Tag Archives: The Magical Christmas Cat

Christmas Bree by Erin McCarthy

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the magical christmas cat book cover

Title: Christmas Bree
Author: Erin McCarthy
Series: Cuttersville #2.5
In: The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: What the hell are you doing here?

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Synopsis

Ian has an offer for Bree’s house… but, with the magic of Christmas and a meddlesome feline, their about to find out that there is a lot more at stake than real estate.

Thoughts

If you’re in the mood for an easy, cute, a little bit funny read… then this is certainly the sort of novella you should be picking up. It’s one of those find-your-true-love, Merry Christmas type of stories that may not rock your world, but certainly leave you with a big, happy smile on your face when you have finished reading them. Which, let’s be honest, is something that we all need sometimes.

In Charlotte’s Web, there was a hint of Bree’s future beau, and I like that, twelve months later, they finally reconnect. From the glimpses in the previous novella, and Bree’s initial reactions to Ian, I was expecting a lot more reluctance and build up to the moment when the romantic leads end up together. And then it falls apart even quicker. And ends up perfect in the blink of an eye. It really is one of those stories that has an immensely fast paced romance that forms in a moment.

Not that the fast pace is a problem, but I could see how this could have almost evolved into an entire novel on and of itself. I was kind of disappointed that it ended so quickly. There was so much that happened that I finished this novella with both a smile stretched across my face, and a bemused look of what-do-I-read-next.

 <- Charlotte’s Web ReviewAbby’s Christmas Spirit Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Christmas Heat by Lora Leigh

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the magical christmas cat book cover

Title: Christmas Heat
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Breeds #12.5
In: The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Erotica, Paranormal romance,  Romantic suspense
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He’d been out of the labs for ten years, but it had been ten years struggling to aid the survival of the breed communities.

Synopsis

She’s just a librarian, but after overhearing a sinister conversation at a party, her Christmas is about to take a turn for the worse. Or… maybe, with the presence of Noble, things are about to get a heck of a lot better…

Thoughts

I keep having Breeds stories pop up in my suggested reads, but I’ve never actually had the chance to sink my teeth into one. Until I read Christmas Heat. And wow. I’m not really sure why it’s taken me so long to pick up this series. I loved the writing, I loved the brutal honesty of sensuality throughout the story, and I love the ideas of breeds being created, not born…

I was really expecting just another paranormal romance story that featured a cat shapeshifter. One that was enjoyable and full of passion, but not really anything spectacularly different to the other series I have read within this genre. Just this short novella taught me that this series isn’t even remotely what I was expecting. For starters, the background of the “extra” in the breeds was a far more intense experimentation. The sensual moments throughout were a lot more visceral and crass, in a way that I found more realistic than romantic candlelit dinners. And the unwillingness of Haley to completely submit and her consideration of what mating actually implied was far more realistic than being swept away in a fit of lust.

I loved that although you knew Noble and Haley were going to end up together, there is a lot more placed at stake, and a greater storyline going on than just a simple romance. But, ultimately, what endeared me so much to this story was the fact that Haley explains just why she loves Christmas so much. And it is her simple descriptions that truly made me remember what it is about the holiday season that melts my heart.

<- Mercury’s WarCoyote’s Mate ->

Image source: Amazon

Sweet Dreams by Linda Winstead Jones

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the magical christmas cat book cover

Title: Sweet Dreams
Author: Linda Winstead Jones
In: The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Demons, Paranormal romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: They milled about in her yard and on the street.

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Synopsis

Zane is sworn to stop the demon from rising, but when he discovers who the final victim is, things take a more intense turn.

Thoughts

Well. This novella did not take the direction I was expecting at all. It starts at a neighbourhood Christmas party, with a quiet baker and an enigmatic professor. I figured that they would slowly fall in love, have some kind of paranormal influence that helps it along (since it’s in a paranormal romance collection) and then sweep off into the sunset to live happily ever after. And some of that does actually happen, just not in the way that was expected.

