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Most Ardently: An Austen-Inspired Christmas Collection
“This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather. I was snowed up at a friend’s house once for a week. Nothing could be pleasanter.” ~Emma
Join New York Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors as they share stories inspired by Jane Austen to fill your Yuletide with love and joy.
From a Regency holiday in Austen’s own home to modern stories with a supernatural twist, Most Ardently brings you the best of Austen-inspired holiday fiction, including a haunted modern-day Northanger academy dorm, a vampiric surprise at a holiday ball, a contemporary dating-app-savvy Emma with a brand-new Knightley, a surprise cast of zombies, and a demon set loose in Jane Austen’s world. Mincemeat pies, Christmas puddings, Boxing Day and Twelfth Night will never be the same again!
So light a Yule log, hang a kissing bough of evergreen and mistletoe, and settle in for a long winter’s read as you reconnect with your favorite Austen characters and settings in all-new new stories.
Scroll up and one-click to preorder this holiday collection now for the special preorder price of only 99c!
“On one side was a table occupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; and on the other were trestles and trays, bending under the weight of brawn and cold pies, where riotous boys were holding high revel; the whole completed by a roaring Christmas fire, which seemed determined to be heard in spite of the noise of the others.” ~Persuasion
Join New York Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors as they share stories inspired by Jane Austen to fill your Yuletide with love and joy.
From a Regency holiday in Austen’s own home to modern stories with a supernatural twist, Most Ardently brings you the best of Austen-inspired holiday fiction, including a haunted modern-day Northanger academy dorm, a vampiric surprise at a holiday ball, a contemporary dating-app-savvy Emma with a brand-new Knightley, a surprise cast of zombies, and a demon set loose in Jane Austen’s world. Mincemeat pies, Christmas puddings, Boxing Day and Twelfth Night will never be the same again!
So light a Yule log, hang a kissing bough of evergreen and mistletoe, and settle in for a long winter’s read as you reconnect with your favorite Austen characters and settings in all-new new stories.
Scroll up and one-click to preorder this holiday collection now for the special preorder price of only 99c!
“On one side was a table occupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; and on the other were trestles and trays, bending under the weight of brawn and cold pies, where riotous boys were holding high revel; the whole completed by a roaring Christmas fire, which seemed determined to be heard in spite of the noise of the others.” ~Persuasion
556 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2019
11 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 2, 2019
I am a huge Austenite and this anthology did NOT disappoint in any way! I love all types of Austenesque literature ... and these stories satisfied every one - such as The Spirit of Mr Darcy where a young lady in the present named Elizabeth Bennet is whisked back into the past and meets Mr Darcy, who is currently unhappy with his wife (the former Miss Lizzy Bennet) because the marriage has become dull. I loved this because she wasn't just some drone of Jane Austen's works, she was actually very surprised to be put in this position and while Darcy is a formidable person, Lizzy is able to restrain herself and not get swept away in the past and a past that she is not really a part of. It's sort of like "Lost in Austen" in some ways, where a door to the past opens and someone in the present day is thrust into the world of P&P.
My second favorite story was Mr Darcy's Christmas Surprise - of course they all revolve around Christmas time festivities and I love all of that, but this one involves the character of Georgiana, Darcy's sister. She has passed away and we know she was very young, and right before the wedding of Jane and Bingley. I love this because although there is no modernization in this, we see Darcy in a whole new light - he is grieving the loss of his sister and we see him falling for Lizzy in a new way, and seeing it through his eyes is much better. And even Caroline Bingley - whom I LOATHE - is quite a sympathetic character for me in this story.
I think that anyone who loves Austen literature or even just romances or Christmastime romances will love this anthology and they are easy and quick reads for any Austenite!
**I was given a free book to read**
My second favorite story was Mr Darcy's Christmas Surprise - of course they all revolve around Christmas time festivities and I love all of that, but this one involves the character of Georgiana, Darcy's sister. She has passed away and we know she was very young, and right before the wedding of Jane and Bingley. I love this because although there is no modernization in this, we see Darcy in a whole new light - he is grieving the loss of his sister and we see him falling for Lizzy in a new way, and seeing it through his eyes is much better. And even Caroline Bingley - whom I LOATHE - is quite a sympathetic character for me in this story.
I think that anyone who loves Austen literature or even just romances or Christmastime romances will love this anthology and they are easy and quick reads for any Austenite!
**I was given a free book to read**
January 17, 2020
I must admit, I'm not a huge Austin fan. I actually enjoyed these stories more. The style and language of Austen books are hard for me to get into. I do enjoy the characters and plots, however. The great thing about some of these short stories is that they dive right into the good stuff.
