Book Review: A Stockingful of Joy by Mary Jo Putney, Jill Barnett, Justine Dare, Susan King

This reminds me why I like historical romance. I really enjoyed all four stories.
A Stockingful of Joy
by Mary Jo Putney, Jill Barnett, Justine Dare, Susan King

Publisher : Signet; First Edition (October 30, 2007)
Mass Market Paperback : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 0451223489
Genre: Anthology, Christmas, Historical Romance
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0.

Now readers can enjoy the magical spirit of Christmas with this romantic quartet of stories filled with all the hope and joy of the holiday season.

Review:
This anthology was a joy for me. I happened to have a handful of books by Jill Barnett and a dozen or so in my Putney collection. I have enjoyed the other authors before too. All of the stories have attraction and sensuality to convey the romance without outright heat and graphic description. They are sweet and quick, easy reading to enjoy.

The Snow Rose by Susan King – 4.75.
Highlands, 1573. Catriona MacDonald is being forced to marry a man her uncle has chosen if she wants to keep her castle. Catriona has a snow rose pin that represents a 21-year-old promise to give aid so she seeks aid from a rival Scottish clan, the Frasers. But the clan will not help due to a signed pledge not to feud with the MacDonalds.

Catriona departs with food gifts. She returns to her small shieling, taking the food to a houseful of orphans she is helping. She prepares the new year’s traditions hoping for good luck although she can’t imagine who would come to be the first-foot through her door and bring blessings to her small abode. Then Kenneth Fraser stumbles in, having been attacked as he was trying to find her home.

Kenneth has to recover from his beating and as he does he finds himself drawn to the gentle, but strong young woman who was brave enough to seek help from his clan. Can Kenneth bring some good luck and help Catriona find a solution to her problems?

The Best Husband Money Can Buy by Mary Jo Putney – 4.75.
London 1818. Emma Stone is a distant cousin in the Vaughn family. As a child she loved the Christmas gatherings and remembers with fondness her crush on Anthony Vaughn, five years older. But the death of her parents sent Emma to become a governess.

Ten years later, Emma is mourning the fact that she is too poor to attend the annual festivities she still gets invited to. But this year things change. Through a random act of kindness, Emma inherits a stranger’s fortune. She decides to buy the best husband money can buy and then return to the family gathering.  Her new solicitor prepares dossiers of several appropriate men, but Emma is set on one who might not be quite appropriate based on family financial troubles. Emma hopes those troubles will help her convince Anthony Vaughn to marry her.

Emma finds Anthony in the mess of a morning after party, with participants strewn about the room. She is able to convince him to marry and they travel to the country to meet with the family for the first time in 10 years. Things seem to be going slowly by well, until Emma learns that there are bad feelings that impact Anthony and therefore their relationship. Will she find heartache or happiness with her ‘purchased’ husband?

A Light in the Window by Justine Dare – 4.5.
Wyoming Territory 1878. Morgan has been a drifter since a tender age when he left the home of his bitter, critical aunt. He takes shelter in a barn during a storm and is soon surprised when a small boy with a small pack comes in. It seems the boy, Zach, is intent on running away from his weepy, grabby, old aunt.

Faith has been crying as she grieves the loss of her sister and struggles to gain acceptance from her nephew, Zach. But Zach believes that his mother is coming back and nothing Faith can do is as good as his mother would do. Faith can’t even chop the wood to keep the fuel ready for the fire so how is she supposed to keep the homestead as Zach’s inheritance?

Surprising them all, Morgan decides to help in exchange for the shelter and food. His insight helps bring understanding between Faith and Zach and one day turns into a couple and soon Christmas Eve is upon them. Faith knows that Morgan isn’t likely to stay but perhaps he could be her gift for one Christmas before he goes and perhaps she can show him the love he has never known.

Boxing Day by Jill Barnett – 4.0.
New York 1898. Conn Donoughue is a big man, a former boxer known as the Irish Giant. Now he runs a gymnasium in the ‘belly’ of New York. He leases the four-story building and would like to buy it but can’t convince his stubborn landlady, Eleanor, to sell. It seems whenever the two see each other there is tension. She moves into the top flat only to learn the beautiful glass ceiling leaks. Conn has to rescue her (and this won’t be the only time).

They fuss at each other but a friendship quickly develops. Eleanor resists a stronger relationship because she is older than Conn. Can he convince her to move past her fear and give them a chance at love and a family?

Source: My own print TBR stack and author collected books (Putney and Barnett). This qualifies for 2021TBR and 2021Print goals.