That Holiday Feeling (Includes: Virgin River, #8)

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That Holiday Feeling (Virgin River #8)

by Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods, Robyn Carr

3.84 · rating details · 596 ratings · 75 reviews

Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber

In this classic story, Debbie brings those Manning men and Manning sisters home for a mistletoe marriage when a single dad finally says "I do."

The Perfect Holiday by Sherryl Woods

Will bachelor Trace Franklin become a groom-to-be by Christmastime? He sure will ... if Savannah Holiday's aunt Mae as ...more

Mass Market Paperbound, 330 pages

Published September 29th 2009 by Mira Books (first published 2009)

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Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

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Oct 08, 2009

Isis FG rated it

Recommended to Isis FG by: continuation of a series

Shelves: series-virgin-river, author-robyn-carr, g-anthologies, 2009, info-full, reviewed, romance-contemporary, published-2009, stars-4

This is the perfect book if you want to read something sweet, simple, festive and romantic. None of the three stories are particularly meaty, but they were fun to read and just all around enjoyable.

The first novella, Silver Bells, by Debbie Macomber is part of her Manning family series as the heroine, Carrie Weston, is the daughter of one of the Mannings. Years ago, as a teenager, she's helped set her mom up with the man she ended up marrying. Now history is repeating itself. A d...moreThis is the perfect book if you want to read something sweet, simple, festive and romantic. None of the three stories are particularly meaty, but they were fun to read and just all around enjoyable.

The first novella, Silver Bells, by Debbie Macomber is part of her Manning family series as the heroine, Carrie Weston, is the daughter of one of the Mannings. Years ago, as a teenager, she's helped set her mom up with the man she ended up marrying. Now history is repeating itself. A divorced father, Philip Lark, has moved into her building and the Philip's daughter has decided her dad should marry Carrie. Philip resists his daughter's machinations, but he can't hold out against Carrie for long.

I considered not reading this story since I knew is was part of a series and I didn't want to read this one and then want to go back and read the other stories. But I read it anyway and thankfully, the story stands fine on its own and I don't feel any burning need to read the series backlist (no offense to Macomber or the series...I just have too many books to read as it is). Macomber does a good job making this story independent yet getting a a little sense of the history going on. Even so, this one was my least favorite story in the anthology. Just because I thought it was too short and too simplistic. I wanted there to be a little bit more to the story. But it wasn't bad in any sense. I just liked the others better.

The second novella, The Perfect Holiday, by Sherryl Woods is probably tied with the third novella as my favorites of the anthology. Savannah Holiday has moved to Vermont to the old Inn she inherited from her recently deceased Great Aunt. After a tough divorce, financial problems and disapproval from her family, it's just what she and her daughter need. Then Trace Franklin shows up. He'd befriended Savannah's aunt years ago and was returning to the Inn to spend Christmas there, as a last request to his friend. He didn't expect to find Savannah. And though he knows it was purposeful matchmaking on Mae's part, he can't resist Savannah or her daughter.

This one was just a nice, sweet story. The kind the gives you fluffy bunny feelings when you finish. Savannah and Trace are two lonely people who find comfort, companionship and love with each other. I thought Trace was so sweet to Savannah. And there was just enough steam to the story to give it some sexiness. I just enjoyed reading it. Though I was left wondering about one thing when I finished...where did they plan to live? Trace's business was in NYC and Savannah owned the Inn in Vermont. There wasn't any resolution there and I wish there had been.

And the last novella, Under the Christmas Tree, by Robyn Carr is an off-shoot of her Virgin River series. It's not directly connected to the events of the main novels, but takes place in the same area and utilizes some continuing characters. You can probably read this novella without having read the other books in the series.

In this story, Annie McKenzie passes through Virgin River every so often and stops in at Jack's Bar. She decides to stop there one day near the holiday and see if the town center tree is up yet. It is but as she's standing there, Jack's son finds a litter of puppies left under the tree. They are nearly frozen to death but Annie is determined to nurse them back to help - with the help of Jack, the Virgin River citizens, and sexy vet Nathaniel Jensen. From the start the two are attracted to each other, but Annie believes she's not good enough for Nate and it's up to him to prove otherwise.

