A review by lezreadalot
Masters in This Hall by KJ Charles, KJ Charles

4.0

God today hath poor folk raised and cast a-down the proud!

This was so much fun! Festive and entertaining with just the right amount of action. A hotel detective is trying to revenge himself upon the jewel thief who ruined his career, makes his plans to do so at his uncle's Christmas festivities, and then has to confront the fact that he mightn't have the whole story. It turns into a really great second-chance romance that I liked a lot. I love reading about historical Christmases, the traditions and songs and activities that used to take place. And a historical house party is one of my favourite settings for any sort of book. K.J. Charles incorporates them into her romances so well. I really loved the usage of all the songs, and the highlight of it all was the appearance of a certain character. Not gonna lie, he sorta stole the show; I love him so much and I was cracking up at his every other line, so much so that I was afraid that John and Barnaby weren't getting enough of the spotlight. But by the end of it, I became really endeared with their romance. They're so sweet! This is just over 100 pages, and these days I don't have much faith that novellas that short can make me feel anything, but this was wonderful. Thoroughly enjoyable little read. 

“I like who you are, not the better person you might be in theory. We’re not going to start again; we’re going to carry on from here, you and me.”