The house party of the year. A real coo to be on the invite list. 4 delightful stories about a couple at the party. These authors are ones I read and enjoy so it was a joy to spend time as they spun a web of love, family drama and expectations. Each story was a good one. I could say I liked the first story but then I read the next...you get the idea. They were all entertaining. The mansion sounds amazing too. This book was a good holiday read I will revisit next year and the year after.

Eloisa James never disappoints and I was so excited to be introduced to new (to me) authors in this anthology. A holiday treat that I see myself coming back to yearly.

This is the perfect Christmas anthology! I loved how I was introduced to new authors with this collection. All the stories take place at the same two-week long Christmas party, which was the perfect setting.

I’ll give my rating for each story.

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James: 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately this first story was my least favorite. It’s about the duke’s (the host of the Christmas party) daughter, who’s always been a wallflower, catching the attention of an eligible bachelor. I understand that these stories are going to be insta-lovey, but I just couldn’t buy this one.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was good! It’s about a couple who was betrothed 10 years prior but split up because the male lead put work above everything, including his fiancé. And now years later, they have to work together at the party and maybe fall in love all over again.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Ok, this was my favorite! It’s another second chance romance with a married couple who has been separated for a year but at this party they have to pretend to be happily married. I’ll definitely be checking more out from this author.

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This final story is about a young woman who’s going to this party to get a titled husband but ends up finding a connection with someone else instead.

Overall these were wonderful Christmas romances and sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

I really enjoyed the stories in Mistletoe Christmas. My favorite was probably the first by Eloisa James. I particularly enjoyed the continuity of the stories with some of the same characters and the same house party. I wish Denham would have had his story as well.

Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology, four stories by four wonderful authors:
Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor and Erica Ridley.

There is one thing I love more than romantic Christmas stories, which is when there is an anthology of them that are set at the same event. The event in this anthology is the Duke of Greystoke's Christmas Revelry. Each author tells the tale of a different couple in attendance at the Revelry for one reason or another.

Eloisa's story A Mistletoe Kiss is about Lady Cressida, the Duke's youngest daughter. He treats her terribly, making her feel dowdy, trying to keep her to himself so that she can make sure that his Christmas event, which takes year-long planning, will be perfect and the talk of society. She has little self-confidence and believes she is past any hope of marriage.
Elias, Lord Darcy de Royleston is looking for a wife. The last person he is interested in for that post is Cressie, the very plain cousin of his friend and the Duke's heir, Val. Throughout the Revelry, he comes to see her in a different light and wants nothing more than to marry her. With an interfering Duke in the mix, will he be able to get what he wants?

Christi's story Wishing Under the Mistletoe is about the Duke's granddaughter Isabelle. Invited to be in charge of the Revelry's theatrical entertainment Isabelle doesn't know that the man she was once betrothed to, Cyrus, will also be at the Revelry. He has been tasked with helping her. He has no idea either that he will be seeing her there and the flood gates of the past whoosh open as soon as they see each other. Will they have a second chance at love, or will the thing that separated them in the past still stand between them now?

Janna's contribution Compromise Under the Mistletoe tells the story of a married couple Caroline, the Duke's Niece, and Stephen whose marriage is floundering. After a year apart they are both ordered to attend the Christmas Revelry together. They have to prove that they are happily married or the Duke won't let her have money that is in trust for her. Can they pull off the charade, or will it become more than make-believe?

Erica's contribution to Mistletoe and Mischief is the fourth and final story in the book. This time it only partly involves a relative of the Duke in as much as he wants his nephew Val to marry this season and provide the family with an heir. He could marry Miss Louisa Harcourt. She, with her mother, have been invited to the Revelry. Louisa's mother has told her that she has to find a husband this season and will push her towards whatever titled man she thinks might take her on. The problem is that the only man she is interested in is a famous poet. He isn't rich, and he isn't suitable. Louisa wants him but knows she has to keep her mother happy, so how will the predicament resolve?

