Festive Book Review: Merry Chicklit-Six Sassy Shorts (an anthology): Santa's Gift by Carolyn Aspenson

Another post inspired by the festive season.

Blurb: In the spirit of giving, six chick-lit authors "present" a charming collection of seasonal shorts sure to inspire holiday cheer-plus love and hope throughout the year, with all proceeds donated to Rocking the Road for a Cure! Featured authors & stories include:

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson In "Santa's Gift," journalist Jessica thinks Santa's just a silly myth for children, so when he asks what she most wants for Christmas she tells him the one thing she knows he can't deliver--true love. Or can he...?

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"I love Cinco."

"Their salsa is my secret weapon."

My smile flopped. "You take a lot of women to Cinco or something?"

He blushed and it was adorable. "Oh no. I didn't mean it that way. You just seem like a woman who likes good food."

Did he just call me fat?

"Uh..."

He ran his fingers through his hair. It was captivating.

"That didn't come out right."

"Not so much, no."

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Great short something to read during these Holidays and get on with your shopping—but not without receiving any festive lessons.

So Jess, twenty-nine year old reporter has nothing to look up to this Christmas. She doesn't believe in all the hocus-pocus about Santa and would rather avoid everything about Christmas this year—including the shopping (considering there's going to be a sale!). Recently broken up with "Ass Monkey" of fourteen months, really what does she have to be thankful for?

But with her happily married friend Ashley who wouldn't take No for an answer, Jess's dragged for some Christmas shopping and finds herself in Santa's lap—talk of butt-planting yourself right into an enemy's lap and listening to them talk all about their magical gift to make everyone's wish come to past! Next thing she knows, she's challenging Santa to give her her heart's desire: true love.

Santa promises her that. And with her response as good as a snort and showing him her middle finger, would she believe him? And even if she does, would she return showing Santa her middle finger—this time, with a ring on it?

An amazing short story from Carolyn Aspenson. This woman sure has a way of making everything supernatural sound hip. I like that it wasn't the kind you'd roll your eyes to and check for other reads on your shelf thinking "How cheesy." —★

All the holiday lessons are things to note down from this book. Like finding true love, like believing in Santa, like investing in a tree and not kicking your kids in the butt for mentioning Santa (trust me, this is not about me. I am just doing a little venting of unwanted emotion). Maybe we are too old to believe in all these Father Christmas blah, but look at those kids, the smile that spreads the sunlight throughout their faces whenever Santa's mentioned, wouldn't our lives be that magical when we go back to those days when we had something to hold onto? Trust Carolyn to allow you make such deductions—★★

The romance in this book earns a star from me. Kind of Harlequinish during those old times when they'd actually make you believe in true-true love and swoon. (Until you realize life isn't Harlequin.) Thumbs up to all those moments, there are lots I could employ in wooing a woman, like who knew foreheads were so sensitive?—★★★

The humor is available for those of us who'd want a good laugh whilst learning some major festive lessons—★★★★

You know what they say about short stories having that one OMG moment that actually leaves it fulfilling despite the fact that it's actually short? Yeah, this book had it for the mystery on who Santa was—★★★★★

My rating: five stars.

Merry Chicklit-an anthology is available on Amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants something short for the holidays—especially when the duties suddenly become humongous. Anyone looking for a book so rich in festive lessons. Anyone who thinks true love as... "true love". Anyone who actually mentions santa, because it would actually be like "Santa" in written form. Lol. Just get this book.

And its for a good cause... breast cancer. Let's save the boobs! They've got gravity to look up to! Just kidding, but help the cancer cause—I purchased (kind of) this book to do so, so you should too.

Reviewing all six sassy shorts of Merry Chicklit.

Another post inspired by the festive season.

Festive Book Review: The Selfish Women's Club's Not Quite Legal Christmas by Nancy Hill

Another post inspired by the festive season.

Blurb: It all seems perfectly innocent when five women who have spent their lives putting others first, following rules, and doing what’s expected of them form the Selfish Women’s Club. Their mission is simple. They will support and encouraged each other to indulge guilt free in whatever their hearts desire. From maids and chauffeurs, health spas and beauty treatments, fine wine and five-star restaurants, they spoil themselves rotten.

But with Christmas less than two weeks away, Lou, one of the club's members, has an issue.

