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Signet Christmas Anthologies #6
Regency Christmas Wishes: The Lucky Coin / Following Yonder Star / the Merry Magpie / Best Wishes / Let Nothing You Dismay
Ring in the holiday season with five brand-new tales from five Regency belles... Celebrate the joy, warmth, and magic of Christmas in Regency England with this all-new collection of stories from five award-winning and bestselling authors...
344 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 7, 2003
9 people are currently reading
301 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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December 19, 2025
Five novellas with a Christmas backdrop, all readable, some more enjoyable than others.
The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger
3.5 stars
My first work by this author and I quite liked it. The insta-love was necessary for the plot to move forward, but it was a short story so love had to happen fast.
From the moment an elderly gentleman gave an odd coin to Adam on his way to London, his casually considered wishes started coming true. Was it magic or just good fortune? Nice little touches of humor, a brisk pace, and appealing main characters keep this buoyant.
Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen
2 stars
Another new-to-me author, but this experience wasn’t great.
Gareth left his ancestral home, sending Alice a letter saying he would not be returning for Christmas. He didn’t return for eight years, breaking Alice’s heart. When he finally does return—reluctantly, angrily, resentfully—he finds Alice a drudge in her sister’s home, but all he can think about is how much he loves wandering the world and how fast he can leave to get back to it.
This was full of details about an Irish estate, an Irish village, and an Irish Christmas. The romance was weak and uninteresting, and depended on Gareth having a last-minute miraculous turnaround in his feelings.
The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath
4.5 stars
I’ll be looking at this new-to-me author’s catalog, because I truly enjoyed this one
Simply because his friends were still enjoying their wild, unattached youth, he had begun to resent a marriage that had hitherto brought him happiness. He became convinced that because he and Juliet had married so very young—at their 1811 wedding they had been eighteen and twenty respectively—he had been unjustly denied the wild oats that was every young man’s right. Taking it into his puerile head to sow those oats anyway, he had not merely indulged in some fleeting, meaningless amours, but had taken a mistress.
…He made excuse after excuse to explain his absences from his and Juliet’s Grosvenor Square home, and like so many husbands before him he had been so sure of his wife, so certain that she would always be there for him, so convinced that she would never find out anyway, that he deemed himself above suspicion.
So, after four years of marriage, Juliet found out her husband is unfaithful and doesn’t take the news stoically. She told him to get out and never come back. How did you enjoy those six years in India, Charles? How’s life without that wife you love so dearly, only not dearly enough to keep your dick in your pants?
This was really, really good. I could have used a little less description (but it was very well-written description) and the magpie was a whimsical touch this powerful story didn’t really need, but the feelings were so authentic, the hurt so real, the anger so palpable, that it was a whisker’s breadth from 5 stars anyway.
Best Wishes by Edith Layton
4 stars
My first Edith Layton, and I would try another.
Newlyweds in a love match disagree on how to spend their first Christmas together, and in doing so become aware of their incompatibilities and reach a deeper understanding as they work to resolve them. An interesting, character-driven slice-of-life story.
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly
2.5 stars
The only author in the collection I was familiar with, but the ending knocked a couple stars off my rating.
Half-Egyptian, adopted by English missionaries, Cecilia chose to stay in England but hid herself in the girls’ school at which she teaches to avoid ugly incidents of prejudice. Requested to accompany one of the girls home for Christmas, she found herself greeted on arrival by a rumpled mess of a man named Lord Trevor, her charge’s uncle. Lord Trevor, a barrister who advocates for children accused of crimes, is also an outcast. He made an instant connection with Cecilia, but even her company couldn’t seem to pull him from the depths of despair as Christmas Eve approached.
This was going gangbusters until Christmas Eve arrived and Lord Trevor began acting oddly and needed Cecilia to steer him away from a death wish…or something like that? Maybe because I’ve never had to deal with someone with this sort of mental disturbance, what happened Christmas Eve didn’t make much sense to me.
The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger
3.5 stars
My first work by this author and I quite liked it. The insta-love was necessary for the plot to move forward, but it was a short story so love had to happen fast.
From the moment an elderly gentleman gave an odd coin to Adam on his way to London, his casually considered wishes started coming true. Was it magic or just good fortune? Nice little touches of humor, a brisk pace, and appealing main characters keep this buoyant.
Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen
2 stars
Another new-to-me author, but this experience wasn’t great.
Gareth left his ancestral home, sending Alice a letter saying he would not be returning for Christmas. He didn’t return for eight years, breaking Alice’s heart. When he finally does return—reluctantly, angrily, resentfully—he finds Alice a drudge in her sister’s home, but all he can think about is how much he loves wandering the world and how fast he can leave to get back to it.
This was full of details about an Irish estate, an Irish village, and an Irish Christmas. The romance was weak and uninteresting, and depended on Gareth having a last-minute miraculous turnaround in his feelings.
The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath
4.5 stars
I’ll be looking at this new-to-me author’s catalog, because I truly enjoyed this one
Simply because his friends were still enjoying their wild, unattached youth, he had begun to resent a marriage that had hitherto brought him happiness. He became convinced that because he and Juliet had married so very young—at their 1811 wedding they had been eighteen and twenty respectively—he had been unjustly denied the wild oats that was every young man’s right. Taking it into his puerile head to sow those oats anyway, he had not merely indulged in some fleeting, meaningless amours, but had taken a mistress.
…He made excuse after excuse to explain his absences from his and Juliet’s Grosvenor Square home, and like so many husbands before him he had been so sure of his wife, so certain that she would always be there for him, so convinced that she would never find out anyway, that he deemed himself above suspicion.
So, after four years of marriage, Juliet found out her husband is unfaithful and doesn’t take the news stoically. She told him to get out and never come back. How did you enjoy those six years in India, Charles? How’s life without that wife you love so dearly, only not dearly enough to keep your dick in your pants?
This was really, really good. I could have used a little less description (but it was very well-written description) and the magpie was a whimsical touch this powerful story didn’t really need, but the feelings were so authentic, the hurt so real, the anger so palpable, that it was a whisker’s breadth from 5 stars anyway.
Best Wishes by Edith Layton
4 stars
My first Edith Layton, and I would try another.
Newlyweds in a love match disagree on how to spend their first Christmas together, and in doing so become aware of their incompatibilities and reach a deeper understanding as they work to resolve them. An interesting, character-driven slice-of-life story.
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly
2.5 stars
The only author in the collection I was familiar with, but the ending knocked a couple stars off my rating.
Half-Egyptian, adopted by English missionaries, Cecilia chose to stay in England but hid herself in the girls’ school at which she teaches to avoid ugly incidents of prejudice. Requested to accompany one of the girls home for Christmas, she found herself greeted on arrival by a rumpled mess of a man named Lord Trevor, her charge’s uncle. Lord Trevor, a barrister who advocates for children accused of crimes, is also an outcast. He made an instant connection with Cecilia, but even her company couldn’t seem to pull him from the depths of despair as Christmas Eve approached.
This was going gangbusters until Christmas Eve arrived and Lord Trevor began acting oddly and needed Cecilia to steer him away from a death wish…or something like that? Maybe because I’ve never had to deal with someone with this sort of mental disturbance, what happened Christmas Eve didn’t make much sense to me.
December 8, 2018
This book contains five short stories set around Christmas time. Some were better than others.
Reread, December, 2018 Carla Kelly's LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY is a somewhat gritty Christmas story with characteristics often found within Ms. Kelly's romances. It contained people on the outskirts of 'proper' society who shared their hopes and dreams with each other.
Lord Trevor Chase was the unexpected guardian of his nieces and nephew in the days before Christmas. His brother and wife were caring for another daughter's children who were plagued with measles. A bachelor, Trevor had a damaged history and was haunted with Christmas memories from the past.
Miss Cecelia Ambrose was his niece's -Lucy- teacher and companion. She was dropping the young student off on the way to her holiday destination. She expected to spend one night when a fire broke out in the kitchen of the estate. Lord Chase asked for her assistance while everyone moved into the dower house temporarily.
I liked this story because of the unusual characters. Considering how short the story was, there was quite a bit of texture and 'feels'. Qualities often found with Ms. Kelly's romances. A solid 4 stars
~~~~~
Edith Layton's BEST WISHES (reread 11/7/2017) 3 stars
Barbara Metzger's THE LUCKY COIN. Four stars for an interesting twist on people who discover the true meaning of Christmas.
I didn't care for Sandra Heath's MERRY MAGPIE, an unbelievable tale of adultery and forgiveness. Also, Emma Jensen's FOLLOWING YONDER STAR stretched the imagination; a man who was always on the move suddenly found love, even though he knew her most of his life. One star apiece.
Reread, December, 2018 Carla Kelly's LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY is a somewhat gritty Christmas story with characteristics often found within Ms. Kelly's romances. It contained people on the outskirts of 'proper' society who shared their hopes and dreams with each other.
Lord Trevor Chase was the unexpected guardian of his nieces and nephew in the days before Christmas. His brother and wife were caring for another daughter's children who were plagued with measles. A bachelor, Trevor had a damaged history and was haunted with Christmas memories from the past.
Miss Cecelia Ambrose was his niece's -Lucy- teacher and companion. She was dropping the young student off on the way to her holiday destination. She expected to spend one night when a fire broke out in the kitchen of the estate. Lord Chase asked for her assistance while everyone moved into the dower house temporarily.
I liked this story because of the unusual characters. Considering how short the story was, there was quite a bit of texture and 'feels'. Qualities often found with Ms. Kelly's romances. A solid 4 stars
~~~~~
Edith Layton's BEST WISHES (reread 11/7/2017) 3 stars
Barbara Metzger's THE LUCKY COIN. Four stars for an interesting twist on people who discover the true meaning of Christmas.
I didn't care for Sandra Heath's MERRY MAGPIE, an unbelievable tale of adultery and forgiveness. Also, Emma Jensen's FOLLOWING YONDER STAR stretched the imagination; a man who was always on the move suddenly found love, even though he knew her most of his life. One star apiece.