I loved getting to know more characters and exploring altered versions of the stories.
I loved getting to know more characters and exploring altered versions of the stories.
July 15, 2022
Do you truly consider yourself an eclectic romance reader? This anthology will offer up a strong challenge to that assertion. All were new to me authors and I was in the mood to explore new territory. One does have to go in with a wide open frame of mind and not only in the mood for a specific kind of story unless the reader is planning to read one or two at a time that suit that particular mood, at least this was my experience. I chose to spread out the stories over several days because I did have mood to contend with.
Most Ardently is a grab bag of novella-length stories that are generally themed to Jane Austen's work and Christmas- some more and some less so. There are various romance genres from straight historical romance to paranormal and time travel and tones of romance from light and fun to smoldering and even bittersweet, various flame levels from sweet to sizzling. There are also varying levels of connectivity to either and both themes from full on Austen and Christmas to bare mentions of either.
In any anthology of different writers and stories there is usually going to be those that appeal more than others. However, these did not seem to share the same editor (at least editing was not of the same standard) and this hurt some of the stories as to development, structure, and more so that I couldn't appreciate some worlds, characters, and plots as well as I might have. I confess that taste and mood are strong factors in which stories were going to have the optimal enjoyment level for me and that turned out to be about half the stories. I spotted a few in the pack that will lead me to picking up more of their work.
So, here is a holiday grab bag of quick-read stories that are probably best appreciated taking a few at a time and when matching various moods for historical to modern and sweet to spicy.
Most Ardently is a grab bag of novella-length stories that are generally themed to Jane Austen's work and Christmas- some more and some less so. There are various romance genres from straight historical romance to paranormal and time travel and tones of romance from light and fun to smoldering and even bittersweet, various flame levels from sweet to sizzling. There are also varying levels of connectivity to either and both themes from full on Austen and Christmas to bare mentions of either.
In any anthology of different writers and stories there is usually going to be those that appeal more than others. However, these did not seem to share the same editor (at least editing was not of the same standard) and this hurt some of the stories as to development, structure, and more so that I couldn't appreciate some worlds, characters, and plots as well as I might have. I confess that taste and mood are strong factors in which stories were going to have the optimal enjoyment level for me and that turned out to be about half the stories. I spotted a few in the pack that will lead me to picking up more of their work.
So, here is a holiday grab bag of quick-read stories that are probably best appreciated taking a few at a time and when matching various moods for historical to modern and sweet to spicy.
December 14, 2020
Firstly, in sum, this anthology is not really what its title promises. Only half the stories are Austen-inspired and Christmas stories, and some are so poor, they don’t deserve to be in this anthology. I’ll review them one by one on content without a synopsis, as that can be left to other reviewers.
“Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Surprise” by Debra-Ann Kummoung is one of the better stories in this anthology, which starts out well and goes downhill from there. This pleasant short story about overcoming Darcy’s sadness via a (spoiler alert) series of gifts inspired by today’s advent calendars while slowly bringing Darcy and Elizabeth closer is a unique and satisfying read. It required some minor edits regarding missing words and British language, but is rather well constructed in comparison with the other stories in this set. The romance development was lovely and the story was tight. 4.5 stars.
The time travelling “The Spirit of Mr. Darcy” by Sheena Austin doesn’t inspire me to buy books by this author. The voice of Mr. Darcy in the Regency period is modern. Extra commas stall the reader, yet the author should have used them in the run-on sentences. The story doesn’t end well and its (spoiler alert) alternate pairing was grating, even with the paranormal aspect that was supposed to explain it away. Well, sorry, Darcy, but it didn’t, because the plot itself was rather convoluted and thus, confusing to say the least, and the sex seemed gratuitous. However, this story can claim an Austenesque theme, in contrast to several in the book. 2.5 stars.
Margo Bond Collins’s excellent short story “Snow Flight” showed me that each author had their own editor, since this interesting paranormal short was well-edited, with only minor typos. That extra effort by the author gave me a chance to enjoy the brilliant plot and great visuals that the author brought forward to enhance her tale. It did end at somewhat of a cliff-hanger and book sale, which was a disappointment after such a good story, but it was an upbeat ending with a full story arc all the same. However, there was no Austen tie in this story. Four stars.
This anthology started to go downhill at about the point of “Shades of Pemberley” by Claire O’Dare, with its misused words and plot involving (spoiler alert) a blatant alternate pairing, that is, a clear romantic plot line for the two. This is a daring sort of premise for any Austenesque fic, but IMO it’s out of place in a Christmas themed anthology, particularly when it involves (spoiler alert) D&E and adultery and the dark tone that this author uses to weave her tale. The romance was well-written, but this sort of deviation is too painful for D&E purists. Even the author knew it was depressing material with the voice used by the protagonists and the redundancies within. 2.5 stars.
