Around December, romance writers churn out dozens of holiday short stories and novellas. I love them! I will be posting recommendations throughout the month.Christmas Knife by Jackie North
I reference Christmas Knife here. It utilizes a not-uncommon holiday motif: the main character arrives on the potential lover's doorstep during a snowstorm. They form a romance.
This motif can elicit an "erk". Suppose the two characters don't like each other? Now, they're stuck together during a snowstorm! Erk!! (This motif falls into "stuck on an island together" territory.)
When done well, this story line can be sweet and enchanting. North presents an atmosphere that I created in my head once for a story of my own; it was a pleasure to find it transferred to paper where it evokes an evocative and sweet holiday atmosphere. I believed in the story's relationship and greatly enjoyed the tree trimming and gift giving and music listening. There is a quiet arc with a nice pay-off. I highly recommend.I also recommend "The Christmas Eve Craigslist Killer" by Jill Wexler.
"The Christmas Eve Craigslist Killer" is clever and hilarious. The humor resembles 1930's screwball humor, even though the story is set in contemporary Texas. It is also sweet and very "G". The relationship of a more-taciturn-than-usual Darcy and a manic Bingley is surprisingly and psychologically believable.
Yes, I know, both of these stories sound like "serial killers in hiding." And actually, that's part of the charm--the faintest hint of danger, which is confronted quite amusingly in both cases. In the end, both stories are non-stressful celebrations of love during the holidays.
