What do you think?
Rate this book
A Christmas Ball
It is the most anticipated event of the ton: the annual holiday ball at Hartwell House. The music is elegant, the food exquisite, and the guest list absolutely exclusive. Some come looking for love. Some will do almost anything to avoid it. But everyone wants to be there. No matter what their desires, amid the swirling gowns and soft glow of candlelight, magic tends to happen. And one dance, one kiss, one night can shape a new destiny.
--from back cover
From Emily Bryan's "My Lady Below Stairs," the story of a bastard servant girl called in to impersonate her missing aristocratic half-sister with results worthy of Shakespeare, to Ashley's "The Longest Night," in which a shapeshifting nobleman attempts to win the heart of the wary woman he loves while on the trail of a spy, to Alissa Johnson's "Traditions," the tale of an earl who sets out to woo one woman and falls for her intriguing companion instead, these light, entertaining romps are not typical holiday fare.
--from back cover
From Emily Bryan's "My Lady Below Stairs," the story of a bastard servant girl called in to impersonate her missing aristocratic half-sister with results worthy of Shakespeare, to Ashley's "The Longest Night," in which a shapeshifting nobleman attempts to win the heart of the wary woman he loves while on the trail of a spy, to Alissa Johnson's "Traditions," the tale of an earl who sets out to woo one woman and falls for her intriguing companion instead, these light, entertaining romps are not typical holiday fare.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
538 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Ashley
216 books7,336 followersNY Times Bestselling author Jennifer Ashley writes historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance, historical mysteries, and urban fantasy as Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner.
Jennifer's novels have been translated into many different languages, and earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly. More about her books at http://www.jenniferashley.com and http://gardnermysteries.com.
Jennifer's novels have been translated into many different languages, and earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly. More about her books at http://www.jenniferashley.com and http://gardnermysteries.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
December 15, 2021
Getting my Dec #tbrchallenge review up late in the day but on time!
This anthology was connected by all three stories having their characters end up at the Hartwell Christmas Ball. This could have been a cool idea but none of the characters from different stories interact or even brush by each other at the ball, so I was a little baffled why that would be used as a connection. Even though the title is Christmas Ball, I'm not sure it delivered on a strong holiday feel, there is snow, mistletoe, and bobbing for apples but unfortunately the holiday vibes end there. This was published in 2009 and I did appreciate how the stories had a uniqueness to them, I've struggled with recently published Regency feeling very same-y, by rote, and boring. The first story had me blinking like that Cary Elwes gif., the second had a half demon half human (Jennifer Ashley's Nvengaria series), and the third was my favorite with a fantastic emotionally hitting story. This had some heat and steam to it, so if you want to be perked up during short holiday break reading, this would be a good pick.
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan 3.5 stars
This story had some wilding out, y'all. It stars a head groom, Ian Michael MacGregor, and a scullery maid, Jane, who also happens to be the bastard daughter of the Earl who's estate they work on. Ian and Jane have a romance going but Jane has been reluctant to go all the way, she doesn't want a child born out of wedlock because of how she herself has been treated. Ian is about to tell Jane that he has been offered a man-of-all-work position that comes with a private cottage and ask her to go with him when they get interrupted by a maid named Agnes and she drags Jane away.
Turns out that Jane's half-sister Lady Sybil has run away with the artist who has been painting her portrait. Gasp! The Earl's man, Roskin, comes up with a plan to have Jane impersonate Lady Sybil at the Hartwell's Christmas Ball because there, Viscount Eddleton is going to propose to her and the estate desperately needs the funds that will come with Eddleton's offer of shares in a venture contingent on marrying Lady Sybil. Jane wants to do something for her father, even though he doesn't pay attention to her at all, she's hoping this favor will change that but not knowing when Sybil will be found, she doesn't want to actually end up married to Eddleton. With information Roskin got from the spill the beans maid Agnes, he gets villainy (Terrified people were always so much easier to manipulate) and threatens to let go Ian and without a character. This is almost a death sentence for a servant and Jane agrees to impersonate Sybil to save Ian.
Ian gets concerned about where Jane ran off to and finds out from Agnes that Jane has agreed to a deal to impersonate Sybil. He decides to impersonate a footman and when she is sitting alone at the dinner table pretending to be Sybil, he makes his presence known: “Is aught amiss, milady?” the footman behind her asked, his tone restrained, but his accent unmistakably Scottish. He knows that Jane is doing this to in some way get a show of affection from her father but he also gets a bit in his feels thinking she wants to live the good life. Jane, of course, doesn't tell him his job was threatened (remember that offer of another job he had, he wouldn't care he was getting fired but alas we need more page count) and after a heated kiss, they part frustrated with each other.
We get a pov from Sybil, she's rolling around in the sheets with her painter and then has an attack of conscience and decides that she will show up at the ball and accept Eddleton's proposal to save her father and then keep her painter on the side.
We then get a pov from Eddleton and learn that his future as an heir is in jeopardy when his uncle gets married and the wife is pregnant. Eddleton's creditors are starting to come calling. Then we get an introduction to, who I consider anyway, the star of the show, Lady Darvish. Lady Darvish, the Black Widow of Wembley Street, was on the prowl once again. She's apparently buried four husbands and has heard from a friend that Eddleton is good in bed, so now she's set her sights on him. She clues him into this by calling him Bertie and when Eddleton says that's not his name, “I called all my husbands Bertram. It kept things uncomplicated.” I mean, I want a full novel about this woman. Eddleton wants nothing to do with her but she lets him know she has bought all his vowels.
We switch back to Jane and Ian, Ian's now an outrider so he can talk to Jane on the way to the ball. He's starting to think Jane can have a better life without him (sigh) and ready to give her up. He wants a look at her fiance first, though. They arrive at the ball and as he's walking around the side of the house, he sees a lord banging a maid, his buddy with him tells him the lord is Eddleton! After Eddleton is rude to the maid, Ian decides he ain't letting Jane go now! We then get Ian sneaking into the party and stealing clothes from the lord of the manor and, you guessed it, now impersonating a lord. Jane sees him and freaks out, dragging him upstairs to the return the clothes. They talk, argue, admit their love for each other. They end up banging in the lord's bed. Rude. Here's where it starts to wild out, while they are upstairs banging, Lady Darvish manipulates Eddleton to proving his manhood and they are banging in the library.
Somehow, everyone ends up in the library and I do mean everyone. Jane, Sybil, Ian, and Eddleton coming out from behind a curtain with Lady Darvish are talking and figuring things out when Sybil and Jane's dad shows up. We learn that Roskin was bilking the estate (?) and now on his way to Australia. Jane and Sybil's dad ends up seeming like a dude who walked in at the last act, has no idea what the hell is going on but doesn't care (??) and is just happy to be there, while being loving/nice to Jane in a way that he wasn't for the vast majority of her life. Remember when I said, everyone? The painter shows up to the library, too! Turns out he's not just a painter but an Italian count! It's a Christmas miracle! Sybil jumps into his arms and he ends up just carrying her out of there (???). See, wilding (I had to rate this an extra star for Lady Darvish). I was kind of feeling thrown about at sea but I'm pretty sure in there Ian and Jane live happily ever after.
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley 3 stars
Like I said, this is set in Ashley's Nvengaria series, I haven't read any of those but it was pretty clear Mary and Valentin have appeared before. Valentin was recovering from a gunshot wound and Mary was taking care of him and they developed a tendre for each other. I'm not sure if this was shown in previous series books but Ashley did a nice quick job of relaying their past but keeping the story in the present. Not having read the Nvengaria series, I was a little thrown by the paranormal aspect of this one, Valentin is a logosh, which is a half demon, half human, he can turn into a werewolf thingy, I'm guessing from description. Apparently Valentin had to return to Nvengaria but told Mary to come to him but after a few months went by, she thought he just got caught up in the heat of the moment, she's 35 years old with a seventeen year old son and he's 27. There's also some Nvengaria politics at play and some revenge background that has Valentin being a bodyguard but also a spy and Mary doesn't like him putting himself in danger.
Anyway, Mary ends up being a chaperon for the daughter of a dear friend who passed away, the main event she's to chaperon is the Hartwell's Christmas Ball. At one of the parties they're at, the ambassador for Nvengaria is there, with his bodyguard Valentin. The spy aspects come into play for why Valentin is with the ambassador and not being a reader of the Nvengaria series, all that political drama, Valentin had some emotional personal drama to go along with it, kind of passed me by. It also plays into the angst between Mary and Valentin and why she's scared to allow herself to be with him but towards the end when everything was getting revealed, I felt a little lost with the tangled web of it all. If you are a reader of the Nvengaria series, you mileage would definitely vary from mine.
Traditions by Alissa Johnson 4 stars
Clearly, he was the only gentleman to have discovered the secret Miss Byerly. He found himself both pleased and irritated by the idea. He rather liked the notion of being the only man to recognize her charm. He cared less for the idea that she’d never before received flowers. A woman like Patience shouldn’t want for flowers.
This was my favorite of the anthology and oh what lovely emotion and depth it had in it's formulaic/trope, told before structure. I don't use formulaic and trope to be insulting but to acknowledge how these told a million times formats and characters can still bring the emotion if crafted with care.
It starts off with William Renwick, Earl of Casslebury, stating he has a plan. He's going to marry a lady with all the “good” qualities. He was a soldier for ten years before he very unexpectedly inherited the earldom. He has his sights set on Miss Caroline Meldrin but every time he tries to approach her at a party, she's disappeared with her plain, quiet friend, Patience Byerly. When he is determined to speak to Caroline to move the courtship along, he discovers them in the library and stops to eavesdrop. I kid you not, what opens his eyes up to Patience and gets him intrigued about her, is when he eavesdrops, Patience has just bet Caroline that she can fit a huge piece of chocolate cake fully in her mouth without cutting it up. That's right, Patience just snagged her man by shoving an ungodly sized piece of chocolate in her mouth. You never know, ladies!
Patience has secretly been crushing on William the whole little season but with her outdated gowns and awkward social graces, she never thought he would pay attention to her. We get more of a background on Patience and it drives the angst of the story. Her mother died when she was very young and while her father was knighted for his scientific work, he's always been eccentric, bordering on mad. The responsibility of taking care of herself and her father fell to her very young and still at 26 years old. When they finally had no money and were evicted she had to go one of her father's old students who was kind to her as a child and ask for help. She's staying with the Meldrin's on their charity and she feels awful because of it and how her father is much worse now and the secret of his madness could not only ruin her but also the Meldrins they are staying with.
When Will first witnesses her father's madness, she lets him think her father was just in his cups. Patience's plan is to enjoy the rest of the little season and then retire to the country with her father to take care of him and not be an in your face burden to the Meldrins. With this emotional stress we get some great lines from Patience's thoughts and feelings:
“Never know with girls.” His eyelids drooped. “Boys are easier. Should have had one of those.”
“Boys aren’t likely to bring you tea. Overly creamed, or otherwise.”
“All the same. Boys are easier.”
“I rather wonder if mothers aren’t, as well,” she said quietly, and watched as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out in sleep. She stood and bent down to place a gentle kiss on the wrinkled brow of Sir Franklin Byerly. “I’m sorry, Papa."
The “I rather wonder if mother's aren't, as well” is so, gah!
You can feel the emotion, love, and frustration from Patience as she has to care for her father and how it takes away from her own life. We don't get quite as much from William but we know his home life was filled with strife, he gets along with is sister but his parents and other brother seem to have animosity. William shines in his attraction to Patience.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Patience.”
“I…” Flustered, she attempted to make light of the compliment. “Without my spectacles, you mean.”
With exquisite gentleness, he slid her spectacles back into place. “You’re a beautiful woman,” he repeated.
I loved how he kept thinking he was the only one let in on the secret of how great Patience is and how she did loosen him up and add the joy to his life he was looking for.
Patience does have a moment thinking that his courting her has to do with trying to get information about Caroline but that doesn't linger too long as she straight up asks him. We love a Big Misunderstanding squashed! William doesn't see why he would think she wasn't good enough for him (not yet knowing her main issue is her mad father) as he was a solider and inherited by luck. Unfortunately, he rather doubted, “I wouldn’t mind marrying a poor woman,” would serve to make her smile again. And he very much wanted to see her smile again.
“Perhaps there is one holiday tradition I wouldn’t mind adhering to.”
She blinked very slowly. “Bob-Apple?”
Laughing softly, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Kissing you.”
There's some cute and depth/layers additives, William's sister has 12 kids (all boys!!!!) and the little side threads William tells added some charming moments and when the sister invites Patience to a dinner at her house, we get a sweet bobbing for apples scene. However, the angst comes to ahead when the Meldrins hold a party and Patience's father has a meltdown as the servants lock him in a room, after he was seen by some dandy dude who was trying to court Caroline.
She wasn’t a good girl, and she certainly wasn’t being a good daughter. Since the night of Lord Welsing’s ball, she’d allowed the staff to keep, even lock, her father in his room in the evenings so she could enjoy herself without worrying what trouble he might get into while she was out. She’d left him isolated and alone while she flirted and danced and indulged in dreams of a future that included her happiness, but not necessarily his. She’d been horribly selfish.
Patience feels awful for trying to have a good life at the expense of her dad and decides she must leave early to the countryside with her dad. William doesn't stop her from leaving as he is thrown and thinks it's too early to propose marriage. After talking with the father Meldrin (and some weird pimple, mountains out of mole hills talk), he knows something is up with Patience's father and he goes to the dandy dude to make sure he doesn't spread talk about Patience and her father and to learn the truth. He doesn't really bat an eye at her father's madness. +1 William. He regrets not being able to be spontaneous enough to ask Patience to marry him before she left and Patience regrets not fighting for William.
We jump time one month and it's the night of the Hartwell's Christmas Ball. Caroline gets Patience to go to the ball and as soon as she enters, William's sister drags her to the library. (If you're wondering, GOD YES, all I wanted to do was peek around and look for Lady Darvish rocking Eddleton's world behind some curtains. Huge missed opportunity to not tie them into this novella, imho) Alas, only William is in the library but he's there with a declaration of love. They decide to bang it out and I have to say, it felt like a scene added/forced in to bring this novella up to the heat level of the other two. After love and loving, their love fest is broken up with the news that Patience's dad is missing. William is instantly organizing a search party for him and Patience takes him aside to finally tell him that her father is mad, which he already knows but let's her be honest with him and she is relieved and falls even more in love with him because it doesn't bother him.
The mad father ends up galloping up the drive, as mad father's are wont to do, just before everyone leaves to search for him. Whew! We get a hint/line that Caroline might have found love and that line alone has me ready to search out if she got her own book (if you know, please tell me!). Most importantly though, along with the happily ever after, William gives Patience the gift I was waiting for him to give to her since the scene in the portrait hallway and gah!, it was as make me smile like a fool as I thought it would be.
This anthology was connected by all three stories having their characters end up at the Hartwell Christmas Ball. This could have been a cool idea but none of the characters from different stories interact or even brush by each other at the ball, so I was a little baffled why that would be used as a connection. Even though the title is Christmas Ball, I'm not sure it delivered on a strong holiday feel, there is snow, mistletoe, and bobbing for apples but unfortunately the holiday vibes end there. This was published in 2009 and I did appreciate how the stories had a uniqueness to them, I've struggled with recently published Regency feeling very same-y, by rote, and boring. The first story had me blinking like that Cary Elwes gif., the second had a half demon half human (Jennifer Ashley's Nvengaria series), and the third was my favorite with a fantastic emotionally hitting story. This had some heat and steam to it, so if you want to be perked up during short holiday break reading, this would be a good pick.
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan 3.5 stars
This story had some wilding out, y'all. It stars a head groom, Ian Michael MacGregor, and a scullery maid, Jane, who also happens to be the bastard daughter of the Earl who's estate they work on. Ian and Jane have a romance going but Jane has been reluctant to go all the way, she doesn't want a child born out of wedlock because of how she herself has been treated. Ian is about to tell Jane that he has been offered a man-of-all-work position that comes with a private cottage and ask her to go with him when they get interrupted by a maid named Agnes and she drags Jane away.
Turns out that Jane's half-sister Lady Sybil has run away with the artist who has been painting her portrait. Gasp! The Earl's man, Roskin, comes up with a plan to have Jane impersonate Lady Sybil at the Hartwell's Christmas Ball because there, Viscount Eddleton is going to propose to her and the estate desperately needs the funds that will come with Eddleton's offer of shares in a venture contingent on marrying Lady Sybil. Jane wants to do something for her father, even though he doesn't pay attention to her at all, she's hoping this favor will change that but not knowing when Sybil will be found, she doesn't want to actually end up married to Eddleton. With information Roskin got from the spill the beans maid Agnes, he gets villainy (Terrified people were always so much easier to manipulate) and threatens to let go Ian and without a character. This is almost a death sentence for a servant and Jane agrees to impersonate Sybil to save Ian.
Ian gets concerned about where Jane ran off to and finds out from Agnes that Jane has agreed to a deal to impersonate Sybil. He decides to impersonate a footman and when she is sitting alone at the dinner table pretending to be Sybil, he makes his presence known: “Is aught amiss, milady?” the footman behind her asked, his tone restrained, but his accent unmistakably Scottish. He knows that Jane is doing this to in some way get a show of affection from her father but he also gets a bit in his feels thinking she wants to live the good life. Jane, of course, doesn't tell him his job was threatened (remember that offer of another job he had, he wouldn't care he was getting fired but alas we need more page count) and after a heated kiss, they part frustrated with each other.
We get a pov from Sybil, she's rolling around in the sheets with her painter and then has an attack of conscience and decides that she will show up at the ball and accept Eddleton's proposal to save her father and then keep her painter on the side.
We then get a pov from Eddleton and learn that his future as an heir is in jeopardy when his uncle gets married and the wife is pregnant. Eddleton's creditors are starting to come calling. Then we get an introduction to, who I consider anyway, the star of the show, Lady Darvish. Lady Darvish, the Black Widow of Wembley Street, was on the prowl once again. She's apparently buried four husbands and has heard from a friend that Eddleton is good in bed, so now she's set her sights on him. She clues him into this by calling him Bertie and when Eddleton says that's not his name, “I called all my husbands Bertram. It kept things uncomplicated.” I mean, I want a full novel about this woman. Eddleton wants nothing to do with her but she lets him know she has bought all his vowels.
We switch back to Jane and Ian, Ian's now an outrider so he can talk to Jane on the way to the ball. He's starting to think Jane can have a better life without him (sigh) and ready to give her up. He wants a look at her fiance first, though. They arrive at the ball and as he's walking around the side of the house, he sees a lord banging a maid, his buddy with him tells him the lord is Eddleton! After Eddleton is rude to the maid, Ian decides he ain't letting Jane go now! We then get Ian sneaking into the party and stealing clothes from the lord of the manor and, you guessed it, now impersonating a lord. Jane sees him and freaks out, dragging him upstairs to the return the clothes. They talk, argue, admit their love for each other. They end up banging in the lord's bed. Rude. Here's where it starts to wild out, while they are upstairs banging, Lady Darvish manipulates Eddleton to proving his manhood and they are banging in the library.
Somehow, everyone ends up in the library and I do mean everyone. Jane, Sybil, Ian, and Eddleton coming out from behind a curtain with Lady Darvish are talking and figuring things out when Sybil and Jane's dad shows up. We learn that Roskin was bilking the estate (?) and now on his way to Australia. Jane and Sybil's dad ends up seeming like a dude who walked in at the last act, has no idea what the hell is going on but doesn't care (??) and is just happy to be there, while being loving/nice to Jane in a way that he wasn't for the vast majority of her life. Remember when I said, everyone? The painter shows up to the library, too! Turns out he's not just a painter but an Italian count! It's a Christmas miracle! Sybil jumps into his arms and he ends up just carrying her out of there (???). See, wilding (I had to rate this an extra star for Lady Darvish). I was kind of feeling thrown about at sea but I'm pretty sure in there Ian and Jane live happily ever after.
