This entire collection was delightful! I really enjoyed each story and can't even pick a favorite.
This entire collection was delightful! I enjoyed each story and can't even pick a favorite.
Lord Blakely's Gift: I loved how Ivy and Curtis first bumped into each other, and I loved seeing how Curtis opened up not just to Ivy but to others as he and Ivy worked together to try to find the owner of a lost purse. This was a sweet and funny story.
A Season of Hope: I liked reading about Phillip's return home and how Amelia's family kept their spirits up even during hardships--and how that in turn helped both Phillip and his father.
Christmas by the Sea: Will Crenshaw and his family stole my heart. I love how this story is from Will's perspective and we get to read his thoughts about his wife and children. It was just so endearing. It wasn't what I was expecting from a Regency story, since it focuses on the everyday life of a common family, rather than the balls and house parties of the ton, but it was excellent. I smiled so much while I was reading this story.
Expectations at Canterwood: I loved this story as well! Like the first story, there was a cute meeting. Marina felt so real to me--her fears and worries just really came through in the writing. Richard was dashing and kind and it was terrific how he got to know Marina and pursued her even though she had built up walls around herself.
This was such a great collection! I already want to go back and reread the stories!
5 stars and one of my picks for the Best Books of 2020.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! Each of the stories were well written and unique. So many of the characters wonderful and engaging. I highly recommend it!

This was amazing. I felt like I read full length novels even though they were novellas. All 3 stories were so cute and so different from each other. I’m not sure which one I liked best. It’s the perfect book to put you in the mood for Christmas too.
If you want a great read but don’t have the time for a huge book this would be perfect for you. You can easily finish one and come back to the other 3 when you have more time.

Such a beautiful collection of regency romance Christmas stories! The gorgeous cover is eclipsed only by the beautiful stories within.

The four stories are all so different from each other and yet I enjoyed each one immensely. They all have that little bit of Christmas magic in them that has you believing that anything is possible at Christmastime.

Two of the stories centered on new romance and both had some wonderful character growth, one told the story a childhood friend returned home to discover he has feelings for his best friend's sister, and one explored the challenges that come in marriage with the husband away in the Navy.

Heartwarming, feel-good stories with endearing characters, sweet romance, and Christmas magic - what more could you ask for?

I enjoyed each novella from beginning to end and will treasure this book as part of my personal Christmas collection.

I received a complimentary copy of this book but it in no way affected my review.

A Hopeful Christmas - A Regency Romance Collection 4 stars
by Anneka Walker, Sian Ann Bessey, Carla kelly , Krista Lynn Jensen

I have enjoyed these four regency romances. All clean romance reads and gives importance to family. The society then and now are similar with so many expectations and gossips. Scriptures tell us to please God rather than men. It’s not easy but I believe we should try to do it. The women here are courageous and outspoken so that adds to the fun in reading.

Each story is different but I think I like Lord Blakely’s Gift and Expectations at Canterwood the best. The others are good too. I just enjoyed the two stories more. I look forward to reading the backlist of these four wonderful authors.

Thank you #netgalley and Covenant Communications for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review as a link since there was problem connecting them.

"A Hopeful Christmas" is a charming collection of Regency Christmas novellas by four different authors, each with her own distinctive style.

"Lord Blakely's Gift" by Anneka Walker features Ivy Hunt and Lord Blakely, who meet under humorous and unexpected circumstances. Their families' long-standing feud threatens to derail any chance they have together. Characters are well-drawn, and Walker's prose is always a delight. The Christmas season brings healing and forgiveness here. 4 stars

Sian Anne Bessey's "A Season of Hope" is the touching story of childhood friends finding true love. Amelia is a sweet heroine who bravely faces hardship. On the other hand, Philip's father, Thomas Cunningham allows life to turn him into a bitter Scrooge-like man. These characters find healing and acceptance together. Lambert the shirt-eating goat actually drives some of the story and provides comic relief. 5 stars

In Carla Kelly's "Christmas by the Sea", William and Margaret Crenshaw are already married. This more serious story delves into class differences, and is by far the most religious of the four. True miracles save this lovely couple. 4 stars

Krista Lynne Jensen successfully packs a lot of character development into her novella "Expectations at Canterwood". It begins rather humorously with a case of mistaken identity. Marina Rowley's backstory is heartbreaking but with Richard Crenshaw's help she learns to trust herself and others, resulting in a lovely HEA. 5 stars

All of these novellas are clean, well-edited and uplifting. Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an ARC of this enjoyable collection of Regency Christmas novellas.

