A Yuletide Excursion

Lucky John #3

by Ellie Thomas

In early Restoration London, Cuthbert Watson, a comely twenty-year-old page is in service to Sir Lewis Montgomery at the Palace of Whitehall. Cuthbert freely enjoys the dissolute pleasures of the newly established court of King Charles II and the great city of London.

During the winter of 1661, as the royal court empties for Christmas, Cuthbert dreads being left virtually alone. So when his friends Owen and John invite him to Monmouthshire for the festive season, Cuthbert jumps at the opportunity to accompany Sir Lewis and his new bride, Lady Antonia, for the long journey west.

On the first stage of their journey, Cuthbert falls foul of Mr. Lemuel Freeman, Lady Antonia’s stern twin brother, who condemns Cuthbert’s frivolous ways.

But does Lemuel’s disapproval hide an irresistible attraction? While these two very different men are thrown together over Christmas, might their mutual desire lead to a lasting romance?

Genres: Historical, M M Romance

Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2024

About the author

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes MM historical romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Reviews

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

We meet Cuthbert again from Book 2 who met Owen and John when they traveled to London on a personal errand for Owen's brother, Lewis. Owen and his young serving man, John, were now in a relationship and it is a delightful one. I highly recommend reading Book 2 before this one.

While in London the two men stayed in the court of King Charles II where they met Cuthbert, the very attractive and very cheeky young page who attends to everyone's needs, no matter what they are. This was a swinging royal court!
Now, Lewis has married the woman with whom Owen had visited on Lewis's behalf. Lewis decides to take his new family for a Christmas visit back to his home in the country which Owen runs and John is one of the servant staff. Lewis takes Cuthbert along on a leave from the court to accompany his family on their journey. Cuthbert is pleased to be asked to go.

While everyone is preparing for the trip, Lemuel, twin brother to Lewis's wife, walks in on a naked Cuthbert. He cuts Cuthbert with his cold manner and later accuses him of being a harlot. Cuthbert is incensed and ignores Lemuel as the group travels by horseback and carriage. He has to share a room with Lemuel on the journey and sex ensues with Lemuel becoming a passionate lover, but then he says the wrong thing and it is back to ice between them.
I enjoyed the back and forth between Lemuel and Cuthbert. There is nothing more fun than the cold and rigid gentleman unbending for the sassy and sexy twink, no matter what era!

It was great to see Owen and John again, they are such good characters. They are both delighted to see Cuthbert again after getting to know him at the palace. John becomes a confidant towards Cuthbert and his seesawing emotions about Lemuel. There are nice Christmas scenes with Lewis and Owen's families.

The author's usual clear writing and honest dialogue, plus, the hot sex scenes and the enjoyment of seeing old friends and finding a new love has me giving this one all the stars.

I read this at the JMS Books website where the Advent calendar has a free story every day. December 4 is this story by the author.

[Edga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book from Ellie Thomas. We met Cuthbert in a previous book, where he was unapologetic about enjoying the 'company' of others. He's a likeable lad, and comes across as both kind and fun. The development of Cuthbert's character revealed hidden depths. Although, initially he falls foul of Lemuel, the other MC, it's obvious that beneath Lemuel's disapproval, he is attracted to Cuthbert. Despite Lemuel being a bit of a stuffed shirt at times, he can't resist his attraction to Cuthbert, and watching them fall in love was irresistible. I loved meeting Owen and the redoubtable John once again, it was lovely to see that they still love one another madly, and John is as possessive as ever. Another well written romance from Ellie, which successfully draws you in.

[Jenifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not a time period in history that I'm familiar with (I prefer the regency period personally), I did find it intriguing that the MM relationships, while still taboo, appear to be more widely accepted and entered into in this time in England, than during the regency period.

I also loved that we got glimpses of John and Owen again as their book was an enjoyable read. There was enough of their backstory relayed in this book to refresh my memory as to their original story, which was nice and saved me from having to do a quick reread of their book. It also isn't necessary to have read their story first, but you might find more enjoyment in this story if you have.

