Elves, Bells & Mistletoe by Jennifer Metz-- Mandy runs the Seductive Secrets Boutique and she's noticed how much business has picked up lately. For awhile she'd had quite a slow turnover and this positive boost is just the right thing. Her enjoyment turns to surprise when she is notified that elves, of all things, are picketing in town. Christmas has been cancelled and there won't be any big parade. Think what that will do to sales! Meeting a hunk of a man, Nickolas Claus, certainly perks her day right up. Having Nickolas in town, acting as intermediary between the elves and Santa, his father, certainly doesn't disappoint her in the slightest, either.

Mistletoe & Mayhem by Emery LaRue--Garland is trying to get to Spellfire. At this very moment he is soaking wet, since every single car has managed to splash him in passing. But he is fuelled; fuelled by something mysterious having drawn him all the way from Montana. And his inkling was right on the mark; he not only finds his mysterious someone, but also is reunited with his mother. Garland, in returning to his hometown, brings more change than he might have imagined. His father had left the town 20 years before, taking the infant Garland with him. It takes the son wanting and needing to see his mother to draw the father back also.

Eid al-Ftr by Ann Regentin--Salva isn't content in her life. Her children constantly bicker (or some of them do). She isn't happy in her relationship with her husband and nothing gives her a feeling of contentment. Feisal doesn't even understand the thoughts in his wife's head. He had brought the family from Iran hoping for a better life, the American Dream in the Land of Opportunity. Somehow along the way, the family has lost any bond with each other; each surviving in his or her own way, but none really happy. It hasn't been easy for them over the years, but many of the townspeople have become good customers at their restaurant, and good friends on the private side. The problems between the two are brought into the open when each is visited in dreams by a djinn, who teaches them just what communication and the need to express oneself can mean in a relationship between man and wife.

Spirits Bells by Tamara James--Spirit is so upset, afraid that she is going to be forced to mate with Dominik, the Alpha of her renegade pack, and she doesn't want him. She'd left that pack just to get away from him, going to her cousin for help in getting a spell, and is now surrounded by family intent on protecting her. So desperately does she want her true mate, knowing that Dominik is not the intended, that she will go so far as to accept the possibility of never having sex again if it might allow her true mate to find her. And she is lucky--after searching for a very, very long time he does; she bumps right into him. The minute he catches her scent, it is clear that he has finally found that special woman he's been looking for all his life.

A Statue for All Seasons by Mae Powers--Geo is cursed. For almost 100 years he has been a statue, magnificently naked, made out of stone. The curse allows him to be alive exactly one day of each year and that begins late Christmas Eve and ends late Christmas Day. This year is he in for a surprise! Before he is thawed someone is playing down and dirty with his best assets and 'oohhh is it nice,' he thinks to himself. But then she ups and passes out on him. Being relatively flexible allows him to gather her up and hide before they get caught, and since the library is near he heads in that direction. Then he realizes just who the babe is in his arms…the town librarian! Will they be able to break the curse before he becomes a man of stone again?

I enjoyed this novel very much. Having read the first Spellfire Anthology (which I also loved), though the stories here stand alone with absolutely no problem, I would recommend reading the two books in order to get a feeling of the town of Spellfire, its amazingly varied inhabitants with their various shops and businesses, and the interaction among all.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Glenda K. Bauerle
February 2, 2006