A Season to Celebrate by Fern Michaels; Kate Pearce; Donna Kauffman; Priscilla Oliveras

I love Christmas books, especially anthologies. I love bite-sized stories for the busiest time of year. I will admit that I grabbed it because of Donna Kauffman's story because I love Blue Hollow Falls a lot, but I ended up really loving all the stories and have new authors to look for in the future! I can't wait to push this on library patrons this holiday season.

This is a review of Christmas in Blue Hollow Falls one of the stories in this collection.
I was so excited to go back to Blue Hollow Falls at Christmas and to learn more about Moira, who we met in Bluestone & Vine. Moira's story touched me, as chasing after dreams and finding out they weren't what you expected, is difficult. Throw in a bar fight, lamenting over a broken heart and a hot new Aussie chef and this story will make you forget about dreams once imagined. Thankful for this peek back into the community that I have fallen in love with and can't wait for the next full story in the series.

I'm also looking forward to reading the rest of the stories in this collection, as I need some holiday cheer and romance to last me through to the holidays.

I just reread these stories and realized I had not posted a review.

I know it's not Halloween yet, but I'm feeling the holiday spirit and this was just the thing.

Short, sweet Christmas stories set as novellas. I've only read one of the authors previously (Fern Michaels) but enjoyed the others and will definitely look to read more from each of them.

I liked that each of the stories was different (military, widower, broken hearted attending brother's wedding, event planner with former baseball player).

If you're looking for some cute holiday shorts, this one is for you!

I received an ARC for an honest review. This is a review of CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS by Donna Kauffman. I couldn't wait to travel back to Blue Hollow Falls and the trip was worth the wait! I loved this story with Hudson and Moira. Lots of humor and sass - this was such a fun read. Can't wait for the next installment.

This is a book filled with great Christmas stories that you will fall in love with. The story written by Donna Kaufman is about Seth’s sister. Moira and Hudson meet in a bar when she’s about to punch a guy who can’t take no for an answer. From there they hit it off and they fall in love instantly. They’re such a cute match and so funny at times. This is a story you can read in front of a fire during the winter and just relax. Another win by Donna Kaufman!

I really enjoyed A Season To Celebrate made up of four Christmas Novellas. I really liked that these stories were all different, with characters at different stages in their lives, from different walks of life and with different families and experiences.

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING by Fern Michaels was my favourite, but I enjoyed all four of the novellas included. It features Pararescueman Kevin Matthews, who has returned home and is working at his family's Christmas tree farm. It is a sweet romance, but what put it over the top for me was Kate's daughter, Emma, who referred to Kevin as the famous K-E-V-I-N from a sign that was posted when he returned. It was a sweet, family oriented Christmas romance.

Kate Pearce is a new author to me and her story, AN UNEXPECTED GIFT was sweet and realistic. Billy Morgan has a history, part of which was spent in prison. He has returned home hoping his children might still need him. What he does find is an old friend, Bella, who runs the Red Dragon Bar. Bella never believed he did what he was accused of years ago and when she is in need of help, Billy is there for her. After all these years, can these old friends find a second chance at love? I enjoyed this story due to its rawness, its emotions and relatable characters.

I have enjoyed Donna Kauffman's Blue Hollow Falls series, so meeting up with and hearing about characters I like in CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS was fun. This was a sweet novella about being in the right place at the right time to help someone. Of course romance ensues.

The final story in this book was by a relatively new author to me. I recently read a novel penned by Priscilla Oliveras and I enjoyed her offering in this book of HOLIDAY HOMERUN. I really like that her stories and books all have a Latin or Cuban flavor, highlighting her heritage as well as teaching me about it as part of the story. Event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez is at a point where she needs to make a big decision in her life. She knows what she wants, but breaking it to family is not going to be easy. When she meets injured and retired baseball star, Ben, she is NOT starstruck at all. Ben wants to get to know this beautiful woman, but she seems to shut him down at every turn. Working together on an event gives them a lot of opportunities to get to know each other and break down barriers. Some of the scenes with the kids had me giggling with my own memories.

If you are looking for some Christmas cheer in the summer during Christmas in July or gearing up for Christmas in December, these novellas will get you in the mood for that Christmas magic that brings on Christmas romance, I recommend it.

I especially wanted this collection because I have been avidly following Donna Kauffman's Blue Hollow Falls series. The second full book, Bluestone and Vine, began with a house swap like in the movie The Holiday, but we only followed Pippa's half of the swap. We got hints about what happened to Moira in Ireland, and I was so happy to get the rest of the story. I really liked Moira, and I am glad that Hudson helps her not be so hard on herself. They spend a lot of time discussing unrequited love, the nature of failure, and relationship mottoes. Their conversations are fascinating. And now I totally want to live in a converted train car. This was a good addition to a terrific series.
I have also read Fern Michaels's story. I am not as familiar with her writing, but I really enjoyed these characters. They got so twisted up trying to figure out what to do. It's a good thing Kevin's mother was there to fix everything!

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

I knew I was going to love this book the moment I saw the red truck on the cover! I absolutely loved the compilation of stories, which all went by so quickly. They complemented one another nicely and overall made the book a perfect, quick holiday read that had me ready to put up my tree and deck the halls.

A lovely collection of Christmas themed stories from 4 good authors. My favorite in this collection is “An Unexpected Gift”, by Kate Pearce. This story follows Billy, the father of boys we’ve seen in previous books, as he comes to terms with decisions he’s made, what his life has become. As the story progresses, we see a mature couple get a second chance at love and their own HEA. All four books are warm, gentle reads—perfect for an evening by the fire. I received a complimentary copy of this book. This is my freely given, honest review.

4 stories all related to Christmas.