November 7, 2017
You can find this review in English below.
5 historias navideñas muy cortitas.
The Lucky Coin de Barbara Metzger: 4 stars.
He aquí el milagro navideño que saca de una situación desesperada a un hombre que se lo merece. Y encima encuentra el amor… y es que si esto no pasa en Navidad, ¿Cuándo podría pasar? Sencilla y bonita.
Best Wishes de Edith Layton: 1 star.
No he podido pasar del sock de la primera escena. Que prácticamente recién casados tu marido quiera pasar las navidades con su ex-amante y susdegenerados amigos en una orgía fiesta en vez de con tu familia, bien, llámame obstinada, pero creo que hay cosas por las que la dignidad de uno no debería pasar. Y si pasa… pues te encuentras con un viejo que intenta magrearte y cuando escapas te encuentras con un joven que quiere algo más….
Y después está lo de que la protagonista, pura y virgen cono la nieve recién caída, encuentre los comentarios subidos de tono de los asistentes a la fiesta más adorables que escandalosos. Si tú lo dices…
Y para terminar otro poquito de drama familiar.
Ni me ha convencido ni me ha gustado.
Olía a New Adult contemporáneo: El quarterback, la virgen y la fiesta de la hermandad. ;)
Following Yonder Star de Emma Jensen: 1 star.
No he conseguido sentir la más mínima simpatía por un héroe que abandona, sin ninguna explicación y por carta, a su amada. Y dedica su vida a vagar por el mundo, beber y disfrutar del sexo opuesto. Y menos aún por una heroína que no se da a valer y vuelve a caer en sus redes en un instante. Eso no es espíritu navideño. Eso es poco amor propio.
Si es que… esto de las segundas oportunidades es complicadillo.
The Merry Magpie de Sandra Heath: 1 star.
¡Qué suerte! Otra historia de segundas oportunidades…Esta historia ni siquiera me la he terminado. El héroe, recién casado y feliz en su matrimonio, tiene un desliz con una actriz. Como nadie se percata ni se da cuenta, a la siguiente vez que se encuentra a dicha actriz la convierte en su amante (durante un largo año), hasta que los descubren y su esposa lo abandona. Hasta aquí he llegado. Sinceramente, después de dejar a tu marido porque te ha sido repetidamente infiel, no se me ocurre ni una sola idea de porqué deberías confiar otra vez en él. Y si todo se reduce al espíritu navideño… vaya sandez.
Let Nothing You Dismay de Carla Kelly: 5 stars.
Precioso romance entre dos personas que no consiguen encajar en la sociedad en la que viven pero que se complementan a la perfección. Con una buena dosis de espíritu navideño. Todo lo que le faltaba a las demás. La mejor del lote.
***
5 short Christmas stories.
The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger: 4 stars.
Hereinto our Christmas miracle which saves a good and hardworking man who is in dire straits and makes him find love on the way. You can´t do better at Christmastime.
Simple and beautiful.
Best Wishes by Edith Layton: 1 star.
I couldn´t pass the first scene´s shock. They are almost newlyweds and he wants to spend the Christmas at his former mistress´ ?? With an handful ofdepraved friends?? At an orgy party?? The other option was her family but he didn´t want to. Well, you can call me obstinate but I think one mustn’t agree for such a thing if only for her/his dignity´s sake. Being groped by an old fart and then by a young one is the last you can expect there.
And what can I say when the pure and virgin like the first snow heroine thinks that the attendee risqué comments are more adorable than shocking? (her words, not mine) If you say so…
And to wrap it up a little bit of family drama.
I didn´t like it. Neither I could believe it.
It smelt of contemporary New Adult : The quarterback, the virgin and the fraternity party. ;)
Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen: 1 star.
I couldn´t care less for a hero who dismiss the heroine by letter and without a second thought. And spend his days (eight long years)travelling, drinking and enjoying women.
But neither I care for a martyr and spineless heroine who welcome the hero in the blink of an eye. This is not Christmas spirit. This is nonsense and low self-esteem.
You know, second tricky chances and all that…
The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath: 1 star.
Just my luck there was two second chance stories… *roll eyes**head shake*
I even couldn´t finish this one. As soon as the hero explains to me that newly married and in love with her wife, he was unfaithful to her with a singer and, just because they weren´t caught, he kept her as his mistress the next time he saw her, during one long year, I was sold. Or out. His wife abandoned him (good for her) when she realized but I can´t think of one good reason because she should trust in him again. And if the reason is because the Christmas spirit, well, I think this is claptrap.
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly: 5 stars.
Lovely romance between two people who doesn´t fit in their world. But they complement each other wonderfully. Here you can find all the Christmas spirit that was lost in the former ones.
The best of the lot.
5 historias navideñas muy cortitas.
The Lucky Coin de Barbara Metzger: 4 stars.
He aquí el milagro navideño que saca de una situación desesperada a un hombre que se lo merece. Y encima encuentra el amor… y es que si esto no pasa en Navidad, ¿Cuándo podría pasar? Sencilla y bonita.
Best Wishes de Edith Layton: 1 star.
No he podido pasar del sock de la primera escena. Que prácticamente recién casados tu marido quiera pasar las navidades con su ex-amante y sus
Y después está lo de que la protagonista, pura y virgen cono la nieve recién caída, encuentre los comentarios subidos de tono de los asistentes a la fiesta más adorables que escandalosos. Si tú lo dices…
Y para terminar otro poquito de drama familiar.
Ni me ha convencido ni me ha gustado.
Olía a New Adult contemporáneo: El quarterback, la virgen y la fiesta de la hermandad. ;)
Following Yonder Star de Emma Jensen: 1 star.
No he conseguido sentir la más mínima simpatía por un héroe que abandona, sin ninguna explicación y por carta, a su amada. Y dedica su vida a vagar por el mundo, beber y disfrutar del sexo opuesto. Y menos aún por una heroína que no se da a valer y vuelve a caer en sus redes en un instante. Eso no es espíritu navideño. Eso es poco amor propio.
Si es que… esto de las segundas oportunidades es complicadillo.
The Merry Magpie de Sandra Heath: 1 star.
¡Qué suerte! Otra historia de segundas oportunidades…Esta historia ni siquiera me la he terminado. El héroe, recién casado y feliz en su matrimonio, tiene un desliz con una actriz. Como nadie se percata ni se da cuenta, a la siguiente vez que se encuentra a dicha actriz la convierte en su amante (durante un largo año), hasta que los descubren y su esposa lo abandona. Hasta aquí he llegado. Sinceramente, después de dejar a tu marido porque te ha sido repetidamente infiel, no se me ocurre ni una sola idea de porqué deberías confiar otra vez en él. Y si todo se reduce al espíritu navideño… vaya sandez.
Let Nothing You Dismay de Carla Kelly: 5 stars.
Precioso romance entre dos personas que no consiguen encajar en la sociedad en la que viven pero que se complementan a la perfección. Con una buena dosis de espíritu navideño. Todo lo que le faltaba a las demás. La mejor del lote.
***
5 short Christmas stories.
The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger: 4 stars.
Hereinto our Christmas miracle which saves a good and hardworking man who is in dire straits and makes him find love on the way. You can´t do better at Christmastime.
Simple and beautiful.
Best Wishes by Edith Layton: 1 star.
I couldn´t pass the first scene´s shock. They are almost newlyweds and he wants to spend the Christmas at his former mistress´ ?? With an handful of
And what can I say when the pure and virgin like the first snow heroine thinks that the attendee risqué comments are more adorable than shocking? (her words, not mine) If you say so…
And to wrap it up a little bit of family drama.
I didn´t like it. Neither I could believe it.
It smelt of contemporary New Adult : The quarterback, the virgin and the fraternity party. ;)
Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen: 1 star.
I couldn´t care less for a hero who dismiss the heroine by letter and without a second thought. And spend his days (eight long years)travelling, drinking and enjoying women.
But neither I care for a martyr and spineless heroine who welcome the hero in the blink of an eye. This is not Christmas spirit. This is nonsense and low self-esteem.
You know, second tricky chances and all that…
The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath: 1 star.
Just my luck there was two second chance stories… *roll eyes**head shake*
I even couldn´t finish this one. As soon as the hero explains to me that newly married and in love with her wife, he was unfaithful to her with a singer and, just because they weren´t caught, he kept her as his mistress the next time he saw her, during one long year, I was sold. Or out. His wife abandoned him (good for her) when she realized but I can´t think of one good reason because she should trust in him again. And if the reason is because the Christmas spirit, well, I think this is claptrap.
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly: 5 stars.
Lovely romance between two people who doesn´t fit in their world. But they complement each other wonderfully. Here you can find all the Christmas spirit that was lost in the former ones.
The best of the lot.
March 23, 2019
Overall average rating- 1.5 stars.
The Lucky Coin (Barbara Metzger)- 1.5 stars. Short and sweet and quite silly. Safe, with a non-rake H.
Following Yonder Star (Emma Jensen)- 1 stars. The MCs didn't feel well developed into this short. I didn't understand why the H stayed away for six years. Maybe I'm a bit slow today, but I didn't get get it. He didn't seem like a rake, but it was implied that he'd been with OW during the six years. And this was all the while he was thinking of the h at every turn. The chemistry was off and the resolution left you wondering about too many things.
The Merry Magpie (Sandra Heath)- 1.5 stars. This is a second chance story where the H was unfaithful to his wife six years ago and has returned to try and win her back. Once I found out that this story was based on infidelity (whether it was socially acceptable or not, I don't care), I knew I was either going to skip it altogether or read it first to get it out of the way. Consider this eating your broccoli first when all you really want is dessert. (I actually really like broccoli, for those of you who care. LOL) The author was smart to not give us any explicit details of the H's yearlong affair with his mistress. The premise made me mad and sad for the h, but I liked that she didn't take him back and kicked him out instead. Ironically, other than the aforementioned affair, the safety of this story made the whole situation palatable for me. This story had promise, but the short format of it didn't do it any favours. It would've been better to develop this into a longer length work. I'd like to see the H work for his redemption. A glimpse at a happy and faithful marriage wouldn't have been remiss either.
