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Mistletoe & Mayhem: A Regency Yuletide Collection, Book 4
This Christmas, Miss Lily Jardine is getting something any girl would want – a betrothal offer. Too bad she’s falling for her soon-to-be fiancé’s brother instead . . .
Merrily Mismatched by Virginia Brown
Lady Lucia Crossclyffe can’t resist the charms of Marquess of Rillington, a holiday visitor to her isolated island home. Little does she guess that he’s come there to ruin her . . .
The Snow Princess by Jo Ann Ferguson
After years of being presumed dead, Major Jeremy Stanhope has come home from the war. His first order of business – to propose to Lady Rosalie Partington, the woman who’s waited for him all these years. Only Rosalie is already betrothed . . . to the traitor who left him for dead!
Christmas Truce by Karen Frisch
Charles Hudson, the Earl of Westerly, has come to Windermere for Christmas with one intention – to offer for the woman whose letters have captivated him for the last year. But is the letter-writer the woman he thinks she is?
Miss Montague’s Mistletoe Match by Sharon Sobel
Virginia Brown has written over 50 novels since her first romance came out in 1984. Many of her books have been nominated for Romantic Times’ Reviewer’s Choice, Career Achievement Award for Love and Laughter, Career Achievement Award for Adventure, EPIC eBook nomination for Historical Romance, and she received the RT Career Achievement Award for Historical Adventure, as well as the EPIC eBook Award for Mainstream Fiction. Her works have regularly appeared on national bestseller lists. She lives near her children in North Mississippi, surrounded by a menagerie of beloved dogs and cats while she writes.
Jo Ann Ferguson has been creating characters and stories for as long as she can remember. She sold her first book in 1987. Since then, she has sold over 100 titles and has become a best-selling and award-winning author. She writes romance, mystery, and paranormal under a variety of pen names. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages and are sold on every continent except Antarctica. You can reach her at her www.joannferguson.com or by jo@joannferguson.com.
Karen Frisch writes Regency romances for ImaJinn Books. She is the winner of the 2007 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Mystery/Crime Category. An amateur genealogist, she also has two nonfiction genealogy books in print on tracing family history and identifying old family photographs. While tracing her family history as a teenager, she discovered she is a cousin of Edgar Allan Poe (removed by six generations). A lifelong resident of New England where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs, she is also a portrait artist. Follow Karen on her website at KarenFrisch.weebly.com.
Sharon Sobel is the author of eight historical and two contemporary romance novels, and served as Secretary and Chapter Liaison of Romance Writers of America. She has a PhD in English Language and Literature from Brandeis University and is an English professor at a Connecticut college, where she co-chaired the Connecticut Writers’ Conference for five years. An eighteenth century New England farmhouse, where Sharon and her husband raised their three children, has provided inspiration for either the period or the setting for all of her books.
Merrily Mismatched by Virginia Brown
Lady Lucia Crossclyffe can’t resist the charms of Marquess of Rillington, a holiday visitor to her isolated island home. Little does she guess that he’s come there to ruin her . . .
The Snow Princess by Jo Ann Ferguson
After years of being presumed dead, Major Jeremy Stanhope has come home from the war. His first order of business – to propose to Lady Rosalie Partington, the woman who’s waited for him all these years. Only Rosalie is already betrothed . . . to the traitor who left him for dead!
Christmas Truce by Karen Frisch
Charles Hudson, the Earl of Westerly, has come to Windermere for Christmas with one intention – to offer for the woman whose letters have captivated him for the last year. But is the letter-writer the woman he thinks she is?
Miss Montague’s Mistletoe Match by Sharon Sobel
Virginia Brown has written over 50 novels since her first romance came out in 1984. Many of her books have been nominated for Romantic Times’ Reviewer’s Choice, Career Achievement Award for Love and Laughter, Career Achievement Award for Adventure, EPIC eBook nomination for Historical Romance, and she received the RT Career Achievement Award for Historical Adventure, as well as the EPIC eBook Award for Mainstream Fiction. Her works have regularly appeared on national bestseller lists. She lives near her children in North Mississippi, surrounded by a menagerie of beloved dogs and cats while she writes.
Jo Ann Ferguson has been creating characters and stories for as long as she can remember. She sold her first book in 1987. Since then, she has sold over 100 titles and has become a best-selling and award-winning author. She writes romance, mystery, and paranormal under a variety of pen names. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages and are sold on every continent except Antarctica. You can reach her at her www.joannferguson.com or by jo@joannferguson.com.
Karen Frisch writes Regency romances for ImaJinn Books. She is the winner of the 2007 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards, Mystery/Crime Category. An amateur genealogist, she also has two nonfiction genealogy books in print on tracing family history and identifying old family photographs. While tracing her family history as a teenager, she discovered she is a cousin of Edgar Allan Poe (removed by six generations). A lifelong resident of New England where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs, she is also a portrait artist. Follow Karen on her website at KarenFrisch.weebly.com.
