I love novellas at Christmas - the length is just right for one evening, when you steal a couple hours away from holiday madness to breathe and remember what you’re in the season for. I try new ones every year, but only the chosen few make it to my annual re-read list. Patience for Christmas has the distinction of making it onto that list.

Patience Friendly’s fiancé - a viscount - jilted her when it became clear that her family’s money had dried up. Now, she writes an advice column called Mrs. Horner’s Corner for Scottish publisher Dougal MacHugh. The blight on her season? Professor Pennypacker, a rival columnist. When she learns of Pennypacker’s plan to publish twelve days of columns leading up to Christmas, she throws herself into doing the same. Working long hours alongside Dougal makes her see her boss in a new way. Unfortunately, what she doesn’t see is that Dougal is Pennypacker, a character he hatched in order to drive sales.

Why this book is a B+ and not a DIK is right there in that Big Secret, since the reveal and reconciliation are predictable and formulaic. However, the rest of the book is strong enough that it doesn’t matter.

Patience is a lovely, practical heroine. I enjoyed how she grew as a result of her career, how financial independence and labor became fulfilling to her. Dougal, who recognizes her talents, supports and pushes her to grow as a writer and a thinker, doing things like gifting her his copy of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women. I liked that his brusqueness covered up his affection for her, and the way the authors shows clearly the heavy responsibility of running a publishing house which secures the livelihoods of many people, including relatives.

The book is part of the Wyndhams series, and I wish it wasn’t. I wanted the page count of Patience talking to former heroines to be spent on characters I actually cared about in this book. Opportunities were missed to explore the contrast between the workaday world of Dougal and the luxurious life Patience lost, and which her wealthy Wyndham friends represent.

The author’s prose manages to be lighthearted and funny without being excessively modern:

MacHugh the saddlemaker was his cousin, as was MacHugh the stationer. MacHugh the fishmonger wasn’t related as far as they could tell, but the trail was promising, three generations back on the Irish side.

I also appreciated minor, smoothly integrated historical details (Patience picks up a “carrying candle”; Dougal wonders why her neighbors aren’t putting lights in their windows as required by law and Patience points out that they are poor).

Before buying this, you should know that this novella is a new Kindle release but not a new work. Burrowes released Patience for Christmas in a paperback duology Virtues of Christmas in 2016; the other story in the original is Respect for Christmas. Both of these stories are now available in separate Kindle editions; the duology, as far as I can tell, is paper only.

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Sweet, spinsterish Patience Friendly, once a semi-wealthy debutante, has fallen on lean difficult times and needs the funds she earns writing an advice column. Charming, Scot Dougal MacHugh is her frustrating publisher. They know each other only slightly until Dougal requests she join him in competition with another news sheet with a male advice writer. It means a very busy Christmas season with these two spending quite a bit of time together, but will help Patience put away a bit of a nest egg for the future.

Patience has no idea the male counterpart is actually her publisher. It does not take long to realize she is going to feel betrayed when she learns her counterpart, Professor Pennypacker’s identity, but add in the situation with the viscount who ruined her ten years ago. She struggles with trust already. There is no way Dougal is going to come out of this unscathed, and rightly so.

This is a charming prequel to the Windham sister before they married. Patience and Dougal’s HEA is charming whether you know this or not. Grace Burrowes is a writer who always entertains.

Not a brand new short story, but it’s new to me, and it’s a lovely addition/prequel to Grace Burrowes’ The Windham Brides series (which itself is a sub-series to just about everything she’s written). Patience Friendly is not always as her names described but she’s a strong, feisty heroine. Her publisher, Dougal MacHugh, is everything you want in a contemporary romance hero wrapped up with a Regency era bow.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This novella was sweet and romantic. The characters were strong and kind. The story takes place during the Christmas season. It's a perfect quick read for a cold night!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love Grace Burrowes! I can recognize her writing just a few pages into the book. This one was a little different in that the main characters were a writer and a publisher. You could see the love building between the two for an awesome happily ever after. 5 Stars.

What I like about Ms. Burrowes' books is that the heroines are strong and stick together. I also like that her books do not fit the norm of historical romance. This is a sweet story featuring a writer and a publisher who dance around each other. A nice read for a Sunday afternoon with coffee/tea.

A cozy, comforting Christmas tale from Grace Burrowes. A newspaper advice columnist and her publisher match wits (and, secretly, advice columns) while developing a strong regard for each other. As always, Burrowes’ characters are strongly principled and intelligent, and their romance is consenting and tender. It’s a very nice holiday read.

Spinster Patience relies on the income from writing her advice column for her living and is nothing but annoyed by her overbearing, Scottish employer, Dougal MacHugh. But when competition with a rival publisher leads to a frantic writing and release schedule, and lots of time spent together, Patience begins to see Dougal in a different light and he begins to see more in her than the arrogant spinster he had presumed her to be. The two begin to grow closer and recognize feelings for each other, but both have their own secrets and ambitions that may be enough to keep their relationship strictly professional.

This was a quick, enjoyable read to put you in the festive spirit and I'd recommend it for a holiday diversion.

I received a complimentary ARC via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Patience and Dougal's story! It was a quick, enjoyable read for the holidays. Patience writes an advice column and Dougal is her boss. He has tasked her with a project over the holidays which has them spending a lot of time together and some of it not so proper! Definitely one to pick up for the holidays!

Delightful Christmas short story with an O’Henry type twist! For a short story, I found the main characters well developed. Well done Grace Burrowes!

An interesting English romance, one that has very little to do with titles and dukes. I enjoyed an English romance with more realistic characters. Dougal was of course the hot brooding Scots type that readers enjoy and Patience was NOT a simpering miss, but an intelligent woman. Highly recommend for romance readers.

Patience is a friend of the Windham sisters so there is a tie in to the Windham series. It is set before any of the sisters marry. Patience was ruined and makes her living writing for a local paper. She has an advice column and now there is a compensation between her column and on in another paper. There are two secrets in play and a building romance between the owners of the to columns. I loved how Patience grew and became more independent and how her boss reacted to her growth. A really nice Christmas romance with just a little tension to go with the romance.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another cute installation in the series, neither my favorite or my least favorite, but a sweet story for the holidays.

Grace Burrowes brings her singular style of storytelling to another Windham offshoot. Patience and Dougal work together over the Christmas holidays in his printing business. Spending time together in close quarters focuses the senses and brings them close to each other. They fall in love and become each other’s fondest Christmas wish.

Patience for Christmas by Grace Burrowes is a regency romance novella set during the Christmas holiday season. This romance has actually been published before as part of the Virtues of Christmas holiday novella collection and is now being published on it’s own.

Patience Friendly is unlike other young ladies of her time and has taken a job as an advice columnist a the local paper determined to support herself. Patience’s publisher, Dougal MacHugh, has come up with a project for her for the holiday season in writing a holiday advice-a-thon in response to a rival columnist.

The set up in this one has Patience losing her place in society but showing her strength and determination to survive on her own. Both Patience and Dougal were both likable right away and nice to see come together in the story. There are some steamier moments in the story between the characters and overall a nice little historical holiday romance.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.