Review: The Magical Christmas Cat by Nalini Singh et al.
Title: The Magical Christmas Cat
Authors: Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, Linda Winstead Jones and Lora Leigh
Genre: Paranormal romance anthology
Source: I bought it.
Reason for Reading: I have a bunch of Christmas romance anthologies, and I’ve been trying to read a few of them this year.
Synopsis:
Put a little meow in their stockings this year with these all-new tales of Christmas and felines–from beloved bestselling authors! New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and top-selling authors Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones have a special gift for readers this year: never-before published holiday stories featuring passionate romance, paranormal adventure, and a distinctly alluring feline touch. With four new stories–including one featuring Lora Leigh’s genetically altered Feline Breeds–this is a collection packed with more surprises than Christmas morning, and more chills than the snowiest winter night….
My Thoughts: I bought this anthology for the Nalini Singh story. I was also curious about Erin McCarthy, and I knew Lora Leigh wasn’t going to agree with me. Nonetheless, I did read this whole book. Read on to hear what I thought of all these stories.
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“Stroke of Enticement” by Nalini Singh: Annie Kildair is a teacher who one day inexplicably has to deal with a misbehaving student, who won’t explain the reasons for his bad behavior except to his uncle Zach. Zach is a member of the Dark River Pack of leopard Changelings. Sparks fly between Annie and Zach, but their relationship is strained by Annie’s self-doubts.
I enjoy Ms. Sing’s Psy/Changeling series very much, and this is a story set in that universe. I think my understanding of that universe made the reading of this story a bit more interesting, but I also don’t believe it’s necessary to have followed the series completely, and this might be a good introduction to the Psy/Changeling world for those who don’t want to invest in a full-length novel.
Annie and Zach are both likeable characters. I found Annie much more interesting, because I found her need for independence extremely compelling. I know how she feels, even though we don’t share the same disabilities. Zach is marginally less interesting, but I adore Ms. Sing’s heroes anyway, since they are both dominant and tender and none of them are assholes even when they could be. I liked how Zach stood up to Annie’s family, I liked that he didn’t swoop in and take care of her but assumed she would let him know when she needed him. As I’ve come to expect from Ms. Sing, these two characters had awesome chemistry, and I very much enjoyed their story. My only real quibbles were that it was a shade too long, and I also didn’t think there was much of a Christmas element to the story at all.
Still, Nalini Singh is one of the best paranormal romance writers working these days, and so her story rates a B+.
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“Christmas Bree” by Erin McCarthy: The love of Bree Murphy’s life is not a stuffed shirt corporate metrosexual wearing a pink shirt. But that’s exactly what her sister Abby, who occasionally has visions, has forseen. And sure enough, Ian, a Chicago lawyer with whom she’d locked horns a year ago, is exactly what Bree doesn’t need. Yet here he is now back on her doorstep, wanting to get her out of his head. Will the earthy witch and the classy gentleman find love?
Erin McCarthy is lauded for her romantic comedies, but paranormal romantic comedy rarely works for me, and this was no exception. I felt as if the author was trying a bit too hard to be funny at times, with the result being that I wasn’t laughing. And yet, there is a genuineness to her writing that did make for a few moments of subtle humor that I did like, though these were far fewer and farther between than I’d have liked.
This story was also part of a series. It stands perfectly well on its own, but since I hadn’t read any of the stories of Bree’s family and friends, I mostly felt that the nods to other works were more distracting than enticing, particularly Abby’s last vision, which just screamed “Sequel-bait” in neon letters.
Aside from the forced humor, my general reaction to the story was one of complete boredom. The characters were likeable enough, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry, and I didn’t really feel invested in either as a couple. It wasn’t a bad story, just boring.
Grade: C
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“Sweet Dreams” by Linda Winstead Jones: When Ruby receives a jade cat for a Christmas gift from a secret admirer, she has no idea that it will change her life forever.
Zane knows the cat is a sign that a demon wants to eat Ruby’s soul. But there’s nothing he can do to protect her. As Ruby’s inevitable confrontation with the demon approaches, will she and Zane be able to fight off their attraction in order to save her life?
This is another story that was just OK. Ruby and Zane were, again, fairly likeable characters, and I liked the plot involving the demon enough to keep reading to figure out how Ruby would extricate herself from it. However, what kept me from truly getting involved with this story was the absolutely awful dialogue. Zane sounded like a professor, but only if the professor was an awful nerdy stereotype. Ruby’s dialogue wasn’t much better, although at least she managed to avoid peppering her speech with words like “practicable”.
There was also a plot contrivance that kept Ruby and Zane apart that didn’t work for me. It wasn’t exactly a big misunderstanding, but it was an element whose point was entirely transparent. I rolled my eyes when it showed up, and got a little less invested.
That being said, I read this story in one sitting, which is more than I can say for the McCarthy piece. For that, and for the pacing, which really works well, I have to give the book a few points.
Grade: C+
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“Christmas Heat” by Lora Leigh: Librarian Haley McQuire is hanging out in the library of Sanctuary, the headquarters of the Breeds (genetically engeneered men and women with characteristics of the predatory animals whose genes they share.) She happens to overhear an incriminating conversation that puts her in some danger, so she must rely on the protection of fierce jaguar Breed Noble to keep her safe.
I don’t have a very good relationship with Lora Leigh’s books. I know that there are romance fans who love her, but for my part I have no idea what the draw is. I am further unimpressed by the fact that this story in particular is part of a series and doesn’t stand alone at all. Characters are introduced, including Haley and Noble themselves, and I feel like I am expected to know who they are. Since I don’t, I was left feeling rather lost, and, even worse, disconnected from the story.
To give her credit, Ms. Leigh can write very steamy love scenes, and I really enjoyed reading those. But love scenes alone don’t make a good story, and I was too lost as to what was going on around the couple to care. It also didn’t help that I never really got a sense of what motivated either Haley or Noble. Haley has a shrewish fit of irrationality, Noble growls a lot, and none of it makes any kind of logical sense.
That all being said, this is the best Lora Leigh story I’ve ever read. Given that I didn’t like it, that’s not a high compliment, but if the author is reading this, I guess that’s the silver lining.
Grade: D
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Final Thoughts: The Nalini Singh story is by far the best in this anthology, but I’m not sure even it justifies the price of this book. The other pieces ranged from boring to outright awful, so I think, if you must read a Christmas romance anthology, you should look elsewhere.
Final Grade: C-