In Cynthia Moore's A Christmas Surprise, Clara's husband Julian has returned from a trip to India. He left immediately after their disastrous and unconsummated wedding night. Although Julian was forced to marry Clara, she hopes that her love for him will give her the happy marriage she dreams of.

In Carolynn Carey's A Tradition Of Love, Alethea spends her first Christmas with her new husband, the solemn, hard working Robert. Alethea comes from a big, noisy family and expects a rowdy celebration. An only child of a single parent, Robert is accustomed to working through the holidays. They struggle to find a happy compromise.

If a woman is the first to step over the threshold on Christmas morning, the household is cursed with bad luck. In Amy Corwin's Christmas Mishaps, Caroline ignores this superstition by visiting her estranged pregnant sister. Lord Edward Masters, a man several years her junior and very much in love with Caroline, attempts to undo the damage.

In Barbara Miller's Country House Christmas, Diana tries to make scarred veteran Richard Trent see her as more than a childish sister of his former fiancée. Returning to his childhood home, Richard struggles with his own demons and sense of displacement. He questions how he could share that burden with the light filled Diana.

A Cotillion Country Christmas is a collection of English Christmas traditions. Every story offers a twist on the expected Regency fare. I enjoyed that A Christmas Surprise and A Tradition Of Love featured newly married couples, showing how customs from both families are blended to create new traditions. Christmas Mishaps chronicles a younger man, older woman (by a few years) courtship. Country House Christmas has a career-minded heroine and a hero struggling with being the first born. A Cotillion Country Christmas will get you into the spirit of the holidays.

Reviewed by: Kimber