**I received a complimentary copy of this collection for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

About the Book

Book: All Is Bright (Christmas Lights Collection 2019)
Author: Kari Trumbo, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, & Chautona Havig
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 17, 2019

Four of your favorite contemporary romance authors join festive forces to bring you the fourth-annual Christmas Lights Collection.

Kari Trumbo- Merry and Dashing: Merry hates Christmas corporate greed. Jacob loves finding the perfect gift for everyone. When Scrooge and Santa volunteer at a local thrift store together, will the mix be Holly Jolly?

Toni Shiloh- I’ll Be Home: What could be worse than being laid off right before the holidays? For Starr Lewis that would include returning home jobless, single, and, oh yeah, just in time to attend her sister’s wedding on Christmas Eve… to Starr’s ex-boyfriend. In the midst of it all, her brother’s best friend soon has her wondering if she can take another chance on love.

Cathe Swanson- Season of Change: Charlea’s ready to sell Serenity Hill, but Drew is back in town, 15 years after their dream date ended in disaster, helping her mother and daughter turn the old commune into a commercial Christmas wonderland. Between poinsettias and sleigh rides, angst and romance collide in this Christmas second-chance romance!

Chautona Havig- The 12 Dates of Christmas : When Reagan runs into Alex, her high school nemesis, he is stunned to discover that’s how she saw him. It’ll take twelve dates and a lot of forgiveness on both sides to even hope for a Christmassy-ever-after.

Brighten your day with these four heart-warming novellas today!

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Kari Trumbo: Kari Trumbo writes swoony heroes and places that become characters with detail and heart. Kari loves reading, listening to music, singing when no one’s listening, and curling up with a fuzzy blanket, a book, and a hot cup of tea by the wood stove. She loves her make-believe people almost as much as the real thing. You can find out more about her and her worlds at karitrumbo.com

Toni Shiloh: Toni Shiloh writes ethnically diverse characters that could be your best friend. She writes to understand the Lord more and shares her lessons with her readers. Visit her at www.tonishiloh.com.

Cathe Swanson: Cathe Swanson, the author of the Great Lakes and Glory Quilts series, enjoys gardening, sewing, papercrafting, and kayaking on the beautiful Wisconsin rivers. As a child of the 60’s, she’s having fun writing about hippies and the Jesus People movement in her new Serenity Hill series.

Chautona Havig: Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com

More From Chautona

Christmas in “The Christmas City”

I wrote most of 12 Dates of Christmas in Noel, Missouri, otherwise known as “The Christmas City.” That’s kind of funny, because Noel isn’t pronounced No-ell. It’s “Nole”—rhymes with pole. As in North. 😉

By the time I’d finished, it was almost time to leave the little town and head home after nearly six weeks with old and new friends. I had to say goodbye to memories I might never visit in person again, and it was difficult to imagine.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I wrote a super-short story. It’s just over seven thousand words (including a bit of history behind different people, places, and things in the story), but it captured things near and dear to my heart—my mother’s house, the church I’ve loved for so many years, town traditions, and now characters I’m not sure I can let go of.

In fact, I am considering writing a full-length novella next year for the fifth-annual Christmas Lights Collection next year! I think Rob and Lissa deserve to have their full story told.

As my thanks to readers who purchase or read the collection on Kindle Unlimited, I’m offering this short story, “A Noel Christmas,” FREE. Just send me your receipt or a screenshot showing you’ve completed the collection and it’s yours. Visit https://chautona.com/bonus for more information or just zip an email to any of the authors in the collection. We’re all happy to send it on.

We all hope you have a very meaningful Christmas this year—one that offers bright spots in your days. May God richly bless you now and in the new year.

Kari Trumbo, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, and Chautona Havig

P.S. If you read the short story, do let me know if you think I should turn it into a full-length novella/novel. I’d love to know your opinion.

Review

Do you love a good holiday romance? If so, All Is Bright is a must read. You do not get just ONE great romance but FOUR. All Is Bright is a collection of Christmas novellas from authors Kari Trumbo, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, and Chautona Havig. This is the first that I have read from any of these authors, but I am certainly looking forward to reading more. Each story can be read on their own, or read them all... in any order. Their shorter length makes them quick reads perfect for the holiday season. Let's take a look at each story:

Merry and Dashing was up first. I love a good story in which there is one Scrooge like character until someone full of Christmas spirit comes along and shows them the error of their ways. Merry and Dashing certainly had that, but with the female being the Scrooge unlike many other types of stories. It was a great romance, but also a great story to remind us that Christmas is not about the commercial aspects, but about giving.

I'll Be Home was next up. In this one we meet Starr who has returned home for the holidays after losing her job. It is packed for of family drama-- including a sister scheduled to marry her ex who had left her upon deciding he liked her sister better. Ouch! You can only imagine the drama that follows. In the midst of this, Starr reconnects with her brother's best friend and sparks fly! This was probably my favorite story of the bunch... I loved the family dynamics, the romance... and I have to say all the Christmas themed names throughout made me smile too. It was just a really fantastic story and one that I definitely did not want to end.

Season of Change was a bit different than the others in this collection in that it didn't feel quite as much like a Christmas story to me. The timeline on this one started earlier and so most of the story really didn't take place at Christmas at all. Still, it was an interesting story and a fun addition to this collection. Again, I loved the family dynamics in this story, and found the characters to be really unique and endearing. I would love to revisit these characters again!

The 12 Dates of Christmas would make a great Christmas RomCom movie. To be honest, I really wasn't a fan of the leading lady Reagan at first. It seemed to me that she held a lot of grudges for seemingly innocent events... but then aren't many of us guilty of that? It made for an interesting story as we watched her walls break down with each date. By the end I was rooting for her and for her relationship with Alex.

Overall, these are all great lighthearted holiday reads. There were some I enjoyed more than others, but all left me with a smile, which truly is what I look for in a holiday read. Fans of clean holiday romances will certainly want to check out this collection!