Once Upon a Dickens Christmas by Michelle Griep: Three Charming Christmas
Tales set in Victorian England contains 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, A Tale of Two
Hearts, and The Old Lace Shop. The first
two tales were published previously with The Old Lace Shop being a new story to
wrap up this Dickens trilogy.
12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep is the first book in Once Upon a Dickens Christmas. Clare Chapman lost everything nine months
ago. She is surprised when she receives
an invitation to spend twelve days Bleakly Manor. If Clare lasts the full duration, she will
receive a sum of 500 pounds. When Clare
arrives at the manor, she finds she was not the only person to receive the
unusual invitation and promised something in return. Ben Lane was arrested on his way to marry
Clare for a crime he did not commit. He
was promised his freedom if he stays through the twelfth day of Christmas. Their anonymous host has decided that only
one of the guests will win their promised prize. Which guest will last the full twelve days
and what is the person willing to do to win?
A Tale of Two Hearts by Michelle Griep is the second installment in Once Upon a Dickens Christmas. Mina Scott works at The Golden Egg Inn owned
by her father, Jasper Scott in 1853 London.
Mina is engrossed in David Copperfield when her father finds her and
sends her back to work. He fails to
understand her love of literature. She
enters the taproom and finds her crush William Barlow along with his friend
Thomas Fitzroy. William is a law clerk
with a gentleman’s upbringing and an ailing mother with crippling medical bills. His uncle, Charles Barlow is ready to name
his heir. It is between William and his
conniving cousin, Percy. When William
learned his uncle would prefer to leave his estate to a married man, William
may have given him the impression he had a bride. Now Charles is hosting a tea for his heirs
and their wives and William needs to find a woman willing to play the part. When Mina appears, Williams asks if she will do
him the favor of playing his wife for the tea.
Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and the deception will need
to continue until Christmas. Uncle
Barlow is kind, gracious and a lover of literature just like Mina. While she dislikes Percy and his equally
odious wife, Mina does like deceiving the sweet man. What happens when the truth is revealed?
The Old Lace Shop by Michelle Griep takes readers to London 1855 where Bella White, who was recently widowed,
is finally free of her domineering husband.
Her father married her off to Mr. White eight long years ago. Bella is now going consulting with the solicitor
to liquidate her husband’s assets. When
she comes across Nottingham Lace & Hose where she owns the majority share,
Bella decides to keep this enterprise. This
will allow her to be productive and earn her own money. Bella is surprised when she arrives to find
her business partner is Edmund Archer, her former beau. Edmund loved Bella but her father would not
allow their match. Is this their second
chance?
I have enjoyed all three tales in
Once Upon a Dickens Christmas. They can
each be read on their own, but why would you want to read just one of these
charming novellas. 12 Days at Bleakly Manor is a well-crafted and entertaining novel.
It is short, but it is packed full of action and intrigue. The mystery was delightful (see if you can
figure out the culprit in this one) and the characters interesting. I
like the Christian beliefs expressed in the story (compassion, prayer, faith,
forgiveness, second chances, God is in control, trust, and hope). The Christian theme is light, but the point
is gotten across. In A Tale of Two Hearts, Michelle Griep brought London in 1853 to life with her descriptions of the
clothing, language, literature as well the architecture, cobbled streets, the
inn and the insides of the buildings as well as the class stations of the
characters. I especially loved the imagery
of Purcell’s where they had tea with Uncle Barlow. A Tale of Two Hearts has delightful
characters. I especially liked Uncle
Barlow and Miss Whymsy. They are two
charming people who have a touch of whimsy.
There are some good life lessons included in the story. Second chances, forgiveness and Christian
charity being the main themes. Every one
of us has needed a second chance at one time or another. The book is told from William and Mina’s
point-of-views giving us different perspectives. It is always fascinating to see how different
men think from woman. There are
references to Charles Dickens work scattered throughout the story. The Old Lace Shop is a well-crafted story
with a good flow. I thought the characters were developed and
realistic for the time period. Bella
arrives in Nottingham and is surprised to see blind women outside begging for
assistance. She soon learns that they
lost their eyesight making lace. The
kindhearted Bella wants to find a way to help them plus she has other
improvements in mind for the factory much to Edmund’s dismay. We see the importance of faith and prayer. How we need to rely on God and turn our
worries over to him. All three stories are captivating, but 12 Days at Bleakly
Manor is my favorite. If you enjoy
historical stories, you will not be disappointed with Once Upon a Dickens Christmas. It was interesting to see how
Dickens came into play in each novella.
I like how the author gave us three diverse yet complimentary tales. Once Upon a Dickens Christmas contains three
engaging novellas that will put you in the mood for Christmas.
Once Upon a Dickens Christmas* can be purchased at Amazon* (Amazon UK) plus other major booksellers. I hope you enjoy these tales as much as I did. I want to thank you for stopping by today. I plan on reviewing The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas tomorrow. On Sundays, I review books that I was not able to feature when they were released. I hope you have a leisurely day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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