Mistletoe Christmas is an anthology of 4 novellas happening at the Duke of Greystoke’s annual Christmas Revelry. I enjoyed how each story flowed with each other and the connection of it all happening at the same event. There are sex scenes in the stories. I’m giving Mistletoe Christmas an overall 5 stars because of the connection between each story and for how much I enjoyed the whole anthology overall.

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James not only tells the story of Lady Cressida and her match, Elias, but deftly creates the setting for all of the novellas. The story felt rushed for even a novella which is why I’m rating this at 4 stars.

Wishing Under The Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
tells the story of Isabelle and Cyrus. I absolutely loved this one! This couple had history and their romance didn’t feel rushed whatsoever. 5 stars

Compromise Under The Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor is also a story of a couple with history, but they are already married. I enjoyed this “second chance” romance and the flow of the story. 5 stars

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley is the story of Louisa and Ewan. I enjoyed it and really liked the obstacle they had to overcome but seemed a little less than realistic to overcome in such a short time, which is why I’m giving it 4 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an e-arc of this book provided by Avon & Harper Voyager via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What is better than romance and christmas by a dream team of authors,,, this compilation of just that is one delicious treat after another,,,,, I'll buy this as a gift for all my favorites who favor romance.

A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James
Every year the most sought after invitation is to the Duke of Greystoke's Christmas Revelry. The invitation list is carefully curated and the amusements vast. But what no one knows is that his daughter, Cressida, is the one in charge. Now the Duke is dying and he wants his legacy to continue. As a means to the ends, he makes his heir (his nephew) promise to keep the revelry going for the next ten years. Val, the heir, has no interest. Neither, frankly, does Cressida. So Val suggests to his friend Elias that he should marry Cressie so she'd be close enough to help but he wouldn't have to take care of her. Elias figures it's about time to marry so why not? But then he takes a closer look at the women who everyone has ignored and discovers that she might be more precious than he originally knew.
Even as a short story, this could have lopped a few chapters off (they got redundant) and been a little bit better but James is a master and this story once again proves it.

Four stars

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
Lady Isabelle Wilkshire has been engaged for three years but her fiance no longer looks at her the way he used to. Instead, Cyrus Hill is too busy working, trying to prove his worth because she is a duke's granddaughter and he is the son of a stablemaster. She breaks their engagement. While she loves him, she's no longer sure he really loves her. At least she can take some solace in being mentored by a playwright.
Ten years later, she is at the Christmas Revelry, debuting a new play and Cyrus has been assigned as her partner. Old romantic feelings well up but so do old resentments. Will they be able to make it?
I do like short stories where protagonists knew each other because it makes it more likely that they are falling in love in 100 pages or less. This story could have used just a little more exposition on how the two were going to work now but was overall enjoyable.

Three and a half stars

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor
Caroline Whitmore loves her husband. And he probably cares for her but not to the extent that he loves the estate where he grew up and now cares for. But in order to get her inheritance, she needs to prove to her uncle, the Duke of Greystoke, that she and her husband are still in love. Based on other stories in this book, I'm not sure why he would do this other than to be an old fart but... it's a reason for a good fake romance.
Caroline has it all planned out and even has a list of rules written out for Stephen. But he has different plans. This might be his last chance to win her heart.

Four stars

Mischief and Mistletoe by Erica Ridley
Louisa Harcourt's mother wants to marry her off to someone with a title. She just wants a quiet life to write. But Ewan Reid, a poet, intrigues her.
Ewan thinks Louisa is amazingly beautiful but he has a secret he's hiding. One that he doesn't want to pull her into. No matter how much she comes to him with her own secrets or how much she'll be hurt by the secrets he is hiding.

Three stars

Four stars
This book comes out September 28th, 2021
Ebook from NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Mistletoe Christmas is an anthology with 4 short stories that all happen around the same event. The stories are written by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor and Erica Ridley.
The event featured in the stories is the Duke of Greystoke’s Revelry. The Revelry is the Duke’s annual multi-day Christmas party which he considers the “most important gathering in the Kingdom” as it has influenced constitutional change, great inventions and lead to marriages between England’s greatest families.