I haven’t read a really intense demon story in a little while – and reading this novella that features a soul-stealing demon trying to rise… at Christmas time… made me remember how much I love almost anything that features demons. There is something that is just quintessentially evil and overwhelming about a good demon story. And, by setting this against the backdrop of Christmas and a budding romance, Jones really swept me away. I stayed up way too late reading this, just to find out if they would survive.

I loved the dream sequences throughout the storyline. Not only did they obviously warn at what was to come, but they provided subtle clues as to the bad guy in the story and maybe even a way in which to overcome him. The foreshadowing was brilliant, and I think that it will be one of those stories that I will gain more out of each time I reread it.

 <- Christmas Bree ReviewChristmas Heat Review ->
Image source: Amazon

The Magical Christmas Cat by Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones

Book Review, , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the magical christmas cat book cover

Title: The Magical Christmas Cat
Author: Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones
In: The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Paranormal romance, Short story collections
Pace: Fast
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: A feline smile.

Synopsis

There’s something magical about Christmas and cats…

Four top-selling authors have a special gift for you this year: never-before-published holiday stories featuring passionate romance, paranormal adventure, and a distinctly alluring feline touch. With four new stories – including one featuring Lora Leigh’s genetically altered Feline Breeds – this is a collection packed with more surprises than Christmas morning, and more chills than the snowiest winter night…

Thoughts

I bought this book because I wanted something that was Christmassy to get me in the Christmas mood. I saw that I recognised one of the four authors, and figured I really couldn’t go wrong the a name like “The Magical Christmas Cat”. And boy was I not disappointed.

There isn’t an overwhelming Christmas feel to some of these stories, they’re not full on and cliched like some collections I have picked up in the past. But, there is enough of the Christmas spirit and time of year to make you excited for the madness of family and gift giving. The moments when you look around at the bedlam and go “yup, I love these nut bags” (or at least, that’s what I feel most of the time around the Christmas period).

I liked the backdrop of Christmas against these four novellas. The romance that takes place in each tale is somehow more pure and simple during the holiday season, and it also promotes feelings of mistletoe and gifts. Long nights by the firelight under the Christmas tree (even though, as an Aussie, I’ve never actually sat by the Christmas tree under the flickering lights of a fire)… there is just something fun and beautiful about these Christmassy feline stories and I definitely suggest reading it in the holiday season!

 <- Christmas HeatStroke of Enticement ->

Image source: Amazon

Stroke of Enticement by Nalini Singh

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

wild-invitation

Title: Stroke of Enticement
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling #4.5, Psy-Changeling Season One #4.5
In: Wild Invitation (Nalini Singh) & The Magical Christmas Cat (Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh & Linda Winstead Jones)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: Annie.

Synopsis

Stroke of Enticement introduces Annie, a wary young teacher who is sceptical about love, and who arouses that man – and the leopard- in the aggressive changeling Zach Quinn. He must prove his affections are true if he’s to win her over.

Thoughts

I loved the beginning of this story – Bryan’s stubbornness and, cuteness, sprung from the page as the seven year-old argued with his teacher. The resultant courtship between Bryan’s uncle Zach and his teacher Annie followed this tone. It was cute, sweet and full of two people who are as stubborn as one another to get their own way in life.

The prejudice and worry of Annie’s mother was both endearing and frustrating – understandable when you view it through the lens of Annie’s past, but irritating when her present is considered. However, the prejudice of her academic family is quickly altered as more of Annie’s familial life is unfolded. Annie’s acceptance of this aspect of her mother’s personality was truly about unconditional love, and accepting the love of someone else, even when it might be more than a little irritating.

Zach, much like Nate, and many other men that have a possessive, protective streak, has a serious faux pas. His wish to protect Annie from the big, nasty world and realities of their mating, has the exact opposite effect.

<- Mine to PossessHostage to Pleasure ->

Image source: Nalini Singh