Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? Maybe a bit more plot focused, but feels fairly equally balanced
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in, about 12% of the novella
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No, but you can get a steamy epilogue 30 years in the future? For newsletter sign ups.
Format: Voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form

Should I read in order?
This is a stand alone novella (part of the How the Rake Stole Christmas novella set)

Basic plot:
Meredith runs into Lord Noel Frost during a flee from a Luddite meeting – not knowing he’s the very man she exchanged letters with during the war.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1812)
- Yorkshire setting
- Luddite plot
- disability rep (hero)

hero has hip issues and is missing two fingers from his hand from war 

- tall hero – heroine’s head reaches his chin
- celibate hero
- brother’s friend
- war letters/epistolary (mostly off page, but some chapter headings feature sections of letters)
- widow heroine
- novella length
- class difference – lord hero (son of a Marquess) and cropper’s widow heroine
- holiday!
- soldier hero
- some elements of unrequited love (hero)
- GREAT author notes
- medium steam – 2 steam within a novella

Ages:
- Hero is 28, heroine is 23ish

First line:
Meredith Taylor Smith jolted from her seat at the table, startled by the men shouting downstairs.

My thoughts:
Oh, wow I adored this novella. Anne Knight is a new author, with a few novellas out, but this was my first by her and I will absolutely be following her writing journey!

First of all, this one had a Luddite centered plot that ended up really interesting me. I usually gravitate away from plots like these, preferring to focus on character and relationship centered romance without any political pull, but I found myself just fascinated with this one. I was researching on the side and on the edge of my seat with the real feeling of danger, the burn in my chest of right versus wrong and the fear for fellow humans quality of life.

But, but! Not only did Knight write a fascinating plot, but she put two absolutely wonderful characters within it and made me fall in love with them. She gave me some feels and longing, and so much sweetness between them. She gave me holiday cheer and the most adorable ending. She gave me holiday novella perfection.

Noel and Merry were amazing together. Noel’s unrequited longing for her really wrung my heart – the letters between them featured in the beginning of most chapters were one of my favorite parts. Merry is such a strong character and I loved how Noel really unites with her. We don’t have a battle between them or one bulldozing the other – we have two characters that united are even better and strong in the best way.

I also adored Knight’s steam. I really liked her writing style. Her author notes were detailed and eye opening. So, so eager to read more from her. She has another novella in The Regency Abduction Club so I’m going to have to grab that one that one too!

Endearments

The hero calls the heroine ‘love’ and ‘dearheart’ 

Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own

When they are interrupted during their first kiss

Suddenly the man pulled back. His arms stayed around her, but he turned his head to look over her shoulder. “Bugger off,” he said in a distinct, clipped tone.
---
His arms wrapped around her and lifted, so she hung a good six inches off the ground. Merry squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life as she kissed him back. Dear lord, his man kissed with his whole body.
---
He’d carried her into the kitchen without her realizing. She settled on the wooden table, legs drawn up. She whined a little, reaching for him.
“Oh god, this is better than I imagined,” he groaned and bent over to fasten his lips to hers. He was kneeling now, and she had the higher ground. Her hands roamed through his hair, and his hands clasped her stockinged ankles, hot as a brand.

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- mention of loss of husband three months prior
- war injuries for multiple characters, including missing limbs and fingers
- characters fight against unsafe labor practices
- heroine was married to someone twenty years her senior at the age of 21. The marriage wasn’t abusive but she was not loved in the relationship
- remembrance and scenes of violence, death
- fire and scenes of being trapped within

Author given content warnings: 

Language: frequent
Sex: fully described sex with light dirty talk
Violence: on and off page, mention of death, unfair imprisonment, mention of war-related injuries, death threats
Other: mention of war, arson, execution, some ableism from antagonists 

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

Safe sex: 

Hero pulls out 

14% - kiss
42% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her on the table
“It’s mistletoe,” she whispered.
“So it is,” he whispered back, eyes like blue flame.
66% - 🔥 kisses, must be quiet, fingering for her, bit of dirty talking heroine, missionary
”Are you eager?”
Merry withdrew her hands. “Do you dislike eager?”
“No.” His hands clasped hers. “I love eager.” He set her hands back to his cravat. “Show me you want me.”