This was an interesting trilogy of NASCAR related holiday theme stories. All three were enjoyable in varying ways.

The first story, Ladies, Start Your Engines... was more technically inclined with lots of mechanic intensive lingo to go along with the reinstatement of a former relationship. In this story Savannah is the sole daughter of Calloway Family Racing and wannabe mechanic. Unfortunately she had spent her life acting as fill-in for her dead mother/hostess for her father and mother to her younger brothers along with filling the role of PR specialist and secretary for the team. When her father decides it is time for her to go out and marry so he can have grandchildren, her fires her from the team. This leads Savannah to seek her fortune elsewhere, namely with her family's former driver and her years ago one night stand, Mackenzie Briggs. Now with a new team Mac knows he can get into the top three for the Chase, and Savannah knows she can help with this with the right tweaking to his car. This short was well written although I found the technical parts a little overdone. Probably because I hear enough of it from my husband without reading about it in my romances LOL! How Savannah allows herself to be pushed around by her family is a little exasperating but how she winds up dealing with it all shows some great character development. Actually, for a short story all the character personalities come across strong, clear and primarily developed, which was very nice, making this my second favorite of the trilogy.

'Tis the Silly Season relied more on the development of the characters' relationships than the racing itself when driver, Clay Slater, hires out of work waitress, Lisa Mahoney, to pose as his wife to help woo a prospective sponsor. This was certainly the short with the most Christmasy theme as Lisa takes on the challenge of acting as a wife to give her children their first ever real Christmas, complete with tree and gifts she wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. I really liked this one, although it did seem over the top for a sponsor to require a driver to be married to be considered as a driver. But, for all I know those kind of situations exist, I know the quest for sponsors in NASCAR is a competitive and necessary one. I liked both Clay and Lisa along with Lisa's two sons, particularly the somber Keith. It was nice that both leads were imperfect and made mistakes while trying to accomplish their personal goals. This was my favorite of the three.

Unbreakable was the third story and as it started off it rather grated on my nerves as it was all about image. The author seemed overly obsessive about the ideas of health and fitness in the NASCAR sport and her lead character of Dr. Maxine Gray reflected the obsession. I just don't see the basis of proving that drivers and their teams are athletes in the traditional sense of the word, its not really something I care about one way or the other. Really, the entire premise of the short seemed to be based on how the media and public can be lead around by propaganda imagined up about the drivers. However, I did like the other aspects of the story as Dr. Gray and Rush, the driver, got to know each other, although they both were rather goody-goody types. Despite the fact that this story wasn't my favorite I still did enjoy it for the most part, even if it may not seem so from what I've said here.

Overall I think this is a well balanced Christmas/NASCAR themed anthology with the main themes being diverse enough within the context of the genre. In each story the characters were relatable and all were pretty well developed, especially considering the brevity of page space each were given. As always with any NASCAR romance (at least any that I've read so far) the bedroom scenes are of the "fade to black" type and there really isn't anything to offend even the most sensitive sensibilities. I also found it interesting enough to read the entire book in one day. Really, very cute and I would certainly recommend the anthology for lovers of sweet, contemporary romances who also enjoy NASCAR. ( )

http://booksbypickles.blogspot.com/2008/01/jens-review-nascar-holiday-anthology.... ( )

Roxanne St. Claire author of Killer Curves,certainly knows racing and NASCAR. 'TIS THE SILLY SEASON featuring a sweet waitress and her boys and one hot race car driver will entertain every reader this Holiday season! TIS THE SILLY SEASON IS NOMINATED FOR 2007 RITA.

I didn't know what to expect with this NASCAR book as there has been all sorts of discussions about keeping the NASCAR family image and would this be another great St. Claire read? Well it is and more. It's about the joy and spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of love. Roxanne's two main characters Clay and Lisa are quite a team and the sparks fly between them immediately. Then throw in two adorable boys who have never celebrated Christmas, a family short of money, a race car driver who loves the challenge of speed and success and oooooh what a mix. All I can say is this author has once again provided her readers with one entertaining read. ( )