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lalabristow's review
5.0
Review of Leanna Renee Hieber's Short Story!
{Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life"
+ VIDEO Interview w/ Percy Parker!
I absolutely love the world that Leanna has created and ever since I read the first book in the Strangely Beautiful series I have been hoping that we would get to read about Michael and Rebecca, and have their much deserved Happily Ever After come to life.
I actually met Leanna this past weekend and she being the amazing person that she is, gave me a galley for the Midwinter Fantasy anthology where she finally gives us that long awaited HEA. I finished the story 2 minutes ago and just had to run to my laptop to get these words down.
A Christmas Carroll is a heartfelt and beautiful story that could only be better if it was longer, though I do think it’s size was perfect and Leanna did the most amazing job in sharing with us the long, winding and sometimes painful path that these two characters have taken to find each other once and for all.
Leanna masterfully takes a page from the classic Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and makes it her own in such a way that you can’t help but fall in love with it, smile and cry with the references to the classical story. Her genius approach in my opinion was accented by the fact that she did not borrow the idea covertly, but simply owned it in the story itself, with mentions of Charles Dickens’ himself and even allowing the story to not take itself too seriously by adding a much appreciated and well crafted dose of humor.
All of our favorite characters are there and we get to see how Percy and Alexi are doing, along with Josephine and Elijah. I felt like I was attending a reunion with much beloved friend I hadn’t seen in a while and couldn’t wait to catch up with.
If you enjoy Leanna’s Strangely Beautiful series this is an absolute must read, that I guarantee you will not regret getting. If you are new to the series, there are spoilers to the stories in books one and two, but I feel that those will only make you want to read those books even more!
{Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life"
+ VIDEO Interview w/ Percy Parker!
I absolutely love the world that Leanna has created and ever since I read the first book in the Strangely Beautiful series I have been hoping that we would get to read about Michael and Rebecca, and have their much deserved Happily Ever After come to life.
I actually met Leanna this past weekend and she being the amazing person that she is, gave me a galley for the Midwinter Fantasy anthology where she finally gives us that long awaited HEA. I finished the story 2 minutes ago and just had to run to my laptop to get these words down.
A Christmas Carroll is a heartfelt and beautiful story that could only be better if it was longer, though I do think it’s size was perfect and Leanna did the most amazing job in sharing with us the long, winding and sometimes painful path that these two characters have taken to find each other once and for all.
Leanna masterfully takes a page from the classic Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and makes it her own in such a way that you can’t help but fall in love with it, smile and cry with the references to the classical story. Her genius approach in my opinion was accented by the fact that she did not borrow the idea covertly, but simply owned it in the story itself, with mentions of Charles Dickens’ himself and even allowing the story to not take itself too seriously by adding a much appreciated and well crafted dose of humor.
All of our favorite characters are there and we get to see how Percy and Alexi are doing, along with Josephine and Elijah. I felt like I was attending a reunion with much beloved friend I hadn’t seen in a while and couldn’t wait to catch up with.
If you enjoy Leanna’s Strangely Beautiful series this is an absolute must read, that I guarantee you will not regret getting. If you are new to the series, there are spoilers to the stories in books one and two, but I feel that those will only make you want to read those books even more!
mackle13's review
3.0
I'm only reading "A Christmas Carroll" - Strangely Beautiful 2.5. It's a cute story hinted at in the epilogue of [b:The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker|7135014|The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (Strangely Beautiful, #2)|Leanna Renee Hieber|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339060771s/7135014.jpg|10863349], and it was nice to see the story of how our intrepid pair finally get together.
I liked the beginning and middle a fair bit, but the ending seemed suddenly rushed and a bit twee. I'm also confused about the
But it was a sweet story with some obvious Dickens' references, and it was nice to see's involvement in the tale.
I liked the beginning and middle a fair bit, but the ending seemed suddenly rushed and a bit twee. I'm also confused about the
Spoiler
time travel aspect. Did the past actually get changed? It suggested that it did, but then it didn't seem to? I think that weirdness could've been left out.But it was a sweet story with some obvious Dickens' references, and it was nice to see
Spoiler
Janeschomj's review
3.0
Just to warn you, I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who liked Hieber's first book and was anticipating some fantasy romance or romantic urban fantasy stories. As a whole, this anthology was a lot more in the nature of genre romance than I was expecting.
A Christmas Carroll by Leanna Renee Hieber
I’m not sure how easy this will be to understand if you haven’t read other books in this series. I read the first about a year ago, and I was still a little confused in some places and overwhelmed by too many half-remembered characters in others. However, if you’re a fan of this Victorian paranormal series and you like Dickens-influenced Christmas stories, you’ll probably be quite pleased.
The Worth of a Sylph by L. J. McDonald
Lily, also known as The Widow, is an eighty-two year old foster mother. Mace is a battle sylph tied to Lily through a mystical bond that makes her his master. Recognizing that she won’t live forever, Lily gives Mace permission to seek a second master, one whom he may be able to love. Conceptually, I found the world this story takes place in very interesting. The writing was skillful, if maybe a bit florid in parts. I just wish the characters had been more… I don’t know, real? They were more standard steamy romance than I was hoping for, I guess. This feeling wasn’t helped by the.
