Carole's Monday: Mistletoe Christmas

Author: Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, Erica Ridley

Narrator: Susan Duerden

Title: Mistletoe Christmas - An Anthology

Genre: Historical Romance, Anthologies, Novella, Short Stories, & holiday

Format: Audiobook

Published: September 28th 2021

Where I got It: Audible 

Summary: 

The Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry is famous throughout the British Isles for its plays, dancing, magical grotto… not to mention scandals leading to the marriage licenses he hands out like confetti.

But not everyone welcomes a visit from Cupid.

Lady Cressida, the duke’s daughter, is too busy managing the entertainments—and besides, her own father has called her dowdy. Her cousin, Lady Isabelle Wilkshire, is directing Cinderella and has no interest in marriage. Lady Caroline Whitmore is already (unhappily) married; the fact that she and her estranged husband have to pretend to be together just makes her dread the party all the more.  But not as much as Miss Louisa Harcourt, whose mother bluntly tells her that this is her last chance to escape the horrors of being an old maid.

A house party so large, that mothers lose track of their charges, leads to a delightful, seductive quartet of stories that you will savor for the Season!

Review:

What a set of authors to all get-together! So exciting!

We have four stories here. All four are connected together because of the Duke of Greystoke's Christmas Revery. This Revery is famous throughout the British Isles for its plays, dancing, magical grotto, scandals, and even sometimes love.

 - A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James

Here we follow Lady Cressida who is the Duke's daughter. Secretly she has been the brains and the planner behind these parties for the last few years. She is nearly and firmly placed on the shelf because she has been told all her life, by her pops, that she is dowdy and unmarriageable. No one sees her until Elias does. I was with Cressida and I struggled to believe Elias sudden interest. They have known each other for years...and now he is all "I LOVE HER". M'kay. BUT he does prove it and earns it. I liked this one a lot. 

- Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell

Now we have Lady Cressida's cousin, Lady Isabelle Wilkshire. She walked away from the only man she ever loved years previous because they were almost engaged for 3 years and he had been pretty much ignoring her because of his work. WHICH I totally get both sides of the story. I get why she said eff it and leave....she did give him a chance, but she should've just been honest. I get why he was working so hard. He was a nobody who snagged her a rich lady...he wanted to be able to support her and keep her comfy. Years later they are paired together to direct the play. Of course....talking....making up....and finally loving each other again. Loved this second chance romance! 

- Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor

Next, we have Lady Caroline Whitmore who is unhappily married. The two have to pretend to be happy and in love in order for Caro to get her trust money. So yesss another second chance romance. This one was good too. It was nice seeing them finally open up and talk. They had the lust part down...but the communication was sadly lacking. They didn't know how to be open with each other. His parents were not happy and she was all alone and no one had cared about her. It was so nice seeing them go from pretending to actually loving each other again. I loved how he tried so hard to win her back. Adorable. 

- Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley

Lastly, we have Miss Louisa Harcourt. This is her last chance to find a match before she is firmly placed on the shelf in the eyes of the ton. Thanks to the gossip columns....she has struggled to find a match. Ewan was what she needed. She can be herself and be happy....but I hated his secret. Hated it. I really feel like he needed to do more for her to forgive him. This was my least favorite, but I still enjoyed it overall. 

Overall

These were all really good. Even my least favorite was still enjoyable. I loved what brought all these people together. What a great idea! I would love to see more stories of love being formed here in the future. I'll give this 4 stars. 

Challenge(s):
- #83 for Audiobook challenge