A Pirate for Christmas

by Anna Campbell

There’s a pirate in the manor house!


What is vicar’s daughter Bess Farrar to do when the dashing new earl, the man gossip paints as a ruthless pirate, kisses her the day they meet? Why, kiss him right back, of course! Now Lord Channing vows to claim the lovely firebrand, despite interfering villagers, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises mayhem – and a lifetime of breathtaking passion


Pursued by the pirate…
Bess Farrar might be an innocent village miss, but she knows enough about the world to doubt Lord Channing’s motives when he kisses her the very day they meet. After all, local gossip insists that before this dashing rake became an earl, he sailed the Seven Seas as a ruthless pirate.
Bewitched by the vicar’s daughter…
Until he unexpectedly inherits a title, staunchly honorable Scotsman Rory Beaton has devoted his adventurous life to the Royal Navy. But he sets his course for tempestuous new waters when he meets lovely, sparkling Bess Farrar. Now this daring mariner will do whatever it takes to convince the spirited lassie to launch herself into his arms and set sail into the sunset.
A Christmas marked by mayhem.
Wooing his vivacious lady, the new Earl of Channing finds himself embroiled with matchmaking villagers, an eccentric vicar, mistaken identities, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. Life at sea was never this exciting. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises hijinks, danger, and passion – and a breathtaking chance to win the love of a lifetime.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Christmas, Novella, Historical, Holiday, Regency

ebook

First published October 29, 2015

About the author

I've written 53 bestselling historical romances: 11 multi-award winning books for Hachette Grand Central Publishing and Avon HarperCollins, and more than 40 as an independently published author, These include my popular series The Sons of Sin (6 books), The Dashing Widows (7 books), The Lairds Most Likely (10 books), A Scandal in Mayfair (4 books), and Scoundrels of Mayfair (4 books). My new series, Cinderellas of Mayfair, launched with Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife in 2025.

When I'm not touring the world seeking inspiration for my passionate stories, I live on the beautiful east coast of Australia.

I've always been a voracious reader and I delve into many different genres, as you'll see if you check out my books list. Favorite authors include Dorothy Dunnett, Elly Griffiths, K.J. Charles, and Loretta Chase.

My website is http://www.annacampbell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacampbell...

Twitter: AnnaCampbellOz

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Campbell/...

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-...

I love to hear from readers and you can contact me on AnnaCampbellOz@hotmail.com

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

He caught her trembling hands. Even through her gloves, she felt the jolt of heat. Her gaze flew up to fasten on his face. He looked intent and unexpectedly gentle. A smile turned up one corner of his lips. "Believe me, your virtue is safe, Miss Farrar. It's too bloody cold to take our clothes off."

She wanted to object to his language - and to his brazen mention of undressing - but standing here holding his hands, his salty vocabulary was the last of her worries.

This book is fluffy, cute, silly, and sweet. If you like those things, this will be a win. If you want things like actual conflict and plot in your romance, you will not like this. It is a confection.

The plot is the most basic and most sweet plot. There's a new Earl in Penton Wyck. Bess, the vicar's daughter, marches up to his mansion and demands the use of his donkey for the Christmas play. Rory decides that he's in love with her in about point two seconds and the rest of the novella is simply them getting together. They both really like each other and lust for each other from the first.

There's not really any conflict here. I mean, Campbell struggles to make the sweetest and most basic conflicts which include:
Is he going to kiss me again?
Maybe he won't kiss me again because I was bad at kissing? :( - This one always makes me sad.
He doesn't love me because he didn't "make love" to me when given the opportunity.
I can't fuck her before marriage, that would be disrespectful.

Ummmmmmm... the standard virgin deflowering scene, also.

Let's break this down:

THE GOOD:

- Sweet, cute, fluffy, and silly. This could be bad or good, depending on your preferences. This book is like a little puppy or maybe a piece of chocolate.

- Campbell has a prodigious vocabulary. This might annoy some people, but I count it as an upside. It does lead to some quite funny sentences, though.

Confused stories about a licentious rapscallion who had led a lawless life sailing the world's oceans.

Led a lawless life. Sometimes I swear Campbell is fucking with me.

These weren't the sizzling, voracious kisses he'd fantasized about through this whole pestilential month.

