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A Regency Christmas
The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn
Lord Andrew Finchley was determined to find the ravishing beauty who stole his heart at the masked Christmas Ball--never suspecting that she was right under his nose....
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
The scathing reviews by the notorious food critic, Monsieur Bongoift, had all but ruined Cybele Leigh's dining establishment. Now she decided it was high time she turned the tables!
Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger
When his secretary confused some cards and gifts, the Earl of Montravan found his Christmas goose cooked--with his fiancee, his mistress, and his mother! Only Petra found the whole incident quite amusing....
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
Elizabeth loathed the thought of marrying Baron Rathborne, whose blackmail and skullduggery forced her to such a fate. Then Lord Wyckholme came to the rescue, with a much more desirable scheme....
Lord Andrew Finchley was determined to find the ravishing beauty who stole his heart at the masked Christmas Ball--never suspecting that she was right under his nose....
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
The scathing reviews by the notorious food critic, Monsieur Bongoift, had all but ruined Cybele Leigh's dining establishment. Now she decided it was high time she turned the tables!
Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger
When his secretary confused some cards and gifts, the Earl of Montravan found his Christmas goose cooked--with his fiancee, his mistress, and his mother! Only Petra found the whole incident quite amusing....
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
Elizabeth loathed the thought of marrying Baron Rathborne, whose blackmail and skullduggery forced her to such a fate. Then Lord Wyckholme came to the rescue, with a much more desirable scheme....
249 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 23, 2022
Barbara Metzger - Greetings of the season , a funny story 4*
Jennie Gallant - Home for christmas , not a very festive story 2*
Joan Smith - Love à la carte , ok story 2*
Leslie Lynn - The christmas ball , nice twist on a cinderella story 4*
Jennie Gallant - Home for christmas , not a very festive story 2*
Joan Smith - Love à la carte , ok story 2*
Leslie Lynn - The christmas ball , nice twist on a cinderella story 4*
December 12, 2015
Enjoyed the Barbara Metzger story most- a fun Regency Christmas comedy of errors.
August 7, 2020
Of the four authors highlighted in this anthology, I'm only familiar with the work of Barbara Metzger. However, I was willing to take a chance on the others. I knew I would enjoy Mrs. Metzger's story.
The Christmas Ball (Leslie Lynn) -- This is a sweet story about Lord Andrew Finchley searching for the lovely woman he met at a masked ball. This is a bit of a Cinderella-type story. Athena takes care of her handicapped sister (through love, not a requirement) and always misses the annual masked ball. Her sister plans for a year to make sure Athena goes to the masked ball (with the hope of her meeting someone special).
Love a la Carte (Joan Smith) -- Monsieur Bongout has been roasting Cybele Leigh's new restaurant in the newspaper. She is the silent partner of a fine chef (who is missing his paramour too much and unable to cook effectively). When Lord Sinden (the true person behind Monsieur Bongout, the food critic) makes a play for Cybele, she sets him down smartly.
Greetings of the Season (Barbara Metzger) -- The Earl of Montravan lives a life of ease. His secretary takes care of his life, even to the point of purchasing all the Christmas gifts for the earl. When the earl finds out about the two-stepping of his secretary, he fires the man. As a parting shot, the unhappy secretary rearranges the cards on the gifts and leaves. When the recipients get their gifts, all hell breaks loose. As usual, this is a cute, funny story from a master of the genre.
Home for Christmas (Jennie Gallant) -- Elizabeth is in danger of having to marry the loathsome Baron Rathborne. He has acquired the debts of Elizabeth's family and is pressing her to marry him. Lord Wyckholme (an old friend) decides to get involved. I thought this one was the weakest story.
The Christmas Ball (Leslie Lynn) -- This is a sweet story about Lord Andrew Finchley searching for the lovely woman he met at a masked ball. This is a bit of a Cinderella-type story. Athena takes care of her handicapped sister (through love, not a requirement) and always misses the annual masked ball. Her sister plans for a year to make sure Athena goes to the masked ball (with the hope of her meeting someone special).
Love a la Carte (Joan Smith) -- Monsieur Bongout has been roasting Cybele Leigh's new restaurant in the newspaper. She is the silent partner of a fine chef (who is missing his paramour too much and unable to cook effectively). When Lord Sinden (the true person behind Monsieur Bongout, the food critic) makes a play for Cybele, she sets him down smartly.
Greetings of the Season (Barbara Metzger) -- The Earl of Montravan lives a life of ease. His secretary takes care of his life, even to the point of purchasing all the Christmas gifts for the earl. When the earl finds out about the two-stepping of his secretary, he fires the man. As a parting shot, the unhappy secretary rearranges the cards on the gifts and leaves. When the recipients get their gifts, all hell breaks loose. As usual, this is a cute, funny story from a master of the genre.
