Her Christmas Earl: A Regency Novella by Anna CampbellMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Ugh. I hate to give an Anna Campbell book less than four stars. I think I was just underwhelmed. I mean, this is like one of my fave themes, spinster and rogue. But I didn't get as involved emotionally with this story. It's a pretty good short Christmas romance, that I expected to like this more than I did. Don't get me wrong. Erskine has had a thing for Phillipa since they first met, intrigued by this quiet wallflower. Phillipa looks down her nose at Erskine because he's a notorious rake. Apparently her sister wrote a steamy letter to him, and Phillipa enters the tiger's lair to get it back, but ends up locked in a cupboard with him, leading to a compromising position. Marriage is required, and Erskine is actually looking forward to it. That sounds pretty scrumptious. But it didn't come off as well as I expected.
I think I wasn't in the mood for such a self-deprecating heroine. She wouldn't believe that Erskine was into her! While I can understand the reasons for her low self-esteem, I wish she had made the most of having such a sexy hubby who couldn't get enough of her instead of being so 'woe is me'. That brings me to another area that I was disappointed. Usually Campbell rocks the love scenes. These weren't quite as sizzling as she typically manages. Maybe I just wasn't feeling it when I read this.
I admit it might be my mood right now. I'm still grieving and adjusting to things right now, so that does impact you when you are trying to focus on a book. I will try to read this again when I'm in more of receptive mood. I definitely don't want to miss out on Erskine's reformed rake sexiness.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
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