The Christmas Cookie Collection
By Lori Wilde
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Carrie, Raylene, Christine, and Flynn are all members of the
Christmas Cookie Club, and this Christmas their dreams will come true.
“The Christmas Cookie
Chronicles: Carrie”
Eight years ago, on Christmas, Carrie MacGregor and Mark
Leland, high school sweethearts, eloped to Las Vegas. When they returned home
to Twilight, Mark’s parents and Carrie’s older sister persuaded the teenagers
that they should annul their marriage. Carrie threw more pennies than she could
count into the legendary fountain that was supposed to assure her a happy
ending with Mark, but she has never heard from him since the day they parted.
But that’s about to change. Mark, now host of a reality,
myth-bursting show Fact or Fiction,
is returning to Twilight to check out the facts of the town’s greatest legend.
Will the hometown hero destroy the town? An even more important question may be
whether the legend’s power will work for the hero and his heroine. The
chemistry between Mark and Carrie is as explosive as ever, but can an L. A.
star and a small-town girl really reunite for Christmas and for their own HEA?
“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Raylene”
Raylene Pringle has made Elvis’s “Blue Christmas” the most
played Christmas song at the Horny Toad Tavern, which she has been running
alone since Earl, her high school sweetheart and husband of thirty-five years left
her a year ago. He left after Raylene revealed that before their marriage,
during the last time she and Earl split, she had had a fling with a Dallas
Cowboy quarterback, given birth to a daughter from that affair, and given the
child to the wealthy parents of her lover. Earl can’t forgive Raylene for keeping
that information from him, and he leaves. Raylene hasn’t heard from him in a
year, and now she has two losses to keep her blue: the daughter she never knew
and the love of her life who has disappeared.
Earl may not have contacted Raylene, but he has contacted
Shannon Dugan, who shows up incognito in Twilight, still reeling from the
shocks she received Christmas a year ago: her grandfather died, her husband
turned out to be a crook who stole her money, and Earl Pringle brought her the
news that her birth mother could be found in Twilight, Texas. Shannon comes to
Twilight looking for answers, and she finds them. In fact, she finds more than
she thought possible in retired Navy SEAL, Nate Devers. In a season of love and
grace, is there enough of both to reconcile a mother and daughter and two older
lovers who have lost their way?
“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Christine”
Christine Noble may bake the most delectable Christmas
cookies that the citizens of Twilight have ever tasted, but that’s not much
consolation when she thinks of all that’s lacking in her life, big things like
true love and a family. The accident that ended Christine’s dreams becoming an
Olympic sprinter also left her unable to bear children, and every man in whom
she has developed an interest has disappeared when Christine shared that news
with him. Christine knows she has a lot to be thankful for, but that knowledge
doesn’t help her with the self-pity and envy when she sees all her friends with
the children in their lives.
Widower Eli Borden drives over from Jubilee to order what he
has been assured is the best birthday cake available for his teenage daughter
Sierra. He doesn’t know that the baker is Christine with whom he shared an
unforgettable kiss when they were only a bit older than his daughter. Seeing
Christine again has him feeling emotions he hasn’t felt since his wife died.
But he doubts that a widower with four kids is the stuff of romantic dreams. Of
course he doesn’t know Christine remembers him as the best kisser in her life
or that he is exactly the man to fulfill her dreams of the perfect Christmas
and maybe a happily ever after.
“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Grace”
Flynn and Jesse
Calloway, who were the heroine and hero of the first Twilight, Texas, book, are
getting ready to welcome their first child. They have just completed a
Christmas delivery that leaves them feeling filled with the joy of the season
when Jesse’s past separates them again. It’s a brief separation, but it’s long
enough for Flynn to run into danger. But Jesse’s love, a mysterious stray dog,
and a Christmas miracle brings them safely past the danger. They name their
Christmas miracle “Grace.”
These stories are short and predictable, and they won’t win
any awards for originality or complexity. Nevertheless, they are guaranteed to
evoke lots of smiles and a tear or two, and the recurring themes of forgiveness
and love seem particularly appropriate in holiday stories. Readers who have
enjoyed Wilde’s other Twilight books will appreciate the community feel, the
familiar characters, and the unabashed sentiment of these novellas. Readers new
to Wilde may well find that these sweet bites with a touch of spice will
inspire them to feast on the other books in the series.
The first three stories were published in 2011 by Avon Impulse, a digital only imprint. This year Avon has released them in print with a fourth story added. For readers who purchased the Christmas Cookie Chronicles last year, the fourth story “Grace” is available as a digital single.
~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com
I saw this in the store today. Thanks for the extended blurbs of the stories. I couldn't get much from the back of the book. This sounds like the perfect read for the holidays. Short, sweet stories filled with the spirit of the season that are perfect for a quick read during such a busy time.
ReplyDeleteI read this book and I adored it.. Lori Wilde know how to tell and story and her Christmas Collection is filled with so much holiday spirit, love and wonder... makes you long for the Christmas to be here.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to read this book. After this wonderful review of this book i am inspired to read it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing.