Beautified by Love

Two Regency Christmas Novellas

“Letters from Home” She is the woman whose letters to another man kept Simon alive during the war. He is the English officer her late Scottish husband praised as being incomparable. Even without the spirit of Christmas, she stirs his soul; in her, his heart whispers of being "home." However, the lady wishes to remain invisible and in her place as her cousin's companion. Can Major Lord Simon Lanford claim Mrs. Faith Lamont as his wife or will his rise to the earldom and his family’s expectations keep them apart?

“Lady Joy and the Earl” They have loved each other since childhood, but life has not been kind to either of them. James Highcliffe’s arranged marriage had been everything but loving, and Lady Joy’s late husband believed a woman’s spirit was meant to be broken. Therefore, convincing Lady Jocelyn Lathrop to abandon her freedom and consider marriage to him after twenty plus years apart may be more than the Earl of Hough can manage.

Bonus Story: “One Minute Past Christmas” (from George T. Arnold and Regina Jeffers) An Appalachian grandfather and his granddaughter are blessed with a special ability—a gift that enables them briefly to witness a miraculous gathering in the sky each year at exactly one minute past Christmas. The experience fills them with wonder, but they worry their secret “gift” will end with them because, in forty-four years, no other relative has displayed an inclination to carry it on to a new generation.

Christmas house parties

First novella is better. I liked idea of letters to a third-party playing a central role in the romance. That was at least 4 stars. The second romance is darker, sadder, and the heroine doesn’t seem to know her own mind. I particularly didn’t like the infidelity. I rated this story at barely 3 stars. The best thing about both stories is the Christmas house party setting, which is always fun.