Book Review: A Holiday By Gaslight

Author: Mimi Matthews
Title: A Holiday By Gaslight
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Publish Date: Nov 13, 2018
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: A Courtship of Convenience

Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He’s grim and silent. A man of little emotion—or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she’s ready to put an end to things.

A Last Chance for Love

But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn’t as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there’s Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What’s a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there’ll be no false formality. This time they’ll get to know each other for who they really are.

Review: This is my Christmas in July read. I've had this book on my TBR since it came out. The end of 2018 was a bad time for me, so its been residing on my kindle waiting for me to decide to read it.

I've been struggling with books lately, and decided I needed a Christmas book to make me feel happy. Holiday romances have always been my thing. They always make me feel good, and this book did just what I needed it too, which was make me feel happy about reading again.

Sophie and Ned were a wonderful couple and their relationship was so sweet and it made me long for something like that in my life. They were an unconventional couple, forced together because Sophie's father spends money like it is going out of style.

Ned was going about the courtship all wrong and things were broken off and then Sophie took charge and suddenly love developed.

To see this relationship build because they acted like two people and not two romance novel characters made me love this book all the more. See these two people talked after their mishaps and they got to know each other and come to care for each other, the way "real" people do. They don't have sex and fall in love.

Ned was simply precious in trying to win her the way a Lord would, even though he's a man of the trade.

Sophie was a strong young woman that cared about her family and their problems, often putting them before herself.

It was so easy to love these two. Even Sophie's sister Emily who was a bit flighty and often selfish grew in the story.

The only character in this story you could't like is Sophie's father. Nothing he did endeared him to you and most of the time you wanted to smack him in the head.

It really was a wonderful little read with a whole lot of holiday spirit.

Rating: 5 flowers