raven_acres's review
2.0
2 dark Regency Christmas stories, very unimpressed. Stalkerish and vengeful for the second story and blunt and irritating for the first story.
l1brarygirl's review
1.0
Only read the first story, "A Christmas Bride." I found the story to be far-fetched and I didn't like the two main characters at all. I am so disappointed that I don't even want to read the second story.
gemmalaszlo's review
3.0
I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy Balogh's novellas to her full-length novels. I find the novels too drawn out, and the characters are so stubborn that I want to clunk their heads together. She is an author who doesn't need a lot of pages to touch my emotions.
saycheeze37's review
4.0
I love Mary Balogh's Christmas stories. She really makes Christmastime a major character in the story which is what it's all about in my opinion.
sheltzer's review
3.0
I didn't like either of the characters in A Christmas Bride. When that happens it's very hard to enjoy a romance novel. She was not nice and he didn't seem to have any thought process that wasn't businesslike.
Christmas Beau was better, but I didn't think any of the characters in either novel had depth.
Christmas Beau was better, but I didn't think any of the characters in either novel had depth.
bookwyrm_lark's review
Review to come. I enjoyed Christmas Beau more than A Christmas Bride, and I'm still debating the star rating on that account.
librarydanielle's review
2.0
while well written and good intentions, I couldn't enjoy these two very much. they're all about pain, and forgiveness, and how much we hurt each other, when what I was hoping for was a fun Christmas romance. these are not fun. expertely written and poignant, but not fun.
12/29/13
12/29/13
benthic_explorer's review
3.0
Here’s the thing... the first novella in this 2-in-1 volume was *awful*. I literately liked none of the characters, male and female alike.
Although, i do get the feeling that the author was trying for something like those Hallmark movies where a jaded city woman gets drawn into the Christmas shenanigans of a down-home, country-type fella and “learns to love again”. But it didn’t translate so well into this 19th century setting. Also, her reasons for self-loathing made me kind of loathe her, too?
(Actually, I haven’t a clue when this novella was written so it could actually pre-date the Hallmark movies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Regardless, it didn’t work for me.
As for the second novella... Well, by itself I would have given it four stars. But as per the usual with Mary Balogh’s novellas, the whole “man does terrible, near unforgivable thing” being wrapped up within a few paragraphs with the heroine finding some way to excuse it and him not effusively apologizing just leaves me more annoyed than satisfied.
Oh well. I mean I know these things when I go into these older, shorter works of hers. Still, the enjoyment I get from the juicy, juicy set ups is more than enough to keep me reading through the Mary Balogh catalogue.
Anyways, if anyone else picks up this book I’d say skip the first volume and mind your expectations for the second.
Although, i do get the feeling that the author was trying for something like those Hallmark movies where a jaded city woman gets drawn into the Christmas shenanigans of a down-home, country-type fella and “learns to love again”. But it didn’t translate so well into this 19th century setting. Also, her reasons for self-loathing made me kind of loathe her, too?
(Actually, I haven’t a clue when this novella was written so it could actually pre-date the Hallmark movies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Regardless, it didn’t work for me.
As for the second novella... Well, by itself I would have given it four stars. But as per the usual with Mary Balogh’s novellas, the whole “man does terrible, near unforgivable thing” being wrapped up within a few paragraphs with the heroine finding some way to excuse it and him not effusively apologizing just leaves me more annoyed than satisfied.
Oh well. I mean I know these things when I go into these older, shorter works of hers. Still, the enjoyment I get from the juicy, juicy set ups is more than enough to keep me reading through the Mary Balogh catalogue.
Anyways, if anyone else picks up this book I’d say skip the first volume and mind your expectations for the second.
serenityfire's review
3.0
While they stories are well crafted, both were much too dark for me to enjoy them as Christmas stories.