Library Journal
This delectable trio of Regency novellas will add a dash of sugar and spice to any fan's holiday reading list. Cookies come to the fore as an impoverished vicar's daughter plans to keep a wealthy young nobleman from evicting four children and their guardian from his hunting lodge right before Christmas in Holden's delightful "Lord Nabob's Conversion." Debbie Raleigh's "The Elusive Bride" features an independent young woman determined to avoid being "sold" in marriage to pay off her father's gambling debts. Deciding to sell her jam cakes to earn the debt money instead, she ends up falling in love with the man she is trying so hard to avoid marrying. Finally, in Joy Reed's "Mince Pie and Mistletoe," a last-minute Christmas Eve shopping trip to buy lemons for the "lucky" mince pie and a golden guinea found in a gutter start a chain of kindness and generosity that ultimately leads to love for the young girl who first found the gold. Although varying in quality and style, each tale has a charm of its own, and most readers will find something that appeals. The recipes for chocolate jumbles, little jam cakes, and lemon mince pie are a lovely bonus. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.