I always love going back to Virgin River. It's such a great place to read about, and even though this book doesn't take place solely in Virgin River, you get enough to satisfy. It's nice to visit with Jack, Preacher and the rest of the gang. The romance of the novella was good was well. For such a short story, I thought Carr did a good job of making it well-rounded. I liked Annie and Nate and they had good chemistry. And hey, there were puppies in the story! What's not to love about puppies? Plus I liked what Nate did at the end of the story. If that's not love, what is? This was just and all-around solid romantic short story. It has me eagerly anticipating the new upcoming VR trilogy.(less)

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Oct 15, 2009

♡KarLynP♡ rated it

Shelves: published-2009, read-2009, genre-contemporary, steam-mild, genre-humor

Rating is for 'Under the Christmas Tree' by Robyn Carr(Virgin River, #8) only. Never read the others.

I just love this series. This was a great, sweet romantic story that brings us back to Virgin River. A handsome vet falls for a country girl hair-stylist as they work to save eight little abandoned puppies. Nathaniel Jensen was nothing short of yummy, and Annie McCarty was someone I'd very much like to be friends with. These two were great together. I only wish this story was longe...more

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Nov 12, 2011

Beanbag Love rated it

The Macomber and Woods stories were pretty lame. I hadn't read anything by either of them before but I was particularly unimpressed with Macomber's contribution. Zero chemistry with that couple. And knowing that it was a story fans of one of her series had asked for (regarding a side character in a past installment) made it even worse. This story is exactly why you should be careful about requesting stories for your favorite side characters. I know I'll still do it -- as will everyone -- but nev...more

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Oct 28, 2009

Cherise rated it

Shelves: romance

I got this book for the Robyn Carr/Virgin River story. I have never read anything by the other two authors, that I know of, and I really wasn't that impressed.

Romances created in a hundred pages are usually hard for me to believe, and Debbie Maccomber and Sherryl Woods' stories were no exception.

Maybe I am a little more lactose intolerant than most readers, but these stories were smothered in cheese and it was just a little too much for me to digest.

I lov...more

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Oct 27, 2009

Mary (MrsBrownsFan) rated it

Shelves: 2009

Now is the time of year when I started stepping away from all the beach reads of my spring and summer months and heading toward the Christmas books on the shelves. I can always count on some of my favorite authors having some holiday-themed stories to help me get excited about this special season.

While at the store the other day, I came across this gem, and I was immediately excited about it because it contained one of my favorite authors of the past many years, Debbie Macomber, along...more

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Apr 05, 2010

Rochelle rated it

Shelves: 2010-read, christmas, chick-lit

4/4/10: Silver Bells was pretty corny. Perhaps rushed because of being in an anthology, the way she jumped to "six months later" was quite lame. It was my first book by Macomber, it doesn't exactly inspire me to go read more of hers. ★★★

4/5/10: The Perfect Holiday was cute. I had already added Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods to by To-Be-Read list, and would like to read more by the author. ★★★★

3/25/10: Under the Christmas Tree was a g...more

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Nov 17, 2011

Joanne Mcmaster rated it

I really liked this book, and the three novellas were quick reads, which is what I need this time of year, being busier than normal. I especially liked Debbie Macomber's, partly because the couple didn't jump into bed with each other to realize they were in love. They actually fell in love just by talking and being with each other, which was nice. I just get tired of all the authors writing books about sex (usually every few pages or so) and masking it as a romance; and thankfully, the sex sc...more

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Dec 26, 2009

Laura rated it

Shelves: ebook, romance-contemporary, christmas, 2009, anthology, store-fictionwise

Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber
3 1/2 stars
A follow-up to one of the Manning stories (The Manning Brides: Marriage Of Inconvenience\Stand-In Wife). Carrie Weston is the stepdaughter of Jason Manning and is now all grown up. She finds herself on the other end of the same situation as Jason and her mother were in years ago with a meddling teenager trying to play matchmaker.
Typical Macomber. Nothing special in this one. Seemed a little too much like all her others. The kids play a ...more

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Oct 03, 2009

Auntee rated it

Recommends it for: Fans of holiday anthologies; Fans of Virgin River series

Shelves: contemporary-romance, 2009_reads, anthologies-novellas, christmas-theme

This book contains two previously released holiday stories by Debbie Macomber and Sherryl Woods, and a new release from the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. This review is for the Robin Carr story, Under The Christmas Tree.

