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Captain Grey's Christmas Proposal
A festive Regency romance from award-winning author Carla Kelly.
Captain Grey had been fighting malarial fever in Savannah when he met Theodora Winnings. He proposed by letter—but it’s taken ten years to receive her reply. The answer was “yes!”—but is she still free to become his Christmas bride?
Captain Grey had been fighting malarial fever in Savannah when he met Theodora Winnings. He proposed by letter—but it’s taken ten years to receive her reply. The answer was “yes!”—but is she still free to become his Christmas bride?
Audible Audio
Published September 30, 2025
7 people want to read
About the author
Carla Kelly
137 books806 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 16, 2025
1802, Savannah, Georgia
In 1791, only a first lieutenant at the time, James Grey took ill with malaria, and a lovely lady took care of him. He proposed via letter, and never heard back. Or so he thought, when in 1802 he finally receives a letter when docked in Plymouth, England, dated from 11 years prior. A whim has him sailing across the sea in search of Theodora Winnings, who still has his heart all these years later. When he reaches Georgia, he has no idea where or how to find her, and eventually discovers she isn't who he thought she was.
Originally published in 2017, this has a fresh audiobook for the 2025 holiday season. It features a little bit of holiday magic in a delightful and charming way, and is an absolutely perfect novella for a cold December day. The plot is decidedly a novella arc - we're meant to buy into the relationship that was developed off page over a decade ago - but it's sweet and totally charming nonetheless. Theodora is light skinned enslaved woman from the south, and James doesn't care about her status at all, and will move heaven and earth to marry her this time around.
Features both malaria and yellow fever, off page.
Thank you to Harlequin Audio for an ALC. The audiobook is out 9/30/25.
In 1791, only a first lieutenant at the time, James Grey took ill with malaria, and a lovely lady took care of him. He proposed via letter, and never heard back. Or so he thought, when in 1802 he finally receives a letter when docked in Plymouth, England, dated from 11 years prior. A whim has him sailing across the sea in search of Theodora Winnings, who still has his heart all these years later. When he reaches Georgia, he has no idea where or how to find her, and eventually discovers she isn't who he thought she was.
Originally published in 2017, this has a fresh audiobook for the 2025 holiday season. It features a little bit of holiday magic in a delightful and charming way, and is an absolutely perfect novella for a cold December day. The plot is decidedly a novella arc - we're meant to buy into the relationship that was developed off page over a decade ago - but it's sweet and totally charming nonetheless. Theodora is light skinned enslaved woman from the south, and James doesn't care about her status at all, and will move heaven and earth to marry her this time around.
Features both malaria and yellow fever, off page.
Thank you to Harlequin Audio for an ALC. The audiobook is out 9/30/25.
October 2, 2025
This was a quick and pleasant read. This is a unique 'It's Christmas so anything is possible' novella. This is set during the Regency period but isn't Bridgerton-esque at all. This doesn't feature the balls or storyline we're accustomed to in this setting. This is a romance focused on a lost connection from over a decade ago. This is sweet and softens a lot of facts about the life of an attractive enslaved woman actively being held in captivity. This is told from the point of view of the white love interest and so it mostly works. If I was not a fan of Beverly Jenkins who can manage to set a feel good historical romance during chattel slavery with one or both romantic leads as enslaved while being historically accurate I'd be considerably more impressed. This was sweet and almost entirely historically inaccurate. Yet it still retained that magical cozy Christmas feeling which is why I enjoy holiday stories like this. I think this makes a wonderfully diverse Christmas romance.
This audiobook is narrated by Helen Keeley. The narration elevates the story as well as adding a touch of magic and romance.
Thank you to Carla Kelly, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
This audiobook is narrated by Helen Keeley. The narration elevates the story as well as adding a touch of magic and romance.
Thank you to Carla Kelly, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
December 25, 2025
I think I'm almost Christmased out. Otherwise, I may have had more patience for this audio. I will say it's a rare and nice thing to see an interracial couple on the cover of a Harlequin Historical. The heroine was a quadroon or an enslaved person with 1/4 African ancestry. The hero returns from war, and a letter dated over a decade ago is unearthed, and he returns to America to get his love back, but finds out that she isn't white like he assumed due to her complexion, and has to get her back from her owner. The historical setting (Charleston) was different, but something about this wasn't that compelling towards the end, for me at least.
September 25, 2025
Am I glad I read it? I am actually quite pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this whimsical Christmas novella, my first by author Kelly. I was particularly drawn to this one because I love an extended separation plot (here, 11 years between proposal by letter and receipt of reply by letter).
