What do you think?
Rate this book
Burning Bright
From USA TODAY bestselling authors comes a special 3-in-1 in which one magic candle beings hope and love to three women. Three short stories in which the wintry magic of Crescent Cove, Vermont, reaches out to touch three very different women during the holiday season.
"Return of the Light" / Maggie Shayne
Dori Stewart's six-figure Manhattan job has vanished, and her lover and friends have vanished with it. She's scraping by as a waitress and awaiting the day she can return to New York in triumph. Maybe a ritual on the winter solstice can renew her wavering faith. What she needs is just the right candle...and Jason Farrar, an old boyfriend, by her side.
"Star Light, Star Bright" / Anne Stuart
Angela McKenna is back in Crescent Cove after a painful divorce. As if that isn't enough, she discovers that her secret teenage crush is also back in town, hiding from the world. Her Christmas could use brightening up. Maybe if she bought a special candle...maybe if Brody Jackson was with her...
"One for Each Night" / Judith Arnold
Alana Ross needs a candle, too, one to fit her late grandmother's antique menorah. Not just any candle will do. For Alana's first Hanukkah open house in Crescent Cove, everything has to be perfect. Maybe that'll make her feel more at home in her new town. It can't hurt. So far she's managed to alienate Jeffrey Barrett, the only man to show any interest in her, by accusing his uncle -- in print -- of a crime.
"Return of the Light" / Maggie Shayne
Dori Stewart's six-figure Manhattan job has vanished, and her lover and friends have vanished with it. She's scraping by as a waitress and awaiting the day she can return to New York in triumph. Maybe a ritual on the winter solstice can renew her wavering faith. What she needs is just the right candle...and Jason Farrar, an old boyfriend, by her side.
"Star Light, Star Bright" / Anne Stuart
Angela McKenna is back in Crescent Cove after a painful divorce. As if that isn't enough, she discovers that her secret teenage crush is also back in town, hiding from the world. Her Christmas could use brightening up. Maybe if she bought a special candle...maybe if Brody Jackson was with her...
"One for Each Night" / Judith Arnold
Alana Ross needs a candle, too, one to fit her late grandmother's antique menorah. Not just any candle will do. For Alana's first Hanukkah open house in Crescent Cove, everything has to be perfect. Maybe that'll make her feel more at home in her new town. It can't hurt. So far she's managed to alienate Jeffrey Barrett, the only man to show any interest in her, by accusing his uncle -- in print -- of a crime.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
12 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Shayne
289 books2,561 followersI live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 11, 2024
You can find this review in English below.
Esta antología nos muestra cómo se celebra la Navidad desde el punto de vista de tres fe diferentes.
Star Light, Star Bright por Anne Stuart. 5 Stars.
Esta historia va derecha a mi lista de favoritas. Es preciosa.
Historia de segundas oportunidades creíble, tierna, sin melodrama… tan sólo dos personas que se reencuentran pasados los años y sienten que estos no han mermado sus sentimientos.
Sólo por esta historia vale la pena leer la antología.
One for each night por Judith Arnold. 4 stars.
Esta historia nos cuenta como Alana, una reportera del periódico local, se da cuenta de que a veces hay que arriesgarse y confiar en el otro para conseguir algo maravilloso.
Return of the light por Maggie Shayne. 2 stars.
Desgraciadamente esta ha sido la que menos me ha gustado. Puede ser que haya sido porque no conozco la religión que describe o porque no he llegado a comprender cómo la protagonista acaba en la situación que nos describe la autora, me ha parecido poco consistente, y no he conseguido conectar con ella.
Pero, en general, vale la pena leerla aunque sólo sea por la historia de Anne Stuart.
This anthology shows us how it is celebrated Christmas from the point of view of three different faiths.
Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart. 5 Stars.
This story goes right to my favorite´s shelf. It's beautiful.
A credible story of second chances , tender, without melodrama... it is about two people who are reunite years later and feel that the time has not lessened their feelings.
This story is worth to read the anthology.
One for each night by Judith Arnold. 4 stars.
