Santa, Baby by Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster, and Carly Phillips, 3

Book description: JENNIFER CRUSIE
Mayhem ensues under the mistletoe as a determined shopper grabs the very last hot toy action figure off the shelf, only to find herself plunged into the middle of a real-life spy game—in the arms of a sexy secret agent. . .

LORI FOSTER
Two dedicated coworkers with a lot of secrets (and fantasies!) between them must plan a Christmas party side by side—and discover a love worth celebrating—in this steamy office romance.

CARLY PHILLIPS
A “mistletoe moment” begins when a no-nonsense lawyer intent on seducing her boss meets his twin instead—after giving him a scintillating kiss that leaves him begging for more. . .

Review: I bought this anthology mostly for the Crusie story but also because I wanted to try some new contemporary romance authors. I liked Cruise’s story, Hot Toy, the most. It was really funny and had a bizarre plot. It’s worth reading for Crusie fans.

Foster’s story, Christmas Bonus, dragged the anthology down. It always annoys me when a man calls a woman things like baby and hon, especially when they aren’t in a relationship yet. It seemed liked the hero did this every other line and that, along with the huge mental age difference between the hero and heroine, made him seem like her creepy uncle. Also, there’s something unbearably Mary Sue-ish about a heroine in a romance novel who is also a romance novelist. Nothing about this story worked for me.

Naughty Under the Mistletoe by Carly Phillips was an ok read. I thought the hero and heroine fell in love way too fast to be believable. However, there was some good character development here so I can overlook that. I may try something else by Phillips.

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