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Christmas Eve at Etford Park
1849, England
Nearly a year since her father died during the London Cholera epidemic, Lily Bowden finds herself in a tiny village in Kent, trapped in a life of unpaid servitude. Along with her mother and younger sister, she relies upon the fragile goodwill of her minister uncle and his overbearing wife.
After suffering injuries during a battle in India, Gabriel Holsworthy returns to England, only to find himself languishing in a military hospital in Chelsea. As a second son, he’d gained little favour with a demanding father and is reluctant to go when he is summoned home to Etford Park. Gabriel must accept his brother’s tragic death...but it’s the ghosts of his own past that haunt him.
With Christmas approaching, Lily finds it impossible to be joyful, especially as her poor sister slips into a deep melancholy over their late father. Lily no longer believes in the goodness of others, the Christmas Spirit ...or the chance of finding love.
For Gabriel, he is adamant never to risk his heart again. When he meets Lily, he is stunned by the spark of passion ignited within, but determined to extinguish it before it grows. No unruly slip of a girl will turn his head...or touch his soul. He will be as bitter as his father...as cold as the first Christmas snow.
In the season of healing and forgiveness, will Christmas bring sorrow for Lily and Gabriel, or will Christmas bring them love, the greatest gift of all?
Nearly a year since her father died during the London Cholera epidemic, Lily Bowden finds herself in a tiny village in Kent, trapped in a life of unpaid servitude. Along with her mother and younger sister, she relies upon the fragile goodwill of her minister uncle and his overbearing wife.
After suffering injuries during a battle in India, Gabriel Holsworthy returns to England, only to find himself languishing in a military hospital in Chelsea. As a second son, he’d gained little favour with a demanding father and is reluctant to go when he is summoned home to Etford Park. Gabriel must accept his brother’s tragic death...but it’s the ghosts of his own past that haunt him.
With Christmas approaching, Lily finds it impossible to be joyful, especially as her poor sister slips into a deep melancholy over their late father. Lily no longer believes in the goodness of others, the Christmas Spirit ...or the chance of finding love.
For Gabriel, he is adamant never to risk his heart again. When he meets Lily, he is stunned by the spark of passion ignited within, but determined to extinguish it before it grows. No unruly slip of a girl will turn his head...or touch his soul. He will be as bitter as his father...as cold as the first Christmas snow.
In the season of healing and forgiveness, will Christmas bring sorrow for Lily and Gabriel, or will Christmas bring them love, the greatest gift of all?
292 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2012
102 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Erin Grace
21 books41 followersErin Grace's love of collecting and reproducing antique lace led to a deep connection with the past. She felt every snippet of the precious fabric held a unique story - one Erin longed to tell.
But, as no two pieces of lace are the same, neither are Erin's stories. Escaping from her 'real world' of sales and marketing, she immerses herself in unfolding tales of dire circumstance, brave heroines, unscrupulous villains and, of course, passionate hot-blooded men.
Erin's favourite authors include Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick and Diana Gabaldon.
When not writing, Erin indulges in her love of home-style food by cooking for her family and friends. Erin lives with her husband and three sons in the beautiful Blue Mountains of Australia.
But, as no two pieces of lace are the same, neither are Erin's stories. Escaping from her 'real world' of sales and marketing, she immerses herself in unfolding tales of dire circumstance, brave heroines, unscrupulous villains and, of course, passionate hot-blooded men.
Erin's favourite authors include Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick and Diana Gabaldon.
When not writing, Erin indulges in her love of home-style food by cooking for her family and friends. Erin lives with her husband and three sons in the beautiful Blue Mountains of Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 29, 2021
What a gloomy story for the Christmas season!
Gabriel, an army captain & earl's heir and Lily, a vicar's
niece, clashed. Over time they became friends. Ultimately
he wanted Lily to 'settle' as his mistress in London. Why
did he undervalue her?