Best Wishes (Edith Layton)- 1 star. I didn't like this one. I don't like it when full length stories include mentions of mistresses/paramours, and I really don't like it when they're included into a short. I did appreciate that the H came to be disgusted by himself, with his past of liaisons and bumping into them around Town, but too many mentions of his past made me dislike this story in general. The one star I give this is for the h who didn't take any crap from her husband. She wasn't rude, but she was clear that she didn't want to spend Christmas with his former lover. Seriously. This H was an idiot.
Let Nothing You Dismay (Carla Kelly)- 2 stars. A well developed, but rather serious Christmas read. This wasn’t light and fluffy. I liked both MCs though, and the supporting characters were realistic. Safe with no OP drama or details. A solid short story.
The Lucky Coin (Barbara Metzger)- 1.5 stars. Short and sweet and quite silly. Safe, with a non-rake H.
Following Yonder Star (Emma Jensen)- 1 stars. The MCs didn't feel well developed into this short. I didn't understand why the H stayed away for six years. Maybe I'm a bit slow today, but I didn't get get it. He didn't seem like a rake, but it was implied that he'd been with OW during the six years. And this was all the while he was thinking of the h at every turn. The chemistry was off and the resolution left you wondering about too many things.
The Merry Magpie (Sandra Heath)- 1.5 stars. This is a second chance story where the H was unfaithful to his wife six years ago and has returned to try and win her back. Once I found out that this story was based on infidelity (whether it was socially acceptable or not, I don't care), I knew I was either going to skip it altogether or read it first to get it out of the way. Consider this eating your broccoli first when all you really want is dessert. (I actually really like broccoli, for those of you who care. LOL) The author was smart to not give us any explicit details of the H's yearlong affair with his mistress. The premise made me mad and sad for the h, but I liked that she didn't take him back and kicked him out instead. Ironically, other than the aforementioned affair, the safety of this story made the whole situation palatable for me. This story had promise, but the short format of it didn't do it any favours. It would've been better to develop this into a longer length work. I'd like to see the H work for his redemption. A glimpse at a happy and faithful marriage wouldn't have been remiss either.
Best Wishes (Edith Layton)- 1 star. I didn't like this one. I don't like it when full length stories include mentions of mistresses/paramours, and I really don't like it when they're included into a short. I did appreciate that the H came to be disgusted by himself, with his past of liaisons and bumping into them around Town, but too many mentions of his past made me dislike this story in general. The one star I give this is for the h who didn't take any crap from her husband. She wasn't rude, but she was clear that she didn't want to spend Christmas with his former lover. Seriously. This H was an idiot.
Let Nothing You Dismay (Carla Kelly)- 2 stars. A well developed, but rather serious Christmas read. This wasn’t light and fluffy. I liked both MCs though, and the supporting characters were realistic. Safe with no OP drama or details. A solid short story.
May 3, 2022
3 to 4.5 stars. My favorite was the cheating story by Sandra Heath. I wish it had been a regular novel and explored more why the guy cheated for such a long time since he was so in love with his wife. (He says peer pressure and his youth). However, since this a novella it not explore the why as much as I wished. Also, how he was able to stay celibate for years while they were separated when he could not stay faithful while married and actively having sex with his wife? As always, more grovel would have been nice. Having said all that-it was interesting reading about a guy in love with his wife still choosing to cheat and have a mistress.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2022
The December 2022 #TBRChallenge is "Festive." I chose a collection of traditional Regency Christmas stories by quite well-known authors. The collection started out beautifully, sagged in the middle, and by the end, unfortunately didn't quite make it back to the high bar the first couple of stories set.
"The Lucky Coin" by Barbara Metzger (63 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sir Adam Standish, an impoverished baronet from Suffolk, is taking the long mail coach ride into London to plead for an extension on his mortgage, which is his pessimistic about receiving. A wizened old man on the coach quite literally gives him a penny for his thoughts - or, at the very least, a coin, which is unusual enough that Adam decides to sell it after his banker turns down his application. While in the rare coin shop, he meets the most beautiful woman he's ever laid his eyes on - and she happens to have a cachet of the same type of unusual coins! Adam's luck changes for the better at every turn after meeting the beautiful Jenna, and it seems to all be down to that chance meeting with the old man on the coach. This story has a lovely, light, fairy-tale quality to it that makes all of the coincidences and reversal of fortune inside a week seem plausible. I quite adored Adam and Jenna, and thought them a good match in the end. Whimsical!
"Following Yonder Star" by Emma Jensen (74 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alice Ashe is serving as her younger sister's companion during said sister's final days of confinement with her pregnancy. Clarissa (the sister) is utterly self-absorbed; her husband died at Waterloo and she wants a girl child so that she can leave the Irish pigeonhole that is her late husband's estate and remake her life in London. A boy child - an heir - would tie her to the estate for the rest of her life, and she wants anything but that. The dead earl's brother, Sir Gareth, returns for the birth of his niece/nephew. He's hoping for a boy child, or else he's the heir to the estate that he never wanted. He's always been a world traveler, so the idea of being tied to one place in the wild Irish countryside is very much not appealing to him. Alice and Gareth were childhood sweethearts and shared a kiss before Gareth ran off to join the Navy and begin his world travels, so there is some old tension between them. An old Traveler woman advises both Alice and Gareth (at different times) to think hard about their choices in life, and this story culminates in a beautiful, emotional reunion scene between the two, enveloped in Christmas magic and Irish traditions. There is some delightful comic relief in the form of Alice and Clarissa's elderly father, who tries to wander off at every chance to "duel" with his old foe Mr. O'Neill.
At this point, I thought maybe there would be a continuing motif of wizened old strangers giving the MCs a hint at how to resolve their difficulties, and I was really looking forward to it, because one of the hardest things about short stories/novellas is buying that so much happens in such a short period of time. Basically having a fairy godmother/godfather waving a magic wand? That works for me, LOL. Unfortunately, that was not the case with the other 3 stories in this collection.
"The Merry Magpie" by Sandra Heath (61 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐
Sir Charles Neville's infidelity are revealed to his wife, Juliet, via her aunt's one-eyed magpie, Jack, in a horribly embarrassing, public scene one Christmas Eve. Juliet banishes Charles from their home, and he stays away for 6 years, eating his heart out. He knew it was a mistake to cheat on his wife, but basically he married young and thought that ~all~ men took mistresses as a matter of course, and who was he not to sow some wild oats? He realizes his mistake immediately, and wants nothing more than to beg his wife's forgiveness. He returns to the aunt's house to inquire as to where his wife might be, and runs into the infamously bad-mouthed Jack again. The magpie, being attracted to shiny things, steals the wedding band that Charles keeps on a ribbon around his neck and hides it, causing much dismay among the group. Juliet's aunt plays a bit of matchmaker, sending Charles to the island retreat where Juliet is staying, unbeknownst to either of them. The two confront each other and the bird, and eventually settle their differences. I thought this story was a bit unbalanced, and for being the titular character, Jack the magpie actually plays a very small role here.
"Best Wishes" by Edith Layton (55 pages) - ⭐⭐ 1/2
A newly married couple - Jonathan, Viscount Rexford and Pamela Arthur, the daughter of a country squire - are arguing about where they will spend their first Christmas together as a married couple. Jonathan has promised their presence at the Fanshawes' without his wife's consent, and she is very angry. Turns out Mrs. Fanshawe is a former mistress of Jonathan's, which YIKES ON BIKES, I get what Pamela doesn't want to go there. She'd rather spend the holiday with her enormous family in the country. Jonathan is very typically cool and icy Society, estranged from his family, and wants to give his wife the leg up she didn't have before she married him. They eventually compromise and decide to spend half the holiday with the Fanshawes (the Society invitation) and half the holiday with Pamela's family. Well, they end up leaving the Fanshawes early after Pamela is pawed by Mr. Fanshawe during a "scavenger hunt." Jonathan apologizes profusely and they go to the Arthurs in the country. Pamela is so thrilled to be back among her many brothers and sisters and memories that she doesn't realize just how much of an outcast Jonathan (and her brother in law) are among her family, and she gets angry with him for not yakking a mile a minute with all of them. One one think that the point of this story would be that both learn that they are their own family unit now and need to create their own Christmas traditions, but no. In the end, Jonathan is basically absorbed into his wife's family traditions. I didn't really like Pamela - I found her to be very immature - so this wasn't an ending I particularly enjoyed.
"Let Nothing You Dismay" by Carla Kelly (77 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐
Lord Trevor Chase is a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, considered rather hopeless because he advocates for the street children and rarely wins his cases. He is also known to be suicidal around the holidays, so everyone is rather relieved when he's called to his family home in York because of a family emergency. His brother and sister-in-law, the Marquess and Marchioness of Falstoke, are with their eldest daughter's family, as her children are suffering with measles, so Lord Trevor is basically keeping an eye on the remaining, single children: Lady Janet (18), Lady Lucinda (12), and young David (7). Lady Lucinda is returning home from the Select Academy in Bath, accompanied by a teacher, Cecelia Ambrose. Miss Ambrose's plan is basically to deliver Lady Lucy, have a word with her mother about Lucy and Janet's strained relationship, and return to Bath. Unfortunately, when they arrive and realize Lucy's parents aren't there, Cecelia's plans change. She's actually familiar with Lord Trevor's work in the court system and admires him for it, and is willing to stay on and assist when she realizes that he's rather helpless with his own nieces and nephews. A midnight fire at the manor house forces the group to retreat to the dower house on the properly, and basically they are able to repair their various relationships, etc in the cozy comfort of the smaller building. Janet is getting married in the spring and has basically lost herself in the first blush of love, not realizing how she's alienating her siblings. Her pride is taken down a few notches by both Trevor and Cecelia. David is an adorable little boy who basically hero worships his uncle, and Lucy is a spunky tween caught in a tough part of life. Trevor and Cecelia consider themselves black sheep (Trevor, for pursuing a career when he's the second son and then brother to a marquess; Cecelia, because she's an adopted half-English, half-Egyptian who faces lots of racial hatred in lilly white England) and that they have much in common, and eventually fall in love during their forced proximity.
