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Stapleton-Downes #7
คริสต์มาสฝันรัก
เอ็ดการ์ ดาวนส์ผู้แสนมั่งคั่งตัดสินใจว่าถึงเวลาแล้วที่เขาควรจะมีเจ้าสาวเสียที ถึงแม้เขาจะไม่ได้เกิดในตระกูลผู้ดี แต่เอ็ดการ์ก็สัญญากับบิดาผู้กำลังแก่ตัวลงทุกวัน ว่าเขาจะเข้าพิธีสมรสกับสุภาพสตรีผู้มีบรรดาศักดิ์ให้ได้ก่อนวันคริสต์มาส เอ็ดการ์มาลอนดอนเพื่อสำรวจสาวโสดที่เดินขบวนกันมาให้เลือก ทุกคนล้วนงดงาม เหมาะสม และเยาว์วัยเพียงพอที่จะให้กำเนิดบุตรชายแก่เขา แต่กลับเป็นเลดี้เฮเลน่า สเตเปิลตันในชุดสีแดงชวนตะลึง ที่ตรึงความสนใจของเขาจนอยู่หมัด เขาไม่อาจถอนสายตาจากหล่อนได้เลย และสำหรับเฮเลน่าแล้ว หล่อนเองก็รู้สึกถึงแรงสะท้านที่รบกวนจิตใจเป็นที่สุดเช่นกัน เมื่อมองเห็นชายแปลกหน้าผู้เย้ายวนใจผู้นี้
ในไม่ช้า อารมณ์ปรารถนาที่ไม่อาจสะกดได้ก็พัดพาทั้งสองเข้าสู่ความสัมพันธ์อันอื้อฉาว แน่นอนว่างานวิวาห์นั้นไม่ต้องพูดถึง เฮเลน่าอายุมากเกินไปและไม่ใช่สตรีที่เหมาะสมจะแต่งงานด้วย ส่วนเฮเลน่าก็คิดว่าเอ็ดการ์ไม่ใช่คนในชนชั้นเดียวกับหล่อน ทว่า ในฤดูกาลแห่งปาฏิหาริย์อันเกินคิดฝันนี้ บางสิ่งที่แสนมหัศจรรย์กำลังจะเกิดขึ้น บางสิ่งที่จะเปลี่ยนความคิดและพลิกผันหัวใจของพวกเขาไปตลอดกาล...
ในไม่ช้า อารมณ์ปรารถนาที่ไม่อาจสะกดได้ก็พัดพาทั้งสองเข้าสู่ความสัมพันธ์อันอื้อฉาว แน่นอนว่างานวิวาห์นั้นไม่ต้องพูดถึง เฮเลน่าอายุมากเกินไปและไม่ใช่สตรีที่เหมาะสมจะแต่งงานด้วย ส่วนเฮเลน่าก็คิดว่าเอ็ดการ์ไม่ใช่คนในชนชั้นเดียวกับหล่อน ทว่า ในฤดูกาลแห่งปาฏิหาริย์อันเกินคิดฝันนี้ บางสิ่งที่แสนมหัศจรรย์กำลังจะเกิดขึ้น บางสิ่งที่จะเปลี่ยนความคิดและพลิกผันหัวใจของพวกเขาไปตลอดกาล...
280 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
321 people are currently reading
1513 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
196 books6,276 followersMary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 281 reviews
December 30, 2013
4.5 stars
It’s stories like this one, in which the author takes a big risk with one of her principal characters, which serves to remind me just why it is that Mary Balogh became such a renowned author of historical romances and has remained at the top of the tree for so many years.
Because she’s been writing for so long, it’s sometimes easy to forget that her stories often feature characters and plotlines that were – and are still – unusual in the genre. A Christmas Bride, looks, from the old Signet cover, as though it will be a nice, comfortable story about, well, a Christmas Bride! – when in reality it’s anything but.
At the age of thirty-six, wealthy self-made man Mr Edgar Downes has decided that it’s probably about time he got married and so goes to London to see if he can find a suitable young woman to wed. Handsome, somewhat imposing of figure and definitely imposing of character, he finds most of the young ladies he meets with too insipid for his taste. But at the first ball he attends, he catches sight of a very striking, more mature woman in an eye-catching scarlet dress and finds himself very drawn to her.
The reverse is also true – and it’s not long before Edgar and the mysterious woman are hot-footing it away from the ball and into the lady’s bed for a passionate one-night-stand, with neither having any clue as to the identity of the other.
Being a gentleman - if not by birth, then most definitely by inclination - Edgar is rather ashamed of himself after the fact, and worries that he may have been too rough; the lady has no such concerns and doesn’t want to see him again. But Edgar is no green boy. He’s a determined and resourceful man in his prime who is used to getting his own way and making things happen, and when he discovers the identity of his mystery lady, he pays her a call, determined to apologise for his behaviour - only to find the lady completely unrepentant and undesirous of accepting any apology.
Helena, Lady Stapleton has been a widow for around fifteen years, having been married at the age of nineteen to a man in his fifties. She is fiercely independent to the point of rudeness and is absolutely adamant that she will never let a man control her life, so adamant in fact that it’s almost an obsession with her. The reader, like Edgar, begins to suspect that she must have suffered from some kind of abuse during her marriage, but in reality that is not the case.
( I realise from reading other reviews that this book is a sequel to A Precious Jewel and that there is more to be learned about Helena in that book (her stepson, Sir Gerald Stapleton is the hero, with Helena cast in the role of the villain). I haven’t read Jewel yet, but will certainly do so in the near future. I didn’t think that I missed out by not having read it before this book because the story is full and complete, so I think it’s safe to say A Christmas Bride can stand alone.)
As the story progresses, Helena becomes more and more determined to have nothing to do with Edgar, even though she is still very much attracted to him; and Edgar is more and more determined to find out what makes Helena tick, because he is coming to realise that perhaps she is just the woman for him. He needs someone who can hold their own with him – not a much younger woman who will be overawed by his physical size and personality and who will almost certainly become a doormat very quickly. One of the most engaging things about Edgar – who is a very attractive hero by any standards – is his self-awareness. He knows he’s a dominant personality who is apt to use whatever means necessary to achieve his ends, and he’s honest enough with himself to recognise that getting his own way all the time is not always in his own best interest.
Helena is not only older than the norm for heroines in historical romance (she’s the same age as Edgar) she’s also abrasive, obstinate, rude and often downright unpleasant. She doesn’t want anyone to get close to her, even as she is able to admit to herself that she’s lonely; but she continues to present herself to society as a “merry widow” who is happy in her solitary state. She is thought to have had numerous lovers, and does nothing to correct society’s belief on that point – but because nobody knows anything for certain, she maintains her social position.
In reality, Helena’s unpleasant manner is a way of keeping people at arms’ length, and her façade of mockery and superciliousness covers a well of intense self-loathing and the belief that she is liable to destroy the life of anyone to whom she gets close. So she allows no-one to get close to her and maintains the belief that something she did in her past was so unforgiveable that she does not deserve happiness or love.
I loved the way that Edgar so carefully and cleverly persevered with Helena. It would have been so easy for him to have given up on her or just accepted the little she was prepared to give him, but he doesn’t, instead offering her kindness, comfort and affection in exchange for her harsh words and dismissiveness. Even more impressive was the way in which he did all this without compromising his masculinity or becoming Helena's whipping boy.
Because I haven’t yet read the previous book, I don’t quite know the full extent of the horrible thing Helena did that has led her to believe she is worthless and undeserving. But I think the point is not whether what she did was really that terrible, but rather that she believes it was – and this is something which Edgar also understands intuitively when he decides that Helena has spent long enough in a hell of her own making, and takes steps towards setting things straight.
Alongside the tempestuous central relationship, there are a couple of sweet secondary romances, and we also become reacquainted with a number of characters from some of the other books in this series, most notably the Marquess and Marchioness of Carew from Lord Carew's Bride. As with A Christmas Promise, which I read recently, Christmas works its own kind of magic in the story, and there are some wonderful familial relationships and friendships in the book, especially the one between Edgar and his father. It makes a nice change to read a father/son relationship where the two actually love and respect each other rather than being at each others’ throats!
I enjoyed A Christmas Bride very much, and was especially impressed with the way Ms Balogh redeemed her thoroughly unlikeable heroine throughout the course of the story. Edgar is a wonderful hero – formidable in many ways, he’s also intelligent and highly intuitive; he and Helena are certainly going to be leading each other a merry dance in the coming years, but they are, in the end, a very well-matched couple.
This title has recently been re-issued with another of Mary Balogh’s Christmas-themed books, A Christmas Beau as a “two-in-one”, in print format only.
It’s stories like this one, in which the author takes a big risk with one of her principal characters, which serves to remind me just why it is that Mary Balogh became such a renowned author of historical romances and has remained at the top of the tree for so many years.
Because she’s been writing for so long, it’s sometimes easy to forget that her stories often feature characters and plotlines that were – and are still – unusual in the genre. A Christmas Bride, looks, from the old Signet cover, as though it will be a nice, comfortable story about, well, a Christmas Bride! – when in reality it’s anything but.
At the age of thirty-six, wealthy self-made man Mr Edgar Downes has decided that it’s probably about time he got married and so goes to London to see if he can find a suitable young woman to wed. Handsome, somewhat imposing of figure and definitely imposing of character, he finds most of the young ladies he meets with too insipid for his taste. But at the first ball he attends, he catches sight of a very striking, more mature woman in an eye-catching scarlet dress and finds himself very drawn to her.
The reverse is also true – and it’s not long before Edgar and the mysterious woman are hot-footing it away from the ball and into the lady’s bed for a passionate one-night-stand, with neither having any clue as to the identity of the other.
Being a gentleman - if not by birth, then most definitely by inclination - Edgar is rather ashamed of himself after the fact, and worries that he may have been too rough; the lady has no such concerns and doesn’t want to see him again. But Edgar is no green boy. He’s a determined and resourceful man in his prime who is used to getting his own way and making things happen, and when he discovers the identity of his mystery lady, he pays her a call, determined to apologise for his behaviour - only to find the lady completely unrepentant and undesirous of accepting any apology.
Helena, Lady Stapleton has been a widow for around fifteen years, having been married at the age of nineteen to a man in his fifties. She is fiercely independent to the point of rudeness and is absolutely adamant that she will never let a man control her life, so adamant in fact that it’s almost an obsession with her. The reader, like Edgar, begins to suspect that she must have suffered from some kind of abuse during her marriage, but in reality that is not the case.
( I realise from reading other reviews that this book is a sequel to A Precious Jewel and that there is more to be learned about Helena in that book (her stepson, Sir Gerald Stapleton is the hero, with Helena cast in the role of the villain). I haven’t read Jewel yet, but will certainly do so in the near future. I didn’t think that I missed out by not having read it before this book because the story is full and complete, so I think it’s safe to say A Christmas Bride can stand alone.)
As the story progresses, Helena becomes more and more determined to have nothing to do with Edgar, even though she is still very much attracted to him; and Edgar is more and more determined to find out what makes Helena tick, because he is coming to realise that perhaps she is just the woman for him. He needs someone who can hold their own with him – not a much younger woman who will be overawed by his physical size and personality and who will almost certainly become a doormat very quickly. One of the most engaging things about Edgar – who is a very attractive hero by any standards – is his self-awareness. He knows he’s a dominant personality who is apt to use whatever means necessary to achieve his ends, and he’s honest enough with himself to recognise that getting his own way all the time is not always in his own best interest.
Helena is not only older than the norm for heroines in historical romance (she’s the same age as Edgar) she’s also abrasive, obstinate, rude and often downright unpleasant. She doesn’t want anyone to get close to her, even as she is able to admit to herself that she’s lonely; but she continues to present herself to society as a “merry widow” who is happy in her solitary state. She is thought to have had numerous lovers, and does nothing to correct society’s belief on that point – but because nobody knows anything for certain, she maintains her social position.
In reality, Helena’s unpleasant manner is a way of keeping people at arms’ length, and her façade of mockery and superciliousness covers a well of intense self-loathing and the belief that she is liable to destroy the life of anyone to whom she gets close. So she allows no-one to get close to her and maintains the belief that something she did in her past was so unforgiveable that she does not deserve happiness or love.
I loved the way that Edgar so carefully and cleverly persevered with Helena. It would have been so easy for him to have given up on her or just accepted the little she was prepared to give him, but he doesn’t, instead offering her kindness, comfort and affection in exchange for her harsh words and dismissiveness. Even more impressive was the way in which he did all this without compromising his masculinity or becoming Helena's whipping boy.