Sharon Sobel is the author of eight historical and two contemporary romance novels, and served as Secretary and Chapter Liaison of Romance Writers of America. She has a PhD in English Language and Literature from Brandeis University and is an English professor at a Connecticut college, where she co-chaired the Connecticut Writers’ Conference for five years. An eighteenth century New England farmhouse, where Sharon and her husband raised their three children, has provided inspiration for either the period or the setting for all of her books.
268 pages, Paperback
Published November 18, 2016
5 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Brown
105 books108 followersSince writing her first romance novel in 1984, Virginia Brown has written nearly 50 romance novels. Many of her books have been nominated for Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice, Career Achievement Award for Love and Laughter, and Career Achievement Award for Adventure. Her works regularly appear on national bestseller lists. Having written under several different names about historical eras such as the old West, Regency-era, and the American Civil War, she now writes under a new pseudonym, Juliana Garnett, to focus upon the medieval era.
A native of Tennessee, Virginia spent her childhood traveling with her parents as a "military brat,” living all over the US and in Japan. This influenced her love of travel and adventure, which is reflected in her work.
Twice a year, Virginia visits England to research her novels, and includes Scotland in her travels. She feels this adds a new dimension to her work, and enables her to more authentically impart the true flavor of the geographical and historical sites.
In addition to appearing on the nationally syndicated television program What's Hot, What's Not, Virginia Brown has been interviewed by Jane Pauley on the Today Show, and regularly appears on local television and radio shows in addition to coverage by the press. She also experienced a first for a romance writer by appearing on the cover of Memphis, the magazine.
Virginia is the mother of four grown children, and now enjoys her menagerie of dogs that includes a fat beagle, two part-chows, a hound and five cats. As the grandmother of three lovely children, one of her greatest pleasures these days is visiting with Justin, Christina, and Gaby.
A native of Tennessee, Virginia spent her childhood traveling with her parents as a "military brat,” living all over the US and in Japan. This influenced her love of travel and adventure, which is reflected in her work.
Twice a year, Virginia visits England to research her novels, and includes Scotland in her travels. She feels this adds a new dimension to her work, and enables her to more authentically impart the true flavor of the geographical and historical sites.
In addition to appearing on the nationally syndicated television program What's Hot, What's Not, Virginia Brown has been interviewed by Jane Pauley on the Today Show, and regularly appears on local television and radio shows in addition to coverage by the press. She also experienced a first for a romance writer by appearing on the cover of Memphis, the magazine.
Virginia is the mother of four grown children, and now enjoys her menagerie of dogs that includes a fat beagle, two part-chows, a hound and five cats. As the grandmother of three lovely children, one of her greatest pleasures these days is visiting with Justin, Christina, and Gaby.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 28, 2016
*I received a copy of the is book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review*
Overall, I would rate this book as a 3.5 star read. I usually prefer a steamier read, but these novellas are all "clean" reads and the lack of love scenes does not diminish the stories.
Merrily Mismatched, Virginia Brown, 4.5 stars - This was my favorite of the collection. I loved Lily and Alexander. Lily's aunt and Alexander's mother have decided that their children should wed and proceeds to match three of the sisters with the three boys in Alexander's family. But things do not proceed as planned! This was a very sweet and entertaining read.
The Snow Princess, Jo Ann Ferguson, 4 stars - I honestly almost skipped this novella because I didn't like the beginning. But I am very glad I continued on and was very pleased with the outcome. Lily and Julian aka Rill are wonderful leads. Lily has a secret and if revealed would explain her behavior, but due to a deep sense of loyalty to her deceased stepmother, she keeps her secret to herself. I didn't care for Julian at the beginning of the book, but was half in love with him by the end. This book while lacking any real love scenes, definitely has the best "I Love You" scene in the collection!
Christmas Truce, Karen Frisch, 2.5 stars - I did not care for this book. Rosalie was wishy-washy and came across to me as fickle - the "love of her life" comes back from the dead and she won't break her promise to marry another man? Seriously? I also didn't care for the fact that she tells the other man that even though Jeremy (the LOVE of her LIFE) is back, it doesn't mean she loves him (the other man) any less. WTF? No, this does not work for me.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match, Sharon Sobel, 3 stars - this could have been a 5 star novella, but it was a bit too disjointed and had too many random events seemingly thrown in the story to make it worthy of 5 stars. The premise of the story is great, Roselynn has been writing to Charles as Lady Alys for the past year. Charles has become a recluse since he returned from the war, he was injured and bears scars on his face that he believes makes him hideous. He began writing to Alys a year ago due to the urging of his friend and doctor, Gregory. Over the course of the year, Charles has begun to fall in love with Alys and plans to offer for her. He and Gregory travel to Alys' home for the holidays and Charles meets not only the lovely Alys, but her companion and family secretary, Roselynn. Charles is confused, he is much more drawn to Roselynn than he is to the beautiful Alys. For her part Alys wants nothing to do with Charles, she can't see past his scars and would prefer to flirt with her handsome cousin Gregory.
