Unwrapping a Review of THE GREAT CHRISTMAS KNIT-OFF by Alexandra Brown

I know Unwrapping Romance is all about romance especially that HEA promised us in romance novels but every so often, I read a book that just deserves a little shout out of excitement. With the holidays bearing down on us, I can’t think of a better time to give off some joy for a wonderful, delightful, and cockle-warming British chick-lit that comes as close to romance as you can get without a Happily-Ever-After. THE GREAT CHRISTMAS KNIT-OFF by Alexandra Brown is everything wonderful! Pure Holiday Joy. 

***print copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unscripted review—thank you.

Blurb for THE GREAT CHRISTMAS KNIT-OFF:

Sybil has always taken comfort in her knitting, creating beautiful garments stitch by stitch. But her world suddenly unravels when her fiancé ditches her for her identical twin sister and things go from bad to worse when an incident jeopardizes her job.

Hoping to escape her woes and forget that she'll be alone for Christmas, she visits her friend in Tindledale—a winter wonderland of quaint shops and snowy rooftops. Embraced by welcoming—if eccentric—locals wearing handmade knits reminds Sybil of her own creations and her unrealized ambitions of selling them. So when the vintage boutique asks her to create a knitting display for their front window, she's thrilled. The hot town doctor has even taken an interest in Sybil, hoping to heal her broken heart.

But just when Sybil thinks she's going to have her fairy-tale Christmas after all, an unexpected turn of events threaten to unspool her happily ever after.

~*~       ~*~        ~*~       ~*~       ~*~

Life couldn’t get much lower for Sybil. Her fiancé leaves her at the altar amidst a Star Wars themed wedding and runs off with her twin sister, and now there’s a chance, a great chance she will be on the hook for a huge money error at work. Really not wanting to face anything anymore, she packs up her little dog, Basil, and heads to Tindledale, a truly quaint little English village that when she steps off the train, she thinks she’s on a set for FROZEN. She’s eager to see her best friend, Cher, who will certainly help her see to making sure her life doesn’t get any more discombobulated but Cher is out of town, and the accommodations at the Duck & Puddle Pub, which Cher and her chef husband are now running, were highly lacking. With no other choice, she ventures to the Bed and Breakfast on the other side of the village. There she meets the incorrigible, Lawrence Rosenberg, host extraordinaire, and leader of the Tindledale Players. Lawrence sets her on the right path to discovering more about herself, her life, her desires, than she ever knew, and even encourages her to take a chance at love. Taking the road not traveled was the last thing she ever expected when she began her journey to Tindledale.

With a cast of the most delightful, unexpected, funny, endearing, and simply lovely characters, I would love to live in a place like Tindledale. I fell in love with this book so fast it surprised me. Although, we are greeted with not one, but two states of despair…first with Hettie, and the prospect of her losing her precious House of Haberdashery in Tindledale, but then Sybil whose life is a complete disaster…Alexandra Brown manages to makes us smile and even laugh.

I was sick as a dog with the cold from hell while reading this but I couldn’t have asked for a better escape into a warm, loving, and cozy read to make me feel better and smile. Okay, it’s sweet, most definitely, but its also romantic comedy at its holiday best. I can see this story being made into one of those wonderful feel good holiday movies that you want to take out once a year and watch it yet again. I can see reading this every holiday season for that feel good heartwarming experience too. I’m not a knitter, and it doesn’t matter but I would taking up knitting just to be invited to one of Syb’s and Hettie’s delightful natters…that seems to be what a gossip session is called in England. Tindledale is the most welcoming place on the planet, I think. Like I said, I’d love to live there.

I highly recommend reading THE GREAT CHRISTMAS KNIT-OFF by Alexandra Brown if you’re a fan of feel good, cozy holiday stories, funny clumsy kind of comedy, and I’ll clue you in…Sybil has everything come together for her and even has a hottie town doctor a little head over heels for her. Go ahead…take a trip to Tindledale and when it’s over, you can imagine your own HEA for Sybil.

Happy Reading Everyone!