The first story is “A Mistletoe Kiss” by Eloisa James. In it we learn that the Duke is bedridden and probably dying and his dying wishes are to make it through the Revelry and trying to guarantee it’s continuation by bribing his estranged nephew. The key to the Revelry is the Duke’s daughter - Lady Cressida (Cressie) who has given up her chance at life to spend the year planning the Revelry. Her hope is that with her father’s death she will be able to start living but her father seems determined to pen her in. Enter the nephew’s friend, Lord Darcy De Royleston who wants to help her find her way.

The second story is “Wishing Under the Mistletoe" by Christi Caldwell. Ten years before the Revelry in question, Lady Isabelle Wilkshire confronts her fiancé of 3 years, Cyrus Hill. She wants to marry and he wants to wait until he has made enough money that they can live the way he thinks they should. They part ways and 10 years later they are both at the Revelry - Cyrus as a guest of the Duke’s nephew and Lady Isabelle is the granddaughter of the Duke who along with Cyrus is supposed to manage the annual Revelry play.

The third story is “Compromise Under the Mistletoe” by Janna MacGregor. Caroline Whitmore, the Duke’s niece, has been estranged from her husband, Lord Stephen Whitmore. Lord Whitmore is a workaholic and is wife left him because he didn’t seem to need her. They are reunited for Revelry because Caroline is trying to get her uncle to release the the funds in her trust. They must appear as husband and wife and a happy husband and wife in order to get the funds released.

The final story is “Mischief and Mistletoe” by Erica Ridley. Miss Louisa Harcourt is a near spinster. As neighbors of the Duke, she and her mother are invited to the Revelry. Her mother’s plan is for her to attract a man with a title. Unfortunately she is attracted to Mr. Ewan Reid, a poet. Actually a gossip reported disguised as a poet. Oh, and Louisa’s first season was ruined by gossip in a newspaper.

I enjoyed the first story with Cressie. There was a stand up for yourself vibe that I liked. I struggled with wanting to finish the second two stories as they were rather predictable. I thought the 4th story was headed in the same direction but it took a wonderful and unexpected turn or two that made it wonderful. I found the book a mixed bag. Some stories I liked and others not so much.

I did receive a free copy of this book in return for my review.

Mistletoe Christmas is a historical romance anthology by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna MacGregor, and Erica Ridley. All are accomplished writers so you know you are going to get stories that will be a pleasure to read. One of the aspects of this anthology is something that happens only occasionally in anthologies, that is the same setting for all four novellas. The Holiday Season is not the theme of this anthology but the party and finding love certainly are.

The Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry is a party like no other thanks to Lady Cressida, the duke’s daughter. There is scandal but love too. The duke’s daughter finds it in A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James. While the duke is hard to like, Elias comes through in the end to be a better man than the duke.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell is a second chance story that has two character that were once engaged to each other. The duke’s granddaughter, Isabelle and Cyrus must work together for the entertainment part of the revelry. Now years later it may be possible to find their way back together.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor has the niece of the duke and her husband getting a second chance. At the beginning it looks to be more of a business arrangement. However, Stephen wants to win his wife Caroline back.

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley is a story with the most humor in it. The characters are not related to the duke but do attend the revelry. Humor yes, but also secrets that a love may not survive. The most fun read of the four.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mistletoe Christmas is a sweet anthology with four stories based on a 'Christmas revelry party' held by the Duke of Greystoke for 12 days of Christmas. Knowledgeable readers must ignore all the historic inaccuracies with regency era celebrations and social interaction. Beyond that, the stories were sweet but the connection to Christmas was really minimal, so the stories can be enjoyed at anytime. This is the first story I read by Erica Ridley and particularly liked her writing. The story is about Miss Louisa Harcourt, only daughter and nearly spinster age woman who secretly writes. Her love interest is thought to be an intellectual poet but actually works for gossip sheet and is counterpoint to the other eligible men. The story is completely unbelievable but the character voices are great and overall, a fun read. The other stories are fine but nothing particularly unique or interesting.

