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568 reviews for:
How the Dukes Stole Christmas
Sarah MacLean, Joanna Shupe, Sophie Jordan, Tessa Dare
3.66 AVERAGE
568 reviews for:
How the Dukes Stole Christmas
Sarah MacLean, Joanna Shupe, Sophie Jordan, Tessa Dare
3.66 AVERAGE
switched from the audio to the ebook and it didn't help at all. this was just bad and boring with barely any christmas atmosphere. such a disappointment.
tessa dare's was the best. i couldn't even get through the second one. the third one was better, but somehow the duke's actions made me feel icky. i wanted to castrate the "hero" in the fourth one. what an asshole.
this anthology was a waste of time. i'm staying away from historical romance for a while or at the very least, i'm done with stories about dukes.
tessa dare's was the best. i couldn't even get through the second one. the third one was better, but somehow the duke's actions made me feel icky. i wanted to castrate the "hero" in the fourth one. what an asshole.
this anthology was a waste of time. i'm staying away from historical romance for a while or at the very least, i'm done with stories about dukes.
I loved the first novella by Tessa Dare, because it was sweet and witty and two great characters - it also didn’t feel like an insta-love moment even though they “fell in love” during one night.
The second novella, by Sarah MacLean, did have a nice premise of childhood-sweethearts, but lacked something. Mainly, I thought Eben kind of pathetic.
The third novella, by Sophie Jordan, started out so intriguing - I mean, left alone in the highlands (?) in a snowstorm with bandits on their way and a rough, manly duke offering his home as a safe place? But no, it went too quickly from “I loathe you” to “I love you” for no apparent reason other than that they liked each other’s bodies.
I started the fourth novella by Joanna Shupe, but the premise didn’t catch me at all. Sure, I love the independent woman thing, but it’s too “Made in Manhattan” for me. I can’t say anything about, though, really, since I never finished it.
The second novella, by Sarah MacLean, did have a nice premise of childhood-sweethearts, but lacked something. Mainly, I thought Eben kind of pathetic.
The third novella, by Sophie Jordan, started out so intriguing - I mean, left alone in the highlands (?) in a snowstorm with bandits on their way and a rough, manly duke offering his home as a safe place? But no, it went too quickly from “I loathe you” to “I love you” for no apparent reason other than that they liked each other’s bodies.
I started the fourth novella by Joanna Shupe, but the premise didn’t catch me at all. Sure, I love the independent woman thing, but it’s too “Made in Manhattan” for me. I can’t say anything about, though, really, since I never finished it.
I don't think historical romance lends itself to short story format. There isn't enough time to develop the plot and characters in a way for the reader to buy in the way a full novel does. I just wasn't able to suspend my disbelief enough to fully enjoy the stories.
Last book was a 3.5.
They all averaged out to a 2.25 LOL so overall not worth it.
They all averaged out to a 2.25 LOL so overall not worth it.
Enjoyed all four stories, my favorite was Tessa Dare's. A few storytelling quibbles with the other stories but overall enjoyable. Now I want some shortbread ;) 3.5*
“You have a smart mouth.”
“Aren’t you lucky you are able to kiss it?”
This year some of my favorite historical romance authors delivered an early Christmas present: an anthology of Christmas romances. The stories are all inspired by holiday movies and are all connected by a magical shortbread recipe (which, hilariously, tastes terrible but is rumored to bring you love). I thought this was a fun way to bring all of the tales together.
I went into this book with high expectations. Sarah MacLean and Tessa Dare are two of my favorite authors, and I’ve recently read and enjoyed books by Joanna Shupe and Sophie Jordan. I wasn’t as enchanted as I hope, but I still found this to be a fun and romantic collection that made for a good holiday read.
Tessa Dare’s "Meet Me in Mayfair" is short and sweet. It takes place in a single evening and finds the hero and heroine walking through the wintery streets in the middle of the night.
Sarah MacLean's "The Duke of Christmas Present" is an emotional tale that follows a Duke whose plans for a solitary Christmas are ruined when the woman who broke his heart returns. I didn’t fully connect with this story in the way I was expecting, but I do think fellow MacLeans fans will enjoy it.
The premise of Sophie Jordan's "Heiress Alone" intrigued me a bit more than the execution did, but it’s still an enjoyable story about a heroine who seeks shelter in the home of a Highlander when her family leaves her behind.
"Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe takes readers to New York where a columnist must work quickly to cover the little white lies that helped shape her career when her new boss asks her to host a party.
If you like any of these authors, this collection is definitely worth a read!
“Aren’t you lucky you are able to kiss it?”
