With Love at Christmas by Carole Matthews

Paperback, 432 pages
Published October 25th 2012 by Sphere (first published 2012)
women's fic
Library

I saw it, I saw xmas, and thought why not.

Juliet loves xmas and wants to make it special but, omg her family.

First, I know you need help Chloe, but you have a kid, and one on the way and now you are mooching of your parents and goes out partying. And living with them.Grow up!

Tom, their son, has also moved back home since he does not have a job, and same thing here. Out partying and bring home strangers. Kick him out.

Her mum, well I get it there, she can not be on her own, but Carole can not take care of someone who needs constant care. She has a jo! And her mum has alzheimers :/ Sorry, but you need to face facts.

But this is a xmas story, so it will all work out, sort of, there are threads left hanging, oh well, everyone had a lovely xmas at least.

Cheerful, with some hmm moments

Juliet Joyce adores Christmas. She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand.

Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet's father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day. And has the chaos got too much for Juliet's husband Rick?

With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled 

Audio: London's Late Night Scandal by Anabelle Bryant

Narrated by: Victoria Aston

Series: Midnight Secrets Series, Book 3

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 10-29-19

Language: English

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Historical romance

For review

So I do not remember what Matthew did in book 1. I did read my review and it seems he was an asshat, but I still wrote that he needed a HEA. But that is the good thing, when I finally got to his book I had forgotten any bad feelings I might have had for him.

Matthew goes to visit an Earl since that Earl had written a paper and they could not, oh long story. Smart dude wants to talk with another smart dude. Instead he meets Thedosia, the real author.

Theo lives with her grandfather and speaks with animals more than humans. She is really smart in a time when women had no place for that.

Matthew is in constant pain (I have read a lot of books lately with men in constant pain from bullet holes, hmm, strange.)

They flirt. He has has his job in the city, she hates it (for a silly reason in the end) Oh and her granfather has dementia so there is that too.

And that is the drama folks.

And they work it out and live happily ever after. Nice story. I think the "baddie" was in book 1 too but I had forgotten him.

Also, xmas setting!

Narrator

I like her voice for historical romance so she did really well

Chief Officer of the Society for the Intellectually Advanced, Lord Matthew Strathmore, Earl of Whittingham, takes his position very seriously. Not only does it distract him from the painful aftermath of a gunshot wound to the leg, earned most honorably, it is important work. So he feels duty-bound to question esteemed scientist Lord Talbot about a suspect article. Matthew dashes from London to Oxfordshire, despite wretched weather that only exacerbates his injury, reminding him he is far from the dashing gentleman he once was...

Theodosia, Lord Talbot's granddaughter, has inherited his gift for inquiry, enjoying her pursuits safely away from the artifice of London society. But her identity as the true author of Talbot's article is about to be exposed. And if Matthew expects a dour bluestocking, surprises abound. Not only do Theodosia's botanical concoctions soothe his leg, he's clearly attracted by her delicate beauty. But dare she hope for more? It will take an urgent trip to London for both to discover how passion and lasting love can ignite under the cover of darkness...

TMST

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December 10th: What books disappointed you this year?

