The Christmas Wish

Rating:
Summary: a delightful and engaging read
Review: "The Christmas Wish" by Debbie Raleigh is the first book in a projected (I'm guessing) trilogy that deals with the trials and fortunes of three sisters, Sarah, Emma and Rachel Cresswell. Commonly known as the Devil's Daughters, the sisters are the daughters of a notorious jewel thief, Solomon Cresswell, also known as the Devilish Dandy. The eldest daughter, Sarah, is the heroine of "The Christmas Wish" and I must say that if this novel is anything to go by, then this series promises to make for both engaging and satisfying reading.

Resigned to the fact that she will probably never marry because of her father's notoriety, Sarah Cresswell spends her days helping the children of the London slums. The work she does takes her to all kinds of places and brings her into contact with all kinds of people, so that when Oliver Spense, the Earl of Chance (also known as the Flawless Earl), discovers that he has need of someone with a particular kind of expertise, a friend of the family directs him to seek out Sarah's help. Lord Chance is in quite the pickle: his feckless and younger brother, Ben, is in debt, and because Chance has decreed that he would get no more monetary help from him, has stolen the family diamonds. However, some other thief, in turn, steals the diamonds from Ben before he can sell them. Now, Chance has to recover the diamonds before Christmas so that their mother never discovers the depths to which her favourite son has sunk. And although Chance's arrogant and superior attitude really grates on her nerves, Sarah agrees to help the earl. Soon, Sarah and Chance are scurrying all over London, trying to discover who could have stolen the diamonds and to retrieve them. In the process, the two get to know each other rather well. Sarah finds, to her dismay, that she is very attracted to and highly susceptible to the very intelligent and vastly attractive Flawless Earl; while Chance finds himself falling under the spell of a very exciting and extremely intoxicating Sarah Cresswell, who unlike the ladies of the London ton questions his very intelligence, actions and preconceived notions. Never has the Flawless Earl been so engaged and entranced by one woman. But will anything come of this state of affairs? Sarah Creswell and her family are definitely persona non grata with London society. And Chance is well known for his impeccable behavior. Will the earl be able to overlook Sarah's scandalous family connections? Or will he give up the woman of his dreams for the sake of propriety?

"The Christmas Wish" was an extremely fun read. Both Sarah and Chance are exactly the kind of hero and heroine that anyone will find easy to root for. And what I especially liked about this romance novel was that after a few initial misgivings, Chance allows Sarah to lead and direct the investigation into the theft of the diamonds. He openly shows his appreciation of her abilities and intelligence and doesn't try to take over the whole enterprise at all. I found this to be a refreshing change from the usual male takeover stance we're all familiar with. A word of warning however: while there is a mystery attached to this novel, it plays second fiddle to the romance at hand. The novel flowed smoothly and this allowed for the romance that blossomed between Chance and Sarah to develop in a satisfying manner. And while both Chance's and Sarah's characters were somewhat well developed, the other major characters -- Emma, Rachel and the Devilish Dandy -- were not. However since these characters will definitely be featured more prominently in future books, this is not so important a retraction.

"A Christmas Wish" is a delightful and engaging romance novel, and I'm definitely looking forward to the other books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: a delightful and engaging read
Review: "The Christmas Wish" by Debbie Raleigh is the first book in a projected (I'm guessing) trilogy that deals with the trials and fortunes of three sisters, Sarah, Emma and Rachel Cresswell. Commonly known as the Devil's Daughters, the sisters are the daughters of a notorious jewel thief, Solomon Cresswell, also known as the Devilish Dandy. The eldest daughter, Sarah, is the heroine of "The Christmas Wish" and I must say that if this novel is anything to go by, then this series promises to make for both engaging and satisfying reading.

Resigned to the fact that she will probably never marry because of her father's notoriety, Sarah Cresswell spends her days helping the children of the London slums. The work she does takes her to all kinds of places and brings her into contact with all kinds of people, so that when Oliver Spense, the Earl of Chance (also known as the Flawless Earl), discovers that he has need of someone with a particular kind of expertise, a friend of the family directs him to seek out Sarah's help. Lord Chance is in quite the pickle: his feckless and younger brother, Ben, is in debt, and because Chance has decreed that he would get no more monetary help from him, has stolen the family diamonds. However, some other thief, in turn, steals the diamonds from Ben before he can sell them. Now, Chance has to recover the diamonds before Christmas so that their mother never discovers the depths to which her favourite son has sunk. And although Chance's arrogant and superior attitude really grates on her nerves, Sarah agrees to help the earl. Soon, Sarah and Chance are scurrying all over London, trying to discover who could have stolen the diamonds and to retrieve them. In the process, the two get to know each other rather well. Sarah finds, to her dismay, that she is very attracted to and highly susceptible to the very intelligent and vastly attractive Flawless Earl; while Chance finds himself falling under the spell of a very exciting and extremely intoxicating Sarah Cresswell, who unlike the ladies of the London ton questions his very intelligence, actions and preconceived notions. Never has the Flawless Earl been so engaged and entranced by one woman. But will anything come of this state of affairs? Sarah Creswell and her family are definitely persona non grata with London society. And Chance is well known for his impeccable behavior. Will the earl be able to overlook Sarah's scandalous family connections? Or will he give up the woman of his dreams for the sake of propriety?

