Seduced by Christmas

Enjoyable romantic stories

4 stars

Mills and Boon bring together two authors for a pair of stories about love and the Christmas season.

THE SICILIAN’S CHRISTMAS BRIDE by Sandra Marton

Three years ago, Taylor Sommer disappeared out of Dante Russo’s life, leaving just a brief note to thank him for their passionate affair. Sicilian tycoon, Dante, has never got over the fact that someone left him so he hires an investigator to track Taylor down. When found, the pair still have that essential spark but all Dante wants is her in his bed so he can sate his desire for her once and for all. However, things have changed in three years and the pair must learn to put the past aside as well as revealing their deepest secrets, even at the risk of their new-found relationship.

While not being a particularly new or innovative plot, I still very much enjoyed this story and the characters in it. Dante was a strong, passionate, alpha male who also had a tender side while Taylor, or Tally as she’s known, is a feisty and independent woman who will do anything to protect her family. The story was interesting, readable but you can’t look too deeply into the emotions of the characters as in one breath they hated each other and the next they loved each other, and so on. Without particular festive touches, the story didn’t work as a Christmas tale for me, but as a romantic, love story it worked well.

THE BOSS’S CHRISTMAS SEDUCTION by Yvonne Lindsay

Virginal Holly Christmas has loved her boss for years but high-flying Connor Knight has never noticed her in that way. Until the Christmas party. Their fiery, passionate night surprises them both – especially when they learn that Holly is pregnant. But Holly feels she doesn’t belong in Connor privileged world, while he needs to be sure that she really does want a family, him included.

The standard plot line of the secretary and her boss is used here but it still stands out as an original tale. Holly is a woman with a past that has managed to pull herself through and become somebody yet she still has a lot of demons from what happened to her as a child. Connor is a typical alpha male – strong and passionate but at times I was uncomfortable with how controlling he became. Despite that, the pair still worked well together and you are really pleased that they get their happy ending. Again, this story didn’t feel Christmassy enough for me, but it was still an enjoyable tale.

Overall, if you’re looking for festive stories then there are definitely more Christmassy ones out there. Yet these stories are still readable, enjoyable, sensual and most importantly, romantic. 4 stars.