Review: Another heart-felt Regency Christmas love story.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 27, 2013
Kay Springsteen's last Christmas romance The Toymaker was just about my very favorite so when this one was released I jumped all over it. It is the classic romance between two individuals that are just about as far apart on the social scale that one can get in Regency England, thus its appeal. Lady Caroline Tyndall, youngest daughter of a wealthy Earl, has wasted her two London seasons without a single offer. Poor 'Kitty' wonders why and is suffering from an acute lack of self esteem because of it. Young Scotsman Hugh McCollum is working as her father's stable hand with his older brother and dreaming of America.Lady Caroline has her hat set on a young eligible gentleman of the peerage but seeks out young Hugh to "teach her a few tricks" on how to attract his attention. Hugh knows if he is caught it will lead to his immediate dismissal as well as his brother. Bravely, they meet secretly on a hidden but romantic location on the manor property. Both young and naive, they initially don't understand why they are so drawn to each other. It cannot possibly be love can it?Poor Kitty is not respected or regarded by any of her suitors or her mother or father for that matter. Hugh, on the other hand, treats her with admiration, regard, and protectiveness. Realizing she is in constant great danger of being exposed, she still cannot resist the handsome attentive Scotsmen who treats her with the utmost of kindness.How on earth will they overcome this hopeless relationship? Only Kitty's two older sisters seem to sympathize and wish to help them.Both the romantic tension and the danger of their secret trysts are masterfully handled by the author.Being an online Facebook friend of the author has revealed her heart for the vulnerable and forgotten people and animals among us and this compassion thus permeates her stories. This is a Christmas tale not to be missed, full of emotion, feeling, and unfettered love.