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley 3 stars
Like I said, this is set in Ashley's Nvengaria series, I haven't read any of those but it was pretty clear Mary and Valentin have appeared before. Valentin was recovering from a gunshot wound and Mary was taking care of him and they developed a tendre for each other. I'm not sure if this was shown in previous series books but Ashley did a nice quick job of relaying their past but keeping the story in the present. Not having read the Nvengaria series, I was a little thrown by the paranormal aspect of this one, Valentin is a logosh, which is a half demon, half human, he can turn into a werewolf thingy, I'm guessing from description. Apparently Valentin had to return to Nvengaria but told Mary to come to him but after a few months went by, she thought he just got caught up in the heat of the moment, she's 35 years old with a seventeen year old son and he's 27. There's also some Nvengaria politics at play and some revenge background that has Valentin being a bodyguard but also a spy and Mary doesn't like him putting himself in danger.
Anyway, Mary ends up being a chaperon for the daughter of a dear friend who passed away, the main event she's to chaperon is the Hartwell's Christmas Ball. At one of the parties they're at, the ambassador for Nvengaria is there, with his bodyguard Valentin. The spy aspects come into play for why Valentin is with the ambassador and not being a reader of the Nvengaria series, all that political drama, Valentin had some emotional personal drama to go along with it, kind of passed me by. It also plays into the angst between Mary and Valentin and why she's scared to allow herself to be with him but towards the end when everything was getting revealed, I felt a little lost with the tangled web of it all. If you are a reader of the Nvengaria series, you mileage would definitely vary from mine.
Traditions by Alissa Johnson 4 stars
Clearly, he was the only gentleman to have discovered the secret Miss Byerly. He found himself both pleased and irritated by the idea. He rather liked the notion of being the only man to recognize her charm. He cared less for the idea that she’d never before received flowers. A woman like Patience shouldn’t want for flowers.
This was my favorite of the anthology and oh what lovely emotion and depth it had in it's formulaic/trope, told before structure. I don't use formulaic and trope to be insulting but to acknowledge how these told a million times formats and characters can still bring the emotion if crafted with care.
It starts off with William Renwick, Earl of Casslebury, stating he has a plan. He's going to marry a lady with all the “good” qualities. He was a soldier for ten years before he very unexpectedly inherited the earldom. He has his sights set on Miss Caroline Meldrin but every time he tries to approach her at a party, she's disappeared with her plain, quiet friend, Patience Byerly. When he is determined to speak to Caroline to move the courtship along, he discovers them in the library and stops to eavesdrop. I kid you not, what opens his eyes up to Patience and gets him intrigued about her, is when he eavesdrops, Patience has just bet Caroline that she can fit a huge piece of chocolate cake fully in her mouth without cutting it up. That's right, Patience just snagged her man by shoving an ungodly sized piece of chocolate in her mouth. You never know, ladies!
Patience has secretly been crushing on William the whole little season but with her outdated gowns and awkward social graces, she never thought he would pay attention to her. We get more of a background on Patience and it drives the angst of the story. Her mother died when she was very young and while her father was knighted for his scientific work, he's always been eccentric, bordering on mad. The responsibility of taking care of herself and her father fell to her very young and still at 26 years old. When they finally had no money and were evicted she had to go one of her father's old students who was kind to her as a child and ask for help. She's staying with the Meldrin's on their charity and she feels awful because of it and how her father is much worse now and the secret of his madness could not only ruin her but also the Meldrins they are staying with.
When Will first witnesses her father's madness, she lets him think her father was just in his cups. Patience's plan is to enjoy the rest of the little season and then retire to the country with her father to take care of him and not be an in your face burden to the Meldrins. With this emotional stress we get some great lines from Patience's thoughts and feelings:
“Never know with girls.” His eyelids drooped. “Boys are easier. Should have had one of those.”
“Boys aren’t likely to bring you tea. Overly creamed, or otherwise.”
“All the same. Boys are easier.”
“I rather wonder if mothers aren’t, as well,” she said quietly, and watched as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out in sleep. She stood and bent down to place a gentle kiss on the wrinkled brow of Sir Franklin Byerly. “I’m sorry, Papa."
The “I rather wonder if mother's aren't, as well” is so, gah!
You can feel the emotion, love, and frustration from Patience as she has to care for her father and how it takes away from her own life. We don't get quite as much from William but we know his home life was filled with strife, he gets along with is sister but his parents and other brother seem to have animosity. William shines in his attraction to Patience.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Patience.”
“I…” Flustered, she attempted to make light of the compliment. “Without my spectacles, you mean.”
With exquisite gentleness, he slid her spectacles back into place. “You’re a beautiful woman,” he repeated.
I loved how he kept thinking he was the only one let in on the secret of how great Patience is and how she did loosen him up and add the joy to his life he was looking for.
Patience does have a moment thinking that his courting her has to do with trying to get information about Caroline but that doesn't linger too long as she straight up asks him. We love a Big Misunderstanding squashed! William doesn't see why he would think she wasn't good enough for him (not yet knowing her main issue is her mad father) as he was a solider and inherited by luck. Unfortunately, he rather doubted, “I wouldn’t mind marrying a poor woman,” would serve to make her smile again. And he very much wanted to see her smile again.
“Perhaps there is one holiday tradition I wouldn’t mind adhering to.”
She blinked very slowly. “Bob-Apple?”
Laughing softly, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Kissing you.”
There's some cute and depth/layers additives, William's sister has 12 kids (all boys!!!!) and the little side threads William tells added some charming moments and when the sister invites Patience to a dinner at her house, we get a sweet bobbing for apples scene. However, the angst comes to ahead when the Meldrins hold a party and Patience's father has a meltdown as the servants lock him in a room, after he was seen by some dandy dude who was trying to court Caroline.
She wasn’t a good girl, and she certainly wasn’t being a good daughter. Since the night of Lord Welsing’s ball, she’d allowed the staff to keep, even lock, her father in his room in the evenings so she could enjoy herself without worrying what trouble he might get into while she was out. She’d left him isolated and alone while she flirted and danced and indulged in dreams of a future that included her happiness, but not necessarily his. She’d been horribly selfish.
Patience feels awful for trying to have a good life at the expense of her dad and decides she must leave early to the countryside with her dad. William doesn't stop her from leaving as he is thrown and thinks it's too early to propose marriage. After talking with the father Meldrin (and some weird pimple, mountains out of mole hills talk), he knows something is up with Patience's father and he goes to the dandy dude to make sure he doesn't spread talk about Patience and her father and to learn the truth. He doesn't really bat an eye at her father's madness. +1 William. He regrets not being able to be spontaneous enough to ask Patience to marry him before she left and Patience regrets not fighting for William.
We jump time one month and it's the night of the Hartwell's Christmas Ball. Caroline gets Patience to go to the ball and as soon as she enters, William's sister drags her to the library. (If you're wondering, GOD YES, all I wanted to do was peek around and look for Lady Darvish rocking Eddleton's world behind some curtains. Huge missed opportunity to not tie them into this novella, imho) Alas, only William is in the library but he's there with a declaration of love. They decide to bang it out and I have to say, it felt like a scene added/forced in to bring this novella up to the heat level of the other two. After love and loving, their love fest is broken up with the news that Patience's dad is missing. William is instantly organizing a search party for him and Patience takes him aside to finally tell him that her father is mad, which he already knows but let's her be honest with him and she is relieved and falls even more in love with him because it doesn't bother him.
The mad father ends up galloping up the drive, as mad father's are wont to do, just before everyone leaves to search for him. Whew! We get a hint/line that Caroline might have found love and that line alone has me ready to search out if she got her own book (if you know, please tell me!). Most importantly though, along with the happily ever after, William gives Patience the gift I was waiting for him to give to her since the scene in the portrait hallway and gah!, it was as make me smile like a fool as I thought it would be.
December 30, 2009
Christmas Ball was an enjoyable read, but not particularly amazing. I had trouble keeping my interest in the stories. I'm not sure if it was the time of year, being so busy, or that I just didn't find them overwhelmingly interesting.
The Emily Bryan story was unique in that the couple were of the working class. Jane is the illegitimate daughter of a noble, consigned to work as a maid in the very house of her father. She has grown up with her spoiled legitimate sister and an indifferent father who never really acknowledged her presence. Since she's the spitting image of her sister, she is blackmailed into pretending to be her sister to accept a marriage proposal from a nobleman, since her sister has run off with an impoverished Italian artist. Jane would have said no, but her father's steward threatened to let go of her sweetheart, Ian, a stablehand, without a reference. She can't let that happen, so reluctantly agrees to impersonate her sister. This story definitely had some good points. I liked Jane and Ian, and I thought that the writing was good and rich. However, it had a bit of a modern feel that I found distracting. I really didn't think it was appropriate when Jane and Ian made love on the bed of the Marquess of Hartwell, a complete stranger. That had an ick factor to me. I certainly wouldn't want some strange couple having sex on my bed. The point of view of various characters involved in the intrigues, such as the legitimate sister, Sibyl, her Italian lover, the future husband, and the steward, was interesting, giving a fuller view of the story. Overall, I would give this story as 3 stars.
