Search - Christmas Angel (Company of Rogues, Bk 3)

This is the 3rd book of the Company of Rogues series. I have enjoyed the entire series, and am on my 2nd reading. Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, was raised traveling Europe with his parents and has inherited his father's diplomatic skills. He also seems to have inherited his father's inability to fall in love. After watching his mother spend her life devoted to a man that did not return her affections, he decides that he will find a woman who is willing to accept a comfortable, yet loveless marriage. He is introduce to Judith Rossiter, the "Weeping Widow" of a well known poet. She seems to be the perfect candidate as her husband has left her penniless, she seems devoted to his memory, and she comes with two children, which Lee believes will help him settle into his life in England quickly. What he doesn't know is that any love she had for her husband died years ago. I felt that this was a sweet story and enjoyed watching this married couple fall in love.

When compared to Jo Beverley’s first Company of Rogues book, or even the second, Christmas Angel leaves a lot to be desired. The first few chapters were interesting enough though now that I’ve reached the end I think it was somewhat weak, and set the pace for the whole book. Leander has just returned from abroad and is looking to take an English wife to help him settle to his duties as an earl, but finds that every young lady he encounters falls in love with him on site. That’s believable given how ladies were taught to be during that time and that all of the Rogues are devilishly handsome. Then, however, the forced entry of the heroine and Leander’s instant decision that “she’s the one” just from one fumbled meeting with her ruined any magic there might have been. So the story progresses…and progresses…and progresses…. There’s a lot of interaction between Judith and Lee, but so many of their assumptions and actions are based on this idea that neither of them wants to love the other, when it’s obvious that they already do.

The story’s climax was also rather anti-climatic. Some stories are written to be what I call meandering—they’re not so much about an extraordinary set of events as about character development and the world around. Christmas Angel felt like it was trying to be one of those books but didn’t quiet grasp it. In retrospect, the climax is easily identifiable but during the read there was little lead up and almost no emotional attachment to what was happening. Frankly, the part that had me most ensnared the whole time was when Bastian goes missing (while under Nicholas’ care no less!) and is found half frozen at the top of a huge tree.

The closing was a bit hard to swallow, though in keeping with Ms. Beverley’s style. I call these “smothering happy endings” and thus far Beverley is the only writer I’ve encountered who qualifies for the label. I had to put the book down several times in the last ten pages because it was just so cheesy I felt somewhat embarrassed to be reading it.

For its lack of plot though, Christmas Angel does have its high points. Leander is a rather unique man; I’ve never encountered one quite like him. The way his parents’ relationship plays into his life is also rather effective and lends weight to his ideas on love and marriage, and his affection for Bastian and Rosie always earned an “Aww!” moment. As with all of the Company of Rogues books, the weaving-in of other Rogues created highlights throughout and kept the world itself from being flat. When in doubt, go on to another member of that elite circle!

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