A Countryside Christmas

So, Lisa Kleypas (who was on here just a few days ago with Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor) is also an AMAZING historical fiction writer.  To be honest, I know more of her historical fiction books than I do of her modern-day books.  The Wallflower Series were some of my first forays into historical romance, and they continue to be favorites.  Then the Hathaway series builds off that, and now there's the Ravenel series which has actually reunited us with a few characters from the Wallflowers!  Each of these series will get their own day in the spotlight in the early months of next year, specifically the Ravenel books.  The fourth Ravenel book, Hello, Stranger, comes out on February 27, and I for one COULD NOT be more excited.  But back on task!

Much like yesterday's book, Secret Santa, Ms. Kleypas' A Wallflower Christmas lets us revisit characters that we've fallen in love with.  You don't need to have read the Wallflower series to enjoy the story.  Annabelle, Lillian, Evie and Daisy are coming together for Christmas at the country estate of Lillian's husband, the Earl of Westcliffe.  However, also coming is Rafe Bowman, the eldest brother of Lillian and Daisy and the heir to the Bowman fortune.  Rafe is coming because his parents have all but arranged his marriage to the perfectly proper Lady Natalie Blandford.  Needless to say, Lillian wants her brother to be as happy as she is, so she invites Lady Natalie's cousin and companion, Miss Hannah Applegate over for tea so that Lillian and the other Wallflowers can mine her for information.  It's here that Hannah meets Rafe, and there is something electric between them.  But Rafe knows what is expected of him.

And so we travel off to Stony Cross Park in Hampshire where the festivities continue.  Rafe courts Lady Natalie, as he is supposed to, but he's fascinated by Hannah.  Hannah is also quickly becoming friends with Annabelle, Evie, Lillian, and Daisy, when she finally arrives.  She's also falling for Rafe, and it's hard for her.  Lady Natalie doesn't love him, but she is okay with marrying him.  Rafe is in a difficult spot.  If he doesn't marry Lady Natalie, his father will cut him off.  If he does marry her, he won't get to have Natalie.

I liked looking back and seeing the characters of the Wallflower books again, and I liked meeting the new characters.  However, as a shorter book, Hannah and Rafe don't quite get as much character development as some of the other characters in Ms. Kleypas' longer books do.  It's a bit of a trade off, but I do like Hannah and Rafe, so I'm okay with it.  It's a good Christmas read.

And then there's Mr. Bowman's seriously awful toupee.  It gets an adventure or two of its own.  To find out how exactly it ended up in the Christmas tree, you'll need to read the book!