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Moaning Under the Mistletoe
AMBROSE LIVINGSTONE, EARL OF BENNINGTON, had his life all planned out. Next a marriage of convenience with a duke's daughter. To his shock, she rejects him publicly for a commoner with a railway fortune. Ambrose retreats to The King’s Book Club to lick his wounds but walks in to discover a Christmas party in full swing. He attempts overcomes rejection by accepting an offer from the first handsome man to approach him. Their hook up is incredible, and he wants more… OSCAR MARDIN’s life had taken a surprising turn when his uncle left him The King’s Book Club. Initially he’d naively assumed it was an actual book club, not a gentleman’s club where all kinds of interesting connections were made… An encounter during his first ever Christmas party leads to spending time with a grumpy Earl to go over an upgraded menu for the club. Oscar's goal has been to find not only himself but create a life he loved. He just hadn't planned on falling in love with the Earl, too.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 3, 2023
35 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Renée Dahlia
78 books74 followersRenée Dahlia is an unabashed romance reader who loves feisty women and strong, clever men. Her books reflect this, with a side-note of awkward humour. Renée has a science degree in physics. When not distracted by the characters fighting for attention in her brain, she works in the horse racing industry doing data analysis. When she isn’t reading or writing, Renée spends time with her partner, four children, and volunteers on the local cricket club committee.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 12, 2023
With a title like that, I was really looking forward to this one, but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to expectations.
As far as the premise goes, the plot had a solid foundation; it's everything built on top that I didn't vibe with. I'm tempted to give a bit of grace since it's a novella but honestly, if it was written better, the length wouldn't matter.
To start, there were minor issues with the way the dialogue was written that kept throwing me off; it was difficult to tell who was speaking and I found myself going back to reread the lead-up to the dialogue again and again to figure out who was saying what. Moreover, the dialogue itself was lacking; Oscar & Ambrose's interactions didn't have any real depth and it was hard to get invested in the characters. And listen, I totally get that their relationship is supposed to start off as purely physical but during the scenes where emotions should be developing, I just didn't believe it.
Another thing that threw me off - there were some modern colloquialisms that also brought the story to a screeching halt in my head. I shouldn't see "what the heck" or "freaked out" in a story set in early-1800's England.
Idk I'm just disappointed because if you summarized this book to someone it would sound so good but when you get to the meat of it, there wasn't really much to like.
I hate to say it but even the sex scenes were pretty dull.
Oh, and there is no mention of a mistletoe until the epilogue. Which is absolutely a stupid thing to harp on but my disappointment runs deep so *shrug*.
As far as the premise goes, the plot had a solid foundation; it's everything built on top that I didn't vibe with. I'm tempted to give a bit of grace since it's a novella but honestly, if it was written better, the length wouldn't matter.
To start, there were minor issues with the way the dialogue was written that kept throwing me off; it was difficult to tell who was speaking and I found myself going back to reread the lead-up to the dialogue again and again to figure out who was saying what. Moreover, the dialogue itself was lacking; Oscar & Ambrose's interactions didn't have any real depth and it was hard to get invested in the characters. And listen, I totally get that their relationship is supposed to start off as purely physical but during the scenes where emotions should be developing, I just didn't believe it.
Another thing that threw me off - there were some modern colloquialisms that also brought the story to a screeching halt in my head. I shouldn't see "what the heck" or "freaked out" in a story set in early-1800's England.
Idk I'm just disappointed because if you summarized this book to someone it would sound so good but when you get to the meat of it, there wasn't really much to like.
I hate to say it but even the sex scenes were pretty dull.
Oh, and there is no mention of a mistletoe until the epilogue. Which is absolutely a stupid thing to harp on but my disappointment runs deep so *shrug*.
January 12, 2024
I wanted to love this. It was going to have everything I love about MM. Class differences, angst and love. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The smut felt passionless and like they were paying for it at a club the whole time. It was too short for the author to really add in the longing, the flirting and the real passion and love these two men said they had. Can't win them all I suppose.
January 2, 2024
Oh I’m so mad I must have accidentally swiped down and Goodreads deleted my whole review 😡 I didn’t realize that it didn’t post until looking back. That is what I get for writing it in the app itself and not as a note on my phone. Let’s do a take two!