You know what, I will just list my DNFs

Mageborn (Age of Dread Trilogy, #1)
Aryan, Stephen *

Ruined by a Rake (All's Fair in Love, #1)
Knightley, Erin *

A Soul For Trouble (Soulbearer, #1)
McHugh, Crista *

Rise of the Dragons (Kings and Sorcerers, #1)
Rice, Morgan *


The Woolgrower’s Companion
Rhoades, Joy *

Slow Ride (Road to Love, #2)
Foster, Lori *

Cowboy Trouble
Kennedy, Joanne *

The Perfect Assassin (Chronicles of Ghadid, #1)
Doore, K. A. *

A Year of Marvellous Ways
Winman, Sarah


Flirting With Danger (Samantha Jellicoe, #1)
Enoch, Suzanne

In the Vanishers’ Palace
Bodard, Aliette de *

On a Red Station, Drifting
Bodard, Aliette de *


The Gutter Prayer (The Black Iron Legacy, #1)
Ryder-Hanrahan, Gareth *

The Archived (The Archived, #1)
Schwab, Victoria *

Middlegame
McGuire, Seanan *


How We Disappeared
Lee, Jing-Jing *

1356 (The Grail Quest, #4)
Cornwell, Bernard *

Naondel (Krönikor från röda klostret, #2)
Turtschaninoff, Maria

Big Little Lies
Moriarty, Liane *

The Summer Country
Willig, Lauren *

Breven från Maresi (Röda klostret, #3)
Turtschaninoff, Maria

Blood of an Exile (Dragons of Terra, #1)
Naslund, Brian *

Slouch Witch (The Lazy Girl's Guide To Magic, #1)
Harper, Helen *

The Right Swipe (Modern Love, #1)
Rai, Alisha *

Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #3)
Lawrence, Mark *

3:AM Kisses (3:AM Kisses, #1)
Moore, Addison *

Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)
Shalvis, Jill *

Cold Welcome (Vatta's Peace, #1)
Moon, Elizabeth

Gingerbread
Oyeyemi, Helen *

His for Christmas
Warren, Skye *

Of course then there are those that I actually ended up reading too even though they should have been DNFs, like Wicked King by Holly Black, A Court of thorns and roses by Sarah Maas, Kingdom of Assassins by RJ Barker (ruined the whole series for me),  The Ruin of Kings by Jennifer Lyon, The demon king by Chinda Williams Chima, The waking lands by  Callie Bates, Soundless by Richelle Mead. All 1s

Carole's Monday: The red pearl by Chloe Hilton

Author:  Chloe Helton  
Title: The Red Pearl
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: ebook
Publication Date: March 1st 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



Boston, 1779. A nation in revolution. An innkeeper’s wife will change its fate.

There is something peculiar about the group of men who have begun to frequent The Red Pearl. Their clandestine meetings and hushed conversations suggest dark secrets: secrets which Lucy Finch has been forbidden to listen to. However, when a horrific assault makes her ache for revenge, Lucy will risk everything to pass on the explosive information she hears while pouring drinks. What she finds may be the fodder for a historic victory - but it may also lead to her ruin. 




The Revolutionary War will always hold a special place in my heart. I was obsessed with learning everything I could about this time when I was growing up. I still love it, but I have expanded my horizons. When this was offered for me to read, I could not deny it!

The story follows Lucy in Boston. She is the wife of an innkeeper and she gets to hear more than she should from the loosened tongue of the drunk Tories that frequent there. After a terrible event, she decides enough is enough and she will take this information to the side she wants to win. But will it ruin her marriage or end with her killed?

This was short, but packed with a lot of story. Honestly? I wish it had been longer. Maybe with an epilogue of some sorts? Or a book 2? Something. I want more from these characters and their stories. I really want Sam to have a HEA. Perhaps a book with his story? Just want more. 

I felt bad for Lucy. She gave up her first love to have a safe marriage with another man. Dangerous times for sure. Can't blame her at all. Also I wanted to cry because what happened to her was terrible. But it did respark her motivation to see the victory of the Patriots.

I did feel bad for her husband sometimes, but I was mad at him because I get wanting to be neutral and all, but defend your wife darnit! He needed a swift kick in the butt! 

I'm glad the baddie got what he deserved. Huzzah for justice!

What I really loved about this book was how real it felt. Sure we could've seen more heroics and more drama. But Lucy and everyone felt real. Sometimes just sharing a few secrets can have huge impacts. It was nice to see these characters flawed and have to deal with everyday life. It wasn't a love match. But a marriage of convenience and the author did a wonderful job showing the darker truths of the times mixed with the lighter truths. For example, Betty had a love match, but then Lucy didn't. The author knows her stuff. 

In the end, I really did like this story. I honestly wanted more to make it even better. I needed more time with these characters. Overall, though, this was worth the read. If you are looking for a good historical fiction, I for sure recommend this. I'll give this 4 stars. 

20 out of 16/25