A Christmas to Remember (anthology)

Over the years, I have realized that most genre romance Christmas stories are not a good match for me.

No, that’s not true.

Most genre romance Christmas stories at best irk me, at worst enrage me.

And yet, I have so many of them spread all over the TBR cordilleras of doom, both print and digital. (I blame poor impulse control when an author I’ve liked is involved, or if the blurb is clever.)

Anyhow, this anthology (one of several so named), was my choice for SuperWendy’s TBR Challenge for December 2022 (“festive”). I hoped that, being short stories, I could read it quickly (I did), and review it quickly (oh, sweet innocent past me).

For what it’s worth, here is the belated review. Beware: relentlessly hetero, relentlessly white; death of parents, death of spouse, death of child (all off-page, as character backstory); some sex, not terribly explicit, on page. Oh, and spoilers for a couple of the stories abound in the review.

A Duke in Shining Armor, by Loretta Chase

Well, this was a disappointment, though I’m well aware this is a case of my expectations rather than what the book is.

I expected substance, and what is there is all fluff, and so my reviewing this year ends with a whimper.

Allow me to explain.

Wolf Haven, by Lindsay McKenna

This is my entry for SuperWendy’s TBR Challenge this month–the theme is animals, and I’m just going with the title here. (Just kidding; there’s a wildlife refuge thing happening, mostly on the side.)

Reader beware: graphic descriptions of torture and heavy PTSD; glorification of the U.S. military; racism through the “model minority” stereotype for Native Americans and the “hellscape drug narco territory” for Latin America; autistic child as inspiration porn; sex on the page.

Someone to Love, by Mary Balogh

This is my (very) late entry in SuperWendy’s TBR Challenge for February. As with my January read, I actually managed to read the book on time¹ but I just haven’t been able to string more than a couple of sentences together for months.

Ah well, c’est la vie, non?

Warning: otherization/fetishization of the one Asian character in the novel.

Someone to Love, by Mary Balogh

This is the first novel in a series about the family of the late Earl of Riverdale, and how his death–and the secrets he kept until then–have affected their fortunes and their very lives. I found the premise very intriguing and read the book quickly and with general enjoyment.

While we are introduced to a rather large cast of characters (I had to check the family tree a couple of times during the first few chapters), as the author is setting up a series of books, the story moves along smoothly, at a sustained pace, to the last chapter or so.

But more on that below. Here, have a blurb: