Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Suzanne EnochMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Great Scot by Suzanne Enoch 3 stars
“Aye, here we are. A man with a ruined face who tries to imagine perfect buildings, and a lass who enjoys solitude and reading trying to keep track of a busy countess’s social schedule.”
This novella is set in Enoch's series Wild Wicked Highlanders, three highland brothers go to London and wind up finding wives. If you've read that series, you'll recognize Jane, the cousin and former companion to one of the new wives who ended up being thrown out by her aunt because Jane helped her cousin elope with one of the highlander brothers. Jane was welcomed in by the highlander's mother and works as her companion now, even though she's aware it's more of charity than actual necessity.
I felt this novella was the least rushed, in terms of storytelling and romance, but as this was set in an already established world and one I'm familiar with, the author could play off that established knowledge and reader developed feelings. Jane was a sweet character who at 33 years old felt on the shelf and lost a bit in where she belongs in the world. As the family is spending the holidays at Aldriss Park in Scotland, we get some great seasonal reading, chilly and snowy scenes and a highlander cousin for Jane.
Brennan Andrews is a cousin to the MacTaggert brothers, an architect, and a widower. He lost his wife seven years ago and in a town where everyone knew her, no one wants to insult her memory by developing a romance with him. Coll, the oldest MacTaggert, wants him to build a house for him and his new wife and while searching for papers in the library he meets Jane. They're both a little shy and bumbling, Jane is used to staying to the corners and with so many years removed from when he had to romance anyone, Brennan is out of practice and wary because of the patch he wears over one eye due to losing it in a riding accident. The location brings the snowy atmosphere and Jane and Brennan provide the gentle, loving feels.
Christmas at Dewberry Hollow by Amelia Grey 3 stars
Their breaths mingled in the freezing air. Their eyes searched.
Isabelle Reed's family has run the Inn ever since her Viscount ancestor decided to turn one of their home's into a profit inn. Her and her mother have been trying to keep it afloat since her father died and her mother's uncle passed away and the new viscount has cut their allowance. This Christmastime, they are having the Duke of Notsgrove stay and they hope the income of his stay will keep them afloat a little longer. Isabelle has lived her whole life in Dewberry Hollow and can't imagine living anywhere else. She teaches some classes to town's children in exchange for goods to help fill out their meager income. When Isabelle is out hunting, she accidentally shoots a man in the arm, she already feels awful but when she discovers it is the guard of the Duke of Notsgrove's grandson, she is scared she might have jeopardized the inn's income.
While not the heir, John Gatestone still has a close, loving relationship with his cantankerous duke grandfather. His grandfather has been failing lately and the family fears he won't have much longer to live. When his grandfather insists that he must visit the tree he carved his and his late wife's initials in before he dies, John volunteers to take him and promises the family he will have his grandfather back by Christmas dinner. When his guard gets grazed in the arm by a shot, John finds himself drawn to the shooter, Isabelle.
This was snowy and sweet novella that had some quick feeling falling in love. Isabelle has been burnt before by a man her mother loved and Isabelle dearly wanted as a stepfather who promised to return and never did. John has never felt the importance of marrying as he's not the heir. There wasn't too much angsty drama keeping these two apart, John comes up with a deal that he won't tell anyone Isabelle accidentally shot his guard if she helps him look for his grandfather's tree and that plot gives us some scenes of the two together and to help show the attraction between the two.
I thought their love felt quick and I'm not sure I completely bought into the ending in regards to John's decision to upend his life but, like I said, this had sweet vibe and definite winter seasonal atmosphere. It works as a middle story in the anthology to anchor it but also keep up the short burst of romance bargain.
My Mistletoe Beau by Anna Bennett 2.5 stars
Miss Eva Tiding’s hands were surprisingly steady, considering she was on the doorstep of London’s most disreputable rogue. And on the brink of committing a felony.
This one probably had the most story meat to it, Eva sets out to steal a watch that her late mother gave her father and he has now lost in a poker wager. Her father is despondent without it and I kept getting tripped up that he would wager the watch if it meant so much to him. Anyway, she breaks into the Earl of Frostbough's home to steal the watch back and gets caught by him. They do have some fun back and forth, not quite reaching the sizzle of heated by play but the Earl, Jack, says he will not give the watch back for any price. We get some backstory that Eva's late mother was actually to be engaged to Jack's father but she ended up eloping with Eva's eventual father. This left Jack's father hurt and angry and made growing up with him miserable for Jack. He blames Eva's father for this misery.
However, even with this lifetime grudge, Jack thinks of how he has lied to his grandmother that he is in a courtship with a lady, to get her not to worry about him but then she sends him a letter telling him she is going to visit so she can meet the lady. Jack proposes a deal with Eva, if she goes along with the ruse that she is the lady he is in a courtship with and attends three societal functions with him, he will give her the watch back. There's a striptease and then a kiss to see if they can pull off pretending to be courting and this all has Eva scared her heart could be at risk, so she lies to Jack that she could never pretend and refuses the deal. His feelings are hurt but when Eva learns her father is trying to set her up with a marquess, she decides to accept Jack's proposal to keep her own father off her back.
There was just too much in this story that felt off balance to me, the backstory, the setup between Eva and Jack, and Eva deciding that they would act broken up in public but be sleeping with each other behind closed doors later in the story. This was the steamiest of the three reads and while I initially enjoyed the back and forth between these two, it didn't sustain it's chemistry, coming off forced. Jack was pretty much all in and pining (I didn't witness any of the coldhearted/mean reputation he was supposedly known for) for Eva while she is a little more cold shoulder, to wanting him, and then thinking he was playing her for revenge against her father (it doesn't really make sense why she would suddenly think this).
This had more of the snowy atmosphere, a houseparty, and mistletoe to tie it into the holiday collection. While this had more meat to it's story, it felt off balance with it's components not always fitting together right for me.
