Father Christmas and Christmas Wishes (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: First off, I must say that I am a fan of Ms. Metzger's and looked forward to the double read. But disappointments abound. In "Father Christmas," the book did not make any sense from the get go. The Duke of Ware needs an heir so he decides he must marry yet again (will be marriage no. 3) He says that if he dies without issue, estates, etc. will fall to the crown since his heir, his cousin, is dead in the war. But...since the Duke was at his cousins wedding and knows said cousin had twin boys, well, would they not be his heir? Since this is true, his said need to marry to make sure the estates do not go to the crown is illogical and this is a very bothersom detail as it goes to the heart and beginning of the story. We all know the next part, when he meets the widow and falls for her and the boys. Okay - but then she protects her sister and takes on her sister's bastard girl and lets the Duke this it is hers...Why? Why would anyone want to be thought less of what they are? But a huge problem in this story is the end. If ever a story needed to tie up ends, it was this one so an epilogue would have been great. Fast foward to a) birth of the Duke's own child or b) the day he officials bestows the title of Viscount upon the oldest twin. Why leave the reader wondering?

"Christmas Wishes" fault lies in that too much of the story revolves around St. Cloud looking for Juneclaire. A romance novel needs romance and if they are rarely in the same room, well, how can it develop? I am also one of those readers who found the pig silly after a while.



Rating:
Summary: The pig was the best part of the second story!
Review: I enjoyed the reader from Ohio's review a great deal, and I agreed with many of the assessments it contained. The only comment with which I disagreed was the one about the pig; Juneclaire's pet pig was the best part of the second story, and I actually thought it was a sweet element. Metzger's descriptions of the pig made me laugh so hard a couple of times that my eyes watered! When a Regency book can do that for me, I consider myself well entertained. The pig was my favorite character, and it doesn't strike me as a bad sign. I read romances to escape and be entertained, and I was able to do that with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not Metzger's Best...
Review: In "Father Christmas," the Duke of Ware needs an heir. However, he has been married twice, and he has no desire to find wife number three. At his worst, he decides to appeal to his cousin's widow. Ware wants to raise one of her twin boys as his own... but not if she has anything to say about it! Graceanne cannot believe the duke's insolence, and she gives him quite a reprimand. As she gets to know him, she realizes he might not be so awful as she originally thought.

I didn't really care for the book, which is a shame, because I am a big Metzger fan. It was lacking the sort of wit Barbara Metzger has perfected over the years. Actually, I didn't care for Ware. He was either rude or bland--or both. Not to mention, the pacing was a bit tedious. 2 1/2 stars.

I enjoyed the second book, "Christmas Wishes" a bit more. When the rakish Lord St. Cloud runs into Juneclaire, he has been robbed by highwaymen, and she is running away from home. They travel together to London, and he finds himself attracted to the young girl... though he would never seduce an innocent. When they spend a night in the stables together, he wants to do what is right by the girl... but she flees. St. Cloud is determined to find her.

This is a 3-star book, a little less refined (you are NOT on the shelf at 19!) than "Father Christmas," but a little more interesting. One of my biggest pet peeves in romance novels is when the hero and heroine don't interact for a large portion of the book. That happens here. I thought Juneclaire and St. Cloud were using pet names WAY too soon--which, in the Regency time period, would have been outrageous. And it's never a good sign when the pig is your favorite character.

Still, the books are pleasant enough. They hardly deal with Christmas, though, as Christmas is just a side note in each book. However, I'm still a very big Metzger fan, especially of her recent work. I really liked her story in "Regency Christmas Magic." Metzger is a pro at light and witty, like she is in "Primrose Path" and "Snowdrops and Scandalbroth." If those two novels were paired for a re-release, I would do cartwheels for it.