The Earl's Christmas Contest

by M. Culler

Genres: Christmas

258 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2023

Reviews

[Athanasia ♥︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was so sweet!

This novel was such a delight to read. I loved the plot. The unintentional mutual pinning of the characters was so bittersweet but also so realistic. The combination of friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, and Christmas time created a lovely atmosphere. Also, the "Christmas contest" between the protagonists made the book appear so playful, emphasising their puppy love.

However, this was a fade to black/clean romance. In my opinion, some novels "need" intimate scenes if you cannot establish the relationship otherwise, but this novel did a great job at progressing the relationship without employing explicit sexual scenes. Overall, beautifully crafted!


Tags:
Historical Romance⚔️🏰🐲
Friends to lovers🤤😳 🥰
Fake dating 👀🤞💋
Learning intimacy💁👌😍
Mitual pinning ❤️‍🩹💔
Clean/ Fade to black romance 👼🏻👼🏻👼🏻
Marriage of convenience👰🏼‍♂️ 🤵🏼‍♀️
Parental death(mentioned) 🪔🩸💔
Miscommunication😵‍💫⚠️
Christmas novel 🎅🎄❄️☃️🎁🦌
Standalone👤🤩 🥳
HEA🔔👰🏼🌠

[Elizabeth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is adorable! Has there ever been a sweeter Regency swain than Thomas Willoughby, Earl of Whitstead? He and his childhood friend, Lady Phillipa Elmsworth, are tired of searching for a marriage partner during the current London Season. They have both been disappointed in their pursuits. Thomas and Pip agree that finding someone to love is only a remote possibility. He convinces her that marrying each other and pretending it's a love match would free them from all the unpleasantness.

For six months they have convinced the servants that they are madly in love, even sleeping often in the same bed with nothing happening. (Difficult to believe.) With the Christmas season looming they travel to Whitmore Castle to prepare for a large holiday gathering. The earl's contest involves surprising each other with gifts for twelve days. They begin to fall in love with each other and want to break the pact they made for only friendship in their marriage.

An angst-free holiday story that made smile...a lot. 5 stars

Note: This is free to borrow on Amazon Kindle, which I did. But Goodreads doesn't list the KU version.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight!! This sweet slow burning romance is just what a dark winter night needs. M. Culler superbly explores the themes of friendship and romantic love within the context of The Regency period of British history. For some of the young British royalty, the yearly seasons from where marriage partners were selected, was a daunting process, where “Love” was very often not a consideration.
M. Culler casts wonderful lovable characters upon this beautiful story landscape. Highly recommend!! It’s one of my favorites by this author.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely Regency romance with excellent main characters and an engaging storyline. I enjoyed it very much. As M. Culler is a new author, to me, I’m delighted to see the selection of novels, in various genres, on offer.

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