The Perfect Gift (Mackenzies Series) - Mackenzie Family Christmas

I'm in love with the entire MacKenzie series, and this one was no different. I thought this was a great addition to the series. It's a wonderful holiday read that caught up on what was going on in each MacKenzies' life and their wives. Very sweet story.

I really enjoyed the Mackenzie family in this book. Kept me on edge. I didn't want to put it down. I hope to read more on the family. This book makes you believe you could be right there. I love these types of books.

If you are a fan of historical romances and Jennifer Ashley, this is a great add on book to the Mackenzie series. Not as solid as her single books because the whole family is appearing in this book, but it's nice to revisit someof your favorite characters here. Very enjoyable and entertaining.

I'm obsessed with the Mackenzies and their book series, my favorite being The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, so I really enjoyed that a lot of the book centered around Ian and Beth. This book seemed mostly aimed at die hard fans who want to have updates on the other couples in the series who are only revisited briefly in subsequent books. There was a lot of romance, but not much "erotica" or steamy scenes like in the other Mackenzie books. But again, I love the other Mackenzie novels so I was ok with that.

This is a great book of family coming together. The author weaves stories that make you come repeatedly. The Mackenzies are strong loving men who take care of their women and enthusiasticly keep the fires burning in all our hearts!

The Mackenzie series is perhaps the most engaging books Jennifer Ashley has written to date. There is just something really special about these intense, rough, delish brothers. If you have read the first four novels in the series, this novella is a nice companion to them. If you haven't, grab and read Ian's tale first. He is my favorite! I loved spending more time with him reading this little gem.

I knew this was going to be a delightful experience even as Iread the blurbs and was saving this up for to read when I would be on Holiday and sure enough it was. We get to spend some time with each member of the family we have caome to know and love and there are some tantalizing hints of other treats to come. Ms. Ashley is a mistress of her craft and I hope she keeps churning out her masterpieces for a long time to come

It was truly a fabulous, and joyous story. The best dollar I've spend this Christmas.

I love the Mackenzie's! They are my absolute favorite Historical family, and this novel is simply perfect. We get to meet everyone from the Mackenzie brothers to their wives, their children, and even the McBride's. Everyone narrated parts of the story, and I know it sounds confusing, but Jennifer Ashley did a fantastic job differentiating the narrator, and making it entertaining.

I'm not sharing the story because it was special, and I don't want to give anything away. What I loved the most about this book was that we get to see a lot of Daniel, few teasers about Sinclair McBride, glimpses of Louise & Fellows romance, and all in all The Mackenzie Family Christmas is the Perfect holiday read. If you want to buy one book for the holiday, this would be the best choice.

I just love the Mackenzie series. This is a cute little add on to the series, and it made me all snuffly when Ian showed off his gift.

My only quibble with the WHOLE series (not just this book) is that who the heck names their new baby after a dead baby?! That's just...weird and sort of insulting to the new kid - like "hey you don't get to be an individual, okay? You have to live out our hopes and dreams for the first you that sadly, died. You're the new puppy, go get your dead sibling's chew toy!". So freaking strange.

AND....that's a terrible horrible name anyway. Gah! Most of the names in the series are GOOD, but that name?! Purely awful.

Read/Listened for Fun (Kindle/Audible)
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 5.00

Audio Rating: 5.00 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: A Mackenzie Family Christmas is a must read for those that have read the series so far.

Overall Thoughts: Super short review: Read this book and get all the warm fuzzies. For a very tortured family it was nice to see most of them happy and surrounded by love!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Angela Dawe / Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins

Angela rocked it! :)

Final Thoughts: Love this series! It is a must read for historical romance fans.

The Mackenzie Family Christmas is a terrific novella just in time for Christmas. The story focuses around the Mackenzie family waiting for Eleanor and Hart's first baby to be born and finding the perfect gifts for each other, with the entire family pitching in to help find a replacement Ming bowl for Ian when his is broken leaving his wife, Beth, heartbroken.

If you've read the first four of the Highland Pleasures series, then the Mackenzie Family Christmas is a must read. We get to catch up with the wild Mackenzie men (especially my personal favorite, Lord Ian) and their captivating brides, babies and extended families from the first four books.

I wouldn't recommend reading it as a stand-alone as it contains a lot of spoilers. But if you're looking for a new historical romance series, then start Highland Pleasures. The Mackenzie men are strong, hot, and determined in their pursuits. The ladies aren't shrinking violets and content to let the men call all the shots...they hold their own against the fierce Mackenzies. The series is full of humor, action, and hot romance. The Seduction of Elliot McBride, Book 5, comes out December 31, 2012.

Have you ever wondered that actually happens when you finish a story and "they lived happily ever after"? Jennifer Ashley with Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift gives a delicious insight into what that looks like for all four of the MacKenzie marriages.

As in the real world, the family dynamics and the Christmas Holiday make for a interesting series of events that can range from funny to potentially heartbreaking.

