Four of Romance's hottest authors present holiday
tales filled with love and laughter.
Dear St. Nicholas –
What we’d really like for Xmas this year is:
An Irish Estate
A Family
Mountains of Sugarplums (Too Fattening)
A Quiet Elopement
Someone to (burn) close down all the London clubs – (like White’s)!
OR
Marriage to a Man who is Honest, Loving, Sexy, Handsome, and Titled. But we
know there aren’t enough of those to go around… are there?
---Respectfully,
Four hopeful English Ladies
P.S. Caroline would really, really like Lord Rochester’s son, if he’s at all
available.
♥ ♥ ♥
This was an incredibly entertaining
collection of Christmas tales that can be enjoyed any time of the year!
I Will by Lisa Kleypas:
A fabulous offering by Lisa Kleypas, I Will was so very
well-written and evocative of nineteenth century London. As always, Kleypas
surpasses all expectations and leaves you with a smile on your face.
Andrew Rochester, Lord Drake, is a notorious rake and is entirely
unapologetic about it, until his circumstances change and he finds himself
in need of a morally upstanding young woman to carry out a farce of a
courtship. All to get back into his father’s good graces. Enter Miss
Caroline Hargreaves, if anyone is morally upstanding… it’s Caroline. She
thoroughly disapproves of everything Andrew finds entertaining and is
appalled that her own brother so looks up to Lord Drake. When he makes an
offer she can’t really refuse, the stage is set for an interesting journey
to love. Andrew and Caroline were great foils for each other, and I was
moved by Caroline’s eventual belief in Andrew and his innate goodness. As
it’s a novella, I absolutely can’t tell you more without giving anything
away, suffice it to say that you won’t want to miss out on I Will
by Lisa Kleypas!
Puddings, Pastries and Thou by Lisa Cach:
Lisa Cach is a new author for me, and I was glad that I took the chance on a
new-to-me author, even if it was part of the package deal that is an
anthology. Ms. Cach has unique and amusing voice that will be added to my
list of authors to buy!
Vivian Ambrose is the “poor relation”, and has been since she was orphaned
at a young age. She’s been handed the short end of the stick on more than
one occasion and finds all she wants in life, other than a full stomach, is
a family to love and take care of. Richard Brent is an incredibly outspoken
man, who uses his brash speech as a way to protect a heart that has been
wounded too many times. He has his own wants and needs, and finds he’s
fascinated by Miss Ambrose’s plain speaking. I found myself more than once
laughing out loud at the verbal fencing between these two characters and was
thoroughly charmed by their honest pursuit of happiness. I find I’ll be
looking for more offerings from Lisa Cach in the future.
Union by Claudia Dain:
Union by Claudia Dain was another fresh new voice in Historical
romance, in my honest opinion. While she may not be new to others, she is
new to me, and I enjoyed her offering in this set of Christmas tales.
Clarissa Walingford is the only girl within a family of TEN brothers! She
has lived her life studying the ins and outs of the male brain. She is
willing to do her duty by her family which means marrying and marrying well…
she’s just not very happy about it as she doesn’t want to marry an
Englishman! Beau, Lord Montwyn, is in the market for a wife, and he is
fascinated by Clarissa and her blunt admission that she too is in the market
for marriage. He believes, despite her impertinence, that she is the perfect
choice for a wife, and sets about convincing her of the same thing. I had a
blast watching these two headstrong people try to maneuver each other in the
same direction, with quite a bit of meddling from Clarissa’s overbearing,
and overlarge family. The surprise revelation near the end makes for an even
deeper story than one expects in a novella, and I enjoyed every second of
reading Union.
All I Want by Lynsay Sands
I have long been a fan of Lynsay Sands, she has a way of bringing a unique
sense of fun to her books, and All I Want was no exception. This
was a wonderful ending to an already stellar collection of stories.
Prudence Prescott is determined to stop her father from gambling and
drinking away her family’s fortune. As they are one step away from debtor’s
prison, she will do anything to stop the downward spiral. Stephen Ballard,
Lord Stockton, is the owner of one of the more popular gambling halls, where
Prudence’s father spends most of his time. Unaware of her family’s plight,
Stephen is stunned to encounter Prudence on the very steps of his
establishment, risking her social ruin in the process. What follows are some
of the most hilarious mishaps as Prudence goes forward with some rather
outlandish plots to get her father to see the error of his ways. This lively
tale kept me snickering as each mishap brought Pru and Stephen closer and
closer to love.
I have to say all in all, Wish List is a fabulous offering by four
incredibly talented authors. No matter what time of the year, this Holiday
collection will warm your heart and spice up your life. You would do well to
keep it in mind if you are a lover of historical romances with loads of
humor and heat.
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