Candlelight
and Kisses Anthology
By: Kaylie Newell, Nola Cross & Pepper Anthony
Blurbs
A Home for my
Heart by Nola Cross
“They say you
can never go home again. Try telling that to your heart.”
When big-city
attorney, Jonathan Silver, agreed to be godfather to his infant niece five
years before, he didn’t dream he would actually end up as her guardian. He’d
never imagined himself as a family man. Now he’s not only an instant father to
little Rachel, but also inherits the house where he grew up in the small town
of Everfield, Washington. When he left Everfield fifteen years before, he never
planned to return. Now for Rachel’s sake, he’s reordered his priorities and
come home to join a two-man law practice.
Merridee Cresswell
always wanted a big family. She and her ex-husband tried unsuccessfully for
years to have kids; their marriage eventually failed from the strain. Since
then, she has poured all her maternal feelings into her children’s clothing
store, Frog’s Togs, and the special program she runs to help disadvantaged kids
in Everfield.
When his first
legal client hires him to sue Merridee for negligence, Jonathan has to
investigate the shop keeper’s character. Is she really as flakey as his client
says? Or is she the warm, lovely woman she appears to be, the woman so ready to
take Rachel under her wing and make Christmas special again? And what about
him? Could there be room in her heart for Jonathan too?
Sunny’s Second
Chance by Pepper Anthony
“What if love really is lovelier the second
time around?”
It’s a rough
Christmas for the just-divorced Sunny and her six-year-old daughter, Jasmine.
When your no-good husband leaves you for a pretty young dancer, it’s hard not
to feel old, fat and frumpy. But then she meets a handsome widower, Ben
Stillman, and his young son, Spencer. The two kids hit it off, dragging their
parents into an unwitting friendship.
Sunny’s never
thought about dating a white man. The whole interracial thing seems risky,
especially since Jasmine is still struggling with adjusting to her father’s
defection. What if the little girl gets attached to Ben and Spencer, and things
don’t work out?
Ben has been
struggling under the weight of grief since his wife’s death a year ago. He
suspects it’s too soon to move on, but somehow he wants to make Christmas
special for Spencer. Then he meets Sunny and everything changes. She chases
away the darkness and makes him feel alive again. Can the two of them learn to
trust the magic between them long enough to give love a second chance?
The Mariner’s
Gift - by Kaylie Newell
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you
least expect.
When LA Times
journalist Zola Mitchell decides to head home to San Francisco this December,
it’s to write a piece on the legendary Alcatraz prison. It has nothing to do with her high school
crush Oliver Tworek, who’s recently moved back to start up a tour boat business
to The Rock. At least, that’s what she
keeps telling herself.
But when Oliver
ends up asking her to dinner, Zola can’t refuse. And when he kisses her under a display of
Christmas fireworks from aboard his boat, she can barely remember her own
name. After twenty years, nothing seems
to have changed. Oliver’s still popular
and gorgeous, and Zola’s still…well, Zola.
Behind the successful job, and underneath her shiny new grown up
exterior, Zola still feels like the skinny girl from junior year English. Will she ever be able to conquer those little
girl insecurities? And more importantly,
will she ever get to know the real Oliver; the one who might just have a few
secrets of his own?
Buy: Amazon
Review: Usually I would review a collection of stories like this by each novella, but in this case I found that all of them were really lovely stories of second chances at love during the holiday season.
It isn't often that each novella in a collection is a perfect fit for the other books included, without them being tied together.
Each story fits into the sweet romance category, with the sex being more alluded to then shown in detail.
If I had to chose a favorite between the three stories, I would have to say I loved Sunny's Second Chance. It was more about 2 second chances and families coming together. There is pain on both sides one from divorce and the other from the death of a spouse.
This story should give you the warm fuzzies!
If you are looking to find a way to get some Christmas cheer, this is a sweet collection to start off with.
Rating: 5 flowers
Author Info
Nola Cross is a two-time Golden Heart finalist. She’s been working toward
her dream of being an author for almost thirty years. A Home for My Heart is
her first novella-length story to be published, and is the introduction to the
Everfield series she’s currently writing. She loves writing stories of
small-town America, with plenty of emotion, the perfect touch of sizzle, and
always a happy ending. Nola lives with her husband and younger son in the
foothills of the Cascade Mountains of southwest Washington State. She hopes
you’ll check out her website and email her with your comments.
For Kaylie Newell, storytelling is in the
blood. Growing up the daughter of two gifted writers, she knew eventually she’d
want to follow in their footsteps. While she’s written short stories her whole life,
it wasn’t until after her kids were born that she decided to shoot for the moon
and write her first romance novel. She hasn’t looked back since!
Kaylie lives in
Southern Oregon with her husband, two little girls, two indifferent cats and a
mutt named Pedro. She would love to hear from you! You can find her at:
Like most writers, Pepper Anthony has worn quite a
collection of hats over the years ~ voice actor, artist, bookkeeper, retail
sales ~ but she’s always wanted to be a writer. Her biggest dream has been to
see her name on a book cover. Now, with the advent of e-publishing, the covers
may be virtual, but the thrill of seeing her name on them is real. She’s
humbled by the idea that her stories might draw in a reader and provide an hour
or two of entertainment.
She’s been married to her best friend Tom for thirty-one years. Together they’ve raised two amazing sons, and recently welcomed their first grand-daughter. Most days you can find Pepper at the family's computer repair shop in a small town outside Portland, Oregon. At night she goes home to her rambling fixer-upper in the woods and toils at her writing, attended by a small menagerie of furry assistants.
She loves it when readers take a moment to reach out and let her know what they think of her stories. She hopes you'll feel free to contact her.
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