Why give so much attention to Lily's manipulative aunt
(uncle's wife) Henrietta? Hen hid behind her vicar's wife's
role to lie + cheat + threaten. And 1 of 5 antagonists! Why
was Lily stuck in so many scenes in the snow or inclement
weather? Why was Lily's sister missing x2? Why a kid-
napping? IMO: too much drama & women in peril. Where
was the love?
Gabriel, an army captain & earl's heir and Lily, a vicar's
niece, clashed. Over time they became friends. Ultimately
he wanted Lily to 'settle' as his mistress in London. Why
did he undervalue her?
Why give so much attention to Lily's manipulative aunt
(uncle's wife) Henrietta? Hen hid behind her vicar's wife's
role to lie + cheat + threaten. And 1 of 5 antagonists! Why
was Lily stuck in so many scenes in the snow or inclement
weather? Why was Lily's sister missing x2? Why a kid-
napping? IMO: too much drama & women in peril. Where
was the love?
December 14, 2021
This early Victorian period Christmas time story is a compelling read with a Cinderella like trope. The heroine, Lily, is not an orphan but she and her younger sister and mother have been forced to accept the dubious charity of her Aunt & Uncle after the loss of Lily’s father to cholera. Aunt Henrietta is less than charitable to Lily and her mother in particular and demands from both that they provide her with work and funds. Henrietta is not only overbearing, but also manipulative and cruel. Add an injured and sometimes sarcastic and callous hero Gabriel to the story with his own broken family dynamic and you have the making of an intriguing read. There is mystery, a cast of eclectic characters and eventually the development of a romance. I had two minor caveats to my enjoyment of the story - the first is a very minor timing issue that involved what appears to be an unexplained 6 month delay in transmitting a message and the second is the slowness of the hero to distinguish love from lust; that said I enjoyed the story so much that this is my second reading of this ultimately uplifting story. If you enjoy a touch of mystery and villains with your romance, this book is a good choice.
October 9, 2019
Wonderful story
A lovely romance story with quirky characters that keep you smiling throughout! And author for me but I am eager to read more of her stories! Good read!
A lovely romance story with quirky characters that keep you smiling throughout! And author for me but I am eager to read more of her stories! Good read!
December 10, 2012
A sweet historical romance set in England in the mid-1800s, Erin Grace’s Christmas at Etford Park follows the trials and tribulations of a family whose father died in the London cholera epidemic. With no social safety net, the mother relies on the rather dubious goodwill of a selfish aunt, and daughter Lily Bowden begins to wonder what the future holds—marriage to a pig-farmer perhaps, a life of service… certainly nothing to match the dreams she once held.
A chance meeting might change everything of course, as Lily meets the second son of the local Lord. But another meeting waits in the wings with a deeper level of healing, as son and father despise each other, while daughter and aunt strike sparks of anger and rebellion.
An appropriately quiet faith threads through the tale. Lily’s uncle’s the pastor, her aunt provides flowers for funerals and cakes for meetings—all cooked by Lily’s reluctant hands of course—and the reclusive, angry Lord might still be open to healing. Add a pinch of mystery, a well-placed spoonful of understanding, one surprisingly feisty young girl, some snow and candle-light, and the author, clearly a much better baker of words than Lily is of cakes, creates a lovely Christmas novel to inspire, intrigue and delight.
Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this novel from the publisher and offered to write a review.
December 11, 2012
If you are looking for a sweet historical romance set in England in the mid-1800s, then look no further with Christmas Eve at Etford Park. With her father passed away, Lily isn't sure what he future holds. From the looks of it with her mother things are not looking up. A chance meeting with the son of a second lord and who knows what may happen next? I really enjoyed reading this as it's such a great book to read during the holidays. I really liked Lily's character and loved being sent back in time to the mid-1800s. So if you are looking for a beautiful story with fun characters with a dash of mystery and intrigue, look no further.
November 5, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, so beautifully written, characters that come to life on the pages, two people who have been through a lot and Christmas time is the time for miracles to happen and love to bloom.
Lily struggles after the death of her father in a small village, but when she meets Gabriel who is returning home under tragic circumstances, both have some emotions to work through and there are a few ups and downs, but together joy and happiness abounds.
