If you're looking for a quick historical holiday romance with a Scrooge-y hero and a competent heroine, you might try Once Upon a Duke. A Duke who hates Christmas must return to a small town full of holiday cheer to complete the terms of his grandfather's will. A town where the woman he loved and left still resides, having worked for his deceased grandfather as a bookkeeper and advisor. And of course being thrown together reawakens that flame!

This was cute if fairly predictable in terms of plot and characterization. I would have liked a bit more from their relationship with each other but this does the job if you want a quick, festive romance! And the premise of this Christmasy town is a fun one, so I might be interested in reading later books in the series. I have to say I don't love the audio narrator for this one. She did okay, but I found her voice to be irritatingly high and nasal-y at times. That said, I want to try something else from this author to see how I get on. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book! It didn't blow me away, and the emotional arc didn't quite click for me, but I thought it was a lot of fun. It's chock full of Christmas spirit and small town shenanigans. I'm excited to read more of Erica Ridley's books!

The narration is dynamic and compelling, and overall very entertaining.

If you like Tessa Dare, this Christmasy novella might work for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the ALC.

I've read (and loved) several of the newer books in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series recently, so I jumped at the chance to review an audio version of the first, which I hadn't yet read. As might be expected, I found it slightly lacking compared to later installments, but it was still very enjoyable.

The town of Cressmouth / Christmas is charming and the inhabitants varied and interesting. I find that one of Erica Ridley's greatest strengths is creating well-rounded and interesting characters, whether they be the stars of the show or just bit players. With that said, Benjamin and Noelle were a bit less fleshed out than some of her more recent heroes and heroines, and that limited my enjoyment of the story somewhat as I was not able to be as invested in them or their love story.

The plot was good if a bit repetitive, and Benjamin's reasons for being unable to love Noelle (or anyone) were a bit thin and he held onto them a bit too long. There were some really lovely moments however - like when Benjamin was caring for Tiny Tim - that redeemed him for me and made him more interesting.

The audiobook narration was good. The narrator wasn't my favorite, and I wasn't sure about her voice at first, but as the story progressed she grew on me. She did a good job with the different character voices and with portraying their emotions. Once I got used to her, it was a very enjoyable listening experience.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Orange Sky Audio for providing an audio arc for review.