ARC Review: Mistletoe Christmas by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, Erica Ridley

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Synopsis:

From four beloved writers—Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley—comes a hilarious tale of a Christmas house party that serves up love and scandal in equal measure!

The Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry is famous throughout the British Isles for its plays, dancing, magical grotto… not to mention scandals leading to the marriage licenses he hands out like confetti.

But not everyone welcomes a visit from Cupid.

Lady Cressida, the duke’s daughter, is too busy managing the entertainments—and besides, her own father has called her dowdy. Her cousin, Lady Isabelle Wilkshire, is directing Cinderella and has no interest in marriage. Lady Caroline Whitmore is already (unhappily) married; the fact that she and her estranged husband have to pretend to be together just makes her dread the party all the more.  But not as much as Miss Louisa Harcourt, whose mother bluntly tells her that this is her last chance to escape the horrors of being an old maid.

A house party so large, that mothers lose track of their charges, leads to a delightful, seductive quartet of stories that you will savor for the Season!

My Review:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was an excellent anthology. I really enjoyed the theme of four stories set at the same house party and the different styles of the four authors. Romance Novellas can feel lacking because the love story has to happen in so few words, but these felt very substantial and I didn’t feel anything was missing.

The first story, A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James, was sweet and enjoyable. I loved Cressie and her scatterbrained disregard of her own appearance but meticulous care in orchestrating her father’s grand Revelry. 4 stars

The second story, Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christy Caldwell, started even better than the first. It was going to be a 5 star story for me until the sex scene which made me cringe. Not my style of writing there. I did really enjoy the second chance romance, the characters, and the writing of the rest of the story. 4.5 stars

The third, Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor was… not to my taste. It was boring, the writing style was a touch clumsy, and I didn’t connect with or care for the characters at all. I dnfed this one. 2 stars

The fourth made the entire anthology worth it. I love Erica Ridley’s works and this was no exception. I feel like she packed more details and plot into her story than any of the others, and I connected best with her writing style. I loved Ewan and Louisa was delightful, and their secrets and connection despite them made it a very enjoyable read. 5 stars

*thanks to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc for review.

ARC Review: The Hellion’s Waltz by Olivia Waite

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I really really enjoyed this one. Sophie and Maddie are both well-fleshed-out and intriguing characters. Their romance is swift but mostly believable and the ways they complement one another make it a very well-balanced story.

I wish there were more of it, really. More of Sophie, more of Maddie, more of the swindle and the rise to composer stardom. The only thing I wish there were less of is sex scenes. The are too abrupt, with little lead-up, which is jarring. There are too many for such a short story, and they take up too much time. But then, I always want fewer sex scenes and more story, so that could be mostly me.

*Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc for review.