Jane Litte's Blog, page 28

REVIEW: Worth More Than Rubies by Grace Burrowes

All the Duke of Dunfallon wants this holiday season is a respite from the machinations of the matchmakers. When pursued by a particularly determined would-be duchess, he ducks into the West Bartholomew Street Lending Library. Librarian Emerald Armstrong sees a dapper gent in a bit of a hurry and mistakes Dunfallon for a curate overdue for his assignation with West Bart’s theological collection.

Dunfallon is intrigued by Emmie’s love of books, her disdain for society’s games, and her ferocious ...

REVIEW: Winter Wedding by Betty Neels

WOULD SHE EVER HAVE A PROPER MARRIAGE?

Some people might think Emily Seymour was a bit prim and proper. Emily preferred to think of herself as sensible. Unfortunately, all the good sense in the world could not stop Emily from falling in love with Professor Renier Jurres-Romeijn. The professor barely seemed to notice her, though. He was too busy making plans for a winter wedding. But who exactly was his intended bride?

Review

Looking for another seasonal Neels book, I found that I had this one...

REVIEW: The Solstice Pudding by Angel Martinez

It’s the perfect Solstice present, even if it’s slightly illegal.

Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn’t give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information leads Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong.

Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It’s been all of those...

REVIEW: Sunshine for Christmas by Mary Jo Putney

Searching for sunshine…

Lonely and depressed by far too much rain, Lord Randolph Lennox decides on impulse to take the first ship leaving London for the sunny Mediterranean. Chance brings him to Naples—where it’s also raining. But the rain clears and as he discovers the city, a pleasant young English governess rescues him from an altercation with a flirtatious girl and her protective family.

Miss Elizabeth Walker is between jobs and taking a holiday in Naples when she meets the quiet, handsome...

REVIEW: The Holly Groweth Green by Amy Rae Durreson

It’s Christmas 1946 and wounded doctor Laurence is struggling to find a way to live during peacetime. Lost in the Hampshire countryside on a snowy Christmas Eve, Laurence stumbles across lonely Mistletoe Cottage and its owner: Avery.
Avery is bright and beautiful, welcoming Laurence to his home with warmth and joy. But Laurence can’t stay forever, and Avery’s secrets mean he can never leave. When everything goes wrong, it’s up to Laurence to find a way to secure a happy-ever-after for their mi...

REVIEW: Respect for Christmas by Grace Burrowes

Previously published in Virtues of Christmas. Henrietta Whitlow is leaving behind the life of a very successful courtesan in hopes of making peace with her family in the shires. Michael Brenner’s family all but ignore him, despite his shiny new baronial title, and his errand along the Oxford road isn’t half so benign as Henrietta’s. While trying to settle a debt of honor involving Henrietta, Michael instead loses his heart and comes to understand the true meaning of holiday spirit.

Dear Ms. B...

REVIEW: A Christmas Proposal by Betty Neels

Dr. Oliver Hay-Smythe seemed to have met a modern-day Cinderella! Ever since Bertha’s father had remarried, the kindhearted woman had been put upon by her family. She appeared to live in her stepsister’s shadow, stuck doing the housework and wearing hand-me-downs! The doctor was about to change all that. In fact, he was about to change Bertha’s entire world.

Review

In her post about reading Betty Neels, Sunita referred to a type of heroine Neels began writing later in her career – the little ...

REVIEW: The Christmas Tart by Mary Jo Putney

A Chance Christmas Connection

Tired of dealing with legalities relating to his father’s unexpected death, new baronet Sir Philip Selbourne is ready to leave London and head home for Christmas. But having spent a boyhood rescuing strays, he’s unable to resist helping a desperate young woman with speaking brown eyes and a kitten in her pocket.

Young French seamstress Nicole Chambord is in dire straits after being wrongly fired by her dreadful employer. Then chance brings her together with Phili...

REVIEW: The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Al...

REVIEW: The Mongolian Death Worm: On the Hunt in the Gobi Desert: Or, How I Found the Worst Bathroom on Earth and Learned to Love Cheese Flavored Vodka by Pat Spain

Pat Spain is not a very good dancer. Nor is he a person used to wearing bikini briefs, or wrestling in front of hundreds of nomads and an international TV audience. He is certainly not a person you would expect to find wearing said bikini briefs while dancing in front of said audience, but here we are: On the Hunt in the Gobi Desert. Pat and a National Geographic film crew are searching for the truth behind stories of the Mongolian Death Worm, and to crack this legend Pat will have to wrestle ...