The melancholy mood continued in the longer “Twelvetide Chaos” by Deborah E. Pearson. It was also at this point that the stories started having head-hopping, causing the reader to have to go “huh?” about who was the point of view character. This one had an all-centred format as well, which a formatter will tell you is off-putting to the reader. Numerous modern phrases and non-Regency words pulled the reader out of the story, as well as did the odd spelling and punctuation mishap—and I’m not one to be that fussy about punctuation. But the big thing here was the story. The plot was well developed and credible, using appropriate devices to show character development and changes that were key to the excellent story idea (no spoilers). But it was far too dark for a Christmas anthology, and that would be gloomy enough if this were the only dark story, but it was one of too many. And it was much too long, deviating off on tangents it didn’t need, sometimes solely to match its chapter titles. 2.5 stars.
I was tired of this anthology by now, and weighed down by the depressing stories. Charlene Johnson’s “The Demon and the Christmas Curse” wasn’t much lighter—at first. Christmas played no real part in the story, it just happened that the story took place at that time. It could have been at any time. The story had some canon errors from Northanger Abbey (Henry didn’t inherit) and the characters from that era spoke some modern expressions, but other than that and the head-hopping, the editing was good. A formatting glitch appears in the middle. Some parts with the higher-ups made me want to skim—they were a bit boring and redundant in places, and backstory dumps slowed the story. One scene (spoiler alert) with a prostitute was over-the-top on the bawdy side rather than being steamy, and it didn’t contribute to the story at all. I’d have cut it. All-in-all, though, the story was well-written and believable, and the romance fit well. The protagonists were likable and well drawn out for such a short story. For a story about stealing souls, it was surprisingly pleasant. The end was weak, though, leaving loose ends. 3.5 stars.
I was ready to throw the book out the window within the first few pages of “Charity” by Sophie Bellabone. What was a (spoiler alert) modern disaster wedding with adultery and multiple near misses of murder doing in an Austen Christmas anthology? It went from bad to worse, too! At about 1/3 of the way through, I finally couldn’t take it any more and flipped page by page to the end, trying to find where the part about Christmas and Austen were. The one word “Christmas” appeared to be a millisecond obligatory nod, and Austen didn’t exist. The bits I did read were pure garbage in my opinion. Slapstick posing as dark paranormal farce. An attempt at entertainment that failed. Perhaps had I read more than fragments after 1/3, I would have found a plot. However, the confusion with poorly-described action, the rambling dialogue, and the extraneous characters were too much for a short story. Head-hopping and sentence structure problems (in the section I did read) rounded it out. One star.
“Northanger Dorm” by Ivy Hearne at least gave some hope of an Austen tie. Could the trend for dark drama be over as well? I find yet another paranormal story. I’m not averse to these, in fact, I’m a big fan of paranormal Regency, something there’s a dearth of, but there’s a surfeit of paranormal modern stories in this anthology to my opinion. This one had promise, and held my attention, but it had barely begun to develop its story arc and character development when it ended with a sales pitch. There was no Christmas in the story, either. Two stars.
At least “The Christmas Pudding Disaster” by Susan Burdorf is Christmas and Austen. The five “okays” are clearly not Regency, though, as are a number of modern words and phrases. Other than that, editing is spotless, though the (spoiler alert) spill of the Christmas puddings is vague enough that I had to read it twice. It should have had more fanfare than it got! Loose ends/plot holes were left as well, regarding a note and some whispering, and some suspension of disbelief was required regarding a (spoiler alert) home birth. But in comparison to the rest of the anthology, this story shone and was a good way to end the book. 3.5 stars.
I’m actually angry that this book was passed off as "An Austen-Inspired Christmas Collection." Several of the stories had "Christmas" thrown in as a word just to get their story in the book and otherwise had no tie-in at all to the season. A third of the stories were dark and depressing. Too many non-Austen paranormal stories in the bunch belonged in their own book with a different title. Whoever “edited” the entire book did not think well regarding the entire reader experience, that's for certain. The editing of individual stories was inconsistent, and most had some pretty common errors. Why was an editor not hired for the whole book?
The cover is stunning. It would influence many readers to want to buy the book. Kudos to the artist.
I bought this book on sale, which is a partial relief. I bought it so long ago, I can’t get my money back. I hope others who read it shortly after it came out got theirs.