What makes this story delightful is that each of the four brothers and their wives get their moment in the spotlight, so regardless of who is your favorite you have wonderful treat in store for you.

This book doesn't read like a novella. Jennifer packs a lot of story into this one.

Ah, Jennifer, the title could not be better. Such a wonderous gift you have given us.
A short read but complete. Unfortunately, this is a story that would not do well as a stand alone. Reading the books about the MacKenzie brothers previously, enriches this gift. As a stand alone ,I would imagine that the tale might not be colored so brightly.
I, LOVE the Mackenzies.! Ms. Ashley has created four wealthy braw,,eccentric Highlanders.and the women they love. This is about their first holiday together as men . It includes wives, children, dogs, servants, friends and horses and sex . Buy this and go to a warm fuzzy place. You won't be sorry.

Poor story lines, poor character development, wrong period terminology used, and VERY boring! It was so bad I had a hard time focusing on what I was reading and keeping all of the characters straight. I ended up skimming threw pages after a while just so I could through the book, in hopes there would be good parts. There was not. It was a waste of my time.
I sure am glad it was free.

A Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift by Jennifer Ashley was brilliant; as an adoring fan of the Mackenzie Clan, thank you Ms. Ashley for this wonderful and enchanting story, it was a perfect look into the Mackenzie brother's continual growth as individuals, as a family unit and the undying love they have for one another. Daniel's story as he comes into his own should be extremely interesting and of course, let's not forget Fellows whom they have embraced as a true member of their family. The short insight given of the McBride characters should also make for some very interesting future stories.

As I understand it, This small novel includes all of the main characters in the series.
Although it does not take place at the beginning of the series, it works perfectly well as a story with no need to have read any of the other books, In fact, after reading about small parts of their stories, I am now looking forward to reading about these brothers and their lives.

After reading, and loving, The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, I tried the one featuring Cam and Whatshername but just didn't love it as much, lost steam and moved on to other stories and series. Then I found this novella, a kind of epilogue for all the MacKenzie brothers and their spouses, and was totally charmed. This convinced me to read about Hart and Eleanor, Mac and Ainsley and whoever else I didn't get to. It's fun, even if you aren't familiar with all the stories in the series leading up to it, in other words.

I knew this was going to be a delightful experience even as Iread the blurbs and was saving this up for to read when I would be on Holiday and sure enough it was. We get to spend some time with each member of the family we have caome to know and love and there are some tantalizing hints of other treats to come. Ms. Ashley is a mistress of her craft and I hope she keeps churning out her masterpieces for a long time to come

I really enjoyed getting to catch up on the Mackenzie family. I haven't read all the books further into the series but hopefully I will be able to this year. I thought the writing was wonderful and the author did a great job incorporating all the characters into one story. It was very satisfying to see all the brothers happy and content.

This book is perfect. I've always wondered what happens to characters, after their book ends. More authors should write stories like this one.
If you have read any books on the McKenzie family, then you already know them. If you haven't, you'll still enjoy it, but you really should read the rest. They're entertaining as well as educational and this book doesn't spoil anything for future additions to the clan.
You'll laugh, cry and smile, all in one chapter. There's nothing like a happy family, at Christmas.
If you don't own this, you should.

I couldn't get past the first chapters. This definitely was not a stand alone book. I felt like had been dropped in to something and the author assumed i knew everyone including brothers, spouses, children and people who had died. Too many people to keep track of introduced all at once.

I liked this as a revisit of the MacKenzie brothers and their wives and children all together for the Christmas holidays,Scottish style.
My favorite brother,Ian, and his wife's struggles were focused on the most, and so I was happy.
She let you into a little of each brother's life, however, and wove it all together very skillfully.
It was overall a very heartwarming tale with just enough struggles and drama to keep you reading, but not too much.
I would recommend this highly for fans of Jennifer Ashley's MacKenzie series.

Jennifer Ashley is just great - one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed Mackenzie family Christmas very much as I am currently busy reading through the Mackenzie series. Finding all my favorite characters from previous books pleased me no end. Well done JA, keep them coming.

I really enjoyed the Mackenzie family in this book. Kept me on edge. I didn't want to put it down. I hope to read more on the family. This book makes you believe you could be right there. I love these types of books.

I feel like Jennifer Ashley has given me a personal gift with this novella - Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift - and I loved it. A delightful family reunion that gives us a peek inside all four of the Mackenzie brothers' lives now that each is happily married. We also are given hints for future books in the series, Elliot is pre -ordered... This book is a pleasure from beginning to end, thank you for this treat Jennifer!

Way too much backstory missing making this book hard to follow. Not much substance to the story. Big on fluff not much detail. Would not recommend unless you've already read the series leading up to it.

One can get lost and very involved and intimate with this family. Real people, real quirks, vastly differing personalities, yet beneath all a true family love, loyalty and acceptance of each others uniqueness. Loved it.

I liked seeing the whole family together and at which point they are in their lives. I particularly liked the showing of Ian's emotions. Having an autistic in one's family is no easy matter, but everybody seem to handle it pretty well.