A review by cuppacora
Gaming Hell Christmas by Kathy L Wheeler, Amanda McCabe

fast-paced

3.75

 5 Word Review: Love, Christmas, pleasure, secrets, society.

Both stories are pretty short, I'd say novella length, and I really liked how these two stories linked so closely together, and that we see the main characters of each through different eyes. The length means that they're perfect for dedicating an entire day to - Read A Gift for the Duke's Illegitimate Daughter in the morning/afternoon and The Merry Widow's Christmas Adventure in the evening. You won't regret it.

I loved the way the prologue set up the close relationship of the girls, and it made me excited to explore their stories.

A Gift for the Duke's Illegitimate Daughter by Kathy L Wheeler

I loved it.

Alex's home life isn't the best in terms of her relationship with her family, but this made her fierce friendships with the girls of Miss Greensley's all the more wonderful. The contrast really showed the relationships for what they were in such a clever way for a novella.

This is a pretty exhilarating read, especially as you get to the end. There was so much scope for a miscommunication trope and I am so so glad that the author avoided it. The characters talked to each other for the most part, even if they did keep secrets. It was more an absence of communication than a misunderstanding of it.

The way that Millburn fell for Alex hit me right in the feels, I'm not gonna lie.

The Merry Widow's Christmas Adventure by Amanda McCabe

I do love a second chance romance.

The passion between Annabelle and Will is pretty much instant. I loved that their history was shared with a small flashback, and all of the conflicting feelings that brought.

They felt a bit like star-crossed lovers, and I was fully behind them getting together. They belong together. Even if Anna's step son is doing everything in his power to destroy her happiness.

I liked how this story played with the boundaries of society, and how through Anna's place as a widow we got to see more of the less proper parts of society than we did with Alex's story before.