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Santa Paws
Christmas means more than just puppy love! This collection of stories from the "It's a Dog's Life" series is the perfect stocking stuffer for romance and animal lovers alike.
Victoria Alexander – Shakespeare and the Three Kings
After inheriting three unbearable dogs from his great aunt, Oliver Stanhope was relieved to find she’d made arrangements for a trainer. But when D.K. Lawrence appeared at his door, enormous Great Dane in tow, Oliver was in for the Christmas surprise—and love—of his life.
Nina Coombs – Athena’s Christmas Tail
Mercy wanted her marriage to Viscount Brockton to be a true match of the heart. But breaking through Robert’s cold shell seemed truly impossible, until she found the magic of the holiday season—with the help of Athena, her very determined dog.
Annie Kimberlin – Away in a Shelter
She was a dedicated volunteer, but Camille Campbell never wanted to get stranded at the animal shelter overnight on Christmas Eve. And she never wanted to be stuck with the infuriating Roger Matheson, the handsome helper whose very touch left the lovely lawyer starry-eyed.
Miriam Raftery – Mr. Wright’s Christmas Angel
When Dr. Joy Winters’ daughter asked Santa Claus for a father for Christmas, Joy knew she was in trouble. Then a mysterious Kriss Kringle gave her two tickets to Alaska—and a wondrous journey into the arms of handsome woodsman Nicholas Wright and his amazing dog.
Victoria Alexander – Shakespeare and the Three Kings
After inheriting three unbearable dogs from his great aunt, Oliver Stanhope was relieved to find she’d made arrangements for a trainer. But when D.K. Lawrence appeared at his door, enormous Great Dane in tow, Oliver was in for the Christmas surprise—and love—of his life.
Nina Coombs – Athena’s Christmas Tail
Mercy wanted her marriage to Viscount Brockton to be a true match of the heart. But breaking through Robert’s cold shell seemed truly impossible, until she found the magic of the holiday season—with the help of Athena, her very determined dog.
Annie Kimberlin – Away in a Shelter
She was a dedicated volunteer, but Camille Campbell never wanted to get stranded at the animal shelter overnight on Christmas Eve. And she never wanted to be stuck with the infuriating Roger Matheson, the handsome helper whose very touch left the lovely lawyer starry-eyed.
Miriam Raftery – Mr. Wright’s Christmas Angel
When Dr. Joy Winters’ daughter asked Santa Claus for a father for Christmas, Joy knew she was in trouble. Then a mysterious Kriss Kringle gave her two tickets to Alaska—and a wondrous journey into the arms of handsome woodsman Nicholas Wright and his amazing dog.
389 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
127 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Alexander
65 books1,335 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 27, 2014
This is a collection of short books in one long book. The stories were all very good and all had at least one dog in them. One brought tears to my eyes. Another had me laughing. The last one took me on a magical time travel trip. It had a bit of science fiction and fantasy in it. This is an excellent compilation of books by different authors.
November 25, 2012
oldie but goodie. lovely dog lover holiday themed book
May 25, 2020
Liked the last two stories.
The first two set in 1800’s and Regency time were not to my liking.
3=contemporary Setting: Dog/Cat Shelter
4= Time Slip from 1997 to 1897
heroine = ER Doc. Setting: Noel, Alaska
3.5 rounded up for novelty of the read.
All had dogs & Christmas themes.
The first two set in 1800’s and Regency time were not to my liking.
3=contemporary Setting: Dog/Cat Shelter
4= Time Slip from 1997 to 1897
heroine = ER Doc. Setting: Noel, Alaska
3.5 rounded up for novelty of the read.
All had dogs & Christmas themes.
January 13, 2022
The second story in this book was the best. It made you think the dog could speak and did it in a very imaginative way! All of the stories were good, but the second was the best. I usually don't like stories set back in the 1800s but the first two were and they were very good.
January 28, 2021
Pleasant, canine themed anthology
3 stars
This is a collection of 4 stories with all the couples finding love thanks to some delightful, determined canines.
SHAKESPEARE AND THE THREE KINGS - Victoria Alexander (England, 1893)
With the death of his beloved aunt, Sir Oliver Stanhope inherits her home and her three pampered, terribly annoying Yorkshire Terriers. Luckily, before her death his aunt managed to acquire the services of a dog trainer. Unfortunately for Oliver, the dog trainer just happens to be the love of his life, an American that broke his heart ten years before.
Not very Christmassy but still a satisfying tale of redemption, forgiveness and love.
ATHENA'S CHRISTMAS TAIL - Nina Coombs (Regency London)
When Robert, Viscount Brockton brings home his new wife, she hopes to make the best of their life together but he treats her very coldly. Aware that the pair are in love with each other yet neither can admit it, the couple's dogs decide to do a little bit of matchmaking.
Not particularly deep, this story is still a fun tale (even with some of the story being told from the dogs' perspective) but not at all festive.
AWAY IN A SHELTER - Annie Kimberlin (Modern Day)
Camille Campbell is a dedicated volunteer at the animal shelter when she agrees to work the shift over Christmas. Unbeknownst to her, Roger Matheson has also agreed to volunteer which does not bode well as the pair can't stand each other. But that soon changes thanks to a timely blizzard and an adorable abandoned dog.
This was an enjoyable story that could have done with a little more time to make the ending seem less rushed.
MR WRIGHT'S CHRISTMAS ANGEL - Miriam Raftery (Modern Day LA & Alaska)
A few days before Christmas, Joy Winters gets fired from her job as a doctor in a Los Angeles hospital. Feeling depressed, when a mysterious man named Kris Kringle offers her and her daughter two tickets to Alaska for a truly magical and old-fashioned Christmas, she jumps at the chance. When she arrives and promptly crashes her car, she is delighted to be rescued by the mysterious Nicholas Wright and his amazing dog.
I really adored this genuinely magical and sweetly festive story where you really root for all the characters on their way to a delightfully happy ending.
This Christmas anthology is certainly not the best that I have read as many of the stories really lacked any festive touches at all! Having said that, I did find that the last story really captured the true spirit of Christmas and it was definitely the highlight of this book for me closely followed by Victoria Alexander's tale.
Perhaps not a book that you would go out of your way to find, this is still a good collection of wintery stories that offer a pleasant enough read. 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews