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rjordan19's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? Maybe a bit more plot focused, but feels fairly equally balanced
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in, about 12% of the novella
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No, but you can get a steamy epilogue 30 years in the future? For newsletter sign ups.
Format: Voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form
Should I read in order?
This is a stand alone novella (part of the How the Rake Stole Christmas novella set)
Basic plot:
Meredith runs into Lord Noel Frost during a flee from a Luddite meeting – not knowing he’s the very man she exchanged letters with during the war.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1812)
- Yorkshire setting
- Luddite plot
- disability rep (hero) hero has hip issues and is missing two fingers from his hand from war
- tall hero – heroine’s head reaches his chin
- celibate hero
- brother’s friend
- war letters/epistolary (mostly off page, but some chapter headings feature sections of letters)
- widow heroine
- novella length
- class difference – lord hero (son of a Marquess) and cropper’s widow heroine
- holiday!
- soldier hero
- some elements of unrequited love (hero)
- GREAT author notes
- medium steam – 2 steam within a novella
Ages:
- Hero is 28, heroine is 23ish
First line:
Meredith Taylor Smith jolted from her seat at the table, startled by the men shouting downstairs.
My thoughts:
Oh, wow I adored this novella. Anne Knight is a new author, with a few novellas out, but this was my first by her and I will absolutely be following her writing journey!
First of all, this one had a Luddite centered plot that ended up really interesting me. I usually gravitate away from plots like these, preferring to focus on character and relationship centered romance without any political pull, but I found myself just fascinated with this one. I was researching on the side and on the edge of my seat with the real feeling of danger, the burn in my chest of right versus wrong and the fear for fellow humans quality of life.
But, but! Not only did Knight write a fascinating plot, but she put two absolutely wonderful characters within it and made me fall in love with them. She gave me some feels and longing, and so much sweetness between them. She gave me holiday cheer and the most adorable ending. She gave me holiday novella perfection.
Noel and Merry were amazing together. Noel’s unrequited longing for her really wrung my heart – the letters between them featured in the beginning of most chapters were one of my favorite parts. Merry is such a strong character and I loved how Noel really unites with her. We don’t have a battle between them or one bulldozing the other – we have two characters that united are even better and strong in the best way.
I also adored Knight’s steam. I really liked her writing style. Her author notes were detailed and eye opening. So, so eager to read more from her. She has another novella in The Regency Abduction Club so I’m going to have to grab that one that one too!
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘love’ and ‘dearheart’
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own
When they are interrupted during their first kiss
Suddenly the man pulled back. His arms stayed around her, but he turned his head to look over her shoulder. “Bugger off,” he said in a distinct, clipped tone.
---
His arms wrapped around her and lifted, so she hung a good six inches off the ground. Merry squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life as she kissed him back. Dear lord, his man kissed with his whole body.
---
He’d carried her into the kitchen without her realizing. She settled on the wooden table, legs drawn up. She whined a little, reaching for him.
“Oh god, this is better than I imagined,” he groaned and bent over to fasten his lips to hers. He was kneeling now, and she had the higher ground. Her hands roamed through his hair, and his hands clasped her stockinged ankles, hot as a brand.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- mention of loss of husband three months prior
- war injuries for multiple characters, including missing limbs and fingers
- characters fight against unsafe labor practices
- heroine was married to someone twenty years her senior at the age of 21. The marriage wasn’t abusive but she was not loved in the relationship
- remembrance and scenes of violence, death
- fire and scenes of being trapped within
Author given content warnings:
Language: frequent
Sex: fully described sex with light dirty talk
Violence: on and off page, mention of death, unfair imprisonment, mention of war-related injuries, death threats
Other: mention of war, arson, execution, some ableism from antagonists
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex: Hero pulls out
14% - kiss
42% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her on the table
“It’s mistletoe,” she whispered.
“So it is,” he whispered back, eyes like blue flame.
66% - 🔥 kisses, must be quiet, fingering for her, bit of dirty talking heroine, missionary
”Are you eager?”
Merry withdrew her hands. “Do you dislike eager?”
“No.” His hands clasped hers. “I love eager.” He set her hands back to his cravat. “Show me you want me.”
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? Maybe a bit more plot focused, but feels fairly equally balanced
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in, about 12% of the novella
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No, but you can get a steamy epilogue 30 years in the future? For newsletter sign ups.
Format: Voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form
Should I read in order?
This is a stand alone novella (part of the How the Rake Stole Christmas novella set)
Basic plot:
Meredith runs into Lord Noel Frost during a flee from a Luddite meeting – not knowing he’s the very man she exchanged letters with during the war.
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1812)
- Yorkshire setting
- Luddite plot
- disability rep (hero)
- tall hero – heroine’s head reaches his chin
- celibate hero
- brother’s friend
- war letters/epistolary (mostly off page, but some chapter headings feature sections of letters)
- widow heroine
- novella length
- class difference – lord hero (son of a Marquess) and cropper’s widow heroine
- holiday!
- soldier hero
- some elements of unrequited love (hero)
- GREAT author notes
- medium steam – 2 steam within a novella
Ages:
- Hero is 28, heroine is 23ish
First line:
Meredith Taylor Smith jolted from her seat at the table, startled by the men shouting downstairs.
My thoughts:
Oh, wow I adored this novella. Anne Knight is a new author, with a few novellas out, but this was my first by her and I will absolutely be following her writing journey!
First of all, this one had a Luddite centered plot that ended up really interesting me. I usually gravitate away from plots like these, preferring to focus on character and relationship centered romance without any political pull, but I found myself just fascinated with this one. I was researching on the side and on the edge of my seat with the real feeling of danger, the burn in my chest of right versus wrong and the fear for fellow humans quality of life.
But, but! Not only did Knight write a fascinating plot, but she put two absolutely wonderful characters within it and made me fall in love with them. She gave me some feels and longing, and so much sweetness between them. She gave me holiday cheer and the most adorable ending. She gave me holiday novella perfection.
Noel and Merry were amazing together. Noel’s unrequited longing for her really wrung my heart – the letters between them featured in the beginning of most chapters were one of my favorite parts. Merry is such a strong character and I loved how Noel really unites with her. We don’t have a battle between them or one bulldozing the other – we have two characters that united are even better and strong in the best way.
I also adored Knight’s steam. I really liked her writing style. Her author notes were detailed and eye opening. So, so eager to read more from her. She has another novella in The Regency Abduction Club so I’m going to have to grab that one that one too!
Endearments
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own
When they are interrupted during their first kiss
Suddenly the man pulled back. His arms stayed around her, but he turned his head to look over her shoulder. “Bugger off,” he said in a distinct, clipped tone.
---
His arms wrapped around her and lifted, so she hung a good six inches off the ground. Merry squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life as she kissed him back. Dear lord, his man kissed with his whole body.
---
He’d carried her into the kitchen without her realizing. She settled on the wooden table, legs drawn up. She whined a little, reaching for him.
“Oh god, this is better than I imagined,” he groaned and bent over to fasten his lips to hers. He was kneeling now, and she had the higher ground. Her hands roamed through his hair, and his hands clasped her stockinged ankles, hot as a brand.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- mention of loss of husband three months prior
- war injuries for multiple characters, including missing limbs and fingers
- characters fight against unsafe labor practices
- heroine was married to someone twenty years her senior at the age of 21. The marriage wasn’t abusive but she was not loved in the relationship
- remembrance and scenes of violence, death
- fire and scenes of being trapped within
Author given content warnings:
Language: frequent
Sex: fully described sex with light dirty talk
Violence: on and off page, mention of death, unfair imprisonment, mention of war-related injuries, death threats
Other: mention of war, arson, execution, some ableism from antagonists
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex:
14% - kiss
42% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her on the table
“It’s mistletoe,” she whispered.
“So it is,” he whispered back, eyes like blue flame.
66% - 🔥 kisses, must be quiet, fingering for her, bit of dirty talking heroine, missionary
”Are you eager?”
Merry withdrew her hands. “Do you dislike eager?”
“No.” His hands clasped hers. “I love eager.” He set her hands back to his cravat. “Show me you want me.”
annerollins's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I love funny, lighthearted historical romances, but I also like historical romance that does serious political work. Anne Knight’s Christmas novella, A Lord’s Guide to Mutiny, Marriage, and Mistletoe, is an example of the latter. Centered on an early nineteenth-century worker’s rights movement, many of the points the novella makes about the exploitation of workers and the need for a living wage unfortunately still apply today.
That may make the book sound heavy and educational rather than happy and emotional, but this story is a Christmas romance at heart, full of mistletoe, decorations, and even a discussion of early Christmas trees. (As always, Knight has done the research needed to bring this historical moment to life.) Though the romance takes place over the course of a relatively short time, it’s believable because the leads already grew closer to each other by exchanging wartime letters. The sexual attraction between the leads is strong, but so is the emotional bond—which isn’t always the case with romance novellas.
This is a steamy, open-door novella that features disability rep and a class difference between the leads. Note that the novella contains depictions of violence and physical injury, and discussions of deaths and corporal punishment that occur off-page.
Anne Knight is a historical romance writer worth watching, and this is one of the better holiday novellas I’ve read this year. Grab it on Kindle Unlimited!
Disclosure: I received a free digital ARC from the author. This is my honest review.
That may make the book sound heavy and educational rather than happy and emotional, but this story is a Christmas romance at heart, full of mistletoe, decorations, and even a discussion of early Christmas trees. (As always, Knight has done the research needed to bring this historical moment to life.) Though the romance takes place over the course of a relatively short time, it’s believable because the leads already grew closer to each other by exchanging wartime letters. The sexual attraction between the leads is strong, but so is the emotional bond—which isn’t always the case with romance novellas.
This is a steamy, open-door novella that features disability rep and a class difference between the leads. Note that the novella contains depictions of violence and physical injury, and discussions of deaths and corporal punishment that occur off-page.
Anne Knight is a historical romance writer worth watching, and this is one of the better holiday novellas I’ve read this year. Grab it on Kindle Unlimited!
Disclosure: I received a free digital ARC from the author. This is my honest review.
wandering_seal's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
5.0
This story is a right little treat and I loved it. It goes beyond the cosy world of Christmas reads to quite seriously consider the rise of workers movements at the start of the industrial revolution in a manner which is unfailingly sympathetic to the workers - historical romances, especially regency ones, have a tenancy to be uncritically pro aristocracy so when you come across something different you go and read it right now.
The romance, and this definitely is a romance, is great. Its believable - our two MCs have been communicating for a year before they meet. The snippets of letters at the start of each chapter is just perfect. The spicy scenes were spicy. And it's all woven really well into what is quite a complicated historical period. I thought Anne Knight did a great job to carry both the romance and the history at the same time.
A thoroughly enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author (I signed up for that newsletter so quick at the end).
I received an advance reader copy of this book, my opinions are very much my own.
The romance, and this definitely is a romance, is great. Its believable - our two MCs have been communicating for a year before they meet. The snippets of letters at the start of each chapter is just perfect. The spicy scenes were spicy. And it's all woven really well into what is quite a complicated historical period. I thought Anne Knight did a great job to carry both the romance and the history at the same time.
A thoroughly enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author (I signed up for that newsletter so quick at the end).
I received an advance reader copy of this book, my opinions are very much my own.
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