#125 No Mistletoe Required

Book Title : No Mistletoe Required

Writer : Jeanette Murray

Pages : 32

Publisher : Carina Press

Dan Beckins is a lawyer who doesn't like Christmas season, since his parents died by accident on Christmas day when he was young. But he can't resist when his friend Geoff con him into volunteering to build Santa's Winter Wonderland at the local hospital in the name of charity. And then he met Anna Smith, a big brown eyes and shorty nurse. She is  loves Christmas and volunteering at the hospital, where she spent her teenage time as one of the patient. She is also a cancer survivor (leukemia and benign breast tumor), and she want all children at that ward feel the joy of Christmas in Santa's Workshop.

Both Anna and Dan actually liked each other since they first met. Anna take the first step to approached Dan and took him to her bed. But each still keeping secrets of their past. When Dan started to open up to Anna, Anna actually break them. Anna doesn't think she could drag Dan into her life only to end up getting another form of cancer and having to go through the whole process of chemo and radiation and surgeries.

 “It’s just one of those times of the year where anything seems possible.”

Christmas is the time when anything seems possible. It also happened to Anna and Dan which is basically have different views about Christmas and their relationship. I love the interaction between them, when they finally came to revealing their past. This novella can warm your heart on a Christmas season.

Thank you for Net Galley and Carina Press for giving me the opportunity to read No Mistletoe Required.

#49 A Waltz at Midnight

Book Title: A Waltz at Midnight

Writer: Crista McHugh

Page(s): 55

Publisher: Carina Press

This is a second eBook which I’ve got from NetGalley. It was a short romantic novel, another kind of Cinderella Story that take place at 1866 in New York.

Susanna Parkwell and her brother Hank Parkwell are come from the South. Unfortunately, Hank loses his leg in Civil War. They have to live in a boarding house and work there for a place to stay. Both Susanna and Hank don’t like to live in that situation, but the circumstances make them have to. Susanna has to serve some rich girls which study at Vassar College.

One of these girls, Charlotte, receives a letter from a man named Theodore Barkley. The letter explains about an arrangement made by their parents that set them in to a business marriage. Charlotte asks for Susanna to write back the rejection letter, since she doesn’t want to marry Theodore. Susanna writes the letter behalf for Charlotte. Instead of feeling abandoned, Theodore is more curious for Charlotte and sends her many letters. He even sends Charlotte some sketch that made by him. Off course, it’s not Charlotte who reply all Teddy’s letters but Susanna. By their letters, they start to fall in live each others. Until one day, Teddy plans to meet Charlotte. Susanna gets upset about his plan, but Charlotte forced her to continue to play act. How will Susanna get out of this one without getting heartbroken?

There was some section where Susanna being a maid, and the clock struck 12 times to separate them deeply felt like Cinderella story. But I love to read all the letters imagine me being in Susanna side. Not only because of the choice words used by Theodore and Susanna, but also their thoughts about the impact of war, freedom, rights of women, and off course love.

Too bad the story is very short. I hope the character development of several villains like Annabelle, a rich girl who is always oppressive Susanna, or even from Hank and Charlotte. And although this is a romance story, you barely find a sexual scene but kiss :)

Well, I give three out of five stars to Susanna and Theodore.