Christmas with His Wallflower Wife: A Christmas Historical Romance Novel

Christmas with his Wallflower Wife is the third and final book in author Janice Preston’s "The Beauchamp Heirs" series. For those of us who are fans of Janice Preston’s Beauchamp family series, this is a sad day to have to say goodbye to this family. I’m hoping that at some point, Ms. Preston will find a way back to the Beauchamp family, but if this truly is the end, then I must say she ended it with complete and utter perfection! Lord Alexander Beauchamp is the youngest son of the Duke of Cheriton. He’s considered the rebellious son, the loner, an outsider who never feels comfortable around his family, especially his father. Lady Jane Colebrooke’s family estate adjoins the Beauchamp’s in Devonshire. She grew up with the Beauchamp children and was particularly close to Alex. Over the years her hero-worship of Alex has matured into love, but she knows he still sees her as the little girl who followed him around. I love when a couple has a past together and when friendship turns to love. Although we’ve seen Alex in all the previous stories, Jane is a fairly new character for us. We first met her in the previous book in this series, Daring to Love the Duke’s Heir. I liked her in that story and was happy to hear she was the heroine in this story. She’s grown up with the Beauchamp’s and as we get to know her, we see that Alex has always stood up for her and protected her. So when Jane is being pressured into an unwanted marriage, Alex steps in and offers to marry her himself. I really felt Jane was good for Alex and the one person who could eventually get through to him. I am a big fan of the Beauchamp Family and was looking forward to Alex’s story to see if we finally get to see the source of his anger. I’ll admit that when it came to Alexander Beauchamp, I really didn’t feel I knew him or understood him… If you’ve followed the series from beginning to end, you are aware Alex was traumatized at an early age and since that time has been troubled and upset. This story brings everything out in the open and explains it all! It’s an extremely emotional read as we watch this young man go through the process of discovering the truth of many years ago. Ms. Preston is such an excellent writer and this story definitely goes up there as one of her best! This story is so much more than just a newly married couple’s journey from friendship to love. It’s a story about family, secrets, hope, and yes… love. The story takes the reader on an emotional journey and we end up with an extremely perfect ending set at Christmas time. With all of our favorite characters from the previous stories making an appearance, I couldn’t ask for a better ending for a beloved series and family! I’ll admit I closed this book with happy tears! I highly recommend all of Janice Preston’s books, but will always hold a special place in my heart for the Beauchamp Series! Loved it!

After being away four years, Lord Alexander Beauchamp has agreed to return to Cheriton Abbey for a garden party because the whole family would be reunited. He hates it there, and he vows to go back home to Foxbourne Manor and his horses as soon as he can. Unlike Alex, Lady Jane Colebrooke is thrilled that he is back. She's loved him for years but to him, she was always "good old Janey", to her chagrin. But Alex, ever her protector, rescues Jane and they are soon wed. Jane is happy in a way, but Alex was never easy; will marriage help him chase his demons away? I was eager for the story of the enigmatic, rebellious Alex Beauchamp. Alex could hardly stand his father, the formidable Leo, Duke of Chariton; even marrying Jane consisted in an act of defiance against Leo. I knew Alex's story would be dark, but I did not anticipate such a dark Gothic tale. I also had a problem very early on: Jane has always loved Alex, and what bothered me until the very end was that there had never been any indication that Alex fancied Jane in any way. It had been a platonic friendship until the wedding, when Alex noticed Jane's beauty, and he became consumed with lust on the wedding night. In view of the circumstances - the reason why they married - Alex showed just how selfish and inconsiderate he was. The marriage seemed to work mostly on a physical level - they are always having sex, he tries to distract her away from their problems by having sex, he hopes to obliterate his black moods by bedding his wife - and the fact that Alex's sudden lust came out of nowhere threw me completely off. The characters are exceptionally well drawn, particularly the villain and Leo, whom I adored in this book. But I really disliked Alex as a romantic hero, although he's a fabulous character. Alex is the broodiest, most tortured and tormented hero I have ever read, and they are not my favourite. CHRISTMAS WITH HIS WALLFLOWER WIFE makes one realise how difficult and dangerous it must have been before the advent of psychology and psychiatry for people to overcome their mental health issues, because Alex was a very troubled man - and he did have his reasons. I also thought him foolish to place his trust in the wrong person, never in the ones who cared about him; he was too proud, too stubborn. I couldn't help thinking what an utterly miserable life "a real Jane" would have suffered. I don't know if it was a case of the right book at the wrong time, but CHRISTMAS WITH HIS WALLFLOWER WIFE didn't work for me, it was just too dark and Alex too frustrating. The writing is outstanding, as expected; the period details exquisite; and the dialogues absolutely brilliant and entirely in tune with the language of the era. The epilogue is particularly lovely with an authentic Regency Christmas atmosphere. I give 3.5 stars