First of all, I received this Christmas novella for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. Moaning Under the Mistletoe is a Regency romance Christmas novella a part of a multi-author collaboration called “How the Rake Stole Christmas.” This sweet short features a duty-bound Earl (Ambrose) and a recently disowned club owner (Oscar) and how their casual romance leads to something deeper.
✨ the good ✨
The leads: It is always challenging to develop characters sufficiently in a short story, but the author did so well. They felt complete with realistic motivations and even development over the course of their romance. I enjoyed both of them! As another plus, it wasn’t just two white guys. Oscar explains how his family immigrated to England when his mother was pregnant with him.
The romance: Just as I thought the characters were well-developed. So was their romance. I could see why their were drawn to each other and enjoyed watching their inevitable fall to mutual love. Their dynamic was different in and out of the bedroom in a way that matched their personalities. Even though I liked the HEA, I had some issues with the leading up to it as I will detail below.👇
🙊 the bad 🙈
The denouement: As mentioned above, I did not enjoy what led up to Ambrose and Oscar’s happy ending. The conflict felt very contrived, especially since it was caused by a lack of communication which didn’t make sense as they had excellent communication throughout their tryst. Without spoiling, the resolution was very deus ex machina with a character appearing as a solution who had not appeared in the entire rest of the story. Even though this was a short, I don’t think it would have been difficult to add a few more hints at what would solve their issue along the way.
Dialogue/ word choice: while it was overall well-written, I did find myself frequently confused at who was talking. The dialogue was often in the middle of another character’s paragraph so I had to re-read parts. This was jarring especially because the rest of it was pretty well-written, so why does the author have trouble with where to insert dialogue? There were also some instances of phrases that seemed too modern. There was a note at the beginning that some of it was written in Australian vernacular, as well as a message at the end describing a few words of being period accurate in spite of seeming modern, but many of the words and phrases that threw me were not referred to in the notes. Again, because other historical aspects of the book seemed well-researched, this disregard for accuracy in the vocabulary was out of place.
Christmas 🎄: this is presented as a Christmas story. Yes, it does take place at Christmas, but it really doesn’t NEED to be set in December. It could literally be set at any other time during the London season and it would have worked. References to Christmas were only in passing and honestly could have just been deleted without anyone noticing. This is probably not a dealbreaker for many readers; however, for me I pick up Christmas stories expecting the holiday to be a central part of the story, almost a character in its own right. I like watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas books in December and this one is not something I will go for because it really isn’t Christmasy enough. However, stories like this also fail in the rest of the year, because who wants to read a Christmas book, even vaguely mentioned, when it isn’t Christmas? This puts Moaning Under the Mistletoe in a weird state where there really isn’t an opportunity where I would want to read it again.
Even with the issues I mentioned, I still found the story to be enjoyable. I perused the rest of the titles on “How the Rake Stole Christmas,” and this surprisingly appeared to be the only queer title. I didn’t look too deep, but based on the covers they all APPEARED straight (obviously some might be bi or trans, etc). This isn’t a problem, but I mostly read queer titles and I’m also used to queer titles being packaged together rather than with straight books… so I won’t be exploring anything else in this collection which was disappointing to me. I also wasn’t sure who the “rake” was supposed to be in this story: they were both sweeties!
I may not reach for this story to get me in the Christmas spirit, but I definitely will be checking out the rest of Renee Dahlia’s catalogue.
First of all, I received this Christmas novella for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. Moaning Under the Mistletoe is a Regency romance Christmas novella a part of a multi-author collaboration called “How the Rake Stole Christmas.” This sweet short features a duty-bound Earl (Ambrose) and a recently disowned club owner (Oscar) and how their casual romance leads to something deeper.
✨ the good ✨
The leads: It is always challenging to develop characters sufficiently in a short story, but the author did so well. They felt complete with realistic motivations and even development over the course of their romance. I enjoyed both of them! As another plus, it wasn’t just two white guys. Oscar explains how his family immigrated to England when his mother was pregnant with him.
