Book 3: Gold, Frankensence and Myrrh
This anthology, published by Ellora’s Cave in 2003, contains three stories, each running along a Christmas theme. I started it during the holiday season, but put it aside for other books once the holidays were through.
“A Gift of Gold” by Ann Jacobs is a pleasant little story, if you like erotica. If you like plot, you should skip to the Cassie Walder story, because this story? pretty much lacks a plot. Basically, Lord Gavin’s supposed to marry a woman he’s heard is fat and ugly, and his lady wife, Evelyn, who is indeed fat, decides to seduce him, just to see if he’ll be repulsed by her, and then ends up sharing him with his twin brother. By the way, the only way to tell these particular twins apart is by the genetal piercings they’ve both got.
I found this story hillarious, though unintentionally so. I mean, really, WTF? The only way to tell your twin sons apart is to pierce their genetals in different ways? Hoookay. C+, although it would have been a straight C except for the genetal piercing part.
“A Gift of Frankensense” by Cassie Walder was my favorite story in the collection. it’s set during the rule of England by Oliver Cromwell, and Walder clearly did her research. The prose and dialogue feel authentic, and the conflict between our hero and heroine felt natural rather than, say, the conflict in the third story. This was the only couple I was really rooting for, and the only couple I thought might actually get a happily ever after. A for this one.
“A Gift of Myrrh” by Jody Copeland… There’s not much to say about this one. It’s just… meh. Our hero and heroine both come out of the Scottish branch of central casting. They each have about four brain cells to split between them, and there are all kinds of big misunderstandings. C- for this one, because it was just so meh I’ve already forgotten the characters’ names.
Overall, I’d say the anthology rates about a C. The Walder story is the only one worth bothering with. The rest are easily skippable.
