What do you think?
Rate this book
Signet Regency Christmas #6
A Regency Christmas VI
Set in Regency England and America, here are five Christmas love stories that are at once humorous, deeply romantic, and full of holiday lore. Authors include Mary Balogh, Jo Beverly, Sandra Heath, Edith Layton, and Laura Matthews.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
200 books6,343 followersMary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 8, 2016
In Christmas Magic by Emma Lange, Lady Rebecca Trevor, a young widow, spends Christmas with friends and comes face to face with an old flame.
This is a nice, heartwarming story set at Christmas. The only real problem I had with the story is that all the information about Rebecca's backstory is dumped right in the middle of the story. The only other complaint I had was one little make-out scene with a bared breast. There's also a bared breast in the context of breast feeding which didn't bother me at all.
Dinner at Grillons features a heartbroken Guy Fitzallen, Lord Lanham who is seeking a divorce from his runaway wife so he can marry his aunt's companion, Imogen. Lady Lanham, the former Fleur Barrymore, fled to her native Philadelphia after learning something shocking about her husband. She misses him terribly and harbors a secret that could change his plans if he ever bothered to write to her.
This story is completely ridiculous. I hate miscommunication in relationships. If the characters bothered to talk to each other instead of having sex all the time, they wouldn't have broken up in the first place. The villain is not meant to be sympathetic, but I did feel some empathy for them. Their motivation was worthy but their methods all wrong. This is the worst story of them all.
Warning: semi-graphic love scenes
The Best Gift by Mary Balough is about the magic of Christmas, family and the joys of a childlike heart. Miss Jane Craggs, of Miss Philpott's school for young ladies has nowhere to go for Christmas. She has no family, no friends - her whole life has been spent either at an orphanage or the school. No one remembers or cares to call her by name and not quite a servant but not a teacher, she doesn't fit in. She's never been farther away from the school than she can travel by foot and she's never celebrated Christmas before. That doesn't stop her from dreaming though. When she's asked to accompany one of the students, Deborah Latimer, to her uncle's home for Christmas, Jane is delighted. Deborah and her uncle Warren, Viscount Buckley, are not so excited. He hates Christmas and never celebrates. He doesn't know what to do with his teenage niece and plans to leave her to the care of Miss Craggs. Deborah is mad because her parents went away without her because she's not old enough to be considered an adult. Neither is she a child, grateful to spend Christmas in the nursery. When an unexpected surprise shows up at Warren's home, he is at loose ends again. Jane understands perfectly and knows just what to do to make Christmas merry for the lost souls.
This is a really nice, sweet story. It even made me tear up in parts. I felt really bad for Jane. Like Harriet Smith (Emma), she's likely the natural daughter of somebody wealthy who cared enough only to pay for her keep until she reached adulthood. I can relate to her secret dream world where everything is perfect and light. I also felt bad for Deborah because the teen years are tough. Teens long to be thought of as grown up but secretly dread giving up the simple joys of childhood. This story brings out the child in all the characters as they discover the magic of Christmas. The Christmas season in Regency England is so magical and charming, it's hard not to get caught up in the characters' excitement.
The one thing really lacking in this story is the romance. I get Warren's attraction to Jane and her growing feelings for him, but the way it's played out doesn't work. There's not much wooing or courtship here. The romance comes fast and concludes quickly. There's one minor make-out scene that doesn't feel believable given Jane's lack of experience with men. I should have liked an epilogue to share what happens to the characters the following Christmas.
In Christmas Knight Alisandra Perry dreams of a knight in shining armor to come and sweep her off her feet and take her away- but only if he will include her sister Joan and take them to a warmer climate. Baron Perry prefers to live life according to ancient traditions and customs, including insisting his daughters wear old-fashioned clothing and refusing them a season in London. When their brother Thomas returns home from Oxford with his old pal Max and a new friend, Sir William, the girls are thrilled. Finally, a gentleman who can marry Alisandra and take them away. The girls want to ensure Sir William proposes so they plan a special Christmas surprise for him. The plan backfires and it's old pal Max who courts Alisandra! She's worried his courtship is not sincere and he is not her knight of old-or is he?
This is such a sweet, charming story. It's light, without any real substance but a nice holiday tale. The Christmas customs are described in great detail and I got caught up in the fun and excitement of it, as well as in the romance. I think it's ironic the Baron romanticizes the past and his daughters are wearing styles of two centuries earlier! I'm sure the author was deliberately making a statement.
The Perry family seem like a loving, close-knit group, despite missing Mama who "went aloft" a few years earlier. The sisters are very close and I liked that relationship. Alisandra wants to help her sister and only when her suitor agrees to her demands, will she give up her independence and marry. Like any teenage girl, she dreams of romance though and she gets more than she bargained for when she tries to force nature. I liked her a lot and wanted her to be happy. Joan seems a happy, cheerful young lady, along the lines of Jane Bennet, but with a bit more intelligence and awareness.
The young men seem very kind and fun as well. Sir William doesn't have much of a personality. Max is a rouge and romantic at heart. He knows Alisandra and Joan from childhood so they are comfortable with each other. Thomas is a bit of an idiot to fall for cousin Charlotte's pretty face and affected manners but if he's at Oxford still, he's quite young and he can't be more than a year or two older than Alisandra. The age difference seemed greater when Alisandra reflected on her childhood but it can't be that great unless Max is a lot older than Thomas. That was unclear in the story.
The only character I didn't like was Charlotte because she was the stereotypical "mean girl" character who thinks every man should naturally be in love with her. I actually liked Aunt Phoebe's spaniels. I felt bad for them that no one liked them because they weren't trained well. It's not their faults. Aunt Phoebe is not such a bad person, she's just blind to the faults of her children (Charlotte and the dogs).
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear has nothing to do with the Christmas carol of the same name. This story pays homage to Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child in using the name of her hero for the villain and referencing Nemesis. The cynical Mr. Tremaine is commandeered by his friend, Sir Timothy, to visit Timothy's sister for the holidays. Sir Timothy has a plan to rescue Mercedes, the lovely young daughter of the weaselly Viscomte de la Roche, from marriage to the much older, dastardly Lord Sheringham. When Vyvian Tremain sees Mercedes, he is quite taken with the girl's unaffected nature and fragile countenance. He's determined to help her no matter what. Mercedes feels compelled to help the mysterious woman by the side of the road... a woman no one else can see.
My heart stopped a minute when I thought Sherry was the much older man engaged to a teenage girl following the death of his wife. How tragic that would be! However, this Lord Sheringham is quite a nasty villain. He is not at all like Heyer's Sherry and would never treat a girl the way this Lord Sheringham did. There's a gothic/paranormal mystery element to the plot that kept me reading long past when I should have been asleep on a work night. The conclusion wasn't a total surprise yet how it happened was a bit of a surprise and quite shocking.
Vyvian is an enigmatic hero. He doesn't have a backstory, he doesn't have much personality. All we really know is that chivalry isn't his line, until he meets Mercedes. He's one of those bored, cynical types. Mercedes is a good foil for him because she is so innocent and youthful. She does have a spark of mischief inside her though which saved her from being a total stereotype. Her father also defies the stereotype. He has a brief backstory. He is a weak man. I feel sorry for Mercedes that her father isn't stronger and I even feel a bit bad for the Viscomte that he's's easy to take advantage of.
This is an average collection of stories set around Christmas in the fantasy Regency world perpetuated by Georgette Heyer wannabes.
This is a nice, heartwarming story set at Christmas. The only real problem I had with the story is that all the information about Rebecca's backstory is dumped right in the middle of the story. The only other complaint I had was one little make-out scene with a bared breast. There's also a bared breast in the context of breast feeding which didn't bother me at all.
Dinner at Grillons features a heartbroken Guy Fitzallen, Lord Lanham who is seeking a divorce from his runaway wife so he can marry his aunt's companion, Imogen. Lady Lanham, the former Fleur Barrymore, fled to her native Philadelphia after learning something shocking about her husband. She misses him terribly and harbors a secret that could change his plans if he ever bothered to write to her.
