Challenge Corner discussion

Twelve novellas from your favorite historical romance authors featuring never-before-published steamy holiday stories. Don’t miss this limited time collection—on sale only from November 1-December 31, 2022.

The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner by Amy Rose Bennett

When a bah-humbug duke is invited to Christmas dinner by his widowed neighbor, the sweet-as-a-sugarplum daughter of his former estate steward, his initial reaction is to say no...until he recalls their long-ago first kiss beneath the mistletoe...

Mrs. Peabody and the Unexpected Duke by Grace Callaway

When former lovers Hawker and Mrs. Peabody are paired on a spy mission over the holidays, they uncover the deepest secret of all: the truth of their own hearts.

Yule Be My Duke by Darcy Burke

When enemies John and Cecilia are trapped alone in a cottage during a snowstorm, they know marriage will be imminent, but can they become lovers by morning?

The Frosty Duke by Lila DiPasqua

When a socially awkward mathematician spinster seeks to enlist the aid of a handsome, skillful rake—things may not go to plan.

Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman

When Caro Montgomery is shipwrecked with her brother’s infuriatingly attractive best friend, Max Cavendish, their survival depends on working together. But will their island prove to be a tropical paradise. . . or pure hell?

Her Duke at Midnight by Christy Carlyle

When a young widow and an infamous duke meet at a country house party during the holiday season, the attraction that sparks between them takes them both by surprise.

Her Duke With Benefits by Jess Michaels

After confusion and a storm trap old friends Leo and Alice together for the holidays, long hidden desires and feelings come to the surface. But if the duke offers his heart before their time together is over, will she take that gift?

The Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman

When a young duchess asks her estranged husband to pretend they're happy during a Christmastide house party to fulfill her grandfather's dying wish of seeing the entire family together at the holidays, the duke agrees...with one condition: he wants an heir.

Audacious by Minerva Spencer

Antonia Redvers has been completely and madly in love with the infamous privateer Captain Lucas "O Duque" Cruz, her father's best friend, since she was a girl. This Christmas, Toni is done waiting—she's finally going to get her duke...

My Duchess, My Wife by Sasha Cottman

With a castle full of relatives at Christmas, a Scottish duke comes up with more than one naughty way to distract his wife.

Undressing the Duke by Erica Ridley

When the Duke of Southbury informs his charming French valet of his impending dismissal, Vachon has only a fortnight to convince the duke to change his mind… and take a chance on love!

Right Place, Wrong Duke by Elisa Braden

Widow Lucie Carmichael is not about to let the Duke of Dingwall evict her family from their ancestral home, even if that means engaging in a little abduction.

The duke who came to christmas dinner
(view spoiler)[I was not a fan of this story. Anna’s beahviour bordered crude for me in this one and I just couldn’t like Thomas and Anna together no matter how much I tried. It also seemed like they were driven by lust rather than love and it just didn’t have the magical holiday feel to it at all. (hide spoiler)]

Mrs. Peabody and the unexpected duke
(view spoiler)[This brought me the much needed holiday cheer. Hawker and Peabody were two badass characters and I loved that Pearl was an equal partner to him in every way rather than taking a backseat. And the parcel from Lady Fayne was such a sweet surprise as well. (hide spoiler)]

Yule be my duke
(view spoiler)[Oooh this one was steamy. I liked the mix of closed proximity and enemies to lovers trope. Cecelia and John were well suited to each other and their shared history made it even more fun to indulge in their romance. The smut in this one was absolutely sizzling hot. (hide spoiler)]

The frosty duke
(view spoiler)[The plot of this novella was honestly quite different and refreshing. I liked Ella’s straightforward nature and Lewis’ no nonsense approach. Also, Ella being such a distinguished mathematician was a nice touch to the character imo (hide spoiler)]

Desert island duke
(view spoiler)[This novella was so fun! I enjoyed Caro’s michievious streak way too much and the way Max just played along with her was very sweet. I liked that they were away from people and spent such an awesome time with each other and developed a genuine connection. A heartwarming read. (hide spoiler)]

Her duke at midnight
(view spoiler)[This novella didn’t really do it for me as Adam and Cecily falling in love within such a short amount of time was as unconvincing as ever. I couldn’t sense anything apart from lust between them and even the ending wasn’t swoonworthy at all. (hide spoiler)]

Her duke with benefits
(view spoiler)[I liked that Leo and Alice were familiar with each other from the past so them developing stronger feelings towards each other did not come as a total surprise and the decision to not marry immediately made me happy as well. Plus Alice proposing Leo instead of the other way round was very refreshing. (hide spoiler)]

The duke deal
(view spoiler)[This one was loooong but very entertaining. Veronica was mostly annoying though with her refusal to listen to Sebastian all the time i mean the girl spent 2 years estranged simply because of a misunderstanding. I am not sure I’d have had the patience for it myself. The way Justin puts her in place though was awesome and her family was all very sweet tbh. (hide spoiler)]

Audacious
(view spoiler)[Ugh i am not proud to admit that I mostly skimmed through this one, age gap romance isn’t really something I adore and that too this huge of an age gap. It was just all kinds of uncomfortable and audacious for sure. Not the kind of novella I was hoping to be a part of this anthology. (hide spoiler)]

My duchess, my wife
(view spoiler)[I am somewhat hot and cold about this story. I must say it was a good effort to a different take on historical romance with an elderly couple but there was a bit too much of family drama for me to really enjoy their romance. So many family members to keep track of in a novella is a kind of a headache. (hide spoiler)]

Undressing the duke
(view spoiler)[An LGBT historical romance story! Can’t say I have come across any of those so far in my reading and it was a pleasant surprise. Donovan and Geoffrey fit so well together and the sexual tension between them was palpable. I greatly enjoyed all their escapades together and the ending was just everything I needed from this novella. (hide spoiler)]

Right place, wrong duke
(view spoiler)[This novella was way too crude for my liking plus Lucie’s Scottish accent was just not it. I did not like Lucie and Silas at all and the whole idea of romance between them was absurd. Insta love at it’s finest so if that’s your thing, one might surely enjoy the smut. I however was mostly bored through it all. (hide spoiler)]

I'm going to start this one in the next few days now that I finished the Kate Bateman series that goes with it.

I'm still reading this one, just very slowly because it's so long.

The Duke Who Came to Christmas Dinner

(view spoiler)[Well that one was just awful. I really hope the rest of the books are better than this one because it was awful. Did I say it was awful yet? I didn't like Thomas or Anna at all and the entire story was pretty boring. (hide spoiler)]

Still reading this one. Slowly.