Review: Joy to the World by Carolyn Miller, Amanda Barratt, and Erica Vetsch

 

About:

In Joy to the World, three popular romance authors come together to offer a heartwarming collection of holiday Regency romance. Based on lines from a beloved Christmas carol, these three novellas have depth, faith, and satisfying stories all packed into the perfect length for readers to curl up and take a brief break from their holiday busyness.

“Heaven and Nature Sing” by Carolyn Miller

Two music lovers, deeply devoted to each other, were on the brink of engagement when family circumstances drove them apart. How can they ever overcome both their obligations and their fears to find their way back into each other’s arms?

“Far as the Curse Is Found” by Amanda Barratt

One winter night, a woman struggling to provide for her illegitimate child encounters a scarred veteran of the Napoleonic Wars on the streets of London. Can love conquer the darkness of two broken pasts?

“Wonders of His Love” by Erica Vetsch

A Scots portrait painter finds work at a noble manor house over the holidays. He never imagined he’d fall in love with the emotionally frozen widow there. Now he wants nothing more than to thaw her heart.

My Thoughts:

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year, and what better way to anticipate it then reading three heartwarming novellas from some of my favorite  authors.

I have read author Miller's and Vetsch's Regency's and I enjoyed their novella editions. Author Miller takes us to a Christmas house party where a matchmaking matron would like to see two people who dearly love each other to reconcile and marry. But what set them apart to begin with? This story had a little bit of a Persuasion by Jane Austen feel to it and I was glad for the highlights of what a Regency Christmas party would look like.

Author Barratt's story of two souls wounded, one with physical scars and the other with hidden wounds was a reminder of the hurt one can carry. However both individuals were fighters and survivors and this story proves that love does conquer all with a hint of Beauty and the Beast.

I have been enjoying author Vetsch's full length regency novels, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we get Cilla's story in this one. A romance with a Scottish painter no less. Her journey is one that I am glad we get and I can't wait for the third novel in the Serendipity and Secrets. It was nice to revisit the other characters as well. 

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.