This year some of my favorite historical romance authors delivered an early Christmas present: an anthology of Christmas romances. The stories are all inspired by holiday movies and are all connected by a magical shortbread recipe (which, hilariously, tastes terrible but is rumored to bring you love). I thought this was a fun way to bring all of the tales together.
I went into this book with high expectations. Sarah MacLean and Tessa Dare are two of my favorite authors, and I’ve recently read and enjoyed books by Joanna Shupe and Sophie Jordan. I wasn’t as enchanted as I hope, but I still found this to be a fun and romantic collection that made for a good holiday read.
Tessa Dare’s "Meet Me in Mayfair" is short and sweet. It takes place in a single evening and finds the hero and heroine walking through the wintery streets in the middle of the night.
Sarah MacLean's "The Duke of Christmas Present" is an emotional tale that follows a Duke whose plans for a solitary Christmas are ruined when the woman who broke his heart returns. I didn’t fully connect with this story in the way I was expecting, but I do think fellow MacLeans fans will enjoy it.
The premise of Sophie Jordan's "Heiress Alone" intrigued me a bit more than the execution did, but it’s still an enjoyable story about a heroine who seeks shelter in the home of a Highlander when her family leaves her behind.
"Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe takes readers to New York where a columnist must work quickly to cover the little white lies that helped shape her career when her new boss asks her to host a party.
If you like any of these authors, this collection is definitely worth a read!
I think I'll steer clear of anthologies for some time, as this is another one that was a disappointment for me.
How the Dukes Stole Christmas is a compilation of four short stories happening on (or around) Holidays at various periods in the history. And they all happened to involved a "magical" shortbread.
The short story that I liked the most was definitely "The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLean.
It was the most - let's say - believable of them all. The main couple's relationship development felt the most real. The dreaded instant love/lust was very subtle, or even non-existent givenEben and Jack's history. I didn't even mind the love pastry, and I'm easily amused by witty play on words, so the title made me smile.
The rest of the stories was very meh for me.
I don't usually mind - let's call it - historical accuracy, or if a historical romance is believable I guess, but even for me the events in Tessa Dare's "Meet Me in Mayfair" were pushing it a bit. The plot felt rushed and awkward. There was an abundance of instant love/lust-iness that I didn't enjoy. I was really disappointed with this one, because I love Tessa Dare's books.
Next story, "Heiress Alone" by Sophie Jordan, was also kind of weak. I think the most forgettable in the anthology. I had the same problem with this one as with Tessa Dare's story: to much craziness and lack of character and relationship development.
The last story, "Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe interested me because of the setting. I don't believe I've read any historical romance set during Gilded Age and I was intrigued. The story was sadly very weak and - again - very unbelievable, but I'm planning on reading another book by the author only because of the setting.
Overall, rather disappointing anthology. I gave it 2,5 starts only because of Sarah MacLean's story.
How the Dukes Stole Christmas is a compilation of four short stories happening on (or around) Holidays at various periods in the history. And they all happened to involved a "magical" shortbread.
The short story that I liked the most was definitely "The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLean.
It was the most - let's say - believable of them all. The main couple's relationship development felt the most real. The dreaded instant love/lust was very subtle, or even non-existent given
The rest of the stories was very meh for me.
I don't usually mind - let's call it - historical accuracy, or if a historical romance is believable I guess, but even for me the events in Tessa Dare's "Meet Me in Mayfair" were pushing it a bit. The plot felt rushed and awkward. There was an abundance of instant love/lust-iness that I didn't enjoy. I was really disappointed with this one, because I love Tessa Dare's books.
Next story, "Heiress Alone" by Sophie Jordan, was also kind of weak. I think the most forgettable in the anthology. I had the same problem with this one as with Tessa Dare's story: to much craziness and lack of character and relationship development.
The last story, "Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe interested me because of the setting. I don't believe I've read any historical romance set during Gilded Age and I was intrigued. The story was sadly very weak and - again - very unbelievable, but I'm planning on reading another book by the author only because of the setting.
Overall, rather disappointing anthology. I gave it 2,5 starts only because of Sarah MacLean's story.
I came for the Tessa Dare, nearly left because of the Sarah MacLean, but stayed for the Joanna Shupe. And yes, Sophie Jordan was there as well.
I may have mentioned this before, but Christmas anthologies are very hit or miss where I am concerned. I have read quite a few over the years, back when Mrs. Whistledown was spreading Christmas gossip in anthologies featuring Julia Quinn in the early 2000s. And like most Christmas romance anthologies, there is one thing tying all the stories together: a wretched recipe for shortbread.
