Ballgowns & Butterflies and Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong

December 22nd, 2022 Kimberly Review 16 Comments

22nd Dec

Today I am sharing two holiday novellas from Kelley Armstrong’s A Stitch in Time series. These were the perfect novellas to kick off the Ho-Ho-Ho readathon this year. Grab some hot cocoa and see why I enjoyed them….

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Kelley Armstrong is an auto-buy for me, but I truly love her Stitch in Time series. These time slip romances are perfection. I read her novella, Snowstorms & Sleigh Bells last Christmas, and when I pre-ordered Ghosts & Garlands, I realized I had missed Ballgowns & Butterflies.

Ballgowns & Butterflies and Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong
Ballgowns & Butterflies
by Kelley Armstrong
Series: A Stitch in Time #1.5
Genres: Historical Romance, Time Travel
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

The North Yorkshire moors are always a magical place, but they’re particularly enchanting at the holidays…especially if one gets to travel back in time to a Victorian Christmas. For Bronwyn Dale, it is the stuff of dreams. Fancy-dress balls, quirky small-town traditions, even that classic one-horse open sleigh, complete with jingle bells. There’s just the tiny problem of the Butterfly Effect. How does a time-traveler make a difference without disrupting the future forever?

Holiday Novella Time Travel well written

Ballgowns & Butterflies is the first holiday novella in the series and events take place between the full-length novels A Stitch in Time & A Twist of Fate. It shares a Victorian Christmas as Bronwyn Dale embraces the magic of ballgowns, and sleigh rides, all while worrying about the butterfly effect.

I loved the follow-up story from A Stitch in Time. The story is an epilogue of sorts as we get updates on William and Bronwyn as they manage the time slip. It was magical to see a Victorian Christmas through Bronwyn’s eyes.

If you haven’t yet read A Twist of Fate, this tale offers some foreshadowing of things to come. It also addresses concerns Bronwyn has about the impact the time slip and her actions hold for the future. I thought it was well done.

Lots of holiday cheer left me smiling. It’s the perfect read for a snowy December night.

Amazon | Audible

Ballgowns & Butterflies and Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong
Ghosts & Garlands
by Kelley Armstrong
Series: A Stitch in Time #3.5
Genres: Historical Romance, Time Travel
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Victorian novelist Miranda Hastings is in London for a modern-day Christmas with the man she loves, and they want to see everything. Luckily, they have friends who are going to make sure they get their wish. They’re sent on a whirlwind holiday adventure, following their friends’ mysterious messages…until an encounter with a ghost who was part of an infamous gang of highwaymen. Murder, mystery, and a ghost in need? Now that’s Miranda’s idea of a holiday treat.

Holiday Novella paranormal Time Travel

The events in Ghosts & Garlands take place after the novel, A Turn of the Tide, and take place in modern day London. Miranda Hastings and Nico are on a vacation of sorts after their latest time slips. It seems they’ve been quite busy.

It was absolutely delightful seeing them navigate the city and, of course, August, Rosalind and William and Bronwyn aided them from clothing to clever adventures. Along the way, they meet a ghost and offer aid.

Bakeries, books, museums and libraries await you in this magical adventure. It was delightful from learning details about the future to tales of Dick Turpin, the highwayman. It was a blast watching these two navigate the modern world and learning about their plans for the future.

While this works as a standalone story, there are spoilers for at least two of the full-length novels. It also sets up the next full-length novel and I cannot wait for news of its release date.

Amazon

Ballgowns & Butterflies and Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong are the perfect holiday novellas for fans of A Stitch In Time. #timeslip #historcalromance #holidaybooks Click To Tweet

If you haven’t yet read these, you can now purchase a compilation of three holiday novellas in the “Stitch in Time” series.

Christmas At Thorne Manor

About Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

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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. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

16 Responses to “Ballgowns & Butterflies and Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong”

  1. Katherine

    I love these covers! I have the first book on my series on my TBR (and pretty much everything by this author) and these look wonderful.

  2. Sophia Rose

    I’ve listened to the second book in the series, but really need to go back for book one and these follow up holiday novellas. I’m so glad you enjoyed them.

  3. Anne - Books of My Heart

    I really loved Ballgowns & Butterflies and the additional information sort of an epilogue but also a setup for the future it provided. I have yet to listen to Turn of the Tide and read the novella following. I love the way Armstrong has handled this series.

    Anne - Books of My Heart recently posted: Top 10 Book Characters in 2022
  4. Lover of Romance

    aww these sounds so delicious. I love holiday novella’s so much and the covers are so wintery.

    Merry Merry Christmas! Can you believe we are so close?