This story is completely ridiculous. I hate miscommunication in relationships. If the characters bothered to talk to each other instead of having sex all the time, they wouldn't have broken up in the first place. The villain is not meant to be sympathetic, but I did feel some empathy for them. Their motivation was worthy but their methods all wrong. This is the worst story of them all.
Warning: semi-graphic love scenes
The Best Gift by Mary Balough is about the magic of Christmas, family and the joys of a childlike heart. Miss Jane Craggs, of Miss Philpott's school for young ladies has nowhere to go for Christmas. She has no family, no friends - her whole life has been spent either at an orphanage or the school. No one remembers or cares to call her by name and not quite a servant but not a teacher, she doesn't fit in. She's never been farther away from the school than she can travel by foot and she's never celebrated Christmas before. That doesn't stop her from dreaming though. When she's asked to accompany one of the students, Deborah Latimer, to her uncle's home for Christmas, Jane is delighted. Deborah and her uncle Warren, Viscount Buckley, are not so excited. He hates Christmas and never celebrates. He doesn't know what to do with his teenage niece and plans to leave her to the care of Miss Craggs. Deborah is mad because her parents went away without her because she's not old enough to be considered an adult. Neither is she a child, grateful to spend Christmas in the nursery. When an unexpected surprise shows up at Warren's home, he is at loose ends again. Jane understands perfectly and knows just what to do to make Christmas merry for the lost souls.
This is a really nice, sweet story. It even made me tear up in parts. I felt really bad for Jane. Like Harriet Smith (Emma), she's likely the natural daughter of somebody wealthy who cared enough only to pay for her keep until she reached adulthood. I can relate to her secret dream world where everything is perfect and light. I also felt bad for Deborah because the teen years are tough. Teens long to be thought of as grown up but secretly dread giving up the simple joys of childhood. This story brings out the child in all the characters as they discover the magic of Christmas. The Christmas season in Regency England is so magical and charming, it's hard not to get caught up in the characters' excitement.
The one thing really lacking in this story is the romance. I get Warren's attraction to Jane and her growing feelings for him, but the way it's played out doesn't work. There's not much wooing or courtship here. The romance comes fast and concludes quickly. There's one minor make-out scene that doesn't feel believable given Jane's lack of experience with men. I should have liked an epilogue to share what happens to the characters the following Christmas.
In Christmas Knight Alisandra Perry dreams of a knight in shining armor to come and sweep her off her feet and take her away- but only if he will include her sister Joan and take them to a warmer climate. Baron Perry prefers to live life according to ancient traditions and customs, including insisting his daughters wear old-fashioned clothing and refusing them a season in London. When their brother Thomas returns home from Oxford with his old pal Max and a new friend, Sir William, the girls are thrilled. Finally, a gentleman who can marry Alisandra and take them away. The girls want to ensure Sir William proposes so they plan a special Christmas surprise for him. The plan backfires and it's old pal Max who courts Alisandra! She's worried his courtship is not sincere and he is not her knight of old-or is he?
This is such a sweet, charming story. It's light, without any real substance but a nice holiday tale. The Christmas customs are described in great detail and I got caught up in the fun and excitement of it, as well as in the romance. I think it's ironic the Baron romanticizes the past and his daughters are wearing styles of two centuries earlier! I'm sure the author was deliberately making a statement.
The Perry family seem like a loving, close-knit group, despite missing Mama who "went aloft" a few years earlier. The sisters are very close and I liked that relationship. Alisandra wants to help her sister and only when her suitor agrees to her demands, will she give up her independence and marry. Like any teenage girl, she dreams of romance though and she gets more than she bargained for when she tries to force nature. I liked her a lot and wanted her to be happy. Joan seems a happy, cheerful young lady, along the lines of Jane Bennet, but with a bit more intelligence and awareness.
The young men seem very kind and fun as well. Sir William doesn't have much of a personality. Max is a rouge and romantic at heart. He knows Alisandra and Joan from childhood so they are comfortable with each other. Thomas is a bit of an idiot to fall for cousin Charlotte's pretty face and affected manners but if he's at Oxford still, he's quite young and he can't be more than a year or two older than Alisandra. The age difference seemed greater when Alisandra reflected on her childhood but it can't be that great unless Max is a lot older than Thomas. That was unclear in the story.
The only character I didn't like was Charlotte because she was the stereotypical "mean girl" character who thinks every man should naturally be in love with her. I actually liked Aunt Phoebe's spaniels. I felt bad for them that no one liked them because they weren't trained well. It's not their faults. Aunt Phoebe is not such a bad person, she's just blind to the faults of her children (Charlotte and the dogs).
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear has nothing to do with the Christmas carol of the same name. This story pays homage to Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child in using the name of her hero for the villain and referencing Nemesis. The cynical Mr. Tremaine is commandeered by his friend, Sir Timothy, to visit Timothy's sister for the holidays. Sir Timothy has a plan to rescue Mercedes, the lovely young daughter of the weaselly Viscomte de la Roche, from marriage to the much older, dastardly Lord Sheringham. When Vyvian Tremain sees Mercedes, he is quite taken with the girl's unaffected nature and fragile countenance. He's determined to help her no matter what. Mercedes feels compelled to help the mysterious woman by the side of the road... a woman no one else can see.
My heart stopped a minute when I thought Sherry was the much older man engaged to a teenage girl following the death of his wife. How tragic that would be! However, this Lord Sheringham is quite a nasty villain. He is not at all like Heyer's Sherry and would never treat a girl the way this Lord Sheringham did. There's a gothic/paranormal mystery element to the plot that kept me reading long past when I should have been asleep on a work night. The conclusion wasn't a total surprise yet how it happened was a bit of a surprise and quite shocking.
Vyvian is an enigmatic hero. He doesn't have a backstory, he doesn't have much personality. All we really know is that chivalry isn't his line, until he meets Mercedes. He's one of those bored, cynical types. Mercedes is a good foil for him because she is so innocent and youthful. She does have a spark of mischief inside her though which saved her from being a total stereotype. Her father also defies the stereotype. He has a brief backstory. He is a weak man. I feel sorry for Mercedes that her father isn't stronger and I even feel a bit bad for the Viscomte that he's's easy to take advantage of.
This is an average collection of stories set around Christmas in the fantasy Regency world perpetuated by Georgette Heyer wannabes.
December 29, 2019
2 1/2 stars
The Christmas Ghost by Sandra Heath **1/2
The Rake’s Christmas by Edith Layton **1/2
Lady Bountiful by Laura Matthews **
A Mummers’ Play by Jo Beverley *
The Surprise Party by Mary Balogh ****
The Christmas Ghost by Sandra Heath **1/2
The Rake’s Christmas by Edith Layton **1/2
Lady Bountiful by Laura Matthews **
A Mummers’ Play by Jo Beverley *
The Surprise Party by Mary Balogh ****
Read
December 18, 2007In Emma Lange's CHRISTMAS MAGIC the widow of an older man joins and Christmas house party and encounters the rake who once tempted her to betray her marriage vows. It was a very sweet story about an attraction not forgotten and I enjoyed both characters very much. A B+
In Sandra Heath's DINNER AT GRILLON'S we have a marriage in trouble story. I was looking forward to it because I love the theme but the end was a bit of a let down. A Lord intends to divorce his wife and remarry as he believes she deserted him one year ago. I thought they feel to easily in the lies of another woman and there's no real confrontation in the end with the villainess. A B-
Mary Balogh's THE BEST GIFT is an old favorite! I looove this cinderella story about a young teacher, presumably an illegitimate child and how she brings love into the life a lonely viscount who is planning to give up on his own illegitimate child. An A.
In Emily Hendrickson's CHRISTMAS KNIGHT we another sweet story about 2 sister waiting for thir prince charming to save them from a lonely existence in the country. They dress like the 15th century to please their father and their adventures with a love potion to gain the attention of one of her brother's friends will lead to some funny scnes. A B+
In Sheila Walsh's II CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR we have a gothic story with a delicate heroine, a misterious villain and a ruined Abbey. It was not very original but it was a nice story. A B-
Grade: B+
In Sandra Heath's DINNER AT GRILLON'S we have a marriage in trouble story. I was looking forward to it because I love the theme but the end was a bit of a let down. A Lord intends to divorce his wife and remarry as he believes she deserted him one year ago. I thought they feel to easily in the lies of another woman and there's no real confrontation in the end with the villainess. A B-
Mary Balogh's THE BEST GIFT is an old favorite! I looove this cinderella story about a young teacher, presumably an illegitimate child and how she brings love into the life a lonely viscount who is planning to give up on his own illegitimate child. An A.
In Emily Hendrickson's CHRISTMAS KNIGHT we another sweet story about 2 sister waiting for thir prince charming to save them from a lonely existence in the country. They dress like the 15th century to please their father and their adventures with a love potion to gain the attention of one of her brother's friends will lead to some funny scnes. A B+
In Sheila Walsh's II CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR we have a gothic story with a delicate heroine, a misterious villain and a ruined Abbey. It was not very original but it was a nice story. A B-
Grade: B+
June 1, 2014
A REGENCY CHRISTMAS VI contained five short holiday stories of various caliber. IMHO, the only one worth spending time reading is Mary Balogh's 'The Best Gift'. Unlike the others, Mrs. Balogh expounded on the true meaning of Christmas.
A young woman whom has never had a family or spent Christmas anywhere is hired by a lonely young nobleman to chaperone his fifteen-year-old niece over the holidays. Her parents decided to spend the season in Italy at the last minute....without her. Then, upon their arrival at his estate, he finds the illegitimate daughter he had financially supported for four years but had never met dropped off at his home. His former mistress, the little girl's mother, has died.
This is a heartwarming story of what it means to help others spread joy. At the same time, two lonely people find out they have more in common then they originally thought. If you are looking for something to forget the 90 degree heat outside, as I was, give this sparkling little romance a try.
A young woman whom has never had a family or spent Christmas anywhere is hired by a lonely young nobleman to chaperone his fifteen-year-old niece over the holidays. Her parents decided to spend the season in Italy at the last minute....without her. Then, upon their arrival at his estate, he finds the illegitimate daughter he had financially supported for four years but had never met dropped off at his home. His former mistress, the little girl's mother, has died.
This is a heartwarming story of what it means to help others spread joy. At the same time, two lonely people find out they have more in common then they originally thought. If you are looking for something to forget the 90 degree heat outside, as I was, give this sparkling little romance a try.
May 13, 2013
I read three of the stories in the book - Mary Balogh's, which is delightful (4 stars), Emma Lange's and Sheila Walsh's (2 stars each). Emma Lange's and Sheila Walsh's stories don't come close to Mary Balogh's story in terms of characterization, plot, and even the feeling of Christmas. Mary Balogh makes Christmas in the early 19th century come alive, and the story couldn't happen at any other time of the year. The other 2 stories happen to take place around Christmas but they could just as well have taken place at some other time of year.
September 17, 2020
Collections of short stories can be a mixed bag. Generally, I'm happy to try a couple of new authors to go with favorite authors from the past (that are in the same book). Here are five diverse authors who published this in November 1994. Mary Balogh is a favorite of mine and I recently read a great short story by Emma Lange. I'm not so familiar with the other three authors.
CHRISTMAS MAGIC (Emma Lange) -- 3 stars
Rebecca's early history must have been depressing; she was sold in marriage to a very old man (by her uncaring father with huge gambling debts). After a short marriage to that very loving (but old) man, Rebecca is a widow with a 6-month-old daughter. She's been invited to a country house party for Christmas. Who should she meet but the handsome Earl of Bedford, the same man she was tempted to sin with while visiting in London (with her husband)? She convinced her husband to return home to the country the next day, so she could avoid the very attractive earl. Now the Earl wants answers and a second chance.
