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Title: Who's Afraid of the Mistletoe: Xmas Flash (Harlequin Superromance No. 766)
ISBN: 0373707665
Author:
Margot Early
Publicate Date: 1997-11-01
Publish: 1997-11-01
List Price: $3.99
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $0.01
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
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| Customer Review: |
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1: From the cover...
Who's afraid of the mistletoe? Sarah Calder, that's who.
Why is she afraid? She can't really say...
The answer is that Christmas means family, emotions, remembering the past. And kissing can mean the same things.
But now Sarah need help, and she can only get it from one person--her ex-lover, Tage. The last time she saw him was on the Iditarod Trail with his "family" of sled dogs. But his responsibilities have changed since then. He's recently become guardian to two young children--his orphaned niece and nephew from Sweden.
Add Sarah and her impossible dog to this household and you have a Christmas unlike any other!
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2: Awful, awful writing style
From the back cover:
Who's afraid of the mistletoe? Sarah Calder, that's who.
Why is she afraid? She can't really say...
The answer is that Christmas means family, emotions, remembering the past. And kissing can mean the same things.
But now Sarah need help, and she can only get it from one person--her ex-lover, Tage. The last time she saw him was on the Iditarod Trail with his "family" of sled dogs. But his responsibilities have changed since then. He's recently become guardian to two young children--his orphaned niece and nephew from Sweden.
Add Sarah and her impossible dog to this household and you have a Christmas unlike any other!
And my review:
I bought this book because it's a Christmas romance, and also because I enjoyed one of Margot Early's previous books, MR. FAMILY. However, I should mention that I read MR. FAMILY when I was only 16, so trying more of this author's books only served to show me how drastically my tastes have changed over the last 9 years. Everything of Early's that I've tried to read since then has bored me to tears.
There may have been a good story buried in here somewhere, but I didn't get far enough to find it. This book has an awful, choppy writing style. Early likes to mix sentence fragments with long, run-on sentences. For balance, I suppose? It doesn't work. The end result is awkward as heck.
And everything felt overwritten. For example, during a phone conversation, the author has to stop and analyze a million different things in between each line of dialogue. And this rambling doesn't add much to the story. Instead, it makes it lose steam. Example: The heroine says, "Hello, Tage?" and then an entire page goes by (I'm not exaggerating!) with the hero mentally going off on several different tangents before finally saying "Hello" himself. Then it goes off on another long, drawn-out ramble before the heroine replies, then another ramble before the hero answers back, then another ramble...well, I think you get the picture. I just wanted to yell at the author to get to the point already.
I don't recommend WHO'S AFRAID OF THE MISTLETOE, unless you're already a fan of this author. Reading romance shouldn't feel like work or put you to sleep, and unfortunately, that's what this book does.
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3: MIXED EMOTIONS BUT EXCELLENT STORY
Yup! I do believe some women are stupid -- but then ......
I understand Sarah's search for love in the wrong places but to continue???????I understand her deep seated problems caused by her mother, Poloma and her step-father, Arthur. And her stuttering. But now she is 34 years old and still wants to run away? Tage,[Taag-uh] at 36 and her sometimes lover? Where the devil was he when he was needed. All of a sudden, at the death of his brother, Peter and Marit, [again, his ex-wife] he becomes a guardian to their son, Lars and the adopted little Tibetan girl, Lobsang. He has to put down his plans to run the Iditarod race in Alaska. So now we have a mix of people and dogs - his business in Minnesota - training and handling dogs - and Sarah, showing up with a wolf-dog she can't handle. Big mistake, the wolf! She sees a whole new side of Tage with the children. He has asked her a number of times to marry him but......
It has been nearly twelve years since she has come to Minnesota, 12 years since the death of Arthur and Tage inheriting his property. Arthur had taken her to Lapland when she was 14 and where she met Tage, then 16. Tage had saved her life and she had fallen in love as any fourteen year old girl would. Unraveling M. Early's mystery's involving her traumatized characters is what makes her stories unforgettable. Though I find the parties hard to deal with, nevertheless I find myself learning more about troubled people. Lars is an excellent character and figures well in the story -- but Moses, the wolf - he would be one dead wolf if that had been my story -- although he shouldn't have to suffer for peoples mistaken ideas that you can make a pet of a wild instinct animal - nor can he be trusted -- you don't interfer with the wild ones. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --M Can't understand Sarah's reasoning for illicit sex. These books become ones own personal choice.
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4: Could not put this book down!
Margot did an excellent job with all the characters. She covered the essence of every character with an insight few authors can achieve. Each character was carefully depicted and I cannot believe I left it sit on the shelf before reading it! If you like a believable and well-thought-out plot, then this is the book for you!
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5: Couldn't put it down!!
Have read Early's books from her first-they are ALL on mykeeper shelf but this is a particular favorite. She is excellentat making her characters LIVE-they seem just as real and many-faceted as someone you might meet, and the emotional intensity of her books cannot be beat. Beautiful story about relationships, becoming a family, and people trying to live their lives in the best way they can; made ME want to try harder-thank you, Ms. Early!!!
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