Gifts of the Magi by Jean Johnson - 4
Many religious themes within this love story and do good works. The couple's struggles and love were a bit of treasure.

Melting Frosty by Maggie Shayne - 5
Magical Christmas spirit renewed by love. Two people experience similar events around the holidays and come away with different feelings for the holidays
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I hate when they re-cover books. Only read the Nalini Singh and Jean Johnson stories. I think the last time I only read Nalini's. ( )

Enjoyable but nothing outstanding, 1) Holly who loves Christmas is snowbound with Grinch Matt , 2) Witch Charlotte and cop Will are afraid to admit long suppressed love, 3) Leopard-man Nate waits for his life mate Tamsyn to mature, 4) Engaged Steve & Rachel down on their luck shelter travelers and teen boys during snowstorm.
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Light romance for the holidays. No need to know or understand the worlds these stories are placed in. I really enjoyed the last story in the book; Jean Johnson did an excellent job causing her characters to reconnect with each other. ( )

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Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

An anthology of Christmas stories, perfect for the holiday season. It includes four shorts: Melting Frosty by Maggie Shayne, Charlotte’s Web by Erin McCarthy, Beat the Temptation by Nalini Singh, and Gift of the Magi by Jean Johnson. Because these are short stories I can’t really tell you what they are about without risking revealing the whole thing up, but I’ll do my best to review them without spoilers.

So I read this book due to the Vet VS Newbies challenge at Goodreads’ Gotta Have Paranormal Romance with a Kick Group. The book showcases spirits, witches, werewolves, and the magi and I totally love it. I usually stray away from Christmas books unless I want to read a story from a particular author. It’s nothing against the books, just not what I normally read. Which is why I’m so glad that I was given this book as one of my alternatives, otherwise I would have missed it completely. All four stories are worth the time and can be read in one sitting.

Here is the breakdown:

Title: Melting Frosty
Author: Maggie Shayne
Individual Rating: ★★★★☆

Do you believe in the future, your future, to be pre-ordained? Would you follow the signs if you knew someone was giving you directions from the hereafter? There are three main characters: Mathew, Holly, and the fedora hat. Mathew lost his father one fretful Thanksgiving eve. The last reminder of his father’s presence –a fedora hat– was also lost that time; as a consequence he has hated Christmas ever since. Meanwhile, Holly lost her entire family during Christmas as well, and even though she lost everything, her mother’s love for the holiday has kept her going on strong ever since. Now Fate has found a way to put these two together and the result is a beautiful, sweet, feel-good type of story that just warms you up and keeps you smiling as you read it through.

It’s a very quick read, as is just a short story –you can finish it up in one sitting. I highly recommend it, especially since we are in the holidays.

Title: Charlotte’s Web
Series: Murphy Sisters, Book 1
Author: Erin McCarthy
Individual Rating: ★★★½☆☆

I enjoyed the story, the dynamic between the Murphy sisters reminds me a lot of the dynamic between the Halliwell sisters from the TV series Charmed; the same type of banter and strife. It was a good story but I didn’t connect with Charlotte as much as I would have loved to. In fact, the moment Bree (the second sister) crosses paths with the uptight guy at the coffee shop I wanted to switch story and follow hers instead. In all, the story is sweet, fulfilling, nice, and fun at times.

Title: Beat of Temptation
Series: Psy-Changeling, Book 0.5
Author: Nalini Singh
Individual Rating: ★★★★★

A great story that keeps you glued until the very end. Although I have read books by Nalini Singh before this is the first story I read about her Psy-Changeling series. I am officially hooked; I want to read more about it. The story has great characters and interesting plot.

I do have to say that I felt like I needed some parts explained better, so I guess that this story is best read after one has begun the actual series, were more information about their universe is given. The truth is that I didn’t really need it to understand the story –it’s a solid standalone– but I felt slightly like I was reading a story from the midpoint onwards.

Title: Gifts of the Magi
Author: Jean Johnson
Individual Rating: ★★★★★

I haven’t read anything from Jean Johnson until this point, but I will make a point about getting more books from her. This is by far the best of all the stories in this anthology, to the point that it made me cry; that’s how good it is. The Three Magi is a beautiful story about the miracle that is love in everyday life and how one must keep it alive with the help of simple, little actions. It takes the story of the Three Wise Men and extends it into modern times. I definitively believe that this one is worth reading; especially on this season.

WARNING
I bought the Kindle Edition for this book and there was a glitch of sorts with this particular edition. I don't know if it's limited to my copy of the book or if it happens to every single one; but just in case here is the glitch:

As I finished the third story (Beat of Temptation) and I was clicking through to get to the next story the pop-up window that allows you to rate the book after you have finished it comes up. I recorded the glitch with my phone, watch the YouTube video to see it in action. I tried it several times and is always on the same spot, plus it comes back up at the end (where it should do normally). I reported it to Amazon, but I have no way to know if they'll fix it. ( )