The Victorian Christmas Brides

Authors: Vanessa Riley, C.J. Chase, Kathleen L. Maher, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Susanne Dietz, Lorna Seilstad, Erica Vetsch, Gabrielle Meyer, Rita Gerlach
Genre: Historical Romance/ Christmas

Experience a Dickens of a Christmas
 
Faced with the daily extremes of gluttony and want in the Victorian Era, nine women seek to create the perfect Christmas celebrations. But will expectations and pride cause them to overlook imperfect men who offer true love?
 
Paper Snowflake Christmas by Vanessa Riley
1837 Framlingham, England
How can widow Ophelia Hanover give her son a perfect Christmas when his guardian, the Earl of Litton, arrives early to take permeant custody of the boy?
 
One Golden Ring by C.J. Chase
1855 Devonshire, England
Wounded soldier Tristram Nowell returns home to indulge his mother’s wish for a family Christmas—and encounters Marianna Granville. Can he forgive the former heiress who jilted him years before?
 
Love Brick by Brick by Kathleen L. Maher
1857 Elmira, New York
SarahAnn Winnifred overcomes orphanhood apprenticing with pioneering doctors. Rufus Sedgwick, relocating his English estate, seeks help for his ailing Mum. Christmas reveals the secret wish of both hearts—for love.
 
The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels
1867 Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan
When Canadian barrister Percy Gladstone finds his aristocratic British family unexpectedly descending upon him for Christmas, he turns to American social reformer Eugenie Mott and her fledgling catering crew for help.
 
Star of Wonder by Susanne Dietze
1875 County Durham, England
This Yuletide, Bennet Hett, Viscount Harwood, offers Lady Celeste Sidwell matrimony and the Star of Wonder diamond necklace, as their fathers arranged. When the diamond disappears, will they find a greater treasure?
 
Father Christmas by Lorna Seilstad
Chicago, Christmas 1880
Widowed harpist Beatrix Kent believes love can only come once in a lifetime, but this Christmas, carpenter Hugo Sherman hopes to pull on the musician’s heartstrings and prove her wrong.
 
The Perfect Christmas by Erica Vetsch
1880s London
Melisande Verity might be in over her head trying to create the perfect Christmas window display, but if she succeeds, will she finally attract the attention of her boss, Gray Garamond?
 
A Christmas Vow by Gabrielle Meyer
London, England, Christmas 1899?
Lady Ashleigh Pendleton is hosting a houseful of guests for Christmas when railroad executive Christopher Campbell unexpectedly arrives from America with a mysterious agreement signed by their fathers before their birth. 
 
The Holly and the Ivy by Rita Gerlach
1900. Small town along the Potomac near Washington DC
A glass ornament. Love letters tied in red Christmas ribbon. Lily Morningstar and British antiquities expert Andrew Stapleton are drawn into a family secret that binds their hearts together.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

The Victorian Christmas Brides Collection is the perfect anthology to add to your list of books to read for the holiday season. With nine authors offering a taste of Yuletide romance this anthology will certainly put you in the Christmas spirit.

While most of the stories held my attention, at times I felt myself struggling with things like crazy character names that had me tongue-tied (Tristram?), implausible plot lines like forced marriages that were not legally binding in any universe, and unnatural dialogue that was too sweet even for hopeless romantics. That said, I truly enjoyed these short stories and wished that some of them were made into full-length books. I loved how each character had faith in God and wanted to do right by Him. 

If you want to get a head-start on getting into the Christmas spirit, this is definitely a book you should put on your TBR (to be read) pile.

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