Novella

Navarre, a piccolo player, whose talent leaves Harmony breathless. As Harmony spends time with David, she falls under his spell. He is everything she ever dreamed of in a suitor. He understands her and her passion for music. Soon she experiences passion of another kind, but reality interferes when she learns distressing news about her family. Furthermore, David refuses to discuss his family, leaving Harmony in despair. Can Christmas work its magic and bring these two young lovers together again?

“Eleven Pipers Piping” is a heartwarming holiday tale of love and romance that will charm readers! This novella is the second entry in the Twelve Days of Christmas series set around the Fitzroy family. Harmony Fitzroy is a pianist who comes from a close loving family where her musical talent has been allowed to develop. Harmony is quite shy and seems immature and too young at the start of the book, making it hard to get behind her as a heroine. David might be a few years older, but his secretiveness about his family is never satisfactorily explained. He shows no real growth by the end of the story. Music lovers will enjoy the musical details that are sprinkled throughout the story. “Eleven Pipers Piping” captures the holiday spirit with love, laughter, and romance!

Tricia Hill

Nine Ladies Dancing (The Twelve Days of Christmas Book 4)

Emily E. K. Murdoch

HISTORICAL: Taking a chance at unrequited love? Olivia Fitzroy is the eldest of twelve female Fitzroy cousins. When nearly the entire Fitzroy family descends upon the family home in Chalcroft for Christmas, the house is Oilled with boisterous noise and joyful reunions. Olivia is thankful that it is an all-family affair, except for one “interloper.” Olivia has a crush on her childhood friend, the new Lord Luke Kingsley, whose late father was her father’s best friend. That she believes her attraction is one-sided on her part makes his presence at the Christmas gathering unbearable. She hasn’t seen him since Easter. Surely if he returned her interest, he would have visited sooner! Olivia is so vexed by his presence that she puts up barriers in self defense, but she fears that her family, and perhaps Luke, can see through her feigned indifference.

Emily Murdoch’s charming holiday-themed romance authentically captures all the twinges and Olutters of uncertain love. Every Olush of self-doubt, each stolen glance of longing, and all the defensive snubs on Olivia’s part, are minutely documented to allow the reader to experience that fresh terror of falling in love with one who appears unaffected. Yet Luke is not unaffected at all, as he relentlessly pursues Olivia throughout the Chalcroft household, in a predatory cat and mouse game that is as amusing as it is titillating. Miscommunication and jumping to unfounded conclusions continue to plague their relationship even once their feelings are revealed to each other, resulting in a pairing that is both parts lustful and tentative. This is certainly a stimulating addition to the Fitzroy family saga!

Joan Lai

Ten Lords a Leaping (The Twelve Days of Christmas Book 3)

Emily E. K. Murdoch

HISTORICAL: Dr. Stuart

Walsingham has been courting Miss Caroline Fitzroy, stepdaughter of a wealthy and well-connected gentleman, for the better part of a year and has Oinally mustered up the courage to ask for her hand. The charming young doctor who has risen from poverty will need to work very hard to maintain Miss Fitzroy in her comfortable lifestyle. That doesn’t matter to Caroline, however. She is deeply in love with Stuart. They can hardly keep their hands to themselves, and their courtship has been getting very steamy. On the night of the glorious engagement party thrown by Caroline’s Papa, a mysterious gentleman who was dancing with Stuart’s mother collapses and dies! When the stranger’s identity is revealed, Stuart discovers belatedly that he had an uncle – and now has a peerage. Stuart has become the new Earl of Cheshire!

Politics and privilege interfere with matters of the heart in this short English historical romance. The new engagement becomes uncertain once Stuart’s station is raised multifold levels above Caroline’s! The earldom confers not only status and inOluence, but Oinancial burden and social responsibility. Caroline may be supportive of Stuart’s new title, but his mother is outspoken in her desire for Stuart to marry someone who could bring more monetary stability to Cheshire. Stuart is torn, and Caroline is heartbroken. What is the solution to the lovers’ dilemma? In this straightforward conOlict between love and duty, the reader’s anguish on behalf of Caroline’s apparent reversal of fortune is abruptly mended by some shifts in luck and conscience. Perfect for fans of a happy ending!

Joan Lai

romance will love this offering, and it’s a great way to kill an hour or so. The tension between the characters is intense, and there is searing heat between them.

“Twelve Drummers Drumming” is a great start to the series, and it will be exciting to read the other books to come. Download this to the e-reader and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea or favorite beverage.

Twelve Drummers

Drumming (The Twelve Days of Christmas Book 1)

Emily E. K. Murdoch

Captain Hugh Rotherham has come home from war, but he is nothing remotely like the man he was before he left. He is thrown when he sees Jemima Fitzroy, who is helping veterans returning from the war. Jemima is part of a family who don’t understand her and she puts her focus into her work with veterans. What neither of them expects is for their feelings to grow and become something more. Hugh wants to make sure that Jemima’s reputation remains intact, but it becomes increasingly difOicult when his passion for her becomes almost too much to bear. Jemima also has to be careful what her family Oinds out, because if they Oind out she has been seeing a man unchaperoned, she will Oind herself in a perilous situation.

Emily EK Murdoch has written a great little novella that can be read in one sitting. Jemima and Hugh are great characters that have a lot going on in their lives. Readers will be able to relate to them and enjoy going on the journey as they Oind love for one another. Fans of historical

Lynn-Alexandria McKendrick

Miss Windermere Woos a Highlander - Windermeres in Love, Book 3

SoOie Darling

Lady Juliet Windermere, orphaned as a toddler, grows up amongst her many Dalhousie cousins, forming a special bond with her outgoing and dramatic cousin, Delilah. Spending a summer in Italy, she also forms a secret infatuation with their Scottish neighbor, Highlander Lord Rory Macbeth, Viscount Kilmuir. Sadly, his spurned proposal to her cousin puts a damper on her feelings. Although his suit was declined, everyone assumes he still carries a torch and plans to continue his pursuit. Thinking to purge her infatuation, Juliet offers to