Christmas Wishes, Christmas Gifts (By Request 2's)
The Heart of Christmas/ Her Secret Santa
Containing two full-length novels by two top Harlequin series authors, "Christmas Wishes, Christmas Gifts" is just the thing to get you and your readers into the holiday spirit! The Heart of Christmas by Tara Taylor Quinn With her business sold and her family out of reach, Abby Hayden's at loose ends. But if Abby doesn't have enough to occupy her time, Dr. Nick Monroe has too much. So many people rely on him for help and guidance. No wonder Abby calls him St. Nick. Nick has a proposition for Abby, one he thinks will benefit them both. He persuades her to work at a home he's established for pregnant teens, girls who'll be giving up their babies for adoption. That's where Abby learns she has a special gift: she knows how to make these girls feel loved and valued, despite their mistakes, despite their fears and lost confidence. And she receives a special gift herself - her very own St. Nick. Not just this Christmas, but for all the Christmases to come! Her Secret Santa by Day Leclaire Mathias Blackstone is either Seattle's own version of Scrooge or Santa Claus... Mathias Blackstone has a reputation for ruthlessness. He's in the procurement business: whatever you want - gold, diamonds, secrets - he can get! But there's another side to his operation he prefers to keep quiet: every Christmas, Mathias Blackstone procures wishes.... But despite his ability to deputize for Santa, something is missing from Mathias's world, and has been since the death of his young son. Then he meets children's writer Jacqueline Randell. For one of his young clients, meeting Jacqueline Randell is a wish come true And the more Mathias Blackstone woos Jacqueline, the more he begins to suspect...that Jacqueline Randell is his Christmas wish, too!
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Romance, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Romance · Fiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Warm tone · Steady pace
Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.
A good fit if…
Readers looking for a substantial, immersive commitment with room for a world or argument to unfold.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3732-1736-6
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL10742411M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.
Begin with its place in Romance, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- What must each character learn before the relationship can become believable?
- How do work, family, friendship, or identity shape the central relationship?
- Does the emotional resolution feel earned by the choices that came before it?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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Why it fits: shares Fiction and Romance, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Love in the Time of Cholera
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Why it fits: shares Fiction and Romance, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Real Thing
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Why it fits: shares Romance and Fiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
A Passionate Development
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Why it fits: shares Romance and Fiction, a similar publication era.