Generally I love Carla Kelly's stories, but this one was kinda "meh" for me because there's quite a bit of proselytizing (like that's the cure of suicidal holiday thoughts, yick) and there's some additional, weird details that could've been cut with no loss of value (like apparently Trevor lied about the extent of the damage to the manor house to purposely keep everyone in the cramped dower house for....Reasons). In the end, this was a disappointing story for me, and never really brought the end of the collection back to the high standards of the first couple of stories.
"The Lucky Coin" by Barbara Metzger (63 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sir Adam Standish, an impoverished baronet from Suffolk, is taking the long mail coach ride into London to plead for an extension on his mortgage, which is his pessimistic about receiving. A wizened old man on the coach quite literally gives him a penny for his thoughts - or, at the very least, a coin, which is unusual enough that Adam decides to sell it after his banker turns down his application. While in the rare coin shop, he meets the most beautiful woman he's ever laid his eyes on - and she happens to have a cachet of the same type of unusual coins! Adam's luck changes for the better at every turn after meeting the beautiful Jenna, and it seems to all be down to that chance meeting with the old man on the coach. This story has a lovely, light, fairy-tale quality to it that makes all of the coincidences and reversal of fortune inside a week seem plausible. I quite adored Adam and Jenna, and thought them a good match in the end. Whimsical!
"Following Yonder Star" by Emma Jensen (74 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alice Ashe is serving as her younger sister's companion during said sister's final days of confinement with her pregnancy. Clarissa (the sister) is utterly self-absorbed; her husband died at Waterloo and she wants a girl child so that she can leave the Irish pigeonhole that is her late husband's estate and remake her life in London. A boy child - an heir - would tie her to the estate for the rest of her life, and she wants anything but that. The dead earl's brother, Sir Gareth, returns for the birth of his niece/nephew. He's hoping for a boy child, or else he's the heir to the estate that he never wanted. He's always been a world traveler, so the idea of being tied to one place in the wild Irish countryside is very much not appealing to him. Alice and Gareth were childhood sweethearts and shared a kiss before Gareth ran off to join the Navy and begin his world travels, so there is some old tension between them. An old Traveler woman advises both Alice and Gareth (at different times) to think hard about their choices in life, and this story culminates in a beautiful, emotional reunion scene between the two, enveloped in Christmas magic and Irish traditions. There is some delightful comic relief in the form of Alice and Clarissa's elderly father, who tries to wander off at every chance to "duel" with his old foe Mr. O'Neill.
At this point, I thought maybe there would be a continuing motif of wizened old strangers giving the MCs a hint at how to resolve their difficulties, and I was really looking forward to it, because one of the hardest things about short stories/novellas is buying that so much happens in such a short period of time. Basically having a fairy godmother/godfather waving a magic wand? That works for me, LOL. Unfortunately, that was not the case with the other 3 stories in this collection.
"The Merry Magpie" by Sandra Heath (61 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐
Sir Charles Neville's infidelity are revealed to his wife, Juliet, via her aunt's one-eyed magpie, Jack, in a horribly embarrassing, public scene one Christmas Eve. Juliet banishes Charles from their home, and he stays away for 6 years, eating his heart out. He knew it was a mistake to cheat on his wife, but basically he married young and thought that ~all~ men took mistresses as a matter of course, and who was he not to sow some wild oats? He realizes his mistake immediately, and wants nothing more than to beg his wife's forgiveness. He returns to the aunt's house to inquire as to where his wife might be, and runs into the infamously bad-mouthed Jack again. The magpie, being attracted to shiny things, steals the wedding band that Charles keeps on a ribbon around his neck and hides it, causing much dismay among the group. Juliet's aunt plays a bit of matchmaker, sending Charles to the island retreat where Juliet is staying, unbeknownst to either of them. The two confront each other and the bird, and eventually settle their differences. I thought this story was a bit unbalanced, and for being the titular character, Jack the magpie actually plays a very small role here.
"Best Wishes" by Edith Layton (55 pages) - ⭐⭐ 1/2
A newly married couple - Jonathan, Viscount Rexford and Pamela Arthur, the daughter of a country squire - are arguing about where they will spend their first Christmas together as a married couple. Jonathan has promised their presence at the Fanshawes' without his wife's consent, and she is very angry. Turns out Mrs. Fanshawe is a former mistress of Jonathan's, which YIKES ON BIKES, I get what Pamela doesn't want to go there. She'd rather spend the holiday with her enormous family in the country. Jonathan is very typically cool and icy Society, estranged from his family, and wants to give his wife the leg up she didn't have before she married him. They eventually compromise and decide to spend half the holiday with the Fanshawes (the Society invitation) and half the holiday with Pamela's family. Well, they end up leaving the Fanshawes early after Pamela is pawed by Mr. Fanshawe during a "scavenger hunt." Jonathan apologizes profusely and they go to the Arthurs in the country. Pamela is so thrilled to be back among her many brothers and sisters and memories that she doesn't realize just how much of an outcast Jonathan (and her brother in law) are among her family, and she gets angry with him for not yakking a mile a minute with all of them. One one think that the point of this story would be that both learn that they are their own family unit now and need to create their own Christmas traditions, but no. In the end, Jonathan is basically absorbed into his wife's family traditions. I didn't really like Pamela - I found her to be very immature - so this wasn't an ending I particularly enjoyed.
"Let Nothing You Dismay" by Carla Kelly (77 pages) - ⭐⭐⭐
Lord Trevor Chase is a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, considered rather hopeless because he advocates for the street children and rarely wins his cases. He is also known to be suicidal around the holidays, so everyone is rather relieved when he's called to his family home in York because of a family emergency. His brother and sister-in-law, the Marquess and Marchioness of Falstoke, are with their eldest daughter's family, as her children are suffering with measles, so Lord Trevor is basically keeping an eye on the remaining, single children: Lady Janet (18), Lady Lucinda (12), and young David (7). Lady Lucinda is returning home from the Select Academy in Bath, accompanied by a teacher, Cecelia Ambrose. Miss Ambrose's plan is basically to deliver Lady Lucy, have a word with her mother about Lucy and Janet's strained relationship, and return to Bath. Unfortunately, when they arrive and realize Lucy's parents aren't there, Cecelia's plans change. She's actually familiar with Lord Trevor's work in the court system and admires him for it, and is willing to stay on and assist when she realizes that he's rather helpless with his own nieces and nephews. A midnight fire at the manor house forces the group to retreat to the dower house on the properly, and basically they are able to repair their various relationships, etc in the cozy comfort of the smaller building. Janet is getting married in the spring and has basically lost herself in the first blush of love, not realizing how she's alienating her siblings. Her pride is taken down a few notches by both Trevor and Cecelia. David is an adorable little boy who basically hero worships his uncle, and Lucy is a spunky tween caught in a tough part of life. Trevor and Cecelia consider themselves black sheep (Trevor, for pursuing a career when he's the second son and then brother to a marquess; Cecelia, because she's an adopted half-English, half-Egyptian who faces lots of racial hatred in lilly white England) and that they have much in common, and eventually fall in love during their forced proximity.
Generally I love Carla Kelly's stories, but this one was kinda "meh" for me because there's quite a bit of proselytizing (like that's the cure of suicidal holiday thoughts, yick) and there's some additional, weird details that could've been cut with no loss of value (like apparently Trevor lied about the extent of the damage to the manor house to purposely keep everyone in the cramped dower house for....Reasons). In the end, this was a disappointing story for me, and never really brought the end of the collection back to the high standards of the first couple of stories.
June 22, 2015
***********
I read the newly digitized e-book. I only read three of the five stories in this anthology.
4.5 stars for The Lucky Coin, by Barbara Metzger. It was my favorite in the anthology. It's brimming with Metzger's trademark wit, the hero is simply lovely, plus there is a touch of the paranormal, because the coin is magical. The wishing coin came to be in the unknowing possession of Sir Adam Standish -- presumably because of his various random acts of kindness (lovely man!) The baronet goes to London to plead for more time to pay the mortgage, or all is lost. He sees beautiful Miss Jenna in a curiosity shop and is instantly attracted. We go from there. Lovely story, even if the differences in social class are glossed over. I just loved the baronet and wanted him to be happy. I finished this story feeling lighthearted.
3.5 stars for Best Wishes, by Edith Layton. This story was okay, but not very memorable, and I wasn't crazy about the plot line. The newly-wed Rexfords argue about where to spend the holidays. The viscount prefers holidaying at a risqué house party with his old cronies -- including a former lover (the idiot). His new young bride argues for a traditional Christmas with her extended family. What occurs is surprising. I thought this was an odd plot for this anthology, but the story itself seemed credible, realistic.
4 stars for Let Nothing You Dismay, by Carla Kelly. Lord Trevor Chase is a barrister who champions poor children and youth, doing his best to spare them the death penalty for stealing a loaf of bread. He is lonely, nearing 40, turning gray, and often disheveled, yet handsome. Because of his interest in the underclass, society shuns him, despite his noble connections and wealthy family. He finds love with a woman of intelligence, wisdom, and compassion -- Miss Cecilia Ambrose. She is 28 years old, good looking, and well educated, but half-Egyptian, thus incurring a cold shoulder from society despite her connections. As an art teacher in a select academy for young ladies, Cecilia chaperones Lord Trevor's niece Lucinda on the trip home to Chase Hall for the Christmas holidays. This is not a joyous or lighthearted Christmas pick, as Trevor and Cecilia discuss various children suffering under the burden of adult irresponsibility... and far worse. Set in 1810, when language was euphemistic -- especially around women -- Trevor is too blunt, using terms like "sodomite" and "buggery" (but this type of language is no surprise to anyone who follows Carla Kelly). I was happy that Trevor found someone to love. I left this story feeling good.
I read the newly digitized e-book. I only read three of the five stories in this anthology.