THE GREAT CHRISTMAS KNIT-OFF by Alexandra Brown, William Morrow, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

Unwrapping: Wacky Wednesday - Birthday Wishes to Gaelen Foley

Today is one of my favorite Romance author's birthday - Gaelen Foley. 
I hope you'll join me in wishing her a very Happy Birthday today and enjoy a treat from her wonderful Regency Romance, MY DANGEROUS DUKE.

MY DANGEROUS DUKE is the second in a series called the Inferno Club series.  The Inferno Club is a gathering of wealthy libertines and highborn rakes devoted to their pleasures and scandals.  Well, that's the way they are known to London Society but the truth is they have a much greater purpose.  London society suspects little of the danger that looms over England or the real enemies whom these select and powerful lords are secretly sworn to fight.

The Inferno Club series consists of three novels as of date but will soon be joined by a fourth which all who follow the series anxiously await. 

The first in the series is MY WICKED MARQUESS, Max's story or rather the Marquess of Rotherstone's

- the second is MY DANGEROUS DUKE, Rohan's story or rather the Duke of Warrington's

- the third is MY IRRESISTIBLE EARL,  Jordan's story or rather the Earl of Falconridge's

But today, in honor of Ms. Foley's birthday and because I promised you a man with secrets and a castle, we're going to visit with Rohan Kilburn, the Duke of Warrington.  So without further ado, let me introduce you to him in an excerpt from MY DANGEROUS DUKE by Gaelen Foley:



His expression inscrutable, Eldred the butler glanced at Kate, but was apparently too shrewd to ask any questions. He turned away, lifting his lantern high. "This way, please. The master is expecting you."

Their whole party followed as Eldred led them down a tall, shadowy corridor, all stone and aged plaster and carved dark wood. Kate stumbled along on her frozen feet, staring all around her. She had never been in a castle before, but it was hard to believe that anyone could actually live in such a place.

It was not a home, it was a fortress, a mighty barracks left over from the days of knights and dragons.

Everything was dark and hard, cold and threatening. Ancient weapons, shields and pieces of armor, tattered battle flags hung on the walls instead of paintings. There was not one cozy thing about it, yet perversely, despite its unwelcoming atmosphere, the castle's historical significance made her forget her dread for one or two seconds as her scholar's unquenchable curiosity was roused about the place, the battles it had seen, and all the other mysterious things that might have happened here over the centuries.

Then she noticed her captors becoming increasingly nervous.

"'Hoy, Eldred." Caleb leaned toward the butler as they trudged down a darkly paneled corridor. "How's his mood tonight?"

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"The Beast!" he whispered. "Is he in a foul temper?"

The butler eyed him in disapproval. "I'm sure I couldn't say."

"So, that's a yes," Calen muttered.

Then Eldred led them into a cavernous great hall with a soaring vaulted ceiling.

Darkness clustered thickly between arching beams. Moldering tapestries draped the side walls here and there. Overlooking the room, a small balcony - the ministrel's gallery - jutted slightly from the far wall.  Closer to hand, several pieces of thick, ancient furniture provided barren comfort.

Two black-clad guards, like those stationed at the gatehouse, were posted in the nearest corners. They stood at attention, as immovable as the ancient suits of armor that adorned the great hall.

The only real sign of life glowed from the blazing bonfire in the yawning fireplace, far away down at the dais end of the hall - and it was there that Kate caught her first glimpse of the Beast.

She knew at once that it was he.

The huge, crackling power of his presence filled the hall before he even turned around. His back to them, the Duke of Warrington stood before the fire, a towering figure silhouetted against the flames.

He was toying with a large, strange weapon with a long, notched blade, some sort of deadly cross between a lance and a sword. Balancing it on its tip, he twirled it slowly in a most ominous fashion.

Edred announced them with a polite cough. "Ahem, Your Grace: Caleb Doyle and company."

He lifted the weapon, resting the bar of its long handle on his huge shoulder.

Her heart leaped up into her throat as the iron giant slowly pivoted to face them. He paused, studying them from across the hall with a dissecting stare.

Then he began prowling toward them, his long paces unhurried yet relentless:  a medieval warlord in modern-day clothes. Each fall of his mud-flecked boots boomed in the hollow vastness of the chamber.

Kate's mouth hung open slightly as she stared at him in fear and some degree of awe.

Caleb whipped off his hat and took a couple of steps forward, gesturing to his men to do the same.

The smuggler's party advanced in cringing dread, with Kate in the center.

Her stare locked on the warrior duke as he sauntered closer.  She searched in vain for any sign of softness in the man, instead, a capacity for ruthless force emanated from him.  He was hard and dark and dangerous, intimidation incarnate.

It was clear he had just arrived, his wild, windblown mane of thick sable hair tied back in a queue. She studied him, wide-eyed.  The dark knotted cloth around his neck was nothing so formal as a cravat. His loose white shirt hung open a bit at the neck, disappearing into a black waistcoat that hugged his lean, sculpted torso.

Rain and sleet still dotted his black riding breeches, while the reddish firelight gleamed on the blade that he wielded so idly as he advanced, as though he'd been born with it in his hand.

Heart pounding, Kate could not take her eyes off him.

He appeared to be in his midthirties; she scanned his square, rugged face as he drew closer. He had thick, dark eyebrows with a scar above the left like the mark of a thunderbolt. His skin was unfashionably bronzed, as though he had spent years in sunnier climes. His nose was broad but straight, the grim set of his hard mouth bracketed by lines.

His eyes were terrifying.

Steeley in color and expression, they were narrowed with suspicion, their depths gleaming with a banked fury that she realized was waiting to unleash on the smugglers -  and might take out on her, as well, before the night was through.

Dear God, he could kill her easily, she understood at once. The man was huge, nearly six and a half feet tall, with arms of iron, and shoulders like the Cornish cliffs. He looked stong enough to lift a horse, while she only came up to the center of his massive chest.

No wonder the smugglers were terrified of him, despite Caleb's claim to the contrary back at the village.  Warrington had the imposing physique of a conqueror, and all the worldly power of the aristocracy's highest rank, save the royal family.

She tried to back away as the duke stalked closer, running a bold stare over the length of her.

"What's this?" he growled softly at Doyle, nodding at her. She reacted instinctively to his notice, pulling against her captors' hold in panic. She tried to run.

They stopped her.   [to be continued]

I fear you'll have to get your own copy of MY DANGEROUS DUKE by Gaelen Foley to find out what happens to poor Kate in the hands of the Beast.  Don't forget to get the others in the Inferno Club series including the fourth - MY RUTHLESS PRINCE - coming in December!

Happy Reading Everyone and Happy Birthday Gaelen!!!

                                  

Unwrapping: Secrets, Mysteries, and Spies - Oh My!

Do you love a good who-done-it? How about secret societies? Or secret agents? Well, then Regency Romance Novels might be just the reading genre for you.

Yes, Regency Romance is filled with elegant ladies and fine gentlemen, balls and proper etiquette but Regency Romance can also feed your desire for adventure, secrets and best of all - DANGER!

Imagine a castle along the coast that some believe is haunted. There are dark passageways and secret rooms. It's said the ghost of a lady haunts the many rooms and there's supposedly a curse on the entire line of succession to the Dukedom. Come on, you can't tell me that you're not a little interested. 

Well, a lot of Regency Romance Novels take the reader through many a landscape. The hero might be an agent of the King or a spy seeking information to thwart an impending attack by a foreign enemy. The heroine may be the key to a secret that would answer a question that's plagued many for far too long.

It's not all just parties and social graces or coming to the rescue of young ladies caught in the rain who stumble, fall and twist an ankle. It's more than that, much more. It's heroes who excel in martial arts, fisticuffs and weaponry.  It's about fighting off bullies and bad guys who desire to do great harm to the hero and heroine. It's about revenge or money but then most evil deeds have their basis in money, don't they? 

