Join Santa Claus, his extended family, and the merriest of elves at the North Pole in a series of six fun-filled holiday romantic comedies guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit. The complete Christmas Central Collection offers readers four novellas, two short stories, and too many laugh-out-loud moments to count.Included in this collection: Miss Kane’s Christmas, Mrs. Saint Nick, The Return … The Return of Kris Kringle, The North Pole Prize, The Christmas Makeover, and Eve’s Christmas Wedding.
Miss Kane’s Christmas – As a favor to her father, Santa’s daughter Carol leaves the North Pole to pose as a nanny for single father Ben Hanson’s two young children. Ben despises everything holiday related. How can Carol fall for a man who’s writing a book entitled ‘Beyond Bah Humbug: Why lying to your kids about Santa is a Bad Idea’?
Mrs. Saint Nick – Sparks fly when efficiency expert Holly Jamison starts her new job at the North Pole and is assigned to work with St. Nick, Santa’s son. Holly’s convinced that Nick is a spoiled playboy who doesn’t pull his weight, while Nick is convinced that Holly’s the woman of his dreams.
The Return of Kris Kringle – After years away home, Kris Kringle returns to share her love of healthy cuisine as the North Pole’s new head chef. Unbeknownst to Kris, her Uncle Santa decides to cook up a little trouble when he hires her ex-fiancé, Kyle Masterson, as her co-chef.
The North Pole Prize – Christmas Central engineer Garrett McCree is Scottish by birth and reclusive by nature. He’s less than thrilled when Santa asks him to act as a guide to the effervescent Angelique Devereaux who’s spending a week at the North Pole as an honored guest. Not only is Garrett’s solitude disturbed, he fears the walls he’s carefully constructed around his heart are in danger of being dismantled by the Claus’ holiday-loving guest.
The Christmas Makeover – Interior designer Jackie Frost is happy to oblige when Santa Claus, her late father’s oldest friend, asks her for a favor. Jackie agrees to take on the herculean task of redecorating Christmas Central as a surprise for Mrs. Claus even though December 25th is right around the corner. The true challenge, though, turns out to be working alongside the talented and incredibly attractive craftsman Dean Bradshaw, a man who melts the frozen protective layer around Jackie’s heart.
Eve’s Christmas Wedding – Renowned wedding planner Eve Bennington loves everything about her job. Unless, that is, she’s asked to arrange a December ceremony because it reminds Eve of the time she was jilted at her own Christmas eve wedding. Eve doesn’t believe in Santa Claus’ existence any more than she believes she and her ex-boyfriend Hunter will ever end up together again. So, when she ends up meeting the real Santa, what does that mean for her future with Hunter?
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Miss Kane’s Christmas
It’s sweet and cute and just so much fun. There’s so much more to the spirit of Christmas than just “Santa”, but Ben’s kind of forgotten that under the stresses of some difficult life events. Can Carol show Ben and his children the true magic of the season or will this little family be stuck with the “bah humbug!” blues? I loved Carol’s enthusiasm for the holidays, and the children are utterly precocious. I liked Ben well enough even though he’s the human equivalent of Grumpy Cat. The story is short, so the romance happens super-fast but that’s to be expected just by the nature of the genre. I’m looking forward to reading more about Christmas Central.
Mrs. Saint Nick
It’s cute, and sweet, and I ended up in tears I wasn’t expecting at all. Holly is such a driven, Type-A overachiever. And she’s a bit of a grinch, too. She’s got lots of good, valid, reasons for disliking the Christmas season, but it still took a lot of effort for me to like her. But, like the moment the Grinch’s heart grew, when Holly finally has her revelation, it’s a deeply emotional experience. I think it hit me especially hard because I was part of a Christmas miracle just like it. And that scene makes me remember everything about that time. Saint Nick is a bit of a charming rogue. He has a heart of gold-plated marshmallow; he just has fun trying to convince everyone he doesn’t. This pair has a lot to work through, but once everything’s said and done, I think they’re going to be wonderful together.
The Return of Kris Kringle
I find this book a little bit harder to pin down than the previous ones. Despite the implied affinity of our names, I didn’t much like Kris. I know part of it is the shorter format of the story which doesn’t provide a lot of time to get to know the characters in depth, but she came across as critical, judgemental, and holier-than-thou. I also couldn’t get into her “health food or else” attitude. Kyle and Noelle are pretty sweet and wonderful. I’m not surprised they got along so well. I thought the ending was adorable, but Kyle’s solution to appeasing Kris’s pride was just too over the top for me.
The North Pole Prize
Both Garrett and Angelique came from families that didn’t value them. Can Christmas Central bring them the piece of holiday magic they’ve both been missing? This story goes by very fast. And maybe it’s the short format, but I didn’t really feel like I connected to either of the main characters at all. I think Garrett was supposed to come across as methodical and grounded. Instead, he kind of just felt curmudgeonly. Angelique was supposed to be this free-spirited sugar plum fairy, but I thought she was simply flighty. Opposites attract, so I guess it’s possible. I felt like there wasn’t enough story to justify it.
The Christmas Makeover
This is a lightning fast short story. It was a lot of fun and has lots of fabulous holiday spirit, but it’s maybe just a bit too short for the story it’s telling. Jacki and Dean are so sweet together, it’s definitely a case of love at first sight. I found their relationship moved a lot faster than I was expecting it too, and the timeline takes a couple very large jumps in order to get our happy couple to where they’re going.
Eve’s Christmas Wedding
Eve and Hunter used to be a couple until Hunter prioritized his career over their relationship. But when Eve asks for his help “looking into” a new client, he can’t resist the opportunity to try and put everything back to rights. I’m a sucker for second chances and holiday romances, so this story was right up my alley. It’s not a very long book but it has it’s share of touching moments that pull on the heart strings as well a few silly ones that made me giggle. I quite enjoyed this story. I loved seeing the way the holiday magic worked it’s way into Hunter and Eve’s hearts.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Hidden Gems Books.
This collection is just what you need to get you into the holiday spirit. This collection of stories are laughable, loveable and one reading will not be enough. Your emotions will be all over the place with the escapades of the characters and you will definitely fall in love with a few. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.