This anthology was an absolute delight to read. It may be a Christmas themed book but it can be enjoyed any time of the year. It will definitely put you into the festive spirit.

These are four short stories by different authors. All of those invited to the revelry at Greystoke's country home are there for different reasons. Greystoke is dying but wants the revelry to go on as usual. Four different situations are happening during the two weeks everyone meets together. The first is about the Duke's youngest daughter and how she has been the organizer for years and nobody knew. Can she find love? The other three are also those who attend and will they find love and peace with their life. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read these stories.

It makes complete sense that I’m writing this review on the first snowfall of the year. I’m in that period before the holiday season where I love snow. I love it for about 3 weeks before Christmas and then fall into a deep hatred of the stuff until next November. Good thing I live in Ohio, right? Nevertheless, the weather has me in quite the festive mood to review the holiday anthology, Mistletoe Christmas, by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley. Overall, I enjoyed every story included in this anthology. Some were stronger than others, all were deftly written. As this is a different review than I would normally write, and I’m recommending the novel, I’ll just add a few thoughts on each story.

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James
We have a wallflower/rake whirlwind romance in the characters of Cressida and Elias. Cressida has spent over 15 years of her life arranging and planning the event of the season for all of England: her father's Christmas Revelry. This year is exceptionally difficult as Lord Greystoke is dying and refuses to allow Cressida to marry or take ownership of her trust. Elias, best friend of the heir to Greystoke Manor, Val, impetuously declares that he will marry Cressida with or without her father's consent. While I wasn’t completely sold on Elias’s having the veil lifted from his eyes with the sharp realization that Cressida was this beautiful, witty, and utterly charming young woman, there’s enough tension between the two to quell my HEAdgelord tendencies. As each of the four stories intertwined around the Christmas Revelry planned and executed by Cressida, we can see this story as mainly the wrapper for the remainder of the other three. I would have actually enjoyed this more with more length (TWSS); we could develop Elias’s and Cressida’s growing attraction and courting, and witness more wooing. Generally, however, I love James’ prose and character building so while not my favorite amongst the four, I still very much enjoyed it nonetheless.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
With this story, we have a second chance love between Lady Isabelle, niece of Lady Cressida, and workaholic Cyrus Hill to whom she had once been betrothed. Separate note, I literally could not stop thinking of Cypress Hill while reading this. When giving the opportunity to write/direct/produce the Christmas Revelry, Isabelle is beside herself with excitement, until she is paired up with her former flame, Cyrus. Cyrus only agrees to attend the Revelry in the hopes of growing his business. Overall, this was a delightful read. Caldwell presents the ‘break up’ from two different perspectives 10 years apart and I’ll admit, it’s quite affecting. We also learn that Cressida’s cousin and heir to Greystoke manor is matchmaking each couple presented in the stories. Lastly, we are privy to one exceptionally steamy piano sex scene. Yowza.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor
I will admit this story was my favorite of all four. The one that I was the most apprehensive about packed quite an emotional punch. We have an estranged married couple that agree to play loving honeymooners in order to obtain a trust fund. Lady Caroline (Caro - which I love so hard) left her husband one year to the day and moved to London leaving behind a letter and a heavy heart. Feeling underappreciated and overlooked, she found her purpose in town with the creation of an arts collective for female artists. Her husband, Stephen has pined for her the past year and yet his pride forbade him from fetching Caro and bringing her home. Stephen learns the value of listening and lavishing attention on his wife and they decide whether or not bridges can be rebuilt. I have to say that this one hit me right in the cockles; tension and misunderstandings keep the HEA just out of sight until the last minute. I will be seeking out more of Ms. MacGregor’s work.

