What Happens Under the Mistletoe

Kisses under the mistletoe are the theme of four novellas taking place between 1807 and 1885. Camp (Pleasured) delivers the standout story, “By Any Other Name,” a cross-dressing romp about a girl seeking her lost brother in the gaming hells of Edinburgh. Duran (Luck Be a Lady) goes the gently pleasant route with “Sweet Ruin,” about lovers kept apart by a scheming father. Unfortunately, Hawkins (The Prince and I) burdens “Twelve Kisses” with an unconvincing prince, hampering the story further with the hero’s extremely thick Scots dialect. Jeffries (A Hellion in Her Bed) never manages to give the impression that the lovers of “The Heiress and the Hothead” will successfully wrangle a marriage that requires one of them to move to the other’s continent. These stories provide a reasonable helping of holiday-season cheer. (Nov.)