Love at Midnight: A Regency Christmas Romantasy by Nola Saint James
Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Release Date: October 16, 2025
When Miss Grace Cooper, daughter of the late Viscount & Viscountess Shelbourne and heiress learns that her estate trustees are planning to marry her off sight unseen to a man of their choosing in just a few months, she knows that she will have to take matters into her own hands if she wants to marry her true love. The real problem is she doesn’t know who her true love is! Her housekeeper has been like a surrogate mother to her and vows to help her find her true love and suggests she meet with Mommia Ravenal, a Roma lady with the gift of sight, perhaps she can point Grace in the direction of her true love. Mommia does give her good news, her true love is near, but Grace will have to find him on her own.
Harold Picton AKA Hal Ravenal is the Earl of Langafel, however, he was not raised to be the earl. His parents eloped as their families didn’t approve of their love, sadly both his parents died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by a childless couple in the village. When he turned 18 his foster parents told him of his family – his father was heir to the Earl of Langafel and his mother was a member of the Roma Ravenal clan. He tracks down his mother’s clan and learns he has a gift with horses. He is happy to be reunited with his mother’s family and is content to build a life with them, but when Mommia, the matriarch of the clan demands he attend her, he knows this life is about to change. He learns that his paternal grandfather has died and he is now the earl. Being the earl means leaving the clan, but Mommia tells him that he won’t be alone, his true love is near and when he finds her, she will be the helpmate he needs to take up his title. Now he just needs to find her…
This was not your typical romance story, but it was an interesting story with very likable characters, not all of whom are human. The main characters don’t meet right away and there are a lot of things going on aside from Grace and Hal trying to find their true loves. Interwoven in the love story is a Norwegian legend about animals speaking to humans on Christmas eve as well as the Ravenal paranormal gifts. I liked this story, but it meandered all over the place, personally, I would have preferred the focus of the story to be the romance and have more of a connection between Grace and Hal, rather than relying on the love at first sight / true love trope. Overall, it was a unique read and if you are looking for something a bit different, you might want to give this book a try.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *
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