This story tells us how Alana, a reporter for the local newspaper, realizes that sometimes you have to take a risk and trust another person to get something wonderful out of that.
Return of the light by Maggie Shayne. 2 stars.
Unfortunately this has been the one I less liked. It might have been because I do not know of the religion that is based on, or because I cannot understand how the heroine ends up in the situation that describes the author, it has seemed (to me)inconsistent, and I have not managed to connect with her.
But, in general, it is worth reading it if only for Anne Stuart´s story.
Esta antología nos muestra cómo se celebra la Navidad desde el punto de vista de tres fe diferentes.
Star Light, Star Bright por Anne Stuart. 5 Stars.
Esta historia va derecha a mi lista de favoritas. Es preciosa.
Historia de segundas oportunidades creíble, tierna, sin melodrama… tan sólo dos personas que se reencuentran pasados los años y sienten que estos no han mermado sus sentimientos.
Sólo por esta historia vale la pena leer la antología.
One for each night por Judith Arnold. 4 stars.
Esta historia nos cuenta como Alana, una reportera del periódico local, se da cuenta de que a veces hay que arriesgarse y confiar en el otro para conseguir algo maravilloso.
Return of the light por Maggie Shayne. 2 stars.
Desgraciadamente esta ha sido la que menos me ha gustado. Puede ser que haya sido porque no conozco la religión que describe o porque no he llegado a comprender cómo la protagonista acaba en la situación que nos describe la autora, me ha parecido poco consistente, y no he conseguido conectar con ella.
Pero, en general, vale la pena leerla aunque sólo sea por la historia de Anne Stuart.
This anthology shows us how it is celebrated Christmas from the point of view of three different faiths.
Star Light, Star Bright by Anne Stuart. 5 Stars.
This story goes right to my favorite´s shelf. It's beautiful.
A credible story of second chances , tender, without melodrama... it is about two people who are reunite years later and feel that the time has not lessened their feelings.
This story is worth to read the anthology.
One for each night by Judith Arnold. 4 stars.
This story tells us how Alana, a reporter for the local newspaper, realizes that sometimes you have to take a risk and trust another person to get something wonderful out of that.
Return of the light by Maggie Shayne. 2 stars.
Unfortunately this has been the one I less liked. It might have been because I do not know of the religion that is based on, or because I cannot understand how the heroine ends up in the situation that describes the author, it has seemed (to me)inconsistent, and I have not managed to connect with her.
But, in general, it is worth reading it if only for Anne Stuart´s story.
November 30, 2011
I was impressed with BURNING BRIGHT, a holiday anthology. I have been going through my stash of Christmas-related books recently. Many of the anthologies I have read are just ordinary and I have had a hard time finishing many books. I am lucky to find one out of the 3-5 romances that I could recommend to a friend. BURNING BRIGHT was the exception and two of the three stories were really good. The title refers to a candle shop in Crescent Cove, VT.
STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT by Anne Stuart was my favorite. Ms. Stuart is a hit or miss author with me. I either love or dislike her romances. Rarely is there a middle ground. SLSB was a pleasant surprise. Angela McKenna, 'Angel', has returned to VT after a divorce from her childhood sweetheart. But could the childhood friend she left behind for the other boy she thought she loved have been her real true love? Grab that hot chocolate and read the story to find out. 5 Stars
ONE FOR EACH NIGHT by Judith Arnold was almost as good. I haven't read anything by this author before but I will look for other books by her in the future. Her story centers around Alana Ross, a reporter for the local paper in Crescent Cove. Her grandmother passed away the previous year and she is trying relive her happy memories of Hanukkah in her new town. With the help of a visiting lawyer that has come to town, does she have a chance? Curl up with your hot tea and continue reading. 4.5 Stars
I was surprised that Maggie Shayne's RETURN OF THE LIGHT was my least favorite. I have enjoyed some of her paranormal romances. Dori Stewart left years before to make a name for herself. She had money and prestige and lost it all only to return to her home town with her tail between her legs. Her old love is the sheriff of the town. I thought Jason Ferrar, the lawman, could have done better but to each his own. 2 Stars for OK
STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT by Anne Stuart was my favorite. Ms. Stuart is a hit or miss author with me. I either love or dislike her romances. Rarely is there a middle ground. SLSB was a pleasant surprise. Angela McKenna, 'Angel', has returned to VT after a divorce from her childhood sweetheart. But could the childhood friend she left behind for the other boy she thought she loved have been her real true love? Grab that hot chocolate and read the story to find out. 5 Stars