Because I haven’t yet read the previous book, I don’t quite know the full extent of the horrible thing Helena did that has led her to believe she is worthless and undeserving. But I think the point is not whether what she did was really that terrible, but rather that she believes it was – and this is something which Edgar also understands intuitively when he decides that Helena has spent long enough in a hell of her own making, and takes steps towards setting things straight.
Alongside the tempestuous central relationship, there are a couple of sweet secondary romances, and we also become reacquainted with a number of characters from some of the other books in this series, most notably the Marquess and Marchioness of Carew from Lord Carew's Bride. As with A Christmas Promise, which I read recently, Christmas works its own kind of magic in the story, and there are some wonderful familial relationships and friendships in the book, especially the one between Edgar and his father. It makes a nice change to read a father/son relationship where the two actually love and respect each other rather than being at each others’ throats!
I enjoyed A Christmas Bride very much, and was especially impressed with the way Ms Balogh redeemed her thoroughly unlikeable heroine throughout the course of the story. Edgar is a wonderful hero – formidable in many ways, he’s also intelligent and highly intuitive; he and Helena are certainly going to be leading each other a merry dance in the coming years, but they are, in the end, a very well-matched couple.
This title has recently been re-issued with another of Mary Balogh’s Christmas-themed books, A Christmas Beau as a “two-in-one”, in print format only.
August 2, 2020
This was kind of a disaster and a fundamentally incomplete story to boot. It's a very awkward follow-on from events in A Precious Jewel with a lot of character development left to that story. Which I haven't read. And never will given how very gothicly melodramatic it seems to have been. Which made rather a lot of this book kind of opaque and uncomfortable. Primary in this is how deeply broken Helena is. And by deeply broken I mean pathological with a side of self-hatred that was wearying within the first time we meet her.
Still, I stayed with it to the end. That's because Edgar is awesome. And his family doesn't suck (though the domestic bliss was a bit much, coming as this does at the end of a romance series where a bunch of happy marriages have been blessed with bundles of children). So yeah, I was in it for Edgar, pretty much from start to finish. I only wish he'd had someone worth falling in love with. Someone not Helena. Helenot. Who was a psychotic poohead.
A note about Steamy: Edging high with three all-out explicit sex scenes and references to others. It doesn't help that Helena is a psychotic minx with completely opaque motivation pretty much right from the start.
Still, I stayed with it to the end. That's because Edgar is awesome. And his family doesn't suck (though the domestic bliss was a bit much, coming as this does at the end of a romance series where a bunch of happy marriages have been blessed with bundles of children). So yeah, I was in it for Edgar, pretty much from start to finish. I only wish he'd had someone worth falling in love with. Someone not Helena. Helenot. Who was a psychotic poohead.
A note about Steamy: Edging high with three all-out explicit sex scenes and references to others. It doesn't help that Helena is a psychotic minx with completely opaque motivation pretty much right from the start.
August 25, 2019
So far I've only read A Christmas Bride, but it was problematic af.
Here's what happens in A Christmas Bride:
- A wealthy 36-year-old man who made his fortune in trade goes to London to be somewhat accepted by the ton with the goal of finding a wife by Christmas. He doesn't want to marry anyone too young, so it's a bit of a struggle.
- Also, he gets seduced on his first night by a sexy widow, Helena. So, you know, that's distracting.
- But then they hate each other afterwards because reasons? She's mad because it was so awesome and she hates men and herself and all things?
- Only turns out, because novel rules, she's preggers, so he insists they get married, but she swears she'll not let him touch her and they will be unhappy.
- Edgar decides he loves her even though he doesn't like her, and they get married right before Christmas at his family home with him full of optimism.
- Helena immediately decides she wants to do the sex despite her proclamation of never letting him touch her again. This is more reason for self-loathing.
- Finally, the truth of Helena's tragic back story comes out. It's seemed like her husband had been abusive, but it turns out he was only emotionally abusive to his son who was not traditionally masculine (because he liked to play piano). Helena tried to take care of step-son Gerald, only five years her junior, until he turned 18 and she tried to start a sexual relationship with him several times.
- Edgar sees how sad she is, so he tracks down Gerald to force him to confront his abuser and give her forgiveness. Gerald REALLY does not want to but is eventually talked into it. He goes, and of course everyone is cleansed by the whole experience.
I find so much of this narrative upsetting, not least the insistence on forgiving a person of power attempting to sexually abuse a child, even if he wasn't too much younger. There's also the fact that Helena's painted as the victim in everything, and the fact that she initially seems a confident woman in charge of her sexuality when that couldn't be further from the case.
Until the big reveal, I wasn't a fan of the book because it was boring and the characters rather flat, but that really turned it into one of Balogh's worst books.
Here's what happens in A Christmas Bride:
- A wealthy 36-year-old man who made his fortune in trade goes to London to be somewhat accepted by the ton with the goal of finding a wife by Christmas. He doesn't want to marry anyone too young, so it's a bit of a struggle.
- Also, he gets seduced on his first night by a sexy widow, Helena. So, you know, that's distracting.
- But then they hate each other afterwards because reasons? She's mad because it was so awesome and she hates men and herself and all things?
- Only turns out, because novel rules, she's preggers, so he insists they get married, but she swears she'll not let him touch her and they will be unhappy.
- Edgar decides he loves her even though he doesn't like her, and they get married right before Christmas at his family home with him full of optimism.
- Helena immediately decides she wants to do the sex despite her proclamation of never letting him touch her again. This is more reason for self-loathing.
- Finally, the truth of Helena's tragic back story comes out. It's seemed like her husband had been abusive, but it turns out he was only emotionally abusive to his son who was not traditionally masculine (because he liked to play piano). Helena tried to take care of step-son Gerald, only five years her junior, until he turned 18 and she tried to start a sexual relationship with him several times.
- Edgar sees how sad she is, so he tracks down Gerald to force him to confront his abuser and give her forgiveness. Gerald REALLY does not want to but is eventually talked into it. He goes, and of course everyone is cleansed by the whole experience.
I find so much of this narrative upsetting, not least the insistence on forgiving a person of power attempting to sexually abuse a child, even if he wasn't too much younger. There's also the fact that Helena's painted as the victim in everything, and the fact that she initially seems a confident woman in charge of her sexuality when that couldn't be further from the case.
Until the big reveal, I wasn't a fan of the book because it was boring and the characters rather flat, but that really turned it into one of Balogh's worst books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
hr-purgatory
January 13, 2016Welcome to my
HR Purgatory shelf
!
In Roman Catholicism, the purgatory is where the souls of the dead wander in an indefinite state. They stay in such a state unless they "become fit for heaven" at some point. Similarly, this shelf is where books that I am warned about stay—untouched and unread—unless a very compelling reason forces me to read them.
***
Reason(s) for putting A Christmas Bride in this shelf:
The heroine tried to seduce her stepson in a previous book. Eeeeeeeeew. *pukes*
***
Thank you, Nenya, for your review!
Nenya's Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In Roman Catholicism, the purgatory is where the souls of the dead wander in an indefinite state. They stay in such a state unless they "become fit for heaven" at some point. Similarly, this shelf is where books that I am warned about stay—untouched and unread—unless a very compelling reason forces me to read them.
***
Reason(s) for putting A Christmas Bride in this shelf:
The heroine tried to seduce her stepson in a previous book. Eeeeeeeeew. *pukes*
***
Thank you, Nenya, for your review!
Nenya's Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 4, 2012
I was whelmed.
It is possible that these two novellas suffered from being read back to back, but on the whole, they weren't amazing.
In A Christmas Bride, Edgar Downes decides to marry a well-born woman of roughly his own age. He fixes on an apparently happy widow in a scarlet dress and there is a very low pre-negotiation hookup. Then he discovers that she is Secretly Tortured. And then they get married because... he wants to, and she is too filled with self-loathing to fight him? And then of course there is healing sex. And surprise confrontations at Christmas. Everyone loves that. On the other hand, I enjoyed the interactions of the adult characters with the children, and I thought the aunt was awesome.
In Christmas Beau, Judith is a young widow with two children. Her jilted ex concocts an elaborate revenge plot to make her fall in love with him and then break her heart like she'd broken his. Part of this cunning plan is making her really happy to be having Christmas with him and being nice to her kids and then seducing her. Dastardly! I'm just saying, if I had a stalker ex this bad at communicating his feelings with me and/or accepting rejection, I would be worried. Really worried. Again, the chaperone character and the kids were awfully endearing.
Also, the sex scenes didn't really serve to advance our understanding of the characters. Boring! Or rather, there was not enough character development to justify the level of detail, to me.
Read if: You are an inveterate Christmas Regency reader. You probably won't be bothered by the domineering nature of the male leads. You want more romances with adorable moppets.
Skip if: You have other Christmas Regency books to read. You are not fond of the dude being a coercive jerk. Small children collecting mistletoe leave you cold.
Read instead:
Snowy Night with a Stranger
It is possible that these two novellas suffered from being read back to back, but on the whole, they weren't amazing.
In A Christmas Bride, Edgar Downes decides to marry a well-born woman of roughly his own age. He fixes on an apparently happy widow in a scarlet dress and there is a very low pre-negotiation hookup. Then he discovers that she is Secretly Tortured. And then they get married because... he wants to, and she is too filled with self-loathing to fight him? And then of course there is healing sex. And surprise confrontations at Christmas. Everyone loves that. On the other hand, I enjoyed the interactions of the adult characters with the children, and I thought the aunt was awesome.
In Christmas Beau, Judith is a young widow with two children. Her jilted ex concocts an elaborate revenge plot to make her fall in love with him and then break her heart like she'd broken his. Part of this cunning plan is making her really happy to be having Christmas with him and being nice to her kids and then seducing her. Dastardly! I'm just saying, if I had a stalker ex this bad at communicating his feelings with me and/or accepting rejection, I would be worried. Really worried. Again, the chaperone character and the kids were awfully endearing.
Also, the sex scenes didn't really serve to advance our understanding of the characters. Boring! Or rather, there was not enough character development to justify the level of detail, to me.
Read if: You are an inveterate Christmas Regency reader. You probably won't be bothered by the domineering nature of the male leads. You want more romances with adorable moppets.
Skip if: You have other Christmas Regency books to read. You are not fond of the dude being a coercive jerk. Small children collecting mistletoe leave you cold.
Read instead:
Snowy Night with a Stranger
December 1, 2015
Two re-issued Mary Balogh Christmas-themed Regencies.
A CHRISTMAS BRIDE (1997) 2 stars
Not many authors can capture spirit of Christmas quite like Mary Balogh. She also excels at tackling some difficult situations in a way that allows readers to identify with the characters and really invest in the stories. But she missed the boat with this one.
The heroine is Gerald's wicked stepmother, Helena Stapleton, from A Precious Jewel and the hero is Cora’s brother, Edgar Downes, from The Famous Heroine. Their one-night-stand resulted in pregnancy and subsequent marriage. Helena is a tortured woman who believes herself unworthy of love or forgiveness for the sins of her past. She is in a great deal of pain, and she masks it by being haughty, snarky and mocking. Edgar is almost a perfect hero, a "savior". Since I read A PRECIOUS JEWEL, I didn’t expect to like Helena but I was hoping the author could give me reasons to change my opinion of her. This didn’t happen. Her feeling of guilt was overplayed. Her constant smirking was overdone. Her behavior toward the hero was awful and could be summed up with the appealingly repetitive phrases: ‘Damn you, Edgar' and ‘I hated you for (insert your pick here).’
Compared to the rest of the series (DARK ANGEL, LORD CAREW'S BRIDE, A FAMOUS HEROINE, THE PLUMED BONNET) this book is a disappointment. In those stories, I felt the characters grow, mature, and change, and learn to trust their partners. It really didn’t happen here. The required HEA was not reassuring.
CHRISTMAS BEAU (1991) 4 stars
Eight years ago, Judith Easton was betrothed to Max, Marques of Denbigh. She was a young girl of 18, and totally misinterpreted his overwhelming love, his anxiety to please, his inability to express himself and relax around her as coldness, morose, and harshness. They had been engaged for two months before she eloped with another man who was all charms and romance. But the marriage was a disillusionment: her husband spent most of his time away from her and their children, in debauchery and drinking.
Eight years later, Judith, now widowed, returns to London, and encounters her former fiancé once more. Max was devastated by Judith's betrayal. His love for her turned to hatred, and he wanted revenge, he wanted to break her heart.
But this is Christmas, a time for love and peace and forgiveness, not a time for darkness and hatred. Can Max really sustain his desire for vengeance in the face of the woman he still loves? Can these two people ever learn to trust one another?
The author got everything right in this story. The hero and heroine are very well drawn; the tension between the two is palpable, and the hero's crisis of conscience is very believable. A heartwarming cast of supporting characters enhances a seasonal theme of love, forgiveness, and hope.
