Kissing Santa Claus

Men of Hawaii #3

by Donna Kauffman, Jill Shalvis, HelenKay Dimon

Three hottie humbugs find holiday magic where they least expect it...

Donna Kauffman
Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells
Holly hates the yuletide season more than ever since she inherited her mother’s Christmas novelty store, but her childhood pal Sean’s determined to warm her up - to Christmas and to him. When they uncover a diary concealing secrets involving both their families, this could be the Christmas that changes their lives forever...

Jill Shalvis
Bah Handsome!
Behind on her bills, B&B owner Hope receives an unlikely guest - stranded solicitor Danny, who’s been threatening to put her out of business. Hope’s staff sees more fire than fight in the sparks that fly as they try and bring Hope and Danny together, but only a Christmas miracle can help these unlikely lovers see the light...

HelenKay Dimon
It's Hotter at Christmas
Hawaii’s no paradise for Marissa, who, thanks to a series of unfortunate events, can’t seem to get away from the sand to enjoy her Christmas East Coast style - with plenty of snow and slush. But tall, dark, and serious police officer Ted’s about to give this bad Santa in heels a Mele Kalikimaka she’ll never forget...

Genres: Romance, Christmas, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Anthologies, Holiday, Fiction

307 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2006

About the author

USA Today bestseller and award winning author of the Cupcake Club series and the Blueberry Cove series, DONNA KAUFFMAN has been gratified to see her books get rave reviews in venues ranging from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan. She lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia, where she is happily working on the next book in her brand new Blue Hollow Falls series, set right in her mountain home area. When she's not writing, she can be found recapping the popular tv show NCIS for USA Today, or escaping into her garden to play in the dirt. Donna also works as a volunteer wildlife transporter for two local sanctuaries, giving orphaned and injured wildlife a second chance at survival. You can catch up on all of her adventures via her author page on Facebook, or on Twitter, or Instagram @writerchick. Donna loves to hear from readers!

Donna Kauffman passed away on April 9, 2020 of pancreatic cancer.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tis The Season A Thon: Read a holiday themed book

Lock Stock and Jingle Bells by Donna Kaufman was the first story in this collection and by far my lowest rated. I originally rated it 3 stars but now I'm thinking its more of 2.5 star read. I just wasn't interested in the love story and the "mystery" was treated like an afterthought.

Bah Handsome by Jill Shalvis is my favorite story. A 5 star read but the title is awful. I love love love enemies 2 lovers and this story was just sexy fun.

Its Hotter At Christmas by Helenkay Dimon is the final story in this collection and was a solid 4.5 star read. I usually hate insta love but this story was only 96 pages so I couldn't really complain plus it was a fun story with great characters.

Overall this is a sexy holiday collection that's a quick fun read.

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This month's prompt for #TBRChallenge was Festive. I'm not the best with shorter stories but for some reason I've really felt the need to collect holiday anthologies over the years, so I've been using this challenge and Dec. prompt to make sure I read one. Kissing Santa Claus had three authors that I've read before and two, Jill Shalvis and HelenKay Dimon, that have written some of my favorite or really enjoyed books. Overall, I'd have to say this was a bit disappointing. The short story syndrome really hit me hard and the stories seemed to lack some oomph. I'd give it a 2.5 rating as a collection.

Lock, Stock, and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman 3 stars

Holly Berry Bennett hated Christmas.

I think this was the longest story and definitely felt the most complete. Holly is heading back home after her mother dumps her Christmas themed store on her while she and Holly's father decide to enjoy retirement and take a cruise. Holly has never really enjoyed Christmas because of how she had to live it 24/hrs a day because of her mother's love of it. When she gets back home, Sean, who runs his family restaurant across street from Holly's mom's store sees her and is instantly drawn to her. Sean had a crush on Holly in school but was scared to be rejected. Guess what? Holly had a crush on Sean in school but was afraid to be rejected too!

Sean brings Holly food, they admit their crushes, Holly just wants to be friends as she figures out what she wants from life, and there's a historical secret baby. Record scratch! Yup, suddenly there's a mystery from an old journal Holly finds and it involves richie rich scandals and ties in with Sean's family. I feel like these characters are from a series and this was used to lead into the next in the series. Anyway, Sean was hot, nice, and could cook, I bumped it up a half a star.


Bah, Handsome! By Jill Shalvis 2 stars

Hope had always been a sucker for the bad boy.

