This is romantic, amusing, sad and sweet. Benjamin is stubborn, determined and intense. Noelle is sweet, caring and generous. He broke her heart 5 years earlier when he left Cressmouth without saying good-bye. And he has only come back to get the locket his grandfather stole from him. But before he can have it he has to finish the project his grandfather gave him. So while he's in town he decides to spend time with her, knowing that they will never see each other again, while also realizing that he wishes that things could be different, that they could be together. She also comes to learn that he left her because he is heartbroken, not because she's not dispensable. They both have an epiphany at the end of the story, and both realize what love means.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

I really enjoyed this story of Benjamin, the Duke of Silkridge and Noelle Pratchett in the small town of Cressmouth or more popularly known as Christmas. This story takes different elements from The Christmas Carol and brings it into the romance, like a character absolutely detesting Christmas. It is a good book and light read to enjoy in the holiday season which will bring out the Christmas spirit. This was book one in the Dukes of Christmas series.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Beautiful story, although it wasn’t an easy read to complete. I had to think on how to write this review without including any spoilers. The lady is wonderful, she has made a good life for herself, and those around her, by trying her best to accomplish items and better herself. She still holds tight to her dream, even though she knows the reality of it occurring is slim. The Duke in the story has his obligations and centers his life around his obligations. He forgets that he is also a person. Erica has interwoven items from traditional Christmas stories/poems/songs into the story which make for a nice read and triggers the readers’ mind to recall them. Beautiful opening to a great series, which improves with each book, as I have now read the first three books.

Benjamin, the Duke of Silkridge returns to the small town of Cressmouth (Christmas) for the reading of his Grandfather's will. He hates the town but desperately wants his mother's locket, which was taken from him by his grandfather before he was banished from Cressmouth. After the deaths of his beloved mother and father and his grandfather's behaviour Benjamin has devoted himself to his work in the House of Lords, after all if you don't love anyone they can't hurt you when they leave. What he isn't looking forward to is seeing the girl he loved before he was forced to leave Cressmouth.

Noelle Pratchett has lived in Cressmouth all her life, she was desperately in love with Benjamin until he left without notice and never came back. Since then she has clung to the town and its people, and to Benjamin's grandfather who embraced eccentricity and was beloved by all the townspeople.

This started off very like A Christmas Carol, I must be one of the few people who loathes and detests A Christmas Carol in each and every format, Hallmark remake? Hate it. Muppet Christmas Carol? Hate it. Black and white version? Hate it. Book? Hate it. So it didn't bode well.

But I do like Erica Ridley's books, so I persevered and I can say the less it felt like a retelling of A Christmas Carol, the more I liked it. As Benjamin comes to know Noelle better and engage with the townsfolk in order to meet the terms of his grandfather's will he sees a new side to the town. But can there be a future for the man who won't stay and the woman who won't leave?

Overall, it was sweet and schmaltzy and Christmassy, full of eccentric characters in a small town that prides itself on being Christmas 365 days a year.

I received a free copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Erica Ridley does an amazing job at taking one character (the Duke's grandfather) and showing how an entire town could love and idolize him while at the same time, he was cruel and cut ties with his grandson. She blends the consequences of the past with the pain of the present and allows her characters to slowly heal. She makes her characters unique and their situations true to their time with a touch of being able to envision even today. I truly loved this book and as it is set just after Christmas in a town known as Christmas, it is a PERFECT holiday read for any historical romance fan.

Thank you to Erica Ridley, WebMotion, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I love Erica Ridley's books and am only missing 1 from The Dukes of War series and half of the Rogues to Riches series. I was excited to have the opportunity to read from a new series. I thought the idea of a year-round Christmas village in Regency England was intriguing. I loved that the heroine is a smart, independent woman. I felt for the hero's past and upbringing. I felt invested in the characters.

This is the first installment of the 12 Dukes Of Christmas series. It opens with our haughty Duke in route to Cressmouth, or Christmas as it known far and wide, for the reading of his maternal grandfather's will where he hopes to retrieve a heirloom that belonged to his mother. He feels the heirloom was stolen by his grandfather and while not forgiving he has not returned for a number of years. On his last visit he had kissed a young maiden and profesed his love but left the next day to never return. Meanwhile our young maiden, who is very intelligent, has risen in his deceased grandfathers employ and oversees the entire estate. Will sparks fly and reignite a budding romance?

