Two friends, a gaming hell, and an unforgettable Christmas

Synopsis

GAMING HELL CHRISTMAS – VOLUME 1: Mysteries abound at the newest Hell in town.

A Gift for the Duke’s Illegitimate Daughter – Kathy L Wheeler

Miss Alexandra Blessing, the Duke of Winsome’s illegitimate daughter longs for anonymity and a home of her own where her younger half-siblings don’t commandeer every moment of her day. Escape is imminent—right after her family’s annual Christmas fete.

But Alexandra is missing from the ball, and Theodore Millburn must find her before he loses something important: his chance for love.

The Merry Widow’s Christmas Adventure – Amanda McCabe

Annabelle, Lady Ranstruther, after a year of lonely widowhood is ready for new love—and she knows exactly who she wants—her wild friend, the gorgeous William, Lord Deansley. She fears he doesn’t want her, until they meet again at the exclusive, discreet gaming hell la Sous Rose, at Christmas.

Will it mean a future of love—or the end of all her dreams?

“Miss McCabe’s talent for lively characters and witty dialogue is always a winning combination.” ~ Romantic Times Reviews

My review

A Gift For The Duke’s Illegitimate Daughter – Kathy L. Wheeler

Alexandra Blessing is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Winsome. However, despite society’s standards, she has been accepted by her father, and even better, she is living with him and his wife and half – siblings. But privacy and her own place is something Alex really longs for, especially when her younger half – siblings need her every time of the day.
When one night, she goes with her best friends to a masked gaming hell, she doesn’t know that meeting Theodore Millburn will change her whole life and everything she thought to know…

The Merry Widow’s Christmas Adventure – Amanda McCabe

Now that Annabelle, Lady Ranstruther, has been a widow for a year, she is ready to take of the cloak of mourning.
But putting her loveless marriage behind her is easier said than done, as her stepson keeps harassing her, threatening her to take everything from her.
And then there is her handsome neighbour William, Lord Deansley. She has always found him very attracted but never gave into temptation. Now that she is a single woman again, could William have the same feelings as her? According their meeting at the exclusive gaming Hell La Sous Rose, he surely does!

What I loved about these two stories, is that the female characters are very good friends since childhood. They have each other’s back no matter what and understand each other with just one look.
And I also appreciated that even if these are two different tales, they take place at the same time and we get to see occasionally the same event through different eyes.

Maybe Alex’ story was the most surprising one. First of all, I found it very sweet to see how Alex, despite her being illegitimate, has been truly accepted by her family and isn’t being treated less compared to her siblings. Also her stepmother truly loves her as her own.

I thought it would be a ‘simple’ story, where two people fall in love, and after fighting shortly against all odds, they get their happily ever after.
And yes, Alex and Theodore quickly have a passionate encounter and feelings are growing rather fast.

But there are also a few mysteries that our main characters are not aware of. As a reader, you have a hunch about what is going on, but that didn’t spoil reading for me at all!

(Anna)belle’s story was a shorter one compared to Alex’. And while I understood that there was already some history between her and William, I would have loved to see just a bit more!

Belle knows what/who she wants, but she also wants to enjoy her freedom, now that she finally can do as she pleases.
And that was something I understood so well, seeing how young she was when she got married. But of course, when love is involved…

In her tale there is not that much of a mystery going on, rather a bully who doesn’t want Belle to enjoy life as earned.
But when William appears as a knight in shining armour, I liked the man even more than I already did!

I enjoyed reading about these two women, wanting their own freedom, finding love ‘despite’ their status in society.
The friendship between these women, and their other friends, was something to be jealous of, because it stands the test of time, even if all the women couldn’t be more different.

The other friends made me also very curious for their tale and I am also very intrigued and want to know who the mysterious Lady X is!