With This Christmas Ring Book Review

A wallflower determined to fulfill a dying promise, the rogue she jilted years ago, and an orphaned baby are all brought together amidst the magic of Christmas in this new novella from Manda Collins, With This Christmas Ring.

About With This Christmas Ring

Miss Merry Parks makes a deathbed promise to a school friend that her infant daughter will be taken to her absent father. There’s only one problem—to find the baby’s father, she’ll have to consult his cousin, Viscount Wrotham, the man she jilted five years ago. The man she couldn’t forget.

Alex Ponsonby, Viscount Wrotham, is stunned to find Merry Parks—looking more lovely than ever–on his doorstep with an infant in her arms. His shock soon turns to dismay when he learns his own cousin William is the man who abandoned his wife and child. As head of the family he’s duty bound to see right is done. But he can’t let this opportunity pass. He’ll take Merry and the baby to his cousin, but he’ll woo her back in the process.

Merry agrees to travel with Alex and the baby to Wrotham Castle, where the entire Ponsonby family has gathered for Christmas, but her plans to see the baby settled then leave are ruined by a snowstorm. After five years apart, Alex and Merry will spend the week getting re-acquainted. Perhaps it’s the spirit of the holiday, or the magic of the season, but there could be something else in the air this Yuletide…A Christmas Reunion.

My Thoughts

This was an excellent historical romance novella with an exciting (yet different for this time period) plot. In this novel, we have a couple who were previously engaged but Merry had broken off their engagement without any rhyme or reason. To escape everything, Alex went overseas and in the process found his birth Mother and learned quite a bit of information about his family, his abusive Father and Grandmother.

He never expects to see Merry again so you can imagine his shock when she shows up at his door! Especially when she comes bearing an infant. We find out that his cousin had fathered a child and then left mother and child alone in the world. Together they travel to his family home (well a castle really!) to ensure that his cousin does the right thing by the child.

Quite quickly the sparks start to fly! The author is able to pack a lot in this novel and I expect it is because of the previous history this couple has shared. As they begin to get to know each other all over again, we find out the true reason that Merry had left. It leaves you feeling angry and resentful at his Grandmother. Then the plot begins to unfold even more and you understand her true motives.

This was a sweet story of lost love, hope and forgiveness. A great holiday time period romance!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and SMP Romance.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Manda Collins is the author of the Studies in Scandal series, The Lords of Anarchy series, The Ugly Duckling series and the Wicked Widows series as well as several other Regency-set romances. She spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. When she’s not writing, she’s helping other people use books, as an academic librarian.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.