ONE FOR EACH NIGHT by Judith Arnold was almost as good. I haven't read anything by this author before but I will look for other books by her in the future. Her story centers around Alana Ross, a reporter for the local paper in Crescent Cove. Her grandmother passed away the previous year and she is trying relive her happy memories of Hanukkah in her new town. With the help of a visiting lawyer that has come to town, does she have a chance? Curl up with your hot tea and continue reading. 4.5 Stars
I was surprised that Maggie Shayne's RETURN OF THE LIGHT was my least favorite. I have enjoyed some of her paranormal romances. Dori Stewart left years before to make a name for herself. She had money and prestige and lost it all only to return to her home town with her tail between her legs. Her old love is the sheriff of the town. I thought Jason Ferrar, the lawman, could have done better but to each his own. 2 Stars for OK
December 24, 2012
I really liked the concept of this anthology, three holiday stories from different faiths. As a non-religious person who grew up Buddhist, I definitely get tired of the endless stream of only Christian characters.
The first story was a cute Christmas story. (And by Anne Stuart, which automatically puts it that much higher in my estimation.) And despite what I just said about being tired of only Christian characters, this was still my favorite novella in the bunch. 4/5
The second story was rather frustrating. It centered on a Wiccan heroine (who'd lost her religion) celebrating the winter solstice. First of all, I had problems with the premise. The heroine loses her six-figure job and them somehow loses everything so that she's at the point of having to work as a waitress just to scrape by. Did she have absolutely no sense of money management whatsoever? No savings? To be making that much money and then to lose everything as a result of losing her job just seems a bit extreme. And the ending! 2/5
And the last novella was a Hanukkah story. My main problem with this one was that it too place over such a short period of time. Whereas both of the previous sets of characters already had relationships in the past, these characters had only a few days between meeting and falling in love. As a result, I can't say I really believed in their love. However, I was definitely a fan of the ending. Overall, I liked this story, but the brevity of their time together made it a bit too unbelievable. 3.5/5
Altogether, this was an interesting anthology, and I really wish it had worked better. But the actual execution of the second and third stories felt lacking, and I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped I would. Anne Stuart's contribution was definitely my favorite.
The first story was a cute Christmas story. (And by Anne Stuart, which automatically puts it that much higher in my estimation.) And despite what I just said about being tired of only Christian characters, this was still my favorite novella in the bunch. 4/5
The second story was rather frustrating. It centered on a Wiccan heroine (who'd lost her religion) celebrating the winter solstice. First of all, I had problems with the premise. The heroine loses her six-figure job and them somehow loses everything so that she's at the point of having to work as a waitress just to scrape by. Did she have absolutely no sense of money management whatsoever? No savings? To be making that much money and then to lose everything as a result of losing her job just seems a bit extreme. And the ending! 2/5
And the last novella was a Hanukkah story. My main problem with this one was that it too place over such a short period of time. Whereas both of the previous sets of characters already had relationships in the past, these characters had only a few days between meeting and falling in love. As a result, I can't say I really believed in their love. However, I was definitely a fan of the ending. Overall, I liked this story, but the brevity of their time together made it a bit too unbelievable. 3.5/5
Altogether, this was an interesting anthology, and I really wish it had worked better. But the actual execution of the second and third stories felt lacking, and I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped I would. Anne Stuart's contribution was definitely my favorite.
November 21, 2010
Dori Stewart seemingly has it all: a great job, great friends, and no small celebrity in the Pagan community. But, despite all that, Dori feels unsettled, feeling that something was going to change all that for her. And it did all change for her when she walked into her office to find that her publishing company in which she was a rising star had been sold,... to a ultra-conservative publisher with no need for someone like her. Suddenly, Dori found herself with nothing, and having to completely start over.
