A Christmastide Kiss by Lana Williams

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Mayfair Literary League, #5

Release Date: December 5, 2023

Heiress Frances Melbourne struggles with self-worth issues and crippling shyness. But after meeting Thomas Sinclair last summer at her parent’s house party and realizing too late that her feelings were more than just friendship, she has decided to try and come out of her shell. Sadly, Thomas left for America before Frances gathered the courage to let him know of her feelings, but she hopes by the time he returns, she will have conquered her shyness. This is why she has offered to take the lead on planning a charity ball for a training program for the Whitechapel Workhouse being hosted by the Mayfair Literary League, much to the surprise and delight of her fellow members. She throws herself into planning the ball and all is going well when she is shocked to run into Thomas Sinclair at a rare bookshop. Suddenly she finds herself tongue-tied and stammering, but Thomas is kind and seems genuinely happy to see her. When she mentions the ball, he promises to buy a ticket and she surprises herself by saying he could go as her guest, to which he happily agrees. Soon Thomas is included in many of the events Frances has planned to prepare for the ball and she hopes that his attention means that he too has stronger feelings for her. But when her father increases her dowry and shortly after Thomas declares his desire to court her, all of her doubts resurface and she doesn’t know if Thomas’s feelings for her are for her or her dowry.

Thomas Sinclair has returned from New York for Christmas, but he will have to return after the holidays, and he hopes to get a chance to see Frances, share his feelings, and ask if she would be willing to wait for him, as he hopes to return to England in a year or two with the knowledge he needs to work in banking. But when he sees her again, he is unsure of her feelings and puts off asking her. In addition, he is trying to find the parents of Peter, a young boy he found living on the streets in New York who was from London and had been sent to America by the manager of the workhouse he and his family had been living at. It turns out that it is the same workhouse that Frances is raising money for and he is worried about how she will react to him investigating them, but Frances is appalled at the idea that the workhouse might be selling children and offers to help. They grow closer and when they share a kiss, he is ready to declare himself, but when he does, she turns cold and his own insecurities kick in leaving their chance for a “happily ever after” in doubt.

This was a well-written story about two very nice people falling in love while struggling with self-esteem issues. In addition to the love story between Frances and Thomas, readers will be delighted to catch up with previous characters, will be intrigued by the mystery of how Peter ended up in America and what happened to his family, as well as be titillated by tidbits dropped by Ms. Williams that set up the next installment in the series! I enjoyed this book and would happily recommend this title to historical romance readers who prefer a low/no steam love story set in the Victorian era. This is the fifth book in the series, and it could easily be read as a standalone title, but for the best experience, I recommend at least reading the third book (A Mistaken Identity) before reading this book.

4 stars

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*