The thought of Robert Breton's touch fills Anne Clairemont with a delicious, scandalous heat—but her family's happiness depends on her going through with her planned marriage to his wealthy, cold business partner.

Then Robert gives her a searing kiss beneath the mistletoe that changes everything. Soon he's showing Anne the intimate pleasures they could share, determined to fan the flame of their desire and convince her to call off her engagement.
But can she disappoint her parents to be with Robert, or will she break her own heart first?

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This short and sweet romance is the sequel to Christine Merrill's A Regency Christmas Carol. I've never read the first book and this one still made perfect sense so I don't suppose you need to read them in order.

Having said that, it is obvious that Anne and Robert's story had to fit around things that occurred in the other story - things that didn't really make sense if you hadn't read it beforehand. I also get the impression that these two characters, or at the very least Anne, weren't painted in a flattering light in the first book which meant that some character traits were attempted to be explained away in this one. It made for some disjointed reading at times.

I also wasn't overly fond of Robert if I'm honest. He was a little bit harsh and unfeeling of Anne and even towards the very end he expected the worst of her. I also felt that he took advantage of Anne's innocence which made the sex scenes a little flat for me.

This was a short story that was a quick and ultimately satisfying read. I didn't feel much emotional attachment to the characters but the story is worth a read at the price. 3 stars.

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52 pages

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MAD DASH TO GRETNA!

Considered a spinster, Lady Drusilla Rudney has only one role in life: to chaperon her sister. So when her flighty sibling elopes Dru knows she has to stop her! She employs the help of a fellow travelling companion, who looks harmless enough…

Ex-army captain John Hendricks is intrigued by this damsel in distress. Once embroiled with her in a mad dash across England, he discovers that Dru is no simpering woman. Her unconventional ways make him want to forget his gentlemanly conduct…and create a scandal all of their own!

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This appears to be the second book in a series after Lady Folbroke's Delicious Deception. Although the couple from that book appear in this one, you don't have to have read the first one to understand this one.

While this book passed the time, I'm afraid that I found it quite basic and ultimately forgettable. Dru was a nice enough character - feisty without ever conforming to a stereotype. I also liked that John was a strong, un-titled man but his glasses gave him a sweet, studious edge. I wanted the pair to have chemistry but I just didn't believe that they felt anything for each other, other than perhaps lust.

Halfway through the book I started to wonder what on earth was going to fill the rest of the book and that is never the sign of a riveting and enthralling story. There was also a fair number of jarring Americanisms throughout the book which pulls you from the story.
Overall this was an easy enough read with a basic plot that just didn't seem to rise to any sort of high level. 3 stars.

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304 pages

Click to see other books by Christine Merrill