This is a great collection of books. Each one is charming and the couples are lovable. Overall this is a great holiday read. Grab your favorite drink and a comfy blanket and enjoy hours of love, charm and HEAs.

This was a delightful holiday anthology featuring four historical romance novellas centered around the Duke of Greystoke's much lauded annual Christmas Revelry house party. Novellas aren't always for me, but I really liked that all of the stories were loosely connected and thought structuring it that way was very successful. A wonderful group of romance authors are included and I loved that I got to read one of my longtime favorites as well as discover some new to me authors! Highly recommend for a fun holiday read!

This anthology is one of the best I've read. If you love Christmas Anthologies like I do, than you are in for a treat if you go for this one.

A Mistletoe Christmas by Eloisa James
Lady Creesida and Lord Darcy de Reyleston
Cressida is the “Cinderella” type granddaughter of the Duke of Greystoke. She is definitely underappreciated and has been for the 10 years she has coordinated his annual Christmas House party. Lord Darcy comes along and appreciates her for who she is. A truly lovely love story that also sets up the scene for the remainder stories in the anthology.
Rating 5-stars An absolute delight


Wishing Under The Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
Cyrus Hill and Lady Isabelle Wilkshire
This story has shades of Dicken's “A Christmas Carol”. Cyrus is the scrooge like man focused on making money and his success. Isabelle wants him to think of her as important since they are betrothed. Isabelle ends the betrothal but they meet 10 years later at the Duke's party.
Rating 4-stars Good character development

Compromise Under The Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor
Caroline Whitmore and Lord Stephan Whitmore ..
This story is about granddaughter Caroline wanting her grandfather, the duke, to give her her trust early so that she can start an art gallery. Caroline is estranged from her husband Stephen but they must be a couple for the duke to release the funds.
Rating 4-stars My least favorite but still very good.

Mischief and Mistletoe by Erica Ridley
Louisa Hardcourt and Ewan Reid.
Louisa is falling for Ewan who is not her mother's idea of a proper suitor. Louisa is a poet and he is noted for being a poet so she pursues him, all the while avoiding the aristocratic “proper” choices thrown in her path.
Rating 5-stars This one was my favorite. I will have to read more by Erica Ridley

Mistletoe Christmas is an anthology of four stories by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna McGregor and Erica Ridley. The stories are set at the famous The Duke of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry. In fact it is expected to be the final one actually thrown by the Duke of Greystoke, as he is quite ill and perhaps even dying upstairs. The Duke has insisted the party go on and continues to take credit for the party as being “the party of the season”

A Mistletoe’s Kiss brought us Cressie and Elias, Cressie has truly been the person who has put together the party for years. She spends months coming up with themes and interesting people to make the party a success. Of course, her father, the Duke, does not want her to marry that might make her stop planning the party. After all this time, it isn’t like anyone really sees her anymore, except Elias.

Wishing Under the Mistletoe is about Isabelle and Cyrus. They were betrothed 10 years ago. They grew apart and both went their own way. Now they both are at the Revelry and assigned to help put on a show - Cinderella - at the Duke’s request. Thrown together they are forced to find to speak and find their way forward.

Compromise Under the Mistletoe with Caroline and Stephen was about a young married couple that had not learned how to communicate. Stephen thought she was fine with how he was running his life and their home. Caroline felt she was not even part of his life except at night in bed. She left and found her reason to live, but they are both forced to be together for the party and actually talk to find their way forward.

Mischief and Mistletoe was about Louisa and Ewan. Louisa, always a dutiful daughter, really just wants to write poetry. Ewan works to look like a poet, but in reality, he is collecting gossip for his family’s paper which he writes. His column has hurt Louisa and made her out to be boring. Ewan wants to change how his paper works , but he knows the truth will hurt Louisa. Too bad they really, really like each other.

Mistletoe Christmas by Eloisa James, Christi Caldwell, Janna McGregor and Erica Ridley is a good read.

This was a lovely selection of authors who know how to write an enjoyable story. I loved the fact they all the stories were connected and followed each other. Each story was different and a joy to read. It is a good way to try new authors and I am sure you will want to read more from each of them. There was a fair bit of sex in each story that this reviewer skipped as usual but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the stories.I received this as an Arc and freely give my review.

This was an excellent anthology. I really enjoyed the theme of four stories set at the same house party and the different styles of the four authors. Romance Novellas can feel lacking because the love story has to happen in so few words, but these felt very substantial and I didn't feel anything was missing.

The first story, A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James, was sweet and enjoyable. I loved Cressie and her scatterbrained disregard of her own appearance but meticulous care in orchestrating her father's grand Revelry. 4 stars

The second story, Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christy Caldwell, started even better than the first. It was going to be a 5 star story for me until the sex scene which made me cringe. Not my style of writing there. I did really enjoy the second chance romance, the characters, and the writing of the rest of the story. 4.5 stars

The third, Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor was... not to my taste. It was boring, the writing style was a touch clumsy, and I didn't connect with or care for the characters at all. I dnfed this one. 2 stars

The fourth made the entire anthology worth it. I love Erica Ridley's works and this was no exception. I feel like she packed more details and plot into her story than any of the others, and I connected best with her writing style. I loved Ewan and Louisa was delightful, and their secrets and connection despite them made it a very enjoyable read. 5 stars

*thanks to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc for review.

A Mistletoe Kiss
I had a hard time with this one because I was SO MAD at Cressida’s father. Hid her away for years, put her down, took advantage of her, and then took credit for her brilliance! No wonder she doesn’t believe Elias in the beginning! He just happens to start wooing her, start seeing her as a person and a lady, after her cousin offers him money to marry her. Hmph, I’m outraged on her behalf. She is wonderful! Elias is used to the women of the world falling about his feet, but suddenly the one woman he wants to marry has no interest in him! It was fun watching him have to scramble and grow rather than just have the world handed to him because he’s handsome and rich!
4 stars

Wishing Under the Mistletoe
Ok Isabelle and Cyrus’ story is so freaking wonderful!! They were betrothed ten years ago but drifted apart while waiting to marry. Both of them were hurt and walked away from each other, never to see the other again….until now. Ten years means a lot of growing, but are they able to see past the hurt to begin again? I love Isabelle and how firm she was in not accepting less than she deserves, and for making a life for herself that was more than being a dukes granddaughter. Such a lovely story!
5 stars

Compromise Under the Mistletoe
Caroline and Stephen’s story was nice, though a bit frustrating. They spent so much time not communicating, and then not communicating effectively, I just wanted to scream. I liked that Caroline left to make a life for herself when she felt she wasn’t being appreciated, and I love that what she wanted to do was make a space to support other women. Still, overall frustrating and I can’t stand the Duke, I am disliking him more and more as this book progresses.
3 stars

Mischief and Mistletoe
I enjoyed Louisa’s story, even if I hated the secret that Ewan kept. Also, loathed how pushy her mother was, forceful about who she needed to marry and the means by which she should accomplish them. Louisa though, was a lovely person, shy but courageous, with a lovely soul. I did enjoy Ewan outside of the secret. He was thoughtful and giving and able to laugh at himself.
4 stars

If you only have time to read one historical romance Christmas anthology this year, pick up this one.
No, it doesn't have the prettiest cover, but it has the best content for your time.

Let me preface this by saying that my beef with short-story romances is that they always feel rushed. The couples don't have to go through as much to be together because they only have 50-100 pages to fall in love and get engaged, whereas in a regular novel they have 300+. So, I'm pretty tough on story-stories, they have to be really good to even remember.

In "Mistletoe Christmas," surprisingly, the weakest story comes first and from the most accomplished author, Eloisa James. In her limited pages, she's also given the task of setting up the "Christmas Revelry" house party history/theme/setting for the following stories. So this romance between Cressie (the put-upon, party planning daughter of the dying duke) and Elias (a friend of her cousin) feels very rushed and thus a bit unbelievable and forgettable. She tried to give them some romantic history in their childhood but even that fell flat for me.

