Customer Reviews

The Mistletoe Wager (Harlequin Historical)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Part way through Mistletoe Wager I thought--this story has 2 H&Hs ! And it does. Both equally strong, intrigue-ly woven to make one strong and intriquing story. I know--reduntant, I'm not good with words. Chris is [again] pushing the envelope of conventional Regency

After five years of marriage, Harry's wife Elise left him. She fled to London and the arms of Nick Tremaine, her former suitor before her marriage to Harry, the Earl of Anneslea. Two months have passed and Elise wants a divorce, but Harry is desperate to get her back and devises a plan to win her. It is well known that Nick hates Christmas. It is now Christmastime and Harry invites Nick to his country house party for festivities. He wagers Nick that he can get him to enjoy the season so much that by the end of the party Nick will wish him a Merry Christmas; if he does not, then Harry will agree to a divorce. Harry knows full well that Elise will insist on coming along too...which she does. Elise secretly wishes that Harry had come for her in London instead of leaving her to stew. Now she is determined to show him that she has moved on with another. Harry meanwhile believes that when he and his rival are compared side by side during Elise's favorite holiday, Nick will show poorly indeed and Elise will come running back to him.

Nick is no dope. He suspects the worst is in store for him. But he believes Elise still cares for her husband, and he is willing to be Harry's victim if it will facilitate a reunion. What Nick does not count on as he arrives at Harry's party, is that the hostess, Harry's half-sister whom Nick never before heard mentioned, is none other than Rosalind Morley. Rosalind with whom one reckless evening five years ago changed the course of Nick's life. Needless to say, almost nothing works out as originally planned, but the course of true love never does run smooth...

What an immensely charming cast of characters! I loved this book from beginning to end. It is really two interconnected love stories - both of which are wonderfully crafted. One couple has been together for years, yet there is so much still to learn. The other met but once before and yet may know all they need to. Misunderstandings and missed opportunities abound as the players bob and weave their way through round after round of verbal assault, as well as some very near body-blows and some even nearer clinches. Yet beneath the fun and fast-paced dialogue is an emotional tangle years in the making...and unraveling moment by moment. The epiphany is divine - smart and sweet and very romantic. This book is a treasure.

the story should have been about nick and rosalind. i loved both of them. the main heroine was faithless. she did not know what she wanted. she did not deserve a husband like harry. she was emotionally unfaithful. she seemed nothing wrong with kissing another man. i wonder what she would have done if harry brought another woman in the house and started kissing. harry was too forgiving. harry and nick should have left her to fend for herself. woman like her gives wives a bad name.

I found this book's plot to be convoluted. Obfuscatory, protracted passages of conversation slowed the story, which could have been told in far fewer pages. The scenes describing the celebrations of Christmas were perfunctory and seemed to be included only as a vehicle to present the story. I would have enjoyed more seasonal enhancements.