I meant to write this around Christmas, but that didn’t happen for various reasons. So here it is in the New Year.

Men Under the Mistletoe is a collection of four stories: My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March, Winter Knights by Harper Fox, Lone Star by Josh Lanyon, and The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchell. None of these writers are new to me. 😉

I don’t normally like regency romances, but My True Love Gave to Me is pretty good. A lot better than I expected. The characters drive the story. Thomas left Sasha when they were both 17 because his desires scared him. The second part of the story is pretty damn emotional. I liked it a lot. The characters are special. They can’t exactly be open about their relationship, but they get a HEA anyway. And the way they do the HEA  isn’t too unrealistic!

Winter Knights is probably the best story in the whole anthology. It’s my favorite anyway. 😉 It has a twist on the Arthur and Lancelot legend. The main character gets lost in the snow and they appear. Well, a version of them. 😉 I can’t tell if it really happened or if he was just dazed and hallucinated the whole thing. I am inclined to think it really happened. But I like the idea of Christmas ghosts. Anyway, the whole thing is pretty romantic. I loved it.

Josh Lanyon wrote the Adrian English books, a really good romantic suspense series. Lone Star doesn’t disappointment. Even if there is no suspense. There is a ballet dancer and a Texas Ranger and a high school romance. Mitchell goes home after catching his lover with someone else; he hadn’t been back since before his father’s death and decides to settle the estate while he’s there. They do get a HEA or at least it is implied. But in this short story they haven’t decided how to make their romance work when one lives in NY and the other lives in Texas. I think that part deserves a story all its own.

I loved the ending of The Christmas Proposition. It was funny and sexy and not that full of angst. Mel discovers he’s going to host a wedding a week before the event and his life gets a little crazy. There is some family drama – K.A. Mitchell does a good job of explaining family history, past problems and so on. And the ending made me laugh. 😀