When Jack Sheridan's young 3 year old son David finds a box of newborn puppies under the town's 30 foot high Christmas tree, the adventure has just begun for 28 year old Annie McKenzie.

Annie's a hairdresser with her own salon in the town of Fortuna, ...moreThis book contains two previously released holiday stories by Debbie Macomber and Sherryl Woods, and a new release from the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. This review is for the Robin Carr story, Under The Christmas Tree.

When Jack Sheridan's young 3 year old son David finds a box of newborn puppies under the town's 30 foot high Christmas tree, the adventure has just begun for 28 year old Annie McKenzie.

Annie's a hairdresser with her own salon in the town of Fortuna, and passing through Virgin River on her way to her parent's place in a neighboring community. Annie grew up on her parent's dairy farm and loves animals, so of course she has a soft spot for the nearly frozen young pups and gets involved in their care. She doesn't want to see the puppies end up at a shelter, and convinces Jack to keep the pups at his bar for a few weeks until they are old enough to be adopted. She promises to come by after work each day to do her share caring for them, so Jack reluctantly agrees.

When the local vet is called to check out the pups, Annie believes that "Old Doc Jensen" is on his way. But when the "best male eye candy she's seen in a long time" walks through the door of Jack's bar, Annie forgets all about the vet who's due to arrive. So who's the tall, handsome, dark haired hunk, and why does he look vaguely familiar?

Turns out it's Nathaniel Jensen, "Old Doc's" 32 year old son, and a vet himself. Nate's recently taken over his Dad's practice--and hasn't he seen the attractive redhead before? Ah yes, she cut his hair once--and they had a disagreement about the 'product' she used in his hair. After Annie and Nate get to talking, they realize that they vaguely remember each other from their teenage years. But Nate remembers a freckle-faced, skinny kid with braces, who trailed after her older brothers. But my, oh my, has she changed and filled out nicely...

So while Annie arrives at Jack's Bar every day after work, coincidentally, so does Nate. Is he interested in the puppies, or is he interested in Annie? They spend lots of time talking, getting to know each other, taking care of the pups, and having dinner at Jack's place. A nice friendship develops, and they find that besides being attracted to each other, they have a lot in common and have a similar outlook on life.

When Jack decides that the puppies are getting to be too much to handle while he's trying to run his bar/restaurant, Nate agrees to move them to his house--that is, if Annie agrees to come over and help him. Annie knows that Nate would like their relationship to move to the next level, but she's been badly burned by an unfaithful boyfriend in the recent past, so she has 'trust' issues. And she's also not entirely confident in her ability to keep Nate 'interested'--she's just a 'farm girl', and doesn't think she's as sophisticated or worldly as the more well-travelled Nate. So before she puts her trust in Nate, he's got some proving to do...

I loved how Nate and Annie's relationship developed. First they started as friends (no hopping into bed right off the bat), they talked about everything, and you could see the relationship heating up in an entirely believable way. I cared about both characters and wanted to see them happy. Nate had scheduled a holiday vacation (before he met Annie) to be with his vet school buddies in the Caribbean, and I loved seeing that Annie was secure enough in the relationship to insist that Nate go and enjoy himself.

Now the love scene was about PG-13 (and some of it was off the pages)--about what you'd expect from Robyn Carr, which was okay with me, becaue it was romantic and fit the story. Carr is such a great, detailed storyteller, you won't even notice that there's only one scene. The ending, where Nate goes on his trip and tells his buddies what Annie means to him, and later tells Annie what she means to him, had me tearing up. This guy's a keeper!