The story is narrated entirely from the perspective of Captain James Grey, the MMC, so we get to watch his efforts to free and be with Teddy through his own eyes. It's a smart narrative choice by Kelly in that it helps to sell the romance of a novella this short in which all the relationship development happened in the past and off-page (no dual timeline here, folks).
In the author's note at the beginning, Kelly discusses the magic of the holiday season and describes this story as whimsical, and I think the best way to enjoy this story is through that lens of wonder and possibility. With that in mind, the several instances of holiday magic that propel the plot forward read as charming and delightful rather than deus ex machina. And I particularly enjoyed the prologue's framing of the story as a recounting of the tale of how James and Theodora met to their children, before the little ones grew too old to believe in holiday magic. It's the kind of story that begs to be read underneath a cozy blanket, with a pet cuddled up next to you and a mug of hot chocolate in your hand. It all just really, really worked for me, and I was utterly charmed.
Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻 (really liked)
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and Netgalley for an ALC of this title, which is out 9/30!
The story is narrated entirely from the perspective of Captain James Grey, the MMC, so we get to watch his efforts to free and be with Teddy through his own eyes. It's a smart narrative choice by Kelly in that it helps to sell the romance of a novella this short in which all the relationship development happened in the past and off-page (no dual timeline here, folks).
In the author's note at the beginning, Kelly discusses the magic of the holiday season and describes this story as whimsical, and I think the best way to enjoy this story is through that lens of wonder and possibility. With that in mind, the several instances of holiday magic that propel the plot forward read as charming and delightful rather than deus ex machina. And I particularly enjoyed the prologue's framing of the story as a recounting of the tale of how James and Theodora met to their children, before the little ones grew too old to believe in holiday magic. It's the kind of story that begs to be read underneath a cozy blanket, with a pet cuddled up next to you and a mug of hot chocolate in your hand. It all just really, really worked for me, and I was utterly charmed.
Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻 (really liked)
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and Netgalley for an ALC of this title, which is out 9/30!
September 30, 2025
This was my first category romance by Harlequin and it won't be my last. Overall, I enjoyed this charming story, and it definitely Brough some of the holiday magic vibes. I also loved that it was a unique setting and time in history. We are far away from regency ballroom scenes. I love that there is some justice for those who chose to engage in slavery. This was a sweet, closed door story. I felt that I wished there was more time/space for further emotional depth to be explore/explained from the characters' past.
I hope that Harlequin notices the typo on the cover and does something at some point.
I hope that Harlequin notices the typo on the cover and does something at some point.
September 19, 2025
Drawing off past happenings this is a quick Christmas read that dives into some Regency issues.
Captain Grey had been fighting malarial fever in Savannah when he met Theodora Winnings. He proposed by letter—but it’s taken ten years to receive her reply. The answer was “yes!”—but is she still free to become his Christmas bride?
Captain Grey had been fighting malarial fever in Savannah when he met Theodora Winnings. He proposed by letter—but it’s taken ten years to receive her reply. The answer was “yes!”—but is she still free to become his Christmas bride?
Read
December 3, 2025DNF. I could not get past the audio narrator’s choice of making the FMC sound like Scarlet O’Hara. Also I was worried this was going to end up being a white savior plot. I’ll have to eventually pick up a text copy to see if that’s right but abandoning it for now.
October 15, 2025
A beautiful, heartwarming, cozy read that's perfect for when you need a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season or anytime of the year.
This is entirely from the hero's POV which would normally bother me but for such a short page count I actually appreciated getting such depth of character and didn't feel like I needed her POV which might have actually made the story choppy. I think the author did a really great job of creating their backstory even though we didn't witness it. We get a pleasant mix of despair, hope, a surprising twist, and a little bit of magic to ensure a happily ever after.
This is a sweet, closed door romance that just makes you feel good! Well written, engaging with a bit of a historical awareness added in to give a little conflict.
The audiobook narration by Helen Keeley was a pleasure to listen to. It was perfectly animated and captured my full attention.
Thank you to Carla Kelly, Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC.
This is entirely from the hero's POV which would normally bother me but for such a short page count I actually appreciated getting such depth of character and didn't feel like I needed her POV which might have actually made the story choppy. I think the author did a really great job of creating their backstory even though we didn't witness it. We get a pleasant mix of despair, hope, a surprising twist, and a little bit of magic to ensure a happily ever after.
This is a sweet, closed door romance that just makes you feel good! Well written, engaging with a bit of a historical awareness added in to give a little conflict.
The audiobook narration by Helen Keeley was a pleasure to listen to. It was perfectly animated and captured my full attention.
Thank you to Carla Kelly, Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews