The Christmas Bride by Anne Gracie

December 14, 2020

What better way to spend some time, but with a short holiday book!  Unless of course, it’s a short holiday book loaded with carbs!!!!

 

 https://www.annegracie.com/

Yes! Welcome to the Chance sister series by Anne Gracie, and her short story The Christmas Bride. I have to tell you, I was about half way through this book when it dawned on me just how many carbs were being consumed by the characters in the story. There’s alllll kinds of English holiday food being eaten by everyone. There are no fat-free, fake sugar, olive-oil butter treats in this story. There’s real cream! Real butter! There are cream cakes, plum pudding, shortbread, mince pie, fruit pie, ginger biscuits, apple cakes, almond biscuits, bread, sausage rolls, gingerbread, crumpets, muffins…and none of them are gluten free!! It was enough to make me go into a sugar induced swoon, and the story wasn’t bad either.

Unlike a lot of short stories, this one had a well-constructed story line, and a number of delightful characters. When the story begins, Blake Ashton is peacefully traveling through the English country side. His peace is interrupted by the call of “stand and deliver.”  Never one to ask to many questions, Ashton defends himself, wounding the highwayman in the process. Ashton is in for a surprise. Guess what! Go ahead guess. The highwayman turns out to be a woman. Her younger brother comes out of hiding and attacks, and soon Blake has the brother, sister and his horse headed toward a tumble-down cottage which the sister and brother have been hiding out in. And, a sweet little romance begins.

Along the way, we get to read some wonderful banter, delightful narrative, and a short story that seems as if it is a full-length novel. There is a sweet romance between Blake Aston and Charlotte Underwood, aka Charley the highwayman. Also present in this short story is a scene stealing secondary character by the name of Toby. Toby is Charlotte’s little brother, and he is honest, painfully honest, and oh so adorable. Also present in this book are characters from the previous stories in the series. Of course, I don’t remember them. My brain cannot retain books after one month. Was this story perfect? Almost, except for the reason Aston’s gives for not being in England for ten years.

When the reason is revealed, my gut reaction was…boy that was lame. I thought his reasoning was a tad bit silly. He had a guilt trip that was way over the top, and his zero contact with his family downright selfish. I don’t know how Ms. Gracie could have explained his absence differently, cause that’s not my job. But it was just not my favorite part of an otherwise enjoyable story.

Regardless of Ashton’s odd thinking, I do recommend reading this holiday story. Just remember, you can always start eating salads in January.

Time/Place: Regency England

Sensuality: Warm