Home for Christmas (Jennie Gallant) -- Elizabeth is in danger of having to marry the loathsome Baron Rathborne. He has acquired the debts of Elizabeth's family and is pressing her to marry him. Lord Wyckholme (an old friend) decides to get involved. I thought this one was the weakest story.
May 25, 2015
A Regency Christmas by Leslie Lynn, Joan Smith, Barbara Metzger, Jennie Gallant
The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn
Lord Andrew Finchley was determined to find the ravishing beauty who stole his heart at the masked Christmas Ball--never suspecting that she was right under his nose....
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
The scathing reviews by the notorious food critic, Monsieur Bongoift, had all but ruined Cybele Leigh's dining establishment. Now she decided it was high time she turned the tables!
Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger
When his secretary confused some cards and gifts, the Earl of Montravan found his Christmas goose cooked--with his fiancee, his mistress, and his mother! Only Petra found the whole incident quite amusing....
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
Elizabeth loathed the thought of marrying Baron Rathborne, whose blackmail and skullduggery forced her to such a fate. Then Lord Wyckholme came to the rescue, with a much more desirable scheme
The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn
Lord Andrew Finchley was determined to find the ravishing beauty who stole his heart at the masked Christmas Ball--never suspecting that she was right under his nose....
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
The scathing reviews by the notorious food critic, Monsieur Bongoift, had all but ruined Cybele Leigh's dining establishment. Now she decided it was high time she turned the tables!
Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger
When his secretary confused some cards and gifts, the Earl of Montravan found his Christmas goose cooked--with his fiancee, his mistress, and his mother! Only Petra found the whole incident quite amusing....
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
Elizabeth loathed the thought of marrying Baron Rathborne, whose blackmail and skullduggery forced her to such a fate. Then Lord Wyckholme came to the rescue, with a much more desirable scheme
December 3, 2015
I liked all four of these short Christmas stories. Really enjoyable read. A bit dated now these clean Regency romances, but still good for the Christmas season - lovely fluffy stories!
August 11, 2021
I enjoy these types of books since they're a good way to get some different stories from authors you like and see if you can find new authors to read.
I had already read the first story by Barbara Metzger elsewhere and it's a good one. It has her usual writing style and humor.
I didn't believe I had read anything by Jennie Gallant before and was pleasantly surprised by her grasp of the Regency language. It was a good story with a surprising male lead who I thought I wouldn't like when the heroine first describes how she met him. When I went to search for her other books, I found out she's actually Joan Smith, which makes sense since she's one of my favorite Regency authors.
That said, the story by Joan Smith was not my favorite. It has all the elements of a good story with Joan's intelligent writing but I didn't warm up to the heroine. I really liked the hero after learning more about him but didn't see any chemistry. And the whole plot about not being able to get a new chef made the heroine seem pretty stupid. That said, it's still better than most things out there.
The final story by Leslie Lynn was a dud for me. It felt like a wallpaper Regency romance where the setting is that time period, but it didn't follow the rules of the time. The premise seemed really good but, by the time the heroine gets to the ball and dances every dance with the hero, I knew I didn't care to read the rest.
All in all, it was worth a few bucks and reading time.
I had already read the first story by Barbara Metzger elsewhere and it's a good one. It has her usual writing style and humor.
I didn't believe I had read anything by Jennie Gallant before and was pleasantly surprised by her grasp of the Regency language. It was a good story with a surprising male lead who I thought I wouldn't like when the heroine first describes how she met him. When I went to search for her other books, I found out she's actually Joan Smith, which makes sense since she's one of my favorite Regency authors.
That said, the story by Joan Smith was not my favorite. It has all the elements of a good story with Joan's intelligent writing but I didn't warm up to the heroine. I really liked the hero after learning more about him but didn't see any chemistry. And the whole plot about not being able to get a new chef made the heroine seem pretty stupid. That said, it's still better than most things out there.
The final story by Leslie Lynn was a dud for me. It felt like a wallpaper Regency romance where the setting is that time period, but it didn't follow the rules of the time. The premise seemed really good but, by the time the heroine gets to the ball and dances every dance with the hero, I knew I didn't care to read the rest.
All in all, it was worth a few bucks and reading time.
December 19, 2024
Greetings of the Season by Barbara Metzger
The Earl of Montraven fires his secretary when he discovers the man has been sleeping with the earl's mistress. As a last act, the secretary decides to mix up the cards going with the gifts to the earl's all-but-engaged-fiancée, the mistress he's dismissing, the woman he had hoped to replace her with, his mother, his sister, and their companion. Of course, this leads to him discovering that the woman he should marry may have been under his nose all along.
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
This short story is actually quite bemusing. A young woman, Elizabeth, is being pushed to marry an older, disreputable man, Baron Rathborne. He has sent her a necklace as a betrothal gift that is later stolen from her. Luckily, Lord Wyckholme is there to help her get out of that engagement and right into another.
