More Christmas fun/murder with "Murder & Mistletoe: A Necessary Evils Anthology." All by fabulous Onley James. The anthology is not published yet, but I've read all of the stories/series Onley shared via her email subscription group the last 12 days.
["Welcome to the most chaotic Mulvaney Christmas yet. The roads are iced over, the mansion is packed with littles, and one very overdue baby has decided that now is their time to shine.
When Cricket’s water breaks in the middle of a snowstorm, she skips the ambulance and drives herself straight to the Mulvaney Mansion where her midwife is supposed to meet her. The problem? The storm has other ideas.
As family members fight the weather to make it home, everything spirals beautifully out of control. Mac and Archer are trapped in a Christmas village nightmare. Adam and Noah are up to their usual questionable-but-consensual shenanigans. Arlo and Dimitri are stranded roadside. Atticus and Jericho are stuck in a car. The core four are enjoying some rare alone time. And the littles are warm, fed, and absolutely thriving under Thomas and Aiden’s supervision.
Then the midwife doesn’t show.
What follows is a full-blown holiday free-for-all: Atticus steps in to deliver the baby, the feelings faction dances Cricket through labor, Archer teaches the kids how to gamble using cookies, and the Mulvaney household does what it does best: closes ranks and handles the chaos together.
Murder & Mistletoe delivers snowbound mayhem, feral found family, soft moments, filthy humor, and love in all its unhinged forms. Cameos abound, couples steal moments wherever they can, and the next generation proves they were absolutely raised in this madness on purpose."]
I loved how these short stories all took place in one evening, in just a few short hours. Most of them were simultaneous. It was clever and cute and totally perfect. It was all also totally Mulvaney. Lots of spice, lots of found family, lots of love. Not nearly as much murder and mayhem as I had anticipated.
I gotta say, I think in this set of stories, I do have a favorite or two. Story. Favorite couple? It still constantly changes. Each new story, each new fact, each new fan art. We get to know them more and more, and unlike a certain author (she-who-must-not-be-named), getting all of this new information makes these character feel more real. We get to watch them grow up and continue to grow together as their families grow and their children grow up.
I definitely missed a few updates, because I'm not up-to-date on the Jericho's Boys series or The Watch series...or the Halloween serial. But the minor and temporary confusion was worth it. Especially after that final section (family, love, safety, a real childhood, breaking generational trauma).
There might be more when this gets officially published, but for now, I'm more than pleased. Merry (Mulvaney...or non-Mulvaney...you do you) Christmas.
Trigger Warnings: A few references but nothing major actually...for once.
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