Summary: 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!-From Goodreads
What I Liked: I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, considering historical romance isn’t usually my go-to genre. Each story was a good length, allowing me to be invested in the characters without having to read a full length book. The idea of having each story connected to a single party was clever and it was fun to see characters mentioned in all four stories. With every anthology, it’s difficult to not compare the quality of the writing but this was a fairly solid group of writers. There wasn’t a single story that stood out in a bad way. For me, the strongest two stories were A Mistletoe Kiss and Wishing Under the Mistletoe but all four were enjoyable.
What I Didn’t Like: There are two second chance romances in this book and they are placed back to back; It felt a bit repetitious. I also found it interesting that this book has Christmas in the title, because other than the Revelry taking place during the holiday, there was nothing very Christmas-y about it.
Who Should Read It: I think fans of historical romance will enjoy this anthology and because there is something here for everyone
Review Wrap Up: As someone who doens’t read a ton of historical romance, I found this book to be surprisingly modern. I enjoyed the themes of being an independent woman and not being tied down by marriage and I think any reader who is hesitant to try something historical will like these stories.
Favorite Quotes:
“You shouldn’t feel shame for wishing to have control of something you are so very good at.”
“She now understood how treacherous Christmas could be. It made you want to open your heart to others and start anew, and that was a disaster that had to be avoided at all costs.”
Title:
Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology
Author:
Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, Erica Ridley
Release Date:
September 28, 2021
Format:
Mass Market Paperback
Genre:
Romance
Sub-Genre:
Holiday, Historical
Rating:
Read-A-Likes:
The Spinster Librarian 