I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion.

**Review of eARC provided by NetGalley**

A town called Christmas? Didn’t Doctor Who do something similar (before you all run off to check, yes they did. “The Time of the Doctor” - Matt Smith’s last episode).

What shouldn’t work in historical romance... actually kind of does in a surreal fairy tale way. It also embraces the “Christmas Carol” motif that the story obviously takes cues from. And since this is a Christmas novel, there are a lot of fantasy elements that are perfectly acceptable.

The characters are fun, though I would have liked to find out more about why Mr. Marlowe turned Cressmouth into “Christmas,” as well as all the other oddball things he did. Maybe that will be addressed in other books in the series?

Overall, a fun little Christmas romance story. I look forward to more!

Benjamin Ward, the fifth Duke of Silkridge from London went back to Cressmouth England to be present for the reading of his grandfather’s will and get the gold locket that his grandfather took from him. When Benjamin gets to Cressmouth everyone calls the town Christmas plus partakes in joy and Christmas cheer especially a friend from the past, Miss Noelle Pratchett. Benjamin a miserly crotchety guy refuses to be phased by the Christmas spirit and the town. Bad things and loss have happened to Benjamin always on or around Christmastide so it’s hard to feel much of anything. Still Noelle’s sunny joyful Christmas persona is infectious and Benjamin can’t help but feel something especially strong feelings of attraction for her. Of course Benjamin can’t act on those feelings being a duke and Noelle is way beneath him being an orphan. Still Benjamin wants Noelle and for her to leave Cressmouth to be with him. Will Noelle leave everything she knows for Benjamin?
This might be a novella but still is a complete enjoyable Christmas story! It definitely will put you in the Christmas spirit and brings a sort of spirit of Dickens with Shakespeare combined which is done well. The town is easily imagined and seems almost trapped in a veritable time of Christmas; which isn’t bad and seems a town worth visiting. The characters also ooze with charm especially the female heroine Noelle. You couldn’t help but love her spirit, joy and sunny disposition! Noelle definitely brought happiness to Benjamin who was such a stick in the mud and really needed lots of Christmas cheer or a big hug. Even with his sour demeanor Benjamin wasn’t a bad guy and was willing to do everything for Noelle which was so sweet. On the cold winter nights this book definitely warms the heart and manages to make you believe in the spirit of Christmas!

Again Love Erica Ridley!! Everyone should read her books! I love Historical Romance more because of her!

Enjoyed it

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: 12 Dukes of Christmas
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

I thought this book was just ok. I was ready to put the book down within the first chapter, but am a huge fan of Erica Ridley, so I read on. The Duke of Silkridge is back in Cressmouth. He never thought he would be here, but his grandfather had taken his locket, and now his grandfather was dead. Noelle Pratchett fell in love with the Duke when she first met him. When the Duke left Cressmouth the first time, it broke her heart.
The Duke hates Christmas and that is what Cressmouth has turned into. It is a Christmas village. He cannot escape the holiday that he hates. We hear about this constantly and this is what turned me off to the book. However, I persisted and learned that the story has a happy ending. I have read more books in this series and will say that the series gets better as you read more.

A Christmas romance. A pleasant light read & the first in a new series from Erica Ridley. Look out for for all the references to a Christmas classic.

3.5/5 solid stars.

I received an advance copy of the book from the author in exhange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Once Upon a Duke is a sweet, short and christmas heavy novella. If you're looking to curl up with a hot cup of cocoa, then this is a smooth, simple and angst free read. Give it a shot!

I received this from Netgalley/author in exchange for an honest review. This is the start of a new series by Erica Ridley. Now, I have to say that I usually love her books but I wasn’t in love with this. It was a little too cheesy for me at times. I have got book 2 getting ready to be started so hoping its up to Erica’s usual standards.

