All Hearts Come Home for Christmas: A Regency Romance Collection

All Hearts Come Home for ChristmasI have read all the books in the Lancaster Family series and feel I know the universe of characters well, but I found it helpful that this story begins with a map of family names and spouses. It made the transition into her universe of characters from previous books quick and easy. I appreciated that.This story is about family coming together for Christmas, some in need of ironing out their strained relationships, others to just enjoy each other’s company. I found it a sweet Christmas story building on the Lancaster Family characters. As I have enjoyed Sarah M. Eden’s works so much, I had quite high expectations starting this read, but I felt it delivered and might even have been a little longer. It made a very nice start to this Christmas themed novella. It managed to put me in a pre-Christmas-mood.Leading up to Christmas, Harriet, dowager Duchess of Kielder doesn’t know where to spend the holidays. Even if she doesn’t exactly feel welcome as the mother of Adam, Duke of Kielder, she decides to go to Falstone Castle. She is determined to work on her relationship with Adam and the family and get to know her grandson Oliver. She feels nervous but wants to get back with the family more than anything. Together with the local vicar, she makes a plan she hopes will show Adam that she seriously wants to make amends and that she wishes the Christmas celebrations to be happy for everyone.The Heart of ChristmasI had not read anything from this author before, so I was curious starting this read. It included all the ingredients I expect to find in a Christmas story. We get to follow Adelaide Moore who has fallen on hard times following her father’s death. She is working for room and board while dreaming of a better life when local banker Theodore Hardwick shows up in the dressmaker’s shop having lost a button in his coat. This proves to be the answers to Addie’s prayers as he offers her a job running his house and caring for his daughter Becky and ailing Aunt Marla.The house is in a state of neglect. No tidying up or cleaning has been going on there in a long time, but little by little Addie manages to bring it in order and settle into a routine in the family. She gets to know Aunt Marla and they both enjoy each other’s company having meals together during the day. As days go by it becomes clear to Addie that there are serious underlying issues in this family that need attention, but they have to be handled delicately if she is to discover exactly what they are and how to deal with them. She takes on this challenge with the help of the daughter Becky. I really enjoyed this story and will be checking out other releases by this author very soon.’Tis the Season to Be DaringElizabeth Davenport finds it humiliating to be paraded around ballrooms of the London Season, while her mother tries to attract husband for her. –Preferably one with a title. She plans to chock her and Society just enough that she will be able to avoid the rest of the balls of the season without destroying her reputation entirely. For that she teams up with Lord Charles Hawthorne. He is known as the worst rule breaker who doesn’t care a toss what other people think of him and is the perfect ally for this plan. He makes sure to do whatever he wants. Rumor has it he is not interested in marriage at all. They play their tricks in public in the hopes that Elizabeth will become unsuitable as marriage material for titled men of that The Ton and her mother will give her a break from Society until next Season. Elizabeth and Charles spend quite a bit of time together to achieve this goal, but their plan starts to pan out differently than they expected….Esther Hatch is another author of whom I have not read any previous releases, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was light and sweet with quite a few funny situations throughout. -Just my cup of tea. It managed to get me into the warm and fuzzy feeling of Christmas too. I will definitely check out other works from Esther Hatch in future.The Christmas DressNell Addington is works for demanding dress shop owner Mrs Shaw. She has received a commission for a dress to Rachel Hammond so Nell is on her way to the dress fitting at Oakhurst Park when she meets her childhood friend Jacob Hammond, now the owner of the estate. Nell spends quite some time fitting Rachel’s dress in time for Christmas. They have a lovely time together and Nell gets to rekindle her relationship with Jacob, only now in a new way.This is a sweet Christmas story with an unexpected snowstorm thrown into the mix. I quite enjoyed it. Entertaining read leading up to Christmas.My rating: 4 stars /5(All opinions are my own)

This was a wonderful collection of four clean, heartwarming, and humorous stories centered around the Christmas holiday season. I bought this short story collection primarily for Christmas at Falstone Castle. I love the Duke and Duchess of Kielder and their families from other Sarah Eden books and couldn't resist another installment in the tales of this family. (If you haven't read their earlier stories, start with Seeking Persephone.) However, I thoroughly enjoyed the other stories, as well. I have read a number of Anita Stansfield's books and recently discovered Joanna Baker's work so I anticipated great storytelling. After reading this collection, I also bought another book by Esther Hatch, who is new to me, because I couldn't stop smiling as I read ’Tis the Season to Be Daring. I highly recommend this collection!

I have a special fondness for Christmas stories. I eagerly gather new ones every year. Combining Christmas with the Regency Era and I was truly excited to read this book. And I was truly delighted by each of the four stories. I smiled throughout Christmas at Falstone Castle as I read about familiar and well-loved characters. I yearned for the characters in The Heart of Christmas to find happiness amidst their loneliness and sadness. I laughed at the antics of Elizabeth and Lord Hawthorne in 'Tis the Season to Be Daring. And I enjoyed the exchanges between Jacob and Nell in The Christmas Dress. If you enjoy characters old and new, laughter and tenderness, and some great banter all wrapped up with a bow in the Christmas season, I can highly recommend this collection of stories.

Anthologies are so difficult because each story is different and warrants their own rating. In most, I end up loving one or two while the others are forgettable. And that held true here, too.I loved Ms. Eden's and Ms. Barker's addition to the anthology. Both were magnificent stories that I will be reading again and again. This was my first introduction to Ms. Barker's work, and I will definitely be checking out more of her stories. Loved them!Ms. Hatch's story was entertaining but not my cup of tea (so to speak). It's perfect for those who like light-hearted stories that have a dash of ridiculousness. There's lots of comedy, love at first sight, and situations that are improbable but enjoyable. It's a quick little rom-com romp, and I prefer something more grounded in reality.Overall, it's pricy for an ebook -- especially an anthology -- but it was mostly entertaining.

I really enjoyed all four short stories in this collection but my favorite was the first one by Sarah Eden. The main reason being the series is ongoing so the characters were very familiar. I only wish it was a longer version!

i just started this book, and can’t put it down. The stories are so captivating, and easy to get lost in. I’m on the third story...and have loved the characters spirit in each story. My reason for only 4 stars is the printing on the pages. Every few pages I have words that are barely there or missing. It has frustrating to try and guess what is being said. The printer should have caught that. Otherwise, it’s a great quick read.

I’ve read many of these collections of shorter stories and have had a hard time finding a collection in which I liked every story. This was probably my all-time favorite collection. I loved every story and am excited to read more books from some authors I hadn’t read before! This was worth every penny! All the stories are charming and well written.

Sarah Edens All Hearts Come Home for Christmas at Falstone Castle is so positivity delightful to read! I laughed I cried and laughed again. My only wish is that it could be longer. Absolutely love this series and these characters are so real, I love them!

Ungewöhnliche Themen für Weihnachtsgeschichten, aber nicht uninteressant.Im Sommer gelesen, ist natürlich der Schneesturm das Beste 😉 (deshalb lese ich das ja genau dann)

Excellent story, as always, by Sarah M Eden.