Even courtesan's can have a happily ever after. I love the Christmas hope filled season. Grace gives us the story of a good girl making the best of her ruined options and finding the one man who understands her struggles and dreams of family reconciliation. Henrietta Whitlow was a 16 year old good girl who ran from a strict, unreasonable father who contracted her to a middle aged widowed neighbor who needed a wife & mother to his children. She makes her way to London, as many young woman her age & circumstance have done to make her own way in the world. She unfortunately lands in Viscount Beltram's household as a housemaid. He sets about on the challenge to seduce this innocent lovely young woman. After a long subtle seduction and after promising her marriage she succumbs only to discover there's no future with him. He offers to set her up as a mistress when her father refuses to forgive and accept her back home.

Now 10 years later the very successful courtesan to Dukes has decided to retire and is traveling home for one final try to reconcile with her father & brothers. One of her coach horses throws a shoe so she stops at the next inn to fix the shoe. The innkeeper refuses to serve "her kind" so newly made Baron Michael Brenner, also on his way home to his unwelcome family for the holidays, offers to share his rented setting room for her & her maid to rest before continuing on their journey. Our adventure begins when their respective Scottish coachmen discover their employers both have a lonely Christmas ahead of them. The matchmaking pair plan how to keep their two employers traveling together giving them the opportunity to hopefully fall in love. I enjoyed this story of respect, love discovered, betrayal, forgiveness and seeking to bring family reconciliation. Thank you Grace and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to review this story for you.

Another delightful, charming novella by Grace Burrowes. A Christmas story about forgiveness, family, second chances and of course romance. Grace Burrowes is one of my favorite authors and I recommend this book.

A heartwarming story. It’s about family,forgiveness and second chances. With some nice romance thrown in.

Review by Georgianna Simpson (G.A. Hurst)

Respect for Christmas is a lovely romantic Christmas story.

Lord Michael Brenner, Baron Angelford is a titled Irishman with a lot of common sense and kindness He has a debt of honor to one Lord Beltram. Lord Beltram is an extremely unscrupulous man who long ago seduced his housemaid Henrietta Whitlow into his bed, then when tired of her sent her into a ruined life as a courtesan. Now he wants Michael to steal a book of bad poetry and sketches he’d written and given to Henrietta about their time together. Lord Beltram is afraid she’ll publish it and ruin his chances of securing a decent wife. Michael reluctantly agrees to settle his debt of honor to Beltram.

Henrietta Whitlow is a recently retired courtesan, whose only wish is to reconcile with her estranged father and family. She’s a kind person who knows her reputation is ruined, but who only wants to go back to the quiet life she was forced to leave hears ago.

I don’t do spoilers…so that’s as much detail as I will give. Author Grace Burrowes has written a heartwarming story of love and redemption, forgiveness and second chances. Just in time for the Christmas season! It’s not only well written, it’s compelling and scrumptiously romantic. I came to love both the main characters as they learned about each other. A wonderful story of how things can go wrong, and people aren’t always what you thought.

Do yourself a huge solid and cuddle up with this wonderful story.

A short-ish novella, also published in the volume The Virtues of Christmas.

Henrietta Whitlow was a very sought-after courtesan, a role she never wanted, but now she has retired and is returning to Oxfordshire to try to mend fences with her family. Michael Brenner is a newly-minted baron with an unwanted obligation to steal a diary from Henrietta. This will be a Christmas to remember.

Charming but brief.

I really enjoyed Henrietta and Michael's story! It was a pretty quick read, but Burrowes did a great job of making the romance not feel rushed. I also liked that the heroine was not your typical society miss but a member of the demimonde. If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable read, for Christmas, I would definitely pick this one up!

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

Sweet if slow-paced story, character driven, low on heat. Just ok

What does a former courtesan want for Christmas? Is it money or jewels or a new coach? No, it is not something you can buy. Henrietta was a young girl pushed into a role that she was not prepared for. Now she is one of the most successful courtesans in London. She is on her way to her father's estate where she knows she will not be welcomed. After her coach has problems, she stops at an inn until it is repaired, She is refused a room by the innkeeper because of who she is. Lord Michael Brenner, a newly titled Baron already has a room and offers it to Henrietta. He knows who she is as he plans to take something of hers to settle an honor debt he owes. After a night in her bed and him being caught stealing, whatever relationship that might have been is over. Will he be able to repair the damage and does he want to? Will Henrietta's father accept her for who she is? Will she finally get what she wants most? I really liked this story and how it was told. There are no graphic sex scenes for those it might offend. I loved that it is a story of Christmas spirit. I received this book from Net Galley and Forever( Grand Central Publishing) for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.The opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 Stars!

Respect for Christmas was a very sweet, short read that’s the perfect thing to get you in the holiday spirit.

Henrietta Whitlow is done being one of London’s most successful courtesans and after ten years has decided to return home and make peace with her family. Alone for Christmas, Michael Brenner is journeying to his new homestead but first he must settle a debt of honor that involves Henrietta. Instead of finding the item he seeks, Michael finds he’s losing his heart to Henrietta.

Henrietta never imagined she’d have the life of a courtesan, but she ultimately embraced it while making the best life she could for herself. Now that she has enough money to live comfortably, she’s ready to leave London and live a simpler life. Her relationship with her family has been strained for ten years as her father disowned her and her siblings went along with his wishes.

Michael is an Irishman who recently received an English barony and is still unsure how to navigate his new station in life. Michael grew up with nothing and through his own determination, he worked hard to rise up in life which resulted in him receiving his title.

Henrietta and Michael’s relationship starts off nicely and then we learn Michael has been tasked with stealing an item from Henrietta by a man who saved his life. I liked that while he felt a sense of duty to this man, he was still conflicted about deceiving Henrietta. It’s clear that Michael cares about Henrietta very quickly and hates that he’s deceiving her. My one complaint about the relationship is that he didn’t come clean sooner. He does make up for it a bit later though by helping Henrietta mend her relationship with her father.

Respect for Christmas was a good holiday read and I wish it had been a bit longer. I would definitely recommend this novella if you’re in the mood for a historical romance holiday read.