4.5 stars for The Lucky Coin, by Barbara Metzger. It was my favorite in the anthology. It's brimming with Metzger's trademark wit, the hero is simply lovely, plus there is a touch of the paranormal, because the coin is magical. The wishing coin came to be in the unknowing possession of Sir Adam Standish -- presumably because of his various random acts of kindness (lovely man!) The baronet goes to London to plead for more time to pay the mortgage, or all is lost. He sees beautiful Miss Jenna in a curiosity shop and is instantly attracted. We go from there. Lovely story, even if the differences in social class are glossed over. I just loved the baronet and wanted him to be happy. I finished this story feeling lighthearted.
3.5 stars for Best Wishes, by Edith Layton. This story was okay, but not very memorable, and I wasn't crazy about the plot line. The newly-wed Rexfords argue about where to spend the holidays. The viscount prefers holidaying at a risqué house party with his old cronies -- including a former lover (the idiot). His new young bride argues for a traditional Christmas with her extended family. What occurs is surprising. I thought this was an odd plot for this anthology, but the story itself seemed credible, realistic.
4 stars for Let Nothing You Dismay, by Carla Kelly. Lord Trevor Chase is a barrister who champions poor children and youth, doing his best to spare them the death penalty for stealing a loaf of bread. He is lonely, nearing 40, turning gray, and often disheveled, yet handsome. Because of his interest in the underclass, society shuns him, despite his noble connections and wealthy family. He finds love with a woman of intelligence, wisdom, and compassion -- Miss Cecilia Ambrose. She is 28 years old, good looking, and well educated, but half-Egyptian, thus incurring a cold shoulder from society despite her connections. As an art teacher in a select academy for young ladies, Cecilia chaperones Lord Trevor's niece Lucinda on the trip home to Chase Hall for the Christmas holidays. This is not a joyous or lighthearted Christmas pick, as Trevor and Cecilia discuss various children suffering under the burden of adult irresponsibility... and far worse. Set in 1810, when language was euphemistic -- especially around women -- Trevor is too blunt, using terms like "sodomite" and "buggery" (but this type of language is no surprise to anyone who follows Carla Kelly). I was happy that Trevor found someone to love. I left this story feeling good.
November 27, 2018
I've been on a bit of a Regency kick recently, so when I stumbled across this anthology of Christmas-themed Regency short stories a few weeks ago, I thought it might be a fun holiday read. It didn't hurt that the cover was fairly attractive (what can I say? quite a few of the romances I've been reading recently have covers that are a little too aggressively pastel... this, even with the Thomas Kinkade echoes, is High Art by comparison), and that the five contributors were all previously unknown to me, providing an opportunity to try new authors in the genre.
Unfortunately, I found Regency Christmas Wishes a thoroughly unsatisfactory reading experience, and wouldn't recommend a single one of the stories it contains. None of the characters felt fully realized to me, which I might have laid at the door of the short-story form itself, with its necessary brevity, had I not already read and enjoyed Georgette Heyer's brilliant romantic shorts, in her Pistols for Two and Other Stories . I also thought many of the narrative developments were rather unbelievable, and while I realize that romance is not always the most realistic of genres, I should at least be able to suspend my disbelief, while reading.
The collection leads off with Barbara Metzger's The Lucky Coin, in which impoverished baronet Sir Adam Standish, in London to plead for more time to repay the mortgage taken out on his lands by his dissolute father, falls instantly in love with the beautiful Miss Jenna Relaford, when he sees her in a curiosity shop. Unfortunately, Miss Relaford is the niece of Sir Adam's banker, who has no very good opinion of down-on-their-luck aristocrats trying to recoup their losses by marrying heiresses from the mercantile class. Leaving aside the idea of the magical wishing coin, which I found inane, as well as the love-at-first-sight motif (never a favorite), I thought Metzger completely ignored the very real class issues here, and resolved everything a little too neatly. Individual rating: 2 stars.
Next up is Following Yonder Star, by Emma Jensen, in which Miss Alice Ashe - a spinster in her late twenties - confronts the man who broke her heart, by leaving their small Irish town years before, and never returning. Here you have some rather contrived conflicts - Gareth Blackwell fervently hopes his brother's widow will bear a son, so he will not have to be the next Earl of Kilcullen, while the widowed countess herself desires a daughter, in order not to be tied to the estate. I appreciated that Jensen had to make her hero appealing, and that painting him as a grasping tyrant would hardly have fit the bill, but I also found her idealized portrait of Gareth - getting along so well with his tenant farmers, determined to better their lot - rather difficult to take, given what I know of the behavior of the Irish aristocracy just a few decades later, during the Great Famine. Still, as a story this was probably the most enjoyable of the lot. Individual rating: 2.5 stars.
The third selection was Sandra Heath's The Merry Magpie, in which Sir Charles Neville, returning to England after an absence of six years, seeks out his estranged wife at Christmas, determined to make amends for the philandering that led to their separation. Of all the stories in Regency Christmas Wishes, I think I found this the least convincing. Given how common it was for aristocratic men of this period to keep mistresses - many other Regency novels comment on this - I found it difficult to believe that Sir Charles would have been vilified in quite the way that Heath depicts. Yes, his wife Juliet would have been terribly hurt, and it's possible there would have been a separation, but I doubt that society would have countenanced her tossing him out, regardless of his behavior. This story also had some unfortunately anachronistic language - Lady Marchwell actually says to Sir Charles, at one point: "Oh, poor you!" - and an unlikely sexual encounter in a rowboat (on a river). Individual rating: .5 stars.
Best Wishes, by Edith Layton, is the fourth selection, and follows the story of the newly wed Viscount and Viscountess of Rexford, who have their first real argument about where to spend the holidays: with his pre-marriage set (including a former lover), or with her extended family. Oh lord! This one has a bed-hopping house party! I was rolling my eyes... Individual rating: 2 stars.
The fifth and final story was Carla Kelly's Let Nothing You Dismay, in which Lord Trevor Chase - an outcast from society, because of his work as a barrister, representing children in the criminal courts - and Miss Cecilia Ambrose, a half-English half-Egyptian school-teacher, who accompanies Lord Trevor's niece home from school for the holidays. This was an interesting story, in that it made reference to much darker realities than I have usually seen in Regency fiction. I had difficulty believing, however, that even a reform-minded radical would have discussed "buggery," or being suspected as a "sodomite," with a respectable woman. I also wasn't thrilled with the idea, implied in the resolution of the story, that love can save an addict, or any other kind of psychologically wounded individual from themselves. Individual rating: 1 star.
Overall, not a very impressive group of tales. Averaging out the stars, you get 1.6 stars, but hey! It's the holidays, so I rounded up.
Unfortunately, I found Regency Christmas Wishes a thoroughly unsatisfactory reading experience, and wouldn't recommend a single one of the stories it contains. None of the characters felt fully realized to me, which I might have laid at the door of the short-story form itself, with its necessary brevity, had I not already read and enjoyed Georgette Heyer's brilliant romantic shorts, in her Pistols for Two and Other Stories . I also thought many of the narrative developments were rather unbelievable, and while I realize that romance is not always the most realistic of genres, I should at least be able to suspend my disbelief, while reading.
The collection leads off with Barbara Metzger's The Lucky Coin, in which impoverished baronet Sir Adam Standish, in London to plead for more time to repay the mortgage taken out on his lands by his dissolute father, falls instantly in love with the beautiful Miss Jenna Relaford, when he sees her in a curiosity shop. Unfortunately, Miss Relaford is the niece of Sir Adam's banker, who has no very good opinion of down-on-their-luck aristocrats trying to recoup their losses by marrying heiresses from the mercantile class. Leaving aside the idea of the magical wishing coin, which I found inane, as well as the love-at-first-sight motif (never a favorite), I thought Metzger completely ignored the very real class issues here, and resolved everything a little too neatly. Individual rating: 2 stars.
Next up is Following Yonder Star, by Emma Jensen, in which Miss Alice Ashe - a spinster in her late twenties - confronts the man who broke her heart, by leaving their small Irish town years before, and never returning. Here you have some rather contrived conflicts - Gareth Blackwell fervently hopes his brother's widow will bear a son, so he will not have to be the next Earl of Kilcullen, while the widowed countess herself desires a daughter, in order not to be tied to the estate. I appreciated that Jensen had to make her hero appealing, and that painting him as a grasping tyrant would hardly have fit the bill, but I also found her idealized portrait of Gareth - getting along so well with his tenant farmers, determined to better their lot - rather difficult to take, given what I know of the behavior of the Irish aristocracy just a few decades later, during the Great Famine. Still, as a story this was probably the most enjoyable of the lot. Individual rating: 2.5 stars.
The third selection was Sandra Heath's The Merry Magpie, in which Sir Charles Neville, returning to England after an absence of six years, seeks out his estranged wife at Christmas, determined to make amends for the philandering that led to their separation. Of all the stories in Regency Christmas Wishes, I think I found this the least convincing. Given how common it was for aristocratic men of this period to keep mistresses - many other Regency novels comment on this - I found it difficult to believe that Sir Charles would have been vilified in quite the way that Heath depicts. Yes, his wife Juliet would have been terribly hurt, and it's possible there would have been a separation, but I doubt that society would have countenanced her tossing him out, regardless of his behavior. This story also had some unfortunately anachronistic language - Lady Marchwell actually says to Sir Charles, at one point: "Oh, poor you!" - and an unlikely sexual encounter in a rowboat (on a river). Individual rating: .5 stars.
Best Wishes, by Edith Layton, is the fourth selection, and follows the story of the newly wed Viscount and Viscountess of Rexford, who have their first real argument about where to spend the holidays: with his pre-marriage set (including a former lover), or with her extended family. Oh lord! This one has a bed-hopping house party! I was rolling my eyes... Individual rating: 2 stars.
The fifth and final story was Carla Kelly's Let Nothing You Dismay, in which Lord Trevor Chase - an outcast from society, because of his work as a barrister, representing children in the criminal courts - and Miss Cecilia Ambrose, a half-English half-Egyptian school-teacher, who accompanies Lord Trevor's niece home from school for the holidays. This was an interesting story, in that it made reference to much darker realities than I have usually seen in Regency fiction. I had difficulty believing, however, that even a reform-minded radical would have discussed "buggery," or being suspected as a "sodomite," with a respectable woman. I also wasn't thrilled with the idea, implied in the resolution of the story, that love can save an addict, or any other kind of psychologically wounded individual from themselves. Individual rating: 1 star.