The romance: Just as I thought the characters were well-developed. So was their romance. I could see why their were drawn to each other and enjoyed watching their inevitable fall to mutual love. Their dynamic was different in and out of the bedroom in a way that matched their personalities. Even though I liked the HEA, I had some issues with the leading up to it as I will detail below.👇
🙊 the bad 🙈
The denouement: As mentioned above, I did not enjoy what led up to Ambrose and Oscar’s happy ending. The conflict felt very contrived, especially since it was caused by a lack of communication which didn’t make sense as they had excellent communication throughout their tryst. Without spoiling, the resolution was very deus ex machina with a character appearing as a solution who had not appeared in the entire rest of the story. Even though this was a short, I don’t think it would have been difficult to add a few more hints at what would solve their issue along the way.
Dialogue/ word choice: while it was overall well-written, I did find myself frequently confused at who was talking. The dialogue was often in the middle of another character’s paragraph so I had to re-read parts. This was jarring especially because the rest of it was pretty well-written, so why does the author have trouble with where to insert dialogue? There were also some instances of phrases that seemed too modern. There was a note at the beginning that some of it was written in Australian vernacular, as well as a message at the end describing a few words of being period accurate in spite of seeming modern, but many of the words and phrases that threw me were not referred to in the notes. Again, because other historical aspects of the book seemed well-researched, this disregard for accuracy in the vocabulary was out of place.
Christmas 🎄: this is presented as a Christmas story. Yes, it does take place at Christmas, but it really doesn’t NEED to be set in December. It could literally be set at any other time during the London season and it would have worked. References to Christmas were only in passing and honestly could have just been deleted without anyone noticing. This is probably not a dealbreaker for many readers; however, for me I pick up Christmas stories expecting the holiday to be a central part of the story, almost a character in its own right. I like watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas books in December and this one is not something I will go for because it really isn’t Christmasy enough. However, stories like this also fail in the rest of the year, because who wants to read a Christmas book, even vaguely mentioned, when it isn’t Christmas? This puts Moaning Under the Mistletoe in a weird state where there really isn’t an opportunity where I would want to read it again.
Even with the issues I mentioned, I still found the story to be enjoyable. I perused the rest of the titles on “How the Rake Stole Christmas,” and this surprisingly appeared to be the only queer title. I didn’t look too deep, but based on the covers they all APPEARED straight (obviously some might be bi or trans, etc). This isn’t a problem, but I mostly read queer titles and I’m also used to queer titles being packaged together rather than with straight books… so I won’t be exploring anything else in this collection which was disappointing to me. I also wasn’t sure who the “rake” was supposed to be in this story: they were both sweeties!
I may not reach for this story to get me in the Christmas spirit, but I definitely will be checking out the rest of Renee Dahlia’s catalogue.
January 30, 2024
This novella could have been OK, but I didn't like it's emphasis on sex and lust. The couple was obviously in lust, and couldn't keep their hands off of each other, but I never really believed they were in love.
The story was mostly about sex, and how much they lusted for each other. I wanted more relationship building, with reasons for them to fall in love -- and not so much lust. It was obvious to me that this story was really just an excuse for descriptive, gay sex scenes. I was turned off by the frequent sex, and lack of character development.
I did like that they found a way to be together in the end, despite the fact that gay relationships were illegal in the time period of the story.
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.
The story was mostly about sex, and how much they lusted for each other. I wanted more relationship building, with reasons for them to fall in love -- and not so much lust. It was obvious to me that this story was really just an excuse for descriptive, gay sex scenes. I was turned off by the frequent sex, and lack of character development.
I did like that they found a way to be together in the end, despite the fact that gay relationships were illegal in the time period of the story.
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.
October 19, 2025
The Earl and the Club Owner
“Moaning Under the Mistletoe” written by Renee Dahlia is book one in the series King’s Book Club. This is a Regency M/M romance. I did enjoy this very fast past book, although, it moved along too fast, causing the flow of the plot to be slightly off. The characters were great. The Earl, Ambrose, was a stern man dedicated to his Earldom and doing what was right for the estate over what was right for him. His responsibilities were wearing him down. After a stinging rejection, he ends up at the King’s Book Club, and had a super hot quickie with the new owner, Oscar. Oscar was so different than Ambrose, he was easygoing, quick witted, and a commoner. These opposites went together spectacularly. The intimate scenes were open door and fueled by lust and passion. I was surprised at the way the happy ever after came about, but it worked within the story. A very good beginning for the series.