This one was a rushed mess of bad '90s sexist takes and language. Hope runs a bed and breakfast and had taken out a loan from her step-brother. She's late on the payment and knows her evil step will end up taking the inn if he can. Winter's come and so has O Danny boy, who is the evil step's CPA. He's there to check on evil step's investment and negotiate a worse deal for Hope or just take the inn. Danny's a cute sweater adorned, glasses wearing geek that Hope can't help finding attractive. But he works for the enemy! Danny is also attracted to the flailing inn owner and has a crisis of conscious while he's snowed in at the inn.

They get locked in a cellar, there's mistletoe, meddling friends, forced proximity, an angry mama bear, and sex in a shed. Danny turns from heel to savior and I felt the love from the angry mama bear protecting her cubs more than I did between these two.


It’s Hotter at Christmas by HelenKay Dimon 2.5 stars

She was one good-looking woman under all of that bad luck.

This one was obviously from a series too. Ted (I feel like we don't get a lot of heroes named this) is the deputy police chief of Kauai and has been called to the hotel his sister manages to deal with a guest that has had some serious bad luck. Marissa is on a work assignment with a coworker and they're supposed to be in competition to produce the best marketing plan for the hotel. When Marissa tried to leave Kauai she realized her ID had been stolen and she had a run-in with TSA and they wanted to call the FBI on her but Ted came to the rescue and calmed it all down. Now Marissa's hotel room has been robbed and she can't possibly think of any suspects. The in competition with co-worker? No way. The same in competition co-worker who also has exhibited growing stalker-ish, I want you vibes over the year? COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE. Yeah, the “mystery” of Marissa's bad luck was obviously to put her in Ted's orbit; their instant lust felt empty of substance.

Ted's been divorced and felt lied to about what his ex-wife wanted, he's scared to trust. Marissa grew up with a mom that lead her to be scared to ever be reliant on a man. Ted doesn't believe Marissa could ever be truly happy in Kauai and Marissa isn't sure she should give up her job for Ted. It was insta lust, insta sex, fast, and had kind of a cranky tone, if you're into those sort of vibes then Happy Holidays!

[Hal Evergreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lock, Stock, and Jinglebells
Donna Kauffman
2 stars

I could not wait for this story to be over. It was mind-numbingly boring. I couldn't drum up any enthusiasm about the romance, and the plot about the Christmas shop Holly inherited from her mother was anything but compelling. The subplot about the journal Holly discovers in an antique roll-top desk felt completely out of place in the story. I consider 2 stars a generous rating.

Bah, Handsome!
Jill Shalvis
3.5 stars

Very cute! This is actually the first thing I've read by Jill Shalvis, and I really enjoyed it. The humor is great. The romance plot advances quickly due to the length restrictions of a novella, but it didn't feel overly rushed. I plan to read more by this author soon.

It's Hotter at Christmas
HelenKay Dimon
2 stars

Reading this story felt like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It was agonizing, yet morbidly fascinating.

There was so much wrong with this plot, but I'm going to start with the writing. Dimon's writing is abysmal. Her sentences are poorly constructed and her word choices are often bizarre. Take for example her description of Ted as dominating his environment with "a knowing hand." Hands have no cognative ability. They don't know anything. Besides, I'm not sure I want to know how Ted dominates his environment with his hand. That sounds either violent, or creepy.

As for the plot, I can not imagine any law enforcement officer acting the way Ted does. I'm pretty sure there are rules against officers sleeping with people involved in their assigned cases. The term "conflict of interest" comes to mind. But when Ted asks Kane, his superior officer, to take him off Marissa's case so that he can sleep with her, Kane gives Ted his blessing to screw the alleged crime victim to his heart's content but refuses to take Ted off the case.

Finally, what on earth does Marissa see in Ted? Not only does he have no manners and not even a hint of charm, but he doesn't even know what the word "obtuse" means, so he's ignorant and uneducated into the bargain. Wow, what a catch. I wanted to scream at her, "You're leaving your career, your family, your ENTIRE LIFE behind in Philadelphia for THIS guy?"

So clearly, I did not like this story. So why did I give it two stars instead of one? Because I thoroughly enjoyed how much I disliked it. I cackled with malevolent glee as I took notes on everything I disliked about it. I figure the entertainment value is worth an extra star.

[Abra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this as a freebie at RT15.