So if you need a 'Virgin River' fix (and technically, this book doesn't really take place in Virgin River and the only previous VR characters you'll see are Jack and David, and Preacher and his son Christopher)this one does nicely. It's short, it's sweet, but it's like coming home again. 4 stars(less)

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Dec 06, 2009

Kathrynn rated it

Recommends it for: Fans of the Virgin River Series

Shelves: romance-contemporary, romance-feel_good, series-virgin_river_carr, theme-christmas, own, 2009, reviewed, theme-hero_heartthrob, theme-pg_13, anthology

This Christmas anthology contained three short stories:

1. Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber
This was part of a series that I have not read. It was set in Seattle and the main characters were Carrie Weston (from earlier books) and Philip Lark.

Okay, short, feel-good Christmas story. Didn't make me want to rush out and find the earlier books in this series, though.

3 Stars

2. The Perfect Holiday by Sherryl Woods

Another okay, Christmas...more

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Jun 16, 2010

Brenda (b) rated it

Shelves: contemporary, romance, anthology, 1-print-books, 2-2010-read

I enjoyed this anthology. All the stories are set at Christmas time. Since they're short stories, the romances are simple (basic plot of 2 people meet and fall in love) and the relationships happen quickly.

1. Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber -- I had read this story a couple of years ago in another anthology. It's a cute story and the secondary characters are quite colorful.

2. The Perfect Holiday by Sherryl Woods -- I liked the premise of the aunt setting things up before ...more

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Sep 19, 2011

Collyn rated it

Although this is a book of three Christmas themed romances, I only read the third; Under the Christmas Tree by Robyn Carr.

I really thought this book was cute! It actually put me in the Christmas mood, and we're only in September!!! I loved Dr. Nathaniel Jensen's character.. I'm just wondering when my Nate will ever make his appearance in life. A successful vet who is very good looking, and sweet/sensitive... sign me up! I want one! =)

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Jan 06, 2010

Michele Minor rated it

This collection of novellas with a Christmas theme to them are sweet. Debbie shows us what happens when one of the characters in her Manning series grows up and her neighbor's teenage daughter thinks that she would be perfect for her dad. Sheryl Woods novella introduces two characters that are brought together from an older woman that they both knew after she had died. Robyn Carr's novella ends the book with a romance where puppies bring two people together.

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Aug 02, 2010

FlibBityFLooB rated it

Shelves: contemporary, read-in-2010, christmas, witty-i-am-not, anthology

Admittedly, I picked up this anthology for the Robyn Carr story, so I may be a bit biased.

Robyn Carr's story was very enjoyable and a happy little read. I really enjoyed it and could see myself reading it again around the Christmas season as a little pick-me-up during the hectic holiday seasons.

As for the other two stories, I really wasn't impressed. :(

So, I would give 4/5 stars for the Carr story and 2/5 to the other two stories. That is why I am giving th...more

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Nov 28, 2009

Katie rated it

Shelves: did-not-finish, holiday, romance

I love CLEAN romances. The first story was very predictable and clean, but the second story started into a very descriptive scene and I put the book down. I'm not going to finish it--I don't go for smutty books. And that's always the problem I have with romances--when I try a new author, I never know when they'll write a cute story and something I like and when they'll write something that would be "rated R."

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Jan 11, 2010

Donna Tancsa Crider rated it

First story was stupid. Second story was good...everything happened really quickly in it but a cute story and very touching. Third story...this was the most horrid writing I've ever read! If you're going to write a story please be sure you know what in the heck you're writing about to be accurate in your facts! and for pete's sake don't make your characters talk and act like complete morons!

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Jan 15, 2010

Elena Reeds rated it

I only read Carr's contribution to this book and I ate it up. A really quick read. A nice quick love story.

I must ask - how is it that these folks all seem to fall madly and deeply in love and commit to forever in a matter of weeks? In this case 3 weeks (not to spoil it for you ... but if you didn't think there would be a HEA, you don't know your romance)

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Jan 13, 2012

Amy Johnston rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: modern-romance

This is a bit of a cheat, because I've actually only read the Robyn Carr story because I am reading through her Virgin River series and this includes #7.5 or #8 (I've seen it both ways). Anyhoo...once I finish the Virgin River series, I will come back and read the other two short stories, so that I won't be LYING on my GoodReads - THE HORROR!!