“Moaning Under the Mistletoe” written by Renee Dahlia is book one in the series King’s Book Club. This is a Regency M/M romance. I did enjoy this very fast past book, although, it moved along too fast, causing the flow of the plot to be slightly off. The characters were great. The Earl, Ambrose, was a stern man dedicated to his Earldom and doing what was right for the estate over what was right for him. His responsibilities were wearing him down. After a stinging rejection, he ends up at the King’s Book Club, and had a super hot quickie with the new owner, Oscar. Oscar was so different than Ambrose, he was easygoing, quick witted, and a commoner. These opposites went together spectacularly. The intimate scenes were open door and fueled by lust and passion. I was surprised at the way the happy ever after came about, but it worked within the story. A very good beginning for the series.
November 26, 2023
❤️5 stars Moaning under the mistletoe is a book set in London in 1829 with Lord Ambrose courting his bride to be. But life has other plans for him.
Rejection was a hard thing for the Earl as he’d counted his chickens before theyd hatched so to speak.
Retreating to a private book club *cough aka gentlemens club for a drink and company.
Oscar 25 years owns The Kings Book Club and notices Ambrose when he enters.
A stuffy Lord connects with a playful bottom in a 🔥hot sexy scene with Ambrose the alpha dominant in the relationship.
I had to laugh at some scenes as Oscar attempts to humour Ambrose.
This a gorgeous book to read with the characters living in a time where being gay was forbidden and illegal.! Both characters have their Povs included for a great ending. Ambrose and Oscar find their way to be together with Ambrose being married.
ARC copy provided by the author .
Rejection was a hard thing for the Earl as he’d counted his chickens before theyd hatched so to speak.
Retreating to a private book club *cough aka gentlemens club for a drink and company.
Oscar 25 years owns The Kings Book Club and notices Ambrose when he enters.
A stuffy Lord connects with a playful bottom in a 🔥hot sexy scene with Ambrose the alpha dominant in the relationship.
I had to laugh at some scenes as Oscar attempts to humour Ambrose.
This a gorgeous book to read with the characters living in a time where being gay was forbidden and illegal.! Both characters have their Povs included for a great ending. Ambrose and Oscar find their way to be together with Ambrose being married.
ARC copy provided by the author .
December 3, 2023
I really enjoyed this.
Ambrose has been counting on marrying as is his duty
He suddenly finds himself humiliated when his thought to be intended publicly rejects him.
He then hares off to a risque gentlemen's club in a bid for some respite.
He finds himself quite enchanted with Oscar, the new owner.
Their encounter is explosive and leaves both men wanting more.
Ambrose is rather stuffy and is was really nice to see Oscar brings joy and laughter into his life.
A few problems do arise that almost doom them to their ending their arrangement but luckily a Christmas miracle leads to all parties being able to happy.
Ambrose has been counting on marrying as is his duty
He suddenly finds himself humiliated when his thought to be intended publicly rejects him.
He then hares off to a risque gentlemen's club in a bid for some respite.
He finds himself quite enchanted with Oscar, the new owner.
Their encounter is explosive and leaves both men wanting more.
Ambrose is rather stuffy and is was really nice to see Oscar brings joy and laughter into his life.
A few problems do arise that almost doom them to their ending their arrangement but luckily a Christmas miracle leads to all parties being able to happy.
December 4, 2023
Cute, fast-paced, loved the ending
I really liked how the book touched on the historical realities for queer couples but also made the HEA very believable. I'm sure lavender marriages were extremely common, and I love the author didn't shy away from that type of HEA for our gay heroes. Both emotionally satisfying and historically accurate.
The novella is very fast--the sex comes fast, the scenes are set at whirlwind speed, and realizations of love come out of nowhere. It was all a little too fast for me, but I also acknowledge this was a novella and the author didn't have a lot of space to work with. So that could just be a mismatch between my expectations and the work.
I really liked how the book touched on the historical realities for queer couples but also made the HEA very believable. I'm sure lavender marriages were extremely common, and I love the author didn't shy away from that type of HEA for our gay heroes. Both emotionally satisfying and historically accurate.
The novella is very fast--the sex comes fast, the scenes are set at whirlwind speed, and realizations of love come out of nowhere. It was all a little too fast for me, but I also acknowledge this was a novella and the author didn't have a lot of space to work with. So that could just be a mismatch between my expectations and the work.
