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Signet Regency Christmas #9
A Regency Christmas IX
Have Yourself a Regency Christmas
Spend the holidays in Regency England this Christmas, courtesy of five beloved and bestselling authors who deliver heartwarming tales that will make you feel as if you've just been kissed beneath the mistletoe.
A bumbling elf wishes to help brokenhearted lovers reconcile before he delivers SANDRA HEATH's "The Solid Silver Chess Set."
When there's "No Room at the Inn." CARLA KELLY provides a widower's home for snowbound guests and a little love for their host.
EDITH LAYTON's "The Amiable Miser" distributes riches beyond wealth when he decides to play cupid for his young cousin.
Seeking an heir to her fortune, a widow challenges her family to a holiday scavenger hunt in "A Partridge in a Pear Tree" by AMANDA MCCABE.
A lord without a fortune becomes an unwilling guardian to an orphaned girl when he provides "A Home for Hannah" by BARBARA METZGER.
Spend the holidays in Regency England this Christmas, courtesy of five beloved and bestselling authors who deliver heartwarming tales that will make you feel as if you've just been kissed beneath the mistletoe.
A bumbling elf wishes to help brokenhearted lovers reconcile before he delivers SANDRA HEATH's "The Solid Silver Chess Set."
When there's "No Room at the Inn." CARLA KELLY provides a widower's home for snowbound guests and a little love for their host.
EDITH LAYTON's "The Amiable Miser" distributes riches beyond wealth when he decides to play cupid for his young cousin.
Seeking an heir to her fortune, a widow challenges her family to a holiday scavenger hunt in "A Partridge in a Pear Tree" by AMANDA MCCABE.
A lord without a fortune becomes an unwilling guardian to an orphaned girl when he provides "A Home for Hannah" by BARBARA METZGER.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
115 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Heath
87 books24 followersSandra Heath is the ever-popular author of numerous Regencies, historical romances, novellas, and short stories. Among other honors, she has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Best Regency Author and for Best Regency Romance. She lives in Gloucester, England, and can be contacted at sandraheath@bluey onder.co.uk.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 8, 2014
This book of holiday themed tales by well-known Regency authors offers five novellas in one volume.
In Layton's "The Amiable Miser," a young lady enjoys her work in her thrifty cousin's bookshop but dreams of romance. When a regular customer sends her nephews to choose a new book for her, Joy's whole world changes.
"A Home for Hannah" by Barbara Metzger is another departure from her typical light hearted style. Young Hannah has been raised in a "school" for girls for all of her six years and is about to be turned out onto the streets for not paying her bill. Gregory Bellington, Viscount Byson, is about to propose to an heiress in order to save the family home when Hannah appears in his life and turns his world upside down and leads him to the greatest happiness he has ever known.
In "Partridge in a Pear Tree," the eccentric Harriet, Lady Kirkwood comes up with a clever idea to decide who gets her personal fortune : the money will go to whichever of her relatives comes up with the most original way of locating the first seven of the items from the old song "12 Days of Christmas." With a little help from each other, Aunt Harriet and the kindness of strangers, two down-on-their-luck cousins find more happiness than they had ever dreamed was possible.
"The Solid Silver Chess Set" features an elf needing to redeem his reputation and two young lovers made miserable through misunderstandings. The three main characters find they can help each other get what they most desire.
Lastly, in "No Room at the Inn," a young lady discovers that she's not an Earl's daughter and must travel to a farm to live with the grandmother she never met. A snow storm forces her traveling party to stop at the home of her former cr
ush. The guests and the host help each other heal from old wounds and find love and happiness again. All of these stories are what one could consider heartwarming, given the time of year they are set. I found them to be too sentimental and corny for my tastes. The length precludes the authors from fully developing their characters and creating realistic plots. My favorite is "Partridge in a Pear Tree." It's clever and funny and realistic. My least favorite is "The Solid Silver Chess Set." The story would be a lot better without the elf, but even so I found the behavior of the heroine unrealistic. If you like heartwarming tales, especially Christmas ones, then I would recommend reading this volume.
In Layton's "The Amiable Miser," a young lady enjoys her work in her thrifty cousin's bookshop but dreams of romance. When a regular customer sends her nephews to choose a new book for her, Joy's whole world changes.