If the story continued along this vein, it would have been fine, but the author throws in a random paranormal event and a vague, bland love scene that diminishs the story. There is also incorrect use of formal address ( a Duke and Duchess are NEVER referred to nor addressed as My Lord/Lady - ever!). And if all that is not enough, throw in the fact that Roselynn is the granddaughter of an Earl and her mother has remarried and lives in Italy with her titled husband, yet I am expected to believe that Roselynn has no options but to work as a servant? Really?
All in all this was a good collection and I enjoyed 3 of the 4 stories.
Overall, I would rate this book as a 3.5 star read. I usually prefer a steamier read, but these novellas are all "clean" reads and the lack of love scenes does not diminish the stories.
Merrily Mismatched, Virginia Brown, 4.5 stars - This was my favorite of the collection. I loved Lily and Alexander. Lily's aunt and Alexander's mother have decided that their children should wed and proceeds to match three of the sisters with the three boys in Alexander's family. But things do not proceed as planned! This was a very sweet and entertaining read.
The Snow Princess, Jo Ann Ferguson, 4 stars - I honestly almost skipped this novella because I didn't like the beginning. But I am very glad I continued on and was very pleased with the outcome. Lily and Julian aka Rill are wonderful leads. Lily has a secret and if revealed would explain her behavior, but due to a deep sense of loyalty to her deceased stepmother, she keeps her secret to herself. I didn't care for Julian at the beginning of the book, but was half in love with him by the end. This book while lacking any real love scenes, definitely has the best "I Love You" scene in the collection!
Christmas Truce, Karen Frisch, 2.5 stars - I did not care for this book. Rosalie was wishy-washy and came across to me as fickle - the "love of her life" comes back from the dead and she won't break her promise to marry another man? Seriously? I also didn't care for the fact that she tells the other man that even though Jeremy (the LOVE of her LIFE) is back, it doesn't mean she loves him (the other man) any less. WTF? No, this does not work for me.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match, Sharon Sobel, 3 stars - this could have been a 5 star novella, but it was a bit too disjointed and had too many random events seemingly thrown in the story to make it worthy of 5 stars. The premise of the story is great, Roselynn has been writing to Charles as Lady Alys for the past year. Charles has become a recluse since he returned from the war, he was injured and bears scars on his face that he believes makes him hideous. He began writing to Alys a year ago due to the urging of his friend and doctor, Gregory. Over the course of the year, Charles has begun to fall in love with Alys and plans to offer for her. He and Gregory travel to Alys' home for the holidays and Charles meets not only the lovely Alys, but her companion and family secretary, Roselynn. Charles is confused, he is much more drawn to Roselynn than he is to the beautiful Alys. For her part Alys wants nothing to do with Charles, she can't see past his scars and would prefer to flirt with her handsome cousin Gregory.
If the story continued along this vein, it would have been fine, but the author throws in a random paranormal event and a vague, bland love scene that diminishs the story. There is also incorrect use of formal address ( a Duke and Duchess are NEVER referred to nor addressed as My Lord/Lady - ever!). And if all that is not enough, throw in the fact that Roselynn is the granddaughter of an Earl and her mother has remarried and lives in Italy with her titled husband, yet I am expected to believe that Roselynn has no options but to work as a servant? Really?
All in all this was a good collection and I enjoyed 3 of the 4 stories.
January 2, 2017
As with most anthologies, this one has some very good stories and then again some that are not as good but on the whole this is a fine anthology. All of the stories are interesting, filled with warm seasonal sentiment and result in our longed for happily ever after. There aren’t any steamy scenes but the romance is still heart stopping. I can recommend this anthology to all romance lovers and don’t feel it has to be read at Christmas. These stories are just wonderful any time of the year.
I received this book free for review from the publisher.
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I received this book free for review from the publisher.
http://ladeetdareads.wordpress.com
February 3, 2017
Four fun clean Regency novellas set during the Christmas season--what could be better?
December 31, 2016
Fun romantic short stories for the holidays. At first I was turned off because I thought the stories would all be a retelling of classic romances (Pride and Prejudice, Cyrano de Bergerac, etc.). But not the case. Jo Ann Ferguson's short (Snow Princess) made the book a keeper for me.
