A Case for Christmas
Ratings5
Average rating3.8
I avoided the first book in this series, [b:A Husband for Hartwell 57810706 A Husband for Hartwell (The Lords of Bucknall Club, #1) J.A. Rock https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619009463l/57810706.SY75.jpg 90559328], because I was warned that one of the MCs was downright mean. This book promised a tropey grumpy/sunshine pairing, but frankly I found Christmas Gale to be more cruel than grumpy. Yes I know he reads like a person on the autism spectrum, and he makes great strides by the end, but he treats Benjamin Chant like crap for more than half of the book and I couldn't understand why Chant was so enamored of him. Plus there is a subplot with a young girl whose father is murdered, and the trauma that the girl would have experienced is pretty much brushed under the rug. However, Gale's mother is a Treasure, and I would have read an entire book showing her “love, accept, but take no bullshit” relationship with him. I appreciate the AU setting of this series (Regency period, but queerness is readily acceptable), but I'm afraid the romance fell short for me.
A Case for Christmas is filled with action, romance, acceptance, and love. I did not want to leave this Tracy/Hepburn style mystery. I know this series doesn't focus on Gale, but I would love to see a spin-off with: Gale, Chant, and Elise solving mysteries.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.
Check out the rest of my review at Phoebe's Randoms. Link in bio.