Jennifer Ashley returns to the Nvengarian series in this story about Valentin, a half Logosh bodyguard and agent for Prince Damien, and Mary, who is the sister of Egan MacDonald, from Highlander Ever After. I haven't read that book yet, so some of what occurred prior to this story was new to me. It didn't affect my ablity to enjoy this story. I have to say that this story didn't enthrall me like some of Ms. Ashley's other work. It was well-written, and it has the power and flavor of her characteristic style. I don't know if I just wasn't too captured by the story of a widow well into her thirties with a grown son, and her illicit relationship with a fallen aristocrat working as a bodyguard/assassin, or what. I'm not a big fan of the secret/forbidden lovers theme, so maybe that was the problem. At one point, I thought Mary was being a bit judgmental and intractable. She seemed to be very snobbish towards English and a bit towards the Nvengarians. She definitely seems to believe that the Scottish world is the center of the universe. I admit that attitude did not endear her to me. I can certainly understand the Scottish dislike of the English, but at the same time, I think it behooves a person to think outside of her own culture to gain understanding of the decisions and behavior of others. I didn't like the way she dismissed Valentin's need for revenge, and his need to serve the Nvengarian Prince and Duke Alexander. Yes, he needed to move on and find purpose for his life, but the way she communicated this to Valentin, was abrasive and somewhat annoying to me. She didn't seem to be considering why he felt the way he did very much, in my opinion. In the end, she did come around, but I can't say that she's a favorite heroine of mine. Overall, this was a good story. 3.5 stars.
The last story by Alissa Johnson was definitely my favorite, although there wasn't a lot going on. This is definitely a regency romance, in which the whole plot deals with an earl, at the point of realization that he must marry and soon, who starts to court one young lady, but ends up being captivated by her plainer friend. You would have enjoy these kinds of stories to like this one. For this reader, it was interesting to see this couple get to know each other, and watch their love grow as they spent time together. I never felt like I was reading a modern novel disguised as a historical, which is a plus for this reader. I enjoyed the back and forth between the couple, and their banter. I liked how the connection between them was very deep and real, with good chemistry. It was nice to see that the hero was able to see the hidden depths in this young lady, and quickly realized that she was the perfect bride for him. There was a serious element with the heroine's dealing with her father, who was showing signs of what we would call Alzheimer's disease nowadays. Back then, he was just considered 'mad'. The poor heroine didn't really have much of a life, trying to keep a roof over her head, dealing with a father who cared more about his experiments than his daughter, and finally dealing with a father who was sinking deeper and deeper into his disease process. And she felt like she would have to walk away from this man she had loved for some time, because he would be very unlikely to want to marry a poor nobody with a crazy father. It was gratifying that the hero didn't even think twice about the fact that the heroine's father had mental illness. He loved her, and was more than willing to take on the burden of her father. I found the couple to be very likeable, and I rooted for things to work out between them. Although this was my favorite story, I did have trouble concentrating on the storyline at times. Again, I don't know if it's the time of year and having so much on my plate, and feeling pressure to get this read. All the same, I'm glad I read this story. 4 stars.
Overall, a good Christmas anthology. Certainly not one of my favorites, and not the most involving read, at times. But, in all fairness, with so much going on, it's pretty hard to concentrate on a book right now. All in all, Christmas Ball was a good way to spend a few hours around the Christmas holiday.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 stars .
The Emily Bryan story was unique in that the couple were of the working class. Jane is the illegitimate daughter of a noble, consigned to work as a maid in the very house of her father. She has grown up with her spoiled legitimate sister and an indifferent father who never really acknowledged her presence. Since she's the spitting image of her sister, she is blackmailed into pretending to be her sister to accept a marriage proposal from a nobleman, since her sister has run off with an impoverished Italian artist. Jane would have said no, but her father's steward threatened to let go of her sweetheart, Ian, a stablehand, without a reference. She can't let that happen, so reluctantly agrees to impersonate her sister. This story definitely had some good points. I liked Jane and Ian, and I thought that the writing was good and rich. However, it had a bit of a modern feel that I found distracting. I really didn't think it was appropriate when Jane and Ian made love on the bed of the Marquess of Hartwell, a complete stranger. That had an ick factor to me. I certainly wouldn't want some strange couple having sex on my bed. The point of view of various characters involved in the intrigues, such as the legitimate sister, Sibyl, her Italian lover, the future husband, and the steward, was interesting, giving a fuller view of the story. Overall, I would give this story as 3 stars.
Jennifer Ashley returns to the Nvengarian series in this story about Valentin, a half Logosh bodyguard and agent for Prince Damien, and Mary, who is the sister of Egan MacDonald, from Highlander Ever After. I haven't read that book yet, so some of what occurred prior to this story was new to me. It didn't affect my ablity to enjoy this story. I have to say that this story didn't enthrall me like some of Ms. Ashley's other work. It was well-written, and it has the power and flavor of her characteristic style. I don't know if I just wasn't too captured by the story of a widow well into her thirties with a grown son, and her illicit relationship with a fallen aristocrat working as a bodyguard/assassin, or what. I'm not a big fan of the secret/forbidden lovers theme, so maybe that was the problem. At one point, I thought Mary was being a bit judgmental and intractable. She seemed to be very snobbish towards English and a bit towards the Nvengarians. She definitely seems to believe that the Scottish world is the center of the universe. I admit that attitude did not endear her to me. I can certainly understand the Scottish dislike of the English, but at the same time, I think it behooves a person to think outside of her own culture to gain understanding of the decisions and behavior of others. I didn't like the way she dismissed Valentin's need for revenge, and his need to serve the Nvengarian Prince and Duke Alexander. Yes, he needed to move on and find purpose for his life, but the way she communicated this to Valentin, was abrasive and somewhat annoying to me. She didn't seem to be considering why he felt the way he did very much, in my opinion. In the end, she did come around, but I can't say that she's a favorite heroine of mine. Overall, this was a good story. 3.5 stars.
The last story by Alissa Johnson was definitely my favorite, although there wasn't a lot going on. This is definitely a regency romance, in which the whole plot deals with an earl, at the point of realization that he must marry and soon, who starts to court one young lady, but ends up being captivated by her plainer friend. You would have enjoy these kinds of stories to like this one. For this reader, it was interesting to see this couple get to know each other, and watch their love grow as they spent time together. I never felt like I was reading a modern novel disguised as a historical, which is a plus for this reader. I enjoyed the back and forth between the couple, and their banter. I liked how the connection between them was very deep and real, with good chemistry. It was nice to see that the hero was able to see the hidden depths in this young lady, and quickly realized that she was the perfect bride for him. There was a serious element with the heroine's dealing with her father, who was showing signs of what we would call Alzheimer's disease nowadays. Back then, he was just considered 'mad'. The poor heroine didn't really have much of a life, trying to keep a roof over her head, dealing with a father who cared more about his experiments than his daughter, and finally dealing with a father who was sinking deeper and deeper into his disease process. And she felt like she would have to walk away from this man she had loved for some time, because he would be very unlikely to want to marry a poor nobody with a crazy father. It was gratifying that the hero didn't even think twice about the fact that the heroine's father had mental illness. He loved her, and was more than willing to take on the burden of her father. I found the couple to be very likeable, and I rooted for things to work out between them. Although this was my favorite story, I did have trouble concentrating on the storyline at times. Again, I don't know if it's the time of year and having so much on my plate, and feeling pressure to get this read. All the same, I'm glad I read this story. 4 stars.
Overall, a good Christmas anthology. Certainly not one of my favorites, and not the most involving read, at times. But, in all fairness, with so much going on, it's pretty hard to concentrate on a book right now. All in all, Christmas Ball was a good way to spend a few hours around the Christmas holiday.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 stars .
November 19, 2017
My Lady Belowstairs(Emily Bryan)- 2 stars. This had decent relationship development for a short and I️ enjoyed this one a surprising bit. I️ also liked the twist at the end. However the blase way in which the aristocracy treated infidelity/liaisons in this story grossed me out. Overall a decent HR short.
The Longest Night (Jennifer Ashley)- I don't feel right rating this short since it's part of a series that I haven't read. I definitely would have enjoyed (or at least understood) it more had I read the previous installments of the Nvengarian series. That being said, I didn't enjoy this one. The love that the MCs felt was not compelling and the fact that the H made me with for more for the h. And the fact that she even considered his offer, not because she felt like she didn't deserve better but because she "ached for him" had me sighing the deep sighs. If I were to rate this, I'd give it one star. It was well written, properly edited, but not moving or memorable in any way.
Traditions (Alissa Johnson)- 2 stars. I hadn't realized that this was the same as the short A Christmas Dance (?), but it was a enjoyable reread nonetheless.
For a short, Johnson managed to achieve great characterization. The MCs could have been developed more, but they were interesting enough as they were. This would have been even better as a full length novel. Fun and easy to read, this was the definition of short and sweet.
The Longest Night (Jennifer Ashley)- I don't feel right rating this short since it's part of a series that I haven't read. I definitely would have enjoyed (or at least understood) it more had I read the previous installments of the Nvengarian series. That being said, I didn't enjoy this one. The love that the MCs felt was not compelling and the fact that the H made me with for more for the h. And the fact that she even considered his offer, not because she felt like she didn't deserve better but because she "ached for him" had me sighing the deep sighs. If I were to rate this, I'd give it one star. It was well written, properly edited, but not moving or memorable in any way.
Traditions (Alissa Johnson)- 2 stars. I hadn't realized that this was the same as the short A Christmas Dance (?), but it was a enjoyable reread nonetheless.
For a short, Johnson managed to achieve great characterization. The MCs could have been developed more, but they were interesting enough as they were. This would have been even better as a full length novel. Fun and easy to read, this was the definition of short and sweet.
December 11, 2009
A Christmas Ball by Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan, and Alissa Johnson
I did something with this book that I have not done in a long time. I read it totally fresh, without reading any blurbs, reviews, etc. I had no idea what the story was about. There is something wonderful about diving in with no preconceptions whatsoever.
I started out with Emily Bryan's My Lady Below Stairs. I got hooked on this story immediately and was extremely curious about how it would play out. I really did not know if Jane and Ian would end up together. Would Lord Eddleton be cool or an ass? Maybe he was her true love?
The best thing about this story is all of the unexpected surprises. Giovanni, the impassioned artist, is not who he seems. Sybil, the spoiled daughter, is not as shallow as we think. Ian, the head groom, is more clever, determined and madly in love than we could imagine. Bryan weaves a multitude of threads together in this story, and as the threads come together, you know that you're in for a wonderful surprise. I LOVE stories that weave together a bunch of different POVs. Usually, you can figure out what's about to happen far in advance. But Emily Bryan really surprised me at the end with all of the revelations about the characters. I adored the final scene in the library, written with all of the wit and humor that is characteristic of this author. It borders on a historical farce, which is one of my favorite things!
