"A wonderful collection of Christmas adventures"
The Christmas Portrait by Megan Daniel Cassie Douglass is a
designer of window displays for a well- known department
store in New York City. She puts huge amounts of time and
effort into designing the Christmas window to duplicate the
exact portrait of a famous Christmas Ball from 1882. As she
stands looking at the window, she imagines what it must
have been like to be at that party. Suddenly, Cass finds
herself at the ball, and face to face with Nicholas Wright,
the portrait artist in the flesh. As Christmas draws
nearer, so do Cass and Nicholas, in spite of the mental
scars he faces from a time in his past. Now Cass is
frightened... will she be whisked back to her own time or
will she remain with Nicholas and the love they have found? This was a delightful Christmas tale, taking place in a
Victorian era New York City. Ms. Daniel paints a vivid
imagery of the city at the peak of the holiday season. One
will feel as if one is actually at the balls and galas,
wearing the glittering jewels and fabulous gowns. The
passion between Nicholas and Cass is immediately obvious,
as is Nicholas' angst over his present lifestyle. The Spirit of Things to Come by Vivian Knight-Jenkins
Taylor Kendall is a kindergarten teacher from
Massachusetts, on her way to her parents' home, and
dreading every minute of it. She sees a deer in the road
ahead and swerves to miss it, sliding in the snow and going
off the road, knocking her head on the steering wheel. When
she comes to, she finds herself in 1692 Massachusetts, and
in the heart of a puritanical town. She ends up in jail for
openly and knowingly violating one of their laws she feels
is stupid. Jared Branlyn, the local smithy, takes her in as
his apprentice, keeping secret that she is a female. The
more time he spends with her, the more attracted to each
other they become. Taylor finds herself wishing she can
stay with him, yet scared that her own time may call her
back. This tale takes place in an often neglected period of
American history. The restrictions placed on the every day
lives of the Puritans makes one more appreciative of the
rights found in today's society. This is a good story for
making people remember just how special Christmas is. The Ghost of Christmas Past by Eugenia Riley Jason Burke is
a news reporter for a New York paper, who has lost his
drive to write and has no desire to pen a series of "fluff"
articles on Christmas traditions in England. He is touring
the old Simmons hotel and is led on his tour by the
hauntingly beautiful Annie Simmons. He cannot get her out
of his mind and when he returns to visit the hotel, he ends
up in 1852 where he meets Annie alive and well. He realizes
his purpose there is to save her from a horrible fate
destined to occur on Christmas Eve and he goes to work on
his self-appointed mission, falling in love in the process. This is an excellent story with a paranormal twist such as
this reviewer favors. The way Jason focuses so completely
on his self-proclaimed mission to rescue Annie, backfires
in a fascinating way, adding to the story. A true gem, Ms.
Riley has written another wonderful tale. Twelfth Night by Flora Speer Aline Bennett is mourning her
beloved Grandfather's death, looking through his ancient
Book of Hours, admiring a Christmas painting of Medieval
times. She blinks and unexpectedly finds herself living the
life depicted in the painting. She meets her soul mate at
the same time and longs to stay with him forever. But will
she be able to stay when fate calls her to return to her
own time? This is yet another delightful story by one of the masters,
Ms. Speer. Aline blends right into her new life, enriching
the lives of all who come in contact with her. Her passion
for life is real, as is her agony of wondering if she will
be sent home with no warning. This is a great story to
round out an even better collection. Who doesn't dream of life in another time and place at
least once in their lifetime? Christmas is a time about
taking one back to wonderful memories and treasuring loved
ones. So what better way to showcase such a theme of time
travel then at Christmas? Let this book warm the reader's
heart, and encourage reminiscing over Christmases past.
This reviewer's only regret is in not having discovered
this delightful read at an earlier date. © Kelley A. Hartsell, 2002. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted January 21, 2002
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 19, 2006
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