
in Afghanistan, his death benefits inexplicably end up going to his half
brother, Raff Jones, a man Lisette knew nothing about. Worse, her son is going
deaf and there's no money to pay for medical care. In rides Raff (cue hero
music!) to hand over money he doesn't consider his. Ms. Wilde pairs a woman
determined to finally stand on her own with the sort of delicious alpha male
who seems genetically hardwired to protect those in need. The results are
spectacularly moving.
And because it's the Season of Giving, I'm not stopping with
four picks. I'm adding a few more because, well, you might need them!
Wallflower Christmas, Lisa Kleypas
The regency wallflowers, now beautifully realized women,
meet up for a little holiday magic and matchmaking.
Enchanted, Patti Berg
A billionaire, struggling ever since his father's death,
makes a Christmas wish...
Mine at Midnight, Jacquie D'Alessandro
A fun, frothy madcap caper involving a party planner and her
buttoned-down accountant. Ever see Bringing Up Baby?
Must Love Mistletoe, Christie Ridgway
"Humbug" Bailey's resigned to saving her family's Christmas business...
if everyone would just get out of her way. And that includes the sexy
boy-next-door-turned-special-agent (?!) she loved and lost ten years earlier.
Happy Holidays wherever you are and God bless us, everyone!
Connie Brockway is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. Her latest novel is The Other Guy's Bride. She is published by Montlake Romance.