A beautiful moving story with such a gorgeous HEA, one that I highly recommend.
Lily struggles after the death of her father in a small village, but when she meets Gabriel who is returning home under tragic circumstances, both have some emotions to work through and there are a few ups and downs, but together joy and happiness abounds.
A beautiful moving story with such a gorgeous HEA, one that I highly recommend.
October 6, 2019
I enjoyed reading this story. I didn't see the connections between all the bad characters until the end though. I think her aunt was awful and so was Cecily's mother, but the other three- didn't catch on. Only one of them Lester made me think of him as bad- largely due to his conversations with her and the stable person. Whenever I read these period stories, I always find it hard to believe how people survived on so little -especially after the man dies. It seems that women were totally in need of men to survive. I am glad for her younger sister- the fun character in this story- someone who doesn't worry about what needs to be said and is honest. I really liked how when Gabriel was coming out to see them and found them walking away when Stephaney said, something like you don't like that man, but you like him. It was plain to her who her sister should be with, not the pig farmer, but the man who she wanted- You almost want to yell- Quit Sacrificing yourself!! Things have certainly changed over the generations.
February 1, 2020
Romance, deceit, and betrayal
An injured Captain returns home from India because his brother, the first born son, died. Not feeling welcome upon his get because his father always favored his brother. He meets Lily when he is visiting the grandmother of one of the soldiers who died in India and delivering a letter and money saved by the soldier. Lily intrigues him, and he can't get her out of his thoughts. Erin Grace writes compellingly to keep your attention to see what will happen next. If you like romance mixed with deceit, suspense, and some twists, you will love this book. Happy reading!
An injured Captain returns home from India because his brother, the first born son, died. Not feeling welcome upon his get because his father always favored his brother. He meets Lily when he is visiting the grandmother of one of the soldiers who died in India and delivering a letter and money saved by the soldier. Lily intrigues him, and he can't get her out of his thoughts. Erin Grace writes compellingly to keep your attention to see what will happen next. If you like romance mixed with deceit, suspense, and some twists, you will love this book. Happy reading!
October 18, 2019
Enchanting
This story was very compelling from the beginning until the end
It had some very negative characters and some very wonderful characters
Will have to check out any other stories by this Author
This story was very compelling from the beginning until the end
It had some very negative characters and some very wonderful characters
Will have to check out any other stories by this Author
December 28, 2018
The Viscount's Christmas Miracle By Grace
Four stars, Lily like a Cinderella story poor girl and her family thought they were poor living off relatives who were abusive..Meeting Gabriel she found hope and love but he had baggage..Plus it did not help she was stubborn..All on all it comes together at the end.
Four stars, Lily like a Cinderella story poor girl and her family thought they were poor living off relatives who were abusive..Meeting Gabriel she found hope and love but he had baggage..Plus it did not help she was stubborn..All on all it comes together at the end.
October 18, 2019
A Happy Christmas story
I really liked this book. The characters seem true to the era,the story is beautiful. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I really liked this book. The characters seem true to the era,the story is beautiful. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
November 29, 2019
Great read
Thanks, Erin Grace, for the story of Lily and Gabriel. It is timely for this holiday season. I appreciated Henrietta's comeuppance, bringing a nice conclusion. Please keep writing!
Thanks, Erin Grace, for the story of Lily and Gabriel. It is timely for this holiday season. I appreciated Henrietta's comeuppance, bringing a nice conclusion. Please keep writing!
November 12, 2019
Great book
October 19, 2019
Although the story is not unique, it is well written and has a few surprising plot twists. I will read other novels by this author.
August 30, 2014
This is a beautifully written book. From the outset I loved Lily and Gabriel. The hen is hilarious and the dreaded old aunt really adds to this story. Well done Erin Grace. Another triumph.
