Publication Date: December 14, 2011
Robert, Viscount Alderton, sees his future wife under the mistletoe and kisses her, only to discover that the woman he thought was his future wife was her cousin, Isabella. A rake witnesses the encounter and sees Isabella as fair game. Can Robert protect Isabella (Lella) or is she ruined in society?
[easyazon_link identifier=”B006M6IIAA” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Mistletoe Mishap (A Regency Christmas Short Story)[/easyazon_link] is a short and sweet story of a man doing what is expected instead of what he wants when fate steps in his way. Love is a luxury in marriage in the Regency era and a spark may grow but is not required and often not desired. The men of the time were expected to have affairs and the women were expected to pump out babies. The charm of Regency romance is in their fantasy that hearts are melted by love and true beauty shines are a beacon from the main female characters.
The curse of the short story is that things have to happen fairly quickly and there are things that fall either to rote or are left undeveloped. Lella is a bit stupid. She seems unaware and uncaring of consequences. She wants to marry for love and not because she was observed kissing her cousin’s intended. Robert, on the other hand, is the one who seems to swoon. He got the spark, he wants the spark to continue and its handy that they were observed and she’s probably ruined so they should marry and he gets to keep the magic.
There are some stories meant to be read in a happy afternoon and not considered again and this is one of them. On the surface it’s a pleasing and happy tale but as a reader digs deeper the true faults become apparent. As a holiday confection, [easyazon_link identifier=”B006M6IIAA” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Mistletoe Mishap (A Regency Christmas Short Story)[/easyazon_link], is light and satisfying but as one examines, there’s a lot of filler for a short story. The main characters seem to lose interest in and track of each other and then suddenly they’re in love. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing, especially at the end. [easyazon_link identifier=”B006M6IIAA” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Mistletoe Mishap (A Regency Christmas Short Story)[/easyazon_link] is a Regency Christmas tale and as such is delicious and wonderful but my suggestion is to read it and move on to something else. Don’t linger because the aftertaste may not be good.
You can read an excerpt and buy The Mistletoe Mishap by Aileen Fish on:
Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information about Aileen Fish and her work, visit her website. You can connect with her on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter @AileenFish.