A CHRISTMAS BRIDE (1997) 2 stars
Not many authors can capture spirit of Christmas quite like Mary Balogh. She also excels at tackling some difficult situations in a way that allows readers to identify with the characters and really invest in the stories. But she missed the boat with this one.
The heroine is Gerald's wicked stepmother, Helena Stapleton, from A Precious Jewel and the hero is Cora’s brother, Edgar Downes, from The Famous Heroine. Their one-night-stand resulted in pregnancy and subsequent marriage. Helena is a tortured woman who believes herself unworthy of love or forgiveness for the sins of her past. She is in a great deal of pain, and she masks it by being haughty, snarky and mocking. Edgar is almost a perfect hero, a "savior". Since I read A PRECIOUS JEWEL, I didn’t expect to like Helena but I was hoping the author could give me reasons to change my opinion of her. This didn’t happen. Her feeling of guilt was overplayed. Her constant smirking was overdone. Her behavior toward the hero was awful and could be summed up with the appealingly repetitive phrases: ‘Damn you, Edgar' and ‘I hated you for (insert your pick here).’
Compared to the rest of the series (DARK ANGEL, LORD CAREW'S BRIDE, A FAMOUS HEROINE, THE PLUMED BONNET) this book is a disappointment. In those stories, I felt the characters grow, mature, and change, and learn to trust their partners. It really didn’t happen here. The required HEA was not reassuring.
CHRISTMAS BEAU (1991) 4 stars
Eight years ago, Judith Easton was betrothed to Max, Marques of Denbigh. She was a young girl of 18, and totally misinterpreted his overwhelming love, his anxiety to please, his inability to express himself and relax around her as coldness, morose, and harshness. They had been engaged for two months before she eloped with another man who was all charms and romance. But the marriage was a disillusionment: her husband spent most of his time away from her and their children, in debauchery and drinking.
Eight years later, Judith, now widowed, returns to London, and encounters her former fiancé once more. Max was devastated by Judith's betrayal. His love for her turned to hatred, and he wanted revenge, he wanted to break her heart.
But this is Christmas, a time for love and peace and forgiveness, not a time for darkness and hatred. Can Max really sustain his desire for vengeance in the face of the woman he still loves? Can these two people ever learn to trust one another?
The author got everything right in this story. The hero and heroine are very well drawn; the tension between the two is palpable, and the hero's crisis of conscience is very believable. A heartwarming cast of supporting characters enhances a seasonal theme of love, forgiveness, and hope.
September 2, 2016
Honestly, I had considered not reading this historical romance. It was the last story in the Stapleton-Downes series but it contained the crusty Edgar Downes, Cora's brother, from THE FAMOUS HEROINE. And added to the mix was Lady Helena Stapleton, the suggestive and precocious step-mother from A PRECIOUS JEWEL. As someone else mentioned, at minimum, you should have read and enjoyed the above stories before attempting ACB. Of course, it would help to read the entire series because a bumper-crop of returning characters are mentioned in this romance.
I really wanted to say nice things about this story. It is the last book in this series and I had high hopes.
STOP!. Only read the spoiler if you do NOT plan on reading the book after what I just told you. I am doing you a favor by telling you that all the secondary characters continue to happily live their lives.
Now, for the spoiler.
I really wanted to say nice things about this story. It is the last book in this series and I had high hopes.
STOP!. Only read the spoiler if you do NOT plan on reading the book after what I just told you. I am doing you a favor by telling you that all the secondary characters continue to happily live their lives.
Now, for the spoiler.
January 8, 2018
2 re-issued Balogh Christmas-themed Regencies for the price of one. Seems like a great deal.
A CHRISTMAS BRIDE (1997) is the story of a very cold, unlikeable, seemingly unredeemable heroine, while CHRISTMAS BEAU (1991) parallels this with a seemingly cold, vindictive hero. Not exactly my idea of warm and fuzzy for Christmas, but Balogh makes it work (up to a point). I can't say I enjoyed reading these two stories very much. As a matter of fact, the 2 main characters of both were so off-putting for me that I could not give the books more than 3 stars, in spite of Balogh's skillful storytelling.
The heroine of A CHRISTMAS BRIDE is widow Helena, the evil stepmother to be found in Balogh's A Precious Jewel. She has some major baggage, unhappiness and huge feelings of guilt about her relationship with her stepson. Instead of trying to repair the breach, she becomes a brittle, cold, lonely, unpleasant, cynical woman. At a party she attracts middle class, wealthy businessman Edgar Downes, brother of Cora from THE FAMOUS HEROINE (The Famous Heroine/The Plumed Bonnet), and the two have a one-night stand, Regency-style. At first, they don't like each other much outside of bed, but it's a romance, so just sit back and enjoy Helena's redemption through the love of a good man. (And Edgar is a good man. Helena doesn't deserve him.)
In CHRISTMAS BEAU Max, the hero, aka the Marquess of Denbigh, was a bit hard for me to stomach. 8 years earlier, Max was engaged to marry Judith, who jilted him to run off with a personable, handsome rake. Now Judith is a widow with two young children. During all this time, Max feels resentment, bitterness and a desire for revenge. One wonders why he couldn't just let it go and get on with his life. But no, he's creepily obsessive and resentful. Something he does to Judith very close to the end of the story (perhaps 30 pages before its close) was unforgivable, IMO. His Christmas redemption was very slow and subtle and not as successful as I would have liked it to be, considering the awful thing he does to Judith when his change of heart is supposedly well on its way to completion.
As usual, Balogh's writing is pleasant. She gives us little glimpses of life in Regency England with era-appropriate behavior and speech. And it's always fun to see how characters in one of her books are related in some way to characters of another book. It doesn't even require 6 Degrees of Separation to find some relationship. Unfortunately, this time the stories were ruined for me because I did not have enough Christmas spirit to forgive the behavior of the heroine of the first and the hero of the second.
A CHRISTMAS BRIDE (1997) is the story of a very cold, unlikeable, seemingly unredeemable heroine, while CHRISTMAS BEAU (1991) parallels this with a seemingly cold, vindictive hero. Not exactly my idea of warm and fuzzy for Christmas, but Balogh makes it work (up to a point). I can't say I enjoyed reading these two stories very much. As a matter of fact, the 2 main characters of both were so off-putting for me that I could not give the books more than 3 stars, in spite of Balogh's skillful storytelling.
The heroine of A CHRISTMAS BRIDE is widow Helena, the evil stepmother to be found in Balogh's A Precious Jewel. She has some major baggage, unhappiness and huge feelings of guilt about her relationship with her stepson. Instead of trying to repair the breach, she becomes a brittle, cold, lonely, unpleasant, cynical woman. At a party she attracts middle class, wealthy businessman Edgar Downes, brother of Cora from THE FAMOUS HEROINE (The Famous Heroine/The Plumed Bonnet), and the two have a one-night stand, Regency-style. At first, they don't like each other much outside of bed, but it's a romance, so just sit back and enjoy Helena's redemption through the love of a good man. (And Edgar is a good man. Helena doesn't deserve him.)
In CHRISTMAS BEAU Max, the hero, aka the Marquess of Denbigh, was a bit hard for me to stomach. 8 years earlier, Max was engaged to marry Judith, who jilted him to run off with a personable, handsome rake. Now Judith is a widow with two young children. During all this time, Max feels resentment, bitterness and a desire for revenge. One wonders why he couldn't just let it go and get on with his life. But no, he's creepily obsessive and resentful. Something he does to Judith very close to the end of the story (perhaps 30 pages before its close) was unforgivable, IMO. His Christmas redemption was very slow and subtle and not as successful as I would have liked it to be, considering the awful thing he does to Judith when his change of heart is supposedly well on its way to completion.
As usual, Balogh's writing is pleasant. She gives us little glimpses of life in Regency England with era-appropriate behavior and speech. And it's always fun to see how characters in one of her books are related in some way to characters of another book. It doesn't even require 6 Degrees of Separation to find some relationship. Unfortunately, this time the stories were ruined for me because I did not have enough Christmas spirit to forgive the behavior of the heroine of the first and the hero of the second.
September 3, 2014
Helena is a beautiful, bitter widow, when she spies Edgar Downes across a crowded Society drawing room. One night of passion later, they go their separate ways--Helena to wallow in her guilt, and Edgar to find a ton-ish wife. Except that one night refuses to remain in the past... (Pregnancy; I'm talking about babies.) There's all the markings of a true Christmas story at hand: self-loathing! snow-fights! an entire FLEET OF CHILDREN!
1. Another I'm glad to have read, even if the heroine initially drove me up a fucking wall. So beautiful, so bitter, so...infuriating. I didn't have the history of A Precious Jewel to understand the reasoning for her self-loathing and so it took patience (and spoilers) to make it through the early chapters.
2. The true highlight of this book was said development of Helena, and her dealing with her guilt and shame and regret for what she had been and what she had done.
3. ON AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT NOTE: Post-book gatherings of many couples are officially The Worst. It just gets so discouraging and frustrating to see 2, 3, 4, 10 Happiest Couples all in a row, especially when all the characters / couples are so damnably interchangeable. Other than Cora and Francis and Gerald and Priss, there didn't seem to be ANY distinguishing characteristics.
And mostly it's frustrating because all these couples are just so...BLAH, in some ways? Like, 1. All are Super Comfortable with children! 2. All are Fertile as Fuck. 3. They're so Confident and Comfortable with all the people! 4. PDA ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Here's the thing: where are my introverted heroines? My barren heroines? My heroines who are terrified of children? My loud heroines? My brash heroines? My blunt heroines, my fearful heroines? My heroines who stutter? My heroines who are cold and calm and cool, even after 13 years of wedded bliss, at least in company? Why must all heroines (and heroes, by extension) be always warm and welcoming and eager to make 40 new bosom friends? Where are the heroines who fall in love and still have struggles--who discover that love doesn't solve all ills?
I know these books are out there--I've read a few, even! They exist! I just want MORE. Because I'm an inherently greedy thing, apparently.
1. Another I'm glad to have read, even if the heroine initially drove me up a fucking wall. So beautiful, so bitter, so...infuriating. I didn't have the history of A Precious Jewel to understand the reasoning for her self-loathing and so it took patience (and spoilers) to make it through the early chapters.
2. The true highlight of this book was said development of Helena, and her dealing with her guilt and shame and regret for what she had been and what she had done.
3. ON AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT NOTE: Post-book gatherings of many couples are officially The Worst. It just gets so discouraging and frustrating to see 2, 3, 4, 10 Happiest Couples all in a row, especially when all the characters / couples are so damnably interchangeable. Other than Cora and Francis and Gerald and Priss, there didn't seem to be ANY distinguishing characteristics.
And mostly it's frustrating because all these couples are just so...BLAH, in some ways? Like, 1. All are Super Comfortable with children! 2. All are Fertile as Fuck. 3. They're so Confident and Comfortable with all the people! 4. PDA ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Here's the thing: where are my introverted heroines? My barren heroines? My heroines who are terrified of children? My loud heroines? My brash heroines? My blunt heroines, my fearful heroines? My heroines who stutter? My heroines who are cold and calm and cool, even after 13 years of wedded bliss, at least in company? Why must all heroines (and heroes, by extension) be always warm and welcoming and eager to make 40 new bosom friends? Where are the heroines who fall in love and still have struggles--who discover that love doesn't solve all ills?
I know these books are out there--I've read a few, even! They exist! I just want MORE. Because I'm an inherently greedy thing, apparently.
May 19, 2010
Please do not bother to read this book unless you've read "A Precious Jewel". Even then, the only reason that I'd recommend reading this book are for readers like me that loved loved loved "A Precious Jewel" and want to see what happens next in the lives of Pris and Gerald.
A Christmas Bride isn't really all that good. It features Gerald's stepmother from the book "A Precious Jewel" and casts her as the heroine of this book. She isn't very nice. She is a tortured woman who believes herself unworthy of love or forgiveness for the sins of her past involving Gerald.
The hero is the brother of Cora from "The Famous Heroine" and I really liked his character. He was the "savior" in this book as it was Helena that needed "rescuing". The romance was awful...I did not believe that these two people loved eachother at anytime throughout the book. Helena was just too flaky and weird for me, and although they were married...I couldn't help but feel that without the pregnancy, there never would have been a wedding and that HE would have been better off! Not a great feeling to have after reading a romance novel!
The appearences from past couples from all the prequels and especially Gerald and Pris from "A Precious Jewel" make it worth the read, but do not waste your time with this one if you plan to read it all by itself.