The second story by Christy Caldwell is a second chance romance. What if Scrooge had gotten a second chance with Belle? Now we shall see how Cyrus who lost the love of his life, Isabelle, because of his drive for money, can win her love again. Isabelle also has to grow and learn to consider things from his point of view. I love stories when both characters are wise enough to fix their own flaws to be together. Swoon! This was a good one.

The third story is by Janna MacGregor and is a husband and wife reconciliation story. Again, both Caro & Stephen have to fix their own behavior and learn how to love the other as they need to be loved. It had a good plot and sizzle and the characters had plenty of chemistry and backstory to make it believable.

The fourth and final offering is from Erica Ridley and is a star-crossed, romance between different classes. Aspiring poet, Louisa meets conspiring "poet" Ewan and decides to show her true self to someone for the first time, only to discover he's the gossip columnist who slandered her years prior. Can Louisa forgive Ewan for ruining her chances?

All four stories I would consider mildly spicy in their sexual descriptions. They all deliver a good love scene as payoff (unlike some other anthologies that I've read this season). Keep this one on the nightstand for those cold winter nights.

This is an anthology of four stories by four different wonderful authors. All of these stories take place during The Duke of Greystoke’s annual Revelry, which makes this book interesting. I really enjoyed the book and the stories told.
A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James Is about the Duke’s youngest daughter Cressida, Cressie. She is really the one who plans and does everything for the Revelry, but the Duke takes all the credit. The Duke does not want to lose Cressie, because of all the work she does all year to make the Revelry better than the year before. Cressie can be considered plane and shy. Lord Darcy is Cressie’s cousin friend. He has never paid much attention to Cressie, but after hearing a discussion between the Duke and Cressie he starts to notice her. Once he does – he cannot stop the attraction. I really liked this story and read it in one night.
Wishing Under the Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell is a story of love lost and found again. It is about Isabelle who is the Duke’s granddaughter who fell in love with a stablemasters son Cyrus who wanted to prove himself and have enough money to support Isabelle before they were married. In the process of him doing that Isabelle and Cyrus drifted apart. The next time they see each other is 10 years later at the Duke of Greystoke’s annual Revelry. Will old feelings arise again, or did they ever really leave? This was a nice love story which went by too quick.
Compromise Under the Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor is about Caroline and Stephen who were married and drifted apart. They were living apart and had not seen each other for a year. Caroline’s uncle, the Duke of Greystoke controlled money which Caroline wanted. The Duke would only release this money to Caroline if she and Stephen had a solid good marriage. They went to the Revelry to prove to the Duke they were together (even though they were not). I liked Stephen very much, there was no doubt in my mind he loved Caroline and would do anything to get her back. This was a very enjoyable story.
Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley-At a house party Louisa’s mother decides this is Louisa’s last season and that she should find someone to marry. Louisa always wanted to be a poet and was afraid if she married, she would not be able to be one. She meets Ewan Reid who she felt she had some connection to. He is not a man her mother wanted her to marry. I did not like Louisa’s other choices of future husbands, so Ewan was the best. I normally love the cute love stories Erica Ridley writes, but to tell the truth I really did not get into this book that much, I did not connect to the characters.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This is a powerhouse group of romance authors! These four ladies have knocked this wintertime house party out of the park. I enjoyed each and every story about the goings on and coupling up at the annual Christmas Revelry. It was clear that the authors worked together to create a cohesive reading experience for the readers and also to give each novella an interconnected cast of characters. It was very fun to read this in the heat of summer and imagine the cold of the grotto or the snowstorm. For a fun winter/holiday read, this is a winner

While I originally wanted to read this because of Erica Ridley’s story, I loved every title in this anthology. I was introduced to some new (to me) authors and read some wonderfully cozy Christmas Revelry celebration scenes. Looking forward to reading more of all four authors.

This one is a real gem. I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking for new authors to fall for, romance fans, regency romance readers, and any and all who lurve a snowy Christmas themed romance.


My thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an eARC of this novel. Opinions shared are influenced by nothing other than my reading experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Overall

Mistletoe Christmas is a perfect way to get into the spirit of Christmas! These individual stories each take place at the annual Duke’s Christmas Revelry. An event where everyone who is anyone hopes to attend.


A Mistletoe Kiss by Eloisa James
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The success of the Duke Of Greystoke’s Christmas Revelry is dependent on his daughter, Lady Cressida. Cressie feels unattractive due to her father’s constant critiques. Elias is at the party for his friend. Elias is rich, titled, and handsome. With a touch of Christmas magic, these two might find love. Cressie is a beautiful character. She is strong in some aspects yet timid and unsure in others. Elias is much more than a handsome face. I enjoyed how he could see underneath the façade to true beauty. This was a swoon-worthy romance! The descriptive backdrops were breathtaking. The connection between the couple was slowly nurtured from mistrust and misunderstanding to acceptance and love. This is a lovely Christmas romance!

Wishing Under The Mistletoe by Christi Caldwell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a “Scrooge” themed Christmas story, and this one was wonderful! Isabelle and Cyrus were well-developed, lovable characters. The plot brought elements of A Christmas Carol in a fresh, exciting way. The history and connection between the couple were tragic yet passionate. The Christmas party was the perfect backdrop to the action. This was a fantastic story of redemption and how true love never truly fades. I read with a smile and light heart, an excellent Christmas read!

Compromise Under The Mistletoe by Janna MacGregor
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Caroline and Stephen Whitmore are estranged and must attend the Duke’s annual Christmas party together. This is an exciting story of reconciliation and renewal. The plot weaves a beautiful tale of how two people who have a world of separation between them can find compromise and love. Both Caroline and Stephen are exquisitely flawed. The heartache and hope intertwine to build a heart-pounding love story. This is a Christmas tale with love, passion, and understanding. It left me with a sense of love and hope; what Christmas is all about!

Mischief & Mistletoe by Erica Ridley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Miss Louisa Hardcourt’s mother is desperate for Louisa to snare a titled gentleman before she becomes a spinster. Unfortunately, Louisa is attracted to Mr. Ewan Reid, a kindred spirit. Ewan and Louisa are both passionate souls hiding secrets that could destroy them. The couple must discover if love can conquer even the most challenging obstacles. Both Ewan and Louisa are tragic figures with burdens that they cannot discard. The weight of these burdens creates believable, approachable characters which you cheer for a happy ending. This was a warm, charming story about two passionate people that deserve love. The couple’s connection was perfectly balanced. It is a lovely tale of what beautiful things can happen if one only takes a chance on love.

Each four of these five-star reads are breathtaking and oh so swoon-worthy! Every one of these stories is completely different, showcasing the creativity of each author. The backdrop of the party is fantastically descriptive, and the secondary characters are enigmatic and bewitching. All four couples are as unique as their stories. I couldn’t put this book down. Mistletoe Christmas is one of the best Christmas collections I have read. I didn’t want the stories to end. I would love a continuance for next year. This is a collection that the reader will not want to miss!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The annual Christmas party does bring loads of livelihood, the Duke of Greystroke seems like Mr. Grinch. These four ladies with different Mistletoe needs get swept up in its magic blossoming from feelings of romantic unhappiness into the warm glow of Christmastime and the twinkle in the eyes of their attentive gentlemen. All four are delightful and offer heartwarming reading experiences.

Wow! Anthologies always have pros and cons for me. Sometimes I think publishers put together anthologies when they know the author cannot sell on their own.
Not this anthology! What caught my eye were Eloisa James, Janna MacGregor and Erica Ridley. All three have been favorites, and I have a few keepers from all three on my shelf. So there was no way I was going to pass up on this anthology. And it did not disappoint.
I loved that this anthology actually had a story arc holding it together, the Revelry. So no need to context switch from story to story since the backdrop scenes were essentially the same. So once the first story created the framework of the backdrop, the rest of the stories were able to just pick up from there and didn't need an elaborate setup. The stories all moved at a good pace. The characters were likable. Although the heroines tended to have a little of the "poor me" syndrome, they were also resilient enough to pick themselves up and keep going, and the heroes were just icing on the cake.
This is a keeper for me.