This was a terrible book. I've read lots of Christmas novellas and short stories and many of them have been really good. There is no excuse for these stories.

Lock, Stock, and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman: This story had the MCs breathless all the time - no doubt this was because all their conversations consisted of long theatrical monologues. The heroine starts out all angsty over selling her mother's shop and making decisions about her life and then precedes to have everything handed to her on a silver platter tied up with a nice bow. She comes up with zero solutions to her problems on her own.

Bah, Handsome! by Jill Shalvis: By far the worst of the three novellas. Jill Shalvis phoned this one in. As an example here is the effort to fit in the heroine's backstory on page two:

"Honey, you're twenty-nine. That ship has not sailed. You're just being a pansy-ass because your last boyfriend stole all your money and ruined your credit before going to jail, forcing you to go begging from your asshole rich stepbrother."

Wow, smooth.

It's Hotter at Christmas by Helenkay Dimon: This was super clunky as well with the transition from let's sleep together for the next two days to forever together very jarring. Usually that transition just goes right over my head and I'm right with the couple (after all I do read romances), but this time it just came as a non-sequetor. It had nothing to do with what had just preceded it.

[Libby Waterford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked all three stories, but especially Jill Shalvis's. Her story was sexy and believable. Also I'm a big fan of heroes who wear glasses. ;)

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 3 out of 5]

These were fun; kind of the text equivalent of candy floss. None of these stories are going to change the world, but they were the light, frothy Christmas confections I was in the mood for. A little angsty, a little silly, a little suspenseful, there’s a lot of different styles to chose from. But, they all shared the magic of the season bringing a reluctant couple together.

[Rebecca Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

More 2.5 stars.
The first story was okay, a solid 3 stars.
The second story was my favorite a 3.5/4 star.
The last story was the worst I DNF’d it about 50 pages in.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lock, Stock, and Jingle Bells
by: Donna Kauffman

Holly and Sean sound like the perfect couple. It is a shame that they wasted all that time that they could have been together just because they were both so afraid of being rejected.

If not for Holly's mother leaving her the store she may never have reconnected with Sean... she may have missed out on true love, and a real family.


Bah Handsome!
by: Jill Shalvis

Hope has been through a lot in her life, she has dated all the wrong guys in the past and paid for those mistakes in so many ways... I think there are many women out there who can relate to her. Hope is hanging in there but how much longer can she last?

It's Hotter at Christmas
by: Helen Kay Dimon

Marissa is not having the best holiday season... purse stolen, flight boarding denied, hotel room broken into... what more can go wrong for this city girl?

Ted has had nothing but bad luck in his life. Parents deceased, failed marriage, plus he practically raised his two siblings. Can Marissa be the key to a better life for Ted?

First they have to uncover who is after Marissa.

[CJ - It's only a Paper Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first one, "Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells" was a pretty good story, some editorial fixes needed to be made but satisfactory.

So far "Bah Handsome" the second story really got me. The writing was fresh, witty and sexy and I liked the two main characters enough to wish that there had been a longer book on top of that I liked the secondary characters enough to wish that there had been another book about them. Sheesh, I'm going to have to find more from this woman because our writing styles are similar (except she's more polished) and I've never read a love scene in the freezing cold that was as sexy as hers.

I couldn't read the third one because I just couldn't get into it.

All in all this anthology is a 3.5 and that's primarily due to the Jill Shalvis story. Looks like I've found myself another romance writer to check out.

[Heather T · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure. Some stories had potential, but they end the minute you get into them. Short stories either don't develop their characters well, or do a good job with the characters, but end the book too suddenly without the proper rises and falls. Very few authors manage the right balance. I saw potential in the first two, but Dimon was the only that I really got into because it felt more complete. Although, the Shalvis story made me want more and was more interesting for me. I just felt like it left a bit hanging with the brother issues.

[Cherise · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story by Donna Kauffman was OK. Some of the dialogue was a little odd to me, but the story wasn't that great, or that bad. Just middle of the road.

I really liked the second story by Jill Shalvis. It was a cute and witty short story and I really enjoyed it.

The third story was a dud. I gave up somewhere after chapter two. I tried reading chapter 3 but found myself thinking about laundry and dishes and other things more exciting than the story. LOL

[Kati · Rating 2 out of 5]

These three stories were so focused on sex between the characters that any character development was largely ignored. Not a book I'm going to keep in my collection or want to read again, I think.

