Sabrina Jeffries’s ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas fit the bill perfectly in terms of being a romance that strikes a perfect balance between being a plausible and well-plotted historical romance novel, and one still employing certain time tested tropes indicative of the genre. It is seasonal to boot. The problems of the main characters could have been solved more simply and quickly had they communicated better, but I suppose that wouldn’t have been much fun!
Pierce and Caroline have enjoyable romantic chemistry, and atypical of other romances she isn’t significantly younger than Pierce, but is a mature widow raising a child on her own – one she believes she needs to hide in order to keep her position. Pierce, of course, is intelligent handsome but has been hurt by his family with secrets that leave him estranged from his parents. This has been particularly troublesome with his mother, who seemed to adore him. He just needs a good woman to help straighten him out so that he can be the loving and compassionate man he was meant to be (mini-eyeroll).
Shenanigans ensue as Caroline tries to get Pierce to spend mire time with his mother, and he uses spending time in his company as a bargaining tool. Both are stubborn, but as they spend more time together, and slowly find out about each other’s past, they begin to let their guard down and think they can have something together.
I was charmed by the novel, and surprised to see that this was the sixth in a series. That goes to show you how well it can be read alone. Isn’t it good to know that if you like this one, you can look forward to going back and reading the others?Recommended.