Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Once Upon a Christmas

Once Upon a Christmas
Once Upon a Christmas
Author: Diane Farr
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Paperback
txdee avatar reviewed on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


Celia Delacourt, a poor vicar's daughter and now an orphan after the deaths of her entire family, receives a surprising offer from the matriarch of the same family that disowned her grandfather--a home with the Delacourts. Wondering at the motivation behind this offer from a stranger but with no other option available to her, Celia moves to Delacourt Hall where she finds herself an unwilling part of the Duchess of Arnsford's plan to force her marriage to the heir to the dukedom, Lord Lynden. Wise to his mother's plots, Lord Lynden schemes to discourage Celia in this by pretending to be mad--with comical results. This is a light read with some serious overtones in the character of the Duchess. A secondary romance is handled quite realistically. Ms. Farr develops each of the main characters skillfully, letting their actions tell more about them than their words. True to a traditional Regency read, nothing more than kisses are exchanged. All in all, a sweet story.