Setting: North Yorkshire, 1825
Will a chance meeting on Christmas Eve…
Alicia Sinclair, Countess of Kinvarra, cannot believe that fate has been so cruel as to strand her on the snowy Yorkshire moors with her estranged husband as her only hope of rescue. During their rare encounters, the arrogant earl and his countess act like hostile strangers. Now that Alicia has fallen into Kinvarra’s power, will he seek revenge for her desertion? Or does the dark, passionate man she once adored have entirely different plans for his headstrong wife?
…deliver a second chance at love?
Sebastian Sinclair, Earl of Kinvarra, has spent ten wretched years regretting the mistakes he made with his young bride, but after long separation, the barriers between them are insurmountable. Until an unexpected encounter one stormy night makes him wonder if the barriers of mistrust and thwarted desire are so insurmountable after all. When winter weather traps Sebastian and his proud, lovely wife in an isolated inn, could the earl and his headstrong countess have a Christmas miracle in store?
Expanded version of “Upon a Midnight Clear” from the anthology Mammoth Book of Regency Romance.
★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★
This novella may be short in terms of page count but this poignant and heart-warming second-chance-at-love tale kept me totally engaged until the final page.
It had the emotional and passionate intensity I’ve come to expect from Anna Campbell, all in a small, enticing package. She captures Sebastian and Alicia’s feelings of pain, hurt, regret, forgiveness, hope, and love so perfectly.
Somehow the story never seemed rushed and I really felt I understood Sebastian and Alicia and why their marriage had failed. Youth, immaturity and pride had prevented them from bringing their problems into the open and so they separated acrimoniously. Ten years on, both are older and wiser and I loved watching them finally able to discuss things openly and rediscover their love for each other.
The Winter Wife – A Christmas Novella is perfect for curling up with on a dark winter’s evening and recapturing a little of that Christmas magic.
RATING: ★★★★½
SENSUAL RATING: HOT
Read December 2012
Rakes And Rascals 
Leave a Reply