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A Season to Celebrate by Fern Michaels, Kate Pearce, Donna Kauffman and Priscilla Oliveras, Narrated by Maria Liatis, Lori Gardner, and Rachel Botchan

Published November 2nd 2018 by Recorded Books,  October 30th 2018 by Zebra

4.5 Stars:

I really enjoyed A Season To Celebrate made up of four Christmas Novellas. I really liked that these stories were all different, with characters at different stages in their lives, from different walks of life and with different families and experiences.

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING by Fern Michaels was my favourite. It features Pararescueman Kevin Matthews, who has returned home and is working at his family’s Christmas tree farm. It is a sweet romance, but what put it over the top for me was Kate’s daughter, Emma, who referred to Kevin as the famous K-E-V-I-N from a sign that was posted when he returned. It was a sweet, family oriented Christmas romance.

Kate Pearce is a new author to me and her story, AN UNEXPECTED GIFT was sweet and realistic. Billy Morgan has a history, part of which was spent in prison. He has returned home hoping his children might still need him. What he does find is an old friend, Bella, who runs the Red Dragon Bar. Bella never believed he did what he was accused of years ago and when she is in need of help, Billy is there for her. After all these years, can these old friends find a second chance at love? I enjoyed this story due to its rawness, its emotions and relatable characters.

I have enjoyed Donna Kauffman’s Blue Hollow Falls series, so meeting up with and hearing about characters I like in CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS was fun. This was a sweet novella about being in the right place at the right time to help someone. Of course romance ensues.

The final story in this book was by a relatively new author to me. I recently read a novel penned by Priscilla Oliveras and I enjoyed her offering of HOLIDAY HOMERUN. I really like that her stories and books all have a Latin or Cuban flavor, highlighting her heritage as well as teaching me about it as part of the story. Event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez is at a point where she needs to make a big decision in her life. She knows what she wants, but breaking it to family is not going to be easy. When she meets injured and retired baseball star, Ben, she is NOT starstruck at all. Ben wants to get to know this beautiful woman, but she seems to shut him down at every turn. Working together on an event gives them a lot of opportunities to get to know each other and break down barriers. Some of the scenes with the kids had me giggling with my own memories.

If you are looking for some Christmas cheer in the summer during Christmas in July or gearing up for Christmas in December, these novellas will get you in the mood for that Christmas magic that brings on Christmas romance, I recommend it. Listening to this one was enjoyable with three narrators to give voice to the stories and characters. Maria Liatis, Lori Gardner, and Rachel Botchan all have great voices with expression, emotion and tone to add to the stories. I did a read listen, but enjoyed the audio portions very much.

A Season to Celebrate

About the Book: Featuring Christmas Homecoming by #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels, now the hit Hallmark movie Unlocking Christmas!

Make it a merry Christmas with four stories of the special way the holidays warm our hearts…

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING * Fern Michaels
Former Air Force Pararescueman Kevin Matthews is back home in Texas, working at his family’s Christmas tree farm while deciding his next move. Or maybe he won’t move at all, if sparks keep flying with the town’s new surgeon, Kate Stafford . . .

AN UNEXPECTED GIFT * Kate Pearce
Widower Billy Morgan wishes his grown children still needed him. Good thing his longtime friend, Bella, does. She’s planning her son’s Christmas wedding and Billy is happy to help. Along the way they just might discover their own occasion to celebrate . . .

CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS * Donna Kauffman
Attorney Moira Brogan expects her brother’s Christmas wedding to be a peaceful affair. She doesn’t expect to be cornered by an unwanted lothario, rescued by a gorgeous Aussie chef–or be swept off her feet by said chef. Nursing a broken heart, the last thing she wants is a new romance. But Hudson Walker has other ideas . . .

HOLIDAY HOMERUN * Priscilla Oliveras
Event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez dreams of a life in Chicago. But her family in Puerto Rico expects her to take over the catering business. Former pro baseball player Ben Thomas knows what that’s like–and when they meet, he might be the one to inspire a winning strategy, just in time for the holidays . . .

An Official Military Spouse Book Club Pick