When John Trent, a dedicated member of the new Bow Street Runners, finds an exquisite carved angel floating in the Thames, he can’t stop thinking about it. He tracks down its creator, a sad and quiet young sculptor. But neither the angel nor the sculptor is done with John just yet. The blasted angel refuses to leave him be, behaving not at all like an inanimate object should.Alec Allston is … Allston is resigned to the fact that his love will ever be a river that flows out and never flows in. All he wanted to do was create a special gift so that a small part of himself could be with his unattainable and noble beloved, always. But when the gift keeps showing back up at his shop in the hands of a windblown and rugged thief-taker, Alec will need to reconsider his conviction that love is destined to remain an ethereal ideal.
This book is one of seven stories which can all be read and enjoyed in any order.
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The Christmas Angel Series:
In 1750, a master woodcarver poured all his unrequited love, passion, and longing into his masterpiece—a gorgeous Christmas angel for his beloved’s tree. When the man he loved tossed the angel away without a second thought, a miracle happened. The angel was found by another who brought the woodcarver True Love.
Since then, the angel has been passed down, sold, lost and found, but its magic remains. Read the romances inspired by (and perhaps nudged along by) the Christmas angel through the years. Whether it’s the 1880’s New York (Kim Fielding’s Summerfield’s Angel), the turn-of-the-century (Jordan L. Hawk’s Magician’s Angel), World War II (L.A. Witt’s Christmas Homecoming), Vietnam-era (N.R. Walker’s Soldier’s Wish), the 1990’s (Anyta Sunday’s Shrewd Angel), or 2018 (RJ Scott’s Christmas Prince), the Christmas angel has a way of landing on the trees of lonely men who need its blessing for a very Merry Christmas and forever HEA.
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CW: suicidal ideation
This story opens with one of the MCs considering suicide so if that’s a concern for you, you can skip the first chapter and miss it without missing a thread of the story.
Alec is a sculptor and he’s resigned himself to a life of celibacy to avoid society’s judgement. John is a member of London’s newly established law enforcement and he has other ideas for Alec—ideas that definitely don’t involve celibacy. This story is sweet and kind with a real courtship and great supporting characters. Alec and John get a happy ending you can feel. It’s a wonderful Christmas story! Eli Easton is a great author and I always enjoy her holiday stories!
I loved this queer Georgian romance set at Christmas! It was charmingly written and romantic. Two men come together with a bit of mystical help. Even the predictable bits were enjoyable, given that they included my favorite tropes (return of the dastardly ex, for example). I loved seeing the queer family built by one of the MCs and enjoyed the setting, London at Christmastime.
This was my third book by Eli Easton, and the first historical by the author. Honestly, not knowing her style when it comes to historicals, I was a bit worried. It was a difficult time and I wondered how she would make it work.
Turns out, I shouldn’t have worried. The book was amazing from the first sentence to the last one and I enjoyed it entirely. It has only started my desire to read more historical romances by the author.
I loved the varied set of characters but my favourite one by far was Alec. He is saved by the angel and the image of said angel then brings him what he needed. A friend, and more importantly, a set of unlikely characters who function as a family.
And while this family of sorts enabled John to live his life relatively freely, at least in the privacy of the home, Alec had no such luck. The one person he thought he loved decided that the marriage and social status was more important and threw Alec’s devotion away.
And there was also the physical aspect of the relationship that John introduced to Alec. He was always told that the love must be pure and since that kind of relationship was against the law, and therefore wrong, it should not be experienced.
But John has different views. And I loved the fact that he didn’t push Alec into anything. It was all very consensual and hot and…just so perfect.
I can try to find more coherent words to describe the book but in the end, all that matters is that the book is sweet and amazing in all senses of the word and that I heartily recommend it to anyone.
Christmas Angel is a really lovely start to the The Christmas Angel series of standalone stories. Here we learn how and why she came to be, and a little of how she works her magic.
Alec is such an endearing character, my heart hurt for him from the moment he was introduced. He had so much love to give, and he deserved to be loved right back. And thanks to a little help from the Angel, that’s exactly what happened.
This was a delightful little story. I really liked how caring John was with Alec, how patient and considerate he was with him. It was good to see Alec come out of his shell and realize life was there for the taking. They were very sweet together.
I LOVED this book. Set in the Georgian era, it relates the story of Alec Allston, a sweet, sensitive sculptor, who after being rejected by his long time lover, decides to end his pain at the edge of the river Thames. But December is full of Christmas miracles, and Alec is saved from his heartbreaking impulse through divine intervention. Enter John Trent, thief catcher, who by accident rescues from the river an exquisite angel figurine, and feels compelled to return it to his original owner. He meets Alec, the figurine’s creator, and is enthralled by the ethereal sculptor. Alec is also attracted to the roguish law officer, but his heartbreaking experience keeps him from taking a chance. This novella is the beginning of a series of love stories, in which Alec’s angel nudges fate for lovers to find their match. The story is beautifully written, with detailed descriptions that places the reader right in the middle of the time period, as well as giving it that magical Christmasy feeling. It is a sweet story, with an intensely satisfying happy ending, and it makes me excited about the rest of the books in the series.
This first book in the Christmas Angel series focuses on the origins of the one thing that connects each book – a hand-carved angel ornament. This one starts on a somber note with the woodcarver himself in despair. With a bit of the Christmas spirit, the angel brings John to Alec’s door, and the chemistry is undeniable. John and Alec are completely lovable and absolutely adorable together from the very beginning. And John’s housemates compliment this love story perfectly. Admittedly, I tend to shy away from historical romances, but there was just something about the season and the magic of it all that drew me to this one, and I’m so glad it did. The story is a well-written, quick read, the angst level is pretty low overall, and we even get a bit of steamy goodness from this terrific pair. It’s a solid lead-in to a promising series, and I’m eager to see where this magical angel ends up next.
This is the first book in the Christmas Angel series that is a collection of books by different authors. This is the creation of the Christmas Angel and it’s my understanding that the angel is passed along through generations. This was a short and sweet historical holiday read. Very low angst with a romantic HEA.
Such a wonderful Christmas read.
I don’t usually read historical. Eli has another one out that I tried and loved. PLUS, I love all of Eli’s Christmas books. So, I gave this one a try and I am so happy I did. It’s my first Christmas read of the year and I might just have to go back and reread it before Christmas.
It starts off with one of the characters in a dark place and something happens to help him.
The two characters come together through an angel. John Trent is so wonderful and the way he treats Alec is beautiful. This story is a must read and I will be coming back to it Christmas after Christmas.