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley
This comes in as a close second in my estimation. We have two characters from ‘different sides of the tracks’ in Louisa and Ewan. Louisa was thrown over by the ton after she appeared in the scandal sheets a number of times for being declared ‘dull’ and ‘ boring’. Unfortunately, Ewan is the secret purveyor of said scandal sheets. Louisa and Ewan are drawn together through literature and poetry but both know that she is destined to be the wife of aristocracy and he a poor ‘poet’. Secrets are revealed and hearts broken, but everyone finds their HEA in the end. Side note, for a good part of this story, I wanted to bare knuckle fight Louisa’s mother; an absolute frigid harpy. When push comes to shove, however, mama is gonna wreck anyone who treats her girl badly. I was there for it. We were both taking out our earrings - gearing up for a fight.

Lastly, I would like to say structurally, I thought this book worked quite well. I’ve read other Regency Christmas anthologies that lumped together random novellas under one working title. Having the throughline with Val and the Christmas Revelry definitely worked toward creating vested interest in each story. I would have liked to see Val gets his own HEA. I’ll put it on my list for Santa for Christmas 2022.

MISTLETOE CHRISTMAS: AN ANTHOLOGY BY ELOISA JAMES & MORE | BOOK REVIEW
NOVEMBER 12, 2021 LEAVE A COMMENT
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology by Eloisa James & More | Book ReviewMistletoe Christmas by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, Erica Ridley
Published by HarperCollins on September 28, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Anthologies (multiple authors), Fiction / Holidays, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
From four beloved writers—Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley—come four original stories that tell a hilarious tale of a Christmas house party that serves up love and scandal in equal measure!

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!

Mistletoe Christmas: An Anthology with stories by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregory and Erica Ridley was the first book to kick off my holiday reading. This anthology features four novellas by some of historical romance’s titans. Seriously though, this was a decent sampler of fully contained stories with new to me authors. While it did feel a little overlong and some parts dragged, I think that was more a me problem than a THIS BOOK problem.

Mistletoe Christmas has an interesting framing device. All four stories are set at the annual Christmas Revelry held by the Duke Of Greystoke who is on his deathbed. Each story explores a different trope and culminates in a happily ever after. I did want a story explored for one character who pops up in each of the novellas — Val — who is the Duke of Greystoke’s heir. Also, I didn’t really have much context for work by all of the authors but felt like I didn’t need that to enjoy and understand each of the novellas.




A MISTLETOE KISS BY ELOISA JAMES
Eloisa James A Mistletoe Kiss is the first in the anthology. This story follows Cressida – Cressie – who is the daughter of the Duke of Greystoke. Cressie has secretly been running the Revelry for years. She is a devoted daughter. However, her dad is absolutely a terrible person. He basically undercuts her so she won’t get married. It is also his expectation that she run the Revelry and continue to devote all her attention to it.

Cressie ends up catching the eye of Elias. Elias is in Val’s inner circle. He makes some suggestions for Val to take on more responsibilities and to free up Cressie’s time. The two knew each other when Cressie was younger — but not very well. Anyways, there’s some chemistry there and he sees Cressie when everyone else didn’t. This story had a decent pace and was a good set up for the other three novellas. It made sense to me why this one was first.

WISHING UNDER THE MISTLETOE BY CHRISTI CALDWELL
Wishing Under The Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell is the next story in Mistletoe Christmas. This story follows Lady Isabelle Wilkshire who is asked to direct the play of Cinderella at the Revelry. Her story opens in the past where she goes to meet her betrothed and calls off the engagement because he’s more interested in making money than her. Years later, Cyrus Hill, the fiance and Isabelle are thrown together for the production of Cinderella at the Revelry.

Cyrus is determined to win Isabelle back. After all, it has been years, but there’s been no one else. He has always loved Isabelle. The reason he is so focused on his job is because he wants to set up a secure future for himself and Isabelle. As the two work together – sparks fly again and they get a second chance at love. This was a sweet story. While I did have to go back and look up the characters names, the overall plot was not forgettable.