Merrily Mismatched was a great nod to Pride and Prejudice. The characters were fairly on point with characters from the classic. I was sad when it ended.
The Snow Princess was a written beautifully and just took me away to what seemed like a mystical island. The main characters were also well written and well developed considering it's a short story. The sub-characters were appropriately annoying. The story was well paced. It gave me a satisfied feeling in the end.
The Christmas Truce dragged. I hated the characters, and the pacing of the story. I just wanted this one to be over. Skip this one if short on time.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match was merely ok. I liked the main characters, but the sub-characters were sometimes annoying. the pacing was also a little slow and thought the story could have been shorter. I thought the author was trying too hard to keep the astronomy background theme going throughout the story.
All in all, it was ok. The writing was good in all the stories. I loved the Snow Princess and can see myself rereading that and Merrily Mismatched in the future.
DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from NetGalley.
Merrily Mismatched was a great nod to Pride and Prejudice. The characters were fairly on point with characters from the classic. I was sad when it ended.
The Snow Princess was a written beautifully and just took me away to what seemed like a mystical island. The main characters were also well written and well developed considering it's a short story. The sub-characters were appropriately annoying. The story was well paced. It gave me a satisfied feeling in the end.
The Christmas Truce dragged. I hated the characters, and the pacing of the story. I just wanted this one to be over. Skip this one if short on time.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match was merely ok. I liked the main characters, but the sub-characters were sometimes annoying. the pacing was also a little slow and thought the story could have been shorter. I thought the author was trying too hard to keep the astronomy background theme going throughout the story.
All in all, it was ok. The writing was good in all the stories. I loved the Snow Princess and can see myself rereading that and Merrily Mismatched in the future.
DISCLOSURE: I received this book for free from NetGalley.
December 29, 2016
Like any short story compilation there were some wins and some looses.
Merrily Mismatched by Virginia Brown
Alexander's mother has decided that it's high time he marries, and has picked out his bride for him. Alexander, being a dutiful son is willing to go through with the marriage, if only he hadn't met the sister of his intended bride beforehand. A typical romance. A little boring.
The Snow Princess was an interesting story. It starts out a little weird, with Julian's cousin begging him, and calling in a debt, to seduce a woman dubbed "The Snow Princess" so her friend isn't forced into marriage with her. I found the fact that Julian agreed to this to be kind of sketchy. But he does and travels to the incredibly secluded island where Lily lives. He meets Lily and discovers that everything isn't quite what it seems.
Christmas Truce was the weakest story of the book. Rosalie thinks the love of her life died in the war and agrees to marry another. But oh no! Turns out that her love isn't really dead, but comes back alive and well. But Rosalie is a moron/doormat/twit/whatever you want and won't break her current promise even though she is breaking another and doesn't really want to marry the guy she says she will marry but he turns out to be a jackass. And yeah, that's pretty much the story. Annoying, dragging, and a huge run on.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match started out interesting with a correspondence courting, but then quickly got stupid with random paranormal events and implausible situations.
Merrily Mismatched by Virginia Brown
Alexander's mother has decided that it's high time he marries, and has picked out his bride for him. Alexander, being a dutiful son is willing to go through with the marriage, if only he hadn't met the sister of his intended bride beforehand. A typical romance. A little boring.
The Snow Princess was an interesting story. It starts out a little weird, with Julian's cousin begging him, and calling in a debt, to seduce a woman dubbed "The Snow Princess" so her friend isn't forced into marriage with her. I found the fact that Julian agreed to this to be kind of sketchy. But he does and travels to the incredibly secluded island where Lily lives. He meets Lily and discovers that everything isn't quite what it seems.
Christmas Truce was the weakest story of the book. Rosalie thinks the love of her life died in the war and agrees to marry another. But oh no! Turns out that her love isn't really dead, but comes back alive and well. But Rosalie is a moron/doormat/twit/whatever you want and won't break her current promise even though she is breaking another and doesn't really want to marry the guy she says she will marry but he turns out to be a jackass. And yeah, that's pretty much the story. Annoying, dragging, and a huge run on.
Miss Montague's Mistletoe Match started out interesting with a correspondence courting, but then quickly got stupid with random paranormal events and implausible situations.
December 29, 2016
This was a mixed bag for me. I loved the first story Merrily mismatched. It had a nice set of characters and the thrill of mis matched couples with a dash of Jane Austen.
The snow Princess was also interesting, though it did play on a historical romance trope the presumed dead character,but I didn't connect to the romance at all. i didn't enjoy the others but the first two were defintetly worth the read.
The snow Princess was also interesting, though it did play on a historical romance trope the presumed dead character,but I didn't connect to the romance at all. i didn't enjoy the others but the first two were defintetly worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews