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His for the Holidays

Recommended Read, Review 57
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Title: His for the Holidays
Authors: Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox, L.B. Gregg, ZA Maxfield
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Novel, 493 pages
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

THE BLURB

Spicing Up the Season

Hope brightens a bleak Edinburgh December. A man gets a second chance with his high school crush. A decade-long game of cat and mouse comes to a passionate conclusion. And Santa Claus drives a red muscle car. Heat up your holidays with this collection of four festive tales from some of the top talent in the male/male genre.

THE REVIEW

Mistletoe at Midnight by LB Gregg – 5 stars (Jenre)

Summary Review: Get into the holiday spirit with this superb second chance at love story.

Nine Lights Over Edinburgh by Harper Fox – 5 stars (Wave)

Summary Review: A Christmas story with two unusual protagonists who are tough as nails but soft where it counts.

I Heard Him Exclaim by Z.A. Maxfield – 5 stars (Aunt Lynn)

Summary Review: A great read about two men finding each other when they need it most.

Icecapade by Josh Lanyon – 5 stars (TJ)

Summary Review: A very well written, surprisingly amusing and clever game of cat and mouse between an ex diamond thief and the FBI agent who he gave the slip to 10 years prior, after one very hot night together.

 

 

Carina’s offering of holiday stories reflects the calibre of the authors that are included in this anthology. Each story, which is reviewed separately, is distinctive and different and will provide hours of reading enjoyment during the holidays and at any time.

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57 comments

  • Wow Wave! Although not surprising considering the authors, it’s pretty amazing that we rated all of the books 5 stars! When does that ever happen in an anthology? I’m looking forward to reading the other 3 books now.

    • Hi TJ
      I didn’t realize the ratings of each story until I was writing this post early this morning (4.00 A.M) lol. I’ve read some of the stories in this anthology and they are well worth the price. It’s too bad that Carina doesn’t provide print books b/c this is one that I would definitely buy in paper.

      • I am so with you on the print version. I would definitely buy this as well. I know that Josh’s offering was delightful, and I can see that I’m in for a treat with the other 3 stories as well. They’re worth every penny IMO!

  • Like TJ, I was amazed that we’d all independently given the stories 5 stars! I hadn’t known the other ratings until after I’d written my review.

    I’m off to read the other three stories now :).

    • Hi Jen
      This is such a great treat that we don’t usually get a chance to enjoy – an anthology where every story is exceptional.

      It’s great for all of us reviewers to be part of this anthology in a small way.

  • How cool that this entire anthology rated 5 stars! But, not surprising given who the authors are. I can say with certainty (even though I haven’t read it yet) that I’m another that would buy this in print – especially if that very nice artwork were on the cover 😉

    • Dianne

      How cool that this entire anthology rated 5 stars! But, not surprising given who the authors are

      I think the key for Carina and this anthology is the calibre of the authors. What an “A” list of authors.

  • A 5 star collection? Woot! Plus, I’ve only ever been exposed to Josh, so this will be a treat to learn about other great authors.

    • Brian
      You will love these stories because they are all so different and so incredibly well written.

      You are going to have many hours of reading enjoyment.

  • I already pre-purchased mine at Carina, how can a reader possibly go wrong with an all-star writing team like this? Can’t wait to read them all!

  • I’ve only read Josh Lanyon’s work, and initially only pre-ordered his story, but I read so many favourable comments towards the other writers, that I decided to order the other three as well.

    The only problem is that I can’t seem to download them, there is some sort of Access Denied bug going on, that I keep hoping will solve itself, but it’s been eight hours and patience is not my virtue *sigh* *goes back to waiting*

    • Gosh, this again! I’m so sorry, Cayendi. Carina is generally very responsive to this kind of thing. I’m sure they’ll get it worked out.

      If not, drop me a line.

    • Cayendi~That’s such a problem and so frustrating, I know. Truly if you don’t hear soon, (but I’m sure you will), let Josh know. Or me. We’ll get this cleared up for you.

