The Heart of Christmas Anthology
Historical Romance
October 1, 2009
Paperback, 384 Pages
HQN

My Twitter friend, Jamie is guest reviewing today!!

“A Handful of Gold” by Mary Ballogh

The handsome, wealthy rake Julian Dare, Viscount Follingsby has led the bachelor life for quite some time.  His father feels it is high time he settles down and marries.   Unfortunately, Julian is not happy with the heiress his family has chosen for him.  He feels it is his duty to oblige his family’s wishes, as they have always given him their undying love and loyalty.  When given the opportunity to join his long time friend Bertie and his mistress at the hunting box for a week, Julian makes himself a deal.  He will try to convince the sultry opera dancer, Blanche Heyward, to come along on this tawdry little trip.  He has been watching the men swarm around her for too long.  He wants to have her to himself.  If Blanche agrees to join him, he will make this week his last fling as a free man.  If she does not accept his invitation he will go home for the holidays and face the impending doom that is to be his future.

Verity Ewing is the innocent virginal daughter of a clergyman.  When her father passed away, Verity and her mother faced another challenge; Verity’s little sister Chastity became ill.  The family had no choice, but to move closer to the doctors that could help Chastity.  The new doctors were a help, but the bills could not be paid.  When Verity was approached to audition for a spot as an opera dancer, everything in her knew it was wrong.  Immoral or not, her sister was sick, and she would do what had to be done.  Thus, her double life began.  By day, she was the innocent Verity Ewing, and, by night, she was the sexy opera dancer, Blanche Heyward.

When Julian offers Blanche (a.k.a. Verity) 500 pounds to accompany him as his mistress, she cannot afford to refuse.  Verity had somehow escaped the “private shows” with the men at the opera house.  She is very inexperienced when it comes to men, and it doesn’t take long for Julian to figure that out.  Julian, of course, was anticipating a seductive Blanche Heyward, and instead he finds the virgin Verity Ewing.  They both have to re-think their situation – and with a quickness.  There are some unexpected guests with a Christmas gift they won’t soon forget.

Admittedly, at first glance I was not overly excited about this book.  I thought it would be the same old story, just different characters.  I was truly impressed to find it was a great read.  Julian Dare’s character really transitions in this story.  In the beginning, he sees marriage as an obligation.  When Verity comes into his life for that week, he has a whole different take on commitment.  I could see that it had been there all along, but he just never dreamed he would find it. There is a point in the story when he finds himself sitting in an oak tree reaching for a clump of mistletoe and trying not to fall.  Verity had been determined they couldn’t let Christmas pass by as just another day.  She wanted to bring all the warmth and beauty of the season to everyone.  Verity is sweet and genteel, but she is determined.  I really liked that she could get two spoiled men outside in the snow fetching her decorations.  She brings joy to everyone around her.  I felt like Verity and Julian really brought out the best in one another.  They seemed like two very incompatible people in the beginning.  By the end of the story I found myself hoping that they would end up together.  The only thing about this story that I wasn’t impressed with was the love scene.  There was an awful lot of anticipation leading up to it.  The author did a great job describing it but it happened too fast for me.  All around, this was a very enjoyable story.  I would totally recommend any historical romance lovers to give this one a try!

Rating: 3/5

“The Season for Suitors” by Nicola Cornick

Sebastian, Duke of Fleet, is notorious for his skills as a rake.  He does his best to keep matters of the heart at a distance.  From the time he was a small child, Sebastian has spent his life shouldering the guilt of his brother’s death.  He was unable to save his brother from falling through the ice one day and has felt responsible ever since.  In an effort to protect himself and anyone else that was crazy enough to love him, he decided it would be best if he didn’t have a meaningful relationship.  Thus, his vulgar rakish behavior (and bad reputation) begin.

Clara Davencourt has recently been made an heiress.  She is learning that with all the responsibility of a fortune, come nasty rakes who want to get their hands on it.  Many times she has been played by these men, and she won’t be seduced into marriage for her money.  Clara knows she needs to get the upper hand and learn just how to outwit them.  She has a brilliant plan.  Who better to teach her the scandalous rakish secrets than the biggest playboy of them all?

When Sebastian hears from Clara he is shocked to say the least.  The last time they spoke was when he refused her marriage proposal, and he had assumed that was the end.  When he agrees to help her spot a swindler he has no idea the feelings it will bring back.  Clara always felt Sebastian was hiding something.  She is determined to drag it out of him one way or another.  Slowly, it becomes more and more difficult for them to focus on the task at hand.  They both find themselves in complete denial about their feelings for one another.   They can’t deny the heat they feel for long.  But, can they overcome the past?  They will soon find out.

I was really hoping I would enjoy this story like I did the first one in the book.  Unfortunately, I had to make myself finish it.  The entire premise behind the story is lost somewhere along the way.  Sebastian is the playboy and Clara seems a bit clueless.  Sebastian can’t stop blaming himself for his brother’s death so he decides it better to sleep with everyone and never have real love in his life.  Clara is confident that she could possibly see through the men that were only seducing her for her money.  I just did care for either of them.  The story did make me laugh a few times, especially when Sebastian and Clara would argue back and forth.  The funny parts kept me going!

Rating: 2/5

“This Wicked Gift” by Courtney Milan

Lavinia Spencer is a hard-working simple woman.  When her father becomes too ill to take care of things, she begins to operate the family lending library.  Lavinia has saved for quite some time to provide a nice Christmas for her family, but is devastated when she finds that her little brother, James, has lost the money to a scam.  She so desperately wanted to see the look on her father’s face when he saw what she had planned for their Christmas.  She had intended to do it just like her mother did.  Lavinia felt absolutely defeated.

William Q. White had been coming in to the lending library.  Lavinia had found him breathtaking from the first time he came in.  William was a simple accountant without a penny to his name, save for the 10 pounds that was recently left to him.  He had dreamed of wealth for some time now.  Knowing this was the only fortune he would ever have, William offers Lavinia every last dime in exchange for her body.  He had wanted her for so long.  It was his opportunity to have her and he jumped at the chance.

William and Lavinia could never be prepared for the feelings this indecent proposal will bring.  They have much to learn about one another.  There is so much more than the lust they have been feeling for so long.  Both of them have the most beautiful gift this Christmas.  They just need to look into their heart.

This was the only new story in the book.  I was very impressed.  The characters were average people.  Lavinia is very hardworking and loyal to her family.  She takes care of absolutely everything after her mother dies.  What amazed me about her was the fact that all she wanted for Christmas was to see her father happy.  She was very sincere.  William White is so down on his luck.  He has to look at all the wealthy men around him and know he will never achieve that kind of success.  He can’t stand himself for the way he gets Lavinia’s love.  He didn’t at all think of how it would make him feel afterward.  William is very hard on himself, but not a martyr.  I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him he had so much to offer.  He believes because he is poor he should even consider marrying a woman like Lavinia.  She needed someone that could take care of her.  He just does understand that all she wants is his love.  I was like a little school girl with this one too.  I turned every page waiting for the happy ending!  This was an awesome read!

Rating: 4/5

Thank you Jamie!

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