It is extremely difficult to write a novella. Some authors are able to "capture the magic" with 50,000 words or less, and some aren't. Bryan totally nails it. This story has all the things I love about her longer historicals...it's beautifully written, has lusty love scenes, wonderful humor, and a very satisfying ending.
This story is truly like an unexpected Christmas gift...I opened the package having no expectations, and I found a real treasure. Thank you, Emily, for this sweet Christmas story.
Next up was Jennifer Ashley's The Longest Night. Before I go any further, let me just say that I thought The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie was brilliant. Brilliant! It totally blew me out of the water. So, I had very high expectations about this story. Unfortunately, Ashley did something that really irritates me with novellas. She obviously was writing about characters introduced in another book. I have not read her other works, but I have heard great things about them. However, when I read an anthology, I want them to be stand-alone stories. There was clearly a large history going on with the families involved, and as a newcomer to this paranormal historical world, I was feeling a bit out to sea. Having said that, I still enjoyed The Longest Night, and was quite intrigued about the "logosh" concept--a demon/shapeshifter? Valentin is a great hero, with a lot of potential. I would like to see him in a longer novel.
There were several other concerns about this story. One, the introduction of the paranormal aspect was rather jarring. I assumed that this story was also a regular historical, and the fact that there was a shape-shifter involved was totally unexpected. (Typically, anthologies have all of the novellas within the same sub-genre...historical, paranormal, etc. The fact that 2 of these stories are straight up historicals, and one is a paranormal historical, is a bit strange. But I digress.) Also, there is a disturbing background story about Valentin's sister that really bothered me. Christmas stories should be light-hearted, sweet, and well, Christmas-y. I don't want to hear about someone being brutalized. My take on Ashley's story is this...as a stand-alone Christmas-y novella, it fails. If she is trying to get new readers to try her other books, then it works. I was sufficiently intrigued about the logosh legend and the country of "Nvengaria" to check out her other titles.
After reading this story, it became apparent that the Christmas angle for this anthology is that the characters are attending the same ball. As far as gimmicks go, it's a cute idea. But I was expecting some overlap with the characters. More of a Christmas "theme" going on. Ashley's book mostly takes place at another location, and the ball seems pretty unnecessary. Both Bryan's and Ashley's novellas could have been set in the summertime at a ball, and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Finally, I read the last story, Traditions by Alissa Johnson, a totally new author to me. Oh my goodness! Utterly delicious!! As delicious as a Buche de Noel. As delicious as creamy cup of hot chocolate. As delicious as a platter of rich, chewy gingerbread men. I adored this final story of A Christmas Ball! Johnson focuses on what is most important...the characters. They are wonderfully real and fully formed within this short novel, which is a very difficult thing to do. I love anal retentive heroes who learn a life lesson about enjoying the spontaneity of life. I adore heroines with glasses with a few hidden quirks (like stuffing an entire piece of cake into her mouth! awesome!). Patience and William are an adorable couple, and this story really captures the essence of what a Christmas romance should be. The importance of family is a wonderful and touching Christmas theme, and Johnson does a marvelous job weaving a magical, sweet and satisfying tale with Traditions. Bravo!
Overall Grade: A-
Penelope
I did something with this book that I have not done in a long time. I read it totally fresh, without reading any blurbs, reviews, etc. I had no idea what the story was about. There is something wonderful about diving in with no preconceptions whatsoever.
I started out with Emily Bryan's My Lady Below Stairs. I got hooked on this story immediately and was extremely curious about how it would play out. I really did not know if Jane and Ian would end up together. Would Lord Eddleton be cool or an ass? Maybe he was her true love?
The best thing about this story is all of the unexpected surprises. Giovanni, the impassioned artist, is not who he seems. Sybil, the spoiled daughter, is not as shallow as we think. Ian, the head groom, is more clever, determined and madly in love than we could imagine. Bryan weaves a multitude of threads together in this story, and as the threads come together, you know that you're in for a wonderful surprise. I LOVE stories that weave together a bunch of different POVs. Usually, you can figure out what's about to happen far in advance. But Emily Bryan really surprised me at the end with all of the revelations about the characters. I adored the final scene in the library, written with all of the wit and humor that is characteristic of this author. It borders on a historical farce, which is one of my favorite things!
It is extremely difficult to write a novella. Some authors are able to "capture the magic" with 50,000 words or less, and some aren't. Bryan totally nails it. This story has all the things I love about her longer historicals...it's beautifully written, has lusty love scenes, wonderful humor, and a very satisfying ending.
This story is truly like an unexpected Christmas gift...I opened the package having no expectations, and I found a real treasure. Thank you, Emily, for this sweet Christmas story.
Next up was Jennifer Ashley's The Longest Night. Before I go any further, let me just say that I thought The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie was brilliant. Brilliant! It totally blew me out of the water. So, I had very high expectations about this story. Unfortunately, Ashley did something that really irritates me with novellas. She obviously was writing about characters introduced in another book. I have not read her other works, but I have heard great things about them. However, when I read an anthology, I want them to be stand-alone stories. There was clearly a large history going on with the families involved, and as a newcomer to this paranormal historical world, I was feeling a bit out to sea. Having said that, I still enjoyed The Longest Night, and was quite intrigued about the "logosh" concept--a demon/shapeshifter? Valentin is a great hero, with a lot of potential. I would like to see him in a longer novel.
There were several other concerns about this story. One, the introduction of the paranormal aspect was rather jarring. I assumed that this story was also a regular historical, and the fact that there was a shape-shifter involved was totally unexpected. (Typically, anthologies have all of the novellas within the same sub-genre...historical, paranormal, etc. The fact that 2 of these stories are straight up historicals, and one is a paranormal historical, is a bit strange. But I digress.) Also, there is a disturbing background story about Valentin's sister that really bothered me. Christmas stories should be light-hearted, sweet, and well, Christmas-y. I don't want to hear about someone being brutalized. My take on Ashley's story is this...as a stand-alone Christmas-y novella, it fails. If she is trying to get new readers to try her other books, then it works. I was sufficiently intrigued about the logosh legend and the country of "Nvengaria" to check out her other titles.
After reading this story, it became apparent that the Christmas angle for this anthology is that the characters are attending the same ball. As far as gimmicks go, it's a cute idea. But I was expecting some overlap with the characters. More of a Christmas "theme" going on. Ashley's book mostly takes place at another location, and the ball seems pretty unnecessary. Both Bryan's and Ashley's novellas could have been set in the summertime at a ball, and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Finally, I read the last story, Traditions by Alissa Johnson, a totally new author to me. Oh my goodness! Utterly delicious!! As delicious as a Buche de Noel. As delicious as creamy cup of hot chocolate. As delicious as a platter of rich, chewy gingerbread men. I adored this final story of A Christmas Ball! Johnson focuses on what is most important...the characters. They are wonderfully real and fully formed within this short novel, which is a very difficult thing to do. I love anal retentive heroes who learn a life lesson about enjoying the spontaneity of life. I adore heroines with glasses with a few hidden quirks (like stuffing an entire piece of cake into her mouth! awesome!). Patience and William are an adorable couple, and this story really captures the essence of what a Christmas romance should be. The importance of family is a wonderful and touching Christmas theme, and Johnson does a marvelous job weaving a magical, sweet and satisfying tale with Traditions. Bravo!
Overall Grade: A-
Penelope
February 18, 2020
The perfect read for the Holidays.
3 well written quick reads:
My Lady Below Stairs - Emily Bryan
The Longest Night - Jennifer Ashley
Traditions - Alissa Johnson
3 well written quick reads:
My Lady Below Stairs - Emily Bryan
The Longest Night - Jennifer Ashley
Traditions - Alissa Johnson
December 7, 2017
Fiction needs to have at least a kernel of truth that you can hold on to. A groom and scullery maid who both know how to waltz at a fashionable ball? And speak proper English? And how to properly conduct themselves in society? All without EVER having done so in the past? I DON’T THINK SO!
When I pick up a Regency Romance, I do not expect to read about a romance between a groom and a scullery maid. Damn it, there is a formula to these things, and authors should stick to it.
The first story in this 3 novella book was so completely implausible and so poorly written that not only will I not be reading the other two stories, it has put me right off of reading any more Regency Christmas stories this year.
When I pick up a Regency Romance, I do not expect to read about a romance between a groom and a scullery maid. Damn it, there is a formula to these things, and authors should stick to it.
The first story in this 3 novella book was so completely implausible and so poorly written that not only will I not be reading the other two stories, it has put me right off of reading any more Regency Christmas stories this year.
November 2, 2009
A Christmas Ball
Written by: Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan & Alissa Johnson
Published by: Leisure Books
Date: September 29th, 2009
Pages: 336
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0843962505
The first story in A Christmas Ball is My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan. Emily’s characters are refreshing and unique and the witty dialog between them is just what I’ve come to expect and I have always loved about Emily’s writing.
Jane Tate, the illegitimate daughter of nobility, is coerced into impersonating her legitimate half-sister to save the family from disgrace. It’s no surprise when Jane has the presence of mind and generosity of spirit go along with the plan to impersonate her sister for a short time and hopefully save the Somerville family’s name from disgrace. There is one tiny problem; Jane’s muscular beau Ian, doesn’t like the idea one bit! Tempers flare and adventures abound in this historical romance as Jane and Ian fight for their love and a future together.
The second story in this anthology is The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley. I have never been a big fan of mixing paranormal elements into historical romances, but I’m sure that this story will still be a big hit with many readers.
Mary Cameron offers to chaperone the daughter of a deceased friend as a generous favor. While her charge is whirling with excitement and anticipation, Mary solemnly does her duty by the girl and...
* Please click through to read the full review:
http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress....
