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A review by ssejig
A Christmas Ball by Jennifer Ashley, Alissa Johnson, Emily Bryan
2.0
Three stories, all told the night of the Hartwell Ball.
"My Lady Belowstairs" by Emily Bryan-For a short story, has a lot going on. Lady Sybil has disappeared on the night of her engagement, having run off with the man who just finished her portrait. Her lookalike, scullery maid half-sister has to step in and save the day. Oh, and her fiance has a lot of debts and must marry soon but his debts have been paid off by a woman who wants him in her bed. Ending is just a little too trite and sappy but I'd still round it up to 3 out of 5 stars.
"The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley-Includes a shapeshifter from a country I have no clue at how to pronounce (I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I wish authors would include pronunciations either way. I spent a good 5-10 seconds on the word every time it came up. It came up a lot. A LOT.) Dude has a dark past (his sister was raped by the Prince of their country and then she committed suicide. Dude tried to take it out on new prince but changed his mind. Probably). He's attracted to this Scots woman and knows she's his mate but he won't marry her until he knows that he can support her. Mystery, intrigue, and really doesn't fit in with the other two stories.
"Traditions" by Alissa Johnson-Lord Casselbury needs to get married. So, he's settled his eyes on a PYT but discovers that he's more interested in her friend. Patience Byerly has lived a hard life trying to take care of her father. He's been going slowly crazy, spent all their money, and forced Patience to throw herself on the mercy of her friend's family. Now William's interested but can she bring herself to tell him the truth?
"My Lady Belowstairs" by Emily Bryan-For a short story, has a lot going on. Lady Sybil has disappeared on the night of her engagement, having run off with the man who just finished her portrait. Her lookalike, scullery maid half-sister has to step in and save the day. Oh, and her fiance has a lot of debts and must marry soon but his debts have been paid off by a woman who wants him in her bed. Ending is just a little too trite and sappy but I'd still round it up to 3 out of 5 stars.
"The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley-Includes a shapeshifter from a country I have no clue at how to pronounce (I'm not sure if it's real or not, but I wish authors would include pronunciations either way. I spent a good 5-10 seconds on the word every time it came up. It came up a lot. A LOT.) Dude has a dark past (his sister was raped by the Prince of their country and then she committed suicide. Dude tried to take it out on new prince but changed his mind. Probably). He's attracted to this Scots woman and knows she's his mate but he won't marry her until he knows that he can support her. Mystery, intrigue, and really doesn't fit in with the other two stories.
"Traditions" by Alissa Johnson-Lord Casselbury needs to get married. So, he's settled his eyes on a PYT but discovers that he's more interested in her friend. Patience Byerly has lived a hard life trying to take care of her father. He's been going slowly crazy, spent all their money, and forced Patience to throw herself on the mercy of her friend's family. Now William's interested but can she bring herself to tell him the truth?