COMPROMISE UNDER THE MISTLETOE BY JANNA MACGREGOR
Janna MacGregor’s Compromise Under The Mistletoe is about a couple that is already married. Lady Caroline Whitmore has to pretend that her and her husband have a perfect marriage in order to receive the funds from her trust early. She wants to use those funds to open up a gallery in London for artists who are women. Caro has been gone for a year from her husband. He is going to use this time at the Revelry while they are faking happiness to try and win Caro back.

Looking deeper at this story, you can see they aren’t speaking the same love language. While both love each other deeply — they need to learn the way to show appreciation in which the other will receive the best. This story felt unique — I don’t often read historical romance where the lead characters are already married. I am sure there’s a lot of that and I am just not as well read as I want to be. So, after reading this story I think I want to pursue more by Janna MacGregor.

MISCHIEF & MISTLETOE BY ERICA RIDLEY
The final story in Mistletoe Christmas is Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley. Louisa Harcourt has one last Season to find a husband. She plans to enjoy her final Christmas before entering married life. That is, until her mother tells her she must snare a husband at the Revelry. Louisa doesn’t want this, but will do as her mother asks out of a sense of duty. After all, everything her mother has done has been for Louisa. She feels she owes Lady Harcourt. And so, Louisa catches the eye of two men of the Ton. Yet, she finds herself drawn to Ewan, a fellow poet. Ewan is not a member of the ton. He works.

However, because people believe he is a poet, he is invited to various events to be their version of Lord Byron, brooding in the corners. Louisa is the first to really connect with Ewan. Yet, there is no possible way they can be together. Against all odds, they fall in love. This story was a decent closer to the anthology. It makes sense why Louisa and Ewan would be so attracted to each other. I liked that the chapters for this novella were short — it made it easy to whip through.

I love a good Christmas collection novella! And Mistletoe Christmas had a great assortment from some of my favorite authors! A perfect start to the Christmas season!

Heat Factor: It’s deeply satisfying and has well-paced burn-y bits

Character Chemistry: Oh my god, the chemistry in all four of these love stories almost killed me. Killed me dead.

Plot: The Revelry is a major social event at the Duke of Greystoke’s country estate. Anyone who is anyone, is there. During this event, four couples find their way to happily-ever-after while getting through social hurdles and failing marriages, and dashed dreams…sigh.

Overall: This has to be the absolute best anthology I’ve read to date based on how many times I cried, and laughed, and laugh/cried, and scared my children with my book feelings.

I mean, you can probably guess this is going to be north of alright based on the authors, but let me assure you—it’s the north star of alright. Here we have an incredibly cohesive anthology set during the early days of the Christmas season at the Duke of Greystoke’s event called The Revelry.

First off is Eloisa James’ story “A Mistletoe Kiss.” We discover that The Revelry began with the dying Duke, but has become the success that it is because of the hard work and ingenuity of Lady Cressida—who has just learned that the Duke has given up her dowry so that the heir, the Viscount Derham, will continue the event for ten years after the Duke’s death. By losing her dowry, Lady Cressida will be stuck continuing in her role as well, whether she wants that or not. Elias is the heir’s good friend, so when Derham suggests Elias consider Cressie for his future wife, Elias takes the suggestion very seriously—but both Elias and Derham say some off-color things during the discussion, which is overheard by the dying Duke. The story unfolds with Elias discovering that Cressie is, in fact, a gifted creative and organizational goddess, and Cressie discovering what it feels like to be admired and appreciated—until the Duke messes everything up. SWOON.

Then we have The One Where Ingrid Cried Too Much, “Wishing Under the Mistletoe” by Christi Caldwell. Here we meet Cyrus Hill, who is managing the money of some of the wealthier noblemen in the highest social circles—but he’s alone because his childhood love breaks off their engagement after he fails to follow through on marrying her several years after they were supposed to. Isabelle is heartbroken but goes off to learn the art of theater with her friend under the mentorship of a talented playwright. Ten years later, the two are thrown together to put on a production for The Revelry. This is definitely a second-chance romance—they’re both still deeply in love but realize they didn’t really see each other as clearly as they thought they did in their younger years. Cried very hard, and not in a cute way. SIGH.

