Santa Baby by Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster, and Carly Phillips

In Hot Toy by Jennifer Crusie, Trudy Maxwell finds herself looking for the hottest toy for her nephew on Christmas Eve. Unable to find it, she starts dumping toys from the shelves hoping that someone put it on the wrong shelf. But when she finds last year’s version, two men offer to buy it from her for big bucks. When she refuses to sell, the two men drag her into a dangerous adventure and force her to choose sides. Now Trudy must decide which man is telling the truth or she may lose more than her nephew’s toy.

In Christmas Bonus by Lori Foster, Maggie Carmichael finds herself in charge of her father’s company after his death. Eric Bragg is in love with Maggie even though she’s ten years his junior and the president of the company, but he ignores her because he doesn’t want her to think he’s only after her for the money. Now it’s up to Maggie to make the first move and a sprig of Mistletoe might be just the answer she’s looking for.

In Naughty Under the Mistletoe by Carly Phillips, Antonia Larson decides to go after the hunky partner in the law firm where she works and arranges to meet him under the mistletoe. Maxwell Corbin shows up at the Christmas party because his father and brother insisted, but when a mysterious stranger gives him the kiss of the lifetime, he can’t help but wonder if the kiss was intended for his brother. Now that Toni knows that Maxwell isn’t the guy she wanted to seduce, will she let herself be whisked away on the basis of a single kiss?

I can’t believe that Jennifer managed to pack such a powerful story into such a short space, while Lori’s and Carly’s stories manage to pump the heat up as high as you can get. If you’re looking for a set of three intense short stories, bump this book to the top of your stack. You won’t be disappointed.

Details: St. Martins, November 2006

can’t believe that Jennifer managed to pack such a powerful story into such a short space, while Lori’s and Carly’s stories manage to pump the heat up as high as you can get. If you’re looking for a set of three intense short stories, bump this book to the top of your stack. You won’t be disappointed.

Murphy’s Law by Lori Foster

Ashley Miles is a girl who knows what she wants and romance just doesn’t make the list. Between working two jobs and attending school, Ashley is flat out of time. Not if she wants to pay her bills and get good grades. The last thing she needs is a rich, handsome man chasing after her. When Quinton Murphy sees the spunky girl, he’s fascinated beyond all reason, but not sure why. It isn’t her scrawny body nor her brash personality, that’s for sure. But things go downhill for Ashley, when someone starts stalking her and making death threats. Now after years of avoiding men, Ashley has two men in her life – one who wants to kill her and the other that wants to make love to her. Isn’t that just like Murphy’s Law?

Ashley is one of the most unique characters I’ve ever seen in a romance novel and Lori managed to paint an incredible picture of this girl in my mind. I can see her kicking and screaming each time she’s forced to do something she doesn’t want to do and I actually felt sorry for Quinton when it happened. This book is full of humor, mixed in with a touch of suspense. This is a sequel to Jude’s Law, which you may want to read first as many of the characters from that book make a guest appearance in this one. If you like unlikely matchups, then you’ll love this book.

Zebra, September 2006

Bottom line: A great book