[Jo Reads Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard Christmas romance anthology
3 stars

LOCK, STOCK & JINGLE BALLS - Donna Kauffman
Holly Berry hates everything to do with Christmas. So it's no great joy to her when she inherits her mother's Christmas shop in the small town where she grew up in and then left as soon as she was able. But her childhood crush Sean Gallagher is determined to make sure this is a Christmas season that Holly won't soon forget.

This story lacked any sparkle, Christmas or otherwise. The plot was quite plodding, the characters lacking depth and the main focus of the story, a diary of secrets, was seemingly the prelude to another story by Kauffman. Disappointing.


BAH, HANDSOME! - Jill Shalvis
Hope O'Brien is struggling to keep her Colorado B&B in the black. She can't afford to turn down any paying customers but when accountant Danny Shaw (who just happens to be the man who's trying to put her out of business) turns up she might just change her mind. But the sparks that are flying aren't out of anger so the B&B staff attempt a little holiday matchmaking.

This was an adorable story that kept my interest from beginning to end. I do love a sexy geek as a hero and Danny definitely was that. The couple had chemistry, there was humour and there was lots of snow. Not terribly Christmassy but it doesn't matter when the story is as good as this one is.


IT'S HOTTER AT CHRISTMAS - HelenKay Dimon
Marissa just can't believe her luck - all she wants is to leave Hawaii and head home to Philadelphia to enjoy some snow at Christmas yet she's been the victim of two thefts and now can't get a flight. The only person that can help her is police deputy Ted who is determined to show Marissa that Christmas doesn't need snow to be perfect.

While I did enjoy this story, it didn't really have any real excitement. The plot was predictable and quite unrealistic and the characters weren't particularly endearing. It's not a horrible story but not one I can really remember despite only finishing it a couple of days ago.


If you're looking for some light, festive, sexy reads then this might be the book for you. For me, the Jill Shalvis story is excellent but I could take or leave the other two. 3 stars.

[Patti K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not a bad read. I read this primarily for the Jill Shalvis story and also because I wanted to see if I liked Helenkay Dimon, since she has a series set in Hawaii, and this seemed like a good way to sample the Men of Hawaii stories. It was much better than the last collection I read for a couple reasons.

First, the stories were longer (only three total, all about 100 pages) and that let them develop a little better. Second, I'd say they were written by authors with a little more talent for the short story, knowing that it's harder to make 'love at first sight' believable when you're rushing the outcome. Good short stories have to be strong ones in either character or setting (preferably both, but I suppose only one is required) because they have so little time to develop complex or interesting plots. All three authors did pretty well here.

Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells, by Donna Kauffman

I was not at all familiar with this author prior to this story but I'm certainly interested in reading more of her stuff. This was my favorite of the three. I thought Sean was great and I could really feel sympathy for Holly. The characters felt like real people and it was a believable story - two people who have known of one another almost their whole lives and who finally figure out they've been mutually attracted all this time. The only thing I didn't like was the subplot. It was weak and the line about the secret involving both their families is very misleading; Holly's mother is so insignificant to the subplot story that the only way it truly involves both families is that the desk was in her mother's shop. It wasn't a long enough story for that particular brand of subplot and the story could have easily stood on its own without pointless subplots. Now, had the baby given away been an actual descendent of Sean's, say his dad (seeing as his grandmother had lots of kids and was, in fact, a friend to the woman who gave up the baby), that might have been a good subplot (but better left to a full-length story; the repercussions would have been interesting to explore). For the baby to have been one of his zillion cousins? Eh. Like I said, it was an unnecessary part of the story. Nonetheless, I'll check out more of her books.

Bah Handsome! by Jill Shalvis

I'll preface this review by saying that I've read several of her novels and I have generally really enjoyed them (and have a few in the wings to be read next). However...I've got a few bones to pick with this story. First, I hate the title. Too cheesy. Second, while I'm generally a little wary of the 'love at first sight' story, she did a great job with that in Simply Irresistible, but this felt a little too rushed. Ok, sure, it wasn't 'first sight' because Hope had met Danny before. And it was more 'love/hate' than 'at first sight', but still. I think if it had been a full-length story, I'd have maybe bought it a little more. But I wasn't 100% convinced that they were dealing with anything more than lustful attraction, and it's hard to imagine someone changing their whole life because of that. Granted, Danny had been fed up with the money grubbing before and this was a good excuse, a catalyst, if you will, but I didn't buy it completely. It doesn't make me not want to read the rest of her stuff, but I think if she's writing short stories, maybe I'd rather read ones like the last one of hers I read, where the couple had a history longer than a few days or few meetings. She's at her best when she can make you really root for the couple. Also, I had a hard time believing that the momma bear WITH her cub would have been so keen to just run off...and sorry, but sex outside when it's only 5 degrees? No thanks...