A Christmas Bride isn't really all that good. It features Gerald's stepmother from the book "A Precious Jewel" and casts her as the heroine of this book. She isn't very nice. She is a tortured woman who believes herself unworthy of love or forgiveness for the sins of her past involving Gerald.
The hero is the brother of Cora from "The Famous Heroine" and I really liked his character. He was the "savior" in this book as it was Helena that needed "rescuing". The romance was awful...I did not believe that these two people loved eachother at anytime throughout the book. Helena was just too flaky and weird for me, and although they were married...I couldn't help but feel that without the pregnancy, there never would have been a wedding and that HE would have been better off! Not a great feeling to have after reading a romance novel!
The appearences from past couples from all the prequels and especially Gerald and Pris from "A Precious Jewel" make it worth the read, but do not waste your time with this one if you plan to read it all by itself.
April 5, 2024
In this regency romance, Helena and Edgar meet at a social function where Edgar is trying to find a bride before Christmas. Helena seduces him and they wind up spending the night together. The steamy scenes were super steamy! However, Helena is the queen of push and pull and as soon as the passion is through, she coldly dismisses Edgar.
I found myself really drawn into the writing, especially enamored with the secondary characters, and charmed by the Christmas setting.
I found myself really drawn into the writing, especially enamored with the secondary characters, and charmed by the Christmas setting.
March 11, 2025
I'm not sure who was pestering Mary Balogh to make sure she wrote the story of the stepmother who groped her only slightly younger stepson and sent him fleeing his home and setting off his lifetime embrace of misogyny but here we are.
Helena has been mired in self-hatred for the past 11 years. She was married to Gerald's (of A Precious Jewel) father, a man 38 years her senior for seven years until he died. She and Gerald had been close, until he turned 18 and she groped him in a way that would absolutely be characterized as CSA today. She feels she ruined Gerald's life and ability to love (not entirely wrongly) and knows she is beyond redemption. Enter Edgar Downes, extremely wealthy businessman whose father has urged him to find a wife. He goes to London with a big crew of friends and family we would know if we had read their series (I've read only one of their books) and locks gazes and later a lot more with the alluring widow.
Helena is like if negative attribution bias was a person. She is so bristly and feels so unworthy of kindness that she can't believe it when she sees it. They have extremely mutually satisfying relations (her first since her marriage, she's punishing herself in all ways) and "She wondered if he had set out to make a fool of her, or if mastery [making her come] came so naturally to him that he did not even think of her as a worthy adversary." Meanwhile poor Edgar is like, wow great bang...oh, you're insulting me...now I feel a little bad I was seduced...sorry if I was too much...lets try to pretend this never happened.
So they circle around each other, unable to be friends because of That Night, and always aware of the other. When That Night turns out to have Consequences, Edgar surprises them both by proposing. She's still awful to him, but mostly its bluster and battlements because she can sense what it would be like to be safe and protected by someone as strong-willed as she is, and she knows she is unworthy and undeserving. They do the Balogh Setting Change To The Family Home that signifies heightened emotional closeness, and she is embraced by Edgar's family and given the unconditional love she's never had. She slowly starts to soften and accept the closeness Edgar offers.
Edgar does a thing Balogh heroes frequently do, and tries to repair heroine family trauma. In this case by going to the nearby estate of Gerald and Priscilla and asking Gerald to forgive Helena. Because Edgar has a heart of gold, he sees that Gerald and Priscilla are isolated (due to her former job) and invites them to a houseful of his titled friends and family, who will then receive them into society. Eventually Gerald forgives her, she forgives herself, and she paves the way into bringing Priscilla into acceptance. Handled! The only thing left is for Ye Olde Double Standard where Edgar (who has been told by Helena that she's had TONS of lovers) gets to feel bad that she has experience (reminder, he's had mistresses, etc and she was widowed) only to be told as final love declaration that its only been him since her husband died. Whew!
This doesn't really stand alone. I mean you can pick up the gist of Helena's past, but you'll have no idea who anyone is or what their deal is. At least read Precious Jewel, but may as well read Ideal Wife too.
Helena has been mired in self-hatred for the past 11 years. She was married to Gerald's (of A Precious Jewel) father, a man 38 years her senior for seven years until he died. She and Gerald had been close, until he turned 18 and she groped him in a way that would absolutely be characterized as CSA today. She feels she ruined Gerald's life and ability to love (not entirely wrongly) and knows she is beyond redemption. Enter Edgar Downes, extremely wealthy businessman whose father has urged him to find a wife. He goes to London with a big crew of friends and family we would know if we had read their series (I've read only one of their books) and locks gazes and later a lot more with the alluring widow.
Helena is like if negative attribution bias was a person. She is so bristly and feels so unworthy of kindness that she can't believe it when she sees it. They have extremely mutually satisfying relations (her first since her marriage, she's punishing herself in all ways) and "She wondered if he had set out to make a fool of her, or if mastery [making her come] came so naturally to him that he did not even think of her as a worthy adversary." Meanwhile poor Edgar is like, wow great bang...oh, you're insulting me...now I feel a little bad I was seduced...sorry if I was too much...lets try to pretend this never happened.
So they circle around each other, unable to be friends because of That Night, and always aware of the other. When That Night turns out to have Consequences, Edgar surprises them both by proposing. She's still awful to him, but mostly its bluster and battlements because she can sense what it would be like to be safe and protected by someone as strong-willed as she is, and she knows she is unworthy and undeserving. They do the Balogh Setting Change To The Family Home that signifies heightened emotional closeness, and she is embraced by Edgar's family and given the unconditional love she's never had. She slowly starts to soften and accept the closeness Edgar offers.
Edgar does a thing Balogh heroes frequently do, and tries to repair heroine family trauma. In this case by going to the nearby estate of Gerald and Priscilla and asking Gerald to forgive Helena. Because Edgar has a heart of gold, he sees that Gerald and Priscilla are isolated (due to her former job) and invites them to a houseful of his titled friends and family, who will then receive them into society. Eventually Gerald forgives her, she forgives herself, and she paves the way into bringing Priscilla into acceptance. Handled! The only thing left is for Ye Olde Double Standard where Edgar (who has been told by Helena that she's had TONS of lovers) gets to feel bad that she has experience (reminder, he's had mistresses, etc and she was widowed) only to be told as final love declaration that its only been him since her husband died. Whew!
This doesn't really stand alone. I mean you can pick up the gist of Helena's past, but you'll have no idea who anyone is or what their deal is. At least read Precious Jewel, but may as well read Ideal Wife too.
November 27, 2022
Helena's story could have been a splendid novel, I mean her past story. (I see, she did appear in A Precious Jewel, but I read it three years ago and I barely remember it.)
I have only skimmed or skipped most of the book. I have even considered not finishing it. By the way, all those "damn", and "bedding" sounded odd in the genre.
As Linda wrote, and I agree with her: With little believability or chemistry, I actually thought that Ms. Balogh forced her writing to meet a publisher's deadline. Hence, the reason for her H/h's lack of depth. I expected much better from this author.
So, pick other Regency romances by the author. And if you want one with a Christmas atmosphere, I recommend Balough's Christmas Beau.