Which brings us to “Compromise Under the Mistletoe.” Janna MacGregor also likes to make me cry, which is why she writes about Lady Caroline and Lord Stephen, who were married and very successful in the bedroom but totally biffed it in every other area of their relationship. So Lady Caroline leaves and runs off to London for a whole year while Lord Stephen stays at home in the countryside. Caroline learns that if she wants to receive her inheritance, she has to prove to the dying Duke that her marriage is valid and that they are, in fact, in love. So she convinces Lord Stephen to go with her to The Revelry and act like they’re happy when in truth they are MISERABLE but mostly because they really do love each other and they just don’t know how to connect. This story just about wrecked me. The communication, people. It’s so deep and tender and real! Why did you do this to me? SOB.

The anthology closes with “Mischief and Mistletoe” by Erica Ridley, which was honestly pretty funny. I appreciated that, after all the crying. In this cute story we have Lady Louisa, whose reputation was tarnished by the gossip column in a newspaper. The Revelry is her last chance to secure a proposal and her mother is pushing really, really hard. She’s a bit ridiculous. Lady Louisa is immediately drawn to Ewan Reid, presumed poet, and is thrilled—because she’s secretly a poet, herself. Ewan, however, is in fact a gossip columnist for his grandfather’s paper, and uses his reputation as a poet in order to lurk around broodingly and write things down when he’s at social events. You can imagine where this is headed, and you’ll like every minute of it. I did cry with this one, too, unfortunately, because Lady Louisa ends up having a soul-swelling conversation with her mother, which ultimately did me in. Ah, well. SHAZAM.

Here’s what I loved most about this anthology besides the emotional roller coaster it put me on—I normally struggle with Christmas books because they’re often very syrupy and heavy on cliche. This book is nothing like that. The feeling you get when you close the pages is that relationships are hard, and they take work—but they’re worth it. And the holidays are a time where we get to bask in that work, and reflect on how we’re doing, and to try to love each other better. So for me, it was like the authors took what really, actually makes people feel good at Christmas and just broke it all down in four sweeping, beautiful romances that make your poor little heart just crack wide open, and I loved it. And you will, too, when you’re done crying.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report

Four wonderfully talented authors come together to give us this fantastic set of hilarious and fun Christmas-themed stories taking place at the Duke of Greystoke's Christmas Revelry. You'll start with the first and you won't want to put it down till you've read the last. The authors all do a great job of
describing the scenes in such detail that you have no trouble picturing them in your mind. The really bring the story and characters to life. Each one did a fantastic job with providing vivid descriptions and interesting plots. The storylines were all artfully crafted with well defined characters and kept me hooked until I finished. I had to pace myself as I wanted to read all in one sitting! This is truly a gem of a collection and if you love Regency romances, you definitely will want to add this to your collection!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Great historical anthology with four USA today authors Each author
Each and every one put their own spin on Mistletoe season.

Each author put a spin at the Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas party .

Eloisa James story is about the duke’s daughter. Christi Caldwell features Lady Isabelle Wilkshire, the Duke's granddaughter . Christi puts a spin on the story. Lady Isabella should have married 10 yrs ago but something stopped the wedding

Janna MacGregor story involves a niece to the Duke who meets Lord Stephen Whitmore.
Erika Ridley story involves Louisa Harcour, lady Louse doesn’t want to get married but her mother won’t stop

It’s also out in audio for those that like to listen

Mistletoe Christmas is an anthology of four original stories from four authors. The stories all tell a hilarious tale of a Christmas house party in the British Isles. The Duke of Greystone has a Christmas Revelry that is very famous for its plays, dancing and magic grotto. In addition, there is a lot of scandalous behavior at the parties, There is a lot of matchmaking going on at the parties at the Revelry.