February 13, 2013
I really enjoyed this story such great characters and a wonderful HEA loved it
October 6, 2019
This story was not for me, because I absolutely could not stand the Hero. Gabriel was an a$$ for most of the story. Since he didn't want to get married, he just assumed that Lily would be fine with being his mistress. He didn't care that it would ruin her reputation, as well as that of her mother and sister. There is only one place where he feels a little guilt for not wanting to marry her, but it doesn't last long. I honestly didn't understand what Lily ever saw in him, except that he was handsome. He was often rude, he was selfish, and he wanted sex without giving her the security of marriage.
Lily was OK, until she fell in love with Gabriel, which happened WAY too fast to be believable. After that she turns into an idiot. At first, she was not the type of girl to be tempted to sleep with Gabriel outside of marriage -- because she knew that being his mistress would be good for him, but not for her. She also cared about the reputations of her mother and sister. But when she falls in love with Gabriel, all of a sudden she is willing to do anything to be with him, and forgets all the reasons she shouldn't be his mistress.
I also thought that Lily's aunt was a bit too much of the stereotypical evil relative. She had no redeeming qualities at all. I wanted both Lily and her mother to stand up to her more, and I wanted her to get much more of a comeuppance than she did.
Because I couldn't stand Gabriel, and Lily was TSTL, I didn't really care if they found their HEA. This one gets 2 stars from me, because it really needed a couple I could like.
My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
Lily was OK, until she fell in love with Gabriel, which happened WAY too fast to be believable. After that she turns into an idiot. At first, she was not the type of girl to be tempted to sleep with Gabriel outside of marriage -- because she knew that being his mistress would be good for him, but not for her. She also cared about the reputations of her mother and sister. But when she falls in love with Gabriel, all of a sudden she is willing to do anything to be with him, and forgets all the reasons she shouldn't be his mistress.
I also thought that Lily's aunt was a bit too much of the stereotypical evil relative. She had no redeeming qualities at all. I wanted both Lily and her mother to stand up to her more, and I wanted her to get much more of a comeuppance than she did.
Because I couldn't stand Gabriel, and Lily was TSTL, I didn't really care if they found their HEA. This one gets 2 stars from me, because it really needed a couple I could like.
My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
July 14, 2025
Simply Delightful
Loved this charming little book. Every one of the characters are substantial and well defined. Very sympathetic folks…except for the repulsive ones.
Loved this charming little book. Every one of the characters are substantial and well defined. Very sympathetic folks…except for the repulsive ones.
January 8, 2021
Lily (och hennes mamma och lillasyster) bor hos morbror prosten och hans snåla, elaka fru sedan fadern dog förra julen. Mostern tycker att hon ska acceptera frieriet från den välbärgade (om än illaluktande och tre gånger änklingen) grisbonden mr Dunford. Kapten Holsworthy, andre son till lord Etford, kallas hem när brodern dör och han blir arvinge. Han möter Lily när han ska fullfölja ett löfte till en avliden soldat och efter det har han svårt att släppa tankarna på henne.
***
Det är väldigt lätt att inse hur historien ska sluta och lika lätt att inse att det är en del förvecklingar innan vi når dit. Men författaren har verkligen slagit knut på sig för att ställa till allt på värsta sätt och knyta in trådar åt höger och vänster. När historien är slut vet jag knappt vilka trådar som hör vart och huruvida de knutits ihop eller inte (och om de alls borde knutits ihop som de gjorde). Och Lily och kaptenen/viscounten är ungefär lika förvirrande de eftersom deras skäl till diverse beslut och handlingar är synnerligen dimmiga.
Så nej, jag kan inte rekommendera den - det finns bättre böcker.
***
Det är väldigt lätt att inse hur historien ska sluta och lika lätt att inse att det är en del förvecklingar innan vi når dit. Men författaren har verkligen slagit knut på sig för att ställa till allt på värsta sätt och knyta in trådar åt höger och vänster. När historien är slut vet jag knappt vilka trådar som hör vart och huruvida de knutits ihop eller inte (och om de alls borde knutits ihop som de gjorde). Och Lily och kaptenen/viscounten är ungefär lika förvirrande de eftersom deras skäl till diverse beslut och handlingar är synnerligen dimmiga.
Så nej, jag kan inte rekommendera den - det finns bättre böcker.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews