By Any Other Name

by Candace Camp

A curious gentleman in hot pursuit of an intriguing lady in disguise may find love under the Christmas tree this season as New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp sets Regency Edinburgh aglitter for the holidays!Rylla Campbell is determined to rescue her brother from a life of dissipation, whether he wants to be rescued or not. But how to find him amid the gambling hells of Regency Edinburgh? By disguising herself as a young man, of course! Her scheme seems to be working, until Lord Gregory Rose sees through her rather fetching disguise—and steals a kiss that thrills Rylla to the tips of her toes. Maybe Lord Rose is just what she needs to continue her quest to bring her brother home by Christmas. He knows his way around the darker side of the city…and if Rylla finds herself facing him under the mistletoe now and then, who could blame her?

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

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2016

About the author

Candace Camp is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty books.

Her first novel, *Bonds of Love*, was published by Jove Publishing in 1978, under the pseudonym Lisa Gregory. Two pseudonyms (Kristin James and Sharon Stephens)and many books later, Candace writes under her own name Candace Camp and still loves creating stories.

Candace lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and is the mother of Young Adult author Anastasia Hopcus.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. While my rating may seem a little low I still very much enjoyed this one. While like most novellas I was wanting a little more it still did what it set out to do and I don't feel like the length took away from the story

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novellas are never long enough. I'm always left wanting more.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the beginning, with Rylla dressing up as a man, and tried the drink and the cigar... basically the first meet with Gregory. But then she kinda annoyed me with the lies she told Gregory, and this story seemed to move to only about them kissing, and heck, they didn't even manage to FIND Rylla's brother in the end. He came back by himself! It was just an okay novella (hence my 3-stars)

[Rachel-RN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rylla disguised herself as a man/boy to go out and look for her brother. He had an argument with their father about his behavior and he stormed off without telling anyone where he was going. While out she meets Gregory who helps her out when someone tries to rob her due to her ignorance.
What follows is an interest in each other. Rylla doesn't tell Gregory her real name until a little later. He does eventually find out. They look for her brother. Spoiler alert- they don't find him (he comes home on his own). I did like this when all said and done. There was also a love story between Rylla's friend Eleanor and Andrew, Gregory's cousin.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In order to discover the location of her brother, Rylla Campbell pretends to be a man in the hope her sibling can be found before Christmas day. A chance encounter with Gregory Rose affects him so deeply that he becomes completely fascinated with the mysterious woman, and whose secrets only make him more determined to find her again and learn what she is hiding. His persistence pays off when they come upon each other once more, and though Rylla still leaves most facts unspoken, she does seem to enjoy his stolen kisses. As more unplanned meetings occur in Edinburgh, Gregory hopes she will finally open up to him.

Taking place in the same time frame in Scotland as the Secrets of the Loch series, Gregory and Rylla are not involved in the mystery but are certainly a lively addition to the novels. This couple is funny and caring, and it was enjoyable to see just how far he would go to find the woman who intrigued him. The bold nature of Rylla meant she did not easily back down, making Gregory desire her more with each new escapade. “By Any Other Name” is charmingly adventurous. Candace Camp always enthralls with likable characters and interesting plots.

Received copy for my honest opinion

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was just frustrating. Rylla spends the first half lying and kissing Gregory. Gregory becomes obsessed with Rylla after a single meeting and doesn’t really seem to care that she hasn’t been truthful with him. They know next to nothing about each other and yet she lets him strip off her shirt and would have done much more if they hadn’t been interrupted by his cousin.
They finally are introduced under appropriate conditions and make inappropriate plans to search for Rylla’s brother.
Then we are told of the encounters where they spend lots of time talking and no time kissing- clearly up to trying to make us accept the two of them getting physical after such a short acquaintance. “Rylla had been thinking of this, dreaming of this, for days” so of course he carries her up to his bed.
The next day, her brother comes back on his own.

The whole story felt like a waste of time. The most interesting characters- Her friend Eleanor and his cousin Andrew aren’t given enough time, although there is a secondary romance there too. I think I would have rather read their story.

[Alison Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light entertainment. Zipped through it in about an hour. It felt a bit thin, both on plot and character, but was fun, atmospheric, and loaded with unresolved sexual tension (until the end of course!). But when are romance writers going to cut the 'punishing kisses'? Mouth-mashing is not a turn on in my book-reading.

[Alexandria Tale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so annoyed with Rylla, don't know why. She's just annoying, especially in the end. Typical, assumed things by her own and tried to avoid it. I just want to slap her. So glad this was only a novella, cannot imagine I read a novel with her as a heroine. I certainly would be pulling my hair.

[Arlene Kropp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have been a longer story.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in the What Happens Under the Mistletoe collection. It had some weaker parts, but overall I quite enjoyed it. I'll look into some other books from this author.

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly, but very nice.

[Simo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars
Cute short novella, I think I'll try some other books by the author. And I agree with my fellow readers, Gregory is too sweet!

[Joana Ferraz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Sara Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun one! I liked the twists❣️

[Lori Yvette Fernandez Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This si well developed for a novella and I loved the characters. Especially Gregory!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute!

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable story.

[D Nichols]

Fun book to read. Her brother had a huge row with her father and has now disappeared but Christmas is only a few days away and he has to be home for Christmas! She decides to disguise herself as a man, borrows some of her brother's clothes and frequent gambling dens. She figures she is a good enough gambler not to be found out. Her first attempt she if offered strong drink that she accepts but finds it very strong but she has to drink it to maintain her secret. She is also offered a cigar and it makes her feel rather ill. When she decides to leave a gentleman who was watching her notices that one of the men at her table nods to an unsavory type. The observer follows her out and sees her at the top of a hill being assaulted and robbed by the unsavory type. Of course, he interferes, saves the day and takes her back to his suite of rooms when she faints. Then the story gets really interesting . . .