His Christmas Pleasure by Cathy Maxwell

An entertaining, readable romance

4 stars

Abigail Montross has been waiting for the man of her dreams to propose for what seems like forever. But when he finally does propose – it’s to her cousin! But things keep getting worse for her as her father threatens to marry her off to a man twice her age with 13 children.

Baron de Vasconia, Andres Ramigio is in desperate need of money. Knowing of Abby’s dilemma, the pair hatch a plan to elope so she gets his protection and he gets her money. But the pair soon begin to realise that once they reveal each other’s secrets, there is nothing that can stop them from falling in love.

Despite the title, this book isn’t Christmassy at all despite the conclusion taking place on Christmas Day. As much as I like Christmas romances, I didn’t feel that the book tried to be a festive romance so I didn’t feel let down but the lack of Christmas content.

Both Andres and Abby are likeable characters and have a good chemistry together. I liked the way that Abby especially grew into a more confident woman and how the pair shared their dreams together and how they easily fell in love.

There were one or two jarring Americanisms which I am inclined to overlook simply because it’s rare to find a book that doesn’t have at least one. That said, it’s still very annoying in any book.

This book stands alone but the characters have been featured in previous books by Cathy Maxwell. Despite having read those romances, I couldn’t quite remember the back stories of the characters but it really made no difference to my enjoyment of this particular story.

Overall, this was a nice story to pass the time. It’s well written, enjoyable and the story really kept the pages turning. 4 stars.