Written by: Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan & Alissa Johnson
Published by: Leisure Books
Date: September 29th, 2009
Pages: 336
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0843962505
The first story in A Christmas Ball is My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan. Emily’s characters are refreshing and unique and the witty dialog between them is just what I’ve come to expect and I have always loved about Emily’s writing.
Jane Tate, the illegitimate daughter of nobility, is coerced into impersonating her legitimate half-sister to save the family from disgrace. It’s no surprise when Jane has the presence of mind and generosity of spirit go along with the plan to impersonate her sister for a short time and hopefully save the Somerville family’s name from disgrace. There is one tiny problem; Jane’s muscular beau Ian, doesn’t like the idea one bit! Tempers flare and adventures abound in this historical romance as Jane and Ian fight for their love and a future together.
The second story in this anthology is The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley. I have never been a big fan of mixing paranormal elements into historical romances, but I’m sure that this story will still be a big hit with many readers.
Mary Cameron offers to chaperone the daughter of a deceased friend as a generous favor. While her charge is whirling with excitement and anticipation, Mary solemnly does her duty by the girl and...
* Please click through to read the full review:
http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress....
April 20, 2011
Anthology. Better than average anthology.
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan. This story is about the below stairs staff which I loved. I'm kind of sick of the ton being about 20,000 people or so. Isn't ton 1000? Anyway, the bastard daughter of a her employer has been making kissy face with the groom. Her half sister (legitimate daughter) has run off with an artist and she's asked/blackmailed into showing up at a ball and accepting a proposal of marriage on her half-sister's behalf. The groom isn't letting her out of his sight. Loved this story. First time reading this author. ****
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley is about Vincent from her Nvengarian series. I've always liked Vincent and I loved that his lady love is 35 while he's just 27 and he finds her incredibly sexy. Love those European ideas of beauty. There's a little mystery. Great story. ****
Traditions by Allison Johnson. Patience is enjoying a short season before she is sent to near seclusion to take care of her crazy father. William at first thinks he likes Patience's friend Caroline but ends up being really intrigued by her when she shoves a whole piece of cake in her mouth. What's not to love about that? Cute, funny, a little sad. First time reading this author. ****
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan. This story is about the below stairs staff which I loved. I'm kind of sick of the ton being about 20,000 people or so. Isn't ton 1000? Anyway, the bastard daughter of a her employer has been making kissy face with the groom. Her half sister (legitimate daughter) has run off with an artist and she's asked/blackmailed into showing up at a ball and accepting a proposal of marriage on her half-sister's behalf. The groom isn't letting her out of his sight. Loved this story. First time reading this author. ****
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley is about Vincent from her Nvengarian series. I've always liked Vincent and I loved that his lady love is 35 while he's just 27 and he finds her incredibly sexy. Love those European ideas of beauty. There's a little mystery. Great story. ****
Traditions by Allison Johnson. Patience is enjoying a short season before she is sent to near seclusion to take care of her crazy father. William at first thinks he likes Patience's friend Caroline but ends up being really intrigued by her when she shoves a whole piece of cake in her mouth. What's not to love about that? Cute, funny, a little sad. First time reading this author. ****
December 19, 2014
There are 3 short stories in this Christmas anthology, but I must say that my favorite was the third, Alissa Johnson's "Traditions". It's a Regency-set romance where the heroine's father is considered mad. My grandmother suffered from dementia and the heroine's father displayed similar symptoms. I felt connected to the heroine since I knew the difficulty of living with a family member who would at times forget her name or who she was as well as other things. And the hero's compassion to the situation was touching. I enjoyed reading this story.
October 28, 2012
- "My Lady Below Stairs" by Emily Bryan - 1 star (though I liked the concept I didn't like the story or characters)
- "The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley - 3 stars
- "Traditions" by Alissa Johnson - 4 stars
- "The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley - 3 stars
- "Traditions" by Alissa Johnson - 4 stars
December 20, 2024
I enjoyed this trio of short stories. Each author had somewhat the same, yet different writing style. They were all interesting reads, but I must say, I enjoyed Alissa Johnson's Traditions best of the three. It was a cute and funny read. The one least expected to win the hero, does. It was a far different twist on how she gained the gentleman's attention and admiration. She captivates him when she and the lady he wishes to seek are found in a private exchange, and she stuffs an entire piece of cake into her mouth on a dare from her dear friend. Also, Emily Brown's My Lady Below Stairs contains a twist of fate that ends in a chaotic of who's who at the end, which is charming. The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley is still tumbling around in my head after more than a week. So, if you like that sort of thing, I would say it is very good. I usually forget even my favourite authors and stories soon after I've read them. This one involved a shapeshifter as our hero, who, for whatever reason, our heroine was never afraid of, although this story is not their first meeting. In the description of her initial witness of his change into a wolf, she gives no indication she was ever disturbed by it. I suppose that as much as the believability is what keeps me rolling it around in my head. Would I read more stories of this kind? Probably so.
January 13, 2019
I give 4 stars to Traditions, by Alissa Johnson, but only 3 stars to Lady Below stairs by Emily Bryan. Jennifer Ashley’s short story wasn’t what I was expecting and I didn’t finish it. Maybe some day. Traditions is a really romantic novella, with intense moments and all the usual feelings a good romance brings upon you. I’ll look for more works from these authors. Jennifer Ashley will be forever redeemed if only for her Madness of Sir Ian Mackenzie and the rest of her Mackenzie’s world.
October 18, 2021
novellas just don't work
this was my second read [a couple years back] and while i did get through the entire book the first time, could not do so again. Remembered most of the details and they did not inspire. did read the last one Alissa Johnson, and even that was not sufficient.
have decided to avoid the compilations as there is usually only a single story if that, that in any way entertains
this was my second read [a couple years back] and while i did get through the entire book the first time, could not do so again. Remembered most of the details and they did not inspire. did read the last one Alissa Johnson, and even that was not sufficient.
have decided to avoid the compilations as there is usually only a single story if that, that in any way entertains
December 1, 2019
A trio of novellas, the one by Emily Bryan, My Lady Below Stairs, really stood out. Starring the servants, I read this one eagerly, caught up in the ambitions and interests of the servant class. After all the lords and ladies get dropped off at the ball, what DOES happen to the footmen, drivers, maids, etc. This look below stairs was the highlight of the book.
April 16, 2022
“A Christmas Ball” has three uplifting stories centered around the annual holiday ball at Hartwell House. The stories link three families as they reach for love, acceptance and the joy of the season.
A sweet holiday or anytime read!
A sweet holiday or anytime read!
November 25, 2025
Novella #1 - My Lady Below Stairs 5/5
Novella #2 - The Longest Night 2/5
I actually might have liked this more without the weird shapeshifter element to the plotline. It seemed incredibly weird and out of place in a Christmas novella
Novella #3 - Traditions 3/5
Average 3.33 - rounded down to 3
Novella #2 - The Longest Night 2/5
I actually might have liked this more without the weird shapeshifter element to the plotline. It seemed incredibly weird and out of place in a Christmas novella
Novella #3 - Traditions 3/5
Average 3.33 - rounded down to 3
December 19, 2017
I liked the first and last stories. The middle was a bit off since it was #4 of a series.
December 28, 2019
Nice read on a cool winters night. Three stories to curl up with. I enjoyed it.
August 25, 2020
Three good romantic novellas that seem to culminate in a Christmas Ball hosted by the same Lord (Hartnell?)
December 29, 2023
Three separate stories of women seeking love or running straight into love. All enter the local London Christmas ball not expecting to find their soulmate.
July 25, 2011
If any of you read my reviews over the past holiday season, you’ll know I was on the search for a really feel-good Christmas story. I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for at the time. When I was offered the chance to read A Christmas Ball by three terrific historical authors, I jumped at the chance, even though the holiday season was months ago. While these three novellas don’t quite embody the Christmas-y feeling I was after either, it truly doesn’t matter because they’re each so good. That’s what big-name authors will do for you every time.
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan
This is my first story by Emily Bryan, and I have to say I’m very pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Jane is the illegitimate daughter of the house, a servant, as her station requires, instead of going to balls and all else that comes with noble birth. She’s in love with Ian, the estate’s head groom, but when family calls she sides with them, doing as they ask though it goes against the grain for her.
Posing as Lady Sybil, her half-sister, Jane is to accept a marriage proposal from Lord Eddleton at the Hartwell’s ball, thereby saving the family from disgrace since Sybil has once again been selfish. She’s run off with her current lover. It sounds so simple. And it should have been, if it hadn’t been for Ian.
He’s not happy watching his love waltz around with man after man and then accept marriage from a man who Ian knows won’t be faithful. But Ian does have second thoughts when he realizes he can’t give Jane the life she’s been entitled to but never had.
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley
This story is a continuation of Ms. Ashley’s Nvengarian series, and we last saw Mary at the end of Highlander Ever After when Valenin was injured and asked Mary to come to him once he was home in Nvengaria. I had hoped at the time I read and reviewed HEA that Valentin and Mary would eventually get their story. Ms. Ashley, once again, doesn’t disappoint.
We find out that Mary never did take Valentin up on his offer, for various reasons of her own. He’s now back in England on another mission for his Prince and as luck would have it, he shows up at a ball where Mary is chaperoning a young girl as a favor to a friend.
The heat and attraction is still there between them and Valentin does his best to seduce Mary into his bed and into finally going home with him. But suddenly there is danger everywhere and neither of them may survive to be together in either England or Nvengaria.
Traditions by Alissa Johnson
This novella is my favorite of the three. Ms. Johnson had me grinning from ear to ear from beginning to end in this engaging story.
William is an earl and he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s already picked out the perfect candidate and now he only has to ask that most important question. Locating her at the Hartwell’s ball proves difficult, but when he finally spies her, all of his well-laid plans fly right out the window.
All because of another young woman who isn’t a beauty, who isn’t well born, but can stuff a huge piece of cake into her mouth all at once. Watching Patience perform that little feat makes him want to get to know her better, and when he does it’s her intelligence and wit, her humor and laughter that capture his heart.
