The Addictive Reads Winter Gift Collection is a selection of seven uplifting short stories and novellas written by the award-winning and best-selling authors of the Addictive Reads cooperative to brighten those cold winter days. Each story will take around an hour to read, perfect for those small bits of down-time when you need to de-stress around the hectic holiday season. In these pages you will find tales of second chances, holidays spent with family, and a dash of romance. Each submission is a complete story, with no rude cliff-hangers or additional reading necessary, although some of them tie in to existing book series. Included in this box set are the following stories: Jade O'Reilly and the 12 Days of Christmas - by Amazon and B&N best-selling authorTamara Ward. For the 12 days leading up to Christmas, the crankiest old biddy in Sweetwater wakes up to a yard filled with Christmas decorations. But in her opinion, “they’re not decorations; they’re property damage!” Private investigator Jade O'Reilly is on the job, but the decorator strikes with stealth that rivals Santa’s elves. Will Jade catch the decorator before Christmas? Rated PG-13. "I recommend this short story to anyone who enjoys a fun, quick-paced mystery, or has a thing for plaid-lined combat boots and plastic utensils. I'll see you in Sweetwater!" —Reader review Everything to Lose - by Natalie G. Owens - From the suburbs of London to the old charm of Ascoli Piceno, Italy, follow the journey a broken couple must take to discover long-buried secrets that shattered their marriage. Rated R. "One of my favorite romantic themes is the husband and wife who have lost their way as a couple. As a married woman myself, one who has faced her share of marital turbulence, I always love to see stories about husbands and wives who … fight for their marriages and for love…" —Reader review Wrong Way Wayne - by D.D. Larsen - Look up loser in the dictionary and you’ll find Wayne—Wrong Way Wayne, to be exact. He’s spent most of his life deserving that definition, but now he’s determined to not let it define him. Not today. Not with his best shot at buying a farm. Is it Wayne’s destiny to always lose? And if so, can a loser win for losing? Rated G. "[A] quick, entertaining read, full of subtle-and not so subtle humor, with a refreshing tone and themes that will leave you with a hopeful smile…" —Reader review Mistletoe Mischief - by New York Times & USA Today best-selling author Stacey Joy Netzel - Christmas in July at the zoo is the last place single parents Eric Riley and Marissa Wilder expect to find love. Thanks to some mistletoe mischief in the form of their two young daughters and Santa, they discover mistletoe rules were not made to be broken. Rated PG-13. "This was a cute, quick read. Was clean and kept the theme throughout the story of how important children are. Was fun to read it during this Christmas season … had me chuckling more than a couple of times!" —Reader review The Gift - by Award-Winning Author Rhonda Hopkins - When workaholic Robert Chalmer's wife leaves to take care of her sick mother for two weeks, he is left with all the responsibility... including his seven-year-old daughter. With Christmas fast approaching, Robert must find a way to reconnect with what is most important in his life, or risk losing it forever. Rated G. Snow Dance - by USA Today Best-Selling Authors Alicia & Roy Street, winners of the Daphne du Maurier Award. A divorced Broadway dancer moves to a small town to open up a vintage clothing shop. She wants solitude and anonymity, but instead she finds herself involved with a troubled teenage girl, an elusive ghost, and a sexy local fisherman who makes her believe in second chances. Rated PG-13. "This book is a tender romance with real-life characters that will warm your heart and tug at your emotions." —Bestselling Author Rita Herron A Gothic Christmas Angel - Winner of the 2014 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBooks Award for Best Novella - by Anna Erishkigal - Dumped by her boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Cassie Baruch thought her pain would end when she aimed her car at an ancient beech tree. But when a gorgeous black-winged angel appears and tells her ‘this ain’t no stinking paranormal romance, kid,’ she realizes death hasn’t solved her problems. Can Jeremiel help her exorcise the ghosts of problems past and find a little closure? Rated PG-13. "Very few books move me to tears but this one did in the most glorious fashion. There is a message here, told with humor and grace. Wonderful!" —Reader review