"The Christmas Wish" was an extremely fun read. Both Sarah and Chance are exactly the kind of hero and heroine that anyone will find easy to root for. And what I especially liked about this romance novel was that after a few initial misgivings, Chance allows Sarah to lead and direct the investigation into the theft of the diamonds. He openly shows his appreciation of her abilities and intelligence and doesn't try to take over the whole enterprise at all. I found this to be a refreshing change from the usual male takeover stance we're all familiar with. A word of warning however: while there is a mystery attached to this novel, it plays second fiddle to the romance at hand. The novel flowed smoothly and this allowed for the romance that blossomed between Chance and Sarah to develop in a satisfying manner. And while both Chance's and Sarah's characters were somewhat well developed, the other major characters -- Emma, Rachel and the Devilish Dandy -- were not. However since these characters will definitely be featured more prominently in future books, this is not so important a retraction.

"A Christmas Wish" is a delightful and engaging romance novel, and I'm definitely looking forward to the other books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Sarah's not suitable to be either a countess or a mistress.
Review: Sarah Cresswell is the oldest daughter of a notorious London jewel thief, whose daring antics and escape from Newgate and the hangman have plunged the family into disgrace. Sarah and her sisters react to their disgrace in different ways. Being the oldest, Sarah has tried to be a mother-figure for her younger sisters, and she is resigned to the fact that none of them will ever marry respectably because of their father's disgrace. Instead of languishing in self-pity, Sarah focuses her energy on those who are less well-off than she: neglected orphans and children of prostitutes.

Lord Chance, nicknamed "The Flawless Earl," needs help locating a family heirloom--a diamond necklace--which was stolen from his mother by his irresponsible brother and then mysteriously disappeared. It is suggested that the daughter of a notorious jewel thief would be a good person to track down the necklace before his mother discovers its loss, so Lord Chance calls on Sarah to ask for her help.

It is here where the plot loses some credibility. Sarah--although she is acquainted with the seamier side of London and clearly has learned a few pickpocket tricks from her father--really does nothing that Lord Chance couldn't have done on his own. In fact, the entire mystery could have been solved in a matter of minutes if the younger brother Ben hadn't conveniently disappeared for most of the story. The solution to the necklace's disappearance becomes obvious after Ben submits to a few simple questions. Lord Chance is not portrayed as stupid, so why didn't he think to ask those questions when Ben first admitted he had lost the necklace? Why did he allow Ben to fly the coop before the necklace was found? I mean, you wouldn't have to be Jessica Fletcher or Hercule Poirot to see Ben as a material witness in this crime.

The romance of the story was sweet and poignant, but Lord Chance disappointed me again when he initially refuses to consider Sarah as a potential wife. True, he doesn't ask her to be his mistress either, but it is clear that he would like to. Would he have eventually proposed marriage if Dandy Dan, the jewel-thief father, hadn't pressed him to do so? I'm not convinced that he would have. He thought too much about his former mistresses when he was around her.

I wanted to like this book because I LOVED the sequel--The Valentine Wish--which is the story of Sarah's sister Emma. Emma's beau is not at all fazed by her connection to a jewel thief. Nor does he consider making her his mistress. All of which make him a much more satisfactory hero and a big reason I gave that book five stars and this one a more average rating of three stars.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful relationship
Review: Suspend belief in the mystery that forms the framework for "The Christmas wish" and enjoy the effect Sarah Cresswell, daughter of the rascally Devilish Dandy, has on the well-ordered life of Oliver Spence, Lord Chance, also known as the Flawless Earl.

Without him being consciously aware of it she changes his behaviour from the moment he meets her. His morning schedule is seriously disrupted, he asks her advice, seeks her approbation, and even allows her to control the investigation they undertake into his mother's missing diamonds. His whole manner lightens with humour and enjoyment of life. He quickly becomes necessary in Sarah's quiet life.

There is so much for him to admire in Sarah, an independent and intelligent woman with her own interests. She is so different from the society maidens from whom he is expected to choose his lady. On the one hand he knows she is a lady and he should not ask her to be his mistress but unfortunately he is so bound by the conventions of his society that he almost lets her slip from his grasp because of her father's reputation.

The growing attraction between them is deliciously written ; the dialogue is quick, clever and unforced. The author draws Oliver in particular with the thoughts and vocabulary of his time.

If I have a criticism it would be that the mystery that brings them together is contrived and insubstantial. But then Oliver was so smitten by Sarah that he was not about to dispense with her services and follow through with the inquiry on his own.

The other characters remain somewhat one-dimensional but we know we are going to get the story of the two sisters, Emma and Rachel, so there is time for further character development.
I look forward to the next two stories.