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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
The last story was my favorite.
Christmas in Central Park- 5/5
Still cheesy as hell and very unbelievable (all the romances in this anthology were due to the short story format) but it was sweet and reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It's just what I needed for this time of year, just mindless smut and cheesiness.
Christmas in Central Park- 5/5
Still cheesy as hell and very unbelievable (all the romances in this anthology were due to the short story format) but it was sweet and reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It's just what I needed for this time of year, just mindless smut and cheesiness.
A lovely collection from a wonderful group of authors.
Full review here: https://courtneyreadsromancesite.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/review-of-how-the-dukes-stole-christmas-by-tessa-dare-sarah-maclean-sophie-jordan-and-joanna-shupe/
Full review here: https://courtneyreadsromancesite.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/review-of-how-the-dukes-stole-christmas-by-tessa-dare-sarah-maclean-sophie-jordan-and-joanna-shupe/
Normally, I hate short stories and short story anthologies, but I bought this as soon as I saw it because two of my favorite historical romance authors headline this collection. No surprise here, Tessa Dare’s story had my laughing so hard my sides ached and tears were pouring down my face. I love her characters, her style, the witty banter, and humor that I find in all of her work. Her story, “Meet Me in Mayfair” was my favorite of the stories in this collection. “The Duke of Christmas Present” by Sarah MacLean runs a close second. It’s a charming second chance type of tale and I loved the characters and plot, and as always, I loved her writing style. It’s very readable and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve never read anything by Sophie Jordan or Joanna Shupe before. Jordan’s story, “Heiress Alone”, was fun and I wouldn’t be opposed to reading more of her work. Unfortunately, Joanna Shupe’s addition, “Christmas in Central Park”, did not have a setting that really pulled me in and I’m not a fan of Gilded Age NYC tales, so I probably won’t seek out more of her work. The story wasn’t bad by any means, I did enjoy the plot and the characters, but I prefer the British Regency setting.
Loved these stories, although they are all too short!!
3 fun 3 star novellas, the last one i didn't like all that much,
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Ahh this was lovely!! A perfect read for the holiday season :3
Individual thoughts+ratings for each story!!
Meet Me in Mayfair:
- 5 stars!
- It was so funny and entertaining and the couple was adorkable! This story reminded me of the romance and humour in When A Scot Ties the Knot, which was my first Tessa Dare book and I ADORE to pieces
The Duke of Christmas Present:
- 4 stars!
- More somber than the previous story, but still funny at times and very romantic. I loved this take on second chances romance AND the soft "romancing ebenezer scrooge" vibes because I too always thought he was a fool for letting his old flame go xD
Heiress Alone:
- 4.5 stars!
- Funny and adorable. I loved how the couple butted heads at first but they quickly warmed up to each other and opened up so easily. The comedic moments were top notch!
Christmas in Central Park:
- 3 stars
- Loved the MC, the comedy was great. Not a fan of the LI as he took one look at her, with the knowledge of her being a married woman who was respectful and not prone to infidelity, and then proceeded to spend a whole Christmas party lusting after her and looking for excuses to entice her into an affair. His hypocrisy on judging MC's fake husband for cheating on her was not lost on me. Also how he seemed to find it WORSE that she was an unmarried virgin that had lied to him about being a married society woman. heh??? I hate the cheating trope and even if technically MC didn't cheat on anyone since she was just pretending, the fact remains that the LI thought she WAS married and did all he could to have sex with her. BEFORE he found out the truth. he just HAD TO HAVE HER!! rant on cheating trope aside, he was an all right LI. I much prefer the previous grumpy LI in the other stories as it seemed to work with the story far better, but he was all right. when he wasn't starving for an affair. . With that all being said, I did love the author's cleverness in this story's "duke" haha :3´
Overall this was great for the season!
Definitely NOT for:
- those with an existential hatred for any quick romance. These are ROMANCE NOVELLAS, so if the length and speed of the attraction and consequent romance are not your thing, move along.
- those who read historical romance wanting first and foremost all the historical accuracy they deem important for their daily lives. artistic liberty was taken as it tends to be and many things might to meet your accuracy needs.
ANYWAY!! I will definitely reread at least my two faves of this collection :D
(reading date is rounded up since I read two during christmas and had to stop until this week lol xD)
Individual thoughts+ratings for each story!!
Meet Me in Mayfair:
- 5 stars!
- It was so funny and entertaining and the couple was adorkable! This story reminded me of the romance and humour in When A Scot Ties the Knot, which was my first Tessa Dare book and I ADORE to pieces
The Duke of Christmas Present:
- 4 stars!
- More somber than the previous story, but still funny at times and very romantic. I loved this take on second chances romance AND the soft "romancing ebenezer scrooge" vibes because I too always thought he was a fool for letting his old flame go xD
Heiress Alone:
- 4.5 stars!
- Funny and adorable. I loved how the couple butted heads at first but they quickly warmed up to each other and opened up so easily. The comedic moments were top notch!
Christmas in Central Park:
- 3 stars
- Loved the MC, the comedy was great. Not a fan of the LI
Overall this was great for the season!