PS The most enjoyable moments were with Cora and Francis (from The Famous Heroine) as a married couple. They were better in here than in their own book.
[1.5 stars]
I have only skimmed or skipped most of the book. I have even considered not finishing it. By the way, all those "damn", and "bedding" sounded odd in the genre.
As Linda wrote, and I agree with her: With little believability or chemistry, I actually thought that Ms. Balogh forced her writing to meet a publisher's deadline. Hence, the reason for her H/h's lack of depth. I expected much better from this author.
So, pick other Regency romances by the author. And if you want one with a Christmas atmosphere, I recommend Balough's Christmas Beau.
PS The most enjoyable moments were with Cora and Francis (from The Famous Heroine) as a married couple. They were better in here than in their own book.
[1.5 stars]
May 19, 2018
3.5 I did enjoy the slow falling in love of the main characters...I also loved how the hate relationship slowly turned into love....there was a lot of confusion and most of the time the issues were unclear...and sometimes blown out of proportion. I loved the hero however. He was strong, determined, and gentle but firm in his approach in life and love.
December 24, 2020
มาถึงเล่มสุดท้ายในชุดแล้วค่ะ เล่มนี้เป็นเล่มของเอ็ดการ์ ดาวนส์ พี่ชายของคอร่า นางเอกในเล่มสาม เป็นพระเอกคนเดียวในชุดที่ไม่ใช่ชนชั้นศักดินา เขาเป็นเพียงลูกชายพ่อค้าที่ร่ำรวย
เอ็ดการ์ยังไม่ได้แต่งงานแม้จะอายุสามสิบหกปีแล้ว พ่อของเขาอยากเห็นลูกเป็นฝั่งเป็นฝาสักที จึงขอลูกสะใภ้ที่เป็นสุภาพสตรีจากตระกูลผู้ดีก่อนวันคริสต์มาสที่จะมาถึง เอ็ดการ์สัญญาว่าจะนำเจ้าสาวคริสต์มาสไปเป็นของขวัญให้พ่อ คอร่ากับฟรานซิสและเพื่อน ๆ ยืนยันจะช่วยเหลือเอ็ดการ์อย่างถึงที่สุด เอ็ดการ์จึงมาลอนดอนเพื่อแสวงหาเจ้าสาวสุภาพสตรีคนนั้น
หญิงส่วนใหญ่ที่น้องสาว น้องเขย และเพื่อน ๆ เล็งไว้ให้เขาเป็นหญิงสาวที่อ่อนวัยเอ็ดการ์นึกไปนึกมา ถ้าเจ้าสาวอายุสิบแปด แปลว่าตอนเขาอายุสิบแปด ผู้หญิงคนนี้ก็เพิ่งเกิด โอ๊ย ไม่เอา ๆ ขณะรู้สึกพลาดที่รับปากพ่อไป เอ็ดการ์ก็เจอสุภาพสตรีสาวพราวเสน่ห์ในชุดแดง
เฮเลน่า เลดี้สเตเปิลตัน ม่ายสาวผู้ลึกลับและเย้ายวนใจ
ใช่แล้วค่ะ นางเอกเป็นม่าย
ว้าย ตื่นเต้นอีกแล้ว ฮ่า ๆ
เฮเลน่าเคยแต่งงานแล้วกับสามีที่แก่คราวพ่อ ก็ถูกจับแต่งงานนั่นแหละค่ะ ตอนนั้นนางเอกอายุสิบเก้า อดีตสามีอายุห้าสิบสี่ ใช้ชีวิตอยู่ด้วยกันเจ็ดปี สามีก็ตายไป นางไว้ทุกข์ให้สามีสี่ปี พออายุสามสิบก็เหมือนสะดุ้งกับอายุ เลยลุกขึ้นมาปฏิวัติตัวเอง ออกท่องเที่ยว สนุกสนานกับงานเลี้ยงต่าง ๆ บริหารเสน่ห์ อยากทำอะไรก็ทำ ใช้ชีวิตให้คุ้ม จนถึงตอนนี้เฮเลน่าอายุสามสิบหก เท่าพระเอกเป๊ะ
นางเอกเป็นคนที่ดูร้อนแรง เซ็กซี่อวบอั๋น รู้จักพูดคุยบริหารเสน่ห์ รู้ว่าทำยังไงผู้ชายจะหลง หรือถ้านางไม่ชอบ จะปฏิเสธยังไง นางมักจะเป็นศูนย์กลางของวงสนทนา สรรหาเรื่องน่าสนใจมาพูดคุย
มีเรื่องซุบซิบในแบบที่เกือบจะอื้อฉาวเกี่ยวกับเฮเลน่ามากมาย แต่นางไม่แคร์ นางมีขอบเขตของตัวเองอยู่ รู้ว่าตราบใดที่ยังอยู่ในกรอบของสังคม (แม้จะหมิ่นเหม่เต็มที) นางก็ยังเป็นที่ต้อนรับ
เฮเลน่าสะดุดตาพระเอกในงานเลี้ยง ในใจน่ะเล็งผู้ชายคนนี้ละ แต่นางไม่ยอมเข้าไปทำความรู้จักตรง ๆ เพราะดูขาดชั้นเชิงเกินไป นางก็แสร้งคุยกับคนนู้นคนนี้ หว่านเสน่ห์หัวเราะเฮฮา แล้วในที่สุด คนในวงสนทนาก็ต้องแนะนำเขาให้หล่อนรู้จัก เฮเลน่าก็หันไปคุยด้วยนิดหน่อย ก่อนจะเสไปคุยกับคนอื่นต่อ
ต๊าย ร้ายนะหล่อน
พอสบช่อง พระเอกอยู่คนเดียว นางก็เอาเลยค่ะ แวบไปคุยกับพระเอก ก่อนจะบอกพระเอกว่าคนขับรถม้ากับคนรับใช้ของฉันกลับไปแล้ว คุณช่วยไปส่งฉันหน่อยนะคะ
พระเอก (ที่ถูกใจนางตั้งแต่แรกเห็น) จะทนไหวร้อ ก็ตามไปส่งค่ะ
แล้วก็โดนนางเอกลากขึ้นห้องไปกินรวบ อันที่จริงใครจัดการใครก็บอกไม่ได้แน่ชัด
สุดจะร้ายเลยเธอคนนี้
แต่จริง ๆ แล้วนางเอกไม่เคยมีอะไรกับผู้ชายคนอื่นนอกจากสามีของหล่อนนะคะ แค่หว่านเสน่ห์พอสนุกเฉย ๆ ที่ผ่านมาก็แค่คุยด้วยแล้วก็หาทางไล่ผู้ชายกลับ แต่แน่นอนว่ากับพระเอกต้องไม่เหมือนใคร แนว ๆ ว่าคนนี้พิเศษ นางต้านทานพระเอกไม่อยู่ สุดท้ายก็เลยลงเอยอย่างนี้
พอเสร็จแล้วนางก็ไล่พระเอกกลับ พระเอกก็กลับค่ะ แต่วันรุ่งขึ้นเขามาใหม่ มาขอโทษนางเอก ฮ่า ๆ นางเอกก็ด่าเลย จะบ้าเหรอยะมาขอโทษทำไม ตลกย่ะ นางยังว่าอีกว่า ฉันรู้ว่าคุณมาหาเจ้าสาวในลอนดอน แต่คนในชนชั้นสูงก็ชอบสนุกนะ ว่าง ๆ มาก็มาเที่ยวมาคุยกันอีกได้ พระเอกก็บอกว่า ไม่ละ ผมเป็นชนชั้นกลาง ขอมุ่งมั่นหาเจ้าสาวดีกว่า (แนว ๆ ว่าจะขอไม่เอาตัวไปยุ่งกับนางเอกอีกแล้ว) นางเอกก็เสียหน้าสิ ทำไมเขาปฏิเสธฉัน ก็โอเค งั้นอย่ามายุ่งกันอีกนะยะ (ทั้งหมดนี้คือพากย์นรกโดยโอเอง)
สองคนนี้เลยห่าง ๆ กัน แต่ก็ห่างได้ไม่นาน เพราะนางเอกดันท้องค่ะ
นางไม่ได้ป้องกันหรือนึกระวังเลย เพราะแต่งงานมาเจ็ดปีนางไม่ท้อง เลยนึกว่าตัวเองเป็นหมันแล้ว มีอะไรกับพระเอกคืนเดียว ท้องเลย คราวนี้นางเลยจิตใจปั่นป่วนไปหมด เฮเลน่าไม่เชื่อว่าตัวเองจะเป็นแม่คนได้ ไหนจะเด็กที่ไม่รู้อีโหน่อีเหน่อีกจะทำยังไง ในใจนางนี่ทั้งหงุดหงิดทั้งพาลใส่พระเอกสุด ๆ ยังไงก็ไม่คิดจะบอกให้พระเอกรู้ แต่สุดท้าย อาการออก พระเอกจับสังเกตได้เลยถามไป นางเอกทั้งด่า ชวนทะเลาะ ดูถูก ทำทุกอย่างยกเว้นปฏิเสธ พระเอกก็เลยรู้ว่านางท้องแน่ ๆ สุดท้ายเฮเลน่าก็ต้องยอมรับ นางบอก แต่ฉันไม่ยอมให้คุณมาบงการหรอกนะ ให้ฉันไปแอบคลอดลูกเงียบ ๆ ยกเด็กให้คนอื่นเลี้ยงนี่ไม่เอา พระเอกบอก ผมจะขอคุณแต่งงานต่างหาก นางเอกก็ตกใจ ปฏิเสธไป พอเห็นว่าพระเอกรั้น ยังไงก็จะแต่งแน่ ๆ นางเอกก็เลย โอเค แต่งก็แต่งสิ คราวนี้นางเลยเชิดหน้าประกาศเลย ว่าจะแต่งงานกับพระเอกเพราะนางท้อง เล่นเอาวงสังคมช็อกไปเลย
คราวนี้พระเอกเลยเลยได้เจ้าสาวคริสต์มาสไปให้พ่อสมใจ
นางเอกเป็นคนที่มีความขัดแย้งในตัวสูงค่ะ นางขึ้เหงา ขี้เบื่อ ฉากหน้าเหมือนชอบสนุกเฮฮา แต่เอาเข้าจริงก็โลกส่วนตัวสูง ไม่ชอบสนิทสนมกับใคร นางไม่มีเพื่อนสนิทด้วย มีแค่ป้าที่เป็นญาติที่นางสนิทหน่อยแต่ก็ไม่มากพอที่จะเล่าเรื่องของตัวเองให้ฟังทุกเรื่อง กับพระเอกนางก็คงถูกใจแหละ อยากเป็นเพื่อน อยากคุยด้วย พอเรื่องไม่เป็นอย่างที่คิดเลยหงุดหงิดหัวเสียสุด ๆ
โอชอบเวลานางเอกรวนใส่พระเอก ตลกดีเวลานางด่า ปากคมอย่างกับกรรไกร แต่ที่ชอบยิ่งกว่าคือพระเอกไม่ยอมทะเลาะกับนาง นางเอกเลยเหมือนด่าใส่ตอไม้ ด่าเท่าไรก็ไม่เกิดผล สุดท้ายเลยได้แต่บ่น ๆ ทำไมคุณไม่ยอมทะเลาะกับฉัน โอชอบพระเอกเรื่องนี้มากเลย เป็นคนอารมณ์เย็น อบอุ่น เป็นผู้นำได้ เป็นที่พึ่งพิงยามคับขันได้ เป็นคนที่มีความคิดเป็นของตัวเอง ขณะเดียวกันก็เป็นคนที่ยืดหยุ่น ไม่เคร่งครัดเกินไป มีมุมมองที่เปิดกว้าง รักครอบครัว เทคะแนนให้เอ็ดการ์ พระเอกเรื่องนี้รัว ๆ
เหตุการณ์ในเรื่องเกิดขึ้นช่วงคริสต์มาส มีหิมะ มีการสังสรรค์เฉลิมฉลอง เป็นบรรยากาศแห่งความสุข ขนบรรดาพระนางเล่มก่อน ๆ พร้อมลูก ๆ ของพวกเขาเข้ามาเพิ่มความอบอุ่น คอร่ากับฟรานซิสในฐานะที่เป็นน้องสาวกับน้องเขยของพระเอกก็มีบทในเรื่องนี้พอสมควรค่ะ
ปมของเรื่องจะอยู่ที่นางเอก เป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับอดีตของนาง อย่างที่บอกว่านางเป็นคนที่มีความขัดแย้งในตัวสูง ภายนอกดูแรง ๆ ร้าย ๆ แต่ภายในกลับอ่อนไหวและโหยหาความรักความเข้าใจ พระเอกต้องค่อย ๆ กะเทาะเปลือกนอกของนางเอกเพื่อให้เข้าถึงนางได้ยิ่งขึ้น พระเอกใจเย็นมากเลย โฮ้ยยย
ชอบค่ะ อ่านติดพันเลย มีแค่ช่วงท้ายที่อาจจะติด ๆ กับปมของนางเอกหน่อย แต่ภาพรวมโอชอบนางนะ และโอชอบพระเอกมากเลย ชอบบรรยากาศความอบอุ่นในเรื่องด้วย ให้ 4 ดาว
ส่งรีวิวเล่มนี้ในช่วงเทศกาลคริสต์มาสพอดีเลยค่ะ
สรุปความชอบของโอในชุดนี้ เรียงจากมากไปน้อย
วีรสตรีจอมเปิ่น (3) > คริสต์มาสฝันรัก (5) > เจ้าสาวของท่านลอร์ด (2) > เจ้าสาวปริศนา (4) > แผนรักเทพบุตร (1)
อันดับสองกับสาม และอันดับสี่กับห้าชอบใกล้เคียงกัน เฉือนกันไปนิดหน่อย
สามารถอ่านแยกเล่มได้ แต่ถ้าไม่อยากโดนสปอยล์ก็ควรอ่านเรียงลำดับในชุดเพราะผู้เขียนจะเล่าเรื่องของคู่ก่อน ๆ ด้วย
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หล่อนไม่เคยรู้สึกยั่วใจเช่นนี้มาก่อน
การได้อยู่กับเขาจะให้ความรู้สึกอย่างไรนะ หล่อนสงสัยพลางหันหน้าไปยิ้มกึ่งดูหมิ่นให้เพื่อนร่วมทาง ถึงแม้เขาจะไม่มีอะไรให้หล่อนดูหมิ่นได้ก็ตาม เขาเป็นบุรุษผู้หล่อเหลา เป็นชายชาตรีผู้องอาจ และไม่ต้องสงสัยเลยว่าคงเจนโลกมาโชกโชน
หล่อนเกิดความตระหนกขึ้นมาวูบหนึ่งกับทิศทางของความคิดตนรวมถึงความปรารถนาที่มากยิ่งกว่าประกายชั่ววูบ
ดูท่าจะต้องเทศนาตัวเองให้คุมสติให้ได้ก่อนที่จะกลับถึงบ้านเสียแล้ว เฮเลน่าบอกกับตัวเอง อาจจะถึงขั้นต้องไล่เขากลับมาร่วมงานเลี้ยงตั้งแต่เมื่อไปถึงทางเท้าหน้าประตูบ้านหล่อนก็ได้
แต่เฮเลน่ารู้ว่าหล่อนจะไม่ทำเช่นนั้น
บางครั้งความเหงาก็แจ่มชัดเสียจนแทบจะสัมผัสได้
หน้า 34-35 บทที่ 2
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“คุณพูดถูก” เขาบอก “ผมมาลอนดอนเพื่อหาภรรยา ผมสัญญากับพ่อของผมว่าจะเลือกเจ้าสาวให้ได้ก่อนวันคริสต์มาส ผมคิดว่าผมควรจะจดจ่อกับภารกิจของตัวเองดีกว่า”
“งั้นแปลว่าคำเสนอมิตรภาพของฉันถูกปฏิเสธหรือคะ” หล่อนถาม “คำวอนขอมิตรภาพของฉันล่ะคะ น่าขายหน้าจัง คุณนี่ไม่เป็นสุภาพบุรุษเลย”
“ครับ” เขาพูดชัดถ้อยชัดคำอย่างช้า ๆ “ผมไม่ใช่สุภาพบุรุษ คุณผู้หญิง ในโลกของผม ผู้ชายเราไม่ผูกไมตรีกับผู้หญิงคนหนึ่งในขณะที่เกี้ยวพาอีกคนหนึ่ง”
“โดยเฉพาะกับผู้หญิงที่เคยขึ้นเตียงด้วย” หล่อนพูด
“ใช่” เขายอมรับ “โดยเฉพาะอย่างนั้น”
ครั้งนี้รอยยิ้มของหล่อนคือความดูแคลนแท้ ๆ “งั้นที่คุณพูดเมื่อสักนาทีหรือสองนาทีก่อนก็ถูกต้องแล้วละค่ะ มิสเตอร์ดาวนส์” หล่อนบอก “คุณอยู่ที่นี่นานเกินพอแล้ว ฉันเบื่อความคิดแบบชนชั้นกลางของคุณเต็มที ฉันคงจะไม่พบว่ามิตรภาพของคุณน่าพอใจเหมือนอย่างที่ฉันรู้สึกกับการร่วมรักของคุณ และฉันก็ไม่ต้องการการร่วมรักด้วย ฉันใช้ผู้ชายเพื่อความเพลิดเพลินเป็นครั้งคราว แต่เป็นครั้งคราวที่น้อยเอามาก ๆ และไม่เคยซ้ำหน้าเดิมเป็นครั้งที่สอง ผู้ชายน่ะมีความจำเป็นก็เฉพาะบางเรื่องเท่านั้น เอาเข้าจริงก็น่าเบื่อจะตายไป”
วาจาของหล่อน สีหน้าของหล่อน กิริยาของหล่อน ล้วนส่อไปในทางดูถูก เขาทราบดีและรู้สึกว่าถูกสบประมาท แต่ในขณะเดียวกันเขาก็สัมผัสได้ว่าเขาทำร้ายจิตใจหล่อนในทางใดทางหนึ่งเช่นกัน หล่อนขอมิตรภาพจากเขาและเขาปฏิเสธ เขาปฏิเสธเพราะเขาไม่อยากจะถูกยั่วยวนซ้ำสอง เขารู้โดยไม่ต้องกังขาเลยว่ามิตรภาพใด ๆ กับเลดี้สเตเปิลตันย่อมจะนำไปสู่เตียงนอนโดยหลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้ หล่อนเองก็คงต้องทราบเช่นกัน
หน้า 62-63 บทที่ 4
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เอ็ดการ์ยังไม่ได้แต่งงานแม้จะอายุสามสิบหกปีแล้ว พ่อของเขาอยากเห็นลูกเป็นฝั่งเป็นฝาสักที จึงขอลูกสะใภ้ที่เป็นสุภาพสตรีจากตระกูลผู้ดีก่อนวันคริสต์มาสที่จะมาถึง เอ็ดการ์สัญญาว่าจะนำเจ้าสาวคริสต์มาสไปเป็นของขวัญให้พ่อ คอร่ากับฟรานซิสและเพื่อน ๆ ยืนยันจะช่วยเหลือเอ็ดการ์อย่างถึงที่สุด เอ็ดการ์จึงมาลอนดอนเพื่อแสวงหาเจ้าสาวสุภาพสตรีคนนั้น
หญิงส่วนใหญ่ที่น้องสาว น้องเขย และเพื่อน ๆ เล็งไว้ให้เขาเป็นหญิงสาวที่อ่อนวัยเอ็ดการ์นึกไปนึกมา ถ้าเจ้าสาวอายุสิบแปด แปลว่าตอนเขาอายุสิบแปด ผู้หญิงคนนี้ก็เพิ่งเกิด โอ๊ย ไม่เอา ๆ ขณะรู้สึกพลาดที่รับปากพ่อไป เอ็ดการ์ก็เจอสุภาพสตรีสาวพราวเสน่ห์ในชุดแดง
เฮเลน่า เลดี้สเตเปิลตัน ม่ายสาวผู้ลึกลับและเย้ายวนใจ
ใช่แล้วค่ะ นางเอกเป็นม่าย
ว้าย ตื่นเต้นอีกแล้ว ฮ่า ๆ
เฮเลน่าเคยแต่งงานแล้วกับสามีที่แก่คราวพ่อ ก็ถูกจับแต่งงานนั่นแหละค่ะ ตอนนั้นนางเอกอายุสิบเก้า อดีตสามีอายุห้าสิบสี่ ใช้ชีวิตอยู่ด้วยกันเจ็ดปี สามีก็ตายไป นางไว้ทุกข์ให้สามีสี่ปี พออายุสามสิบก็เหมือนสะดุ้งกับอายุ เลยลุกขึ้นมาปฏิวัติตัวเอง ออกท่องเที่ยว สนุกสนานกับงานเลี้ยงต่าง ๆ บริหารเสน่ห์ อยากทำอะไรก็ทำ ใช้ชีวิตให้คุ้ม จนถึงตอนนี้เฮเลน่าอายุสามสิบหก เท่าพระเอกเป๊ะ
นางเอกเป็นคนที่ดูร้อนแรง เซ็กซี่อวบอั๋น รู้จักพูดคุยบริหารเสน่ห์ รู้ว่าทำยังไงผู้ชายจะหลง หรือถ้านางไม่ชอบ จะปฏิเสธยังไง นางมักจะเป็นศูนย์กลางของวงสนทนา สรรหาเรื่องน่าสนใจมาพูดคุย
มีเรื่องซุบซิบในแบบที่เกือบจะอื้อฉาวเกี่ยวกับเฮเลน่ามากมาย แต่นางไม่แคร์ นางมีขอบเขตของตัวเองอยู่ รู้ว่าตราบใดที่ยังอยู่ในกรอบของสังคม (แม้จะหมิ่นเหม่เต็มที) นางก็ยังเป็นที่ต้อนรับ
เฮเลน่าสะดุดตาพระเอกในงานเลี้ยง ในใจน่ะเล็งผู้ชายคนนี้ละ แต่นางไม่ยอมเข้าไปทำความรู้จักตรง ๆ เพราะดูขาดชั้นเชิงเกินไป นางก็แสร้งคุยกับคนนู้นคนนี้ หว่านเสน่ห์หัวเราะเฮฮา แล้วในที่สุด คนในวงสนทนาก็ต้องแนะนำเขาให้หล่อนรู้จัก เฮเลน่าก็หันไปคุยด้วยนิดหน่อย ก่อนจะเสไปคุยกับคนอื่นต่อ
ต๊าย ร้ายนะหล่อน
พอสบช่อง พระเอกอยู่คนเดียว นางก็เอาเลยค่ะ แวบไปคุยกับพระเอก ก่อนจะบอกพระเอกว่าคนขับรถม้ากับคนรับใช้ของฉันกลับไปแล้ว คุณช่วยไปส่งฉันหน่อยนะคะ
พระเอก (ที่ถูกใจนางตั้งแต่แรกเห็น) จะทนไหวร้อ ก็ตามไปส่งค่ะ
แล้วก็โดนนางเอกลากขึ้นห้องไปกินรวบ อันที่จริงใครจัดการใครก็บอกไม่ได้แน่ชัด
สุดจะร้ายเลยเธอคนนี้
แต่จริง ๆ แล้วนางเอกไม่เคยมีอะไรกับผู้ชายคนอื่นนอกจากสามีของหล่อนนะคะ แค่หว่านเสน่ห์พอสนุกเฉย ๆ ที่ผ่านมาก็แค่คุยด้วยแล้วก็หาทางไล่ผู้ชายกลับ แต่แน่นอนว่ากับพระเอกต้องไม่เหมือนใคร แนว ๆ ว่าคนนี้พิเศษ นางต้านทานพระเอกไม่อยู่ สุดท้ายก็เลยลงเอยอย่างนี้
พอเสร็จแล้วนางก็ไล่พระเอกกลับ พระเอกก็กลับค่ะ แต่วันรุ่งขึ้นเขามาใหม่ มาขอโทษนางเอก ฮ่า ๆ นางเอกก็ด่าเลย จะบ้าเหรอยะมาขอโทษทำไม ตลกย่ะ นางยังว่าอีกว่า ฉันรู้ว่าคุณมาหาเจ้าสาวในลอนดอน แต่คนในชนชั้นสูงก็ชอบสนุกนะ ว่าง ๆ มาก็มาเที่ยวมาคุยกันอีกได้ พระเอกก็บอกว่า ไม่ละ ผมเป็นชนชั้นกลาง ขอมุ่งมั่นหาเจ้าสาวดีกว่า (แนว ๆ ว่าจะขอไม่เอาตัวไปยุ่งกับนางเอกอีกแล้ว) นางเอกก็เสียหน้าสิ ทำไมเขาปฏิเสธฉัน ก็โอเค งั้นอย่ามายุ่งกันอีกนะยะ (ทั้งหมดนี้คือพากย์นรกโดยโอเอง)
สองคนนี้เลยห่าง ๆ กัน แต่ก็ห่างได้ไม่นาน เพราะนางเอกดันท้องค่ะ
นางไม่ได้ป้องกันหรือนึกระวังเลย เพราะแต่งงานมาเจ็ดปีนางไม่ท้อง เลยนึกว่าตัวเองเป็นหมันแล้ว มีอะไรกับพระเอกคืนเดียว ท้องเลย คราวนี้นางเลยจิตใจปั่นป่วนไปหมด เฮเลน่าไม่เชื่อว่าตัวเองจะเป็นแม่คนได้ ไหนจะเด็กที่ไม่รู้อีโหน่อีเหน่อีกจะทำยังไง ในใจนางนี่ทั้งหงุดหงิดทั้งพาลใส่พระเอกสุด ๆ ยังไงก็ไม่คิดจะบอกให้พระเอกรู้ แต่สุดท้าย อาการออก พระเอกจับสังเกตได้เลยถามไป นางเอกทั้งด่า ชวนทะเลาะ ดูถูก ทำทุกอย่างยกเว้นปฏิเสธ พระเอกก็เลยรู้ว่านางท้องแน่ ๆ สุดท้ายเฮเลน่าก็ต้องยอมรับ นางบอก แต่ฉันไม่ยอมให้คุณมาบงการหรอกนะ ให้ฉันไปแอบคลอดลูกเงียบ ๆ ยกเด็กให้คนอื่นเลี้ยงนี่ไม่เอา พระเอกบอก ผมจะขอคุณแต่งงานต่างหาก นางเอกก็ตกใจ ปฏิเสธไป พอเห็นว่าพระเอกรั้น ยังไงก็จะแต่งแน่ ๆ นางเอกก็เลย โอเค แต่งก็แต่งสิ คราวนี้นางเลยเชิดหน้าประกาศเลย ว่าจะแต่งงานกับพระเอกเพราะนางท้อง เล่นเอาวงสังคมช็อกไปเลย
คราวนี้พระเอกเลยเลยได้เจ้าสาวคริสต์มาสไปให้พ่อสมใจ
นางเอกเป็นคนที่มีความขัดแย้งในตัวสูงค่ะ นางขึ้เหงา ขี้เบื่อ ฉากหน้าเหมือนชอบสนุกเฮฮา แต่เอาเข้าจริงก็โลกส่วนตัวสูง ไม่ชอบสนิทสนมกับใคร นางไม่มีเพื่อนสนิทด้วย มีแค่ป้าที่เป็นญาติที่นางสนิทหน่อยแต่ก็ไม่มากพอที่จะเล่าเรื่องของตัวเองให้ฟังทุกเรื่อง กับพระเอกนางก็คงถูกใจแหละ อยากเป็นเพื่อน อยากคุยด้วย พอเรื่องไม่เป็นอย่างที่คิดเลยหงุดหงิดหัวเสียสุด ๆ
โอชอบเวลานางเอกรวนใส่พระเอก ตลกดีเวลานางด่า ปากคมอย่างกับกรรไกร แต่ที่ชอบยิ่งกว่าคือพระเอกไม่ยอมทะเลาะกับนาง นางเอกเลยเหมือนด่าใส่ตอไม้ ด่าเท่าไรก็ไม่เกิดผล สุดท้ายเลยได้แต่บ่น ๆ ทำไมคุณไม่ยอมทะเลาะกับฉัน โอชอบพระเอกเรื่องนี้มากเลย เป็นคนอารมณ์เย็น อบอุ่น เป็นผู้นำได้ เป็นที่พึ่งพิงยามคับขันได้ เป็นคนที่มีความคิดเป็นของตัวเอง ขณะเดียวกันก็เป็นคนที่ยืดหยุ่น ไม่เคร่งครัดเกินไป มีมุมมองที่เปิดกว้าง รักครอบครัว เทคะแนนให้เอ็ดการ์ พระเอกเรื่องนี้รัว ๆ
เหตุการณ์ในเรื่องเกิดขึ้นช่วงคริสต์มาส มีหิมะ มีการสังสรรค์เฉลิมฉลอง เป็นบรรยากาศแห่งความสุข ขนบรรดาพระนางเล่มก่อน ๆ พร้อมลูก ๆ ของพวกเขาเข้ามาเพิ่มความอบอุ่น คอร่ากับฟรานซิสในฐานะที่เป็นน้องสาวกับน้องเขยของพระเอกก็มีบทในเรื่องนี้พอสมควรค่ะ
ปมของเรื่องจะอยู่ที่นางเอก เป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับอดีตของนาง อย่างที่บอกว่านางเป็นคนที่มีความขัดแย้งในตัวสูง ภายนอกดูแรง ๆ ร้าย ๆ แต่ภายในกลับอ่อนไหวและโหยหาความรักความเข้าใจ พระเอกต้องค่อย ๆ กะเทาะเปลือกนอกของนางเอกเพื่อให้เข้าถึงนางได้ยิ่งขึ้น พระเอกใจเย็นมากเลย โฮ้ยยย
ชอบค่ะ อ่านติดพันเลย มีแค่ช่วงท้ายที่อาจจะติด ๆ กับปมของนางเอกหน่อย แต่ภาพรวมโอชอบนางนะ และโอชอบพระเอกมากเลย ชอบบรรยากาศความอบอุ่นในเรื่องด้วย ให้ 4 ดาว
ส่งรีวิวเล่มนี้ในช่วงเทศกาลคริสต์มาสพอดีเลยค่ะ
สรุปความชอบของโอในชุดนี้ เรียงจากมากไปน้อย
วีรสตรีจอมเปิ่น (3) > คริสต์มาสฝันรัก (5) > เจ้าสาวของท่านลอร์ด (2) > เจ้าสาวปริศนา (4) > แผนรักเทพบุตร (1)
อันดับสองกับสาม และอันดับสี่กับห้าชอบใกล้เคียงกัน เฉือนกันไปนิดหน่อย
สามารถอ่านแยกเล่มได้ แต่ถ้าไม่อยากโดนสปอยล์ก็ควรอ่านเรียงลำดับในชุดเพราะผู้เขียนจะเล่าเรื่องของคู่ก่อน ๆ ด้วย
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หล่อนไม่เคยรู้สึกยั่วใจเช่นนี้มาก่อน
การได้อยู่กับเขาจะให้ความรู้สึกอย่างไรนะ หล่อนสงสัยพลางหันหน้าไปยิ้มกึ่งดูหมิ่นให้เพื่อนร่วมทาง ถึงแม้เขาจะไม่มีอะไรให้หล่อนดูหมิ่นได้ก็ตาม เขาเป็นบุรุษผู้หล่อเหลา เป็นชายชาตรีผู้องอาจ และไม่ต้องสงสัยเลยว่าคงเจนโลกมาโชกโชน
หล่อนเกิดความตระหนกขึ้นมาวูบหนึ่งกับทิศทางของความคิดตนรวมถึงความปรารถนาที่มากยิ่งกว่าประกายชั่ววูบ
ดูท่าจะต้องเทศนาตัวเองให้คุมสติให้ได้ก่อนที่จะกลับถึงบ้านเสียแล้ว เฮเลน่าบอกกับตัวเอง อาจจะถึงขั้นต้องไล่เขากลับมาร่วมงานเลี้ยงตั้งแต่เมื่อไปถึงทางเท้าหน้าประตูบ้านหล่อนก็ได้
แต่เฮเลน่ารู้ว่าหล่อนจะไม่ทำเช่นนั้น
บางครั้งความเหงาก็แจ่มชัดเสียจนแทบจะสัมผัสได้
หน้า 34-35 บทที่ 2
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“คุณพูดถูก” เขาบอก “ผมมาลอนดอนเพื่อหาภรรยา ผมสัญญากับพ่อของผมว่าจะเลือกเจ้าสาวให้ได้ก่อนวันคริสต์มาส ผมคิดว่าผมควรจะจดจ่อกับภารกิจของตัวเองดีกว่า”
“งั้นแปลว่าคำเสนอมิตรภาพของฉันถูกปฏิเสธหรือคะ” หล่อนถาม “คำวอนขอมิตรภาพของฉันล่ะคะ น่าขายหน้าจัง คุณนี่ไม่เป็นสุภาพบุรุษเลย”
“ครับ” เขาพูดชัดถ้อยชัดคำอย่างช้า ๆ “ผมไม่ใช่สุภาพบุรุษ คุณผู้หญิง ในโลกของผม ผู้ชายเราไม่ผูกไมตรีกับผู้หญิงคนหนึ่งในขณะที่เกี้ยวพาอีกคนหนึ่ง”
“โดยเฉพาะกับผู้หญิงที่เคยขึ้นเตียงด้วย” หล่อนพูด
“ใช่” เขายอมรับ “โดยเฉพาะอย่างนั้น”
ครั้งนี้รอยยิ้มของหล่อนคือความดูแคลนแท้ ๆ “งั้นที่คุณพูดเมื่อสักนาทีหรือสองนาทีก่อนก็ถูกต้องแล้วละค่ะ มิสเตอร์ดาวนส์” หล่อนบอก “คุณอยู่ที่นี่นานเกินพอแล้ว ฉันเบื่อความคิดแบบชนชั้นกลางของคุณเต็มที ฉันคงจะไม่พบว่ามิตรภาพของคุณน่าพอใจเหมือนอย่างที่ฉันรู้สึกกับการร่วมรักของคุณ และฉันก็ไม่ต้องการการร่วมรักด้วย ฉันใช้ผู้ชายเพื่อความเพลิดเพลินเป็นครั้งคราว แต่เป็นครั้งคราวที่น้อยเอามาก ๆ และไม่เคยซ้ำหน้าเดิมเป็นครั้งที่สอง ผู้ชายน่ะมีความจำเป็นก็เฉพาะบางเรื่องเท่านั้น เอาเข้าจริงก็น่าเบื่อจะตายไป”
วาจาของหล่อน สีหน้าของหล่อน กิริยาของหล่อน ล้วนส่อไปในทางดูถูก เขาทราบดีและรู้สึกว่าถูกสบประมาท แต่ในขณะเดียวกันเขาก็สัมผัสได้ว่าเขาทำร้ายจิตใจหล่อนในทางใดทางหนึ่งเช่นกัน หล่อนขอมิตรภาพจากเขาและเขาปฏิเสธ เขาปฏิเสธเพราะเขาไม่อยากจะถูกยั่วยวนซ้ำสอง เขารู้โดยไม่ต้องกังขาเลยว่ามิตรภาพใด ๆ กับเลดี้สเตเปิลตันย่อมจะนำไปสู่เตียงนอนโดยหลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้ หล่อนเองก็คงต้องทราบเช่นกัน
หน้า 62-63 บทที่ 4
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January 14, 2013
A Christmas Bride - Helena Stapleton is a proud widow, cleverly hiding deep emotional scars beneath a confident facade. Along comes Edgar, a wealthy merchant and not one of the ton, in search of a titled bride. He has no need for wealth, but his father yearns for him to achieve some level of status as a result of their hard work. When Helena and Edgar lock eyes, sparks fly, but Helena is certainly not loveable, much less worthy of someone's forgiveness. That does not stop her from treating Edgar as if she is far an away his better. Separate from his interaction with Helena, Edgar pursues an eligible bride, but neither of them can forget a night of abandon, which ultimately produces consequences and changes both of their plans for the future.