"A Home for Hannah" by Barbara Metzger is another departure from her typical light hearted style. Young Hannah has been raised in a "school" for girls for all of her six years and is about to be turned out onto the streets for not paying her bill. Gregory Bellington, Viscount Byson, is about to propose to an heiress in order to save the family home when Hannah appears in his life and turns his world upside down and leads him to the greatest happiness he has ever known.
In "Partridge in a Pear Tree," the eccentric Harriet, Lady Kirkwood comes up with a clever idea to decide who gets her personal fortune : the money will go to whichever of her relatives comes up with the most original way of locating the first seven of the items from the old song "12 Days of Christmas." With a little help from each other, Aunt Harriet and the kindness of strangers, two down-on-their-luck cousins find more happiness than they had ever dreamed was possible.
"The Solid Silver Chess Set" features an elf needing to redeem his reputation and two young lovers made miserable through misunderstandings. The three main characters find they can help each other get what they most desire.
Lastly, in "No Room at the Inn," a young lady discovers that she's not an Earl's daughter and must travel to a farm to live with the grandmother she never met. A snow storm forces her traveling party to stop at the home of her former cr
ush. The guests and the host help each other heal from old wounds and find love and happiness again. All of these stories are what one could consider heartwarming, given the time of year they are set. I found them to be too sentimental and corny for my tastes. The length precludes the authors from fully developing their characters and creating realistic plots. My favorite is "Partridge in a Pear Tree." It's clever and funny and realistic. My least favorite is "The Solid Silver Chess Set." The story would be a lot better without the elf, but even so I found the behavior of the heroine unrealistic. If you like heartwarming tales, especially Christmas ones, then I would recommend reading this volume.
December 14, 2013
Five simple but predictable Christmas-time romances by some popular Regency authors. IMHO, the best stories are the ones by Carla Kelly and Edith Layton. If you must feel the need to read the book, borrow it from the public library or a friend.
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December 5, 2023No Room at the Inn is contained in A Season of Love
October 9, 2025
Although mildly entertaining, these five stories had storylines that weren't quite working for me. The characters were well-written, but otherwise the stories all lacked something, a hook to draw one in.
December 27, 2017
A very sweet Christmas Regency compilation.
December 5, 2023
This book had five stories. Stories 1,2, and 5 were pretty good. #3 not so much. #4 was down right stupid.
June 16, 2019
THE AMIABLE MISER (Edith Layton) - This delightful tale has 'Scrooge Jr.' (Alfred Minch, The Amiable Miser) helping his cousin Joy to a capital adventure. Through it, Joy finds what she really wants in her life.
A HOME FOR HANNAH (Barbara Metzger) - When Hannah hears that she is about to be thrown out of the orphanage where she lives, she decides to find herself a papa. While walking in a park, Hannah selects a likely sort who turns out to be a penniless gentleman.
While her new Papa is trying to figure out how to keep his new offspring, Hannah helps him to find her a new mother. This is a delightfully fun story.
A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE (Amanda McCabe) is a really unique story. It allows the elderly Lady Kirkwood to set up a competition to see who will inherit her money (she has buckets of the stuff). Of course, Lady Kirkwood isn't above skewing the contest so the right people win!
How the game played itself out, however, provided everyone in the neighborhood a Christmas to remember.
THE SOLID SILVER CHESS SET (Sandra Heath) was my least favorite of the stories. Elves are rushing around with last minute jobs; Julia and Philip help Bramble Bumblekin (elf) complete his task.
This reminded me of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, in which there is a story inside a story. I found that the two subplots diminished the importance of both (romance between Julia and Philip vs. Bramble's big job). I could barely finish this story.
NO ROOM IN THE INN (Carla Kelly) is a delightful tale that allows a Regency Mary and Joe to experience a Christmas neither will forget. When a horrific snowstorm stops the progress of a carriage in which Mary (and others) are traveling, they find there is no room for them in the only inn in that locale. Thus, the group must spend a few days in Joe's ramshackle house. Mary and Joe find that it is a wonderful way to spend Christmas.
A HOME FOR HANNAH (Barbara Metzger) - When Hannah hears that she is about to be thrown out of the orphanage where she lives, she decides to find herself a papa. While walking in a park, Hannah selects a likely sort who turns out to be a penniless gentleman.