Definitely NOT for:
- those with an existential hatred for any quick romance. These are ROMANCE NOVELLAS, so if the length and speed of the attraction and consequent romance are not your thing, move along.
- those who read historical romance wanting first and foremost all the historical accuracy they deem important for their daily lives. artistic liberty was taken as it tends to be and many things might to meet your accuracy needs.
ANYWAY!! I will definitely reread at least my two faves of this collection :D
(reading date is rounded up since I read two during christmas and had to stop until this week lol xD)
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity
content warning is for the last story, and it's not exactly that but it's the best I have
Grade: B- | 3 stars
“Meet Me in Mayfair” by Tessa Dare: 3.5 stars
Cute but not Tessa Dare’s best. This was the shortest novella of the bunch and it felt incomplete. I also wasn’t convinced of the relationship. I liked the heroine but I actually thought the hero was a bit of a jerk, which is not like Tessa Dare. But it was so adorably Christmasy and I loved the heroine’s family.
Even when she’s not at her best Tessa Dare is pretty great. Also, the terrible magical shortbread bit that runs through all the novellas worked really well here.
“The Duke of Christmas Present” by Sarah MacLean: 4.5 stars
The best of the bunch by far. I never would have thought retelling A Christmas Carol as a romance would work but I loved it here. The characters, even the minor ones, were well-developed and the romance was heart wrenching. I will say that I wish more of the novella had been written from the POV of Jack, the heroine, because I had no idea what was going on in her head. This is also a little dark for a Christmas romance. Still loved it!
“Heiress Alone” by Sophie Jordan: 2.5 stars
Fun but stupid and sadly loaded down with misogyny. I almost skipped this one because I’m not the biggest fan of Highland romances. But it was cute enough, even if both the main characters are profoundly dumb. But the novella is dragged down by the author’s own internalized misogyny as we are told over and over (and over!) that the heroine is Not Like Other Women. Would have given it 3 stars otherwise.
“Christmas in Central Park” by Joanna Shupe: 2 stars
My least favorite. Mostly I was bored reading this one. I didn’t like the hero, he was just an asshole for no real reason. I liked the heroine even less, she lies shamelessly to him for the entire novella. That at least is well-motivated, and I sympathized with her, but I don’t like romances based on lies. It was also wrapped up too quickly at the end. Oh, and Shupe managed to fuck up the terrible magical shortbread bit which bummed me out.
“Meet Me in Mayfair” by Tessa Dare: 3.5 stars
Cute but not Tessa Dare’s best. This was the shortest novella of the bunch and it felt incomplete. I also wasn’t convinced of the relationship. I liked the heroine but I actually thought the hero was a bit of a jerk, which is not like Tessa Dare. But it was so adorably Christmasy and I loved the heroine’s family.
Even when she’s not at her best Tessa Dare is pretty great. Also, the terrible magical shortbread bit that runs through all the novellas worked really well here.
“The Duke of Christmas Present” by Sarah MacLean: 4.5 stars
The best of the bunch by far. I never would have thought retelling A Christmas Carol as a romance would work but I loved it here. The characters, even the minor ones, were well-developed and the romance was heart wrenching. I will say that I wish more of the novella had been written from the POV of Jack, the heroine, because I had no idea what was going on in her head. This is also a little dark for a Christmas romance. Still loved it!
“Heiress Alone” by Sophie Jordan: 2.5 stars
Fun but stupid and sadly loaded down with misogyny. I almost skipped this one because I’m not the biggest fan of Highland romances. But it was cute enough, even if both the main characters are profoundly dumb. But the novella is dragged down by the author’s own internalized misogyny as we are told over and over (and over!) that the heroine is Not Like Other Women. Would have given it 3 stars otherwise.
“Christmas in Central Park” by Joanna Shupe: 2 stars
My least favorite. Mostly I was bored reading this one. I didn’t like the hero, he was just an asshole for no real reason. I liked the heroine even less, she lies shamelessly to him for the entire novella. That at least is well-motivated, and I sympathized with her, but I don’t like romances based on lies. It was also wrapped up too quickly at the end. Oh, and Shupe managed to fuck up the terrible magical shortbread bit which bummed me out.
This was adorable. My only regret is not finishing it during the Christmas season. My favorite of the four was Christmas in Central Park by Joanna Shupe despite the second hand embarrassment I experienced during a particular scene. This was the first story I ever read by this author and I'm looking forward to reading some of her full length novels.
This was fun! I’m not a huge short story fan, and these rely heavily of instalove but that’s what I expected going in!
Meet Me at Mayfair - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Duke of Christmas Present - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Heiress Alone - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (could have been higher without the “not like other girls” shit)
Christmas in Central Park - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was part of tistheseasonathon, accomplishing the challenge of a holiday themed book!
Meet Me at Mayfair - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Duke of Christmas Present - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Heiress Alone - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (could have been higher without the “not like other girls” shit)
Christmas in Central Park - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was part of tistheseasonathon, accomplishing the challenge of a holiday themed book!