Her maid is in desperate need of help, and the twenty-dollar gift limit the Selfish Women’s Club has agreed on just won’t work. Lou points out that while everyone in the club has honed selfishness to an art, they still always follow rules. She proposes to steal her maid’s mail, a federal offense, to pay her maid’s debts. She points out that by committing a crime to take care of her maid’s bills she will be doing something other than what everyone expects her to do. This, she insists, furthers the club’s mission.

The other women are so taken with this idea that each one of them decides to break a law to give someone the perfect gift for Christmas. The crimes range from misdemeanors to felonies as each one of the Selfish Woman eagerly jump into the club’s new direction.

Mischief, high jinks, and adventure follow as they delight in their scofflaw undertakings.

The only question is...can they get away with it?

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"If we are going to study, we shouldn't skip the good parts," he'd said with a silly grin.

"Focus on the play else we will never get through this." She protested softly, hoping he could not hear the thumping of her heart.

"Would that be so horrible?" he teased, leaning in for another kiss, this one much longer than the first.

She pulled away after a full minute of the best kiss she'd ever experienced. "Really, we need to focus. Besides, I have a boyfriend."

"So?"

"It's an exclusive relationship."

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It's naughty christmas for all naughty women. Different, great storyline and a fulfilling ending.

So the Selfish Women are tired of having to bend to rules. Breaking rules has never seemed so fun—frankly it hasn't, since these women have never done one bad their entire life.

Lou, Evelyn, Sarah, Irene and Francine have always dedicated their lives to making people happy but themselves. So they form a Selfish Women's club to live for themselves, not please anyone but themselves. Health clubs, pricy restaurants, a little treat here and there to satisfy their self-centered hunger. Christmas is approaching, and however tough they've become on their rules since its formation, they succumb to twenty-dollar gift limits knowing its hard to be tight-fisted during the holidays.

When Lou, profounder of the group has her maid facing problems with credit card companies, she wants to chip in in paying her debts but she knows that's going against rules. So Lou hatches a plan in order to bend the rules: Committing a little crime in order to help others. Lou's reasons, committing a crime wouldn't make them any less selfish, they've obeyed rules all their lives, breaking a little laws would make a whole lot of a difference to the group's purpose.

So each and every Selfish Woman gets to break the law in order to help someone. They don't realize they might get addicted to getting in a run with the cops and hence putting their lives in danger and their flat backsides in jail.

First of all, the storyline sold this book to me. The fact that's very different from most holiday reads is super! Five bored women looking for a little entertainment and losing a few good citizen points in order to help.—★

I am also nuts about this idea of Selfish Women. Amongst all other seasonal lessons this book teaches (like giving), I love that it talks about the good in being just a little selfish. Women all over the world would relate to these women—especially those who have committed their lives to putting other people in first place. Hey, it's good to indulge in a little selfish treat here and there, and you should keep women-alike who'd make you feel you are not doing anything wrong at all. But its the holidays, c'mon you can't be selfish all through the year and expect to continue being selfish during these festive seasons—as the selfish women learnt. —★★

The back story of these women are both shocking yet fun to read. Reasons throughout their lives which have made them lonely, "selfish" and some bitter, made all their acts somewhat sensible. Whether it was being ditched by a husband they put all effort into till he became a pop-star, to investing all time into a job only to end up jobless. These women's back stories are the highlights of this book.—★★★

I loved the ending of this book. It made the novel. It fulfilled all these festive themes about being selfless! Truly, a lesson most women who place tight budgets on gifts would love to learn—ha! —★★★*

As much as this book was good. It was just an OK read. These women didn't do stuff that were chilling enough, in fact, they were not scary enough to be "not so legal". I would have loved a little more Jackie Collinish flair to this novel: more luxury, very classy, more raunchiness in between sheets (considering they were very lonely) and more humor. What kept me edging on were the back stories, I didn't like that suspense was available so nearly towards the end.

If all the above were locked (emphasis on humor), I already love reading about older women, this book would have been a five-star holiday read. Now it sits at:

3.5/5 stars.

The Selfish Woman's Club's Not So Legal Christmas is available on Amazon.

I recommend this to anyone who wants something a little different on their holidays. Anyone sucker for festive themes and anyone who wants to be taught its okay to be selfish—but not so OK to have a run with the cops.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Amazon and goodreads.

Another post inspired by the festive season.