Watching Cuthbert tip-toe around his affection for Lemuel and watching Lemuel fight his feelings for Cuthbert, was pure enjoyment. The story is set against the backdrop of the Christmas season and in the countryside, save for the first couple of chapters. The scenery is painted vividly and sounds absolutely idyllic. I adored the supporting cast in this story, and even though their parts were small I feel that they all lent to the greater story, especially Antonia who seems to understand deep down what her brother innately needed.

Every time I read a story from Ellie I'm absolutely amazed at her prose and how she weaves together these intricate and beautiful worlds. Her stories truly come to life in my imagination and I feel as if I'm immersed into each story. Which is perfect when you want to escape the real world and fall in love with a book.

[Kiki Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the absolute pleasure to ARC read A Yuletide Excursion by Ellie Thomas and it was such a beautiful story.
Ellis is such a lyrical writer and this historical set during the Reformation features characters you’re going to love.
Cuthbert is a page in service to Sir Lewis Montgomery. He’s kind and caring, winsome and free spirited, and enjoys a bit of court gossip. He jumps at the chance to accompany his employer and his new bride Lady Antonia home to Wales - a trip that will let him visit his friends Owen (Sir Lewis’s brother) and John.
Lemuel is Lady Antonia’s brother, and is a stoic, serious young man.
His first impression of Cuthbert is not great, and he sees him as a frivolous, immoral creature who can’t be trusted.
Still little moments along their journey show him Cuthbert is not what he first thought. It’s a battle of his conscience and preconceived notions as he tries to fight his attraction to Cuthbert.
The mix of romance, political intrigue, and Christmas festivities is heady. How Cuthbert and Lemuel find their HEA is beautiful. Irresistible, overpowering, enduring love.
I loved this story and was so intrigued by secondary characters John and Owen that I went and downloaded their stories, too!
If you haven’t read one of Ellie’s books, this is a lovely start. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kassu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

This is my favourite trope. A "rakish" character that's actually really sweet, and some haughty asshole who falls for them hard, act all dickish, and then need to apologise. I love the feelings of indignation stemmed from the behaviour of the "proper" person looking down on the other, and the inevitability of them not being able to resist anyway. I don't really know why but I eat this shit up.

And this was lovely. I almost gave it 4 stars but I need to be real. While this was very much what I wanted, it was rushed. There was need for more UST before the first kiss, there wasn't quite enough reason for Lemuel to consider Cuthbert so poorly, and there was a bit more groveling needed in the end. If this was meatier, I could easily go over 4 stars.

I recommend reading at least the second book in the series before this, because Cuthbert is introduced there, and he's the biggest supporting character.

Btw, 'Lemuel' is such a hilarious name. 'Lemu' means stench in Finnish, so it just feels like a derogatory nickname for Samuel.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie Thomas is one of those authors that when you see a new story from her you buy it immediately without bothering to read the blurb, and here she's done it again. Cuthbert was a brief figure, I think, in a previous tale, his story is as sweet as his temperament, a gentle, kind young man, that is until he is abused.
Lemuel! Oh Lemuel what a confounding man, I had trouble dredging up some nice feelings for you, even as you began to see the light, you were so quick to judge! Even so I couldn't help but chuckle over your early pompous attitude, just knowing he will get his comeuppance, and that comeuppance was love. A charming read, I kind of hope we see more of these two as they settle into their new lives.

[Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice duology with a shorter third story. duology and a half? I really enjoyed the setting, which is around the restoration of King Charles the II and the end of the civil war in England.

It's one of those "after the bad" settings.

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

- novella
- historical
- series

As this is set in the same world as Lucky John and Lucky in Love, it's best read as part of that series but can be enjoyed alone too, as there are different main characters in this story. This is Cuthbert and Lemuel's story, and to say they get off on the wrong foot is mild, to say the least. Lemuel is ... resistant at best to get involved with Cuthbert and ends up not treating him very well. I got so mad at Lemuel at times 😂.