LOL Look at this:

"I do," she whispered, and lay with lovely looseness as her knees rose in invitation.

Lay with lovely looseness. Tell me Campbell ISN'T fucking with me right now. LOL

- Genuinely was funny in some parts. I laughed aloud at one point when both she and Rory were out chasing the donkey and singing to it. I also laughed aloud in genuine delight when Rory wishes for a second donkey to barter for some enthusiasm about the kiss. So, that's twice the novella made me laugh. Not bad.


THE BAD:

Full of sexist garbage. Everything is blamed on the simple fact of being male or female. Take a look:

Suddenly she no longer felt like the wise ruler of her own little kingdom. Instead she felt like an untried girl confronting the eternal mystery of potent masculinity.

The eternal mystery of potent masculinity.

She expected him to laugh at her again. A man as worldly as this would have no difficulty divining her purely female reaction to him.

Her purely female reaction. So, put any woman into a room with any man and she'll feel the instinctual urge to fuck him. No?

He laughed in soft appreciation. He'd known immediately she wouldn't be an easy prize to win. She was clever and used to having her own way. Which only made the game more interesting, by heaven.

Ew.

She wasn't afraid of him, but at some female level, she recognized the claim he placed upon her.

I don't even know where to start with this. She's backing away from him because she's afraid he's going to rape her? Sadly, that probably is a very justifiable female response in this society, if not a 'natural' one. Women instinctively know when men want to fuck them? Something something? Unclear.

Miss Farrar looked enchanting. Cold air and exercise lent color to her cheeks and a shine to her eyes. No red-blooded male would miss how gracefully she moved after this she-demon disguised as a donkey.

One, LOL. Two, you're not a real man if you don't look at her in this situation and want to fuck her, apparently.

Here's just some plain bad writing:

But since he'd mentioned kissing, she couldn't help staring at that mobile mouth.

That mobile mouth. LOL :D

One kiss. He'd stuck to his word there, too. With just a little extra in the final moments.

*Carmen groans, puts her head in her hands* NO. He kissed her twice. That's the OPPOSITE of keeping his word. What is this 'little extra' shit? He didn't barter for that shit.

A hint of clean sweat warmed her scent. The idea of her working to achieve his comfort aroused a primitive pleasure.

Gross. I don't want to read about how her cleaning your house for eight hours turns you on.

The few inches she'd managed to claim back between them disappeared as he caught her with ruthless hands and shoved her onto her back. He loomed over her, big and powerful, and, unless she was mistaken, fuming. She ought to be frightened. But she'd sunk so far into sin since she'd met Channing that her wanton blood surged with female excitement.

See, here is my problem. Why is it female excitement? Why can't it just be regular excitement? What are you saying here? Women enjoy being fucked? Women enjoy being dominated by men in bed? Any woman in this scenario would be sexually excited? Surely you can see how that is obviously untrue. Baffled that the author thinks females are naturally submissive or naturally eager to be dominated and controlled in bed.

Two years with his stepsisters had taught him that when females got a notion, their minds could whisk them away to the edge of doom before a man recognized he'd made a minor mistake.

Women! So unreasonable and flighty, am I right? Misogyny.

What a bloody idiot he was. He'd underestimated the powerful innocence that made her see his barely held restraint as lack of interest.

Virgins-are-fucking-idiots trope taken to the extreme here. She's 26. She's sheltered, but I THINK she could figure one or two things out.

- All the 'problems' in this book are made up, and could be easily solved by the characters if they had a simple conversation - or half a brain. Campbell deliberately makes them extra stupid in order to hang onto a semblance of plot.

- Bess is EXTREMELY insecure. I can take some insecurity - it's natural, since he's a libertine and she's virginal - but Campbell just pushes it to extremes here. She doubts and doubts and doubts and doubts. He's too stupid to reassure her consistently so we have to see her question herself and his desire about 10 million times. It got tiring.


HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?

Okay. "Deflowering" virgins. Let's talk about this.

This goes through the extremely standard and cliched tropes of 'extremely experienced man takes the virginity of a little innocent.' We have:

1.) Heroine: It's so big.
2.) Heroine: Are you sure it's going to fit?
3.) Hero: I want to fuck her really hard, but I'm going to be gentle if it kills me.
4.) Woman tells him just to fuck her, he's going too slow.
5.) Heroine: Ouch! I'm in so much pain.
6.) Hero: Sorry, I never meant to hurt you.
7.) Heroine: Even though I was in a lot of pain, suddenly I'm coming like a freight train, magically. Yay! I love sex now! :D

I'm actually fine with virgins, and I'm fine with 'deflowering' scenes as well. But Campbell is, unfortunately, bringing nothing new or interesting to the table here. It's not offensive, but neither is it interesting in any way.


TL;DR - It's fine. Being angry at this book is like being angry at a puppy or a cloud. There's no point. It's fluffy and eager to please. Sure, it delves into some misogynistic ideas and is cliched and rather boring. But it's overall inoffensive and soft. Cutesy. Not serious or heavy in any way. A fluffy little historical Christmas romance. I didn't hate it, but I can't say I liked it.

ROMANCE CATEGORIES:
Historical Romance
Holiday/Christmas Romance
Scottish/Highlander Romance
Virgin Heroine
Georgian Romance

Read with URR December 2017

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sweet Christmas novella without the hullabaloo.

I'm really enjoying Anna Campbell's novellas and A Pirate for Christmas was sweet with a touching love story that made my little heart sing. While it's a wee bit unbelievable, with love at first sight, a smitten Lord and a town turning a blind eye to propriety in the hope of a forced marriage, we get romance without the angst. I like this style, and for me it does the perfect job of a novella, giving us the love story in a convenient little package.

The new Earl, Rory, has taken up his legacy. Plenty of stories are being told about his past and one of them being that he's a reformed pirate. Being Scottish and and a seafaring man it was an automatic assumption from the townspeople, with very little facts known about him they made up their own stories.

Bess is the town organiser. Her father is the vicar and she has always been in charge of making things run smoothly. When the town puts on a yearly nativity play, she must seek out the new Earl for his ass...I mean his blessed donkey to carry Mary. When they meet, instantly Rory realises he needs to keep Bess close by so he can get to know her better.

Really sweet, with very little conflict, makes this story a pleasure to read. Some steamy scenes help to see the connection between Rory and Bess. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of this author's work.

Under $1.00...BARGAIN!!!

To buy A Pirate For Christmas - http://amzn.to/1R0HGmu

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pirate for Christmas by Anna Campbell is a 2015 publication.

Holiday novellas are so popular and easy to work into your busy Christmas time schedule, when finding time to read can be a challenge.

This one has such a pretty cover, and the story is light, with only a moderate amount of angst. There is a minimal cast of characters, which leaves plenty of time for Lord Channing, a man with quite the reputation as a pirate, and a Vicar’s daughter, Bess Farrar to get to know each other.

The couple engages in the most charming conversations and the author gets extra marks for sticking with more accurate and authentic historical dialogue and social customs. I loved Lord Channing, who proves he is much more noble than his reputation would have you believe, and Bess is sassy, smart, and bold and very easy to like and admire.
There are many Christmas themed romances to choose from, but if you enjoy historical romance, this one is worth checking out. As an added incentive, as of this writing, (12-20-16), the book is free in the Kindle store.

Overall, this story is cute and a very enjoyable holiday romance.

4 stars

[Jonetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on The Book Nympho

I don't often find a book where I love both of the main characters equally from the start. In that sense, this story was just a delight.

Bess Farrar is the vicar's spinster daughter (no one refers to her that way) and she's a force in the town. She makes everything work but in the best of ways. When Rory Beaton, the new Earl of Channing, arrives following his estranged brother's death, Bess confronts him after repeated attempts to get him engaged with town events go unanswered. That's when the fun begins.

What I loved about Bess? She's clever, resourceful and witty without being insufferable. She wields her power with fine lace and never oversteps. What I loved about Rory? Aside from being handsome with a wicked sense of humor, he got the amazing Bess and set his sights on her the moment he met her. The pirate thing? A rumor about him he never could shake so he just embraced it.

Obviously I loved this story that captivated me from the first chapter. I enjoyed the two characters and the lovely story about them. And, it's tied up with a special bow in the epilogue. It's more than just a Christmas story and it'll leave you feeling really good.