The characters are charming and the dialogue is loads of fun. Ms. Johnson has become a favorite of mine over the last couple of years, and she proves once again why that is.
See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan
This is my first story by Emily Bryan, and I have to say I’m very pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Jane is the illegitimate daughter of the house, a servant, as her station requires, instead of going to balls and all else that comes with noble birth. She’s in love with Ian, the estate’s head groom, but when family calls she sides with them, doing as they ask though it goes against the grain for her.
Posing as Lady Sybil, her half-sister, Jane is to accept a marriage proposal from Lord Eddleton at the Hartwell’s ball, thereby saving the family from disgrace since Sybil has once again been selfish. She’s run off with her current lover. It sounds so simple. And it should have been, if it hadn’t been for Ian.
He’s not happy watching his love waltz around with man after man and then accept marriage from a man who Ian knows won’t be faithful. But Ian does have second thoughts when he realizes he can’t give Jane the life she’s been entitled to but never had.
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley
This story is a continuation of Ms. Ashley’s Nvengarian series, and we last saw Mary at the end of Highlander Ever After when Valenin was injured and asked Mary to come to him once he was home in Nvengaria. I had hoped at the time I read and reviewed HEA that Valentin and Mary would eventually get their story. Ms. Ashley, once again, doesn’t disappoint.
We find out that Mary never did take Valentin up on his offer, for various reasons of her own. He’s now back in England on another mission for his Prince and as luck would have it, he shows up at a ball where Mary is chaperoning a young girl as a favor to a friend.
The heat and attraction is still there between them and Valentin does his best to seduce Mary into his bed and into finally going home with him. But suddenly there is danger everywhere and neither of them may survive to be together in either England or Nvengaria.
Traditions by Alissa Johnson
This novella is my favorite of the three. Ms. Johnson had me grinning from ear to ear from beginning to end in this engaging story.
William is an earl and he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s already picked out the perfect candidate and now he only has to ask that most important question. Locating her at the Hartwell’s ball proves difficult, but when he finally spies her, all of his well-laid plans fly right out the window.
All because of another young woman who isn’t a beauty, who isn’t well born, but can stuff a huge piece of cake into her mouth all at once. Watching Patience perform that little feat makes him want to get to know her better, and when he does it’s her intelligence and wit, her humor and laughter that capture his heart.
The characters are charming and the dialogue is loads of fun. Ms. Johnson has become a favorite of mine over the last couple of years, and she proves once again why that is.
See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com
May 10, 2012
Customarily I find anthologies to be disappointing but I was charmed by all of these stories. In general they are no more lacking or engaging that most other novellas yet their plots and characters are a good degree different. It's hard to formulate a great story in 100ish pages but these three stories were entertaining, colorful, a little steamy and unconventional. I've also found two new authors to consume.
Solid 3.5/4 Stars
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan
This is my first Emily Bryan story and this tale caught me by surprise with the unexpected heroine/plot. The heroine, Jane, is the unrecognized, illegitimate daughter of Somerville Manor where she works as a servant. Jane's half sister, Lady Sybil, is supposed to accept a marriage proposal at tonight's Christmas Ball, saving the family from financial ruin. Instead Sybil has run off with her lover, prevailing on Jane to act in her stead, accept the proposal and pretend to be her until Sybil is returned. But what if Sybil isn't returned demands Janie's Scottish love Ian Michael McGregor? And therein lies the problem. Ian Michael thinks Janie deserves the world, more accurately she should have all the privileges Sybil has, but Ian knows he can't offer his Janie that life. What's a man in love to do? Ian Michael is a marvelous character who I wish had his own full novel.
3.5/4 stars
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley
If you haven't read Jennifer Ashley's Nvengarian series, give it a try. And if you like things steamy, keep reading her stuff. As for this tale it continues several months after the final Nverngarian book leaves off with the story of Mary (Egan MacDonald sister from Highlander Ever After) and Valentin. Valentin asked Mary to visit him in Nverngaria but months have passed and she hasn't come. Mary hesitates and ultimately thinks it's not a good idea for many reasons. Now they are both in London. Mary is chaperoning a dear old friend's daughter and planning to reunite there with her son for Christmas. Valentin is on a secret mission from the Grand Duke and when their worlds collide danger, secrets and sweet seduction abound. Valentin is superb and this tale is a lovely and steamy story involving a a younger man and older woman which I for one have rarely seen.
3.5/4 stars
Traditions by Alissa Johnson
The Earl of Casslebury, William Renwick always has a plan. His plan right now is to court and marry Miss Caroline Meldrin who keeps sneaking away with her friend Miss Patience Byerly. It's "damnably irritating" and it's no surpise that Johnson had me at "damnably irritating." There is something so very appealing about the hero being frustrated from the start. So, Casslebury's plans are interrupted, repeatedly, by Miss Byerly and suddenly he's seeing her in a new, very attractive light. Miss Byerly is convinced that the Earl is only showing her attention to woo Caroline and she says as much but still she likes the attention, fears it will be the only such she'll ever receive because she's hiding a secret that threatens her future.
I've never read anything by Alissa Johnson and found her writing to be highly amusing and completely absorbing. Not one line of wasted or boring words in the whole story. You will grin like a fool the entire time too. Ending (sex scene) is slightly rushed but it works and it's 110 pages of smiley fun.
3.5/4 stars
Solid 3.5/4 Stars
My Lady Below Stairs by Emily Bryan
This is my first Emily Bryan story and this tale caught me by surprise with the unexpected heroine/plot. The heroine, Jane, is the unrecognized, illegitimate daughter of Somerville Manor where she works as a servant. Jane's half sister, Lady Sybil, is supposed to accept a marriage proposal at tonight's Christmas Ball, saving the family from financial ruin. Instead Sybil has run off with her lover, prevailing on Jane to act in her stead, accept the proposal and pretend to be her until Sybil is returned. But what if Sybil isn't returned demands Janie's Scottish love Ian Michael McGregor? And therein lies the problem. Ian Michael thinks Janie deserves the world, more accurately she should have all the privileges Sybil has, but Ian knows he can't offer his Janie that life. What's a man in love to do? Ian Michael is a marvelous character who I wish had his own full novel.
3.5/4 stars
The Longest Night by Jennifer Ashley
If you haven't read Jennifer Ashley's Nvengarian series, give it a try. And if you like things steamy, keep reading her stuff. As for this tale it continues several months after the final Nverngarian book leaves off with the story of Mary (Egan MacDonald sister from Highlander Ever After) and Valentin. Valentin asked Mary to visit him in Nverngaria but months have passed and she hasn't come. Mary hesitates and ultimately thinks it's not a good idea for many reasons. Now they are both in London. Mary is chaperoning a dear old friend's daughter and planning to reunite there with her son for Christmas. Valentin is on a secret mission from the Grand Duke and when their worlds collide danger, secrets and sweet seduction abound. Valentin is superb and this tale is a lovely and steamy story involving a a younger man and older woman which I for one have rarely seen.
3.5/4 stars
Traditions by Alissa Johnson
The Earl of Casslebury, William Renwick always has a plan. His plan right now is to court and marry Miss Caroline Meldrin who keeps sneaking away with her friend Miss Patience Byerly. It's "damnably irritating" and it's no surpise that Johnson had me at "damnably irritating." There is something so very appealing about the hero being frustrated from the start. So, Casslebury's plans are interrupted, repeatedly, by Miss Byerly and suddenly he's seeing her in a new, very attractive light. Miss Byerly is convinced that the Earl is only showing her attention to woo Caroline and she says as much but still she likes the attention, fears it will be the only such she'll ever receive because she's hiding a secret that threatens her future.
I've never read anything by Alissa Johnson and found her writing to be highly amusing and completely absorbing. Not one line of wasted or boring words in the whole story. You will grin like a fool the entire time too. Ending (sex scene) is slightly rushed but it works and it's 110 pages of smiley fun.
3.5/4 stars
February 18, 2017
Fun little novelettes
May 14, 2012
Three stories, all told the night of the Hartwell Ball.
"My Lady Belowstairs" by Emily Bryan-For a short story, has a lot going on. Lady Sybil has disappeared on the night of her engagement, having run off with the man who just finished her portrait. Her lookalike, scullery maid half-sister has to step in and save the day. Oh, and her fiance has a lot of debts and must marry soon but his debts have been paid off by a woman who wants him in her bed. Ending is just a little too trite and sappy but I'd still round it up to 3 out of 5 stars.
"The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley-Includes a shapeshifter from a country I have no clue at how to pronounce (I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I wish authors would include pronunciations either way. I spent a good 5-10 seconds on the word every time it came up. It came up a lot. A LOT.) Dude has a dark past (his sister was raped by the Prince of their country and then she committed suicide. Dude tried to take it out on new prince but changed his mind. Probably). He's attracted to this Scots woman and knows she's his mate but he won't marry her until he knows that he can support her. Mystery, intrigue, and really doesn't fit in with the other two stories.
"Traditions" by Alissa Johnson-Lord Casselbury needs to get married. So, he's settled his eyes on a PYT but discovers that he's more interested in her friend. Patience Byerly has lived a hard life trying to take care of her father. He's been going slowly crazy, spent all their money, and forced Patience to throw herself on the mercy of her friend's family. Now William's interested but can she bring herself to tell him the truth?
"My Lady Belowstairs" by Emily Bryan-For a short story, has a lot going on. Lady Sybil has disappeared on the night of her engagement, having run off with the man who just finished her portrait. Her lookalike, scullery maid half-sister has to step in and save the day. Oh, and her fiance has a lot of debts and must marry soon but his debts have been paid off by a woman who wants him in her bed. Ending is just a little too trite and sappy but I'd still round it up to 3 out of 5 stars.
"The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley-Includes a shapeshifter from a country I have no clue at how to pronounce (I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I wish authors would include pronunciations either way. I spent a good 5-10 seconds on the word every time it came up. It came up a lot. A LOT.) Dude has a dark past (his sister was raped by the Prince of their country and then she committed suicide. Dude tried to take it out on new prince but changed his mind. Probably). He's attracted to this Scots woman and knows she's his mate but he won't marry her until he knows that he can support her. Mystery, intrigue, and really doesn't fit in with the other two stories.