Once Upon a Duke (Twelve Dukes of Christmas) by Erica Ridley is a whimsical historical romance guaranteed to boost your Christmas spirit. This is well written with a quirky twist based on a seasonal classic. Characters are fun and developed as the heartwarming story entices the reader to join the festivities in a town that celebrates Christmas year round. This author has quickly become one of my favorites in this genre. If you enjoy a little seasonal holiday spirit with your historical romance, this is the one!

I'm reviewing a short Christmas novel/novella by Erica Ridley. Normally I love her books, but this one didn't work as well for me. Part of it was I had a hard time believing in a town devoted to Christmas in that time period, so that may be all my fault. This is the back cover copy:

Beware romantic spirits from Christmas past...

Due to the terms of an estranged relative's will, the Duke of Silkridge must revisit the cold, unforgiving mountains where he lost everything he once loved. As soon as he restores his family legacy, he'll return to London where he belongs. He definitely won't rekindle the forbidden spark crackling between him and the irresistible spitfire he'd left behind...

Noelle Pratchett is immune to charming scoundrels like the arrogant duke. He stole her heart, stole a kiss, and then stole away one night never to return. Now he's back—and they both know he won't stay. But how can she maintain her icy shields when every heated glance melts her to her core?


So as I said, I didn't buy the setting. The relationship between Silkridge and Noelle is believable, but for me, there's too much exposition, and so much depended on long ago events. There wasn't enough time or space to really build the romance. I felt like there needed to be more time, more conflict.

I also wanted to kick Silkridge's dad's ass. And I had a hard time with him being so beloved by everyone and the fact that he was a total asshole to his son. Surely the servants would have known and the town would have known. That doesn't mean they wouldn't revere him for what he did for them, but I felt they would also have some awareness. The lack thereof was silly.

There were some other things that bothered me, but I liked a number of the characters, the stipulation in the will (I kept expecting there to be some significance to this--that his father figured out he was an ass and had try to make amends somehow. Nope. Not even.

In the end, it just wasn't a satisfying read for me. Won't stop me from picking up her other books . . . those I haven't read.

Another really nice historical romance by Erica Ridley.
Here we have a Duke - who has emotional issue due his childhood and is forced into going to a place he doesn't like, and is also forced out of his normal life patterns by events.
Erica always writes in a way that we can see her heroes and heroines from a modern contemporary viewpoint and thus feel empathy for them. Her heroines are also not demure 'never say boo to a goose' females. Rater they are full of vim and vigur and have minds and accomplishments that are not necessarily expected in this genre. Which is why I like to read them...

What a wonderful start to the 12 book series. A painful past for our hero and a happy past for our heroine lends the perfect formula for romance. The Duke of Silkridge has been forced to come home with the death of his father. He's at the last place on earth he wants to be for two reasons. He hated his father and he'd left behind Noelle, the one person he did care about. But, he'd left without saying goodbye or ever contacting her again. Their one magical kiss may as well as never happened. Noelle is well aware of the Duke's return but is guarding her heart against hurt again. The whole town of Christmas welcomes the Duke of Silkridge along with all the other Dukes in town. A delightful town and two seemingly opposites find peace and love together. Their journey is at times sad, other times funny and as a story completely enjoyable.

I have read and enjoyed a decent number of books by this author (this makes book number 12), and for the most part I've enjoyed every single one of them. And while I will admit I did enjoy this one as well.... there was just something lacking. It could be that I've just set my standards too high when it comes to this author, as I'm sure this story will appeal to a lot of historical romance fans.

Maybe it's the Grinch in me, but I can't imagine living in the place like "Christmas". I'm sure the village was very picturesque and the villagers more like family without having to resort to that. The fact that the hero abhorred Christmas (the day) means that this story could have been set in the days leading up to (and including) keeping in tune with the "A Christmas Story" theme the author was trying to convey. On the whole I felt there as a "shadow" cast over the story as it was one that was more sad in my opinion than jovial despite the best efforts of the town.

I did however enjoy the characters, and as I stated above, I am sure this story will appeal to fans of the genre as well. I would read more from this author (and in fact am in the process of reading book number two in this series as we speak).

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.