Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

"Making Spirits Bright" is four individual stories by Fern Michaels, Elizabeth Bass, Rosalind Noonan and Nan Rossiter. Each story takes place during the Christmas season, but this is a good book that I would read any time of the year.

”Making Spirits Bright” by Fern Michaels is about a single woman wanting a child so badly that she decides to try and adopt. Melanie goes to an agency that gives her anything but hope about becoming a mom, but that doesn’t stop Melanie from going through all of the necessary steps. At a Christmas party, she meets Bryce Landry, an old acquaintance, and instant sparks fly between them. Together Melanie and Bryce work through their demons and together they conquer all, finding love and much more.

“Runaway Christmas” by Elizabeth Bass shares with us the unhappiness of thirteen year old Erica, since the death of her mother and her father’s new wife and baby. Erica is feeling forgotten and unloved as she believes that her family has no time for her. She decides she will run away to spend Christmas with her Aunt Heidi in New York. Heidi too is feeling alone and lonesome. She has closed her café for the Christmas weekend, planning to spend the weekend in her pajamas watching old movies. Heidi’s plans soon include her niece, her upstairs neighbor’s young son and a blackout. She reopens the café, because it has lights and heat, it soon becomes a haven for several people in the neighborhood. As the weekend continues, love is realized, and we witness a roomful of strangers becoming friends and falling in love.

“Home for Christmas” by Rosalind Noonan takes place in the small perfect town of our dreams. Jo Truman is the owner of a Christmas shop that people visit all year long. Across the street is the beautiful country inn that is the center of Woodstock. Jo’s family is a big part of the success of the community and has lived here for many years. We soon feel Jo’s pain for the finance who was killed in a skiing accident and for the inn’s rumored sale. (the owner is trying to sell to a big-time realtor who will tear it down and build a new modern spa hotel). Sam Norwood is recently home from the service and has suffered injuries which have deformed his face. Sam is battling with the embarrassment of these scars and trying to decide how to fit in again back home in Woodstock. We share the ups and downs with Jo and Sam as they together work through their personal problems, as well as finding a way to save the Inn.

“Christmas on Cape Cod” by Nan Rossiter is the story of a little boy, Noah, whose parents have been in an accident, his new dad Asa, whom he loves very much, and Maddie, a woman trying to help both man and boy to get through the Christmas season as they travel to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Cape Cod. A small Christmas tree, a puppy and some Glug change the lives of Asa, Noah and Maddie forever. We share their memories and watch them grow and join together in love.

These four stories will make you cry and make you laugh. Each story is a “make you feel good, I can’t help but smile” with a “few tears mixed in” experience. We share in the many different ways of finding love and happiness found in each story. This book is a true winner for Fern Michaels, Elizabeth Bass, Rosalind Noonan and Nan Rossiter.