Under the Mistletoe
Grade : B

Marguerite Kaye and Bronwyn Scott are two of the most elegant writers on Harlequin Historical’s roster, so it’s not surprising that their holiday twofer, Under the Mistletoe, is both pretty and just the thing to get you in the mood for holiday celebrations.


The Lady’s Yuletide Wish by Marguerite Kaye
Grade: B+          Sensuality: Warm

Kaye’s entry also serves as an installment in her Revelations of the Carstairs Sisters miniseries.

Isabella Carstairs served as a nurse in the Crimean War, and during her time overseas she had a passionate affair – which ended sourly - with a reporter named Eugene, who is now Lord Kingarth. Soon after the war ends and he returns to England, Eugene tries to find Isabella, having been unable to forget their one night of passion but also desperately needing her to help him find an important person. He discovers her in a soup kitchen in Hackney, devoting herself and her family’s money to the poor and hungry. Eugene, previously the disfavored second son, has inherited not only a title but a mystery. He needs Isabella’s help tracking down Rebecca Smith, a mysterious woman who was secretly married to his recently-deceased brother, Wilbur. Eugene thinks his brother’s wife might still be alive and that she may have given birth to a child. This would conveniently free him of the title and responsibilities he never wanted and might also assuage the anguish of grief being endured by his sister and their family. While spending time together, Eugene and Isabella come to realize that the spark between them has not guttered with time.

The investigation is what’s most interesting here, with a mystery that captures the audience’s attention and holds it. Eugene’s earnestness and Isabella’s devotion are both fine character traits; it’s a nice story about nice people managing to find love while solving a yuletide mystery that ultimately brings happiness to life within a suffering family. It’s tender, desperate, quiet, and hard to resist.


Dr. Peverett’s Christmas Miracle by Bronwyn Scott
Grade: B           Sensuality: Kisses

Scott’s story, too, continues a long series of hers – it’s the fourth entry into her Peveretts of Haberstock Hall universe, and concludes the set of stories with William’s tale.

Like Eugene in Kaye’s story, William Peverett has just returned from Crimea. It’s his job to keep the phalanx of soldiers under his charge on the mend, and also to get them settled into the Royal Hospital for Soldiers in Chelsea before returning home and retiring from his field doctor status. He plans on picking up his father’s practice and joining the family at their ancestral seat, Haberstock Hall.

Honoria McGrath met William in Crimea and has accompanied him to Chelsea to assist him in settling the wounded. In spite of her lack of professional nursing experience, she has a great bedside manner and has aided him in dire circumstances, and William is proud of and happy to use her experience. All Honoria wants is actual professional training as a nurse. William is uneasy about heading back to his destiny at Haberstock, and delays by spending extra time buying presents for his family. Honoria helps him, and William invites her to return to Haberstock with him. Will William puzzle out his mixed feelings about his father’s practice? Will his family accept Honoria? And will their admiration and friendship turn to love?

The tone here is a bit duller and less impressive overall than Kaye’s entry, but it’s still a pleasant story about nice people coming together, falling in love and finding their purpose during Christmastime. All of the Prevetts are chatty doctor types, and all of them are interesting and easy to like, which makes one want to read the rest of the series. Bonus points for what read as very accurate medical procedures. But even more importantly, Honoria and William’s love story is very sweet and well-handled.

The two stories here are woven together neatly (all four parties knew each other thanks to their wartime service), making this a seamless read. Under the Mistletoe is a fine stocking stuffer for any romance reader.

Buy it at: Amazon or your local bookshop

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Reviewed by Lisa Fernandes
Grade : B

Sensuality: Varies

Review Date : November 14, 2022

Publication Date: 10/2022

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Lisa Fernandes

Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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