Mistletoe Kisses - Anthology

A Soldier's Tale by Elizabeth Rolls

Dominic, Viscount Alderley's family are looking to him to marry an heiress, but only his downtrodden, compassionate cousin Pippa seems able to ignore his scars….

A Winter Night's Tale by Deborah Hale
This year's festivities for Christabel and her young son will be sparse and cold--or so she thinks. When the man she'd loved and lost returns, offering her warmth, comfort and a true family Christmas, she can't resist!

A Twelfth Night Tale by Diane Gaston
One impulsive night of love changed Elizabeth's life forever. Now, ten years later, Elizabeth and Zachary meet again. Will their second Twelfth Night together see their happiness reborn?

It was my first read by Elizabeth Rolls and I really liked the story. It was simple but sweet and romantic as the two cousins fall in love. Dominic returns home from the war scarred, to find the heiress he is expected to marry waiting for him. Pippa has been living with the family almost as an unpaid companion since her dowry was lost in bad investments. She is the one he talks with the most and the only one who seems to understand him. It will take a bit of persuasion to convince her in the end though. Grade: 4/5

Deborah Hale's was my least favourite story although it wasn't bad. The heroine in this story has jilted the hero a few years before and married another. She is now a widow with a son and is completely destitute. Her salvation comes because the hero shows up at her doostep and, after she faints, takes her home to be seen by a doctor an spend the holidays. She recovers from her illness and they spend the holidays together with her son and his senile aunt and rediscover love. Grade: 3/5

Diane Gaston's was the most emotional story and my favourite too. The h/h met as a young couple, fell in love and shared a night of passion. After which the hero departed for the war and the heroine found herself pregnant and later lost the child.
They are both scarred by these past events when they meet again. Elizabeth, a governess, is returning home with her pregnant charge. Zachary feels compelled to offer for her given their previous history and Elizabeth decides to accept as she feels responsible for the new mother and her baby. I really liked the way they rediscovered each other The conflict that happens at the end due to a mercenary mother and her daughter was unnecessary from my pov as I was more interested in the characters's internal conflicts. Grade: 4.5/5

Anthology grade: 4/5