I am a fan of Ms. Balogh. She writes deeply troubled characters who must struggle to overcome self-inflicted emotional obstacles, and this story is as keenly written as I have come to expect from her. Deeply touching, she instills the sense of hope that is lost when all appears to be bleak.
A Christmas Beau - This one is another tale of redemption, albeit much more active than most of Ms. Balogh's works. She has created an utterly evil hero, which I noticed from someone else's review was very hard to redeem. And yet, this is the type of character one would expect from Ms. Balogh (though usually not on the page). I thought it was well done and just at the moment when you believe all is lost and there is no hope, there is redemption.
I do enjoy the Regency era stories and the happily ever afters. I do not enjoy modern day heroines plunked into a previous time period. These stories ring true to their era and as I enjoy a good old fashioned romance novel, enjoyed these books.
I am a fan of Ms. Balogh. She writes deeply troubled characters who must struggle to overcome self-inflicted emotional obstacles, and this story is as keenly written as I have come to expect from her. Deeply touching, she instills the sense of hope that is lost when all appears to be bleak.
A Christmas Beau - This one is another tale of redemption, albeit much more active than most of Ms. Balogh's works. She has created an utterly evil hero, which I noticed from someone else's review was very hard to redeem. And yet, this is the type of character one would expect from Ms. Balogh (though usually not on the page). I thought it was well done and just at the moment when you believe all is lost and there is no hope, there is redemption.
I do enjoy the Regency era stories and the happily ever afters. I do not enjoy modern day heroines plunked into a previous time period. These stories ring true to their era and as I enjoy a good old fashioned romance novel, enjoyed these books.
January 20, 2017
Mary Balogh does something few authors can pull off. She writes an unsympathetic heroine, both by personality and her actions. This is really a sequel to A Precious Jewel. The rest of the Stapleton-Downes series would be nice to read first but aren't essential, but you should definitely read A Precious Jewel before this one.
I think people will either really like this book or hate it. This is a book about guilt and forgiveness and self-loathing and choosing how to respond to your past. Helena is broken and hating herself. She's brought to a domestic happy Christmas scene with lots of families and babies and she had to choose what to do with her past and her future. She's a difficult person, but she's strong and Edgar is able to love her and is strong enough in himself not to take her lashing out as a personal attack. He needs someone as strong as Helena to keep him from trampling all over a wife. She needs him to teach her to forgive herself. A good companionship. It's not a sweet romance, but it's two actual adults finding the partnership they want.
I think people will either really like this book or hate it. This is a book about guilt and forgiveness and self-loathing and choosing how to respond to your past. Helena is broken and hating herself. She's brought to a domestic happy Christmas scene with lots of families and babies and she had to choose what to do with her past and her future. She's a difficult person, but she's strong and Edgar is able to love her and is strong enough in himself not to take her lashing out as a personal attack. He needs someone as strong as Helena to keep him from trampling all over a wife. She needs him to teach her to forgive herself. A good companionship. It's not a sweet romance, but it's two actual adults finding the partnership they want.
December 12, 2012
Both books were rereads for me, and my original opinion still holds. A Christmas Bride is a powerful book, one of those rare romances where the heroine is redeemed. The book is too dark to be one of my favorite, comfort-read Baloghs, but I think it it a remarkable story well told. I am glad Balogh wrote that epilogue later though. It adds a reassuring note to the HEA.
Christmas Beau is more predictable, and I'm not a fan of revenge plots. Still, it's a Balogh, which means that even if it's not one of her best, it's better than a lot of the books I read.
Christmas Beau is more predictable, and I'm not a fan of revenge plots. Still, it's a Balogh, which means that even if it's not one of her best, it's better than a lot of the books I read.
December 30, 2012
Quite dark for Christmas romances. But unlike many popular authors who re-release early stories that show how bad they were in the beginning, even Balogh's early stories are well-paced and -plotted. And I do enjoy romances in which the protagonists are average people...it takes a flair to make them worth caring about, but when it works, it's fantastic. And Mary Balogh, like Lisa Kleypas, makes it work.
December 18, 2018
3.5 stars
Both stories are about forgiveness. As human beings, all people make mistakes. It is important to forgive ourselves and forgive others in order to find peace and joy. While I like this theme very much, I personally enjoyed A Christmas Bride much better than A Christmas Beau.
Both stories are about forgiveness. As human beings, all people make mistakes. It is important to forgive ourselves and forgive others in order to find peace and joy. While I like this theme very much, I personally enjoyed A Christmas Bride much better than A Christmas Beau.
November 30, 2016
If you think hate is a very exciting emotion, then you will like these 2 novels. I don't.
A very generous 3 stars.
A very generous 3 stars.
December 3, 2022
Hmmm not sure how to rate this one. I'll settle on 3,5.
I love Mary Balogh's writing style, the character development and how the relationship between the main characters slowly evolved.
Because Helena was not an easy character for me to love, I struggled for most of the book to feel with her.
I love Mary Balogh's writing style, the character development and how the relationship between the main characters slowly evolved.
Because Helena was not an easy character for me to love, I struggled for most of the book to feel with her.
October 23, 2018
A wonderful way to tie in all seven of the Stepleton-Downes books! (Previously, there were two branches of the "family" that weren't related at all, until now.) This is very much a book about forgiveness (of self and of others), complete with a very Christmassy vibe. I liked it.
Read
January 16, 2013Last year, I started reading Mary Balogh reissues, which promptly hooked me. It was a welcome change of pace, romance novels where prose, for one, mattered more than the hijinks the hero and the heroine commit themselves to on the trail to True Love. [I keep saying it, and I’ll do so again: Balogh’s prose is graceful.] It’s almost quaint, these renderings of the love story; and though they were rarely intense reading for me, they could aspire for the quietly romantic at their best moments. The archetypes—nearly institutions, really—are as vivid as they’ll ever be, and the Baloghs of the 80s and 90s are perfect examples of how the formulae of the genres work: Here’s the virtuous daughter, the brooding peer, the naïve but refreshing country lass, the flamboyant lord. And on and on we go, with tropes galore.
Now, I don’t know how consciously Balogh subverted those archetypes and those tropes—if it was a conscious decision at all—in this book. [Here’s how I made a hash of the premise the last time I was here, talking about this book.] Sigh: I admit my impatience and my frustration with this book; skimming was how I went about reading it once I realized (after so many reminders to wait and see) that Lady Stapleton was going to remain a bitch of the highest order—unnecessarily mocking, lashing out at every opportunity because of some moral failing in her past (a failing that only the hero could help her get over, never mind it’s been well nigh ten years)—and defiantly snide about it, to boot. [Let’s not forget that as she reveals her damning past mockingly, she’s waiting for the other to cast her off upon the revelation!] There’s also her sly skirting of convention (doubly hard, I give her that, for a woman to do at the time) while managing to remain firmly ton. And let’s not forget all the lashing out and the unnecessary bitchiness. Augh. Lady Stapleton is an all-around meanie, for realsies.