Overall, not a very impressive group of tales. Averaging out the stars, you get 1.6 stars, but hey! It's the holidays, so I rounded up.
December 13, 2020
This is a Christmas anthology written by 5 very talented authors.
Each story give the reader something to consider.
We learn about magic, conscience, forgiveness among other things. Most of all, we learn about love. There is family love, love of right and wrong and romantic love.
Each story brings a new idea about what makes Christmas.
This is a wonderful group of stories for the season. There are smiles and tears. There is a strong sense that as lng as people can live up to the spirit of Christmas, all will be right with the world.
Each story give the reader something to consider.
We learn about magic, conscience, forgiveness among other things. Most of all, we learn about love. There is family love, love of right and wrong and romantic love.
Each story brings a new idea about what makes Christmas.
This is a wonderful group of stories for the season. There are smiles and tears. There is a strong sense that as lng as people can live up to the spirit of Christmas, all will be right with the world.
December 2, 2013
In an anthology about Christmas, I want the tales to lift my spirits, make me laugh, or cause a sniffle. I don't want them to depress my spirits and force me to look at the dreary parts of human nature. "Following Yonder Star" (Emma Jensen) and "The Merry Magpie" (Sandra Heath) did this. I won't get into the subject matter, for doing so will reveal spoilers. Suffice it to say, to me, these two tales are not in keeping with the Christmas spirit. That being said, they are not without redemption. The magpie was interesting and done well, and Jensen can write. I would like to see what these two authors can do in a different work, Jensen especially.
Neither depressing nor uplifting is "Best Wishes" by Edith Layton. The work, like the characterization, improved as it went on. I like how it touched on real life holiday problems, but the characters started off annoying--one in a tantrum, one cold. And the story, as a whole, focused too much on the sensual for me; a plus for some fans, but not for me.
Carla Kelly's "Let Nothing You Dismay" and Barbara Metzger's "The Lucky Coin" were the best works, with the latter being the very best. Metzger's had the most to do with the theme of the anthology, and it had traits of what I have come to expect of her: surprising (and humorous) twists, delightful characters, great voice, and even dogs. The only drawback is I didn't quite believe in the quickness of the hero and heroine's love, but that is a fault of the form (or length), not the author.
Kelly's worked well, and used Christmas as a suitable backdrop. Her style and characters reminded me of Metzger's, but she lacks the humorous surprises and twists; this is only a shortcoming when comparing the two, not when judging each author on her own merits. However, I felt the story's characters suffered from a lack of steadiness--the hero's emotions started out very dark, were forgotten for the most part, then returned again toward the end, and compounding that problem was melodrama. I wonder if this too is in part due to the form. Either way, Kelly is one I will keep an eye on.
So there it is, for better or worse: two stories I didn't care for, one story that was so-so, one I liked, and one I really liked. Because of Kelly and Metzger, I rated this anthology three stars.
Neither depressing nor uplifting is "Best Wishes" by Edith Layton. The work, like the characterization, improved as it went on. I like how it touched on real life holiday problems, but the characters started off annoying--one in a tantrum, one cold. And the story, as a whole, focused too much on the sensual for me; a plus for some fans, but not for me.
Carla Kelly's "Let Nothing You Dismay" and Barbara Metzger's "The Lucky Coin" were the best works, with the latter being the very best. Metzger's had the most to do with the theme of the anthology, and it had traits of what I have come to expect of her: surprising (and humorous) twists, delightful characters, great voice, and even dogs. The only drawback is I didn't quite believe in the quickness of the hero and heroine's love, but that is a fault of the form (or length), not the author.
Kelly's worked well, and used Christmas as a suitable backdrop. Her style and characters reminded me of Metzger's, but she lacks the humorous surprises and twists; this is only a shortcoming when comparing the two, not when judging each author on her own merits. However, I felt the story's characters suffered from a lack of steadiness--the hero's emotions started out very dark, were forgotten for the most part, then returned again toward the end, and compounding that problem was melodrama. I wonder if this too is in part due to the form. Either way, Kelly is one I will keep an eye on.
So there it is, for better or worse: two stories I didn't care for, one story that was so-so, one I liked, and one I really liked. Because of Kelly and Metzger, I rated this anthology three stars.
January 14, 2015
Wow, I also liked this a lot better than I expected to! One of the better regency collections, it shows what great authors can do regardless of length.
-The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger
Hilarious and sweet. liked how the hero quickly revised his wishes to remain ethical
-Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen
The hero changes a bit too quickly and the heroine a bit too forgiving (she waited so long, couldn't she let him sweat a bit more?) And though he never told her, it was sweet how he always saw her wherever he went, no matter how far away he escaped, his heart was with him
-The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath
I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this one. it was really short, and the material wasn't very happy, but I really liked how the author wrote it and how realistic it was. Why he strayed, how his infidelity was revealed, how he hated and blamed the magpie, how he no longer wished them any ill-will when he was finally walking next to his wife, how he tried to earn back her trust, how she truthfully says she isn't sure. The ending was a bit quick (again, I wished she let him sweat a little more, but well, its been 6 years) but cute
Best Wishes by Edith Layton
Another realistic tale, and another reason I love Edith Layton. I can't believe what Edith can do in a mere 55 pages. All of her characters and their quirks/issues/failings/strengths are so incredible realistic and detailed, great read
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly
Meh, longer story, wished the pages were given to Edith Layton (not that she needed it) but this one meandered and then abruptly ended. The chemistry between the hero and heroine wasn't enough to engender the life-altering decisions between the two. Also hero's self mutilation is inexplicable
-The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger
Hilarious and sweet. liked how the hero quickly revised his wishes to remain ethical
-Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen
The hero changes a bit too quickly and the heroine a bit too forgiving (she waited so long, couldn't she let him sweat a bit more?) And though he never told her, it was sweet how he always saw her wherever he went, no matter how far away he escaped, his heart was with him
-The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath
I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this one. it was really short, and the material wasn't very happy, but I really liked how the author wrote it and how realistic it was. Why he strayed, how his infidelity was revealed, how he hated and blamed the magpie, how he no longer wished them any ill-will when he was finally walking next to his wife, how he tried to earn back her trust, how she truthfully says she isn't sure. The ending was a bit quick (again, I wished she let him sweat a little more, but well, its been 6 years) but cute
Best Wishes by Edith Layton
Another realistic tale, and another reason I love Edith Layton. I can't believe what Edith can do in a mere 55 pages. All of her characters and their quirks/issues/failings/strengths are so incredible realistic and detailed, great read
Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly
Meh, longer story, wished the pages were given to Edith Layton (not that she needed it) but this one meandered and then abruptly ended. The chemistry between the hero and heroine wasn't enough to engender the life-altering decisions between the two. Also hero's self mutilation is inexplicable
December 22, 2015
Wow, I liked this a lot better than I expected to!
~The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger, 4*: Light-hearted and quite humorous, very enjoyable.
~Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen, 3*: Lovely descriptions of rural Ireland
~The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath, 2*: Kind of a downer, so just okay
~Best Wishes by Edith Layton, 3*: Amusing tale of newlywed love
~Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly, 3.5*: A longer story, well-crafted with a somewhat abrupt end.
~The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger, 4*: Light-hearted and quite humorous, very enjoyable.
~Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen, 3*: Lovely descriptions of rural Ireland
~The Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath, 2*: Kind of a downer, so just okay
~Best Wishes by Edith Layton, 3*: Amusing tale of newlywed love
~Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly, 3.5*: A longer story, well-crafted with a somewhat abrupt end.
December 31, 2014
An enjoyable and entertaining holiday read overall! The Merry Magpie was the exception, stretching believability well beyond the breaking point. And I'm not referring to the bird....
September 11, 2016
Metzger and Layton especially were good
February 8, 2014
This volume of Regency Christmas-themed novellas includes "The Lucky Coin" by Barbara Metzger, "Following Yonder Star" by Emma Jensen, "The Merry Magpie" by Sandra Heath, "Best Wishes" by Edith Layton and" Let Nothing You Dismay" by Carla Kelly.
In "The Lucky Coin," Sir Adam Standish is down-on-his-luck through no fault of his own. He needs a loan or a miracle to help him save his beloved estate. After confiding his woes to a stranger on the stage, the stranger gives Adam a lucky coin. At first there's nothing very lucky about the coin, but then Adam meets his Christmas Angel, a beautiful young woman who inspires him to protect her from a villain. Then Adam finds that his lucky coin may help him save the estate after all but will it win him his true love? Barbara Metzger is one of my favorite authors in the genre and this story is no exception. It's light, fluffy and improbable but a good read. I especially enjoyed this story and consider it my favorite of the collection.
"Following Yonder Star" is slightly more serious. Eight years ago, Gareth Blackwell, the younger son of an Irish Earl, went off to sea and hasn't returned to Ireland since. Eight years ago, Alice was left with a broken heart when Gareth went away. Now she cares for his family home and looks after her spoiled younger sister, now the Countess of Kilcullen. Gareth returns, reluctantly, after his brother's death, to await the birth of his brother's child. Should the child prove to be a girl, then Gareth is the new Earl, a role which he does not relish. Gareth finds Alice older and less feisty than she was but still beautiful and loving. In helping Alice with her duties, he comes to care for her even more. Alice discovers that Gareth has grown into a solid, caring man and she is determined to show him the value of their home. I liked this story because it feels like a rewrite of Persuasion and a well-done one at that. Gareth and Alice are nicely rounded characters who seem mostly realistic. Alice is a bit saintly, like Anne Eliot, but not in an obnoxious way. The secondary characters are a bit stereotypical but provide the comic relief. If you like more substance in your romance stories and love Persuasion, this is the best pick for you.
"The Merry Magpie" is an even more serious story featuring an estranged married couple. Sir Charles Neville married his childhood sweetheart while his friends were still busy sowing their wild oats. A slight feeling of jealously led to weakness which led to his taking a mistress. He thought he could hide his misdeed from his beloved wife, but her aunt's pet magpie uncovered the secret and Charles was banished from his wife's family home. Now, six years later, Charles has returned from India more mature and wiser and ready to make amends. He wonders whether he'll be welcome at Marchgrove Park and if his beloved Juliet will take him back. Juliet's scheming aunt and her tipsy magpie interfere sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. This is one of the weaker stories in the collection. I fail to understand Charles's excuse for cheating on his wife. I commend Juliet's actions because usually in Regency stories, the wife is supposed to accept her that her husband has strayed. However, Juliet's reaction is very modern and I'm not sure it's entirely accurate. I felt sorry for her and wished more of the story had been from her point of view. The magpie character is silly and doesn't add much to the plot other than the initial disaster. I neither loved nor hated this story. It just isn't my favorite.
"Best Wishes" is a similar story about a married couple experiencing their first discord. Pamela, Lady Rexford refuses to attend a Christmas house party at the home of her husband's former mistress. Jonathan wants to introduce Pamela to more people from Society and what better way than to attend a house party, however, Pamela is jealous of her husband's past relationship and has heard a lot of gossip about the hostess and her guests. Pamela wishes to return home to her family for the holidays and resents that Jonathan accepted an invitation without considering her wishes or consulting her. Jonathan doesn't want to visit Pamela's family where he will be an outsider. Finally, the couple decides to compromise and spend half the week with the Fanshawes and half with Pamela's family. When the time comes, neither is as happy as they believe they should be and continuously quarrel and make up. The story is very repetitive and slow moving. I had a hard time getting through this one and consider it my least favorite.
"Let Nothing You Dismay," the final story in the collection, is very unique. Lord Trevor Chase is a London barrister who insists on staying in London for the holiday to take a deposition. His solicitor is loathe to leave Lord Trevor alone but has family to visit. Lord Trevor makes a desperate wish on a star for someone to save him and thus begins the story. The heroine, Miss Cecilia Ambrose was born to unknown parents in Egypt and raised by a family of missionary philanthropists. In England she feels out-of-place and mostly sticks to Miss Dupree's Select Academy for Young Ladies in Bath where she is a teacher. This Christmas, Cecilia has been asked to escort one of her pupils, Lady Lucinda Chase, back to her home. Cecilia wishes to have a chat with Lucy's mother about Lucy's depressed behavior since learning of her older sister's engagement. After that, Cecilia thinks she will return to Bath. However, a family emergency requires Cecilia to stay and help Lord Trevor to care for his nieces and nephews. Cecilia is in awe of Lord Trevor, the famous barrister who takes on sordid cases that make exciting news stories. Cecilia isn't shy about telling Lord Trevor what she thinks of him, and he finds her a refreshing and intriguing companion. A house fire forces the family to move to the Dower House, where it is hoped the children will stop squabbling and mend their ways. Something draws Cecilia and Lord Trevor to confide each others' deepest secrets to each other. Lord Trevor reveals how he came to be the black sheep of his family by representing underprivileged children and the mistake he made in his past that haunts him to this day. As Christmas moves closer, Lord Trevor withdraws from the family and the children elect Cecilia to help draw him out and keep him from his demons. This story is darker and more serious than any of the others but no less romantic. Carla Kelly always creates interesting heroines and Cecilia is no exception. The romance is believable and sweet but there is first the hurdle of past demons to battle and that plot is what really makes the story. The writing is excellent and thought the message is a bit corny, it's not as heavy handed as some other holiday stories in the genre. This is an absolute must-read for fans of more serious, mature romances.
December 30, 2024
I enjoyed "The Lucky Coin" but I am highly tolerant of Christmas stories that may or may not feature an angel and tend to enjoy Barbara Metzger's stuff.
I might have enjoyed Emma Jenson's "Following Yonder Star" with more foreshadowing. I felt the author hid the hero's real feelings about things from the reader much too long, and spent most of the story unable to see how this couple could ever work things out. I don't mind if the heroine feels that way, but I don't like it when I do! Because his real motives were so different from those implied through most of the story, the happy ending felt tacked on.
Hated Sandra Heath's "The Merry Magpie." I was quite irked with the aunt for essentially forcing the guy on her niece, I rolled my eyes at the sex in a boat, and the only way I could have bought the happy ending is if the heroine had made it clear, "I'll give you a second chance, but if it happens again, it's over." And I'm not sure if I could have then. It's one thing when a woman marries a philanderer and then catches him at it; it's something else again when two innocents marry and then he betrays her that way after the fact. Over and above the infidelity, the lying about it for pretty much a full year would have been a huge issue for me. I'll take an arrogant but honest rake over this guy any day. And to have a Regency-era woman who feels so strongly about his infidelity she's willing to create a scene over it who then shrugs and takes him back seems ridiculous.
In Edith Layton's "Best Wishes,"I was initially annoyed with the hero's cavalier attitude about forcing his wife to holiday at the home of his former mistress, then by the end of the story I thought his wife was an idiot as well. I might have been happier if they'd decided to form their own Christmas traditions, but the author went another route.
I agreed with Kathleen's comments on Carla Kelly's "Let Nothing You Dismay," particularly, "This is not a joyous or lighthearted Christmas pick, as Trevor and Cecilia discuss various children suffering under the burden of adult irresponsibility... and far worse. Set in 1810, when language was euphemistic -- especially around women -- Trevor is too blunt, using terms like "sodomite" and "buggery" (but this type of language is no surprise to anyone who follows Carla Kelly)." But this was not my first Carla Kelly and it worked for me.
I might have enjoyed Emma Jenson's "Following Yonder Star" with more foreshadowing. I felt the author hid the hero's real feelings about things from the reader much too long, and spent most of the story unable to see how this couple could ever work things out. I don't mind if the heroine feels that way, but I don't like it when I do! Because his real motives were so different from those implied through most of the story, the happy ending felt tacked on.
Hated Sandra Heath's "The Merry Magpie." I was quite irked with the aunt for essentially forcing the guy on her niece, I rolled my eyes at the sex in a boat, and the only way I could have bought the happy ending is if the heroine had made it clear, "I'll give you a second chance, but if it happens again, it's over." And I'm not sure if I could have then. It's one thing when a woman marries a philanderer and then catches him at it; it's something else again when two innocents marry and then he betrays her that way after the fact. Over and above the infidelity, the lying about it for pretty much a full year would have been a huge issue for me. I'll take an arrogant but honest rake over this guy any day. And to have a Regency-era woman who feels so strongly about his infidelity she's willing to create a scene over it who then shrugs and takes him back seems ridiculous.
In Edith Layton's "Best Wishes,"I was initially annoyed with the hero's cavalier attitude about forcing his wife to holiday at the home of his former mistress, then by the end of the story I thought his wife was an idiot as well. I might have been happier if they'd decided to form their own Christmas traditions, but the author went another route.
I agreed with Kathleen's comments on Carla Kelly's "Let Nothing You Dismay," particularly, "This is not a joyous or lighthearted Christmas pick, as Trevor and Cecilia discuss various children suffering under the burden of adult irresponsibility... and far worse. Set in 1810, when language was euphemistic -- especially around women -- Trevor is too blunt, using terms like "sodomite" and "buggery" (but this type of language is no surprise to anyone who follows Carla Kelly)." But this was not my first Carla Kelly and it worked for me.
December 13, 2019
Christmas books are often like Christmas candy, tasty but so very sweet that they should be consumed only once per year. I reread this in 2019 and wrote review before realize I'd already done that - so pasting at the bottom.
(THis anthology needs a sugar index)
The Lucky Coin, Barbara Metzger
A happy tale of a poverty stricken gentleman hoping for a reprieve from his creditors. On his way to London he shares his concerns with an elderly man in the carriage who gives him a coin for his thoughts. Though he initially wants to refuse the coin from this man who looks even worse off than he, his luck begins to change almost immediately as he rubs the coins and makes a wish. Like any good Christmas special, events and circumstances continue to improve for him at each turn, though there’s a set back and a few conflicts along the way.
Following Yonder Star, Emma Jensen
It’s refreshing to read a regency set in Ireland. Our hero and heroine grew up as neighbors for friends, but Alice eventually fell in love with Gareth. Unfortunately, Gareth as second son decides he did not need or want to tie himself down to Ireland and goes off to war then to see the world. Eight years later after his brother dies, Gareth comes back at Christmas to await the birth of a niece or nephew, who potentially could inherit the title and relieve Gareth of any familial obligation to stay in Ireland.
As the family prepares for Christmas and the birth, Gareth and Alice spend more time together and rekindling old feelings. At the end Gareth does realize he loves Alice and wants to stay. Nice story, but Gareth’s emotional turnaround was a little pat.
The Merry Magpie, Sandra Heath
It’s not often that a bird is one of the central characters of a romance, but Jack the Magpie plays an important role in reconciling a husband and wife who had separated 8 years before the story started because of his infidelities.
Jack the sherry drinking magpie is definitely my favorite character in this story, but the author does a good job of developing Charles our wayward husband. He recognizes what he did to ruin the marriage and doesn’t try to make excuses for his behavior. INstead he tries to use a little Christmas magic and help from a bird to make things right.
Unfortunately the female character, Juliet, is not as well developed. Hence it’s hard to understand why she so quickly accepted him after holding him back for eight years
Best Wishes, Edith Layton
Unlike most romance stories, this story is not about a couple falling in love. Rather, it’s about a couple figuring how to make that love work. This story of family and marital relationship dynamics could as easily be set in the 21st century as in the 19th, but that’s a compliment. Ms. Layton captures the difficult dynamics a couple face as they try to integrate the customs, expectations, and personalities of their former lives, challenges that are heightened at holiday time. Well done and enjoyable, but some aspects of the story may make readers wince as hitting a bit close to home.
