Rule #1: Stick to plain black in cold weather Chicago lawyer Mallory Trent has always followed her mother's rules for being practical. But that won't attract attorney Carter Compton, the gorgeous package she'd love to unwrap this Christmas! Rule #2: When you travel, don't leave any dirty laundry behind When they're sent to Manhattan for a case, Mallory wishes she'd left all her sensible clothes behind. While Carter discusses legal briefs, she fantasizes about "debriefing" him—out of his boxers! So she calls ImageMakers, which promises "a new you." Rule #3: Never lose control Sporting a sexy red suit and a new attitude, Mallory corners the surprised lawyer under the mistletoe. His hard evidence proves that losing control may not be sensible, but when was sensible ever exciting?

From the manger of Jesus Christ to the 21st century, this encyclopedia explores more than 2,000 years of Christmas past and present through 966 entries packed with a wide variety of historical and pop-culture subjects. Entries detail customs and traditions from around the world as well as classic Christmas movies, TV series/specials and animated cartoons. Arranged alphabetically by entry name, the book includes the historical background of popular sacred and secular songs as well as accounts of beloved literary works with Christmas themes from such noted authors as Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, Pearl Buck, Henry Van Dyke and others. All things Christmas are available here in one comprehensive volume.

Film plays a vital role in the celebration of Christmas. For decades, it has taught audiences about what the celebration of the season looks like – from the decorations to the costumes and to the expected snowy weather – as well as mirrors our own festivities back to us. Films like It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone have come to play key roles in real-life domestic celebrations: watching such titles has become, for many families, every bit as important as tree-trimming and leaving cookies out for Santa. These films have exported the American take on the holiday far and wide and helped us conjure an image of the perfect holiday. Rather than settling the ‘what is a Christmas film?’ debate – indeed, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are discussed within – Analyzing Christmas in Film: Santa to the Supernatural focuses on the how Christmas is presented on the deluge of occasions when it appears. While most Christmas films are secular, religion makes many cameos, appearing through Nativity references, storylines involving spiritual rebirth, the framing of Santa as a Christ-like figure and the all-importance of family, be it the Holy family or just those gathered around the dining table. Also explored are popular narratives involving battles with stress and melancholy, single parents and Christmas martyrs, visits from ghosts and angels, big cities and small towns, break-ups and make-ups and the ticking clock of mortality. Nearly 1000 films are analyzed in this volume to determine what the portrayal of Christmas reveals about culture, society and faith as well as sex roles, consumerism, aesthetics and aspiration.

A comprehensive Holiday look at the films that are the joyful part of the year and our lives. The story of the film people who bring you joy during the holiday season. Plus many other Christmas traditions, customs, decorative ideas, and other tales as well as facts from this festive time! Plus a Christmas Media Trivia Quiz.

This multinational, multidisciplinary collection of essays focuses on Hallmark Channel movies and Hallmark’s position in the changing North American media landscape. This book covers the ‘Countdown to Christmas’ offerings, year-round productions, made-for-TV mysteries and romances, Hallmark’s use of specific filming locations, and its relationship to viewer desires. Chapters examine Hallmark’s position in a changing sociopolitical context and the tensions the company must navigate in creating more “progressive” content; they discuss issues of gender, race, sexuality, and place, as well as analyzing the extensive ranges and reactions of social media participants and interrogating the nature of Hallmark’s popularity. Suitable for scholars and students of film and tv and popular culture studies, this is a multifaceted look at both Hallmark and its viewers at a particular moment of Hallmark’s market dominance.

Collect the selected author Harlequin comics! Vol. 2 is Natsue Ogoshi. Includes "Mistletoe Over Manhattan","The Purchased Wife","Bedding His Virgin Mistress","The Christmas Love-Child","Blackmailing the Society Bride","The Dominant Male" free preview of 6 comics!

Blythe Padgett isn't thrilled her roommate's arranged a blind date for her. It also doesn't help that she forgets to tell Blythe his name. So when she runs into a sexy stranger in their building during a blackout, Blythe assumes it's him. Luckily he's hot—so hot, she sheds both her inhibitions and her clothes! But when the lights come back on, she finds out he wasn't her date after all…! Getting stuck in an elevator isn't how reporter Max Laughton expected to meet his date. He's especially surprised when the cute little redhead propositions him that same evening! Fortunately, Max has always had trouble saying no! Then, when he finds out he slept with the wrong woman, Max doesn't think there's a problem. Now he just has to convince Blythe how right things can be between them!

A brief trip to Dallas for a wedding offers veterinarian Cecily Connaught a chance to break her sexual dry spell and seduce a man, but she fears she's forgotten how. When she bumps into gorgeous Will Murchison, she's ecstatic. The hunk from her past would be a perfect one-night stand, she thinks—until Cecily learns he's taken. What she doesn't realize, though, is Will isn't married. But he's using the misunderstanding to ensure he's the guy who fulfills sexy Cecily's needs….

A city, a movie star, and one magical year. In November of 1954 a young woman dressed plainly in a white oxford, dark sunglasses and a black pageboy wig boards a midnight flight from Los Angeles to New York. As the plane’s engines rev she breathes a sigh of relief, lights a cigarette and slips off her wig revealing a tangle of fluffy blonde curls. Marilyn Monroe was leaving Hollywood behind, and along with it a failed marriage and a frustrating career. She needed a break from the scrutiny and insanity of LA. She needed Manhattan. In Manhattan, the most famous woman in the world can wander the streets unbothered, spend hours at the Met getting lost in art, and afternoons buried in the stacks of the Strand. Marilyn begins to live a life of the mind in New York; she dates Arthur Miller, dances with Truman Capote and drinks with Carson McCullers. Even though she had never lived there before, in New York, Marilyn is home. In Marilyn in Manhattan, the iconic blonde bombshell is not only happy, but successful. She breaks her contract with Fox Studios to form her own production company, a groundbreaking move that makes her the highest paid actress in history and revolutionizes the entertainment industry. A true love letter to Marilyn, and a joyous portrait of a city bursting with life and art, Marilyn in Manhattan is a beautifully written, lively look at two American treasures: New York and Marilyn Monroe, and sheds new light on one of our most enduring icons.