This is more almost a road trip story, and it was a joy to see Cuthbert interacting with the children too, he's genuinely a good person and really doesn't deserve how Lemuel treats him at the start. That said, by the end I'd come round to Lemuel, and it was so good to 'see' Owen and John again. I'm happy to see Lemuel come around in the end, and I did like the connection he and Cuthbert had and I hope it's not the last we've seen of Owen, John, Cuthbert and Lemuel. I loved this story.

I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read the first 2 books in the author's Lucky John series, matter of fact I didn't realize this holiday gem was connected to Lucky John and Lucky in Love until I was a chapter or two in. I wasn't lost and I look forward to going back and reading Owen and John's journey in 2025. Perhaps there might be a few minor mentions that would have painted a fuller picture had I read the other two but I didn't really feel that way, even after Owen and John enter the story.

Cuthbert does what he needs to to survive life at court and when he meets Lemuel, the brother-in-law to his master, well lets just say seeing eye to eye isn't exactly in the room. I gotta give Cuthbert credit though because my Irish temper would have been flared up and I probably wouldn't have been to keep it in check.

This is another historical showcasing the author's talent and respect for the past which only heightens the amazing storytelling of this holiday gem in my book.

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuthbert is a young page in the employ of Owen's brother who we met in previous books.
He's also friends with John, Owen's partner.
He's accompanying Sir Lweis to the country estate to introduce his wife, Lady Antonia.
Her twin brother Lemuel is also joining them.
Immediately they get off on the wrong foot because Lemuel makes assumptions about Cuthbert.
While Cuthbert may seem a frivolous flirt, he's actually a very steady and decent young man.
He's very rightly offended by Lemuel's cold and standoffish behavior.
I really didn't like Lemuel initially because of this and how he continously had to be corrected by others about his misunderstanding of situations concerning Cuthbert.
He also ran from himself after their intimate moments and blamed Cuthbert for his own behavior.
Thankfully the author was able to redeem him.
I really enjoyed the setting and felt completely immersed in a historical, country estate Yultide celebration.

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story takes place in a beautifully crafted world, rich in historical detail in ways that feel immersive rather than overwhelming, but it’s the characters who truly shine. Cuthbert and Lemuel have strong opposites attract energy, and there’s a fair amount of push/pull and some misunderstandings as a result. While I ended up liking both characters, and what develops between them, quite a bit, Cuthbert was easily my favorite– I like the layers of his personality, the way he moves through the world, and the kindness at the heart of his nature. As a bonus, this story is set in the same world as “Lucky John” and “Lucky in Love,” so readers of those stories will see some familiar (and much loved) faces.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[DMCechak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Yuletide Excursion - Celebration of Love

‘The days after Christmas blurred into one, with more visitors, carol singing, and merrymaking. The same went for the nights, when Cuthbert and Lemuel indulged in their private celebrations, their truce prevailing in mutual exploration.’

Once again, we are swept into the romantic past with a delicious morsel by Ellie Thomas, in A Yuletide Excursion.

Lemuel learns to rethink how he approaches others, not assuming certain personalities by rumor or expectation, when he becomes infatuated with Cuthbert and must pay closer attention to real man.

I adore Thomas’ writing, as I feel as if I am peeking into the past, learning while experiencing unique romances.

[Traci S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This is probably the last of the holiday romances I’ll read this year and it might be my favorite! I love this author’s ability to make me feel like I’m part of the background, the setting and history are so richly crafted - making you feel like a bystander to the action. It’s pretty special and I loved that Cuthbert and Lemuel found each other. I adored getting to spend time with John and Owen again as well, they are a favorite couple of mine. Charming and delightful!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
An enjoyable jaunt in the times of coach travel and squaires.
Cuthbert travels with his employer to Wales at the behest of his friend John. On the road his employers new brother in law goes from aloof annoyance to bedfellow!
Short story but pacy