It's Hotter at Christmas, by Helenkay Dimon

This was my other reason for reading this collection. I wanted to know if I liked her writing because she has some stories set in Kauai. As I said, I love Kauai (yes, I've been there) and unlike Shalvis' Colorado-set story, I can personally believe someone would go there the first time and seriously contemplate leaving their life behind to embrace island living. Not because Ted talks about that, not because we loved Hawaii that much, but because we actually met a couple who had done exactly that: left the fast-paced, smog-filled, crowded life of LA for a quiet life on Maui. When you're on island, it's really easy to understand why people want to do it. So, for me, I can understand why Marissa comes back, why she'd even consider really leaving Philly behind, especially if she had a job offer and a great guy already there. The problem I had was that I don't think she's really selling Kauai for someone who hasn't been there. When I'm reading the story, I am remembering my own experience on the island. She didn't describe it so that I believe someone who had never been to Hawaii would feel desperate to go there. For anyone who has read my reviews before, that can make or break a story for me sometimes, the ability to transport me to a place, especially one that is familiar. Nonetheless, she accomplished a couple things that I have to say made me want to read some of the other books in her Hawaii series, so it's not all bad. First, she made me like a detective story. It's not usually my thing (don't hate 'em, don't gravitate toward 'em either), but I found that I wanted to see if Ted was right (and if I was) about the robbery culprit. And that subplot not only made sense as a standalone plot, but it contributed to the furtherance of the main plot, as well. Now, to see if she can truly invoke Hawaii in the other books in the series.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three novellas about Christmastime with people without the proper Christmas spirit. Lock, Stock and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman has a lady just returned from her home in London to take over a business left to her by her mother. She encounters an old crush. Bah Handsome by Jill Shalvis involves a B&B about to go under in the foothills of Colorado, the owner, a relative and an accountant. It's Hotter at Christmas by Helenkay Dimon takes on Kauai Hawaii where - SURPRISE - there is no snow and this lady is used to ski lodges, and other typical winter activities.

[Becky Tatar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is only for the Jill Shalvis novella Kissing Santa Claus. After Tara finally gives her ex, Logan Perrish, his walking papers, he spends the next week withh Town Clerk , Sandy Jansen. But he doesn't stay, needing to get back to his job of being a world class race driver. And now it's Christmas. Suddenly Logan shows back up, and wants more than Sandy thought he wanted.

[Cari Dice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not my type of reading material. People don't fall in love that fast and I don't quite think men think that way. There were so many grammatical errors it made me cringe. The only reason I finished was because it was a part of my book battle.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just not my cup of tea. It is a combination of three stories that are mainly love stories which is ok. What I don't like is detail about the love making nor the cuss words in the book. An author can write a decent book without either one.

[Romance Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but I really wish Jill could write about a "nerd" without beating that fact like a dead horse and explaining over and over why that "nerd" could be hot. Not everyone's version of a sexy man is someone who's a badass with callouses on their fingers. Not from playing guitar.

[Kimberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute holiday read…I liked all 3 short stories…it took me to the end to like the last one…Always love a Donna Kaufman story.❤️ Holly & Sean cute in Va! Jill Shavis story..snowed in Hope and Danny..cute! And the Hawaii..took a bit to warm up but happy endings all the way around 🎄🎅🏻🎄

[Debbie M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

First story was ok but couldn't get into either of the others. Stopped reading.

[Nancy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun stories.

[TinaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny is sent to Hope to determine if she was going to default her loan. He likes her and wants to help but she doesn't trust him, but his actions prove his intent in the end.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are three cute holiday romances.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Christmas romances

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read from some of my favorite authors. Can't believe I had missed it! Always enjoy a good holiday read and adding a little sexy time always makes it better.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read with three light good stories!

[Amber Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like Christmas

If you love Christmas romance you need to read this. Chemistry that is so hot it burns up the pages!

[Sherry Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 quick reads to put you in the holiday spirit

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am NOTORIOUSLY difficult to please when it comes to romance shorts but this one I liked