Reading Romance, perhaps you'll meet soldiers of fortune or agents of the King who live on the edge and must choose that life or one with someone they love. Perhaps you'll meet sea captains who sail to foreign countries only to return to find the one they love in the arms of an enemy.  Perhaps you'll become enbroiled in the secrets of Men's Clubs which are actually secret societies whose members are sworn to secrecy and bound to protect the interests of the crown even if it costs them the ultimate price - their lives.

I say, never a dull moment with some Regency Novels and why not? Look at the history of the time. The British were constantly warring with France. There were agents of the French infilitrating the British government and military so in return, the British sent their own spies to France in order to keep up. The Americans were still a thorn in the side of the British government and then there were always problems with the Irish and Scots. So much intrigue, so much unrest, it's no wonder that a sinister exploit was uncovered around nearly every corner.

I hope you'll come back Wednesday when we'll meet a hero who can boast secrets, mysteries and is a spy to boot ... not only that but he's a Duke.

Curiosity has me wondering:  if you were the heroine of a Romance Novel, which would you prefer:
- a stay at home lord who allows his bookkeepers to manage his estate while he leads a life of leisure,
- a military man who is always running off to fight some battle or sail the seas but comes back ready to be with only you,
- a man of action like an agent of the King whose life is always in danger,
- or would you prefer a gentleman who doesn't take his title too seriously but runs his businesses with intelligence and finesse but nevers walks away from a good fight,

- then would you rather live in a lovely peaceful estate in the country or an ancient castle with secret passages and history along the coast or on the moors? 

Please visit on Wednesday when we meet the hero of MY DANGEROUS DUKE by Gaelen Foley. This story has one of the best first lines: 

She was to be given to him as a gift--a plaything for some powerful, dark stranger.

Happy Reading Everyone!

                                             

Unwrapping: Veterans Day - Thank You!

To all the Veterans and their families - thank you so very much for your service, your sacrifices and your outstanding loyalty to the Red, White and Blue!

As the daughter of a Veteran, I have a deep appreciation for all that our military do so that we may reserve our freedom and the rights provided us by our government. I'm glad a day is set aside to pay tribute to all of the Veterans of this proud country but personally, I believe every day should be Veterans Day. So the next time you see an active duty military personnel or an older person wearing any kind of military insignia, please do something nice for them like hold a door open, let them step in front of you in line or just smile and say 'thank you' ... it will be so greatly appreciated.

As Romance readers, we love our heroes in or out of uniform ... partial to a military man out of uniform, if you know what I mean.  Romance Novels abound with heroes and although Regency centers around English heroes, Americans have their share of historical heroes beginning with those that fought for our freedom from the Brits in the first place.  Our proud country has a long history of men and women willing to sacrifice everything for our freedom beginning with the first Marines, the Minutemen and the civilian colonists that took up arms against the British tyranny suffocating our society, economy and right to free speech. The uniforms may have changed over the past two hundred and thirty-six years but the cry for freedom and the willingness to defend it hasn't changed one bit. Our United States Marine Corps is celebrating its birthday this month, actually yesterday (November 10) and next year we will celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the start of the War of 1812.  A war that our young country fought to preserve the freedom that had just been won less than 35 years earlier. We lost 2,260 American soldiers, marines and sailors both on land and on the ocean fighting a war against Great Britain and their North American colonists - our neighbors to the north, the Canadians - but we persevered and maintained an unbreakable hold on our freedom that still thrives today.  That's a very long history, my friends.  By the way - Happy Birthday Marines, semper fi.

I love Regency Romance but I have often wondered why it is that we only focus on the British scene for our romance stories. Why don't we have more stories of the era involving Americans both as heroes and heroines? One author, who is one of my personal favorites, has been for years creating stories that do blend the societies and it makes for some very enjoyable reading. The author - Johanna Lindsey, the series - the Malory Novels ... we have heroes and heroines from both sides of the pond meeting, falling in love, fighting each other and others who get in their way. The Malory-Anderson family is a mixed bag of ladies and gentlemen who bring the best of two worlds together and give honor to the steadfast loyalty that each side of the family, whether Malory or Anderson, have for their kin and their countries.  Since this is more a tribute to our American Veterans and a thank you for their sacrifices, I'm not going to discuss literature more than just that at this time. If you're interested in Ms. Lindsey's Malory series or any of her other works, please feel free to visit her publishers website. I will include a list of her Malory novels at the end of this post.

In the meantime, may all our brave Veterans, including my father who is a Veteran of both WWII and Korea, have a good day every day and may your families be proud for you are each our greatest heroes and shall always be remembered for all that you have allowed us to take for granted. Our greatest thanks and gratitude this day and always.

Happy Veterans Day and Happy Reading Everyone!

Unwrapping: Regency Romance - The Beginning

19th Century England - Regency Romance conjures up images of ladies and gentlemen in fine clothes strolling the streets or attending a ball, all good manners and propriety. As Jane Austen potrayed it, the men would have been properly attired, displayed impeccable decorum around the ladies and the ladies would also have been properly attired with gloves at all times and displayed proper manners in regards to the gentlemen neither desiring nor ignoring their attention.
And so goes the way of the ton - which comes from the French term, le bon ton - pronounced more like tone than ton as in the measurement. The phrase le bon ton, meaning good manners or "in the fashionable mode" were characteristics held as ideal by the British ton. The ton dictated all that was acceptable in regards to fashion, etiquette, manners, social customs and nearly every aspect of social life among the aristocracy of 19th Century England including the monarchy.

A young lady would have been presented to society, usually at a ball, and only danced with respectable gentlemen who had been approved by her parents or guardian. She would have worn white in proper manner and gloves so that she never touched the skin of any gentleman to whom she was introduced or partnered with for a dance. Such were the rules of social interaction between single men and women under the watchful eye of the ton. 

Jane Austen was without a doubt the inspiration for all Regency Romance Novels written today for hers were the first and foremost in Romantic Literature stemming from the 19th Century. She lived that world and wrote about it. She created characters like the Bennett sisters as well as other strong female characters with whom every female reader could relate on some level and gentlemen like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Wickham with whom every male reader could reflect upon to emulate or despise.

As we journey through the world of Regency Romance Novels, we will be reminded of the works of Jane Austen even though the writing is very modern in comparison. Today's Regency Romance writers give over to the audience yet take into consideration the landscape of the story. After considerable research and reading of their own, these wonderful and talented writers have created an environment that feels like Regency England.  The dialogue retains the sound of the era. The description of the clothing, the surroundings and in many cases, even what's served for dinner all lend to transporting the reader back to a time of elegance and societal reserve just as it was in Jane's time.

If you haven't read Regency Romance but are a fan of history, period piece movies, or just good stories, I hope you'll stay with us over the next month as we explore the elegant, well-mannered, yet under the surface steamy, world of Regency Romance Novels. I promise, in addition to beautiful romance stories, you'll also meet spies, rakes and men you'll find yourself imagining in your daydreams. Oh, fellas, if you're willing to take a ride with us, you'll meet some sword wielding, gambling, always ready for a fist fight kind of guys who might make you rethink the genre as well.  There are even some comedic moments that will have you laughing out loud.

Join us next time when we meet one of those Regency Romance writers who will have you rushing to upload or rushing to your bookstore to get a copy or two.  In the meantime, I'm wondering which of Jane Austen's works is your favorite?

I love all of Jane's works and even though PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is one of my favorites as I'm sure it is for most of us as we all wish to be as outspoken as Lizzie Bennett - I have a special place in my literary heart for EMMA. Perhaps because it was Jane's last completed work or because I seem to relate to her the most of all of Jane's ladies.

Emma was convinced that she had no real need for a man in her life for as she put it, "never, never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's." After meddling in others' love lives, she found love in the most unexpected place, right at her side. When she was looking least to fall in love, she realized that she had already fallen in love with the man most suited for her, her best friend and the one whose opinion she regard most highly.  "She saw that there never had been a time when she did not consider Mr. Knightley as infinitely the superior, or when his regard for her had not been infinitely the most dear."

So which of Jane's Austen's works is your favorite? I hope you'll share your choice and reason with us - if not for us then for Emma ... I'm sure she would be delightfully amused.

Happy Reading Everyone!