While her new Papa is trying to figure out how to keep his new offspring, Hannah helps him to find her a new mother. This is a delightfully fun story.
A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE (Amanda McCabe) is a really unique story. It allows the elderly Lady Kirkwood to set up a competition to see who will inherit her money (she has buckets of the stuff). Of course, Lady Kirkwood isn't above skewing the contest so the right people win!
How the game played itself out, however, provided everyone in the neighborhood a Christmas to remember.
THE SOLID SILVER CHESS SET (Sandra Heath) was my least favorite of the stories. Elves are rushing around with last minute jobs; Julia and Philip help Bramble Bumblekin (elf) complete his task.
This reminded me of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, in which there is a story inside a story. I found that the two subplots diminished the importance of both (romance between Julia and Philip vs. Bramble's big job). I could barely finish this story.
NO ROOM IN THE INN (Carla Kelly) is a delightful tale that allows a Regency Mary and Joe to experience a Christmas neither will forget. When a horrific snowstorm stops the progress of a carriage in which Mary (and others) are traveling, they find there is no room for them in the only inn in that locale. Thus, the group must spend a few days in Joe's ramshackle house. Mary and Joe find that it is a wonderful way to spend Christmas.
January 11, 2024
Story #1 – DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #2 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #3 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #4 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5th Story – 5 stars
This was the Christmas story – Mary, Joseph, the Shepards and the Kings. No room at the Inn – it was just missing a new baby. Maybe new beginnings take the place of a new baby.
Love Carla Kelly. The best story and well worth keeping the book!!
Loved the male characters - they are strong or weak but always worth reading about. Of course the hero is the strongest of them all.
Carla Kelly does the dysfunctional family very well. She also does family members telling off other family members very well. This story has these elements - and they are done to perfection here.
I didn't like the ending - it just ended.
This was a classic Carla Kelly story.
BEST USE OF: Food, maids, the Christmas story characters ( shepards, kings, Mary and Joseph)
ALPHA MALE 10
SPUNKY HEROINE 10
CUTE KIDS 10+
HEA(HAPPILY EVER AFTER) Don’t know – hope so - story just ended -but because it is a Carla Kelly story - I say YES!!
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE None and an epilogue was missed!!!
Rating System
10 - Excellent - A keeper if just for this one story
Heat Level
1 – none – and who cares – there is enough kissing and holding and glances to burn through paper
COVER COVERS IT: Love the cover but it doesn't reflect any scene in the story I read.
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: this would make a great movie!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #2 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #3 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #4 - DNF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5th Story – 5 stars
This was the Christmas story – Mary, Joseph, the Shepards and the Kings. No room at the Inn – it was just missing a new baby. Maybe new beginnings take the place of a new baby.
Love Carla Kelly. The best story and well worth keeping the book!!
Loved the male characters - they are strong or weak but always worth reading about. Of course the hero is the strongest of them all.
Carla Kelly does the dysfunctional family very well. She also does family members telling off other family members very well. This story has these elements - and they are done to perfection here.
I didn't like the ending - it just ended.
This was a classic Carla Kelly story.
BEST USE OF: Food, maids, the Christmas story characters ( shepards, kings, Mary and Joseph)
ALPHA MALE 10
SPUNKY HEROINE 10
CUTE KIDS 10+
HEA(HAPPILY EVER AFTER) Don’t know – hope so - story just ended -but because it is a Carla Kelly story - I say YES!!
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE None and an epilogue was missed!!!
Rating System
10 - Excellent - A keeper if just for this one story
Heat Level
1 – none – and who cares – there is enough kissing and holding and glances to burn through paper
COVER COVERS IT: Love the cover but it doesn't reflect any scene in the story I read.
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: this would make a great movie!!
September 3, 2010
Well done Christmas themed anthology. My favorite was Edith Layton's "The Amiable Miser" - with a thrifty fellow who manages to do a good deed AND save money at the same time...
August 5, 2010
The stories by Edith Layton and Carla Kelly story are very nice.
August 21, 2016
3 Stars for "No Room at the Inn."
Did not read the other stories.
Did not read the other stories.
January 16, 2017
Metgzer and Layton were the stars.
October 12, 2015
Lovely stories.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews