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Connie Willis, Take a Look at the Five and Ten

Ori isn’t looking forward to the holiday season with her obnoxious relatives. She especially dreads seeing Grandma Elving, who tells the same story — about how she worked at Woolworth’s one Christmas in the 1950s — over and over again, in mind-numbing detail. But at Thanksgiving dinner, her stepsister’s new boyfriend, Lassiter, seems fascinated by Grandma Elving’s story. He thinks it may be a traumatic flashbulb memory, and he wants to include Grandma Elving in an experiment to uncover the root cause of this trauma. Ori drives Grandma Elving to and from the research lab and ends up assisting Lassiter in his experiment. But she doesn’t expect to fall for him, nor to discover that his hypothesis may be entirely wrong. I love Connie Willis, and this is another great Christmas story from her, although I must confess it’s not my favorite — I think that might be All Seated on the Ground. But I’d still recommend this one, especially to fans of her work!

Kate Clayborn, Missing Christmas

I’ve been meaning to read more Kate Clayborn ever since I read and loved Love Lettering back in January. This novella is loosely tied to her Chance of a Lifetime series, but it can definitely stand alone as well. Kristen and Jasper are friends and business partners, but Jasper has always wanted more. He’s crazy about her, but he doesn’t want to make a move that would jeopardize their friendship and partnership. Unfortunately, one kiss changes everything, and then they end up stuck in a snowy, romantic cabin over the holidays. I liked this story but didn’t feel the same magic I felt with Love Lettering. Maybe Clayborn just does better with a full-length novel. Still, I did enjoy this one and will continue to read more by the author.

Jackie Lau, One Bed for Christmas

Another holiday romance novella, this one centering on happy-go-lucky Wes Cheng and competent, driven Caitlin Ng. Wes has been in love with Caitlin since their college days, but he hasn’t made a move because he doesn’t feel worthy of her. But when a snowstorm knocks the power out at Caitlin’s place, she asks Wes if she can stay with him for a few days, and sparks start to fly between them. I’m not sure why I didn’t connect with this story more; both the main characters are likable, and I usually enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope. Maybe I was a little frustrated by Wes…I just wanted him to COMMUNICATE already! The novella was also a bit too racy for me, but obviously others’ mileage will vary. Overall, I didn’t hate this one but didn’t particularly like it either, and I won’t seek out more by this author.