December 31, 2023
This was an MM class difference plus interracial holiday historical romance novella. There was so much built-in angst to all that, I was ready to love it.
But I needed way more feels. I wanted more flirty-flirty. I wanted to understand how these characters’ personalities complemented each other. The emphasis was on the spice—but the spice was too transactional.
Then, a time jump (where some feelingsy stuff presumably happened) + too much focus on a problem that was abruptly solved = the “I love you”s had me “huh?”-ing.
Also, there was a “are you clean?” STI conversation, which I don’t love.
But I needed way more feels. I wanted more flirty-flirty. I wanted to understand how these characters’ personalities complemented each other. The emphasis was on the spice—but the spice was too transactional.
Then, a time jump (where some feelingsy stuff presumably happened) + too much focus on a problem that was abruptly solved = the “I love you”s had me “huh?”-ing.
Also, there was a “are you clean?” STI conversation, which I don’t love.
December 13, 2023
cute, fast-paced and kinda insta lovey which i tend to avoid since i don't really enjoy that trope but since i wanted to read a quick lil christmas romance i overlooked it and didn't really mind it. the story was decent with my favorite part being how realistic it is in terms of being a queer person (especially one of high status) in that time period. but yeah. didn't love it or hate it.
December 3, 2023
Cute story
I enjoyed this little story and while it’s almost an insta-love because it was only a few weeks and a novella, I adored how Ambrose and Oscar came to love each other and were able to be together. It was sweet story.
I enjoyed this little story and while it’s almost an insta-love because it was only a few weeks and a novella, I adored how Ambrose and Oscar came to love each other and were able to be together. It was sweet story.
Read
December 26, 2023Ho(e) ho(e) ho(e) I guess ! (a bad joke sorry... christmas is already over)
Its cute, I just had a difficult time distunguishing between who said/did what and sometimes the dialog felt a bit random :/
Its cute, I just had a difficult time distunguishing between who said/did what and sometimes the dialog felt a bit random :/
December 31, 2024
a delightful regency discovery of love
this book has many of the elements I love in romance books. regency grumpy Lord, sexy also. sexy lower class , marriage of extreme convenience. hot sex. hea. enjoy.
this book has many of the elements I love in romance books. regency grumpy Lord, sexy also. sexy lower class , marriage of extreme convenience. hot sex. hea. enjoy.
December 14, 2023
The problem is I know I'm going to read at least 5 of these novellas before giving up and they'll probably be all 2 stars. This was slightly better than the first one though
December 22, 2023
This was a cute, steamy, Christmas read ❄️
December 29, 2023
Look at that gorgeous cover!! Loved the book too.
December 11, 2024
I would have liked a smidge more relationship and character development relative to the sex and plot, but I enjoyed this.
February 18, 2025
Great read!
Oscar and Ambrose’s story is hot, sticky and sweet. I loved the little twist at the end of the story with his sister Jane and her friend Mary. Great ending.
Oscar and Ambrose’s story is hot, sticky and sweet. I loved the little twist at the end of the story with his sister Jane and her friend Mary. Great ending.
December 13, 2023
I love a spicy MM romance! The characters were good with a surprising amount of backstory for a novella. I liked their relationship arc a lot. Definitely a fun Christmas read.
December 28, 2024
Very Enjoyable!
Oh! A new Club with a difference. Love that!
The characters of Ambrose and Oscar simply match each other perfectly and it was lovely to see them get along so well and also that they found their happy ever after.
There was such an unexpected twist in their story, one which I never saw coming, but it was nicely written in.
This was a shortish tale but it has all the ingredients of a good, entertaining one and I enjoyed it very much.
Oh! A new Club with a difference. Love that!
The characters of Ambrose and Oscar simply match each other perfectly and it was lovely to see them get along so well and also that they found their happy ever after.
There was such an unexpected twist in their story, one which I never saw coming, but it was nicely written in.
This was a shortish tale but it has all the ingredients of a good, entertaining one and I enjoyed it very much.
Read
June 17, 2025* opposites attract
* historical
* christmassy
* mild steam
* fast paced
the story was cute and I like the cover.
* historical
* christmassy
* mild steam
* fast paced
the story was cute and I like the cover.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews