Review: Wonderful, romantic, holiday short stories.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
There are four short historical romances by four excellent romance authors. The stories all take place at No. 3 Grosvenor Square in London, the home of Lucy Frost, the Countess of Winterson. Each year Lucy has a ball on Christmas Eve. It is the place to be and is usually packed. There is a rumor that it is a magical ball and that wonderful things happen there to special people. Lucy and her loyal butler, Philbert help to arrange those magical times.The first story, 'The Seduction of a Duchess' written by Shana Galen takes place in 1803. Rowena is 47 years old and has been a widow for 14 years. She has three sons, the first a Duke, the second a Comte, and the third a Marquis. Their titles come from the French aristocracy which was overthrown. Therefore, the titles are rather empty with no money or properties attached. Rowena is lonely even with all the people surrounding her. She looks up to meet the eyes of a well dressed gentleman across the room. His eyes lock on to hers and Rowena feels the pull of recognition. Suddenly she remember where she has seen this handsome man. He was their footman in France. He had helped them escape after her husband had been killed. Now she remembers he is a spy, called "The French Fox". He had helped rescue a lot of the French aristocracy. He was here and he remembered her.This was an excellent short story. As were the other three: One Kiss For Christmas by Vanessa Kelly, His Christmas Cinderella by Anna Campbell, and The Last First Kiss by Kate Noble. I highly recommend this holiday anthology.