Twelve days, nine women, and the challenge to not fall in love. He’d have nothing to worry about, if his best friend weren’t one of the nine.Matthew Pratt wouldn’t change a thing about his life—especially when he learns his childhood friend, Meg, will be joining him and his family for the holiday season. To make matters even better, his mother promises to no longer push him to marry, so long as … push him to marry, so long as Matthew meets with nine ladies of her choosing between Christmas and Twelfth Night. For an added prize from his father, Matthew must also keep from falling in love with any of the ladies. Unable to say no to a challenge, Matthew agrees, but that is before he realizes that Meg is numbered with the nine.
Meg Baker has always loved Matthew as a friend, but only recently has she discovered that her feelings are growing beyond that of simple camaraderie. Anxious to discover Matthew’s own feelings, Meg decides to draw as much attention to herself as possible during Christmastide, all before he returns to school.
As the holiday festivities begin, however, and Matthew takes an interest in other women—a great deal of other women—Meg fears she is too late to win his affection. But when a change comes in their relationship, Matthew must decide if he will remain comfortably single forever—or if Meg is worth the risk of a happily ever after.
Book 4 in the Belles of Christmas series, Nine Ladies Dancing, is a standalone Regency holiday romance. The series can also be enjoyed in this order:
Unmasking Lady Caroline by Mindy Burbidge Strunk, Book 1
Goodwill for the Gentleman by Martha Keyes, Book 2
The Earl’s Mistletoe Match by Ashtyn Newbold, Book 3
Nine Ladies Dancing by Deborah M. Hathaway, Book 4
A Duke for Lady Eve by Kasey Stockton, Book 5
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I enjoyed this book. It was a cute story. The resolution drug out a little too much for me, but I enjoyed it overall. It had more description than I care for when it came to the kissing scenes, or chemistry scenes. It was a clean read.
Language: None
Sex: A couple of kisses, more descriptive than I care for, but not dirty. More chemistry description than I like, but not dirty or inappropriate.
Violence/Gore: None
Too fun for words! This was a fun twist on the part of a traditional Christmas song.
A heartwarming Christmas story full of wit, laughter and bargains.
While two long time friends try to work past friendship and into more is a sweet tale of discovery and love.
Well written and developed characters and plot.
Very enjoyable and look forward to reading more from this series and author!
Oh what fun! A Regency Christmas story with all the traditions! Matthew’s meddling mother puts him in a situation that has him looking like a bit of a player, while Meg is stuck in the friend zone harboring an unrequited love. He just wants to spend his holidays with his friends, but now he is stuck humoring the local ladies, and Meg is losing patience. I was losing patience with him too, and Meg was starting to come off as a bit pathetic, until he begins to think of more than himself and his perspective matures. It’s funny that he doesn’t suspect his mother of craftiness and his father of just trying to mix things up a bit, but everyone gets the ending they want after enduring some good holiday angst.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
He makes two wagers in hopes of never having to settle down, but spending time with other ladies makes him realize his true feelings. The characters and their adventures make for a fun read before Christmas!
My heart hurt for Meg with cold parents, to have unrequited feelings for Matthew, who thought of her as another sister and to watch him spend time with other young unmarried ladies that his mother seemed to choose for him over Meg. His mother and father were clever with their wagers to help him see that his life could change for the better. Meg was a resilient girl and full of fun. Several moments in the book made me smile. This was a sweet best friends holiday romance.
Nine Ladies Dancing is a sweet Regency novella set during the Christmas season that was easy to read and a delightful tale. Meg and Matthew have known each other and been friends for most of their lives. After discovering her love for Matthew, Meg is determined to show him her feelings in hopes he will reveal he feels the same for her. Only one problem, Matthew is stubborn! He engages in a deal with his parents to pay particular attention to nine different ladies during the holiday season and not to fall in love in exchange to continue his carefree life without their interference. What’s a girl to do when the man she loves is interested in seemingly everyone else? This was a sweet romance and I enjoyed how Meg persisted and then basically puts Matthew in his place without being dramatic. Matthew is definitely slow to accept his feelings which was a bit frustrating, but overall I enjoyed the characters and the story.
I loved this story of best friends finding love. I enjoyed the sweet, clean love story and a very happy ending. The characters were well written and enjoyable. This author writes great stories and I always enjoy reading them.
I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own and are expressed voluntarily.
This book was so good! I loved the dialogue between all the characters. Some parts even had me giggling. The Christmas aspect was just what I needed to put me in the mood for the upcoming holidays. I wish Hallmark would make it into a movie- it would hold my interest way more than most of their cheesy holiday movies!
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. HONESTLY… you should get this book it was darling.
This was a clever imagining of a story built on the line from the 12 Days of Christmas. The plot moved a little slow, but the sweet ending made it worthwhile. Characters were stubborn but finally allowed for change that made everything work out. Well written and fun holiday read!
Clean, Witty with HEA Regency Romance
I thoroughly enjoyed this friends-to-lovers Regency romance. The Pratts’ inclusion of Meg into their loving family due to her parents’ neglect is heartwarming. Matthew’s & Meg’s banter is engaging. I couldn’t put the book down & will definitely read more from this author.
What I liked or engaged me:
• I liked the fun banter between Meg and Matthew. Right away their teasing captured my interest and I was committed to reading this book to discover more about these wonderful chatacters.
• The book made me ponder many things. Should a person maintain the status quo or should a person take a chance for more, by stepping forward and embracing change?
• Matthew’s goal in life was to keep life as it was. He did not want any responsibilities. He wanted to be free from change.
• The pacing of the story was neither too slow nor too fast.
• There was a smooth, coherent flow to this book. The story was well edited.
• This story had a satisfying ending.
• This was a clean read and I appreciate that.
I was given an advance copy of this book. My review was voluntary and my opinions were my own. I highly recommend this book.
A delightful Christmas story where friends gather to rejoice in the season. renew friends and in some cases and a chance for a closer look at the true feelings of each other. You can know someone for years and yet not really know them or your feelings can change with the passing of time. Matthew refuses to accept change, if he could freeze his life and continue to live in his frozen world he happily would but luckily for him, his mother will bargain with him to make him realize change can be wonderful.
A nice friends to lovers romance. I always appreciate a romance that is based on the relationship and the characters growing and coming together minus the bedroom scenes. I also enjoyed reading about the different Christmas traditions and how the season was celebrated long ago and in England. I liked the H & h and was cheering for them. Some of the personalities of the ladies Matthew’s mother chose to put on her list were pretty funny. Though this was a novella their was still good character development for the h & H. Everything, the story, characters, dialogue, made for a satisfying read.