A Very Jaguar Christmas

A long-delayed romance blooms between two werejaguars trying to return a child home in time for Christmas in this sweet and breezy tale that’s light on tension and suspense. Everett Anderson and Demetria MacFarlane are working on integrating the branches of the werejaguar defense agency in Dallas, Tex., when they get a call about an abandoned child. He turns out to be another kind of shifter, one that the werejaguars had no idea even existed. Everett and Demetria act on the strong feelings they’ve long had for each other as they search for the child’s family. Their biggest obstacle is the child’s kindred’s matching skepticism about jaguar shifters, but even that is easily overcome as the various plot threads flow smoothly toward happy resolutions. The emphasis on superficial Christmas elements—lights, trees, presents, visits to Santa—make this a pleasant Yuletide read, but it lacks depth. (Oct.)