I originally read this book around the time it came out and her uncle infuriated me then... he still infuriates me now. I mean, I try to think the best of people but this man goes into willfully naive
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
Cybele has put all of her money into a new restaurant, but it has been roundly panned by food critic, Monsieur Bongout. She is desperately trying to save her investment but is also trying to avoid the attentions of the man she may actually love, Lord Sinden.
The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn
Persephone may not have the use of her legs but she has a bright mind. She knows that her sister Athena deserves love. It is Persephone who encourages Athena to attend a masked ball. And it is there that Lord Andrew Finchley falls in love with a mysterious woman.
The Earl of Montraven fires his secretary when he discovers the man has been sleeping with the earl's mistress. As a last act, the secretary decides to mix up the cards going with the gifts to the earl's all-but-engaged-fiancée, the mistress he's dismissing, the woman he had hoped to replace her with, his mother, his sister, and their companion. Of course, this leads to him discovering that the woman he should marry may have been under his nose all along.
Home for Christmas by Jennie Gallant
This short story is actually quite bemusing. A young woman, Elizabeth, is being pushed to marry an older, disreputable man, Baron Rathborne. He has sent her a necklace as a betrothal gift that is later stolen from her. Luckily, Lord Wyckholme is there to help her get out of that engagement and right into another.
I originally read this book around the time it came out and her uncle infuriated me then... he still infuriates me now. I mean, I try to think the best of people but this man goes into willfully naive
Love a La Carte by Joan Smith
Cybele has put all of her money into a new restaurant, but it has been roundly panned by food critic, Monsieur Bongout. She is desperately trying to save her investment but is also trying to avoid the attentions of the man she may actually love, Lord Sinden.
The Christmas Ball by Leslie Lynn
Persephone may not have the use of her legs but she has a bright mind. She knows that her sister Athena deserves love. It is Persephone who encourages Athena to attend a masked ball. And it is there that Lord Andrew Finchley falls in love with a mysterious woman.
January 3, 2019
Sometimes a reader has to take it easy and go for a simple, silly book, specially when it's Christmas season. I picked up this book at the library with the intention of munching on it during my time off in between Christmas and New Year's, having very little expectations of liking it much.
So, four different romance short stories set in the Regency period. The first two (Greetings of the season and Home for Christmas) weren't that interesting to me; I found myself constantly checking how many pages were left before I finished the story, felt like the authors tried too hard to make the characters' speeches authentic by using an excessive number of obscure or foreign words, which was off-putting; the plots were simple and predictable, which I wouldn't have minded as much is the stories were fun. Last two stories (Love a la carte and The Christmas ball) had more interesting plots, characters felt more real and likable and had, in my opinion, much better writing.
Final thoughts. It's a quick read (went through the entire thing in a day and a half) and the writing is acceptable. I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical romance and wants to get in the mood of the Christmas season.
So, four different romance short stories set in the Regency period. The first two (Greetings of the season and Home for Christmas) weren't that interesting to me; I found myself constantly checking how many pages were left before I finished the story, felt like the authors tried too hard to make the characters' speeches authentic by using an excessive number of obscure or foreign words, which was off-putting; the plots were simple and predictable, which I wouldn't have minded as much is the stories were fun. Last two stories (Love a la carte and The Christmas ball) had more interesting plots, characters felt more real and likable and had, in my opinion, much better writing.
Final thoughts. It's a quick read (went through the entire thing in a day and a half) and the writing is acceptable. I would recommend it to people who enjoy historical romance and wants to get in the mood of the Christmas season.
November 24, 2023
To me, the best story in this anthology was the last one, THE CHRISTMAS BALL. It's essentially a holiday take on the Cinderella story. This was also the one story that left me wishing there were a sequel, because I wanted to know if Persephone's friendship with a certain young man ever turned into romance. (Yes, I ship them!)
My second favorite was the first story, GREETINGS OF THE SEASON, about a secretary who deliberately sabotages his former employer's Christmas gifts by switching the notes around, such that the wrong note is given to each gift recipient. Hilarity ensues!
The other two stories were unremarkable--neither particularly bad nor particularly good. But if you stumbled across a copy of this in a used bookstore, it would be worth buying for the two stories mentioned above.
My second favorite was the first story, GREETINGS OF THE SEASON, about a secretary who deliberately sabotages his former employer's Christmas gifts by switching the notes around, such that the wrong note is given to each gift recipient. Hilarity ensues!
The other two stories were unremarkable--neither particularly bad nor particularly good. But if you stumbled across a copy of this in a used bookstore, it would be worth buying for the two stories mentioned above.
July 25, 2011
Quick, light reading. Regency romance short stories. Really good book.
October 20, 2022
Joan Smith’s could not alone, elevate this book above 2 stars. I liked it much more second time through I would consider it a 3.5
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews