Mischief and Mistletoe - Anthology (TBR Challenge 2013)

In this sparkling holiday collection, eight acclaimed authors (Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Patricia Rice, Nicola Cornick, Susan Fraser King, Anne Gracie, Joanna Bourne, and Cara Elliott) unwrap the most daring of Regency delights. . .Christmastime in England--a time for passionate secrets, delicious whispers, and wicked-sweet gifts by the fire. From a spirited lady who sets out to save her rakish best friend from an unsuitable engagement, to a bold spy who gets the unexpected chance to win the woman he's always loved, to a vicar's daughter who pretends to be a saucy wench, these holiday tales will make you curl up in front of the fire for a memorable season of mischief and mistletoe. . .

I have a great fondness for those traditional regency anthologies that publishers used to put out every holiday season (as you can see from my anthologies index) and when I discovered that this anthology was going to be published I was naturally happy and eager to get my hands on it.  I am sorry to say that it didn't entirely work for me, some stories I enjoyed, others not so much. I think one of the problems is that some of them seemed to short - or the author was unable to develop characters and plot in such few pages - and another problem is that reading eight novellas in a row made me feel like I was overdosing on them and as I neared the end I had problems remembering the first ones. I think 3 or 4 stories was be the ideal lenght...

She Stoops to Wenchdom by Mary Jo Putney

A bit of an outlandish plot with a serious theme resolved in a somewhat light manner. It doesn't make an memorable read but it was easy read. Grade 3/5

Miss Brockhurst's Christmas Campaign by Jo Beverley

A friends to lovers story that focused on the pagan side of Christnas to bring the hero and the heroine together. More to my taste than the first one. Grade 4/5

Intrigue and Mistletoe by Joanna Bourne

My previous attempt at reading Bourne did not go well but I have to say that I really enjoyed this story that included a heroine knowleadgeable in latin (too smart really but I suspende my disbelief) and a hero hunting frech spies. A second chance at love story that felt pretty well balanced. Grade: 4/5

Wench in Wonderland by Patricia Rice

A bit unbelievable  - I seem to have trouble believing in most amnesia plots - but ended up being a fun and light read after I suspended my disbelief. Grade 3/5

On a Wicked Winter's Night by Nicola Cornick

Another second chance at love story where the hero meets the heroine and her illegitimate daugher again after a few years apart. The heroine doesn't believe she deserves to be happy till the hero manages to convince her. Grade 3.5/5

Weathering the Storm by Carla Elliott

I thought this was a bit silly. On one hand that the h/h would be able to sail the boat on their own and then that the heroine's reason to want to reach London could be as important as the hero's who was a diplomat. Grade 2/5

The Mistletoe Bride by Anne Gracie

Another story I enjoyed. It had a fairy tale quality to it. the heroine that takes another woman's place quite by accident, the h/h falling for each other almost too soon and their worry about the two young girls that have only them. I wish this had been a longer story so it could be properly developed. Grade 4/5

A Wilder Wench by Susan King

I thought this story had potential but being so short it totally failed to convince me. Grade 2/5

This is my first entry for the TBR Challenge. Truth be told this one wasn't in the TBR pile for long but it seemed to fit both my mood for Holiday reads and the short stories type of book we were supposed to tackle in January

Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight - Grace Burrowes

No one would ever guess that Lady Louisa, the most reserved of the Duke of Moreland's daughters, had published a book of racy poems under a pseydonym on a dare. Before she can buy and destroy all of the copies, a dastardly fortune hunter seeks to compromise her reputation by revealing her secret identity at a holiday ball.
Before she can be publicly ruined, close family friend Sir Joseph Carrington saves the day by offering to marry Louisa. As he recites poetry to her, waltzes with her by starlight, and showers her with lovely kisses, they both begin to discover that their match may be the best Christmas gift either has ever received...

I have been reading more romance lately but I have come to realise that I rely mostly on authors I already know when it comes to choosing books to read (unless it's an anthology, I love those and it's a good way to try new authors). Only when there's a particular theme that interests me do I venture to try a new author when it comes to full length books. This December I was looking for Christmas reads and found a recommendation for this Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight by Grace Burrowes and I decided to try it.

I am very happy to report that I think I found a new author to read. I really enjoyed the characters and the story of LLCK. This is the third book in the series and I do realise that if I had read them in order there are some details I would have enjoyed more. But it was still a pretty good read and I do plan to get to the others soon.

Lady Louisa is the daughter of a duke. She has two older married sisters and two younger and unmarried sisters. Like any dutiful young lady she wants to marry and clear the way for her younger sisters to do the same. But Louisa is a very intelligent young Lady and she finds it hard to carry on the usual futile conversations that one has in the ton's social events. Therefore she finds it hard to find a partner to dance at such events and she has no interest in the young men she meets.

There's on gentleman whose company she enjoys and who doesn't seem put off by her manners. Sir Joseph Carrington has come to appreciate Louisa very much indeed but he finds himself unworthy of a Duke's Daughter and only the idea of saving Louisa from disgrace leads him to offer for her...

I did enjoy Joseph and Louisa very much. Both had a few secrets to hide but to be honest I don't think they needed to hide those secrets from each other. Louisa's secret - her book of racy poems - might ruin her socially but never at the eyes of the man who loved her.

I loved the peek we had of the other members of Louisa's family and I'm looking forward to read their books. I'm especially looking forward to read the book about her parents - the Duke and Duchess of Moreland. I love reading series and it seems I found another good one in Burrowe's books about the Windhams.

Grade: 4/5

Happy New Year

Image Courtesy of shutterstock: Vintage retro Happy new year 2013 typographic card

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Christmas Belle - Mary Balogh

Once they were lovers. Isabella was a fledgling actress, struggling to survive. Jack Frazer was a youth as innocent as he was handsome, consumed by love for this girl he could never make his wife.Their year together was bliss; their parting bitter with jealousy and anger. But that had been long ago. Now Isabella is the premier star of the London stage. And Jack is the city's supreme rake, a jaded libertine currently courting an exquisite if inexperienced young lady on orders from his titled grandmother. Both Isabella and Jack are utterly changed -- so what danger can there be if they meet again? But as they soon discover, there are painful wounds that never heal -- and burning passions that refuse to die...

This is a book I have read a few years ago. I noticed I hadn't written a proper review of it and since I read book nº1 in this duet a few weeks ago I thought this might be a good read for Christmas Eve. I do love Christmas house parties and Balogh does them so well that I couldn't resist it.

Belle and Jack were once lovers. They meet again nine years later during Jack's grandparents’ traditional Christmas house party. Belle is the guest of honor of what would otherwise be a just a family reunion.

I really enjoyed seeing the characters I had met earlier in The First Snowdrop. They all seem like such a warm and close knit family, I would have loved to see Freddie and Ruby get their own book or to read about the Duke and the Duchess's courtship and wedding.

 On a second read Christmas Belle is even better than I remembered. I don't usually go for the big misundertanding plot but here I felt that more than the effects of a “big mis” situation we see the characters grow and acknowledge their own errors and behaviours. We see how the years of separation and their new situation in life makes them experience things differently and how they take into account other people that are also important to them.

My complaint about this story continues to be the same, though. The HEA is left in the hands of fate and if I understand Belle and Jack's behaviour I would also would like to have seen them more actively pursuing their happiness. I'm sure it would give us some wonderful angst ridden moments that they would eventually have overcome to celebrate their happiness.

Despite this I think Christmas Belle is a really good Christmas novel and I wish Balogh will keep writing this type of story. I am well on my way to read all her books and I can’t imagine the day when I won’t have one to look forward to.

 Grade 4/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

What Happens at Christmas - Victoria Alexander

Camille, Lady Lydingham, knows precisely what she wants for Christmas—an official engagement to a handsome, dashing prince. Her very proper suitor expects a proper English family and the perfect Dickensian Christmas, which leaves the lovely widow with a slight problem. The last thing Camille wants is for the prince to meet her unconventional relatives. But with the aid of a troupe of actors, Camille intends to pull off a Christmas deception of massive proportions. At least until Grayson Elliott shows up. A dozen years ago, he declared his love on the day before her marriage to another man, then vanished from her life. Now he’s back, gate-crashing Camille’ s already chaotic house party, playing havoc with her scheme—and with her heart. Because for Grayson, losing Camille once was bad enough. Losing her twice? Unthinkable. And he’ll find a way to show her they belong together—for this season and every Christmas yet to come…

It's been quite some time since I've read a Victoria Alexander book and I must admit I picked this one up because I thought it had a lovely cover. Shallow, I know but it seemed like a light and potentially fun read and I just couldn't resist it.

I usually enjoy books that include Christmas and house parties and when I realised that this story would be set during a huge house party where everything is supposed to be perfect because the participants are actors paid to perform I thought this would be a good one. Unfortunately for Lady Lydingham things don't happen as she planned them. She wants to impress her prince (and make him propose) but most of the actors lack the necessary experience, an old love comes to call and eventually more characters are added to the mix.

To be honest I will say that funnies are not my favourite type of romance. Humour is a particular thing and what is fun for some may not be for others. In this case I didn't find the problems with the actors very amusing and to be honest I think there were too many characters coming and going. I could see from the very beginning that there was more to that prince than meets the eye and I didn't see the point of creating a problem between Camille and her younger sister or adding her dead father to the mix.

This was clearly a case of a second chance at love and I think I would have enjoyed it better if we had been more focused on Camille and Grayson than having them interacting with all the other characters. I felt that there were too many characters, too many story lines and in the end the main couple didn't have enough time to explore what had happened and court each other again. It was a light read yes but it failed to keep me engaged and it took me longer than usual to finish it. 

Grade: 3/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

A Christmas Odyssey - Anne Perry

A festive story of hope and redemption emerging from the depths of Victorian society.
1864, and on a bitter December night in Victorian London, one man longs for a Christmas miracle. The city is preparing for the holidays yet James Wentworth is unable to focus on anything other than the disappearance of his wayward son, Lucien. In desperation, he turns to his old friend Sir Henry Rathbone for help. Rathbone finds assistance in the shape of reformed criminal Squeaky Robinson and the enigmatic Doctor Crow and as the group's investigations take them deeper into the seedy underbelly of the capital they uncover a squalid world of illicit pleasures and a trail that leads them closer to the man they seek. But as they get nearer to their quarry, tales also begin emerge of Lucien's violent tendencies, his consuming obsession with a dangerous young woman and the disturbing Shadow Man. Can they bring Lucien home alive and if so, will it be a grave mistake for all concerned?

I love Anne Perry's Christmas stories. She is a wonderful writer and her characters always come alive. Besides she masters the Victorian setting like no one and it is not difficult to imagine in our heads the places that she describes. I found this one a bit different from her usual stories because it deals mostly with London's underworld and I wasn't familiar with most of the characters. In these stories she usually uses secondary characters from her other series, in this case the Monk series.

"Squeaky" Robinson, "Dr" Crow and the young Bessie are an odd set of characters that join Sir Henry Rathbone in trying to find his friend's son Lucien in time for him to spend Christmas with his family. Lucien has fallen prey of the worst vices and has disappeared in the city's shadiest neighbourhoods.

While they look for him we are treated to a tour of the London tunnels where every vice and perversion can easily be bought, where addicts beg for opium or cocaine and are kept under their dealers’ command. Perry's brilliant writing means that we can really imagine what it must have been to visit those places and meet such characters. Their search quickly turns into a murder mystery that they must solve before finding Lucien. And nothing guarantees that he will want, or that he will be allowed to, return home.

Although Perry's books are never light reads I found this one a bit darker than usual. I also missed not having a strong female character in the lead and I think that may have contributed to make it an even darker read. There's also the fact that here we are really shown the contrast between those living miserably on the streets and the affluent world of Sir Henry Rathbone. As with most of these Christmas stories it deals with guilt and an eventual redemption.

Although the story ends with a positive note there is no doubt that this is not your usual light and cosy Christmas read. It is, however, an interesting read and I did enjoy reading it.

Grade: 4/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor - Lisa Kleypas

ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILYOne rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.
ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.
SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC… Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.
…TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

I've been meaning to try Lisa Kleypas's contemporary novels for some time now but to be honest what I've read about didn't make me rush to pick them up. I am, in fact, one of those readers who keep asking why she doesn’t go back to writing historicals, those I know I will, if not love, at least enjoy. However, as I was looking at the Christmas themed books I had in the TBR pile I noticed this Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor and thought that it might be the right book to sample her contemporary writing.

I'm happy to say that I did enjoy it. This is a rather short story and at times I felt that of it had a longer format some thing or other could have been better developed or contextualised but as a whole I thought it a nice, sweet story about 2 people falling in love despite themselves.

Mark Nolan is raising his 6 year old niece with the help of his brother Sam. He has a girlfriend that he likes and he is planning to propose as she seems the right woman to raise a family with. Mark, his brothers and sister had a pretty messed up childhood and he doesn't want to make the same mistakes his parents made.

Holly, his niece, doesn't speak since her mother died. One day, while visiting the local toy shop Holly and the shop owner, Maggie Conroy, connect with each other and the little girl eventually starts speaking. Although at first glance Mark wasn't particularly interested in Maggie, her connection with Holly makes him pay more attention.

Maggie has been a widow for 2 years. She feels attracted to Mark but, if for one she feels that dating other men would be betraying her dead husband, she also feels that Mark is off limits as he is in a relationship. And so they dance around each other, getting to know each other but afraid to do something about it.

I did like both of them. Maggie was a really funny character and Mark you could see he just needed to believe in himself and the love he had to give. I was curious about his brothers - Sam and Alex - who play a secondary role in this story. I have checked Kleypas website and I see they have their own books so I already added them to the TBR pile.

A nice, cosy Christmas read!

Grade: 4/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

A Christmas Tree for Toddlers

Since I have 2 toddlers at home I knew I couldn't put up a traditional Christmas tree without risking its destruction. Is there anything more attractive to a toddler than lights and colours? So, I have been thinking about alternative trees and browsing the web for ideas. I wasn't sure about the right material but when I found one made of felt I knew that that was what I wanted to use. The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the fact that it was a flat tree, to hang on the wall. 

I thought about the best way to do something similar but that it would be with volume and that it could stand up. I finally decided to go for it when I found a plastic box with the right shape. It was very light, meaning they could hold it; it is virtually unbreakable so there's no problem if they throw it to the floor while playing with it. I bought green felt and covered the box with it. The only thing I kept from the original project was the balls - if they are just flat felt circles they'll adhere to the tree if you just press felt against felt.  If I made them voluminous they would be too heavy to be of any use.

You can find the original tree here as I saved it to my pinterest board. And here is my finished project:

It's about 50 cm high so I can put it on the floor and twins will keep themselves busy playing with it. :-)

This project counts for the Pin It & Do It Challenge

The First Snowdrop - Mary Balogh

The Abandoned BrideThe handsome, elegant Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, wed young and innocent Miss Anne Parrish in haste-his hand forced by circumstance and honor. But now his duty was done-and it was Anne who had to repent at leisure.
Merrick declared he would return to London to resume the pursuit of pleasure that Anne had so rudely interrupted. Anne for her part was free to enjoy the privileges of her new position-but enjoy them as alone as only a proper wife without a proper husband could be.
Anne's only revenge for this cruel insult would be to break the heart of this man who had broken hers. But to do this she would have to be even more heartless than he...

I think Mary Balogh's talent was most in evidence in her traditional regencies and especially in those with Christmas themes. I have read quite a few of them. Some I have reviewed on this blog, others I am still saving for a rainy day. A few years ago I read Christmas Belle and while checking Balogh's website I realised that it was the second book in a duet. It has been on my mind, since then, to get that first book and find out more about the other members of Jack Frazer's family. The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge provided the perfect opportunity.

One of my favourite plots in romance is the "marriage in trouble". So I was quite happy to discover that The First Snowdrop has one such plot. After being caught alone with Anne during a snowstorm that made them spend the night in the same house Alex feels morally obligated to offer for her by her brother and the local vicar.  But when Anne accepts his proposal he feels trapped and convinces himself that she must have planned it. Alex's punishment of Anne is to abandon her in his estate for over a year...

Anne feels devastated on being left there after a promising wedding night. But while timid and lacking in self-confidence, she proves to be a strong woman when she spends that year improving her looks and Alex's estate. They communicate when it is strictly necessary and Alex pays all the bills she sends him but they don't each other again. When she receives an invitation from his grandmother to spend Christmas with the family Anne can't resist an opportunity to see Alex again. 

I had to suspend my disbelief a bit to buy that Alex would so mistake Anne's behaviour on that first night and that he would accept to offer for her when he already had another life planned. But I was happy I did because I really enjoyed the story once we get to Alex's grandparents house party. Alex doesn't immediately recognise Anne but once he does and he gets to know her better he realises he has been treating her very badly. But he seems unable to change the situation and even when he is decided to make a go of their marriage and Anne mistakes his intentions he is unable to tell her what is on his mind. 

I really enjoyed the interaction between the family members, the warmth of their relationship and how Anne really came out of her shell and decided she deserved better from Alex. I just think they could have solved things then if they had had an honest conversation instead of dragging their misery for a few more months. Although not one of my favourites it was a book I enjoyed reading and it made me want to reread Christmas Belle.

 Grade: 4/5

 This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

Marian's Christmas Wish - Carla Kelly

A VOW NOT TO LOVE
Miss Marian Wynswich had not been raised to be a proper young lady. Instead she had been educated to be as good as any man in everything from reading Greek to playing chess.
Thus it was with dismay that she saw what falling in love could do to the most sensible of females, as she watched her sister Ariadne turn giddy when a gentleman captured her heart. Never, Marian vowed, would she ever commit that feminine folly.
Then the dashing Lord Gilbert Ingraham came to pay a Christmas visit. And the question was not only if this worldly lord would make Marian break her vow...it was also if this man who could have any woman he wanted would also break her heart....

My first entry in the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge is this traditional regency by Carla Kelly. I know the author is a loved one for many of my blogging friends and due to their recommendations I have read several. I enjoyed some more than others but Kelly is definitely an author I plan to keep reading. I have been curious about Marian's Christmas Wish ever since hearing about it and I'm glad that I finally had the opportunity to read it.

Marian in a young girl - almost seventeen - who is planning a wonderful Christmas with her family despite the fact that their financial situation is not the best. In fact her older brother is coming home with a rich suitor for her older sister, even though she is in love with the local vicar. But her brother also brings another guest - Lord Ingraham - and although everyone else, with the exception of her younger brother, scolds Marian for her less than genteel ways he seems charmed by her attitudes.

I was a bit worried when I started this story and realised that it was the funny elements that supported it, it is a farce. Humour is a very particular thing and I often have trouble enjoying what other people think it's funny. And I did have some problems with this one because of that, that and the fact that MariN ctually acts like sixteen year old and I don't usually go for teenager heroines. To add to it I thought she felt a bit too at ease with Lord Ingraham from the very start and that there was a big age difference between them that showed in the way they dealt with each other.

But once I overcome those problems, which I did because this a very nicely written story, I appreciated the warmth of feelings between Marian and her family, the friendship that develops between Marian and Ingraham despite their age gap, the Christmas traditions that include making a whish while stirring the Christmas pudding and the over the top behaviour of Ariadne's beau.

To be honest I think I would have enjoyed more without the "adventure" at the end of the book and what leads to it. I was quite happy with the cosiness we had in the first half of the story and was sorry when we lost that. Even so it was a nice Holiday read!

Grade: 3.5/5

This counts for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

As I mentioned yesterday I am looking forward to some Christmas projects this year and joining a Christmas Reading Challenge seems just the perfect thing to do.  So, I am joining the 2012 Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge hosted by Michelle, the True Book Addict at The Christmas Spirit blog. She has lots of interesting information about Christmas stuff  posted so even if you don't want to join it might be worth checking it out.

Here are the rules in Michelle's own words:

• challenge will run from Monday, November 19, 2012 through Sunday, January 6, 2013 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).
• cross over with other challenges is totally permitted AND encouraged!
• These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, and for the first time...a children's Christmas books level!
• Levels:

            --Candy Cane:  read 1 book

            --Mistletoe:  read 2-4 books

            --Christmas Tree:  read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)

          Additional levels:

            --Fa La La La Films:  watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!

            --Visions of Sugar Plums:  read books with your children this season and share what you read

          *the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above

I'm joining at the Christmas Tree level. I definitely plan to read some books to my children although they are too small for longer stories (I'll have to see what I can find), and if I have the time I do want to watch some movies too!

So far I have in my TBR pile:
Marian's Christmas Wish - Carla Kelly
The First Snowdrop - Mary Balogh
Christmas Belle - Mary Balogh
A Christmas Homecoming - Anne Perry
Mischief of The Mistletoe - Lauren Willig
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor - Lisa Kleypas

and I am planning to get Silent Night by Deanna Raybourn.

I'll see if I'll change the list till the end of the challenge...


Books read:

1. Marian's Christmas Wish
2. The First Snowdrop
3. Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
4. A Christmas Odyssey
5. What Happens at Christmas
6. Christmas Belle
7. Mistletoe and Mischief (review coming soon)
8. Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight (review coming soon)