When two families destined to be enemies collide and romance blooms the real struggle begins. Will their love be able to overcome decades of hatred for each family.

A true historical romance with a Romeo and Juliet style story line

Loved all the stories in the anthology. I liked that they had a running theme of everything happening at the same time at the same place the Duke's Christmas Revelry. The most important event in all of England. These stories take you on an emotional journey taking you from misery, sadness and hopelessness to hope, love and finding one's self. From unpredictable, disappointment, hurt, pain to joy and peace. A lovely set of stories that intertwine. A must read. I highly recommend it.

I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed
Entertaining
Funny
Inspirational
Page-turner
Romantic
Realistic
Tragic
Whimsical
Witty
Wonderful characters

Mistletoe Christmas is an anthology containing four interconnected novellas that take place at famed revelry of the Duke of Greystokes. The book starts off with A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James, by far the stellar piece of the book where we meet the duke’s daughter, Cressida, who is the real mastermind behind the Revelry and its amassed success for a number of years to the point of being indispensable and getting blackmailed to continue it to the detriment of her happiness. Elias, Lord Darcy de Royleston, the friend of the said duke’s heir was present as she humiliatingly finds this fact and when he proposes marriage Cressida believes Elias is acting out of pity at first, as she is known to be invisible, then because he has ulterior motives. But Elias truly is interested in her, and the more time he spends time with her, and comes to know and see the real her the more he realizes that he must convince her that their HEA will be real.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell features Lady Isabelle Wilkshire, Cressida’s cousin. Lady Isabelle is set to direct a play at the revelry and her interest in marriage does not match with that of the rest of the guests. We find out that this is due to Cyrus Hill, a former stablemaster's son turned successful investment Banker who was to have married her 10 years ago. Isabelle and Cyrus come to meet at the Revelry due to some maneuvering of the Duke’s future heir, as he is also his banker and his friend. Love is a fickle thing one discovers when communication is severely lacking. Can the yuletide season perhaps enlighten some to that reality, so that past mistakes does not keep them from their HEA? Read the book to find out!

In Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor we meet Caroline Whitmore the niece of the dying Duke, and her estranged husband, Lord Stephen Whitmore. The separated couple come to the Revelry to pretend to be together so that the duke will release inheritance. Caroline is not very happy about having to carry out the subterfuge but has plans for the money. Stephen her estranged husband however sees their pretending to be together at the party as a new chance to regain the wife he fears he may forever lose.

Mischief and Mistletoe by Erica Ridley wraps up the anthology by featuring Louisa Harcourt, whose mother believes this to be her last chance to escape spinsterhood. This story is a bit different from the others as Louisa is being pushed into a loveless marriage by her mother for supposedly her own good and to the detriment of her own heart’s desires. You really hate the mother and feel so sad for Louisa. Enters Ewan Reid, a poet sought after and gushed over by the ladies at the revelry to perhaps come to her rescue? However, all is not what it seems with Ewan and we soon begin to despair for Louisa. One can but hope that this being the season of miracles, that perhaps some wrongs can be rightened in time for a mistletoe Christmas HEA. My review was given on the ARC copy received from the Publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

It is rare to read a book with overlapping characters written by four very different authors. Even better, Mistletoe Christmas works. Each story is a quick read with heroines that have their own minds and men that appreciate them--rare in the Ton. This is a quick, satisfying holiday read.

I liked the continuity of the story - that's my favorite sort of anthology. Of the stories, I liked the Eloisa James the most. A strong woman, trying to take what she could when she could and a man who ended up being her support.

If you enjoy the historical romance, guaranteed HEA, and the Christmas spirit, this would be a winner.

*ARC through Netgalley

I read two of these stories. Compromise Under the Mistletoe was a lovely story about an estranged husband and wife brought together to act as a happy couple. They both will come to terms about what set them apart and yuletide magic will bring them back together.

