CHRISTMAS WISHES
A JEWELS OF THE QUILL CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGY
ISBN#: (10)9781603132596/(13)9781603132589
September 2008
Whiskey Creek Press
PO Box 51052, Casper, WY 82605-1052
Trade Paperback/E-book
$14.95
334 Pages
Various Genres
Rating: 4 cups

All She Wore Was a Bow by Christine DeSmet

As best man in his best friend's Christmastime wedding, champion bull rider Kincaid arrives in the small, snowy Northern Wisconsin town of Moonstone and discovers the meaning of the word “quaint” when he meets the wedding planner.

Gloria smells like cinnamon and does not look like Kincaid's usual surgically sculpted one night stands. She is bossy and beguiling, hearty and heartfelt, and can command an army of first graders with one hand while decorating a half dozen trees with the other.

Kincaid can not help but like her, and can not help staying away from her. Of course, she is entirely wrong for him. And he intends to halt the wedding that she is determined will go off with picture perfect precision.

Sweet and warm as hot cocoa by a cracking fire on a snowy Wisconsin Sunday; Christine DeSmet has penned a delicious little romance you can wrap yourself up with. Loved the setting, loved the characters, and loved her delightful tale of holiday surprises.

Little Cat Feet by Margaret L. Carter

Unwilling to live another day with her mother and mother's new boyfriend so soon after her fathers death, Lauren hopped a bus to spend Christmas with her Grandmother.

Pumpkin had a family, but chose life on the streets rather than life with a slobbery and persistently pesky dog.

A Christmas miracle allows these two lonely souls to connect and help each other in their greatest times of need.

Ms. Carter gives us a short little gem that reminds us miracles can come from the most unlikely sources. We just need to open our eyes and ears and appreciate them when they come along.

Christmas Faith by Karen Woods

Faith Caldwell, along with her sisters Hope and Charity, grew up as the daughters of an Anglican priest. Steeped in religion, Faith loses her will to trust the Lord after her parents each die of cancer and she loses her husband and children to an accident.

Ed Henderson is the new neighbor who is the first to catch Faith's attention since her widowhood. He is a widower, father of a handful of girls and the new minister. He is drawn to Faith, wants to know her and maybe help her with the anger she carries for God. Faith and Ed grow closer, but when a crisis strikes will Faith be able to accept his help in guiding her to the one place she'll find the most comfort?

In a very honest look at pain and the power of healing, Karen Woods exposes her characters' flaws to the light of love and understanding. Her story seems to be a tableau written from an inspired heart, her message universally relevant.

Perfect Cadence by Karen Wiesner

Keri Woods is thirty and beautiful, but has never had a man commit to her. Fed up with her current dead-end relationship, she takes her boss' offer of a rustic cabin in ski country for two weeks to get away.

Joshua Lewis is grieving the loss of Dandy, the man who was like a father to him. He heads off to the family cabin, not knowing his cousin, Angela, has already promised it. He never expected to find a naked woman curled up in his bed when he came back from chopping wood.

Ten years ago Keri and Joshua shared one special date, one special kiss. Neither has forgotten it, and no one else has lived up to it for either ever since. Unbeknownst to them, Dandy and Angela schemed together to give them a very special Christmas gift: each other.

A warm and hopeful tale of true love lost and found again, this story made me want to book a mountain cabin with my own true love, my own Perfect Cadence. Of course, like Keri, I would let him do the cooking and wood chopping.

Are You Listening? By Jane Toombs

Returning from sledding with his friends, twelve-year-old Rico Woodruff learns the news that his three-year-old sister, Holly, wandered off into the cold. His father has gone out looking for her and Rico is shocked, and not a little freaked out, to hear Dad's voice inside his head, giving him instructions.

Holly comes back, but their father is no where in sight. Time passes and Holly's greatest Christmas wish is for her father to come home in time for the holiday. If he does, what dark secrets will he bring with him?

A happy paranormal Christmas can be found in this Jane Toombs short story. I liked Rico and his relationship with his baby sister and the resolution was satisfying.

Annie's Outlaw by Nancy Pirri

Convicted of a crime he did not commit, cowboy Cane Smith is in a Texas prison when he finds out he fathered a son in Bozeman, Montana several years before.

Tom Callahan adopted Mark as a baby and he and his daughter, Annie, raised him for the past seven years. A successful rancher, Tom can give the boy everything he needs.

When Cane comes to town and tells Tom and Annie he wants his son, Tom realizes the perfect solution for everyone would be for Cane to marry Annie and stay in Bozeman. Now it is just a matter of getting them to agree.

A sweet and slightly supernatural story set in the old west, Ms. Pirri's tale shows that love for a child can turn strangers into family, and family into the greatest Christmas gift of all.

This anthology has variety, humor, romance, and some old fashioned holiday cheer for flavor. I liked the individual stories, differing genres, and hopeful themes. A good light seasonal read, Christmas Wishes had me looking for my fireplace and hot cocoa.

Heather
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books