Overall, I can’t give it three stars, because that would imply I liked the entire book when I really only liked less than half the stories. I rarely give a book under four stars, but this one doesn’t deserve three. Any author in this anthology that I gave more than three stars to is encouraged to continue as they are with my best wishes, but watch that modern language! The others should take steps to learn more about honing their craft.
Disclaimer: I am a JAFF author and some may consider my reviews a conflict of interest. However, I was a reader first, and my reviews are all honest and impartial.
“Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Surprise” by Debra-Ann Kummoung is one of the better stories in this anthology, which starts out well and goes downhill from there. This pleasant short story about overcoming Darcy’s sadness via a (spoiler alert) series of gifts inspired by today’s advent calendars while slowly bringing Darcy and Elizabeth closer is a unique and satisfying read. It required some minor edits regarding missing words and British language, but is rather well constructed in comparison with the other stories in this set. The romance development was lovely and the story was tight. 4.5 stars.
The time travelling “The Spirit of Mr. Darcy” by Sheena Austin doesn’t inspire me to buy books by this author. The voice of Mr. Darcy in the Regency period is modern. Extra commas stall the reader, yet the author should have used them in the run-on sentences. The story doesn’t end well and its (spoiler alert) alternate pairing was grating, even with the paranormal aspect that was supposed to explain it away. Well, sorry, Darcy, but it didn’t, because the plot itself was rather convoluted and thus, confusing to say the least, and the sex seemed gratuitous. However, this story can claim an Austenesque theme, in contrast to several in the book. 2.5 stars.
Margo Bond Collins’s excellent short story “Snow Flight” showed me that each author had their own editor, since this interesting paranormal short was well-edited, with only minor typos. That extra effort by the author gave me a chance to enjoy the brilliant plot and great visuals that the author brought forward to enhance her tale. It did end at somewhat of a cliff-hanger and book sale, which was a disappointment after such a good story, but it was an upbeat ending with a full story arc all the same. However, there was no Austen tie in this story. Four stars.
This anthology started to go downhill at about the point of “Shades of Pemberley” by Claire O’Dare, with its misused words and plot involving (spoiler alert) a blatant alternate pairing, that is, a clear romantic plot line for the two. This is a daring sort of premise for any Austenesque fic, but IMO it’s out of place in a Christmas themed anthology, particularly when it involves (spoiler alert) D&E and adultery and the dark tone that this author uses to weave her tale. The romance was well-written, but this sort of deviation is too painful for D&E purists. Even the author knew it was depressing material with the voice used by the protagonists and the redundancies within. 2.5 stars.
The melancholy mood continued in the longer “Twelvetide Chaos” by Deborah E. Pearson. It was also at this point that the stories started having head-hopping, causing the reader to have to go “huh?” about who was the point of view character. This one had an all-centred format as well, which a formatter will tell you is off-putting to the reader. Numerous modern phrases and non-Regency words pulled the reader out of the story, as well as did the odd spelling and punctuation mishap—and I’m not one to be that fussy about punctuation. But the big thing here was the story. The plot was well developed and credible, using appropriate devices to show character development and changes that were key to the excellent story idea (no spoilers). But it was far too dark for a Christmas anthology, and that would be gloomy enough if this were the only dark story, but it was one of too many. And it was much too long, deviating off on tangents it didn’t need, sometimes solely to match its chapter titles. 2.5 stars.
I was tired of this anthology by now, and weighed down by the depressing stories. Charlene Johnson’s “The Demon and the Christmas Curse” wasn’t much lighter—at first. Christmas played no real part in the story, it just happened that the story took place at that time. It could have been at any time. The story had some canon errors from Northanger Abbey (Henry didn’t inherit) and the characters from that era spoke some modern expressions, but other than that and the head-hopping, the editing was good. A formatting glitch appears in the middle. Some parts with the higher-ups made me want to skim—they were a bit boring and redundant in places, and backstory dumps slowed the story. One scene (spoiler alert) with a prostitute was over-the-top on the bawdy side rather than being steamy, and it didn’t contribute to the story at all. I’d have cut it. All-in-all, though, the story was well-written and believable, and the romance fit well. The protagonists were likable and well drawn out for such a short story. For a story about stealing souls, it was surprisingly pleasant. The end was weak, though, leaving loose ends. 3.5 stars.
I was ready to throw the book out the window within the first few pages of “Charity” by Sophie Bellabone. What was a (spoiler alert) modern disaster wedding with adultery and multiple near misses of murder doing in an Austen Christmas anthology? It went from bad to worse, too! At about 1/3 of the way through, I finally couldn’t take it any more and flipped page by page to the end, trying to find where the part about Christmas and Austen were. The one word “Christmas” appeared to be a millisecond obligatory nod, and Austen didn’t exist. The bits I did read were pure garbage in my opinion. Slapstick posing as dark paranormal farce. An attempt at entertainment that failed. Perhaps had I read more than fragments after 1/3, I would have found a plot. However, the confusion with poorly-described action, the rambling dialogue, and the extraneous characters were too much for a short story. Head-hopping and sentence structure problems (in the section I did read) rounded it out. One star.