I loved each novella in this collection. Three stories are new romance and one story shows the beauty of love that exists in a marriage. All bring the hope of Christmas miracles. I adored the characters and the storylines. This is a book that I will reread and share with others. It is a perfect way to bring the Christmas spirit of hope and love into our lives.

These four authors came together and wrote romantic Christmas stories where hope is seems lost. Each story shows the true Christmas spirit in a regency world. Four different perspectives with different stories. I loved the reading about the couples who found each other in time for Christmas along with the couple who thought everything had been taken away from them but angels came to rescue.

Walker, Bessey, Kelly, and Jensen write about strong women who find their way to happiness within the confines of the societal expectations of their time. Each story has sweet and meaningful themes. They are well-written and are the perfect length.

A Hopeful Christmas. Anthology
Lord Blakey’s Gift by Anneka Walker
This is an exquisite story. Enemies to friendship to ... A long going family feud, yet by accident, Curtis and Ivy run into each other (literally)! I loved the characters so much. Ivy was so good for Curtis, just what he needed to help him become his own person. Ivy’s compassion for others is infectious. The story is great and flows freely. A quick read and very satisfying!
A Season of Hope By Sian Ann Bessey
A sweet regency romance of falling in love with her brothers best friend. Mia and her family had fallen on hard times. Phillip had been in the West Indies for 5 years. Their reunion was sweet. This is a story of mending fences, renewing friendships and finding the joy in Christmas. I loved the characters and thought it was the perfect addition to this collection of stories.

Christmas by the Sea by Carla Kelly
This story was nice and a bit magical. The kind of Christmas story that just makes you feel good. The characters were well defined. They are good kindhearted people. A couple that needed a little extra Christmas spirit.

Expectations at Canterwood by Krista Lynn Jensen
A wonderful conclusion in this collection on îf Hopeful Christmas stories. Growing up needing to wear glasses was tough (a fashion statement now). And yet if it weren’t for her mother, Marina wouldn’t have let it bother her. She was delightful and witty. And Richard was the perfect hero! The story took some interesting twist and turns. I loved when Marina told her story, so heartbreaking! But a great happily ever after!
I received a copy of this book from the Publisher and Net galley for my honest review.

This book is an anthology of four Christmas novellas set around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, by different authors. I enjoyed reading it very much, as all of the stories were well written, well plotted and had characters who seemed real. It also includes a story by Carla Kelly who is one of my favorite historical romance authors. I'm listing the stories in order of my rating and enjoyment.

A Season of Hope by Sian Ann Bessey 5 stars

For me, this is the best story in the anthology. There were two families in the village, one rich and one not so rich, whose sons grew up together. Mr. Cunningham, a wealthy landowner, was widowed, and had one son Philip. Mr. Nesbit, the vicar, had a wife and three children: Will, Amelia and Giles. The vicar's family is joyous and welcoming, and their son Will was the same age as Philip. Philip and Will grew up as best friends and left to seek their fortunes in the West Indies.

When Philip returned alone, he was horrified to discover Will's family's situation. The vicar had died, and his widow and the two remaining children were in dire straits financially, but their faith and their love for each other was as strong as ever. This is a marvelous story and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Christmas by the Sea by Carla Kelly 5 stars

This is a lovely, heartwarming story about a family rich in love and faith. Royal Navy surgeon Will Crenshaw finally is able to come home after a two year absence, in time to celebrate Christmas with his wife and two children, one who is so young he doesn't remember Will. However, when they are making plans to move from their too-small lodgings, they find that some unwelcome family meddling has been going on behind their backs. Help comes from an unexpected and delightful source.

I think the part of the story I enjoyed the most was when the family invited old friends to their Christmas dinner, friends who would otherwise be alone. This story has been in other story collections, and I've read it before, but enjoyed it just as much again.

Expectations at Canterwood by Krista Lynne Jensen 5

This story takes place at a house party. Marina is a young lady who wears glasses, unusual for a young person at that time. She is chivied relentlessly by her mother in her quest to get her daughter married, as she has had several seasons and received no offers. The mother considers her daughter's weak eyesight as a flaw, and her need to wear glasses as the cause of her not having 'taken'. Her parents want her to make a match with a man who will be a guest at the house party they are attending. Marina spots a military man who is easily 30 years older than she is and panics, assuming that he is the man that her parents intend for her. But there is more than one military man at the party... This was a delightful and unusual story and I enjoyed it very much.

Lord Blakely's Gift by Anneka Walker 4 stars

Miss Grace Hunt is visiting her long estranged, ailing grandmother at Christmas. On one of her daily walks, she finds a stocking full of coins and meets a handsome but reserved young man. Rather than turning the stocking of coins (called a miser stocking) over to the vicar, she is determined to find the owner herself. The young man offers to help her, since she is a stranger to the neighborhood. She doesn't know his name at first, but later discovers he is the son of the local lord. Lord Blakely, however, knows who she is as their families are enemies.

This story was very well written, and parts of it were very enjoyable, particularly when Grace and Lord Blakely were helping people in need. However, I thought this was the weakest story in the anthology. Grace's behavior with meeting the young man, sometimes without even her maid, seemed reckless to me for that time period, and her reasoning for not turning over the stocking of coins to the vicar immediately did not make sense.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. These are my opinions of the book.

A nice collections of stories to kick off the holidays. Not overly festive or spiritual, which actually was a drawback for me; when I'm reading about Christmas, I'd like it to be CHRISTMAS. I often forgot that the season was what tied them all together. That said, they were all well written, if a bit rushed. Each love story takes no longer than a few weeks (or days) to conclude-- that's fast! Still, would definitely read more from all these authors.
A Season of Hope was by far my favorite, though I wished for more at the end. Christmas By the Sea was easily my least favorite, but that was mostly personal preference.


Overall, no amazing stand outs, but worth a cozy winter read. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley! As always, opinions are completely my own.

A very well matched anthology. This anthogy had four stories that were equally enjoyable. With "Lord Blakely's Gift", a years old feud is the antagonist of a young couple. The heroine visits her grandmother, when her grandmother requests a visit from the heroine's father, her son. The heroine goes instead. She meets a young man and they begin to casually run into each other. When the hero tells his mother who she is,the mother is upset. Will the gift of the season overcome hard feelings? In the next book, "A Season of Hope", the heroine's family are struggling to survive after the death of her father and older brother. A local land owner has allowed them to rent a cottage that was barely upright. And her little brother's goat kept eating the shirts of the landowner. The land owner's son returns from the Caribbean, and takes over the situation. This story was very nice because I like childhood live grown up to adult love. "Christmas by the Sea" was very funny. I love stories that show family life, and these kids are too cute. The hero is a ship's doctor and he has returned from a naval battle to visit his family over Christmas. His wife, the heroine, has purchased a lovely home.for them in a nearby village and they both love it. The hero's brother is in charge of the money because women cannot own anything and the brother and sister of the hero override the heroine because she is not of their class, and they buy a house where they want the hero to live. This story was such a page turner. The last story, "Expectaions at Canterwood" remind us all not to make instant opinions and to listen to what people say. The heroine is to meet her future husband at a house party over the holidays. There was a mistaken identity and the heroine is outside, having a panic attack in the garden. The gardener is trying to help her, but she is not listening to her. And when she is introduced to her future husband, in private so that she doesn't get embarrassed, she again, jumps the gun and takes it all the wrong way. But, common sense finally prevails and she meets her future husband in a cordial manner. This was a good Christmas story grouping. I felt the spirit of Christmas and not just a romance plunked into the holiday season. I was surprised at the lack of errors and well written style of each of the authors. Too many times, the stories are just lumped together, no story or character development and stories that do not celebrate the power of Christmas. I give this book 5 stars and a recommendation to read.

This book is hard to review . Because it is a collection of 4 stort stories by 4 different authors. So i Will just tell you what i think about the book As a one book if that makes sense. It was a sweet romance it was about different kind of loves. And It was about small miracles. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest review

Out of the 4 stories, I liked 3, so that’s a decent score for an anthology. The third story about the naval surgeon and his wife was out of place with the rest of the stories. Clean historical romances. worth a read if on clearance.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Hopeful Christmas
A Regency Romance Collection
by Anneka Walker, Sian Ann Bessey, Carla Kelly , Krista Lynn Jensen
Back of the Book: “Kindle the spirit of the season as four of your favorite storytellers weave tales of love and hope in this charming yuletide collection.
LORD BLAKELY’S GIFT
When Miss Grace Hunt and Lord Curtis Blakely establish a secret acquaintance, neither can deny that their feelings extend beyond friendship. But as the children of bitter rivals, it will take a Christmas miracle for this star-crossed pair to reach their happily ever after.
A SEASON OF HOPE
Following the death of her father, Amelia knows Christmas will be lean. But when circumstances become dire, it is the unexpected arrival of a childhood friend that renews Amelia’s hope—both for the future and for love.
CHRISTMAS BY THE SEA
After two years at sea with the Royal Navy, Surgeon Will Crenshaw longs for a quiet Christmas with his family. But when unrest at home threatens to ruin the holidays, it takes the kindly intervention of a mysterious house sitter to remind them of the true meaning of the season.
EXPECTATIONS AT CANTERWOOD
She is a spinster, he a war-weary military man. A case of mistaken identity throws them together, but the unexpected stirrings of their hearts lead to an unforgettable holiday romance.”
Impressions: There was a theme of nautical military men romancing and being romanced in this collection set during the early 1800s. It was a cozy and sweet read.
Liked: I liked the first and the last stories of this collection the most.
Disliked: I felt that Christmas by the Sea felt misplaced.
Quotes: "Sometimes all a body needs is someone to believe in him."
I received a copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