The Earl of Bedford was written as too much of a womanizer for me to accept that he'd suddenly changed his stipes to become a devoted, faithful husband. It was just too unlikely to be realistic.
DINNER AT GRILLION'S (Sandra Heath) -- 2 stars
Fleur runs away from her husband, Guy, and back to America because someone told her that her husband had a mistress and two children. Actually, Imogen had hired an actress to fool Fleur. Now Imogen (companion to Aunt Patience, living in the same home with Guy, and the one who had entrapped Guy in her machinations to marry him) almost has her tentacles into Guy.
He has sent a letter to the US telling Fleur that he was divorcing her for abandonment. Fleur, her uncle (and Christopher, Guy and Fleur's baby {that Guy doesn't know about}) decide to return to England.
This story is even worse than the last. This is a totally unrealistic story; utter nonsense.
THE BEST GIFT (Mary Balogh) -- 4 stars
This trope has been done before but Balogh handles it nicely. Jane is not a lady (she obviously was the illegitimate child between a woman and a wealthy man who supported Jane in a school until she was 17). Then she became a (not very appreciated) teacher at the same school. Lord Warren, who doesn't celebrate Christmas, is saddled with his 15-year-old niece for the holidays while her parents go to Italy. He doesn't know what to do with her and asks if there is someone at the school to help him tend to his niece. The only one left is Jane and she accepts his offer.
When Warren gets home, he finds out that his former mistress has died and left him their daughter (4-years-old). Warren is really frightened now. But Jane takes them all in hand and devises the Christmas she's always wanted (but never had). The warm kind of Christmas story readers will enjoy.
CHRISTMAS KNIGHT (Emily Hendrickson) -- 3 stars
Alisandra and her younger, fragile sister, Joan, are willing captives to their baron father, who believes in the 'old ways.' The girls dress in 16th-century clothing. They welcome their brother Thomas and two friends (Sir William and Max) for the Christmas holidays. Alissandra is interested in the stranger Sir William and tries to give him a potion; but it is drunk instead by her old friend, Max. He seems to be paying a great deal of attention to Alisandra and she worries that she has caught him under sneaky circumstances.
This story was so slow-plodding that I almost gave up on it. Average, at best.
IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR (Sheila Walsh) -- 2 stars
Most of these stories are about men and women who have known each other for some time and find they are in love. However, this is one in which a man, Vyvian Tremaine, decides he's in love with an emigre, Mercedes, who is being sold to an earl because her father owes the earl a great deal of money (gaming debts) and the earl promises to return the father to France to be killed (it's the French Revolution and heads are flying off) if Mercedes does not marry the earl.
On the basis of fewer than 3 days, Tremaine decides he must have Mercedes. Also, there were ghost-monks and paranormal interference. Awful.
CHRISTMAS MAGIC (Emma Lange) -- 3 stars
Rebecca's early history must have been depressing; she was sold in marriage to a very old man (by her uncaring father with huge gambling debts). After a short marriage to that very loving (but old) man, Rebecca is a widow with a 6-month-old daughter. She's been invited to a country house party for Christmas. Who should she meet but the handsome Earl of Bedford, the same man she was tempted to sin with while visiting in London (with her husband)? She convinced her husband to return home to the country the next day, so she could avoid the very attractive earl. Now the Earl wants answers and a second chance.
The Earl of Bedford was written as too much of a womanizer for me to accept that he'd suddenly changed his stipes to become a devoted, faithful husband. It was just too unlikely to be realistic.
DINNER AT GRILLION'S (Sandra Heath) -- 2 stars
Fleur runs away from her husband, Guy, and back to America because someone told her that her husband had a mistress and two children. Actually, Imogen had hired an actress to fool Fleur. Now Imogen (companion to Aunt Patience, living in the same home with Guy, and the one who had entrapped Guy in her machinations to marry him) almost has her tentacles into Guy.
He has sent a letter to the US telling Fleur that he was divorcing her for abandonment. Fleur, her uncle (and Christopher, Guy and Fleur's baby {that Guy doesn't know about}) decide to return to England.
This story is even worse than the last. This is a totally unrealistic story; utter nonsense.
THE BEST GIFT (Mary Balogh) -- 4 stars
This trope has been done before but Balogh handles it nicely. Jane is not a lady (she obviously was the illegitimate child between a woman and a wealthy man who supported Jane in a school until she was 17). Then she became a (not very appreciated) teacher at the same school. Lord Warren, who doesn't celebrate Christmas, is saddled with his 15-year-old niece for the holidays while her parents go to Italy. He doesn't know what to do with her and asks if there is someone at the school to help him tend to his niece. The only one left is Jane and she accepts his offer.
When Warren gets home, he finds out that his former mistress has died and left him their daughter (4-years-old). Warren is really frightened now. But Jane takes them all in hand and devises the Christmas she's always wanted (but never had). The warm kind of Christmas story readers will enjoy.
CHRISTMAS KNIGHT (Emily Hendrickson) -- 3 stars
Alisandra and her younger, fragile sister, Joan, are willing captives to their baron father, who believes in the 'old ways.' The girls dress in 16th-century clothing. They welcome their brother Thomas and two friends (Sir William and Max) for the Christmas holidays. Alissandra is interested in the stranger Sir William and tries to give him a potion; but it is drunk instead by her old friend, Max. He seems to be paying a great deal of attention to Alisandra and she worries that she has caught him under sneaky circumstances.
This story was so slow-plodding that I almost gave up on it. Average, at best.
IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR (Sheila Walsh) -- 2 stars
Most of these stories are about men and women who have known each other for some time and find they are in love. However, this is one in which a man, Vyvian Tremaine, decides he's in love with an emigre, Mercedes, who is being sold to an earl because her father owes the earl a great deal of money (gaming debts) and the earl promises to return the father to France to be killed (it's the French Revolution and heads are flying off) if Mercedes does not marry the earl.
On the basis of fewer than 3 days, Tremaine decides he must have Mercedes. Also, there were ghost-monks and paranormal interference. Awful.
December 30, 2023
Christmas Magic: enjoyable
Dinner at Grillion's: terrible - DNF
The Best Gift: unsurprisingly, the best of the bunch. I really liked the unusual heroine and how the hero came to see her in a new way.
Christmas Knight: so, so silly - DNF
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear: enjoyable, though flawed. There could have been tension in this gothic ghost story, but there wasn't.
I wish they would collect all of the stories Mary Balogh wrote for these collections into one volume. I'd buy that and read it merrily every year.
Dinner at Grillion's: terrible - DNF
The Best Gift: unsurprisingly, the best of the bunch. I really liked the unusual heroine and how the hero came to see her in a new way.
Christmas Knight: so, so silly - DNF
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear: enjoyable, though flawed. There could have been tension in this gothic ghost story, but there wasn't.
I wish they would collect all of the stories Mary Balogh wrote for these collections into one volume. I'd buy that and read it merrily every year.
reprint
April 12, 2020Own/Read Balogh The Suprise Party in rereleased ebook Christmas Gifts
The Christmas Ghost by Sandra Heath
The Rake’s Christmas by Edith Layton
Lady Bountiful by Laura Matthews
A Mummers’ Play by Jo Beverley
The Surprise Party by Mary Balogh
The Christmas Ghost by Sandra Heath
The Rake’s Christmas by Edith Layton
Lady Bountiful by Laura Matthews
A Mummers’ Play by Jo Beverley
The Surprise Party by Mary Balogh
December 21, 2017
Mary Balogh's story was, as usual, the best, and Emma Lange's was also very good. I always enjoy a good Xmas story around the holidays!
April 3, 2020
Balogh - "The Best Gift"
Read
July 23, 2010Enjoy the Balogh story "The Best Gift" (reprinted in the Balogh collection Under The Mistletoe)
Read
January 6, 2009yes, jenny, i finally finished it. lol
December 26, 2015
Lange, 2. Heath, 2, Balogh, already read. Henrickson, 2. Walsh. 1. Sigh.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews