After finishing book 2 in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series, I debated whether I wanted to start right away on book 3. How could I resist reading Chris Pringles`s story, after all he is St. Nick`s brother. What a lark, between the "tongue in cheek" names to the cheeky characters, laughs abound. It is such a joy to return to Cressmouth aka Christmas. Chris is looking for his perfect match, however he finds opposites really do attract. He and Gloria Godwin certainly have enough in common including mutual attraction. The story is in how they finally accept their differences in order to keep the love they found. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love the setting, the likeable characters, the many quirky ones and especially the way Erica Ridley makes each story unique.

Christopher Pringle, an explorer, has given himself a limit which is usually for him-stay in Christmas, England for a month. Within that month Christopher wants to find a wife but all he finds are women throwing themselves at him. Christopher also wants a woman just like him someone that enjoys adventures, likes to travel and will love him. When Christopher first meets Miss Gloria Godwin the meeting is not pleasant. His brother’s betrothed sets him up with a matchmaker who will find him a wife. Unfortunately who does the matchmaker turn out to be but Gloria? As Gloria introduces him to perfectly eligible women to be his bride Christopher wants Gloria for his wife not the women she sets him up with. What is he going to do because Gloria is not at all right for him or is she?
This lovely little story set back in Christmas is just such a feel good story! Sure the characters have problems they still manage to find happiness there, well who wouldn’t in a place called Christmas? The place makes anyone want to visit and stay. The story is told sweetly, unhurriedly and with some issues everything works out anyway. The title doesn’t really fit either because the hero isn’t really a duke. Also the book might be part of a series but can easily stand alone but it wouldn’t hurt to read the previous book which is Nicholas, Christopher’s brother story. Christopher is a much liked hero despite being a bit of a stick in the mud and pretty strait laced. Christopher definitely needs shaken up and shown how to use his imagination. Gloria is just a wonderful heroine smart, savvy, creative and independent. Who wouldn’t want to go caroling with her and her friends? The book definitely is a lot of fun and a nice read for anyone that is experiencing dreary weather!

Great series!!! All the books that are part of the seires are so much fun🐯🐯. I am looking forward to more books of this author!!

I read the entire series over the holidays... all that time home with the kids... and this may be my favorite of the series. I loved Gloria and Christoper's story. I laughed so much while reading this book.

Christmas village is a great framing device for several interlinked stories, this one matching a young women with very good reasons to avoid travel with a gentleman for whom adventure seems like his main pursuit in life. How they work out their differences is sweet, sexy and well handled.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this charming story. We are still in the village of Cressmouth where it's always Christmas.

Christopher has always lived in the shadow of his brother, Nick. Now that Nick is taken, Christopher sets about finding his own wife. He is looking for specific qualities.

Gloria is one of Cressmouth's residence and has no intention of ever stepping out.

Gloria finds herself playing matchmaker to Christopher, but she has a crush on him. This crush develops into romance, but there is a problem. Christopher has made it clear that travelling is his passion and Gloria hates travelling. This creates a predicament where Gloria has no other choice, but to let him go. She has a month to find him a match.

This is a fun and sweet romance where a little encouragement goes a long way. It's also about compromise. I really enjoyed this short and easy to read romance. Gloria is the ultimate main character and Christopher is full of surprises. It's an entertaining read.

I was kindly issued with an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

A very enjoyable read! There is something about Erica Ridley's writing style that i find different from most historical romance fiction that i read. The sort of book that i enjoy reading under the covers. I am not going to write what the story is about, as i prefer one to read the book for themselves. Recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

I just discovered Erica Ridley last year and I have not been disappointed yet. This series never disappoints. Its a lovely romance with well thought out characters. These were not my favorite of the series but I enjoyed getting their HEA. Would recommend!

Christopher Pringle, the brother from the previous book (Kiss of a Duke), is in Cressmouth for the month to find a wife.

Ignored and protected whilst his brother was single, now the banns have been read for the wedding, Christopher has become the centre of attention and he hates it.

Penelope, his future sister in law, arranges for her friend Gloria Godwin to play matchmaker, in part because Gloria knows everyone in town.

Unfortunately, Christopher has little confidence in Gloria, having seen her lead an astronomy viewing, whilst making up names for every constellation. Little does he realise that she does know the names, but she has an active imagination and uses this section of her walking tour to entertain and engage the children.

Gloria introduces him to a number of eligible women, based on his stated criteria, but he doesn’t connect with them in the way he connects with Gloria. Gloria on the other hand does become jealous at his apparent ease in making new friends – a side effect of never staying in the same place for long.

The two ultimately have one thing that could separate them permanently: she doesn’t want to leave home, he never stays in one place for more than a month. Each have their reasons, and it needs one of them to relax their short term needs for the long term goal. As the month comes to an end, someone has to make a decision about what happens next.

As with the other stories in this series, this is a light-hearted piece, that is occasionally amusing, and a good afternoon read

This book is a good read! Just like every other book by Ms. Ridley. The story was beautiful, characters well written, and just a beautiful all over great read.

I really wanted to like this story but I couldn’t get into it. I thought that the hero and heroine were too self-pitying, despite the rather privileged lives they led, Christopher especially.

If you are looking for a christmas romance then I suggest you get on down to the shops and buy this book! I really enjoyed it, the plot was great, characters were amusing and kept my interest throughout and who doesnt love a christmas romance?!

Really good fun :)

A definite buy book for the holidays! I sincerely enjoyed reading this book. Not to mention the author is talented as always! However, this series has been wonderful to read and enjoy. Each one wants me to read the next one. So if you are looking for a good read for over the holidays you must buy this set then sit and take some me time and just enjoy! The characters as well as the plot are imaginative and a little unique. So buy buy buy! I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this writing are totally my own. Read and enjoy! Regards, Anna

A perennial wallflower just wants to be noticed, especially by Christopher, the much more subdued brother of the Duke of the previous novel. Instead she agrees to play yenta for him, which has as much of an effect as you’d expect but does give us more insight into characters who will likely be up front in stories to come.
Also featured more than usual is the town of Christmas, nee Cressmouth, described as a perpetually snow-dusted mountaintop village, which is hard to imagine in hilly-but-not-too-much England.
His problem is that he’s an inveterate traveler, and being with her would mean giving that up. As someone who travels for work and loves it, I totally get where he’s coming from, though I wasn’t a fan of how insulted he got about the constellation naming. I definitely liked Gloria, but she didn’t grab my heart like Penelope or Nora or Bryony.
This book is only a disappointment in that the previous one was so frickin good. Had I read this one first. . .
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

Enjoy this light-hearted and rather silly romp as author Erica Ridley takes you through the season of Christmas—in a village which celebrates Christmas all-year-round.

Christopher Pringle is rather a character if I must say so. He likes things tied up in nice little packages (all puns intended), rather a control freak and definitely a very serious man. He had one passion—the stars, the night sky and that happened to be the linchpin for a romance and happy ever after ending.

It’s true, he needed to get married. His betrothed had to fit into his schedule and be a person who would travel with him, for he loved to travel. Christopher had only two weeks to find a wife in this little village. It suited him better than searching in London. He was also noted to never stay more than one month in any one place. He never broke rules and always stayed on schedule.

But even though he was much of a pill, I liked him. He was polite, curious, and intrigued with life. Running out of time, he engaged Miss Gloria Godwin, NOT ENGAGED as engaged, but to have her help him with his ‘project’. Based on his criteria, Miss Godwin provided many candidates, but none intrigued Christopher. But, she intrigued him.

Miss Gloria Godwin loved the stars, passionately love them. Her father taught her everything about the stars since he sailed the seas and they were his navigator. She stayed in this little village which celebrated Christmas all-year-round because she is scared to leave it. She is full of phobias as you’ll see. But she is full of romance and the need to marry for love if she marries at all.

When Christopher and Gloria meet, they clash. She teaches the tourists about the stars, but in her tour she adds her own take on them. They are not The Chained Maiden, The Bird of Paradise, or the Scorpion. They are something else entirely. This disturbs Christopher’s sensibilities and the two get off on the wrong foot. But this very irritation keeps Gloria in his mind and eventually he is hooked!

Love is not an easy path for Christopher and Gloria. Personalities insist each of their ways is best. Watch what happens as the story unfolds.

This is an easy read, light and entertaining. It is also a bit unique which will keep you thinking about it long after you’ve closed the cover.

This is romantic, amusing and interesting. Christopher is determined, amusing and adventurous. Gloria is bold, generous and stubborn. Christopher traveled to Christmas to find a wife, but was not having any luck, so a friend recommended he have Gloria matchmake for him. Gloria really likes him, but knows that he's going to sail away soon, so she has him meet with women to find him someone who is a perfect match. But they start spending more time together, eventually getting along well. But the fact remains that he's getting on a ship, and she's not leaving Christmas. I love this series, all the books are amusing, romantic and entertaining.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

Christopher Pringle is in Cressmouth, the Christmas town, to find a wife who will share his love of the stars and adventure. He has never stayed in one place very long and he doesn't plan on staying in Cressmouth very long either. When he's introduced to a matchmaker, Gloria Goodwin, he hopes that she'll find him a suitable wife within a month. On the surface Chris and Gloria have nothing in common, but the more time they spend together, the more they realize the objections they have about each other is exactly what they're looking for in a spouse. The witty banter between these two is delightful. This is another cute story in the series.

Loved reading the awesome and amazing third book in the Dukes of Christmas series. Christopher wants a bride who loves adventure and travel, but the women his matchmaker, Gloria, introduces him to are not as enchanting as Gloria herself. Gloria has had a secret crush on Christopher but knows she is not the woman for him; she does not want adventure and will not travel. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read love story.
I reviewed a copy of the book through NetGalley.

Erica Ridley's 12 Dukes of Christmas series are delightful heartwarming, witty reads. We always buy her for our library, our patrons adore her.

When his twin brother the rake announces his engagement, all the eligible young women re-align their matrimonial sights toward the bookish and peripatetic Christopher Pringle, who up till now was in his brother's shadow. Escaping to join an astronomy tour, his eye is drawn by the tour guide, only to be appalled at her cavalier attitude to the proper names of constellations. She's gleefully encouraging the tour to re-name them however they like. Imagine his surprise when he is referred to her not only as a matchmaker, but to repair his broken telescope!

Past hurts have both these people running away into the stars. It turns out they both own the same state-of-the-art telescope, in fact. But Gloria blames the ocean and all water for robbing her of her family and refuses to even skate upon the local pond, while Christopher has been traveling for so long that he no longer views it as avoidance but as pleasant discovery.

Ridley choreographs the way these two dance around their challenges and learn to bend into doing things together, in order to balance out a life they can share. Settling into idiosyncrasies could have left them as two lonely 'characters' in stagnation. How they work it out is both heartening and tear-inducing.