Sunday, December 21, 2008

Mistletoe Magic ~ By Carlysle, Holt and Pape

For me Christmas is always hectic time of year, filled with endless days of shopping, baking and cleaning. That when I do finally sit down to take a break I find myself looking for a good book to relax with. Aside from all the novels and novellas I have accumulated over each Christmas since discovering eBooks I always treat myself to a few new ones.

This year I chose (for now, I’ll buy more I’m sure) the three Mistletoe Magic books from EC. These three novellas; BREATH OF MAGIC, TOUCH OF MAGIC and WHISPERS OF MAGIC can be read as stand alone books I found that reading them in order only enhanced the storyline.

The first novella BREATH OF MAGIC by Regina Carlysle is the story of Liza Woodward. Liza is the oldest of the Woodward girls, she is successful, beautiful and the most driven of all the sisters.

Book 1 in the Mistletoe Magic series.



Powerhouse attorney Liza Woodward knows a little something about losing control and it’s been her life’s mission never to do it again, especially when it comes to small-town lawyer Tyler Blackwell.



Ty takes one look at the woman he’s always loved and knows it’s way past time he seduced away the control she wears like a suit of armor. It will take a steady hand, a bit of dominance, and a little breath of magic from a Christmas Elf to win this sassy Texas woman.


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The second novella TOUCH OF MAGIC is the story of Maddie Woodward. She's the middle sister and the one that is the most intune with the ranch the girls were raised on. Determined to leave her career behind she's ready to come home permanently.

Book 2 in the Mistletoe Magic series but may be read as a stand-alone story.



Maddie Woodward is in a pickle. The last person she expects to see when she returns to the family ranch for one last Christmas is her former lover, Zach Brennan.



He’s hotter as he ever was, all male and determined to get her naked. She’s just as determined to show him she’s over him—until she ends up in his bed, enjoying the wildest sex of her life. A night of uncontrolled, erotic sex shows her that Zach is far from out of her life. Now if she can just get him to help her convince her sisters not to sell the ranch…

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The third novella WHISPERS OF MAGIC is that of Jenna Woodward, she may be the youngest of the Woodward sisters but she's living proof that size doesn't matter when in your heart lives the soul of an adventurer. Her return home is just the balm her wounded heart needs.


Book 3 in the Mistletoe Magic series, but may be read as a stand-alone story.

Hoping to get back in Santa’s good graces, Sparkle the elf takes on a difficult assignment—arrange a merry Christmas for photojournalist Jenna Woodward. Jenna has just lost her parents, her job, and her cheating “fiancĂ©”.

Rancher Mitch Sterling doesn’t want his face on a book, but he does want Jenna back in his life. He offers a deal—he’ll sign off, if she agrees to be at his mercy for one day. Jenna left him once because she was afraid of his Dominant lifestyle. Now, with help from a magical snowstorm, Mitch has twenty-four hours of tempestuous passion to convince her that she’ll love being his sub.

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BREATH OF MAGIC starts the series with a brief prologue that sets up the series and explains the circumstaces that lead all three Woodward sisters back home to Texas. Liza returns determined to settle her parents estate and to leave just as fast as she arrived, but her younger sister Maddie has other plans, ones that have Liza coming face to face with the one man she's tried to forget.

Attorney Tyler Blackwell has never forgotten the one that got away, Liza was all he was looking for in a woman and a wife, but a large misunderstanding had Liza running from him faster than a Texas tornado. He knows she’s back in town he intend to settle their differences and pick up where they left off. He wants it all and this time he playing for keeps.

No pretences and no BS these two square off and heat up the pages from the moment they meet again. You can feel the passion and sadly the tension as they see each other at Tyler’s Office/Home when Liza comes over to begin settling her parent’s estate. Both are equally likable and stubborn, making it hard for me to decide who I related to or liked better. As these lovers reunite you can’t help but wonder what drove them apart in the first place, a question I am please to say Ms Carlysle does manage to answer for us. They just seem so perfect for one another.

Neither of them put up much of a fight and when Will, the Elf charged with aiding in Ty and Liza’s reconciliation, turns up the heat and the snow. All bets are off when these two give in to temptation. Explosive and sexy, BREATH OF MAGIC is guaranteed to have you feeling warm, festive and dare I say frisky this holiday season.

TOUCH OF MAGIC is the story of Maddie Woodward, the middle sister and the one who doesn’t want to let the ranch be sold. She returns to Texas fully intending to take over the Ranch and to finally live the life she’s always wanted. She is the one who wanted to follow in her parent’s footsteps even though they encouraged her to see a life outside of the Flying W.

Zach Brennan has one regret in life, letting Maddie Woodward go, now that she’s back and they both want the Flying W he’ll do whatever it takes to make Maddie his again, even if it means swallowing his pride to do it.

Again you can’t help but like these two characters, Maddie has spirit and a spunk that can only be described as ornery. She’s a homebody; she loves to cook and is as fiery as she is sweet. When she clashes wills with Zach look out cause the sparks will fly.

Zach by his own admission has made mistakes but he’s man enough to admt them and fight for what he wants. He’s a cowboy through and through and I just love that. TOUCH OF MAGIC is passionate and sexy, yet it still sows us that the power of love can overcome all.

WHISPERS OF MAGIC is the story of the last and ironically the youngest Woodward sister, Jenna is a free spirit with a wanders soul. She finds herself coming home as she faces a crossroads in her life. What she discovers is home may very well be where the heart is.

Mitch Sterling knew he scared Jenna away with his dominate ways and he’s been kicking himself every since. When he realizes she’s coming home for Christmas he knows that he has to turn up the heat to get the one woman for him.

Jenna is like many women she believes she lives in the shadow of her sisters, not really seeing how much she does shine. She’s adventurous and open-minded which makes her the perfect woman for Mitch. She let her fears get the better f her, yet she faces them head on as she reconnects with Mitch and it’s this bravery that endears her to me.

Mitch is the embodiment of the saying Long Tall Texan. These two teat each other boundaries and along the way find the one thing they’ve both been missing, each other. Sexy encounters and ultimate trust make WHISPERS OF MAGIC a holiday tale not to be missed.

I loved all three of the Woodward sisters; each one was endearing and believable. If pressed I don’t know if I could choose one as my favorite, but because of them I will be adding Regina Carlysle, Desiree Holt and Cindy Spencer Pape to my must have authors list. I can’t wait till ELVEN MAGIC releases on 12-24 to find out what happens with Santa’s Elves; Will, Glimmer and Sparkle, but I will say this I’m sure it will not disappoint.

Bravo ladies you managed to tell three distinctively different stories, yet they flowed like one person could have written them all.




8 out of 10 for each novella.

2 comments:

  1. I am so thrilled and delighted that you love our serfies. We worked hard to try and get just the right note of love, Christmas and erotic sex, and keep the reader hooked. Thank you so much for your wonderful words.
    Desiree Holt

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  2. I gladly second Desiree! Thank you so much for taking the time to read out stories. We are GREAT friends so it was waaaay fun to do the series together. We wanted to not only show strong familial bonds but give the reader not one but three HEA's while tossing in just a little Christmas magic.

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