(I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review)

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I am mega-late reviewing. I finished this the first of January of this year, although I started it in December. I am huge fan of Anna Campbell, and while I found this enjoyable, it's not nearly as memorable as my favorites by her. It's a good Christmas novella, and it has her distinctive and well developed chemistry between the characters. The hero is a ginger, which is definitely a plus for me as I love gingers. He's also a bit of a bad boy, but a good-hearted sort. He's spent most of his life at sea, so he's adapting to being back on solid ground and being an earl. When he meets Bess, he knows she's the woman he's been waiting for, which was another thing I liked about him. He spends almost all of this story wooing her, which means going along with her holiday plans. This helps to get him rooted in the community since he never lived there, having grown up in Scotland. Rory definitely has the manly vibe going for him, and he's just a fundamentally good person. Sometimes you just got to be happy when you see that in a hero. I liked Bess. She was feisty and sweet. She was woman enough to handle Rory, and I liked how she responded to his flirting. She wasn't the type to just fall out of the hero, but gave him enough challenge to make the story interesting. The unfolding of the yearly Christmas Navitity play was fun, especially the spirited donkey who has a pivotal role.

In summary, this was an enjoyable short story to read for Christmas. I wish I had time to read it before Christmas. Hope I do better with that this year.

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pirate for Christmas is a romantic, fun, passionate Regency novella written by one of the genre's brightest stars. I smiled, sighed, and even giggled my way through this holiday tale and, as always, look forward to whatever it is Anna Campbell dreams up next!

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

That wasn't like any Campbell book I've read. I suppose after several years one can expect an author's style to change a bit, but this was dramatically different. The dialogue was very stilted as if the whole book was a play being staged. Awkward, repetitive and without lyricism.

The darker elements of Campbell stories that I recall along with a sense of naturalism in the characters responses and actions are completely absent. Needless to say, this was disappointing to me.

Overall, meh.

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for 12 Tasks of the Festive Season:

Task the Fourth: The Gift Card:
- Read a book that you either received as a gift or have given as a gift.


This woman was meant for him. He wasn't sure yet what he felt about it, but the conclusion was inescapable.

It's love at first sight for our hero and while I understand using this trope in a novella, it's not my favorite. The hero and heroine have about a five minute conversation when the hero decides/knows he will be marrying the heroine. I didn't feel the excitement of a budding relationship and because of a lack of felt emotion between the two, the heat was missing from their one or two kissing/making out scenes.
The small village feel was there with the activity of putting on a play and with a snow storm and mistletoe causing some havoc, it had a nice holiday feel.

[Vedrana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Lover of Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance A Pirate For Christmas was such a short and sweet romance that I couldn't get enough. It starts out with our heroine storming into the manor house, looking for its "new" master since he has been ignoring her and she needs the use of the donkey for the Christmas play. Our heroine doesn't hold anything back and she is quite forceful about it. I did like her willful nature, even if it gets her in trouble at times. Our hero, has recently taken over when his brother dies and he inherits. Rory has only know the life on the sea, and doesn't have much clue how to handle his new position. But he is charmed by Bess. I really loved the way these two come together, at first they don't care for each other too much. But quickly they start to soften towards each other and their bantering was light and flirty and playful. I was left feeling like I wanted more from this story because I couldn't get enough of these two together. This is a novella, so it goes by quickly, but I did like that it had some depth to it that only Anna Campbell can do. It had some nice holiday touches to the story that only added to the joy of it. A definite short but sweet romance that will bring a smile to your face.

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet regency romance. I do not read a lot of historical so I have a bit of a hard time identifying with the virginal spinster heroines and this one was no different. While Bess was funny, she was also a tad annoying in her bossiness. I did not really understand why the hero was so enamoured of her at first sight, but it was a novella! Rory was also an enigma to me. I had a hard time understanding his place in the world except to follow Bess around doing her bidding. Maybe being an Earl is a job, but I could not figure out what it entailed.

All that being said, it was short and sweet and set during Christmas so it was a nice holiday read!

Safety gang safe

[Carol Cork *Young at Heart Oldie* · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely Christmas treat this novella was! Anna Campbell has penned a delightful, entertaining and fun romance with the perfect snow-covered village setting.

Rory is such a likeable hero… a handsome, witty, charming and flirtatious Scotsman, with just a hint of devilment in his green eyes. Bess is managing, independent and capable, qualities that should annoy a man like Rory, but instead he finds himself both charmed and intrigued by her and deeply attracted. It was refreshing to find a hero who, despite having an unhappy childhood, hadn’t given up on love, although he has never believed in love at first sight until he meets Bess.

This woman was meant for him. He wasn’t sure yet what he felt about it, but the conclusion was inescapable.

At first, Bess readily believes the rumours about Rory. After all, he precisely fits her image of a pirate, wicked seducer, and reckless adventurer. However, there is something compelling about him that threatens to shatter her hitherto tranquil but lonely life.

There was something breathtakingly compelling about the new earl. A crackle of energy that Bess only now realized had been missing from her life.

Gradually, she comes to respect and admire him. when she sees how he treats the villagers with respect and wins them over with his charm and intelligence. It’s heart-warming to see how Rory puts down roots for the first time as he comes to accept the village as his home and positively embraces the responsibilities that come with his title.

Rory paused in the doorway to savor a sensation he’d never before experienced. That this was home and these were his people and he belonged here.

I enjoyed the developing romance between Rory and Bess with its delightful mixture of witty banter, delicious sexual tension and heated kisses. I love Rory’s noble action in not wanting Bess’s first time to be “some hole-in-corner seduction”. He treats her with such respect (much to Bess’s disappointment) and wants to cherish her.

The secondary characters all add depth to the story; Edward White, Rory’s secretary, butler, cook , bailiff and shipmate for twenty years; the matchmaking residents of Penton Wyck, and a certain stubborn, music-loving donkey called Daisy.

MY VERDICT: Full of warmth, fun and romance, this was the perfect start to my holiday reading. I recommend you find a comfy chair, grab your favourite tipple and enjoy!


REVIEW RATING: 4/5 STARS


**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.**


This review is also posted on my Rakes and Rascals Blog:

https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...

[Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Group Read (BOTM) for December 2017 with Unapologetic Romance Readers


I now realise that "words" are kind of inadequate when it comes to this book or everything I am involved in/with, but Imma try to lay some down for you either way. Here we go:



This book was as nonsensical as it could get. It made me want to scratch my Godly eyes out.
Thank Goddess that I don't remember the plot. Ok, that's a lie, I do remember it unfortunately, but I am not going to rehash it here or anywhere else for you. Not now, not ever.

I know I sound like this is oh so very, very bad. It is, but I will attest that there are worse shit out there and this is not that high up on the"Shitty Totem Pole". It is however really high up in the "Nonsense Totem Pole", and I don't do nonsense, not even my own.

Ugh, I think I have spent enough time not telling you all anything useful about this book or it's nonsensical, non-existent plot. *snort* plot *snorts some more*




Queue the copy/paste low rating review text & pretty Gifs


There comes a time where words just don't cut it. They don't necessary fail you, but the effort to produce them for something - whatever that something is - is simply not worth the effort, not even the teeny tiniest amount of it.


However, a picture can step into the vacancy with extra guts & glory on the side. You know the saying: 1 picture is worth a 1000 words . These thousand words don't necessarily have to be positive, or neutral for that matter.


Henceforth, I will simply just supply a picture or three to convey to you all a couple thousand negative words without me having to exert myself any more than I already did reading the various "somethings".


~~ *This passage will be on repeat every time, so if you read it once scroll down for the magic moving pictures.* ~~


So here you have it, two thousand words of absolute negativity:



Xaxa see what I did here?


That is what I want to do to this book. Figgis is the book obviously & I'm the one throwing the eggplant.


P.S.: I blame Nenia for my suffering (^_^)/

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never thought I'd say this, but A Pirate for Christmas is a novella that suffered because it was too long. Anna Campbell has recently been releasing a series of novellas, including several holiday themed installments. I usually really enjoy Campbell's breezy, light-hearted writing style in her novellas, which is the opposite of her dark, angsty tone that dominates in her full-length novels.

This novella started off really cute. It was an insta-love theme, but it was well done and fun. It was loaded with small-town charm and holiday cheer and I was into it. Bess was bossy but sweet and Rory was brash but still enormously appealing.

