Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: A Touch of Mistletoe
AUTHOR: Megan Derr, J.K. Pendragon, Talya Andor, A.F. Henley, and E.E. Ottoman
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 182 pages
BLURB:
Less Than Three Press presents a collection of stories about people brought together by the magic of mistletoe…
Here for You by J.K. Pendragon
Warren’s life has been shrinking ever since his wife passed away. Blind, and finding it difficult to adjust to life on his own, it’s easier to hide away in his house. When his friend Missy invites him to a Christmas party, an unexpected kiss with a stranger under the mistletoe leaves him confused and wondering…
The Christmas Spirit by Talya Andor
Christmas in Japan is no big deal for Ash Harmon, with his family half a world away and supernatural problems that have no respect for the holidays. When he picks up a bodyguard job for a rising star of figure skating who seems to be encountering trouble with a restless spirit, he stubbornly resists the unexpected attraction to his charge, wary of the risks that come with relationships. But the mistletoe has other ideas…
A Beautiful Thing b A.F. Henley
Sometimes, Fate gets tired of being ignored. And some nights, Fate decides something will just have to be done about it. Enter Drualus, Senior Correspondent for the Collective Assembly of Christmas Fae, working with the Night Before Reach Out Program. He’s got a few short hours to change Scott Misener’s outlook on life, love, and understanding. Lucky for Scott, Dru knows a tried and true trope that might just do the trick…
Ad Meliora by E.E. Ottoman
It’s Christmas Eve and An-An and M.C. have plans to spend Christmas in Texas with An-An’s family. But their plans are cut short when M.C. takes on a last minute case. Thankfully, though, it should be an easy exorcism.
Until they arrive at the snowbound lodge where trouble resides, and come face to face with a demon wolf unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
Two Parts Mistletoe by Megan Derr
Kingston has worked hard to get where he is: owner of his own shop, master potion maker, well-respected… and lonely, too busy with life to enjoy more than his regular visits to Acacia House. If he wishes his loneliness might be eased by Hux, the man he meets at Acacia twice a month, well, someday he’ll work up the nerve to ask. Maybe.
Then Hux unexpectedly visits his shop, distressed and in desperate need of help to save his employer from a love potion…
REVIEW:
Here for You by J.K. Pendragon–3.5 stars
This was a sweet story. Warren lost his wife a year ago to a drunk driver, and he has been grieving ever since. And not only is he missing his wife, but he is missing someone to help him, as he is blind. He never expected that an impromptu kiss under the mistletoe with the soft-spoken Kyung would be what starts to turn his life around. He has only ever loved his wife and he has no idea what to do with this sudden attraction to this man.
Not a lot happens here, but I enjoyed it anyways. It is great to have MCs who are not stock white guys, and I love the infusion of foreign culture into the story. I would have liked a bit more of that, actually. We only see a few bits of Kyung’s Korean side, and it would have been cool to see a little more. Overall, a sweet GFY story, even if it felt like the plot was just starting when the story finished.
The Christmas Spirit by Talya Andor–4 stars
Someone or something is haunting figure skating champion Hanabishi Yuki, and with the Japanese Nationals coming up, Yuki can’t spare the energy or concentration to deal with the constant interruptions with his life. So his manager hires Ash Harmon, a psychic detective to find out who is behind Yuki’s hauntings. And while Ash feels perfectly equipped to deal with any spectral disturbances, he is less sure that he can keep his hands off the gorgeous skater.
Since the last book I read set in Japan was incredibly angsty and somewhat depressing, I am glad to see a lighter side to the country in this short story. I enjoyed the bits of Japanese culture, especially the strict social interactions and maneuverings. And the romance wasn’t half bad either. I will say that the ghost mystery wrapped up rather neatly about ⅔ of the way thru the story, and the rest of it is taken up with the relationship (or lack there of) between Yuki and Ash, leaving the last third feeling like it was a bit too drawn out. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I kept expecting it to end sooner than it did.
A Beautiful Thing by A.F. Henley–4.5 stars
I just died of the cutes. The grumpy cutes, but the cutes nonetheless.
This is basically a retelling of A Christmas Carol. Except I really liked it. Scott is a bit of grump about Christmas, about the whole useless fleeting point of it all, so when a kid tries to ‘brighten up’ his cart at the local convenience store, he kinda goes off–on everyone–about the real meaning of mistletoe. However, when that mistletoe later turns out to be Dru–a fae working for the Night Before Outreach Program–Scott get a little visit to his past, present, and future to help him show just what Christmas oughta be.
So, yeah. I loved this. Usually with retellings of such well known stories I get bored. Been there, done that, and all that jazz. But this was so good. It took the basic idea and gave it a fresh spin. It didn’t hurt that i’m a sucker for grumpy men. I kept laughing at Dru and Scott’s conversations, and every time I was sure it was going to fall into cliche (or kinda creepy ghostly sex), it cleverly avoided it.
I’m not done with the anthology yet, but this has put in a very good bid for my favorite of this collection.
Ad Meliora by E.E. Ottoman–4 stars
Christmas is a time for family. Which is probably why An-An and M.C. are out in the middle of nowhere trying to discover who or what has been munching on the members of the family that owns the cabin out in the middle of the woods. With An-An’s schooling in magics and M.C.’s abilities in exorcism, it should be an easy job. Except their clients may not have been so forthcoming with all the particulars in this case, which might just lead to even more deaths for M.C. and An-An.
I have a bit of a hard time getting into this one to begin with. I think it mostly has to do with the character names. I have a hard time with names that are unusual, it just throws something off in my brain and all I spend my time doing is trying to figure out how in the world someone got named that, instead of actually paying attention to the story. So I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this one as much as I usually enjoy stories from this author.
Yet, something clicked about a third of the way thru and I was able to just immerse myself into the story. It didn’t hurt that I have a soft side for trans characters, and E.E. Ottoman always does them so well. And while I’m not a big fan of the lady parts, this story was really interesting–and my god was the sex hot. Loved the magical aspects of this book and would love to have more in this world where magic seems to be common knowledge.
Two Parts Mistletoe by Megan Derr–4.5 stars
Potions Master Kingston loves his job as owner of Two Parts Mistletoe, a thriving potions shop. Well, he loves it when he isn’t actively hating all the paperwork that goes into it. And while his shop is popular he never expected to run into Hux there. Hux who he meets bi-monthly, in secret, to spend the night with in a local club. They don’t know who the other is in real life, what they do when they are not wrapped around and in each other, but Kingston has found himself wanting to for some time. He didn’t want it to be because a man was dosed with love potion and in danger of losing his sanity and his free will, though.
Loved this little short fantasy story. The world was quite interesting, and I liked the magical/potions aspect of it. And Hux and Kingston were quite cute together. It was however Kingston, himself, that really had me here. I loved his voice and his life. It was so well written that I found myself really wanting to know more about him and his life, and yet I didn’t feel like I was missing anything from his story. I am quite a big fan of Megan Derr and her short stories, and this is another example of why I find them so enjoyable. Great world building, wonderful characters, and a little bit of sex to heat them all to the right temperature.
This was a really good christmas anthology. I liked all the stories, and I honestly don’t know if it was Derr’s or Henley’s that came out on top. Such good writing. Not just for those two, but for all of them. If you are on the lookout for some more christmas stories to entertain you this holiday season, I can recommend you pick this collection up.
RATING: 
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