Alpha Heroes & Spitfire Heroines discussion

So I was thinking what kind of books could you recommend for the various holidays coming our way? If you've read anything good for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (etc etc as the calendar moves ahead) please spread the good word. And if you have any "ew don't touch it with a ten foot pole" warnings let us know those too!!

I don't know of any good ones but I'm hoping that A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS by Lisa Kleypas is a good one.

Some nasty fare:

A DELIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Angie Daniels
THE KNIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Jackie Ivie

On TBR I've got THE RANCHER'S RULES by Lucy Monroe which is a Christmas one.

How about anything Autumnal? A Halloweeny tale or Thanksgiving highjinks?

Robyn Carr has one coming out in November that I can't wait to read! It's entitled "A Virgin River Christmas." ;-) oo la la

Kathrynn, I'm looking forward to that one :)

MUST LOVE MISTLETOE by Christie Ridgway is one of my all-time favorite books with the reunion romance theme. The heroine is named "Bailey" after George Bailey/It's a Wonderful Life. The hero - Finn Jacobsen - is a former Secret Service agent and altogether yummy! Very cute and funny book.

I'm glad you liked that one, Tammy. It was an OK read for me. I remember absolutely loving the hero and the story was kind of cute, but heroine and her mother got on my nerves at times.;) I actually liked the sequel, Not Another New Year's better. Although I think I preferred the secondary couple (the brother and the spoiled princess) to the primary couple. Still it was a nice story and they both had some smokin' hot, creative love scenes.;)

Me too! I loved the secondary couple in Not another New Year's. They deserved their own story. The rest of the characters were sort of cliche' to me.

I can see where Bailey could be annoying. There wasn't a really good excuse for her cutting off all communications with Finn when she left town (other than her deadbeat dad). Finn was just too hot! The man sizzled. He MADE the story. But you know what my complaint is about the book? The funny scenes where odd gifts mysteriously showed up on Finn's doorstep through-out the book. Now that storyline had potential and could have been more developed!

I completely agree that Troy and Desiree deserved their own story. I felt a little cheated on that one.

Oh, Finn was totally HOT! That was probably my main complaint about the story. Bailey's excuse for leaving him was kind of lame, and she really hurt his feelings. It made me want to scoop him up and give him some lovin'.;) I guess I felt like he deserved better. Yeah, those gifts were a fun side plot that could have been a little better too.

The Magical Christmas Cat anthology

There is a new Breeds story by Lora Leigh and a new Psy/Changling story by Nalini Singh. I am reading the Breed book right now, it does have a Christmas theme!

Both of these authors are my favorites, they always write a sexy alpha and a great story.

Troy and Desiree! Thanks, J. I couldn't remember their names.

Another Christmas romance would be Santa Baby - an anthology by Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster and Carly Phillips. It was pretty good, with the exception of one story that was way too similar to the movie "Jingle All The Way" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Janet Evanovich has an old romance still in publication - Thanksgiving. I picked it up at B&N a few weeks ago, but haven't gotten around to reading it so I can't really recommend it.

Melissab - I've been reading good reviews on The Magical Christmas Cat. Looks like another one to add to my list!

Dare I mention..."The Twelve Quickies of Christmas. Both volumes. ;-)

How about Christine Feehan's, "Twilight Before Christmas?" It's one of the Drake Sisters series (#2) with Kate Drake and Matt (the construction contractor). I enjoyed it!

Here's some more:

1. "All Through the Night A Troubleshooter Christmas" (Troubleshooters, #12) by Suzanne Brockman

2. "A Very Gothic Christmas" (anthology)
a. "After the Music" by Christine Feehan
b. "Lady of the Locket" by Melanie George
- This is a time-travel and one of my favorite stories. I cried like a baby with this one. Very good. Set in present day Scotland and back a few hundred years. Get a box of tissues with this one.

3. Debbie Macomber has several Christmas books, but I haven't read any of them.

4. "The Night Before Christmas" by Lori Foster, Jill Shalvis, Erin McCarthy

5. "A Very Merry Christmas" by Lori Foster, Gemma Bruce

6. "A Springwater Christmas" by Linda Lael Miller

7. "Christmas Angel" by Jo Beverly

8. "All I Want for Christmas" by Lori Foster, Kinley MacGregor, Dee Holmes

9. "Red Hot Santa" by Cherry Adair, Pamela Britton...

10. "Christmas Knight" by Christina Skye

Kathrynn have you read the ones you listed? I recently ordered Christmas Knight by Christina Skye. I'm going to look into that Melanie George one you mentioned for sure :)

I wish, East. No I only read the ones I wrote little blurps about. Keep in mind, the Melanie George is in the Anthology with Christine Feehan's book. Both are stand alones.

The Feehan story "After the Music" is about a famous musician that became a recluse on a island after a disfiguring fire. It was very touching, too. A Very Gothic Christmas

Kathrynn, I'm going to pick up Twelve Quickies of Christmas just for the title alone! Have you read them?

I didn't realize there were so many Christmas books. You would think there would be more books written about Valentine's Day in the romance genre. And where are the Columbus Day, Flag Day, 4th of July books, huh? =)

Tammy, I have Volume 2 and lack the last story to finish. They are neat, quick reads.

Picked up "The Magical Christmas Cat" today. It has four short stories and one of them is #17 of Lora Leigh's Breed series.

FYI

For fans of Beverly Barton's 'Protectors' series, there's a good story in the anthology So This Is Christmas called JACK'S CHRISTMAS MISSION.:)

Holiday Seduction by Jaci Burton and Lauren Dane looks like a good one!

Lots of anthologies --wonder why there aren't more full length novels....

Here's another one, also this one is a short novel by Sandra Brown called Tidings of Great Joy.

The book I'm reading now, Lord of Ice by Gaelen Foley wasn't, to my knowledge, ever billed as a Christmas story, but it looks like the bulk of it is going to take place around the holiday season.

Books I read last Christmas and enjoyed:
Season for Miracles by Marilyn Pappano - I thought it was a very sweet, heartwarming story for the season. This one has a beta hero though.
Gifts of Love by Kay Hooper & Lisa Kleypas - This is an anthology, but the stories are a little longer than most novellas. I liked both stories, but the LK was my favorite. I thought it was on par with some of her full-length novels.

One I've heard about, but haven't read:
An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James
Also, the category romances (Harlequin/Silhouette) usually have quite a few holiday reads. I'm sure some are better than others though.

A Highlander for Christmas by Sandy Blair was a fun time travel story.

Tammy, I read Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich, I thought it was cute.

Good to know Nikki! I am a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum series and I hope to one day pick up all of Evanovich's old romances. =)