“Northanger Dorm” by Ivy Hearne at least gave some hope of an Austen tie. Could the trend for dark drama be over as well? I find yet another paranormal story. I’m not averse to these, in fact, I’m a big fan of paranormal Regency, something there’s a dearth of, but there’s a surfeit of paranormal modern stories in this anthology to my opinion. This one had promise, and held my attention, but it had barely begun to develop its story arc and character development when it ended with a sales pitch. There was no Christmas in the story, either. Two stars.
At least “The Christmas Pudding Disaster” by Susan Burdorf is Christmas and Austen. The five “okays” are clearly not Regency, though, as are a number of modern words and phrases. Other than that, editing is spotless, though the (spoiler alert) spill of the Christmas puddings is vague enough that I had to read it twice. It should have had more fanfare than it got! Loose ends/plot holes were left as well, regarding a note and some whispering, and some suspension of disbelief was required regarding a (spoiler alert) home birth. But in comparison to the rest of the anthology, this story shone and was a good way to end the book. 3.5 stars.
I’m actually angry that this book was passed off as "An Austen-Inspired Christmas Collection." Several of the stories had "Christmas" thrown in as a word just to get their story in the book and otherwise had no tie-in at all to the season. A third of the stories were dark and depressing. Too many non-Austen paranormal stories in the bunch belonged in their own book with a different title. Whoever “edited” the entire book did not think well regarding the entire reader experience, that's for certain. The editing of individual stories was inconsistent, and most had some pretty common errors. Why was an editor not hired for the whole book?
The cover is stunning. It would influence many readers to want to buy the book. Kudos to the artist.
I bought this book on sale, which is a partial relief. I bought it so long ago, I can’t get my money back. I hope others who read it shortly after it came out got theirs.
Overall, I can’t give it three stars, because that would imply I liked the entire book when I really only liked less than half the stories. I rarely give a book under four stars, but this one doesn’t deserve three. Any author in this anthology that I gave more than three stars to is encouraged to continue as they are with my best wishes, but watch that modern language! The others should take steps to learn more about honing their craft.
Disclaimer: I am a JAFF author and some may consider my reviews a conflict of interest. However, I was a reader first, and my reviews are all honest and impartial.
April 20, 2020
Some of the stories were very clever and I really enjoyed how they kept to a Jane Austen style of writing, I always like to think that these stories somehow still move forward after the author has finished. I wasn't as keen on the fantasy ones but the Angel and Demon one was interesting.
July 1, 2024
the best of them was when Colonel Fitzwilliam was Elizabeth's solace! Excellently well done for a going where few dare!
January 30, 2020
Okay, so this collection just wasn't for me. I was excited about the merge of Christmas and Jane Austen and even some fantasy elements. What I ran into was a series of stories that I either didn't connect with, found to be more focused on sex than story, or with a very tenuous tie to anything Jane Austen (of course, I'm apparently not familiar with all of Austen's works, so maybe I'm missing something?).
My favorite (and only story I truly liked) was Northanger Dorm by Ivy Hearne. Sweet romance, mystery, and an intriguing world. And it had some very strong ties to Northanger Abbey, which I enjoyed.
Beautiful cover. Just a little disappointed I didn't enjoy the stories more. Much luck to the authors, and I'm sure there will be others that fully disagree with my assessment.
My favorite (and only story I truly liked) was Northanger Dorm by Ivy Hearne. Sweet romance, mystery, and an intriguing world. And it had some very strong ties to Northanger Abbey, which I enjoyed.
Beautiful cover. Just a little disappointed I didn't enjoy the stories more. Much luck to the authors, and I'm sure there will be others that fully disagree with my assessment.
January 6, 2021
I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. I think the only story I even remotely liked was the first one, and even that one didn't quite capture the spirit of the characters. I love Jane Austen. I've loved her books since I was around ten and I was super excited to see if these stories would capture the same feel but alas they fell short. Some of them were entertaining in their own rights, but I wouldn't say these stories captured even a hint of the magic of Jane Austen and her characters.
December 29, 2019
Stories inspired by Jane Austen and Christmas. I think my favourite was Twelvetide Chaos.
Read
December 27, 2019Didnt finish
December 20, 2019
A delightful book. Definately worth the read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews