A Regency Christmas Carol

This heart-lifting volume collects the storytelling talents of some of Signet's most beloved Regency authors, all spinning tales with Christmas carols as a central part of the yarn. These talented ladies pack into less than one hundred pages each an emotional wallop that is rarely found in novellas--sure to please even readers who do not usually find the depth they hope for in anthologies.Mary Balogh starts us off with "The Bond Street Carolers" in which Lord Heath, who dislikes Christmas, stops in his tracks on Bond Street to hear a boy's angelic voice raised in song. Lord Heath decides that this young man must perform at his annual winter concert--but the boy's mother, Fanny Berlinton, does not want her son exploited. Little Katie Berlinton sees the tall man enjoying her brother's singing, and renews her wish for a Papa for Christmas. Even readers who do not normally care for children intruding on their romance will be enchanted by the parts these two take in this delighful story.In "The Earl's Nightengale" by Edith Layton, a young woman pawns a musical mechanical bird left to her by the grandmother she never met--a gift that her grandmother said would bring her happiness. When she goes back a week later, as promised, to pay the loan and reclaim her heirloom, it is gone. She catches up with the Earl of Elliott, who purchased it, because it is her only link with her grandmother, and because she and her mother could certainly use some happiness right now. Ms. Layton's Nightengale is a charming gift to her readers, topped with an extra-special bow of an ending.Next up is Elisabeth Fairchild with "The Mistletoe Kiss." On St. Thomas's Day, five days before Christmas, governess Constance Conyngham is convinced by her young charges to take them "a gooding"--but they did not expect to encounter Lord Deleval at The Devil's Keep, and everyone was even more surprised when he showed up the the bell-ringers' rehearsal. This is a heartening story of two wounded souls who can perhaps heal each other.In "Make a Joyful Noise" by Carla Kelly, Lord Wythe is charged by his mother to help recruit new choir members for the annual competition between the churches of the neighboring shires. One of his first requests is to Rosie Wetherby, but soon he is ent ranced by more than just her beautiful voice... and Ms. Kelly's readers are entranced as well with the relationship that blossoms.Anne Barbour concludes this collection with "Melody" in which American Josh Weston, now Earl of Sandbourne, meets his match in Melody Fairfax, companion to the dowager countess. We are emotionally involved from the beginning as we watch these two meet and quickly find a fearsome affinity towards each other. In a collection of masters of the Regency subgenre, Ms. Barbour shines as the star atop the tree.Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews