by Cathy Maxwell
Series: Scandals and Seductions #4
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AT CHRISTMAS!
When her father threatens to marry Abigail Montross off to a man twice her age (and with thirteen children!), she decides to elope instead with the irresistibly handsome Baron de Vasconia. She know all abut his notorious reputation He is the most seductive man in all of London, but he’s vowed to protect her, so she allow herself to be tempted into his bed, promising to guard her heart at all costs.Andres believes he’s entered into nothing more than a marriage of convenience with a charming and very wealthy young woman. But the days–and nights–Abigail spends in his arms soon reform this rogue. He’ll do anything to gain her love–until they each discover the truth about the other and old wounds are revealed. It’s the season of miracles and passion–when love not only awakens the senses but delivers the greatest gift of all . . .
I am having a blast reading all of these holiday-themed books and His Christmas Pleasure left a smile on my face. I saw a review from Felicia @ The Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog and thought the cover looked familiar. Sure enough, this was on one of my bookshelves and I immediately began reading. It had elements I love; a feisty heroine, a rouge, an overbearing father and a marriage of convenience. I literally consumed this in a single afternoon.
Abigail Montrose’s life is complicated, she has been in love with a man forever, but he has not offered for her, even when her father arranged a marriage. Thankfully the man backed out, but her reputation has suffered and yet still she pines for this fop. Things are about to get turned upside down when at a Christmas party the fop announces he marries her cousin and her father tells her he is about to arrange a marriage for her with an old man who has thirteen children! As if that is not enough she slaps the handsome Baron de Vasconia when he tells her she is beautiful. He is in need of money to secure his dreams and has been forced to leave London within three days, she desperately needs to escape her father’s plan; together they decide to elope and the tale that unfolds was heartwarming.
Maxwell’s characters were certainly lovable and I enjoyed getting to know them and their back-story. Abigail is strong, opinionated and never really fit in among the ton with her fiery red hair and freckles. Andres is the second son of a Baron and born on the wrong side of the blanket, and he desperately wants to restore his families good name. While he is definitely a rouge he is also vulnerable. Side characters including the fop added to the tale and created tension.
I love tales about marriages of convenience especially when they turn into something more and Maxwell gave me exactly what I wanted. I love how she created tension, allowed the characters to grow and kept me turning the pages at a dizzying speed. The romance that developed began out of mutual respect and felt genuine. The chemistry and heat was delightful while being relatively clean. This is a feel-good novel, where you root for the couple and hope they overcome. The tale flowed wonderfully with just enough twists and turns. The characters became real to me and I adore when that happens.
I recommend His Christmas Pleasure to fans of romances. While this is a historical fiction it is very character driven and not laden in historical detail. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Turning the Pages
Love the sound of this one. Hopefully I can read it before Christmas!
kimbacaffeinate
Oh I hope you do, it was fun 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I wonder if it was the one I reviewed last week, this one came out in 2010..and i finally read it..LOL
Andrea
I thought about taking this book for review, but wasn’t sure b/c I saw it’s number four in a series. It does seem really good, though. I love all the holiday books on your blog.
Great review!
kimbacaffeinate
O.o Sarah MacLean is awesome I love all of her books 🙂
Nick
I just read my favorite historical romance book a few hours ago – Sarah MacLean’s Eleven Scandals! Now, you make me want to read this one too. I love confident, fiery characters and the MC in this one seems perfect! Awesome review, Kim! 😀
kimbacaffeinate
Yes, or I feel incredibly stupid for having left it for so long!
Candace Robinson
Don’t you love that when you see a review that makes you want to read it and you realize you already own it?
I love that this is character driven. I love HF but character driven HF books move faster which is good.
Fantastic review Kimba!
kimbacaffeinate
Agreed!!!
thegeekyblogger
Andres was so SWOOOOOOOOOOOOON-worthy 🙂
kindlemom1
This sounds like a great holiday read!
GRgenius
Sounds like she was between a rock and a hard place! Cie la vie, her choice could have been much worse though…great job on the review. ^_^
kimbacaffeinate
thank you, hope you get a chance to read it 🙂
Amber Elise
Oh this sounds so appropriate! Romantic and fluffy to put me in the Christmas spirit (especially because we haven’t had snow in my area yet ): )
Adding to my list, thanks for the rec dear!
Amber Elise @ Du Livre
Amber Elise
2 dollar nook book! Bam!
kimbacaffeinate
that is awesome…enjoy Amber !
kimbacaffeinate
Amber we are getting 8-10 inches here tomorrow with blizzard like conditions..eep!
Naomi Hop
Sounds like a great christmas read!! I agree about how you like stories when marriages of convenience turn into love, they are always fun!!
kimbacaffeinate
I agree 🙂
The Readingista
I am glad that you liked this. I adored the characters and the story line. i do wish that there was more of a Christmas theme. Great review.
Aurian
Thanks Kimba, I really need to catch up with my stack of books by this author.