The Widow's Christmas Surprise
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises--that may change all her holidays to come . . .
Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow. A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .
Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jaxon balances family drama and seasonal joy in her fast-paced fifth Widows Club Regency romance (after Much Ado About a Widow). Lady Maria Kersey gives birth to her daughter, Jane, shortly after her unfaithful husband, Alan, dies in a duel. Because the Kersey estate is subject to patriarchal inheritance laws, Jane cannot inherit, putting Maria in a precarious financial position. After consulting with Hugh Granger, her late husband's steward, Maria and Jane move into the estate's small dower house, clearing the way for the new Lord Kersey to occupy Kersey Hall. As Lord Kersey plots to expel Maria and Jane, Maria and Hugh embark on a relationship and plan to marry, but their plans are derailed by the discovery of Alan's will, which provides Maria with the financial security she'd thought lost. Because Hugh is a signatory on the will (though he did not read it before signing) he worries that if he marries the newly wealthy Maria, people will assume he had a hand in Alan's death, and backs out of the engagement. Heartbroken, Maria flees to spend Christmas in London but still holds out hope for a future with Hugh. Jaxon keeps the pages flying by highlighting just how high-stakes marriage and courtship were for Regency-era women. Maria's plight is sure to resonate with historical romance fans.