      And thank you for ordering my book. *g*

      LB

      • You’re welcome LB. You can mostly thank Josh and all the reviewers for my decision to purchase all the stories from this anthology, though. They were very convincing 🙂
        And, yes, it’s frustrating, but I’ll just have to learn more patience …

      • I’ve noticed more people have the same problem. I mailed them as well (around 10am Dutch time) *fingers crossed* for it to be solved quickly (or at least today)

  • I’m thrilled to see the antho got five stars down the line. BUT, having said, that, I’m not completely surprised because I felt from the start this was an exceptional pairing. Not just because I love the other authors, but because I think our “voices” blend well, so I sort of think if you like ZAM, you’ll like me, if you like me, you’ll like Harper. And everyone adores LB, so that goes without saying. (Although I’m going to say it now.)

    Obviously I’m totally biased though, so just read the stories and decide for yourself.

    • Josh
      Thank you for dropping by and for your wonderful story in this anthology, Icecapades, which I read and absolutely loved.

      This anthology is definitely the gold standard that every publisher will be assessed against when they publish their anthologies.

      I will also write Carina today about Cayendi’s problems downloading this book.

  • I tried to buy the book before work (about 7:00 AM EST) & got the Access Denied/Error page when trying to download it. I emailed them but haven’t gotten a response all day. Just sent second email. Anyone get this resolved yet?

    • JW
      As I mentioned to Cayendi, I emailed Carina and they have informed me that their maintenance team have flagged the issue and are working on it right now. I will post a comment as soon as I am advised that the problem has been resolved.

      • Thanks Wave. I didn’t mean that I expected someone here to take care of the issue. (Although I see how it sounded that way – sorry!) I just wondered if anyone who couldn’t download it earlier has since been able to.

        I finally got a response from Carina to my first email & it says the tech dept is looking into my inquiry. I hope that was just an automated response because, based on the discussion here, I was hoping they were already aware of this particular problem.

        I’m so spoiled by the instant gratification of ebooks!

  • i am having the same problem. Even purchased Josh’s book seperateley after buying the anthology in the hope it was a one-off problem (shows what a computer luddite i am)as was impatient to read them all, but his most of all and happy to contribute a little more to anybody that wrote ‘out of the blue’. Have sent two emails over the day, no response, and now the site won’t even let me access my bookshelf. Silly of them not to put some sort of warning/info if they are having problems…..

    • Hi Georgie
      I can assure you that Carina is aware of the problem and is doing what it can to resolve it. I’m hoping to hear momentarily because this is something that should have been fixed hours ago.

    • Hi EJR
      Usually it’s the publisher who decides whether or not to list a book on amazon, not the authors, who are sometimes the last to know.

  • It does my heart good anytime a story receives a DIK on this site, and to see so many in one day? Congrats to these authors. I’m kinda in a slump right now, having just sent my latest manuscript in to my publisher. It’s kinda like sending a kid off to school for the first time. Sniff. These lovely Christmas tales may be just what I need.

  • This anthology should be framed with the sign: That’s how it’s done! Every story was wonderful and unique. I’m hoping for His for the Holidays 2 next year. ^^

    • LadyM
      You’re absolutely correct. This hasn’t happened here before and I’m absolutely thrilled with the quality of the stories.

      They will probably have another version next year but somehow this one is special.

  • So many great reviews….and I didn’t realize til halfway through them that they were all in the same anthology (can we say PAY attention Elaine???)…anyway, it’s great to see that an entire anthology is worthy of 5 stars….so I know disappointment is not in my future! Thanks to all the reviewers and I am off to add to the ever growing list. but, I think this one will be placed close to the top 😉

  • Just to keep everyone up to date.
    I emailed the address I mentioned above and included my thoughts on the lack of communication. I got a very quick reply in which Angela agrees with me and promised to put up messages on twitter and facebook (I’ve already seen the twitter one) and forward my mail to the website manager.

    The problem is still being worked on, but at least now, there will be some communication.

    And she sent me a copy of the anthology as well

    • Hi Cayendi
      At last some action. I’m so glad you received your book and I know you will enjoy it. It’s too bad this wasn’t addressed earlier because some of the frustration that you and other purchasers were experiencing could have been avoided. It’s usually not the initial problem but how it’s addressed that causes massive public relations headaches.