"Traditions" by Alissa Johnson-Lord Casselbury needs to get married. So, he's settled his eyes on a PYT but discovers that he's more interested in her friend. Patience Byerly has lived a hard life trying to take care of her father. He's been going slowly crazy, spent all their money, and forced Patience to throw herself on the mercy of her friend's family. Now William's interested but can she bring herself to tell him the truth?
November 24, 2009
I always like to read the romanatic Christmas anthologies. Three stories about one magic ball are presented here. I like these stories as they give me a chance to review new authors of romantic fiction. I can't say these three are going to be repeat reads. The first and third stories are passable. It is certainly an interesting take on the Regency/Romance to have a story about a scullery maid impersonating her sister for one special evening. Plot turns are interesting as all couples involved come off with the man of their dreams. But for the scullery maid to reconcile with her father, and have him give her away to his groom. Well I just don't think so.
In Traditions the third story, a passable beauty with a talent for eating attracts the eye of a very organized earl. The earl introduces his lady love to the delights of Christmas and apple bobbing in a lovely scene. She falls for him, but wait the impediment is her crazy father. She hides herself in the country to escape society. The couple reconciles at the ball and all is well when her father is restored to momentary lucidity and gives his blessing to the happy couple.
The second story I couldn't finish. It is built around the imaginary world of Nvevengaria. In this country shape shifters are parts of the government and the hero is a logosh. This is not a story to beguile new readers, but to please old ones. I've never read of this country and I don't plan to start.
In Traditions the third story, a passable beauty with a talent for eating attracts the eye of a very organized earl. The earl introduces his lady love to the delights of Christmas and apple bobbing in a lovely scene. She falls for him, but wait the impediment is her crazy father. She hides herself in the country to escape society. The couple reconciles at the ball and all is well when her father is restored to momentary lucidity and gives his blessing to the happy couple.
The second story I couldn't finish. It is built around the imaginary world of Nvevengaria. In this country shape shifters are parts of the government and the hero is a logosh. This is not a story to beguile new readers, but to please old ones. I've never read of this country and I don't plan to start.
September 21, 2011
This was a cute book. None of the characters in the story are really related to each other, but somehow each couple ends up at the same Christmas ball at Hartwell House.
The first story was probably my least favorite, but was still pretty good. It was about a young woman who lives in the household of her father, but she is his bastard child, and is serving as a member of staff. She actually looks a great deal like his legitimate daughter, and is pressed into service to masquerade as her half sister at the ball. Which doesn't exactly sit well with her suitor, Ian, the head groom . . .
The Jennifer Ashley story was a Nvengarian tale. The heroine was Mary Cameron, the sister of Egan MacDonald who is featured in earlier Ashley works, including his own story, Highlander Ever After. Mary had previously met Valentin, a Nvengarian shapeshifter (actually called a logosh in Ashley's mythology) at her brother's Castle MacDonald, and they had shared an attraction. And it flares ever more hot in this novella!
The third author, Alissa Johnson, is new to me but I quite enjoyed her tale of a young woman named Patience who is a poor gentlewoman, dependent on friends for financial support, and desperately trying to hide the fact that her father is mad. She meets William Renwick, a man who loves order in his life, and always has a plan for all aspects of his life. Patience turns his well-ordered world on its heels. Ah, the power of love.
The first story was probably my least favorite, but was still pretty good. It was about a young woman who lives in the household of her father, but she is his bastard child, and is serving as a member of staff. She actually looks a great deal like his legitimate daughter, and is pressed into service to masquerade as her half sister at the ball. Which doesn't exactly sit well with her suitor, Ian, the head groom . . .
The Jennifer Ashley story was a Nvengarian tale. The heroine was Mary Cameron, the sister of Egan MacDonald who is featured in earlier Ashley works, including his own story, Highlander Ever After. Mary had previously met Valentin, a Nvengarian shapeshifter (actually called a logosh in Ashley's mythology) at her brother's Castle MacDonald, and they had shared an attraction. And it flares ever more hot in this novella!
The third author, Alissa Johnson, is new to me but I quite enjoyed her tale of a young woman named Patience who is a poor gentlewoman, dependent on friends for financial support, and desperately trying to hide the fact that her father is mad. She meets William Renwick, a man who loves order in his life, and always has a plan for all aspects of his life. Patience turns his well-ordered world on its heels. Ah, the power of love.
August 6, 2016
The common thread running through these three stories is Lord and Lady Hartwell's ball. The first deals with the disappearance of Lady Sybil Somerville the day before the ball at which she is to receive and accept Lord Eddleton's arranged proposal. Sybil's bastard half-sister who is a maid in the household is recruited to fill in. The main characters are Jane and her boyfriend Ian, the head groom. Different perspective from typical Regency romances. The second story is part of the Nvengaria series and deals with logosh (wolf/demon/human shape-shifter), Valentin, and Scottish widow Mary Cameron who meet again when he accompanies their Ambassador and his wife to England. There is a lot of political intrigue, spying and assassination attempts as well as romance. The third story deals with practical, organized Lord Casselbury and his decision to marry. He has inherited a title he wasn't expecting upon the deaths of 2 cousins and an older brother. However, his well thought out choice of bride does not attract him as much as her poor, dependent friend, Patience. When Patience's history and secret are revealed she retires to the country. William is determined to overcome her objections and attends Lord Hartwell's ball to make his stand. All of these stories deal with lesser positions in Society and were refreshingly told.
Read
January 5, 2021my lady below stairs by Emily bryan - Jane Tate, the illegitimate daughter of nobility and house maid, is blackmailed into impersonating her legitimate half-sister to accept a proposal on her sisters behalf and save the house from disgrace. However, Jane’s Scottish beau Ian, doesn’t like the idea one bit!
the longest night by Jennifer Ashley, nvengaria # 4 - Valenin had been injured and had asked Mary to come to him when he returned home to Nvengaria, but she didn't go. now he's back in England on another mission for his country, and this time he's determined to win mary over, despite all the danger around them.
traditions by Alissa Johnson - William is an earl and he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s already picked out the perfect candidate, but when he finally spies her, all of his well-laid plans fly right out the window. All because of another young woman who isn’t a beauty, who isn’t well born, but can stuff a huge piece of cake into her mouth all at once. Watching Patience perform that little feat makes him want to get to know her better, and when he does it’s her intelligence and wit, her humor and laughter that capture his heart. but patience has a secret she fears will ruin it all.
"you'll not drop him. a firm grip is part of the womanly instinct."
"and I suppose men are born with a natural urge to toss them about like sacks of flour?"
"we're a stupid lot."
the longest night by Jennifer Ashley, nvengaria # 4 - Valenin had been injured and had asked Mary to come to him when he returned home to Nvengaria, but she didn't go. now he's back in England on another mission for his country, and this time he's determined to win mary over, despite all the danger around them.
traditions by Alissa Johnson - William is an earl and he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s already picked out the perfect candidate, but when he finally spies her, all of his well-laid plans fly right out the window. All because of another young woman who isn’t a beauty, who isn’t well born, but can stuff a huge piece of cake into her mouth all at once. Watching Patience perform that little feat makes him want to get to know her better, and when he does it’s her intelligence and wit, her humor and laughter that capture his heart. but patience has a secret she fears will ruin it all.
"you'll not drop him. a firm grip is part of the womanly instinct."
"and I suppose men are born with a natural urge to toss them about like sacks of flour?"
"we're a stupid lot."
June 23, 2019
Looks like I read this book in 2013. I am now on a cruise, and found it in the ships library, and because I love Jennifer Ashley, I decided to read it, and have no memory of it, although I usually remember books. I like anthologies where stories take place in the same place, but these had no overlap, as some of these anthologies do.
A weird thing about this edition is Ashley's story was listed first, though it actually came second. I read it first thinking there might be some overlap, but there was not. It resides in the Nvengarian universe, which means some magic. It was a beautiful love story about a 36 year old Scottish woman who is in love with a 27 year old part werewolf. 'nuff said.
The 1st story was by an author I have never read, Emily Bryan, and it was a cute story of many mistaken identities.
The third,by Alissa Johnson, who I have also not read, was a heartbreaking story, very well done, which had me sobbing. I may have to find if their are other works by her about some of the other characters. I would recommend this book.
A weird thing about this edition is Ashley's story was listed first, though it actually came second. I read it first thinking there might be some overlap, but there was not. It resides in the Nvengarian universe, which means some magic. It was a beautiful love story about a 36 year old Scottish woman who is in love with a 27 year old part werewolf. 'nuff said.
The 1st story was by an author I have never read, Emily Bryan, and it was a cute story of many mistaken identities.
The third,by Alissa Johnson, who I have also not read, was a heartbreaking story, very well done, which had me sobbing. I may have to find if their are other works by her about some of the other characters. I would recommend this book.
January 16, 2011
This Regency Christmas anthology was, predictably, predictable on many levels, but did break some conventions. The first story is really a "below stairs" romance. The second story is the most conventional. The third is my favorite with an unconventional, endearing hero and a heroine who wears glasses, but, in fact, is not a "bluestocking."
I've noticed over the years that romances do keep pace with current societal issues. In the 70's there was a focus on "woman power," in the 90's a focus on tolerance towards disease, lately I've read a lot of stories that are about woman who are caregivers to relatives with Alzheimer's. Not sure how I feel about that, but there it is.
I think I might look for more romances by Alissa Johnson (the author of the 3rd story). Not sure about the others.
I've noticed over the years that romances do keep pace with current societal issues. In the 70's there was a focus on "woman power," in the 90's a focus on tolerance towards disease, lately I've read a lot of stories that are about woman who are caregivers to relatives with Alzheimer's. Not sure how I feel about that, but there it is.
I think I might look for more romances by Alissa Johnson (the author of the 3rd story). Not sure about the others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews