Where the Heart Is by Darcy Burke--This was by far my favorite story of the anthology. Despite being adopted by a huge and loving family, Derek has never gotten over the tragedy of losing his parents at a young age. This Christmas he meets new-to-town Chloe while he's on duty as a fireman putting out the fire that destroyed her rental house. He offers her a room over his adopted family's garage and she accepts. With her so close by she becomes a part of his life, one he doesn't want to do without. But his old trauma makes it difficult. Luckily Chloe has a plan.

Midwinter Magic by Erica Ridley--This is a goofy and sweet story about guardian angel Sarah Phimm and her charge Jack who seems determined to put himself in danger no matter what she does. When she's accidentally revealed to him she schemes to stay near him for his own protection. But while Jack's preparing Christmas for a needy village, a storm is coming and putting everyone in danger.

The Cheer in Charming an Earl by Emma Locke--I'm still up in the air about this story, unsure whether or not I enjoyed it. Elinor schemes to have her carriage breakdown outside the Earl of Chelford's home, certain that if they could spend time together he'd see her as his match. Unfortunately the carriage crashes into his kitchen and even more unfortunately he's in the middle of his annual christmas bacchanalia. So the prostitutes pretend to be ladies, the dissolute gentlemen take bets, and innocent Elinor proceeds with her plan to get to know the Earl.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book very much. I love holiday stories/movies and this was like reading the Hallmark channels Christmas movie scripts. They were all wonderfully written and the characters were relatable. This is a great book to read while snuggled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. Look forward to reading more for all three authors. ( )

Yes, I love to prepare for the holiday season by reading many holiday themed books. Tis the Season is a small selection of stories or novellas centering on Christmas. The stories are all light-hearted as a Christmas story. The first story contained too much sex for a Christmas story, and that soured my mood for the remainder of the book. I liked the premise of a huge family in which everyone loves their relatives, but again the characters are not developed as the story ends before the reader gets to know each person. So many of the mysteries are left unsolved. ( )

After reading this holiday book, I have decided that one of the three stories contained within is pretty good, while the other two are so-so.
In Where the Heart Is, the reader finds a contemporary romance between Derek Sumner and Chloe English. Chloe has left home to find herself and a good career, after having experienced a failed engagement and escaping parents who are overbearing. Derek is a sort of member of the Archer family. Orphaned as a teenager, he was brought into the family and now works in their empire. He has a deep, dark secret in his background that prevents him from accepting the fact that his family house exists in town and that Chloe is renting it. I read the story of Derek and Chloe’s romance, which moved along well, eagerly awaiting the big revelation of Derek’s deep, dark secret. Finally, the secret was out, and I was let down big time. Sure, there was something in his background, but it really was not the big event or whatever the story led me to believe, and there was little development of this event throughout the story. I did notice that Derek often treats Chloe badly, all because of this big secret, which, because of how it played out, I did not fully understand or believe. In fact, I found myself wondering how the author could portray such an immature, insensitive guy as the “hero” of the story she did, while Chloe becomes the solid young woman any parent or man could be proud of. If this is a lead in to a new series, as the author states at the end of the book, I certainly hope the author writes the series with better, so the books in the series won’t be as flat as this one is.
Midwinter Magic is a total change from the first story. Jack Morgan is a former rich CEO, who, having realized the ruinous effects of his selfish ways, travels to destitute countries in the world at Christmastime to make the peoples’ holiday and lives more festive and easier. On this trip he meets Sarah, who is really his guardian angel. Sparks fly immediately between the two. However, how can Sarah allow this to happen (guardian angels never reveal themselves to this person, let alone fall in love with them), and how will Jack accept that Sarah is not only an angel but his guardian angel, with whom he is falling in love? This is a sweet story about the love between two endearing characters and great for the holiday season. The storyline is a great read and can easily put one into the best of holiday spirit. I have not read any other things by this author, but I am hooked on her and will seek out more.

In the Cheer in Charming an Earl, this author gives the reader a historical romance. Elinor Conley wants a husband, and has found the perfect candidate in Grantham Wendell, the Earl of Chelford. Elinor takes off to chase down her dream man, leaving home and going to help a sick relative—like people really did that sort of thing during the era of this story. Enroute, due to her devious pre-planning, her carriage has an accident, and she is thrust into Gantham’s wild holiday party at his estate. I found it difficult to believe that any good family would allow someone, especially a daughter of marriageable age, to travel alone to a distant town and even stranger that she just falls right into her sought-after man’s party, not to mention the way Grantham is immediately taken with Elinor. I guess, the author figured this was the season for romance, and strange things can and do happen, so figured the reader would just accept these events that defy belief and the social customs of the era. The characters are well developed, however, and the story, though a bit far-fetched, is interesting to read.

I received this from Library Thing to read and review. ( )