Ellie St. Clair

A Match Made At Christmas by Elle St. Clair was a very bland historical romance set over the Festive Season. The setting of a Christmas party at a country manor was exactly what I was looking for, but the plot was rather tiresome as two mothers decide to throw their son and daughter together in the hopes of matrimony. The son was in disgrace and hadn’t been home in 10 years, but this part of the story I found difficult to believe, as all was cleared up very quickly by simply listening to one another – so why hadn’t this been done at some point in the last 10 years.

The romance was okay and progressed nicely. While the main characters exchanged a few passionate kisses, overall it wasn’t too steamy. But suddenly toward the end of the book, the couple suddenly decided to disregard the rules of society and went at it in the library. This chapter felt very much like an addition to the story, as if the editors told the author to put some steam in it and it didn’t feel like it belonged to the rest of the story.

I did enjoy Spirit, the lively dog who helped bring the couple together. A Match Made At Christmas was pretty much as the cover depicts. No surprises, but a romance set at Christmas with all the trimmings including meddling mothers, misunderstandings and mistletoe.… (plus d'informations)

Maybe it’s my mood today, but I was a bit disappointed that this didn’t really cater to any of my favorite tropes. I thought it would feature a plain, plump heroine, but apparently her father is just kind of a jerk and told her she’s unattractive when she’s actually pretty. There was a pretty nice setup for some angst, but I couldn’t help but feel that the hero was rather an idiot, and the heroine's Mary-Sue-ness kind of grated. The groveling/ending was to saccharine for my tastes. Well, at least it had an interesting plot and some sex.… (plus d'informations)

I did like this, but was really disappointed that the heroine was gorgeous, I would have preferred her to still be plain and plump and in spectacles. I’m generally not a fan of class disparities (in romance or in the world), but it added a bit of angst to the tale so it didn’t bother me overmuch. I really liked Eli, and Joanna too, as well as the side characters (though I would have preferred Cecily to have gotten more of a comeuppance, and Alex as well). Overall, had a nice dash of angst, and some nice Misunderstandings. It’s pretty saccharine, but surprisingly steamy in spots.… (plus d'informations)