  • Wow. Still can’t get the book. I can’t believe this is going on so long. I’ve had a bad download link before & the publisher usually emails with a new one pronto. I guess it’s because they’re new. But it’s the communication on the issue that really bugs me. No message on the site & I had one ‘looking into my inquiry’ response almost 8 hours after my email to them. And now nothing for 18 hours. If there wasn’t a discussion here, I’d have no way of knowing that this was a problem on their end.

    • Hi JW
      I have just written to Carina again. There is no excuse for the lack of communication on their part because although this is a new publisher Carina is part of Harlequin which has been in the publishing business for several decades.

      If/when I do hear from them I will post something here because I think the customers should be respected and given the most current information.

      • What annoys me is this: For the most up-to-date news on Carina Press, please follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CarinaPress.
        A lot of promotion there, but barely any info, except in a very subtle way, as a reaction to tweets to them.
        Which is how I got this information (even though I haven’t done anything with it yet):
        quoted from their twitter account:
        @name @name @name angela_james AT carinapress.com just tell me which book you ordered in your email & what format (1 hour ago)
        AND
        @name It’s an Overdrive error & still not fixed. Email me and I’ll send you a copy. Angela_James at carinapress.com (13 hours ago)

        And that was after they directed everyone to the CustomerService email addy first …

        So, I guess if we email that adress with the books we ordered … we should get them …

        Why not just email customers without making them beg for it?

    • That annoys me too: no reaction, no info from Carina Press. I would like to cancel and buy elsewhere. I have no response to my emails. Technical errors ok, happens, but really bad communication.

    • I’m going through the same thing, only I’ve yet to receive a reply to my e-mail. What bothers me the most is that they’ve not put something up on their website telling customers/potential customers about the problem of which they are well aware of. It just smells of money-grubbing business ethic.

  • Guys
    I’ve done what I can. I have written Carina again this morning and apparently the technical problem hasn’t been fixed but more important, the communication problem is the one that needs to be addressed. We can all understand technical issues sometimes cause massive failures, but there is no excuse for Carina not contacting the customers and posting something on their website as we have suggested. Obviously if I hear anything further I will post it here.

  • Carina Press just announced on Twitter: “We apologize to anyone having trouble downloading their order from the Carina site. We are working as quickly as possible to resolve this.”

    Hope that helps!

    • OMG! Just got the exact same automated response (‘tech dept researching my inquiry’) that I got after my first email – although this time I got it within minutes instead of 8 hours later.

      But then I logged back in to Carina to try to download the book again – and it worked!

      I can’t believe the way this has been handled.

  • I didn’t even receive an automated response to my email. The only way I knew link was working again was by reading it here. Thanks ya’ll. I’ve got my copy now.

    • I didn’t get any responses to my 2 emails, either. However, no charge has hit my bank account yet. I will not be attempting to download again. I will wait until it arrives at a reliable vendor–Amazon, perhaps. It may not be politic to say, but Carina is going on my NFA list.

      • Buda
        I don’t think Carina realizes what a huge customer service problem this is. Maybe initially they weren’t aware, but once customers started emailing them they should have taken immediate steps to post publicly (on their website, Twitter, Facebook etc) so that clients would know rather than being in the dark for 24 hours. Pissed off customers don’t buy your products and they spread the word. 🙁

  • Hiya Wave! So, I had to pop back in and let all the reviewers know that I bought this, read it and absolutely loved each story! Seldom do I buy anthologies and not get at least a tiny bit disappointed in at least one story…but this was SO not the case. His for the Holidays was fantastic from beginning to end…kudos to all the authors. I loved each story for different reasons, and couldn’t have asked for more (well I could, but that’s cause I am greedy and want more from all the guys lol!) GREAT JOB Josh, ZAM, Harper and LB!

    • Hi Elaine
      Isn’t this anthology the best? Of course I love Harper’s story but all of them were equally deserving of the 5 star rating.

      Despite all the problems a couple of days ago downloading this anthology M/M readers still managed to make this book Carina’s No. 1.

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