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Dec 17, 2009

Wendy rated it

This was a cute group of three holiday romances by three different authors. While some of them were continuations of other eries that the authors wrote it was fine to read them if you had not read the series. My favorite was the last story about the orphaned puppies. All the stories were fun, light romances that were easy to read and very enjoyable.

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Oct 16, 2009

Mum rated it

Shelves: christmas-stories, short-stories, beach-read

I especially liked the Virgin River story. I have been following them for a while now, and enjoy the sense of community and of redemption! I had not read the two older stories and enjoyed those as well. It's a nice light read to put me, at least in the Christmas spirit!

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Jun 05, 2011

Jody rated it

Love, love, love this holiday fluff (even reading it on a hot day was fun!). Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods and Robyn Carr each wrote a short, feel good, holiday story and they were all combined in this one book-love these authors!

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Dec 31, 2011

Krystal rated it

Silver Bells: Pretty cute tale that was irrestible!

The Perfect Holiday: The PERFECT Christmas story. Absolutely LoVeD it! I will be re-reading this next Christmas!

Under the Christmas Tree: Very slow start and hard to follow at the beginning. However, loved the romance that developed throughout. Cute ending to this short story.

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Oct 17, 2010

Dena rated it

Has 3 different stories. The 2nd one (by Sherryl Woods) was my favorite. My least favorite was the one by Robyn Carr. It was a bit too corny for me, but apparently most other people liked it the most.

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Jul 08, 2011

Jonetta rated it

· review of another edition

I only read Under the Christmas Tree by Robyn Carr. Typical of these novellas, they are too short to properly delve into the characters or a lengthy plot. This was a nice holiday story...lite.

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Dec 16, 2009

Lavendersbluegreen rated it

Three lovely stories by old favorites and new. I was so excited to read another Manning Family story, as well as 2 other Holiday Tales. A must read if you love holiday books as much as I do!!

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Nov 03, 2010

Angela Lynn Holland rated it

I thought Debbie's part of this book was a little on the disappointing side. I loved Sherryl's and Robyn's part those. I wish both of them were made into books. A good holiday read.

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Nov 02, 2009

Kathy rated it

I love Christmas books. Yes, I know it's early and we haven't even gotten to American Thanksgiving yet. Still, I needed a quick pick me up and Debbie MMacomber, etal delivered.

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Dec 11, 2011

Samantha rated it

Shelves: christmas, debbie-macomber, robyn-carr, read-in-2011, romance, super-librarian-tbr-challenge-2011

Super Librarian TBR Challenge 2011. December 21st. Holiday Themes.

Finished this months challenge early for a change...

Not a bad compilation. The Robyn Carr story was my favorite. I really need to read more of the Virgin River books.

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Feb 01, 2011

MountainKat rated it

Shelves: ebook

I read this because, yes, I am that OCD (anal, whatever...), about reading series in order and I wanted to move on to the next book in the Virgin River series. But I didn't read the Debbie Macomber novella, because I had only read two of her Manning Family books and, well, you know....

I enjoyed the two stories I read, they were definitely worth the time. (I just wish I had actually found the time during the holidays!) Both were nice simple holiday stories.

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Dec 18, 2009

farmwifetwo rated it

Shelves: anthologies, robyn-carr, christmas

The Macomber and Woods stories were skims.

The new Robyn Carr was well done. She did let Annie slide into TSTL territory at times... but Nate dealt with it.

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About Debbie Macomber

Debbie Macomber is a best-selling American author of over 150 romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Over sixty million copies of her books are in print throughout the world, and one, 'This Matter of Marriage', became a made-for-tv-movie in 1998. Macomber was the inaugural winner of the fan-voted Quill Award for romance in 2005 and has been awarded a Romance Writers of America RITA A...more

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That Holiday Feeling (Virgin River #8)

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