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ccgwalt's review against another edition
4.0
3.5*
Grade B/B-
This was a mostly enjoyable, sometimes humorous, story of a marriage across the strict social divide of regency England. There are some similarities to Heyer's book, [b:A Civil Contract|311132|A Civil Contract|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370388195l/311132._SY75_.jpg|3228237], although A Christmas Promise is more light-hearted overall and with an HEA solidly planted in Romancelandia. One of the things I like about A Civil Contract is the believability of the emotions and the fact that, in the end there is a comfortable contentedness about the marriage. Here we get all the passion and one usually expects in romance novels.
Balogh is an excellent wordsmith, so reading her books is always a pleasure. A Christmas Promise is entertaining and light, if somewhat forgettable. It's a nice Christmas story, perfect for the season.
Grade B/B-
This was a mostly enjoyable, sometimes humorous, story of a marriage across the strict social divide of regency England. There are some similarities to Heyer's book, [b:A Civil Contract|311132|A Civil Contract|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370388195l/311132._SY75_.jpg|3228237], although A Christmas Promise is more light-hearted overall and with an HEA solidly planted in Romancelandia. One of the things I like about A Civil Contract is the believability of the emotions and the fact that, in the end there is a comfortable contentedness about the marriage. Here we get all the passion and one usually expects in romance novels.
Balogh is an excellent wordsmith, so reading her books is always a pleasure. A Christmas Promise is entertaining and light, if somewhat forgettable. It's a nice Christmas story, perfect for the season.
turophile's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A very early story from Ms. Balaogh, repackaged in digital. Though I often enjoy her early signet romances, this one was a little more difficult for me. It’s a marriage of forced convenience. The hero is on the brink of financial ruin and agrees to marry Eleanor, who’s lovely, only to satisfy his debts. He’s kind of a jerk and it takes a while for him to get beyond it. Don’t need to read this one again. 3/5
lady_nett's review against another edition
2.0
This was an okay Christmas romance but there was a lot of the book spent definitely not in the feeling of romance. It was hard to not want to scream at both main characters as they drove me insane for awhile. The second half of the book was very enjoyable at least. In honest Ellie’s family was the best part of this book which is honestly not how a romance should run. Lastly the HEA was very rushed and the end felt lacking.
gemmalaszlo's review against another edition
4.0
As is often the case with this author's novels, I wanted to reach into the book and clunk the character's heads together. And yet for some reason, I can never stop reading one of her novels. Go figure. And the end of her books always leave me with a warm glow. I guess that's why I keep reading.
thebookcoyote's review
3.0
Mary Balogh is my favorite romance writer, because she's so good at conveying emotion. This book is no different. Although the story is a bit formulaic and definitely predictable, it's still a cute, touching story and a sweet read.
melodicfate's review
3.0
The emotions surrounding the death of Ellie's father and her grief really got to me. However, these characters could be very unlikable, Eleanor in particular. She never wanted to actually listen to what Randolph said, but preferred to make things about a million times harder for anyone by jumping to conclusions. I liked that Randolph really did want to be a good husband to her, though he was a jerk in the beginning. Mary Balogh did a great job with the Christmas celebrations and the family dynamics though. I'll be reading more of her for sure, but this was not my favorite.
whiskeyinthejar's review
4.0
Read this for 12 Tasks of the Festive Season:
Task the Third: The Holiday Party:
- Read a book where a celebration is a big part of the action. Examples would include holiday parties, country house hunting/weekend parties, weddings, etc.
This meets the holiday party criteria, the heroine's family and a couple of the hero's friends gather at their home for a week to celebrate Christmas.
He felt disgust and shame at what he was doing. He was marrying for money.
I had a couple friends tell me they thought pretty highly of this book and I see why. Eleanor's father is dying and he wants to make sure that she is settled so he buys the debts of an Earl and tells him he'll forgive them if he marries his daughter. Randolph inherited the debts along with the earldom but sees no way out of it, so he decides to marry who he calls the cit because Eleanor's father made his money in coal. So, our heroine knows she's being married for money and our hero knows he's being married for position in society. This leads to them being very cold to one another.
She had done what she always did when she was afraid or angry or both. She had given as good as she had got.