I bought this novella to read as part of the Holiday Reading Challenge and I am so glad I did. I love a book that deals with the subjects of magic and paganism with complete accuracy! Dori's struggles with her life and her faltering faith was one I could identify with, making her entirely relatable as a character. She is a woman who has had everything she thought she ever wanted, and still felt lonely at heart. She loses everything she thought was important to her and it has caused her faith to falter, too. She is a woman struggling with her sense of self and identity and feeling lost in the process. The entire story spoke to me and my only wish is that the story had been a full-length novel!
I bought this novella to read as part of the Holiday Reading Challenge and I am so glad I did. I love a book that deals with the subjects of magic and paganism with complete accuracy! Dori's struggles with her life and her faltering faith was one I could identify with, making her entirely relatable as a character. She is a woman who has had everything she thought she ever wanted, and still felt lonely at heart. She loses everything she thought was important to her and it has caused her faith to falter, too. She is a woman struggling with her sense of self and identity and feeling lost in the process. The entire story spoke to me and my only wish is that the story had been a full-length novel!
December 26, 2011
Three novellas, all set in the same Vermont town during the winter holidays.
I loved that they weren't all about Christmas. I'm sure I knew that when I pre-ordered, but I'd forgotten by the time I got it. The first novella, by Anne Stuart, centered around Christmas; the second focused on the Wiccan holiday of Solstice; and the third was about Hanukkah.
This was a perfect Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day read for me...positive, fun, light, mostly sweet, short, not requiring too much attention. I enjoyed the first story a lot--it had a lot of emotional depth for a novella. The second didn't really work for me as romance, but I loved the heroine's character arc. The third was enjoyable--I'm sure I would've liked it more had it been a novel, so that the romantic tension could've had more time to develop.
It's put me in the mood for more like this.
I loved that they weren't all about Christmas. I'm sure I knew that when I pre-ordered, but I'd forgotten by the time I got it. The first novella, by Anne Stuart, centered around Christmas; the second focused on the Wiccan holiday of Solstice; and the third was about Hanukkah.
This was a perfect Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day read for me...positive, fun, light, mostly sweet, short, not requiring too much attention. I enjoyed the first story a lot--it had a lot of emotional depth for a novella. The second didn't really work for me as romance, but I loved the heroine's character arc. The third was enjoyable--I'm sure I would've liked it more had it been a novel, so that the romantic tension could've had more time to develop.
It's put me in the mood for more like this.
June 3, 2012
I have read many many of Maggie Shayne's books, and she is one of my favorite authors, however this book I don't just don't think was for me. I don't know much about paganism, or Wiccian ( not tht I don't like to learn) but It wasn't the normal feel after I finished a book of Maggie's. I just don't think I am used to this kinda of style from her, and I don't really like novella's, I am seldom disappointed in any books but this one I was, I just didn't get the feel of the book and perhaps thts because of my little knowledge of the religion.
October 20, 2012
This was a great read. I love the quick pace of novelettes as there is not the filler fluff and I can go from start to end in a day. Quite a feat being a busy working mum and hands on grandma. I really enjoyed the journey Dori took and relate to the choices she had to make. Happiness over the almighty dollar.
December 18, 2016
I read at least one holiday (i.e. Christmas themed) book every year, but this year I discovered a Chanukah themed romance collection. Sadly I only liked one of the four stories. I will be on the hunt for other Chanukah, Kwanzaa or Diwali themed books, because the holidays put most everyone in a good mood and I love celebrating even in my reading.
Read
July 28, 2011This is very good- three stories, three religoius views, three "different" store owners helping three different women make their holday dreams come true.
November 10, 2013
I really appreciated Harlequin putting together an anthology of stories about non-Christians celebrating their winter holidays - Hanukkah and Winter Solstice. I just wish they had been better.
December 31, 2016
Loved the hero but disliked the heroine - kept waiting for redeeming qualities and by the time, she had some, it was too late (for me).
December 7, 2012
I thought each of the stories were really cute. A very nice read for this time of the year.
January 1, 2014
Not really my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews