9 Sweet Novellas to Warm Your Christmas Sprits....9 Authors to Tell Their Tales

The Victorian Christmas Brides Collection

from the publisher...

Faced with the daily extremes of gluttony and want in the Victorian Era, nine women seek to create the perfect Christmas celebrations. But will expectations and pride cause them to overlook imperfect men who offer true love? 

   

...my thoughts...

This collection of novellas just in time for the Christmas reading list is perfect for the reader who loves to read but feels they don't have time for a complete book.  Each story is just enough to tempt the senses yet complete in the telling.  Many dream of the simpler times in Queen Victoria's day yet enjoy the trappings of modern times with central heat and a handy grocer.  Yet these stories beckon and like Dickens, will hook you in once you begin.  I recommend you brew a pot of tea for your afternoon leisure or pour a glass of sherry to sip by the fire of an evening.  

Paper Snowflake Christmas by Vanessa Riley

1837 Framlingham, England

 An uncle comes to claim his new ward at Christmas but has to face Child's mother married his late brother years before, leaving him with a broken heart....

  

 One Golden Ring by C.J. Chase

 1855 Devonshire, England   

 How can a man face the woman who jilted him with no explanation five year ago? Can she face him with her altered status without showing her true feelings?  Love isn't always perfect yet it can remain true even under the most tying times.  

  

Love  Brick  by  Brick by Kathleen L. Maher
1857Elmira, New York
A wealthy man is rebuilding his English estate in America where his mother is regaining her health in a special clinic.  He is falling for a beautiful young woman pursuing a medical degree but whether he will still want to see her when he discovers she is an orphan is not so certain. 

The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels

An engagement announced in the paper is as good as a formal arrangement. Set in Detroit and Ontario, this story opens when a young woman nearing the end of her prime is being tricked into an engagement to a man who is not what he appears to be.  Reading about her "engagement" in the newspaper, she seeks counsel from her attorney to dissolve this scandal only to meet a handsome barrister from Ontario.  In a series of comical events, they are drawn together for a purpose neither had planned for but with aplomb resolve to a mutual plan...but the results are nothing they could have planned. A fun story that will tickle your humor.  Enjoy the possibilities a do-gooder woman can have with the help of her little Sugarplum ladies to help save the day!
 
Star of Wonder by Susanne Dietze
1875 County Durham, EnglandArranged marriages, diamond necklaces and conditions that this has to happen on this date at this time is enough for any couple to digest.  While both want to please their parents, they would rather marry for love.  When plans fall apart, can they truly find something better than their parents had?

A Christmas Promise by Gabrielle Meyer

1899 Cambridgeshire,England.

When Ashleigh Pendleton and Christopher Campbell met the first time, they were young. They also had a tremendous dislike for each other.  Imagine their shock when they find out that their late mothers signed a contract for the pair to marry.  The mothers had a long-lasting friendship and thought this marriage would be a blessing for all. They have until Christmas Eve to become engaged to someone else or the engagement stands!  I enjoyed this match-up!  The long guest list for the house party, complete with a handsome suitor to foil Christopher and competition in an old fried for Ashleigh

Father Christmas by Lorna Seilstad

 Chicago, Christmas 1880

Widowed harpist Beatrix Kent succumbs daily to the guilt his unforgiving mother-in-law dishes up every day at tea. A piano teacher, she devotes the remainder of her time to her students, hoping to forget the death of her husband.  Hugo Sherman, the father of one of her students would love to hear her perform and with a few obstacles he strives to make it happen. Along the way, the inevitable happens as Christmas arrives and hearts have the possibility to become whole...

The Perfect Christmas by Erica Vetsch
1880s London
Melisande Verity is a lovely young woman who runs the chocolate counter at Garamonds, the exclusive department in London.  Every year at Christmas there is a contest to choose who will design the windows. The town has an annual contest among the shop and Garamonds has never won. She has worked hard on a special design.  Every year the same man has been chosen and this year she hopes her design is chosen. In the history of the store that honor has always gone to a man...and it wouldn't be a good Christmas story if she didn't get the chance to use her designs and manage the project.  With the reluctant help of Gray Garamond, the grandson of the Mr. Garamond, she embarks on a challenge that will not only challenge her talents, but also the world view of a handsome young man bent on changing the way things are done...delightful story.

  

 A Christmas Vow by Gabrielle Meyer

London, England, Christmas 1899


Lady Ashleigh Pendleton is hosting a houseful of guests for Christmas when railroad executive Christopher Campbell unexpectedly arrives from America with a mysterious agreement signed by their fathers before their birth.

The Holly and the Ivy by Rita Gerlach
1900. Small town along the Potomac near Washington DC
Lily Morningstar and British antiquities expert Andrew Stapleton, meet at last after a lecture she attended. In a bold move, she invited him to supper to see some letters written by a naval officer to his wife. Upon discovering who the man was they also found something more for each other.

The Regency Bride Collection: A Bit of Romance for Regency Fans

The Regency Bride Collection by Amanda Barratt, Angela Bell, Susanne Dietze, Michelle Griep, Nancy Moser, MaryLu Tyndall and Erica Vetsch

As Described by the Publisher:

Romance is a delicate dance bound by rules and expectations in

Regency England
Seven couples must navigate society’s gauntlet to secure the hand of true love....

Charity and Luke are strangers who were forced to marry three years ago.
Adelaide and Walter share a love of music and disdain for elitism.
Caroline and Henry are thrown together by three orphans.

Helen and Isaac harbor his unlikely secret.
Esther is empowered to choose between two men.
Sophia is determined not to choose a man like Nash.
Jamie and William face a daunting London season together.

Will their faith grow and love prevail in a time when both were considered luxuries the elite could not afford?

my thoughts….

Seven authors came together to write seven novellas from the Regency period in England.  I enjoyed the overall them of this collection, especially the moral dilemmas and duties the men and women characters were bound to adhere.  As Regency England recovered from loss and war, men and women learned to pick up the fragments of their lives and remained constant to the lifestyles they left behind.  Perhaps that helped them move forward.

In First Comes Marriage byAmanda Barratt, Charity and Luke marry for their father’s sake and are separated immediately after the ceremony for three years. When Luke returns from service he and Charity are bound together by an arranged marriage that takes a surprising twist in great Regency fashion!

In Masquerade Melody by Angela Bell, Walter and Adelaide are brought together in secret for a musical pact only to discover that they have more in common than the love of music.  A sweet tale that is heartwarming.

Three Little Matchmakers by Susanne Dietze will tug at your heartstrings when forgotten childhood attachments are forged anew by three little children who need a home and family much more than a room at boarding school.  Sweet story with many happy returns.

The Gentleman Smuggler's Lady by Michelle Griep is a surprising tale with the smuggler being a well-respected man with Robin Hood like qualities.  He is simply taking what is his and providing for those less fortunate than he.  Alas, on his last run he had the misfortune of coming across the vicar’s daughter. Fearing for her safety, he proves much more gallant than she would have dreamed.  As the story goes, they encounter each other again and both learn that all is not quite as things appear.

In the story When I Saw His Face by Nancy Moser, Esther is at a turning point in her life. Widowed for eight years, her stepdaughter is newly married, leaving her on her own.  Her neighbor, Chester has had his eye on her, waiting for his chance for marriage.  Shall she give in or pursue a new dream?  After a chance encounter with a man stranded along the road she can’t dismiss the attraction she felt. While visiting her dear friend she happens on this gentleman again and from then on an uncanny attraction causes her to think again about Chester’s intentions towards marriage. This is a story that could be a love triangle by many but for a significant turn of events that plays out in the end.

In The Highwayman's Bargain by MaryLu Tyndall true love can be a perception if the groom is a dandy bent thwarting his parents while fooling his bride.  Having a sense of duty is wonderful but not at the expense of being wed to the wrong man.  Pride and deception abound in this little tale but can a true hero be found to love her and care for her parents?

In Jamie Ever After by Erica Vetsch, lovely maidens Jamie and Polly are presented for the London season.  Polly’s brother Walter, distant and remote, is hiding away his war injuries along with his heart.  He is enamored by Jamie’s beauty and sweet spirit.  She has long had feelings for him though he only saw her as his younger sister’s friend.  He strikes a bargain with his sister to thwart attempts by their evil cousin to insinuate himself as a suitor for Jamie.  Their marriage starts as a convenient arrangement on his part but circumstances seem to counter his plans.  A nice plot with a sweet romance.                                   

Grab a cup of tea and sip your way through the pages of this nice collection of novellas!