Title: Yuletide Truce
Publisher: Sandra Schwab
Release Date (Print & Ebook): 22 September 2017
Length (Print & Ebook): 18,000 words
Subgenre: historical romance, Victorian romance, mm romance, holiday romance
Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo
Book blurb:
London, 1845
It's December, Alan "Aigee" Garmond's favorite time of the year, when the window display of the small bookshop where he works fills up with crimson Christmas books and sprays of holly. Everything could be perfect — if it weren't for handsome Christopher Foreman, the brilliant writer for the fashionable magazine About Town, who has taken an inexplicable and public dislike to Aigee's book reviews.
But why would a man such as Foreman choose to target reviews published in a small bookshop's magazine? Aigee is determined to find out. And not, he tells himself, just because he finds Foreman so intriguing.
Aigee’s quest leads him from smoke-filled ale-houses into the dark, dingy alleys of one of London's most notorious rookeries. And then, finally, to Foreman. Will Aigee be able to wrangle a Yuletide truce from his nemesis?
Quotes from Sandra Schwab about the book:
Yuletide Truce is a feel-good enemies-to-lovers holiday romance that takes you on a sweeping journey to Victorian London, to fog-filled streets and smoke-filled taverns, to Fleet Street, where news are made, and to Bethnal Green, where once a crime lord ruled as supreme master. Meet those who criticized a rich ruling class that clung to its old privileges, and those who eked out a meagre livelihood on the streets of the metropolis. Yuletide Truce not a story about rich people, but a story about two ordinary men — because everybody deserves a happily-ever-after, and I want to challenge the idea that it's somehow only straight, white, rich people whose stories deserve to be told.
Quotes from other authors about the book:
“Sandra Schwab's Yuletide Truce is charming and witty, and I thoroughly enjoyed the peep into Victorian literary culture. The relationship between the proudly self-made Aigee and carelessly arrogant Foreman unfolds through dueling book reviews and salon repartee, but also in wonderfully drawn London streets and rickety boarding houses. The cross-class romance is a terrific cup of holiday cheer.” --Emma Barry, author of the Fly Me to the Moon series with Genevieve Turner
“Yuletide Truce is warm and cozy, just what I want out of a holiday romance. Aigee is a total cinnamon roll and it was lovely to see him happy.”--Cat Sebastian, author of The Ruin of a Rake and The Soldier’s Scoundrel
Excerpt
Now Mrs. Woodall’s smile diminished as her gaze fell on the magazine Aigee was holding. “Oh dear. About Town? I take it the ‘Adonis of Fleet Street’ has struck again.”
At the mentioning of Foreman’s nickname among the London publishing world, a rush of heat washed through Aigee. Lord, as if the whole situation wasn’t already embarrassing enough! No, to make matters worse, Aigee’s body—well, his prick, he supposed—had also decided to take a fancy to the very man who delighted in publicly bashing him.
It was ridiculous!
Beyond embarrassing.
And yet…
Well, Foreman was attractive, otherwise he wouldn’t have gained that particular epithet. He was tall, with a lean, trim body, violet-blue eyes, ridiculously long lashes, and a head of golden hair that tended to curl if he let it grow too long.
Handsome like the devil himself.
No, not the devil. Some kind of arrogant angel, tumbled to earth, probably thrown out of the heavenly choir because he had spouted some profanity at a horrified archangel.
Aigee has slowly made a better life for himself, he has a job he loves tending to a bookshop and writing book reviews for his boss, now if only Christopher Foreman would stop targeting his reviews.
I absolutely loved Aigee, he was adorable. He made no apologies for his humble origins and worked hard for what he'd accomplished and while he was interested in Foreman, he still confronted him about the note he'd published ridiculing Aigee's review when they were face to face. I have to admit that learning about how hard Aigee's life was at some point brought tears to my eyes. I just wanted to slap Christopher for making it even harder for him for the pettiest of reasons.
I wasn't too sure I would like Christopher. He wasn't the most likable of men, even his friends preferred Aigee over him, which really, I couldn't blame them for. He did have a nice turnaround, though, and I liked that he actually apologized to Aigee. I think Aigee was too good for him, but they did have great chemistry and rapport.
This is my second book by Sandra Schwab, and it certainly won't be the last, while this is just a novella, she did manage to convey a lot of emotion in this enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract holiday book. If you're a fan of well-written, well-researched historical books that actually transport you back in time, you'll love Yuletide Truce. Very recommendable!
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.
4.5 Stars!!!
I absolutely loved Aigee, he was adorable. He made no apologies for his humble origins and worked hard for what he'd accomplished and while he was interested in Foreman, he still confronted him about the note he'd published ridiculing Aigee's review when they were face to face. I have to admit that learning about how hard Aigee's life was at some point brought tears to my eyes. I just wanted to slap Christopher for making it even harder for him for the pettiest of reasons.
I wasn't too sure I would like Christopher. He wasn't the most likable of men, even his friends preferred Aigee over him, which really, I couldn't blame them for. He did have a nice turnaround, though, and I liked that he actually apologized to Aigee. I think Aigee was too good for him, but they did have great chemistry and rapport.
This is my second book by Sandra Schwab, and it certainly won't be the last, while this is just a novella, she did manage to convey a lot of emotion in this enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract holiday book. If you're a fan of well-written, well-researched historical books that actually transport you back in time, you'll love Yuletide Truce. Very recommendable!
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.
Author Bio:
Award-winning author Sandra Schwab started writing her first novel when she was seven years old. Thirty-odd years later, telling stories is still her greatest passion, even though by now, she has exchanged her pink fountain pen of old for a black computer keyboard. Since the release of her debut novel in 2005, she has enchanted readers worldwide with her unusual historical romances (some of which she now uses to shamelessly fangirl over Punch, her favorite Victorian magazine).
She holds a PhD in English literature, and in autumn 2015, she appeared on the BBC documentary Great Continental Railway Journeys to talk about another favorite topic of hers, the Grimms’ fairy tales (while walking through a rather muddy stretch of the Black Forest) (there were a lot of slugs, too).
She lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.
Connect with Sandra:
Website: http://www.sandraschwab.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScribblingSandy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scribblingsandy/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/SandraSchwab
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I'm so glad you enjoyed Aigee & Kit's story, Mari!
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