avid_reader_53's review
5.0
Oh, I loved this book! My first Christmas book of the season. This book came about when one of the authors saw a book’s title that was supposed to be betrothed, and she read brothel. Well… great books come about this way!
In this book, Faur Elke Klaus opens up her brothel to stranded travelers over Christmas, see Canterbury is experiencing the worst blizzard in years. Complete whiteout conditions, and all the Inns are full, so Faur Klaus can do nothing else but open her haus to travelers who have no where else to go. She does love Christmas so, and it is a time of Miracles.
The group of people that end up gathered in the haus is truly funny and heart wrenching at the the same time, and the their reasons being there are as varied as they are. Songs are sung, and tales are told. Some find old loves, some new, some renew their their commitment to each other.
I loved all the stories. They were great, the only one I had issues with one story, where the author dressed her heroine in fishnet stockings, it is 1816, they didn’t come about till much later, and she changed the last name of her couple also. (and it was a short story!) All the rest were great. With all the proceeds going to Toy’s for Tots and the cost only .99 this a book you much pick up for the holiday season. I may have even found the start to a new series I am going to have to investigate. That, my friends, is the joy of an anthology like this one. Five stars for this one.
In this book, Faur Elke Klaus opens up her brothel to stranded travelers over Christmas, see Canterbury is experiencing the worst blizzard in years. Complete whiteout conditions, and all the Inns are full, so Faur Klaus can do nothing else but open her haus to travelers who have no where else to go. She does love Christmas so, and it is a time of Miracles.
The group of people that end up gathered in the haus is truly funny and heart wrenching at the the same time, and the their reasons being there are as varied as they are. Songs are sung, and tales are told. Some find old loves, some new, some renew their their commitment to each other.
I loved all the stories. They were great, the only one I had issues with one story, where the author dressed her heroine in fishnet stockings, it is 1816, they didn’t come about till much later, and she changed the last name of her couple also. (and it was a short story!) All the rest were great. With all the proceeds going to Toy’s for Tots and the cost only .99 this a book you much pick up for the holiday season. I may have even found the start to a new series I am going to have to investigate. That, my friends, is the joy of an anthology like this one. Five stars for this one.
allingoodtime's review
4.0
3.75 stars
I first learned about this book through an email newsletter from Kate Pearce. It’s a compilation between many authors and all proceeds go to Toys for Tots. Since I haven’t been able to figure out the publisher, I think it was a self-published book through Amazon. I don’t know about now, but when I purchased my copy it was less than a dollar! Helping Toys for Tots, getting a short story from one of my favorite authors, and less than a dollar? Sign me up!
I’m not going to go story by story with this one like I usually would do…there are way too many. And some of them are just a few pages long. In this compilation, one story kind of goes into another. Some characters overlap, especially Frau Klaus, the brothel’s proprietor. I’m rating it as PG-13 only because it’s set in a brothel. There is really no brothel-esque activities happening in this book. Some of these stories are positively pure and innocent.
This is the perfect book for when you’re super busy. If you have to wait in line or find a few minutes here and there to read, you can read a story or two in those moments. And it has a whimsical, wonderful, old-time Christmas feel.
Most of these stories I enjoyed. Some I just loved. There was one that I felt was a cop-out story…basically a full-on knock off of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. To tell you the truth, it kind of ticked me off that it made the cut. Even if it’s for charity, it still seems hinkey to me.
This book is worth grabbing for multiple reasons. And seriously, you can’t beat the price.
This review can also found on the book blog All In Good Time.
I first learned about this book through an email newsletter from Kate Pearce. It’s a compilation between many authors and all proceeds go to Toys for Tots. Since I haven’t been able to figure out the publisher, I think it was a self-published book through Amazon. I don’t know about now, but when I purchased my copy it was less than a dollar! Helping Toys for Tots, getting a short story from one of my favorite authors, and less than a dollar? Sign me up!
I’m not going to go story by story with this one like I usually would do…there are way too many. And some of them are just a few pages long. In this compilation, one story kind of goes into another. Some characters overlap, especially Frau Klaus, the brothel’s proprietor. I’m rating it as PG-13 only because it’s set in a brothel. There is really no brothel-esque activities happening in this book. Some of these stories are positively pure and innocent.
This is the perfect book for when you’re super busy. If you have to wait in line or find a few minutes here and there to read, you can read a story or two in those moments. And it has a whimsical, wonderful, old-time Christmas feel.
Most of these stories I enjoyed. Some I just loved. There was one that I felt was a cop-out story…basically a full-on knock off of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. To tell you the truth, it kind of ticked me off that it made the cut. Even if it’s for charity, it still seems hinkey to me.
This book is worth grabbing for multiple reasons. And seriously, you can’t beat the price.
This review can also found on the book blog All In Good Time.
dianed's review
4.0
This book is like a box of Christmas Chocolates - a mixed collection of delightful taste. Each on different but just as delicious. This is a fun set of fast reads - each happily ever after better than the last.
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