Hot historical romance. Fun quick read. Love the spinster teacher takes a step out on the wild side. While the students are away the teacher will play........

I loved this Christmas book by Viveka Portman. As a warning, there are a couple of erotic scenes, but if you're ok with that, I think you will also enjoy this story. Miss Ellen Smith is a spinster school teacher being groomed to take over as head mistress of the upper crust school where she teaches. Her life is prim, proper, dull and boring. With the head mistress on early Christmas leave and all the students and staff gone home to their families, except for the old married caretaker and maid, Miss Smith decides to take one night of fun and go to the local pub in disguise. . She wants to experience fun, drink, dancing and excitement. Just this one time, she wants to see what she will miss out on the remainder of her days. She is having quite the time, when a gorgeous gentleman comes into the pub. She catches his eye and he approaches and introduces himself. He turns out to be the widowed father of a student at the school. He doesn't recognize Ellen in the dim light and without her mop cap and dreary teacher clothing. What ensues is a fantasy for Ellen, but once the fantasy ends, she must resume her place in propriety. I fell in love with the characters and the story and throughly enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it for a quick and tantalizing read.

Ellen is a spinster schoolteacher, slated to be the next headmistress. While she's glad for her position, the idea that she'll have to remain prim and proper for the rest of her life causes quite a pinch. When a student leaves behind a sumptuous gown by accident over the winter holiday, Ellen decides to wear it out for a night on the town, just this once. Except when she does, she runs into Robert, the single father of one of her pupils that she's been crushing on for years.

It was a cute premise and I really liked Ellen's general demeanor and outlook on life. But since it was so short...uh, there was an awful lot of sex. Which, I like reading some well done steamy scenes, but it just wasn't much of a plot-what-plot kind of set up so the over-reliance on the sex scenes really did it some detriment. The two lead characters barely had any time to interact or build a relationship outside of the physical, and yet all of the fallout relied on us believing in said non-existent connection. Without any of that, the whole story feels rather abrupt.

Wealthy widower Robert Carring picks up his daughter, Penelope, from Miss Brampton's School for Ladies for the Christmas holiday. Ellen Smith teaches the students the rules of propriety and conduct and, while she has resigned herself to the life of a spinster, yearns to enjoy more of life. Robert feels attracted to Ellen but, if he remarries, he wants a woman of passion, intellect and spirit. When Ellen takes a walk on the wild side, she encounters Robert and, though he doesn't know who she is, the fire burns hot between them.

The Christmas Bride by Viveka Portman is a novella that had a promising description. This is the first book by this author that I have read, and I found the execution wanting. I've read romances with erotic content, but this is more erotic than romantic. Ellen and Robert's first encounter in a back alley is far from romantic and their subsequent encounters seem more about lust than love. While there is a HEA, it seemed forced by circumstances.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A Christmas Bride has everything you would want in a light-hearted, sweet, Christmas novella. Ellen Smith, spinster/teacher, has long admired the widowed father of one of her students. Once all of the girls have left for Christmas holiday, Ellen dresses in one of the gowns left by a student that is elegant and nothing she could have afforded to buy herself. She goes out on the town and begins to dance the night away. Due to her extreme change in clothing and demeanor, Robert Carring, another student’s father does not recognize her. They truly enjoy each other for the evening, including a brief sensual encounter.

Robert, who has been faithful to his marriage vows even after his wife’s death, yearns to meet someone who whom he can love and who will fill his life with an equal love. They do not exchange names that evening, but exchanged a connection that is true and real.

Robert’s search for the beauty who captured his heart and mind is a sweet, poignant part of this sensual book. He realizes he cannot live without this woman. Robert’s loyalty to Ellen is one most women long for in a man. He is kind, caring, handsome and true.

A Christmas Bride is a quick, enjoyable, Christmas read. As the first Viveka Portman book for me, I see her as a writer who puts her heart into her characters and into the connection of life and longing. I will be looking for more of her work.

A Christmas Bride by Viveka Portman is the story of Ellen Smith and Robert Carring.
Ellen works at a school for young ladies and its Christmas and all the ladies have gone home for vacation. Left with just the other teachers since her mother has past she is lonely and yearns for something she never had...love and excitement. When she finds a dress left by one of the students she takes a chance on one night of fun where she finds Robert, one of the fathers of her student. Robert lost his wife a few years ago and thinking of remarrying but wants passion in his marriage this time since the last one wasn't so. Ellen and Robert share a hot encounter but he doesn't recognize her from school.
This was a good spicy romance read.

Miss Ellen Smith is an instructor at Miss Brampton's School for Ladies. It is Christmas and everyone is leaving for their holiday except for the caretakers of the school and Miss Smith. Her mother has passed about a year before and she has no one. Mr Robert Carring, one of her student's father is picking his daughter up. Miss Smith is attracted to him, but she doesn't think he knows she is alive. He has been widowed for two years and feels it is time to take another wife but he wants passion in his life. It is something that he did not have with his deceased wife. On a day before Christmas, Ellen feels that she must have one day when she can feel and be someone that she wants to be. She wears a dress that one of her students leaves behind and goes to a public house and dances. Mr Carring comes in to have a drink and sees her. Although he does not recognize her, he is most attracted. When she asks him to make love to her as a Christmas gift, he does and regrets that he never knew her name. When he sees her again, he knows her and they have a short affair. They agree that they must not see each other again. If anyone finds out, she will lose her job. Will either be able to stay away from the other or is it over for good. It is a lovely book for Christmas. I recommend it highly. It does have steamy, sexy scenes. I received this book from Net Galley and Escape Publishing for a honest review and no compensation otherwise. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book had a good storyline. I liked both main characters. I felt like it was to short and could have drawn out the story more. Overall not a bad read.

A Christmas Bride by Viveka Portman, Escape Publishing, 2018.

This piece of erotic fiction is a series of three very descriptive encounters held together by a a Cinderella/Pretty Woman plot outline; a slight anomaly is that the heroine has an education and a promising career choice. It is a well written fantasy, but at times mean spirited in its treatment of lesser characters and groups. I can’t recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of A Christmas Bride free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Amazon.ca not accepting reviews yet so I will add next month.