Carols and Chaos
Cindy Anstey
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: October 9th 2018
Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult
A lady’s maid and a valet become entangled in a yuletide counterfeiting scheme in this romantic Christmas YA adventure.
1817. The happy chaos of the Yuletide season has descended upon the country estate of Shackleford Park in full force, but lady’s maid Kate Darby barely has the time to notice. Between her household duties, caring for her ailing mother, and saving up money to someday own a dress shop, her hands are quite full. Matt Harlow is also rather busy. He’s performing double-duty, acting as valet for both of the Steeple brothers, two of the estate’s holiday guests.
Falling in love would be a disaster for either of them. But staving off their feelings for each other becomes the least of their problems when a devious counterfeiting scheme reaches the gates of Shackleford Park, and Kate and Matt are unwittingly swept up in the intrigue. Full of sweetness, charm, and holiday shenanigans, Carols and Chaos is perfect for fans of Jane Austen and Downton Abbey.
Review
Carols and Chaos a sweet below-stairs holiday historical romance/mystery. There is definitely a very Downton Abbeyfeel to this story, and I love the shift in focus on the staff below stairs rather than on the members of Society. The focus of this romance is between Kate, a ladies maid to the young ladies of the manor, and Matt, the valet of two visiting gentlemen. There's an element of star-crossed lovers to their story because they're servants in different households and can't entirely act on what their hearts want. While I would definitely class this as a romance, the romancing is limited to a few stolen kisses and lots of hand-holding (which is plenty scandalous for 1817, I suppose!)
There is a mystery element to this story, but it doesn't really start to form until halfway into the book. Once it does start to take shape, it takes flight rather quickly and the story takes off running with it. I actually really enjoyed the mystery elements of the story, and now that I know the conclusion I'm tempted to go back and reread to see if there were clues in there story that I could have picked up on if I'd known then what I know now. The plot of the mystery seemed to jump around a bit, and the book itself dragged on a bit while it took such a long time getting to the mystery part of the plot (during the Matt and Kate are flirting part of the plot, you could call it.) Overall though, this is a fun and fairly flirty holiday read, perfect for fans of Downton Abbeyand Christmas historicals.
There is a mystery element to this story, but it doesn't really start to form until halfway into the book. Once it does start to take shape, it takes flight rather quickly and the story takes off running with it. I actually really enjoyed the mystery elements of the story, and now that I know the conclusion I'm tempted to go back and reread to see if there were clues in there story that I could have picked up on if I'd known then what I know now. The plot of the mystery seemed to jump around a bit, and the book itself dragged on a bit while it took such a long time getting to the mystery part of the plot (during the Matt and Kate are flirting part of the plot, you could call it.) Overall though, this is a fun and fairly flirty holiday read, perfect for fans of Downton Abbeyand Christmas historicals.
Author Bio:
Whenever she is not sitting at the computer, throwing a ball in the backyard, gardening or reading, Cindy can be found–actually, not found–adventuring around the world with her hubby.
She has lived on three continents, had a monkey in her yard and a scorpion under her sink, dwelt among castles and canals, enjoyed the jazz of Beale St and attempted to speak French.
Cindy loves history, mystery and… a chocolate Labrador called Chester.
Great review! This sounds super sweet and perfect for the holidays! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a lovely read.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun read for this time of year!
ReplyDelete