The Crystal Crib by Helen Scott Taylor
At first I thought Sonja was a ten years old plot moppet, but it turns out she’s the twenty-six year old heroine. Vidar, the hero, does the insta-lust thing immediately upon meeting her. I’m generally supportive of the use of Norse mythology in stories, but it didn’t work for me here. Actually, nothing about this really worked for me, from the overly-emoting characters to the pronoun abuse. (I’d quote a few pronoun mishaps, since there were a few sentences that made absolutely no sense, but this is just a review copy, so it’s possible they’ll be cleaned up during the editing process.) I will say that it was kind of (unintentionally?) funny in places, which made reading it more entertaining than it could have been (Magic Knot anyone?), but… eh, I’m not going to be looking for more works by this author anytime soon. However, my crankypants aside, I do think it could appeal to serious romance fans.
Review is based on an electronic ARC received through NetGalley.
A Christmas Carroll by Leanna Renee Hieber
I’m not sure how easy this will be to understand if you haven’t read other books in this series. I read the first about a year ago, and I was still a little confused in some places and overwhelmed by too many half-remembered characters in others. However, if you’re a fan of this Victorian paranormal series and you like Dickens-influenced Christmas stories, you’ll probably be quite pleased.
The Worth of a Sylph by L. J. McDonald
Lily, also known as The Widow, is an eighty-two year old foster mother. Mace is a battle sylph tied to Lily through a mystical bond that makes her his master. Recognizing that she won’t live forever, Lily gives Mace permission to seek a second master, one whom he may be able to love. Conceptually, I found the world this story takes place in very interesting. The writing was skillful, if maybe a bit florid in parts. I just wish the characters had been more… I don’t know, real? They were more standard steamy romance than I was hoping for, I guess. This feeling wasn’t helped by the
Spoiler
secret love childThe Crystal Crib by Helen Scott Taylor
At first I thought Sonja was a ten years old plot moppet, but it turns out she’s the twenty-six year old heroine. Vidar, the hero, does the insta-lust thing immediately upon meeting her. I’m generally supportive of the use of Norse mythology in stories, but it didn’t work for me here. Actually, nothing about this really worked for me, from the overly-emoting characters to the pronoun abuse. (I’d quote a few pronoun mishaps, since there were a few sentences that made absolutely no sense, but this is just a review copy, so it’s possible they’ll be cleaned up during the editing process.) I will say that it was kind of (unintentionally?) funny in places, which made reading it more entertaining than it could have been (Magic Knot anyone?), but… eh, I’m not going to be looking for more works by this author anytime soon. However, my crankypants aside, I do think it could appeal to serious romance fans.
Review is based on an electronic ARC received through NetGalley.
thenia's review
3.0
The Worth of a Sylph (Sylph #2.5) - LJ McDonald (1/17/2015)
It's been a long time since I read the second book in the series and I'd forgotten many things about the world the author's created, many of which I enjoyed re-discovering.
I wasn't a big fan of how the sylphs usually treat men, and that was one of my objections in this story as well, but at least Mace learned his lesson by the end of his adventure.
Apart from that minor annoyance, the story was enjoyable, but I wasn't very invested in the couple's relationship that felt a bit rushed and seemed to progress a bit too fast to be believable.
Regardless, I will probably read the next book in the series [b:Queen of the Sylphs|7739606|Queen of the Sylphs (Sylph, #3)|L.J. McDonald|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302336192s/7739606.jpg|10544421] sometime in the future.
It's been a long time since I read the second book in the series and I'd forgotten many things about the world the author's created, many of which I enjoyed re-discovering.
I wasn't a big fan of how the sylphs usually treat men, and that was one of my objections in this story as well, but at least Mace learned his lesson by the end of his adventure.
Apart from that minor annoyance, the story was enjoyable, but I wasn't very invested in the couple's relationship that felt a bit rushed and seemed to progress a bit too fast to be believable.
Regardless, I will probably read the next book in the series [b:Queen of the Sylphs|7739606|Queen of the Sylphs (Sylph, #3)|L.J. McDonald|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302336192s/7739606.jpg|10544421] sometime in the future.
lindagreen's review
3.0
This is a collection of Christmas/wintry tales for the romance enthusiast. I have to admit I am not a romance reader really but there was something about this that appealed to me. Perhaps the change in weather or the dark of winter but I did find myself enjoying these tales. Having never read any of the authors in this collection before I can’t compare it to their other works but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing. The ambience of each was well drawn, the characters while not exactly relatable they were at least intriguing, and it does what it sets out to go by bringing a gothic theme to the holidays. For romance fans, this collection would a good way to spent a long winter’s night.
ARC Galley Proof
ARC Galley Proof
larisa2021's review
3.0
4 stars for first story
3 stars for second story
1 star for final story...not my cuppa
3 stars for second story
1 star for final story...not my cuppa
prationality's review
5.0
To be clear I only read the Leanna Renee Hieber story since that was an epilogue (of sorts) to Percy Parker's books.
Prelim review: This was a riff on Dickens' classic story "A Christmas Carol", with Jane (and a couple other familiar spirits) helping to make Rebecca and Michael see their worth and future happiness.
Prelim review: This was a riff on Dickens' classic story "A Christmas Carol", with Jane (and a couple other familiar spirits) helping to make Rebecca and Michael see their worth and future happiness.
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