With her father dying and having had a bad experience with aristocrats Eleanor throws up one heck of a wall and cold shoulder toward Randolph, he eventually ends up calling her "hedgehog". Which is a nickname I never thought I would delight in but oh did I. I think some will be annoyed/angry with how cold Eleanor was but I get her, she was in self-protection mode and not wanting Randolph to see her hurt because that would shame her. I did think their dagger throwing, especially on Eleanor's side went on a tad too long, I think we should have seen a stronger turning about around the 60% mark.
Was it that he wanted the physical closeness to her in the hope that it would bring some emotional closeness too?
This was originally published in 1992 and it has aged very well but it also has a more realistic telling of how people would have acted during this time than a lot of currently published historicals. Don't get me wrong, Eleanor is an extremely strong character but she asks for permission from her husband and acknowledges she has to obey him in certain situations. To me, she is all the better because of this realistic take, her strength is even more evident in how she maintained her sense of self in the face of the "rules" of her time. Thinking back, Randolph was probably a better man than I gave him credit for while reading. He was the one who seemed to want to give them a chance and walked further across the bridge that separated them. However, since I know it is a deal breaker for some,
If you're looking for holiday reading, this needs to be at the top of your list. The wintry and holiday atmosphere is fantastic in this story. They go sledding, picking holly, Christmas carols are sung, Christmas pageants, snowball fights, a family gathering, and etc. The hero and heroine's relationship might be a bit too prickly for some but I loved how real it felt. The wariness of being involved in an arranged marriage, the guarded standoffish of distrustfulness, and the eventual getting to know someone and coming together. This was a moving holiday read.
"Do we like each other?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "We do."
Task the Third: The Holiday Party:
- Read a book where a celebration is a big part of the action. Examples would include holiday parties, country house hunting/weekend parties, weddings, etc.
This meets the holiday party criteria, the heroine's family and a couple of the hero's friends gather at their home for a week to celebrate Christmas.
He felt disgust and shame at what he was doing. He was marrying for money.
I had a couple friends tell me they thought pretty highly of this book and I see why. Eleanor's father is dying and he wants to make sure that she is settled so he buys the debts of an Earl and tells him he'll forgive them if he marries his daughter. Randolph inherited the debts along with the earldom but sees no way out of it, so he decides to marry who he calls the cit because Eleanor's father made his money in coal. So, our heroine knows she's being married for money and our hero knows he's being married for position in society. This leads to them being very cold to one another.
She had done what she always did when she was afraid or angry or both. She had given as good as she had got.
With her father dying and having had a bad experience with aristocrats Eleanor throws up one heck of a wall and cold shoulder toward Randolph, he eventually ends up calling her "hedgehog". Which is a nickname I never thought I would delight in but oh did I. I think some will be annoyed/angry with how cold Eleanor was but I get her, she was in self-protection mode and not wanting Randolph to see her hurt because that would shame her. I did think their dagger throwing, especially on Eleanor's side went on a tad too long, I think we should have seen a stronger turning about around the 60% mark.
Was it that he wanted the physical closeness to her in the hope that it would bring some emotional closeness too?
This was originally published in 1992 and it has aged very well but it also has a more realistic telling of how people would have acted during this time than a lot of currently published historicals. Don't get me wrong, Eleanor is an extremely strong character but she asks for permission from her husband and acknowledges she has to obey him in certain situations. To me, she is all the better because of this realistic take, her strength is even more evident in how she maintained her sense of self in the face of the "rules" of her time. Thinking back, Randolph was probably a better man than I gave him credit for while reading. He was the one who seemed to want to give them a chance and walked further across the bridge that separated them. However, since I know it is a deal breaker for some,
Spoiler
he has a mistress and after he is married to Eleanor and he visits her twice. We never see these two visits, we see one visit before he is married to Eleanor, but they are mentioned.If you're looking for holiday reading, this needs to be at the top of your list. The wintry and holiday atmosphere is fantastic in this story. They go sledding, picking holly, Christmas carols are sung, Christmas pageants, snowball fights, a family gathering, and etc. The hero and heroine's relationship might be a bit too prickly for some but I loved how real it felt. The wariness of being involved in an arranged marriage, the guarded standoffish of distrustfulness, and the eventual getting to know someone and coming together. This was a moving holiday read.
"Do we like each other?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "We do."
localstreetcat's review
1.0
DNF at 60%.
I couldn't get invested in the characters and it was just like sad but not in a way that was still cathartic to read. Also I don't want to read a depressing Christmas book...
I couldn't get invested in the characters and it was just like sad but not in a way that was still cathartic to read. Also I don't want to read a depressing Christmas book...