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chroniclesofabookreader 's review for:
How the Dukes Stole Christmas
by Sarah MacLean, Joanna Shupe, Sophie Jordan, Tessa Dare
Tessa Dare’s Meet Me in Mayfair was a hopelessly romantic short story with a young woman on a quest to find a wealthy man to marry before her family loses their assets. Dare’s quintessential wit and charm quickly pulled me into Louisa’s world and had me delighting in her whimsical yet grounded personality. The chemistry she had with the Duke was instant and beguiling, an organic romance that spoke for itself with minimal effort from the writing. The flow, connection, and journey they had with one another was simply spectacular, and I could’ve read two-hundred more pages of them. This is the kind of feel-good story with a punch that readers crave, and I loved this story most of all.
The Duke of Christmas Present by Sarah MacLean was an emotional second-chance romance between childhood lovers. For a short story, I was amazed at how quickly and easily their past and present wove within one another to create a love story with no missing pieces. The subtle undertones of love and pain were beautifully handled and incredibly potent—turbulent feelings interlaced with hopeful attraction. I love a story with a man who can be remorseful when finally confronted, and I really loved how this one played out.
Heiress Alone by Sophie Jordan places readers into the Highlands with its left-behind heroine and the cantankerous Scottish Duke who wants nothing to do with her kind. Jordan’s hero to the rescue certainly made for a romantic and sensual love story that bloomed between two characters forced into close quarters. Even with their contempt, the attraction was this solid, physical thing hanging between them and I loved how easily it gained ground.
The one story I struggled with was Joanna Shupe’s Christmas in Central Park. I had never read this author so I cannot speak to if it was the setting of the story (time period) or if it was simply the story itself. It was quite a shock to go from three ‘period pieces’ to a non-‘period piece,’ but after getting over that, I found myself struggling with the characters themselves—their chemistry, their depth—as we followed along Rose’s disastrous holiday party built upon a wish and a prayer. I couldn’t fall into it or find myself rooting for either main character, and I wish that weren’t the case.
How the Dukes Stole Christmas had an absolutely wonderful array of short stories set in the Christmas holiday that evoked every possible emotion from humor to sadness and heartbreak to absolute infatuation. Each story had its own magical qualities that really showcased the different sides to a love story and the feeling of family and joy around the holidays. Though they be shorter stories, there was zero skimping on the storytelling or the romance that built between each couple, and I could re-read them all again.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**
The Duke of Christmas Present by Sarah MacLean was an emotional second-chance romance between childhood lovers. For a short story, I was amazed at how quickly and easily their past and present wove within one another to create a love story with no missing pieces. The subtle undertones of love and pain were beautifully handled and incredibly potent—turbulent feelings interlaced with hopeful attraction. I love a story with a man who can be remorseful when finally confronted, and I really loved how this one played out.
Heiress Alone by Sophie Jordan places readers into the Highlands with its left-behind heroine and the cantankerous Scottish Duke who wants nothing to do with her kind. Jordan’s hero to the rescue certainly made for a romantic and sensual love story that bloomed between two characters forced into close quarters. Even with their contempt, the attraction was this solid, physical thing hanging between them and I loved how easily it gained ground.
The one story I struggled with was Joanna Shupe’s Christmas in Central Park. I had never read this author so I cannot speak to if it was the setting of the story (time period) or if it was simply the story itself. It was quite a shock to go from three ‘period pieces’ to a non-‘period piece,’ but after getting over that, I found myself struggling with the characters themselves—their chemistry, their depth—as we followed along Rose’s disastrous holiday party built upon a wish and a prayer. I couldn’t fall into it or find myself rooting for either main character, and I wish that weren’t the case.
How the Dukes Stole Christmas had an absolutely wonderful array of short stories set in the Christmas holiday that evoked every possible emotion from humor to sadness and heartbreak to absolute infatuation. Each story had its own magical qualities that really showcased the different sides to a love story and the feeling of family and joy around the holidays. Though they be shorter stories, there was zero skimping on the storytelling or the romance that built between each couple, and I could re-read them all again.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**