The story has no angst and is a simple plot of two people falling in love during the holiday season. Rory is the new, unexpected earl in the area, while Bess is the vicar's daughter and unofficial community leader for festivities. She helps Rory become part of the fabric of the community, and Rory makes Bess feel like an attractive, appealing woman. I really enjoyed the story up to the proposal. And then, it got really lovey-dovey and there was no sexual tension whatsoever. I skimmed the end and lost interest, thus the low rating. I rarely ever say this because I love epilogues, but because the story was so fluffy and insubstantial, I lost interest in spending more time with the characters because I wasn't emotionally invested to begin with.

Overall, this had a strong start, but is dragged at the end. Campbell has a nice writing style and I think she writes some excellent novellas. However, she has spoiled me over the years and this one wasn't my favorite.

For those of you who love fluffiness, low angst, and epilogues, I would still recommend this for a quick, inexpensive holiday read.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cute, incredibly fluffy, syrupy novella. I really did enjoy it, even despite occasionally feeling a bit cringey from the over-the-top gushiness of it all. The MC's are both honorable, likeable, and easy to read about. The plot is almost entirely free of any tension or major conflicts, so if you enjoy drama and suspense, this is not for you. I actually welcomed that right now- this was an unstressful, cotton candy of a read. I can't give this 5 stars since I just felt like there wasn't enough here to really say it was excellent, but it was fun. The villagers- including the donkey- were cute and added a charm to the background. Christmas actually plays a role here, too, unlike some "Christmas" HR's. I could have gone for a bit more banter between Rory and Bess (they started off a bit banter-y but it died down), and my only real issue was that the title is misleading- Rory never was a pirate! I didn't really care, but I feel like it could have been named something else. The insta-desire to marry Bess on Rory's part was also a bit much, so know that that's there. But overall, I liked this. It was exactly what a Christmas novella should be, imo.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable and sweet Christmas novella without any angst, drama, or anything else standing in the way of a very sweet HEA. I smiled my way through cute (if somewhat unbelievable) meddling villagers, an adorable best friend sidekick I would have loved to seen more of (I loved his bantering with the hero! Especially once he heard everyone thought of the hero as a pirate)... Let's just say I loved this one. It wasn't perfect (the hero things the heroine is his "destiny" after all of a day...), but it was sweet, and silly, and exactly what I needed.

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

28/12 - There were just way too many stupid pirate jokes/references, that immediately annoyed me and since they NEVER STOPPED my sense of humour never returned. It was like a romance full of dad jokes and that much of that kind of humour just didn't work for me. Within a page I wanted to grab someone (hero or author, I would have been happy with either) and tell them to shut the Hell up about the damn pirates.

I didn't like the way Channing used Bess' guilt over needing the donkey to force her into kissing him. Sometimes this works, but when they've only known each other an hour (as in this novella) all I can think about is how I'd react if a near-stranger tried to do this to me (likely I'd laugh at them and walk away).

The only reason I'm not giving this one star is that the editing was fine and the writing was okay. At some points the descriptions almost descended into purpleness, but it was okay and I managed to deal with that better than the bloody pirates.

For a much more in depth review, please see my friend Carmen's review .

[Barbara➰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

***4.25 Stars

Very cute and sweet story. I loved both the mc's. The hero wants the heroine right away and decides he wants to marry her the first day he meets her. It's very low angst and I really enjoyed the banter between the two. Daisy the donkey stole the show though lol.

[Missy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another misleading title. This would be the 3rd one this year and the second one with 'pirate' in the title. I skimmed most of this. Either the writing turned me off or I just wasn't interested in the plot. Not sure which one.

[Tracy Emro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

What a wonderful story! Rory and Bess are simply delightful leads. Rory has just inherited the earldom from his late brother and is new to Penton Abbey. Bess is the vicar's daughter and has lived in Penton Wyck her whole life. She is a take charge type of girl and is determined to make sure the new Earl falls in line with her plans. When these two meet for the first time - sparks fly!

This novella was perfect. It was paced well, had steamy love scenes, a lot of lighthearted banter and a very sweet epilogue.

Rory's confession to Bess at the end was just priceless. I really didn't want the book to end, it was that good!!

[Aoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, light-hearted story with just enough meat to the plot, for a novella. Although it was missing the darker elements Ms. Campbell's works are known for ,simple and straight forward works the best for this short length format.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

This s just an adorable story about a bossy young lady and a bachelor Pirate Earl (he's not really a pirate) and their trials and tribulations putting on a Christmas pagent in their small village. Their headbutting leads to snogging and more.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro junta temas que me gustan mucho: navidad, romance y además es histórico, así que obvio me gustó.
Una historia ligera, sin muchas complicaciones y bonita.
Sólo me hubiera gustado que se extenduera un poco más, pero todo bien :D

[Aki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es ist eine nette kleine Weihnachtsnovelle, die ein bisschen weniger Missverständnisse gebrauchen hätte können, aber sonst wirklich gut zu lesen war.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet, enjoyable Christmas novella and I loved it. Anna Campbell is a wonderful author and she does not disappoint. The hero inherits an Earldom from his brother and meets the vicar's daughter when she comes to inform him that he must provide Daisy, his donkey, who is always in the town's Christmas pageant. I will not say more as this is a short, but good, read.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.

A Pirate for Christmas was the holiday romance selection for the Unapologetic Romance Readers' group. Like most Christmas-themed historical romances, it's a novella rather than a full-length novel. Also like most Christmas-themed historical romances (and Christmas romances in general, regardless of time period) it relies on love at first sight to get everything going--probably because the short length doesn't leave as much room for relationship and character development.

The two main characters here are Bess, the daughter of the vicar of her rural village, and Rory, who has just taken over the title of Earl after his older brother's death. There's a rumor rampant in town that Rory is a dastardly pirate, but we know from the book's description that he was actually in the Royal Navy. When Bess visits the manor to obtain the donkey that always takes part in the Christmas play (Daisy--Daisy was probably the best part of the book) she encounters Rory, the two fall in love at first sight but are of course unable to express their feelings for each other, and go edging around each other as Bess starts reorganizing Rory's house and gets him to give her Daisy and his own participation in the Christmas play...all for the price of a kiss, of course.

As I mentioned before, there's not a lot of room for plot or character development here. Bess and Rory spend most of the time mooning at each other from afar with all of the village folk trying to push them together, and then there's an extended scene where they conveniently get stuck in a cabin in the woods during a snowstorm together. Rory wants Bess and Bess wants Rory and and Rory spends a lot of time pursuing Bess but not really wanting to do anything about it because he wants to marry her first (because that's what she deserves) but also not really doing anything to move in a marriage direction. But of course that's where it all ends up, and then there's a weird time-jump to the honeymoon where the ~sexy times~ start. Honestly things probably would have been a bit more interesting of Rory really had been a dastardly pirate instead of a misunderstood navy captain, but meh.

Christmas romances in book form are, essentially, the same as those cheesy holiday movies that you see on TV all the time at this time of year. They might be cute, for what they are, but they're not particularly good. This book follows that trope exactly.

2 stars out of 5.

[Soany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una agradable historia cortita que se disfruta, ideal para pasar un buen rato y relajarse.

[Heidi Rice]

Another post-Christmas treat for me (who says you have to read a Christmas book at Christmas??!!) Anna Campbell's novella is a great combination of hot love, delicious comedy (I was laughing out loud at that donkey) and striking characters and packed full of incidents for such a short book. Beth Farrar is the vicar's daughter determined to put on the local nativity play with the use of the local Earl's donkey, but the new Earl has been annoyingly reclusive and unresponsive to her many messages, so of course she turns up at his ramshackle family estate to plead (or rather demand) his help. One very hot kiss later and we have a great short, sweet, and sexy read on our hands. I adored the Scottish hero Rory - whose honorable intentions were hidden behind a playful and gorgeous demeanor. Sparks fly between these two, making this a perfect Christmas (or after Christmas) cracker.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, short Christmas read.

Bess, a vicar’s daughter beards the new local lord in his den in order to make the local Christmas nativity happen.

Rory, our new lord and prospective pirate is only too happy to help. Bess is exactly the kind of woman he could settle down with.

It was particularly nice seeing Rory make friends with the locals as well as how endearingly caring he was towards Bess. Lovely snowy, cosy time for them to get to know each other too.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aahh, this was a lovely Christmas novella. Laughed at the banter between the Earl (Rory) and Ned, his ex shipmate but now works for the Earl. A very enjoyable read.