A Hopeful Christmas is a compilation of 4 short stories by different authors. Each story is set around a Regency Christmas and has a sweet romantic theme full of hope and promise, yet each story is completely different and stands alone. All the stories have a faith based theme and are clean romances. I found the book to be uplifting and encouraging. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review #AHopefulChristmas and give my honest opinion. I would think after the year 2020 has been these stories will be a welcome escape for many!

#netgalley #ahopefulchristmas

I really enjoyed this collection of stories. Each story was amazing in it's own right. I thought they were well written and very heartwarming. I highly recommend this book.

I don't usually read anthologies, but I am so glad I picked up A Hopeful Christmas put out by Covenant Communications. What a delightful set of stories! And oh, how I wish all of them were full-length novels.

I cannot say which one I liked the best as each story was unique in their own way. Lord Blakely's Gift brings together Miss Ivy Hunt and Lord Curtis Blakely. Both are, unfortunately, the unwitting victims of a family feud that has stretched on for years. So they keep their growing attraction and their meetings secret. I loved how Ivy was the best thing for Curtis and vice versa. This was a charming tale of hope, love and finding your faith in God again.

A Season of Hope has all the necessary elements to make it a story you don't want to see end. A Scrooge, a poor family and a knight in shining armour (well, not really, but you know what I mean) make this a perfect story for the Christmas season. I will miss these characters.

Christmas by the Sea has an interesting twist that will remind you of the season's real reason. The love between Will Crenshaw and his wife is steadfast and grounded in a deep faith in God. Their desire to share their Christmas with less fortunate people results in a magical twist that I found enchanting.

Expectations at Canterwood delivers a wholesome tale of two souls who are weary of life. Marina has the added burden of lacking trust or faith in anyone. When she meets Richard Stanhope, she is wary of his attentions and intentions. I loved that Richard was not dissuaded from pursuing her. This is a beautiful story of trust and acceptance.

All the stories will put you in the mood for Christmas and leave you with a smile. I highly recommend this anthology!

This book was provided courtesy of Covenant Communications through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this collection of novellas. Each story was great. I thought they were well written and very uplifting. Usually I have a story that I liked more than the others but not this time. I really enjoyed every single one and could not pick a favorite. I highly recommend this book.

The Miracle of Christmas

A Hopeful Christmas by Krista Jensen, Carla Kelly, Sian Ann Bessey, and Anneka Walker is a lovely anthology of romantic and spiritual Christmas stories.

The anthology is composed of four novellas: Lord Blakely's Gift by Anneka Walker, A Season of Hope by Sian Ann Bessey, Christmas by the Sea by Carla Kelly, and Expectations at Canterwood by Krista Jensen.

I am a huge fan of Carla Kelly and would not miss reading one of her royal navy stories. I was also curious to read the other new-to-me authors that share this book with her.

In Christmas by the Sea, once more, Carla Kelly brings the heart-wrenching struggles of the royal navy families during the Napoleon Wars. I love that she focuses on those left behind. The silent heroes that kept their families together while their loved ones soldiered far away.

She has an exquisite talent for creating characters that grab your heart and don't let it go, way after the story is finished.

Lord Blakely's story has a hint of Romeo and Juliet. Two young people finding themselves in love but conflicted about betraying their family wishes. It was sweet, romantic, and focused on Christmas's real meaning (helping others and spreading kindness).

A Season of Hope is a lovely childhood friends-to-lovers story. It was full of compassion, goodwill, and it filled my heart with Christmas cheer. It features an energetic boy and his very naughty goat.

Last but not least, Expectations at Canterwood features a bespectacled spinster trying to survive a house party while dodging her marriage obsessed mom (she strongly reminded me of Mrs. Bennet) and trying to avoid falling in love with her charming host.

A Hopeful Christmas is a lovely anthology of sweet and inspirational stories perfect for celebrating the season. I will be looking for other books by these authors.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 10/01/2020*