Review: Wonderful historical Christmas romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 22, 2013
A WARRIOR FOR CHRISTMAS is a sweet historical romance set in the Philadelphia countryside in 1764 during the holidays. Although a novella, characterization and relationships were solidly developed and evolved as the story progressed. As a reader that craves action, I wanted more in terms of external conflict—a fistfight or a duel would have sufficed. (The novella does contain one of the most charged dancing scenes I've ever encountered in a romance novel).  Instead of action, the story relies heavily upon mechanisms of internal conflict to carry the plot through to its HEA-conclusion.Our hero, Corwin Whitfield, was raised by Shawnee Native Americans when warriors killed his parents at the age of 14. The fact that he seemed to have lived as a freeman instead of a slave to the people who captured him made me curious but the issue wasn't addressed in any depth. Backstory is what it should be: brief.  Instead, Corwin's love of the wilderness and his craving for the freedom of a frontier lifestyle play into the uncertainty of whether he would eventually leave or remain on his uncle's estate to which he is heir.Dimity Scott is also an orphan and the ward of Corwin's uncle. Most remarkable about this lovely heroine is her deafness due to Scarlet Fever. How she deals with her disability makes for an interesting part of the story. I really loved how vivid descriptions of other sensory components were from her perspective. Generally, I'm a reader of paranormal and contemporary fiction, so Dimity was a bit reserved for my taste.The hero and heroine share wonderful chemistry and I enjoyed their interaction, especially the stolen kisses in the barn. I loved how they communicated in the dark when Dimity wasn't able to read lips because it was so intimate.  Love scenes are sweet and aching in the want of one another.Beth Trissel delivers a wonderful historical Christmas romance that will capture the reader's imagination. Gorgeous sensory details & excellent scene setting. The few secondary characters are well described and serve to further the romance. When I reached the last page, I really wanted the story to go on a while longer.An ARC was received.