#TBRChallenge 2023: The Night Before Christmas

The Book: The Night Before Christmas by Brenda Novak, Day Leclaire, and Molly O'Keefe

The Particulars: Contemporary romance anthology, Harlequin, 2009, Out of print, not available in digital (but at one point it was so check your digital pile and/or local libraries).

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Molly O'Keefe is an autobuy. Her story won the RITA for Best Novella in 2010 and it's a Harlequin Christmas anthology. I am but a mere mortal.

The Review: Once again I waited until the 11th hour to pick out my TBR Challenge book, let alone actually start to read it - so I did what I always seem to do - I went diving into my cupboard of Harlequins and hit upon this anthology.  And like most anthologies, it was a wildly uneven affair.

"On a Snowy Christmas" by Brenda Novak is distasteful and insulting, especially when you account for the fact this story was published in 2009 (I realize that was 14 years ago - but hear me out...).  Spoilers Abound!

Adelaide and Maxim are political rivals, facing off in the primary. Maxim took over the Senate seat after Adelaide's husband died in a car accident.  Maxim has since strayed from her husband on matters of politics and also implied not nice things about him - which makes Adelaide mad enough to take a run at the Senate seat. She's already garnered support from several wealthy donors which has knocked Maxim back on his heels, but he's not out yet. They're both on the same charter flight down to Los Angeles for a political engagement with the governor when they crash in the Sierra Nevadas. In the middle of a snow storm. One thing, naturally, leads to another.

There's probably a decent story here somewhere but the whole politics thing already had me turning up my nose.  Add to that Adelaide behaves a bit like a dumb bunny, and the Big Secret about her dead husband that Maxim has uncovered, but chosen not to use in the campaign against her?  Well, there's corruption - which would frankly be enough - but no, Dead Hubby was also having an affair with an 18-year-old intern.  A male intern. To be fair, the fact that he was having an affair with a teenager is portrayed as distasteful.  Unfortunately just as much distaste is spent on the fact that it was a gay affair. And folks, I'm just too tired and too old to read this bullshit in 2023 and know it was published in 2009.  This isn't a Harlequin Presents from 1985 (not that it wouldn't have been annoying back then either - but you catch my drift).  Oh, and did I mention Dead Hubby was infertile but bumping uglies with Maxim two times results in Adelaide getting knocked up?  And the first time they have sex she pretends it's her dead husband and Maxim knows she's pretending he's her dead husband? Ugh. I wanted to light this on fire.

Final Grade = D-

"The Christmas Baby" by Day Leclaire starts out distasteful but the author pulls it off in the end by leaning in on the farce. Carrie is having the worst Christmas Eve ever. She woke up late for work, got caught in terrible weather on her commute, showed up to work only to be laid off, and came home to her crummy apartment to receive an eviction notice. Then, her ex, Chaz, has the nerve to show up. She ended things with him when it became apparent that he was a workaholic who would continue to push off making any sort of serious commitment to her because it was never going to be "the right time."  Well, Chaz may want her back, but she's not convinced he's changed. She kicks him out only to have the next knock on her door be an elderly lady leaving a Christmas gift a Chaz. A large box with, wait for it, a baby inside. 

So yes, distasteful. Instead what ensues is a bit of comedy of errors between Chaz, Carrie, Chaz's brother, the brother's former girlfriend and Chaz's estranged parents.  Misunderstandings and shenanigans ensue. The whole thing feels very cinematic and would make a decent Hallmark-style rom-com. Naturally, in the end, all the couples are back together - although I'm nowhere near convinced that any of the male leopards have truly changed their spots because....novella length.  Not my thing, but I can recognize this was well-executed.

Final Grade = C

"The Christmas Eve Promise" by Molly O'Keefe is the gem of the bunch and worth tracking this anthology down at a library or used bookstore.  Merrieta "Merri" Monroe is back home helping out at the family diner and she feels like an utter failure. No job, no more fiancé, and she's 3 months pregnant. A teeny little fact that nobody but her and her rat-fink ex know about. Also back in town?  Gavin McDonnell, the boy she made herself a fool over and the boy she done wrong back in high school.  He and his brother now run a shop repairing and building motorcycles. Gavin is divorced and his teenage son has just come to live with him.  Lucas has become a regular at the diner, him and Merri get roped into helping with the town's annual Christmas celebration, and they both end up spilling their secrets to each other. They agree - she has to tell her parents about the baby and he has to be honest with his Dad by Christmas Eve. 

This was a cozy, small town read with just enough angst to keep the plot humming along. O'Keefe typically does well writing younger characters, and Lucas is a gem. A scared 14-year-old boy at a crossroads, already turned out by his mother and afraid his dad will do the same. Merri is the woman who had big ideas on how her life would turn out and naturally it's been one curveball after another. She needs to learn to be open, honest and to stop running away from happiness as it's smacking her in the face. 

I'll be honest, the romance is a little light here. The author leans hard into the fact that the couple has a past history to help carry us to the finish line, but I could have used a couple more chapters, a few more pages, to beef up this aspect of the story.  But it's a heartwarming story that, frankly, washes away most of the distaste left in my mouth over the Novak entry.  This was fairly early on in O'Keefe's career with Harlequin and you can see all the groundwork here for the superior Harlequin SuperRomances she published while writing for them.

Final Grade = B+

So yes, a fairly typical anthology reading experience. A story I wanted to light on fire, a well-executed story that just wasn't for me, and a superior story that made the experience worthwhile. Added bonus that the best story was also the last in the bunch - meaning I ended the 2023 TBR Challenge on an upbeat note.