“We’ve discussed this. Murdering the duke is not a plan.”
Maggie Ward
How the Dukes Stole Christmas is another anthology that didn’t match my expectations. I have enjoyed stories from Tessa Dare and Sarah MacLean in the past, so I was hopeful that I would at least enjoy their novellas. Unfortunately, Tessa Dare’s Meet Me in Mayfair was the only one I liked.
Meet Me in Mayfair – Tessa Dare
This novella centers on a fun nighttime stroll through Mayfair by James and Louisa. While Louisa is focused primarily on saving her family’s home, she doesn’t deliberately try to cross the line. Even though things snowball as they often do in romance novels.
There are funny moments and soft ones as they grow closer together. For example, impromptu caroling and a snowball fight were amusing fun after a disastrous ball. In some of their conversations, there are echoes of Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride & Prejudice.
Overall, this novella was an entertaining read.
The Duke of Christmas Present – Sarah MacLean
Something rubbed me the wrong way about Jack from the start of this novella. From how she dropped herself back into Eben’s life with the bombshell that she was getting married to how she chose to leave him 12 years earlier, I found her callous and uncaring.
The male characters are rarely the ones I like better, but Lawton and Eben are more relatable than Jack and Aunt Jane. That’s not to say that Eben didn’t have his own issues, but I found him a much more sympathetic character than her.
Even the sweet ending wasn’t enough to save this fruitcake.
Heiress Alone – Sophie Jordan
This Home Alone-esqe tale started well but slid downhill after reaching Glencrainn. Fenella and Mrs. Benfiddy forcing Annis to stay in Calder’s room was just the start of the snowball effect. Annis acting like a ninny til the end was just the icing on the cake, which is a pity because I liked her at the beginning.
I fully support Calder’s distaste for Annis’s family. They seem to be wretched, self-absorbed people without familial regard for each other. I enjoyed his concern for his people and those nearby. Unfortunately, the story swung back and forth between that and his single-minded focus on getting Annis into bed. Oddly, his internal thoughts are to try to woo her, but he makes no move until Mrs. Benfiddy gives him a proverbial kick in the pants.
Adding in an obviously treacherous household staff member was yawn-worthy when it came. I was happy to see the end of this novella and this couple.
Christmas in Central Park – Joanna Shupe
Rose is desperate to keep her job. Duke is desperate to keep his company. Desperate people do desperate things, and in this case, Rose digs herself into a hole of lies by agreeing to host a dinner party as her alter-ego, Mrs. Walker. It is incredibly hard to root for someone who knows they’re being dishonest, no matter how many enablers they have. Duke deliberately flirting with and seducing someone he believes is married doesn’t endear him to me, either.
Honestly, I felt like Rose got what she deserved when everything blew up in her face. I expected nothing less when Duke was so adamant about those working for him having integrity. I’m not saying that he was faultless. He wielded his power over Rose like a cudgel, backing her into a corner over the dinner party and making shortbread cookies for an audience.
Rose and Duke might have their happily ever after, but I feel like I ate one of Rose’s cookies.
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