"Meet Me In Mayfair" by Tessa Dare was why I bought the anthology as Dare is an autobuy for me. Had I seen it being sold separately, I would have saved myself a lot of heartache from the rest of the anthology. The story has Tessa Dare's typical witty dialogue and banter between the main characters. Do things progress very quickly? Yes. Do the main characters act anachronistically? Of course. Did I mind? Not at all. I like the two main characters, they both have motivations for why the Big Misunderstanding evolved, and it was solved in true romance fashion.
"The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLean nearly made me quite the anthology. I started with her book Day of the Duchess, which I loved. This story, however, had none of the magic of the book I read. I tried a few more after that, but I had a hard time believing the premise behind the Bareknuckled Bastard series. With this novella, I had a hard time following the history of the main couple apart from the fact that they had known each other for years, she had been gone for a long time after leaving him, it's been TWELVE YEARS, and he's basically Ebenezer Scrooge in Duke form. I just didn't care if they got together by the end of the novella.
"Heiress Alone" by Sophie Jordan was an easier read than MacLean, but the premise was not very believable. The heroine's parents left her behind, alone, at their Scottish estate while brigands were running around the countryside. She stays with her cranky Scottish neighbor, they fall in lust within 10 seconds, and they have to deal with brigands. But he ate the nasty shortbread, so that's supposed to be enough motivation to convince me it's true love. Okay.
"Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe makes me want to check out the rest of her books. It was nice to get away from lords and ladies and deal with New York City for a while. The heroine is a newspaper columnist who finds herself in a bit of a pickle when her boss thinks her to be the society matron that her column says she is. With a bit of subterfuge, she is able to wine and dine the best of New York City, but at what cost?
I may have mentioned this before, but Christmas anthologies are very hit or miss where I am concerned. I have read quite a few over the years, back when Mrs. Whistledown was spreading Christmas gossip in anthologies featuring Julia Quinn in the early 2000s. And like most Christmas romance anthologies, there is one thing tying all the stories together: a wretched recipe for shortbread.
"Meet Me In Mayfair" by Tessa Dare was why I bought the anthology as Dare is an autobuy for me. Had I seen it being sold separately, I would have saved myself a lot of heartache from the rest of the anthology. The story has Tessa Dare's typical witty dialogue and banter between the main characters. Do things progress very quickly? Yes. Do the main characters act anachronistically? Of course. Did I mind? Not at all. I like the two main characters, they both have motivations for why the Big Misunderstanding evolved, and it was solved in true romance fashion.
"The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLean nearly made me quite the anthology. I started with her book Day of the Duchess, which I loved. This story, however, had none of the magic of the book I read. I tried a few more after that, but I had a hard time believing the premise behind the Bareknuckled Bastard series. With this novella, I had a hard time following the history of the main couple apart from the fact that they had known each other for years, she had been gone for a long time after leaving him, it's been TWELVE YEARS, and he's basically Ebenezer Scrooge in Duke form. I just didn't care if they got together by the end of the novella.
"Heiress Alone" by Sophie Jordan was an easier read than MacLean, but the premise was not very believable. The heroine's parents left her behind, alone, at their Scottish estate while brigands were running around the countryside. She stays with her cranky Scottish neighbor, they fall in lust within 10 seconds, and they have to deal with brigands. But he ate the nasty shortbread, so that's supposed to be enough motivation to convince me it's true love. Okay.
"Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe makes me want to check out the rest of her books. It was nice to get away from lords and ladies and deal with New York City for a while. The heroine is a newspaper columnist who finds herself in a bit of a pickle when her boss thinks her to be the society matron that her column says she is. With a bit of subterfuge, she is able to wine and dine the best of New York City, but at what cost?
4 stars for Meet Me In Mayfair. Oh, Tessa Dare. I cannot believe how much disbelief you persuade me to willingly suspend.
3.5 stars for The Duke of Christmas Present. I was never entirely sold on why the main characters had broken up in the first place 12 years ago? But overall it was Quite Good.
2 stars for Heiress Alone. This was a fun premise and I enjoyed it at the beginning, so I'm disappointed to say that I had sooo many problems with it throughout the middle and end and it really didn't do it for me.
~2.5/~3 stars for Christmas in Central Park. I liked the New York setting but the emotional development did feel rushed; the best parts were the hijinks of pretending to be a high society matron.
3.5 stars for The Duke of Christmas Present. I was never entirely sold on why the main characters had broken up in the first place 12 years ago? But overall it was Quite Good.
2 stars for Heiress Alone. This was a fun premise and I enjoyed it at the beginning, so I'm disappointed to say that I had sooo many problems with it throughout the middle and end and it really didn't do it for me.
~2.5/~3 stars for Christmas in Central Park. I liked the New York setting but the emotional development did feel rushed; the best parts were the hijinks of pretending to be a high society matron.