Kiss Me at Christmas: Playful Brides

Regina and Daffin were a wonderful, hot couple. She accepted the fact that she would have a loveless marriage dictated by family. I loved her determination to find some control to her life and to help end the danger she was in. Daffin was a man who wanted to protect Regina and resist her as best he could. Secrets could keep them apart, but their honesty with each other led the way to love. I recommend this story. I received an ARC of this story through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.

A bruised heart and a raging libido make for an enchanting Christmas. Bowman puts the temptation back in romance with these two lonely hearts. Kiss Me at Christmas brings the heart full circle with a meeting of souls. Regina and Daffin are in a class all their own. Between arranged marriages, social prejudice and hidden danger, the odds are slim to none that love can win, but Christmas is the season of miracles. When the hearts involved anything is possible. An intriguing dance of charming emotion.

One month shy of her thirtieth birthday, Lady Regina Haversham decided to act on her attraction to Bow Street Runner Daffin Oakleaf, whom she had met the previous summer. Regina’s mind is made up: she will have at least one night of passion with a man of her choosing, and that man is Daffin. They had flirted shamelessly that summer, but because of the circumstances and their unequal social statuses, nothing came of it. When it appears that Regina’s life is in danger, Daffin is hired at her bodyguard, will Regina gets what she wants or will Daffin refuse her scandalous offer? Because KISS ME AT CHRISTMAS is a Holiday story, and I like Valerie Bowman’s writing style, I took a chance on the book, in spite of the Regency-virgin-wanting-a-one-night-stand being my least favourite trope. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and Ms. Bowman does it relatively well. However, I subtracted a full star from my review because of the mention of BDSM. There is NOTHING I detest more (apart from a rape-y hero) than having BDSM flung upon me without any warning. Very early on, in Chapter 4, when Daffin mentions his kink, it’s obvious he’s a dominant, then having a proper Regency virgin giddy at the thought of sex in handcuffs almost spoiled the book for me. It took me a while to feel secure enough to read without all the tension at not looking forward to the sex scenes. Thankfully, the plot is riveting, and I eventually forgot about the looming threat of the kinky stuff. I adored both Daffin and Regina (apart from the blasted handcuffs). They have fascinating backstories, their chemistry is palpable, they exchange wonderfully witty and intelligent banter; they are superb characters. Ms. Bowman’s exquisite descriptive voice make the minutest detail come alive, the dialogues are inspired, and the secondary characters are superb. Other players who are obviously characters from previous instalments of the Playful Brides series are also featured; they are inserted seamlessly in the story, and I didn’t feel lost. I also loved watching Daffin at work as an investigator. The story is impeccably paced, moves along quickly, there’s hardly a dull moment, and it is meticulously crafted; the villain came as a surprise, and it felt realistic. KISS ME AT CHRISTMAS is fabulous book and it would have earned a glowing five-star review, had it not been for the sneaky and unwanted BDSM, as it was my only issue with the book, but for me it’s a very significant one. If you enjoy or don’t mind some kink in a historical romance, you will love this book; at least, you will expect it while I didn’t.