Fern Michaels -- this one wasn't my favorite, yet I usually like her books. Kevin and Kate have an instant attraction but keep on misreading signals. It takes Kate's daughter Emma and her enthusiastic "most famous hero" lines that steal the story and help the two get together.

Kate Pearce -- it was great to see the Morgans again. This time it's the father, Billy, who finds his HEA with an old friend, Bella. He'd been a total absentee father after the disappearance of his wife and baby daughter, leaving his sons in the custody of his mother and disappearing into drink and prison for a while. Now he's back and is still trying to find his way on the ranch that his sons have managed to make into a success.

Donna Kauffman -- my favorite story of the set! Moira Brogan is moping in a bar near Blue Hollow Falls following the wedding of her brother Seth to Pippa. An obnoxious drunk decides he wants her and won't take 'no' for an answer. She's assisted in her plight by the local brewery's chef, Hudson, who sees her dilemma and decides to stop in. Turns out her brother had asked him to keep an eye on her while they were honeymooning because Moira seemed to be depressed about something. Takes a short while, but they too have a HEA.

Patricia Oliveras -- haven't read anything else by her. Julia has moved from Puerto Rico to try her hand at something other than the catering company her parents have decided she will take over. She's working on presenting a holiday fund-raiser for a kids' organization in Chicago, when she's introduced to a young, handsome, retired-due-to-injury baseball player, Ben. Only problem is, she's decided never to get involved with an athlete due to past experience with her brothers and how everyone's lives were determined by their schedules. Misunderstanding happens, but Ben is determined, and finally they reach their HEA as well.

Great stories as always, really well written by each of these authors and highly recommend to others!!

I love Christmas anthologies. I get several short, hopefully well rounded romance with all the magic from the Christmas season. And A Season to Celebrate delivered that feel-good feeling I wanted.

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING by Fern Michaels — I think Fern Michaels is the queen of Christmas short stories. Her tales headline many anthologies, several of which have a keeper place on my shelves. In this story, Kevin is returning to his hometown after an injury sustained ends his military career. And then there is Kate who has moved to town with her daughter to advance her career as a surgeon. It’s a small town, so they keep running into each other and there are definite sparks. But there are also misunderstandings that provide a little tension in this novella. The characters are likeable and the situation believable. I’m not always fond of kids in stories, but Kate’s daughter added a little comic relief. All in all, I finished the story with a smile on my face.

AN UNEXPECTED GIFT by Kate Pearce — Kate Pearce is a new-to-me author. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her, but I hadn’t read any of her books until this anthology. I didn’t know what to expect going in to the story, but what I found was a story featuring mature characters finding love later in life. Billy and Bella have know each other for years but never really looked at each other that way. But they’re thrown together and they just… fit. I don’t read many books with older couples and it was refreshing to have one included in this anthology. I walked away wanting to read more by Ms. Pearce.

CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS by Donna Kauffman — I’ll admit, this story was the main reason that I picked up this anthology. I have read a couple of the books in the Blue Hollow Falls series and was interested in returning to the small, unique community. The story does stand on it’s own, but there’s enough connection to the series that it’s richer if you’ve read the other books. Moira is an attorney who comes to Blue Hollow Falls for her brother’s wedding. Enter Hudson who is drawn to Moira, but she isn’t looking for a relationship but rather to advance her career. But the magic of the holiday, a persuasive Aussie and an enchanting community has her rethinking her priorities. This story is another winner by Donna Kauffman.

HOLIDAY HOMERUN by Priscilla Oliveras — Ms. Oliveras is another new-to-me author. The twist with this book was the heroine with a Puerto Rican heritage. This is another aspect (like the mature characters) that isn’t commonplace in romance novels, and it was quite welcome to me. Julia, an event planner, and Ben, a famous ex-baseball player, are thrown together in the planning of a charity event. Julia wants nothing to do with Ben and he wants everything to do with Julia. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will be looking forward to reading more by Ms. Oliveras.

Overall, this anthology had a little of everything and I’m glad I picked it up. I found two new authors and a variety of stories to help me start to get in the Christmas mood.

This was exactly what I was looking for in a festive read: a Hallmark movie in a novella form. It’s the idea bed time reading leading up to Christmas.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the novellas from four different authors, only one of which I'd read before. Each story reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie which I look forward to each year. I recommended this one to my mother for the same reason.

Very good Holiday stories that are well written and held my interest throughout. Each of these stories has there own merits and are well worth reading. I received a copy of this set and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

I have to admit, I love the annual holiday anthologies and/or novellas from Fern Michaels and Debbie Macomber. They have just sort of crept into my seasonal traditions. However, I also have to admit that I am usually disappointed by at least one of the stories, if not more. This year ---- WOW! I was thrilled! I actually enjoyed all of the stories in A Season to Celebrate. Of course, I enjoyed some more than others, but not a single one of the four stories left me feeling disappointed or frustrated, or wishing that I had just skipped it.

These are thoroughly enjoyable, warm, HEA stories to curl up and enjoy any time of the year, but especially before, during, or just after the winter holidays! Diverse? Not very. Edgy? Well, no. But anyone picking up the holiday Fern Michaels will get just what he or she is looking for.

A wonderful collection of authors adding stories to the merriment of the season! Loved the book and the stories contained in it. Thank you for allowing me to read this book prior to publication---it was joyful all the way!

4 wonderful shorter stories that are perfect for the busy holiday season. Fern Michaels, Kate Pearce, Donna Kauffman and Pricilla Oliveras give you romance over Christmas. Good introduction if you are unfamiliar with the authors. Each story represents romance and love in a different manor from older couple, ex military, Hispanic and a bar fight. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.