Review: Nice Collection of Christmas Regency Stories
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 27, 2013
I love regency stories set during the Christmas holiday season so, of course, I found this collection to be quite delightful. Each story is really very short and as such there isn't a lot of detail or character development.  However, for me, this did not in any way take away from the enjoyment of reading them.  Each story is set during the Countess of Winterson's annual holiday ball located at No. 3 Grosvenor Square.  The ball is said to be magical and every year one special couple finds love against all odds.  All the stories are set many years apart, the first occurring in 1803, the last in 1830.Seduction of a Duchess by Shana GalenThis is the first short story in the book.  It is about a widowed French Duchess and her former footman who is some 10 years her junior.  Rowena, who is English by birth, fled France during the revolution, barely escaping with her three sons.  Now, years later they are living in England as displaced French aristocrats.  She re-encounters Gabriel, her former French footman at the Winterson Christmas Ball.  This was my least favorite of the four stories.  Not because of the writing or anything like that, but simply because it isn't one of my favorite plots.  I'm not overly fond of the older woman/younger man romance theme.  Also, of the four stories, I thought this romance was the least believable.  In all the stories the couples had a previous acquaintance with each other prior to finding love at the Winterson event....and they already had romantic feelings for one another.  That is not the case in this short story.  Gabriel has loved Rowena for many years, but to Rowena he was her footman (albeit very special).  She does have a crush on the infamous French spy known as the "French Fox" who turns out to be Gabriel, but I just couldn't see the romance developing between them so quickly.  The story is nicely written, but I felt like the writer could have added a few more pages.  It would have been nice to see how the romance between Rowena and Gabriel had developed a few weeks, or even months, later.  Plus I would have liked to have know how they dealt with Rowena's sons' expected resistance to her romance with Gabriel.  I would give this story 3 1/2 to 4 stars.One Kiss for Christmas by Vanessa KellyAmelia, the heroine, is the Countess of Winterson's niece.  She is very pretty, wealthy, and sweet, and she has a boat load of eligible suitors.  The hero Nigel, is known as nice and dependable (he is the type that takes the time to put shy debutantes at their ease and listen to the long winded stories of dowagers).  As far as Nigel is concerned his reputation for dependability is one step away from boring and is a fatal blow for his love life.  He believes that he has no hope of competing for Amelia's affections.  He, however, does not give himself enough credit, and the two do find love at the annual Winterson holiday celebration.  This story is a bit different from the other three in that this particular year, 1818, the Countess does not give her usual holiday ball, but has a dinner instead because Amelia and her younger siblings are staying with the Countess while their parents are away.  Despite the short length, the author did a really good job at wrapping up the end of the story.  A 4 star read.His Christmas Cinderella by Anna CampbellThis was my favorite story of the four, primarily because of the plot.  I am a sucker for romances with a Cinderella theme.  Campion is a poor relation living on sufferance from her aunt by marriage.  She is treated little better than a servant.  She meets Lachlan, Earl of Ravenglass at a masquerade ball and from there a clandestine relationship develops.  At the beginning of the story the two have been lovers for six weeks, but it now must come to an end because Campion's evil aunt is sending her back to Sussex (on Christmas day!!) to ready the family's residence for their return.  I liked Campion well enough, but I absolutely loved Lachlan!!  In this story the two actually find their HEA before they get to the Winterson holiday ball, but the story does end at the event.  I really loved it when Campion's aunt is routed by Lachlan's mother.  Very romantic story.  A 5 star read!The Last First Kiss by Kate NobleSusannah and Sebastian are childhood friends.  As Susannah gets older she falls in love with Sebastian, but he sees her as a little sister.  When Susannah is 16, Sebastian leaves for his grand tour.  Susannah is devastated.  Her Aunt Julia tutors her on how to be a proper lady (Susannah is a complete tomboy) with the view that when Sebastian returns, Susannah can finally get that first kiss she's been angling after.  Susannah is convinced that once she and Sebastian kiss everything will change between them.  Three years later Sebastian returns to England just in time for the Winterson ball.  Here he encounters the new and improved Susannah.  This story, although sweet, is my second least favorite of the four.  The ending felt a bit rushed.  Another 3 1/2 to 4 star read.