“How could I celebrate a season of happiness and love without you in my life?”
Hannah Maxwell
I usually have trouble with anthologies because they tend to be a mixed bag. This one is no different, and it was hard to keep going because I didn’t like the first three novellas. Fortunately, some standouts are worth reading. Four Calling Cards, Eight Ships A’sailing, and Nine Years ‘Til Christmas were my favorites.
Isabella Hargreaves – Married By Christmas
This novella is riddled with angst and drama, and not in a good way. Lauren and Oliver are a boring couple wallowing in their attraction to each other and agonizing over why they would not make a good couple. None of the other characters grew past their initial introductions. I was glad that this novella was only seven chapters long.
Joanne Austen Brown – A Partridge In His Family Tree
This novella is a fast-paced reunion of childhood friends. They use the premise of 12 gifts leading up to Christmas to reignite their childhood “love.” I use that term loosely since they were fourteen years old and haven’t seen each other since then. Their falling back in with each other truly feels rushed, and it isn’t helped by the utterly creepy villain, Enfield.
Ebony Oaten – Two Tempted Loves
It is not a good sign when I have to look up words because I’ve never heard of them (nadir, fossicked) starting in the first chapter. This would have the makings of a cute comedy of errors if it wasn’t so awkward. The winking is annoying, and Leo’s enjoyment of the chaos around him comes off as more mean-spirited than fun. Amelia seems to be wanting to run and hide when her mother and Leo start their antics, so the declarations of love feel like they came out of nowhere.
Ava January – Three French Men
This rambunctious tale is entertaining as three French men, and three English women fight over ownership of a house. Both parties have secrets to keep, and events spin from light-hearted to suspenseful and back. There is one part where Mary and Holly seem to be mixed up when being talked about, but that was the only grammatical issue I noticed.
Susanne Bellamy – Four Calling Cards
This is a moving novella about the soldiers who go to war and those who wait behind for them. Will, Clem, and Rufus are all endearing characters that play their parts well. Will and Clem’s love is a delicate but resolute link between them even after years apart.
Beverley Oakley – Five Golden Rings
This is a bittersweet novella about lost love. Beatrice is sweetly innocent, and Charlotte and Alexander dance around their feelings towards each other. I would have rated this one higher, but Katherine and George thoroughly irritated me.
Janis Linford – Six Belles Need Saving
This novella is a cute, slow-burn romance. Kitty is exceptionally strong-willed, to the point of being unreasonable. Thankfully, over time, her wilfulness is tempered by Gareth’s kindness and drive to save his estate.
Erin Grace – Seven Lords Proposing
Charlotte is in a tizzy after her suitors all take a joke literally and start sending her courting gifts. Jonas adds to the chaos by deciding to step in as a seventh suitor since he’s been in love with Charlotte for years. It’s fun and light-hearted.
I would have rated it five stars if not for its jarring editorial issues. Missed strikethroughs, characters called by the wrong name, and odd capitalization kept pulling me out of the story. One more editing pass would have made all the difference.
Catherine Bilson – Eight Ships A’sailing
Ava and Edmund are a delightful couple. Ava especially blossoms as she comes to trust that he will protect her. I especially appreciate that this novella didn’t fall into the secrets blowing up in your face trope. I noticed one geographical issue, but it wasn’t bad enough to affect my enjoyment.
Alison Stuart – Nine Years ‘Til Christmas
I enjoyed the time slip nature of this novella. Each chapter switched between when Fabien and Hannah first met, and when they are reunited. This is a sweet story.
Renée Dahlia – Ten Shipwrecked Books
I didn’t find either Rupert of Sofia likable. Rupert’s attitude and motivations aggravated me, and Sofia having a hissy fit because her husband’s culture didn’t live up to her ideals was irritating. There is a lot of contempt for the upper society in the Regency era being thrown about that made me wonder why the author chose that social level to write about if she hates it that much.
Pamela Hart – Eleven Christmas Pipers
This novella has a love triangle for widowed Elizabeth. Neither of the men meshed well with her. Will was obviously not supposed to, but Gavan’s pining from afar and deliberately going behind Elizabeth’s back to teach Robin rubbed me the wrong way. Elizabeth is clearly dealing with mild PTSD and deserved better.
Heidi Wessman Kneale – Twelve Drummers Coming To Dinner
Maude starts out as a boring little waif. I wasn’t expecting to like her as much as I did by the end. I expected them both to push back against the family more than they did, but they turned into a cute couple.
Not all of these novellas are worth reading, but there are enough good ones to make this anthology worth the time.
