Title: That Christmas Feeling

Authors: Catherine Palmer and Gail Gaymer Martin

Publisher: Steeple Hill Books

ISBN: 0-373-78528-3

Genre: Inspirational/Contemporary/Romance

In “Christmas in my Heart” Catherine Palmer pens a heart stirring story about restoring estranged family. Claire Ross returns home to Buffalo, Missouri, after her fiancé dumps her a month before the wedding. Hoping to spread Christmas cheer, she takes a gift to her great-aunt, someone everyone in the family disowned years before. She no sooner steps on the porch than her great-aunt starts shooting at her. When the police chief shows up, he gives orders which force Claire to spend time with her aunt. Can she reach through her aunt’s toughness to touch the wounded spirit inside? Will Claire find a reason to keep from becoming as bitter as her aunt?

“Christmas Moon” is written by Gail Gaymer Martin. Nanny Rose Danby follows Paul Stewart to Minnesota to care for his four year old twins. But as long days follow endless nights, Rose begins to rethink her decision. Why is she spending all day alone with the twins, with no hope of meeting the man of her dreams and having her own children? She begins thinking about returning to California, hoping to find the answer to her prayers. Will she be able to keep the job she loves and find love too?

That Christmas Feeling  is a good Christmas anthology by two multi-published authors. I quickly grew to love the characters in “Christmas in my Heart.” They were very well developed and I was quickly drawn into the story. If That Christmas Feeling  were written by Ms. Palmer alone, it would be a book for the keeper shelf. However, I found “Christmas Moon” lacking. The characters were flat. I couldn’t get into that novella at all, and kept putting the story down. Ms. Martin does know all the writing rules and has them down-pat, but I think she must have been a bit rushed writing this, or maybe not in the mood. The story is charming, but would have been good if the characters had been better developed.

Pick up That Christmas Feeling  for a dose of Holiday cheer which will leave you feeling ready to look for the perfect tree and make dozens of decorated cookies. That Christmas Feeling  will be an excellent book to curl up in front of the fire with.