I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for Holiday Romances, especially short ones, which is why I love anthologies like this one. Sometimes their schmaltzy, the characters aren’t always fully fleshed out, and occasionally they veer a bit to religious for me but when the snow is falling, the wind is howling, and the temperatures dip below zero I just want to huddle under a blanket.
This is the second read of this anthology for me and I still enjoyed it.
The Lucky Coin involves a down on his luck artistocrat and the wealthy niece of banker. Sir Adam Standish is on his way to town to plead with his banker to postpone his loan payments on debt incurred by his deceased father. He wants to keep the estate running until spring to keep his tenants from starving. On the way to town, he meets an old man who gives him a coin for his thoughts – turns out it is a not a typical coin. His banker turns him down. As he’s wandering, he stumbles into antiques shop where he wants to have the coin assessed. While he’s in there he spots a beautiful young girl, but also interrupts a robbery. The young woman’s maid thinks he’s in on the crime and knocks him out after he saves them. The romance blossoms from there. Sweet romance with a spunky heroine.
Following yonder star is set in Ireland with a young man coming home after many years because his brother has died and he’s inherited his property. Enjoyable but not as memorable as the first tale.
The Merry Magpie is not a traditional holiday tale. The hero, Charles, had been thrown out by his wife ten years before after his cheating had been laid bare at a holiday gathering. Though taking mistress was apparently common among the aristocracy the public nature of his offense had been too much to bare. Years later he has returned. He believes he’s matured and wants to win her back, but first he has to get through her aunt and her mischievous magpie. It’s refreshing to see a second chance romance like this one.
Best Wishes, Edith Layton
This is an interesting one. Jonathon, the Viscount Rexford, married young Pamela after a whirl-wind romance. Like many of his set, he’d been with a lot of women and led a raucous life but was ready to settle down. Pamela has not seen much of the world coming from a large country family.
It’s their first Christmas and Jonathon has accepted an invitation from his first lover, a much older woman, to join her and her husband at a home party. Pamela refuses and instead insists they go to her family’s gathering, in which Jonathon the sophisticate has no interest. They compromise and decide to split their holiday.
Along the way they really learn about themselves, about compromise and about family. Even though set in regency times, of the five stories, this one may have the most timeless themes. It could have been set in any era.
Let Nothing You Dismay, Carla Kelly
Ms. Kelly is one of my favorite regency authors, and I enjoyed this story, though not as much as Captain Grey’s Christmas Proposal. The story revolves around Lord Trevor Chase, a barrister who functions much like a modern day public defender . He’s tortured emotionally by one of his first cases that resulted in the death of a young boy and rarely celebrates Christmas, but has agreed to return to his brothers’ estate this year. Cecilia is a teacher and has agreed to escort a pupil Lucinda home just to see that she makes it safely. She’d planned to return immediately to London, but through a series of unfortunate events agrees to stay for a few days where she and Trevor peel back their emotional layers. Well done as with any Kelly book.
4/5 on romance scale. A holiday reread.
(THis anthology needs a sugar index)
The Lucky Coin, Barbara Metzger
A happy tale of a poverty stricken gentleman hoping for a reprieve from his creditors. On his way to London he shares his concerns with an elderly man in the carriage who gives him a coin for his thoughts. Though he initially wants to refuse the coin from this man who looks even worse off than he, his luck begins to change almost immediately as he rubs the coins and makes a wish. Like any good Christmas special, events and circumstances continue to improve for him at each turn, though there’s a set back and a few conflicts along the way.
Following Yonder Star, Emma Jensen
It’s refreshing to read a regency set in Ireland. Our hero and heroine grew up as neighbors for friends, but Alice eventually fell in love with Gareth. Unfortunately, Gareth as second son decides he did not need or want to tie himself down to Ireland and goes off to war then to see the world. Eight years later after his brother dies, Gareth comes back at Christmas to await the birth of a niece or nephew, who potentially could inherit the title and relieve Gareth of any familial obligation to stay in Ireland.
As the family prepares for Christmas and the birth, Gareth and Alice spend more time together and rekindling old feelings. At the end Gareth does realize he loves Alice and wants to stay. Nice story, but Gareth’s emotional turnaround was a little pat.
The Merry Magpie, Sandra Heath
It’s not often that a bird is one of the central characters of a romance, but Jack the Magpie plays an important role in reconciling a husband and wife who had separated 8 years before the story started because of his infidelities.
Jack the sherry drinking magpie is definitely my favorite character in this story, but the author does a good job of developing Charles our wayward husband. He recognizes what he did to ruin the marriage and doesn’t try to make excuses for his behavior. INstead he tries to use a little Christmas magic and help from a bird to make things right.
Unfortunately the female character, Juliet, is not as well developed. Hence it’s hard to understand why she so quickly accepted him after holding him back for eight years
Best Wishes, Edith Layton
Unlike most romance stories, this story is not about a couple falling in love. Rather, it’s about a couple figuring how to make that love work. This story of family and marital relationship dynamics could as easily be set in the 21st century as in the 19th, but that’s a compliment. Ms. Layton captures the difficult dynamics a couple face as they try to integrate the customs, expectations, and personalities of their former lives, challenges that are heightened at holiday time. Well done and enjoyable, but some aspects of the story may make readers wince as hitting a bit close to home.
I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for Holiday Romances, especially short ones, which is why I love anthologies like this one. Sometimes their schmaltzy, the characters aren’t always fully fleshed out, and occasionally they veer a bit to religious for me but when the snow is falling, the wind is howling, and the temperatures dip below zero I just want to huddle under a blanket.
This is the second read of this anthology for me and I still enjoyed it.
The Lucky Coin involves a down on his luck artistocrat and the wealthy niece of banker. Sir Adam Standish is on his way to town to plead with his banker to postpone his loan payments on debt incurred by his deceased father. He wants to keep the estate running until spring to keep his tenants from starving. On the way to town, he meets an old man who gives him a coin for his thoughts – turns out it is a not a typical coin. His banker turns him down. As he’s wandering, he stumbles into antiques shop where he wants to have the coin assessed. While he’s in there he spots a beautiful young girl, but also interrupts a robbery. The young woman’s maid thinks he’s in on the crime and knocks him out after he saves them. The romance blossoms from there. Sweet romance with a spunky heroine.
Following yonder star is set in Ireland with a young man coming home after many years because his brother has died and he’s inherited his property. Enjoyable but not as memorable as the first tale.
The Merry Magpie is not a traditional holiday tale. The hero, Charles, had been thrown out by his wife ten years before after his cheating had been laid bare at a holiday gathering. Though taking mistress was apparently common among the aristocracy the public nature of his offense had been too much to bare. Years later he has returned. He believes he’s matured and wants to win her back, but first he has to get through her aunt and her mischievous magpie. It’s refreshing to see a second chance romance like this one.
Best Wishes, Edith Layton
This is an interesting one. Jonathon, the Viscount Rexford, married young Pamela after a whirl-wind romance. Like many of his set, he’d been with a lot of women and led a raucous life but was ready to settle down. Pamela has not seen much of the world coming from a large country family.
It’s their first Christmas and Jonathon has accepted an invitation from his first lover, a much older woman, to join her and her husband at a home party. Pamela refuses and instead insists they go to her family’s gathering, in which Jonathon the sophisticate has no interest. They compromise and decide to split their holiday.
Along the way they really learn about themselves, about compromise and about family. Even though set in regency times, of the five stories, this one may have the most timeless themes. It could have been set in any era.
Let Nothing You Dismay, Carla Kelly
Ms. Kelly is one of my favorite regency authors, and I enjoyed this story, though not as much as Captain Grey’s Christmas Proposal. The story revolves around Lord Trevor Chase, a barrister who functions much like a modern day public defender . He’s tortured emotionally by one of his first cases that resulted in the death of a young boy and rarely celebrates Christmas, but has agreed to return to his brothers’ estate this year. Cecilia is a teacher and has agreed to escort a pupil Lucinda home just to see that she makes it safely. She’d planned to return immediately to London, but through a series of unfortunate events agrees to stay for a few days where she and Trevor peel back their emotional layers. Well done as with any Kelly book.
4/5 on romance scale. A holiday reread.
October 6, 2025
Five stories, several by authors I really like, should have made an interesting read, but I was disappointed in most of them. Perhaps they were too short to really get into them, but my interest flagged before the end of all of them except the first, The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger. That one was just old-fashioned fun.
December 2, 2018
This review is for the last three stories as I must have read the beginning a while ago. More like 3.75. I enjoyed all three, they were sweet. Would have been a 4, but they were a little too sweet, maybe even smarmy. Carla Kelly's wasn't and was a treat.
January 6, 2019
An interesting collection of regency stories with slight fantasy/paranormal overtones.
Several people have commented on how not in keeping with the season they were because they were dark. I thought they were great stories of redemption and coming out of darkness so they worked for me.
Several people have commented on how not in keeping with the season they were because they were dark. I thought they were great stories of redemption and coming out of darkness so they worked for me.
December 31, 2017
The stories were a bit cliché, but they made for a decent guilty-pleasure read.
January 2, 2019
Loved It. Great Stories And Characters. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
September 30, 2019
Read Kelly's story.
December 16, 2021
Of the five stories my favorties were The Lucky Coin and Let Nothing You Dismay.
June 24, 2022
Love the stories from Metzger and Kelly, 4 stars for each. 3 stars for the other stories
November 28, 2023
Sweet novellas, perfect at Christmas time.
Read
December 5, 2023Let Nothing You Dismay is contained in A Season of Love
January 1, 2025
I got this little treasure at a little free library! And I’m so glad I got my hands on it. The first story-The Lucky Coin- was so enjoyable! I wished it was longer!
December 30, 2020
1-Poor Adam tosses lucky coin, tries for rich Jenna. 2-Gareth left Alice to sail world, back for Clarissa birthing, girl or laird? 3-Six years after wife Juliet found mistress, Charles returns to reconcile. 4-Newlyweds differ over holiday traditions. 5-HalfEgyptian Cec rescues suicidal lawyer Trev.
Read
March 19, 2017It was 5 heart warming stories
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