Mischief and Mistletoe has a lady who writes poetry and a man who is known for his poetry. But his life is a lie and he writes a gossip column. Until he falls in love with one of its victims. They share everything but his secret. She is supposed to marry a duke and he is not one. But mistletoe and magic helps love along the way.

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James
Mistletoe Christmas introduces Lady Cressida, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Greystoke. Now I was not a fan of the duke due to his abuse of his daughter over the years. He used her to plan he famous revelry letting everyone believe he was the mastermind behind this huge event. To rub salt into the wound he took away her chances of getting married by refusing to offer a dowry on her behalf, all because he wanted her to continue planning the event, even after his death. He made her feel unworthy. So, one could understand he insecurities about her ability to attract a prospective husband and why she didn’t buy Elias’s sudden interest in her.

Cressida was a wonderful character. I loved how she slowly gained her confidence regarding her attractiveness. I had fun watching her put Elias in his place. He was so used to women falling all over him. It was a novelty for him when Cressida showed a lack of interest. It was fun watching him grovel.

The romance developed quickly and to be honest it didn’t feel authentic at least on Elias’s part. His feelings were so sudden, especially seeing he paid her no attention over the years.

Overall an adorable read.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
In Wishing Under the Mistletoe, Christi Caldwell delivered  am adorable Christmas second chance romance. Isabelle, the grand-daughter of the Duke of Greystoke ended her engagement ten years ago. She did so believing her betrothed, Cyrus, valued his business more than their relationship. During that time she left home to pursue her passion as a playwriter.   

Now she has returned home to to direct the theatre production, of Cinderella at her grandfather's famous Revelry. A dream she harbored since childhood. What she never expected was to be partnered with the man she left ten years ago. Feelings they thought dead came alive and sparks flew with a vengeance.

It took ten years, but they finally got it right. They never blame each other for the break-up, but took responsibility for their role in the ending of their relationship. Such a wonderful and endearing couple, which made it easy to root for them. I adored this story and the end totally had me swooning.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor
In Compromise Under the Mistletoe, Lady Caroline Whitmore, granddaughter to the Duke of Greystoke, has been separated from her husband, Stephen, for a year. She left the matrimonial home as she felt neglected by her husband. Now she needs him to accompany her to the Duke’s famous revelry and help her pretend they have reunited, so she could get early access to her inheritance. Stephen plans to use this occasion to woo his wife and convince her to return home.

I enjoyed this story, despite the frustration actions of the couple. Their problems arose out of their failure to communicate. Stephen had a difficult task convincing Caroline he had changed. She shot down his many attempts of try to show her how much he appreciated her. The fact she never communicated to him how she felt and what she needed from him made me want to scream.

I loved how it all worked out in the end, although something serious had to happen for them to recognize what had been missing from their marriage all along. 

Overall, a solid story.

Mischief and Mistletoe by Erica Ridley

Mischief and Mistletoe introduce Miss Louisa Harcourt, 23 years old without a marriage prospect. An article in the gossip column, painting her as being dull and undesirable, hindered her prospects of finding a husband. This di not phase Louisa, as her interest lies in writing poetry. Her mother, however, had different ideas. Forced to attend the duke’s famous revelry, as her mother saw it as her last chance to find a suitable husband. Someone who possessed a title.

Louisa dreaded going to the revelry, especially knowing her mother was pushing for to entertain the two most undesirable candidates. Then she met Ewan, a fellow poet, and the revelry no longer seems such a horrible place to be.

I enjoyed Louisa and Ewan’s story. They made a wonderful couple, but Ewan had a secret, which, if revealed, could ruin his chance with Louisa. This secret weighed heavily on him, the more he got to know Louisa. His support of her dreams enhanced their relationship. His romantic gestures were sweet and fitting.

Mischief and Mistletoe was a wonderful story, and I loved how it all worked out for Ewan and Louisa.


Grab a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy this collection of heartwarming Christmas stories. 📚Mistletoe Christmas would make a great addition to your Christmas reading list.