- Mass Market Paperback: 261 pages
- Publisher: Signet Book; First Printing edition (7 Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0451227131
- ISBN-13: 978-0451227133
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 846,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Once Upon A Christmas
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
[LARGER FONT VERSION] After a tragic loss, Celia Delacourt faces a life of loneliness and poverty - until her distant cousin, the Duchess of Arnsford, unexpectedly takes her under her wing. Celia suspects an ulterior motive, but is grateful to spend Christmas with family, however remote the relationship - and despite the daunting grandeur of the ducal palace. Celia has braced herself to face the worst Christmas of her life. But when Jack Delacourt comes home - determined to thwart the schemes of his mother, the duchess - Celia finds a friend and ally. And she begins to wonder ... will this be the worst Christmas of her life? Or the best? *Finalist for the RITA award for Best Regency Romance "Perfect reading on a cold day during the holiday season while sipping hot chocolate in front of the fireplace!" - Huntress Book Reviews
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Duchess of Delacourt was ill. No one but her trusted life-long servant knew. Before Her Grace died, she was determined to see her only son, Jack, wed. She chose Celia Delacourt, a very distant and poor relation who had recently lost her entire family to sickness. The duchess planned to train and mold Celia into he idea of what her son needed. With nowhere else to go, and not knowing Her Grace's plans of her, Celia agreed to Christmas at Delacourt.
Jack, the Marquess of Lynden, went home to Delacourt for Christmas every year. Knowing his scheming mother planned to push another fortune hunter at him, he made his appearance as mismatched, rude, and LOUD as possible! Just as he convinced Celia he was mad, he also fell under her spell. The problem was Her Grace, as always.
**** Sweet irony! That does describe it well. No adventure or danger here. But I found it to be one of the sweetest and romantic stories I have read. Perfect reading on a cold day during the holiday season while sipping hot chocolate in front of the fireplace!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
20 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Sweet, romantic and humorous Christmas story
26 Dec 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Diane Farr continues, in this book, to demonstrate her talent for witty, charming and romantic storytelling. She creates a series of likeable characters - even her 'villains', to the extent that any have malicious or unkind motives, are well drawn and aren't without redeeming features.
Celia is the impoverished great-grand-daughter of a duke; her grandfather was disowned by his family many years before, and she has never met any of her titled relatives. All of her immediate family has recently died tragically, and she faces life as a governess. Until the Duchess, her cousin-once-removed by marriage, arrvies to sweep her off to Delacourt Palace. Unknown to Celia, the Duchess has ulterior motives...
Jack Delacourt, the Marquess of Lynden, is well aware of his mother's matchmaking activities, and has no intention of being caught in this particular trap. This leads him to behave coarsely and lewdly, hoping to give Celia a disgust of him. But he finds himself falling in love with her instead... while she's convinced that he's insane!
The Duchess's plotting is frequently hilarious, but equally frequently poignant, as we are let in on the secret she shares only with her abigail: she is terminally ill, and desperate to see her only son married to someone who will continue to run Delacourt just as she has always done. It's very clear that Celia won't; it's equally clear that Jack would simply not be happy with someone who would!
There is a delightful, and low-key, secondary romance to look forward to, as well. Definitely a heart-warming book to read at Christmas-time!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
sweet, heartbreaking, lovely
23 May 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I love Diane Farr's stuff. I have been a fan since the beginning, and she has quickly risen to the top-five list of my favorite Regency authors. This book is no exception. The main characters, Jack and Celia, are likable and real, and you get to know them and want them to realize how well-suited they are. That is a sign of a good romance, in my opinion. In addition, the supporting characters are all well-drawn. There is a nice secondary romance story involving one of Jack's sisters, a character from a previous Farr book (The Nobody), and another story line about Jack's mother, the Duchess. Those are both especially nice because they humanize characters who were rather unlikable in the original story.
Celia does have a great tragedy in her past, which may make some eyes roll, but it's simply and emotionally described, and is not talked about ad nauseum for effect--quite the opposite. There is a bit of a silly misunderstanding between the lovers at first, but Farr uses it nicely to comic effect and it doesn't get annoying. Despite the misunderstanding, Jack and Celia quickly establish a rapport, and it's delightful to see them quickly falling for each other without quite realizing it.
As the cherry on top, there is a cat in this book who is quite simply one of the best-written cats I've ever read. Now, you may not like cats, or you may think I am nuts to even mention this. But in my opinion, authors often seem to have difficulty writing children or animals, as if they have never been around any and don't quite know what actual children or animals say and do. The cat in this book, though, is quite magnificently done. He is simply a cat--he does not carry messages between lovers, he doesn't rescue anyone from drowning, he doesn't take part in any conversations. He is just there, part of the texture of the story, telling you a bit about some characters in their reactions to him, and just being a cat. If you don't like cats, you won't get annoyed at his presence in the story. If you do like cats, you might notice, as I did, how perfectly Farr has written this particular cat.
This book was a keeper for me, and each time I read it it lifts my mood.
Celia does have a great tragedy in her past, which may make some eyes roll, but it's simply and emotionally described, and is not talked about ad nauseum for effect--quite the opposite. There is a bit of a silly misunderstanding between the lovers at first, but Farr uses it nicely to comic effect and it doesn't get annoying. Despite the misunderstanding, Jack and Celia quickly establish a rapport, and it's delightful to see them quickly falling for each other without quite realizing it.
As the cherry on top, there is a cat in this book who is quite simply one of the best-written cats I've ever read. Now, you may not like cats, or you may think I am nuts to even mention this. But in my opinion, authors often seem to have difficulty writing children or animals, as if they have never been around any and don't quite know what actual children or animals say and do. The cat in this book, though, is quite magnificently done. He is simply a cat--he does not carry messages between lovers, he doesn't rescue anyone from drowning, he doesn't take part in any conversations. He is just there, part of the texture of the story, telling you a bit about some characters in their reactions to him, and just being a cat. If you don't like cats, you won't get annoyed at his presence in the story. If you do like cats, you might notice, as I did, how perfectly Farr has written this particular cat.
This book was a keeper for me, and each time I read it it lifts my mood.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Another charmer from Diane Farr
11 Oct 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Diane Farr has written another wonderful Regency romance with her latest, "Once Upon a Christmas". The elements will be familiar to readers of the sub-genre: a poor relation, an heir reluctant to marry, a managing mother; but Farr combines them all in a touching and funny little souffle of a novel. It's the perfect book to curl up with on a blustery winter's night when the Christmas lights are on, the hot chocolare is warm, and you're looking for a sweet and tender read.
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