And then I found this review, which basically described Lady Stapleton as a hero—with all the angst-ridden, nearing-asshat machinations that heroes are wont to do in romance novels. It’s an apt observation, if a very disturbing one—but I’d like to amend it, because for all the hero’s staple characteristics that Lady Stapleton manages to tick off, Lady Stapleton forgets to cover the gradual and continuous redemption that these be-breeches-ed men in romance novels must undergo—must actively pursue—to be fittingly called a goddamned Hero.
See, in my reading of the heroes who act the same way [teetering toward Total Asshat Avenue, yes], it’s that one fortunate rule that has to have him relent emotionally to the heroine, and especially to giving in (because, man, does he struggle) to his feelings for the heroine. That’s the part that makes you giddy, makes you swoon. And there’s absolutely none of that with Lady Stapleton. She just keeps playing the head-scratcher mean-girl part; you never stop wanting to tell her, “Dude, you are not a nice person at all, not a bearable one.”
The one time she relented, it was for sex, and as much as she enjoyed it—as much as she initiated it, pursued him—the self-loathing was quick to follow. And those tedious avowals of how much she hated Mr. Edgar Downes! There’s never any glimpse of Lady Stapleton convincingly softening for Edgar, convincingly easing up on herself. It took a fucking Christmas party and one of the most awkward family reunions for one scarily massive mood swing that had her going, “Oh, I love you, Edgar.” [Oh, Edgar? Edgar must be a nice guy, but I was too caught up wondering what the hell was wrong with Helena to even worry abut him. Seriously: You poor thing.]
PS – Someday I’m going to find the energy to talk about the rest of the Balogh reissues, because they really are wunnerful. It’s just that, you know, I’ll have to reread them and nobody’s got time for that! [I kid.] [I hope.]
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[cross-posted]
Now, I don’t know how consciously Balogh subverted those archetypes and those tropes—if it was a conscious decision at all—in this book. [Here’s how I made a hash of the premise the last time I was here, talking about this book.] Sigh: I admit my impatience and my frustration with this book; skimming was how I went about reading it once I realized (after so many reminders to wait and see) that Lady Stapleton was going to remain a bitch of the highest order—unnecessarily mocking, lashing out at every opportunity because of some moral failing in her past (a failing that only the hero could help her get over, never mind it’s been well nigh ten years)—and defiantly snide about it, to boot. [Let’s not forget that as she reveals her damning past mockingly, she’s waiting for the other to cast her off upon the revelation!] There’s also her sly skirting of convention (doubly hard, I give her that, for a woman to do at the time) while managing to remain firmly ton. And let’s not forget all the lashing out and the unnecessary bitchiness. Augh. Lady Stapleton is an all-around meanie, for realsies.
And then I found this review, which basically described Lady Stapleton as a hero—with all the angst-ridden, nearing-asshat machinations that heroes are wont to do in romance novels. It’s an apt observation, if a very disturbing one—but I’d like to amend it, because for all the hero’s staple characteristics that Lady Stapleton manages to tick off, Lady Stapleton forgets to cover the gradual and continuous redemption that these be-breeches-ed men in romance novels must undergo—must actively pursue—to be fittingly called a goddamned Hero.
See, in my reading of the heroes who act the same way [teetering toward Total Asshat Avenue, yes], it’s that one fortunate rule that has to have him relent emotionally to the heroine, and especially to giving in (because, man, does he struggle) to his feelings for the heroine. That’s the part that makes you giddy, makes you swoon. And there’s absolutely none of that with Lady Stapleton. She just keeps playing the head-scratcher mean-girl part; you never stop wanting to tell her, “Dude, you are not a nice person at all, not a bearable one.”
The one time she relented, it was for sex, and as much as she enjoyed it—as much as she initiated it, pursued him—the self-loathing was quick to follow. And those tedious avowals of how much she hated Mr. Edgar Downes! There’s never any glimpse of Lady Stapleton convincingly softening for Edgar, convincingly easing up on herself. It took a fucking Christmas party and one of the most awkward family reunions for one scarily massive mood swing that had her going, “Oh, I love you, Edgar.” [Oh, Edgar? Edgar must be a nice guy, but I was too caught up wondering what the hell was wrong with Helena to even worry abut him. Seriously: You poor thing.]
PS – Someday I’m going to find the energy to talk about the rest of the Balogh reissues, because they really are wunnerful. It’s just that, you know, I’ll have to reread them and nobody’s got time for that! [I kid.] [I hope.]
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[cross-posted]
April 29, 2022
A Christmas Bride - may contain spoilers.
To be honest, I would not have read this book when it was first released in 1997. Back then - at early 20s, I didn't want to read about a heroine older than I was so no way would a 36 year old widow appeal to me much less a wounded/mocking one. So, Judith McNaught and Johanna Lindsey who wrote about innocent but plucky 19 year olds and early 20s were my go-to authors.
Now at early 40s, I still can't like Helena, Lady Stapleton. Mary Balogh has written some great heroines like Christine Derrick from Slightly Dangerous but Helena is too hard for my liking. MB tried to soften her with her affinity with children but that came late in the book.
I give this book 3 stars in appreciation of MB's talent in writing but no more than that. I liked that Christmas is not just incidental to the story. I also liked the elements of humor and drama in the book. I appreciate that the story is complete in that I don't have questions on what happened to so and so. Of course, I like the abundance of HEA. 😀
Unfortunately, there are a few things not to like. The world she created here is too idealized in my opinion. It is not reflective of the times she set her book in. In MB's ton, men in trade get invited to the best ballrooms and can host a huge house party whose guests include a duke and a marquess; a widow who dresses scandalously gets invited everywhere (this was mentioned at least 3x); a prostitute can become a lady; the aristocracy is very open-minded about accepting into their midst said former prostitute with absolutely no one giving her the cut direct. If it's one or two of these things, it would have been ok but all of them in one book is a bit too perfect.
Another aspect of the book that is too perfect is Edgar. He's tall, handsome, rich, commanding, and very virile. He is patient and loving, does not like to quarrel, is considerate, a good judge of character, and would go to great lengths to heal his wife. If he had a fault I didn't read it in the book. Maybe it's the fact that he wasn't born a gentleman that's considered the biggest blot to his character.
Then there's the BIG conflict with the stepson. I'm still not too clear what happened there. She tried to seduce him and then ??? Three times??? The reaction was like she raped him or something.
To be honest, I would not have read this book when it was first released in 1997. Back then - at early 20s, I didn't want to read about a heroine older than I was so no way would a 36 year old widow appeal to me much less a wounded/mocking one. So, Judith McNaught and Johanna Lindsey who wrote about innocent but plucky 19 year olds and early 20s were my go-to authors.
Now at early 40s, I still can't like Helena, Lady Stapleton. Mary Balogh has written some great heroines like Christine Derrick from Slightly Dangerous but Helena is too hard for my liking. MB tried to soften her with her affinity with children but that came late in the book.
I give this book 3 stars in appreciation of MB's talent in writing but no more than that. I liked that Christmas is not just incidental to the story. I also liked the elements of humor and drama in the book. I appreciate that the story is complete in that I don't have questions on what happened to so and so. Of course, I like the abundance of HEA. 😀
Unfortunately, there are a few things not to like. The world she created here is too idealized in my opinion. It is not reflective of the times she set her book in. In MB's ton, men in trade get invited to the best ballrooms and can host a huge house party whose guests include a duke and a marquess; a widow who dresses scandalously gets invited everywhere (this was mentioned at least 3x); a prostitute can become a lady; the aristocracy is very open-minded about accepting into their midst said former prostitute with absolutely no one giving her the cut direct. If it's one or two of these things, it would have been ok but all of them in one book is a bit too perfect.
Another aspect of the book that is too perfect is Edgar. He's tall, handsome, rich, commanding, and very virile. He is patient and loving, does not like to quarrel, is considerate, a good judge of character, and would go to great lengths to heal his wife. If he had a fault I didn't read it in the book. Maybe it's the fact that he wasn't born a gentleman that's considered the biggest blot to his character.
Then there's the BIG conflict with the stepson. I'm still not too clear what happened there. She tried to seduce him and then ??? Three times??? The reaction was like she raped him or something.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2016
Was actually reading the version that compiled A Christmas Bride and Christmas Beau, but this story left such a bad taste in my mouth that I have decided not to read the other one, even if the general consensus was that it's the better story. I don't think I can slog through it, especially not as soon as I finished this one. And rather than rating that book as DNF, I'm reviewing the first story as a stand alone instead, like how it was originally released, to meet my 52 book annual quota.
Now this book gets a 1 because I found the female main character so abhorrent I wanted her to not end up with the male lead, which we know is impossible, this being a romance and all. I had no idea that she was also a character, a villainous one at that, in an earlier book in the series. Probably really villainous, seeing how I wasn't buying how that plot line was resolved in this book. Not buying it!
Ultimately, three things kept me reading: (1) the fact that I was behind my reading list quota (biggest motivating factor, really), (2) the blossoming romance between Fannie and Jack Sperling, and (3) I like Edgar. Which makes it all the worse because what has Helena done to deserve Edgar? NADA.
Now this book gets a 1 because I found the female main character so abhorrent I wanted her to not end up with the male lead, which we know is impossible, this being a romance and all. I had no idea that she was also a character, a villainous one at that, in an earlier book in the series. Probably really villainous, seeing how I wasn't buying how that plot line was resolved in this book. Not buying it!
Ultimately, three things kept me reading: (1) the fact that I was behind my reading list quota (biggest motivating factor, really), (2) the blossoming romance between Fannie and Jack Sperling, and (3) I like Edgar. Which makes it all the worse because what has Helena done to deserve Edgar? NADA.
September 12, 2013
A Christmas Bride:
It took me a bit to get into this one b/c I really disliked the heroine. It's difficult to take a former antagonist and make her the heroine. Eventually I came to accept her, begrudgingly, but I never did like her. Still, the story was very unique and intriguing. The hero, especially, was fascinating. We don't see much about the non-gentry/aristocrats in regency romance. The wealthy merchant class is usually not something most writers touch because it doesn't fall into the template they are used to. It is either the upper class or the lowest class (servants) that we usually read about.
Christmas Beau:
This one I absolutely loved! I am a firm believer in torturing heroes and heroines. Make them suffer, badly, so that their final triumph is all the more satisfying. However, the level of drama needs to remain realistic. Don't make a character weep and tear at his clothing in heartache, and then make his happily ever after a staid, sensible affair. It doesn't match! I felt like this one was going perfectly until the end when everything came together. The final monologue from the heroine was insipid and unrealistic, especially considering what she had just gone through. The ease with which everyone forgave and forgot was a little ridiculous (a weakness of Balogh. Many of her characters are unrealistic saints).
It took me a bit to get into this one b/c I really disliked the heroine. It's difficult to take a former antagonist and make her the heroine. Eventually I came to accept her, begrudgingly, but I never did like her. Still, the story was very unique and intriguing. The hero, especially, was fascinating. We don't see much about the non-gentry/aristocrats in regency romance. The wealthy merchant class is usually not something most writers touch because it doesn't fall into the template they are used to. It is either the upper class or the lowest class (servants) that we usually read about.
Christmas Beau:
This one I absolutely loved! I am a firm believer in torturing heroes and heroines. Make them suffer, badly, so that their final triumph is all the more satisfying. However, the level of drama needs to remain realistic. Don't make a character weep and tear at his clothing in heartache, and then make his happily ever after a staid, sensible affair. It doesn't match! I felt like this one was going perfectly until the end when everything came together. The final monologue from the heroine was insipid and unrealistic, especially considering what she had just gone through. The ease with which everyone forgave and forgot was a little ridiculous (a weakness of Balogh. Many of her characters are unrealistic saints).
March 19, 2016
I really enjoyed this story, but think it could have benefited from a bit more character depth.
I loved Edgar, but wouldn't have minded understanding his path to loving Helena more thoroughly. It felt like it just happened real quickly. And you come to know Helena fairly well, but she too comes to love Edgar very quickly. She hides it from him, but to the reader she admits it.
I would have loved the story if I understood the characters motives better. Still, it got me in the Christmas spirit!
I loved Edgar, but wouldn't have minded understanding his path to loving Helena more thoroughly. It felt like it just happened real quickly. And you come to know Helena fairly well, but she too comes to love Edgar very quickly. She hides it from him, but to the reader she admits it.
I would have loved the story if I understood the characters motives better. Still, it got me in the Christmas spirit!
January 6, 2013
Found Helena in A Christmas Bride a little hard to like - mainly because she didn't like herself. Christmas Beau was a real heart warming tear in the eye sort of story - perfect for this time of year!
August 27, 2013
Helena tries to avoid Edgar because she believes she is irredeemable; Max tries to get revenge on Judith, who jilted him a long time ago. Both novellas were well written, but not enjoyable.
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