The Major is home from the wars at last… 

Edmund Sherritt, Major Lord Canforth, has devoted eight tumultuous years to fighting Napoleon. Finally Europe is at peace, and he can retire to his estates and the lovely wife he hasn’t seen since their brief, unhappy honeymoon. The innocent girl he loved from the first moment he saw her, but who shied away from him on their wedding night.

The beautiful woman who greets him at Otway Hall on Christmas Eve is no longer the sweet ingénue he remembers. This new and exciting version of his beloved countess is strong, outspoken, and independent, and she’s willing to stand up for what she wants. The question is—does she want the husband who returns to her arms more as a stranger than a spouse?

Now the real battle begins. 

Felicity, Lady Canforth, has had eight long years to regret that she sent her husband from a cold marriage bed to face brutal combat, danger and hardship. The only child of elderly parents, Felicity came to marriage innocent and ignorant, and unable to conceal her shock at the sensual power of the earl’s caresses. Before she found the nerve to offer Canforth a more generous welcome, he was called away to war. The Major left behind a countess who was a bride, not a wife; a woman unsure of her husband’s feelings, and too timid to confess how fervently she desires the man she wed.

Fate has granted an older, wiser Felicity a second chance to win her husband’s heart. Now nothing will stop her from claiming victory over the famous war hero. This Christmas, she’ll deploy every ounce of courage, purpose and passion to seize the life and love she’s longed for, ever since Canforth left to serve his country. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes, she’ll lure the dashing Major back into her bed, where she means to show him he’s the only man she wants as her lover—and her love.

After years of yearning and separation, will a Christmas miracle heal the wounds of the past and offer the earl and his bride a future bright with love? 

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Mistletoe and the Major: A Christmas Novella

My Review:               

Edmund Sherritt, Major Lord Canforth, has finally received his official discharge documents, and is heading home after almost eight years of being a soldier.  Though he’s filled with anticipation at seeing his wife again, he’s also feeling unsure of his reception.  As he gets closer to home, Edmund thinks about meeting his wife, Felicity, whom he calls “Flick,” for the first time.  Edmund fell in love almost immediately upon dancing with her.  They had a whirlwind courtship, and spent only two weeks together, before Edmund’s orders called him away.  Though they slept together, Edmund tightly reined in his passion because Felicity was young, scared, inexperienced, and very skittish.  No words of love passed between them.

Felicity is stunned to see her long absent husband return home on Christmas Eve, as she had no word from him that he was discharged.  While she wants to fling herself into his arms, she holds back because they never had that kind of loving relationship.  Felicity has had eight long years to reflect on her brief marriage, and she deeply regrets that she was such a coward as far as physical intimacy.  She has thought much about passion, and how she’d like to have that kind of connection with Edmund.  She notes that Edmund now has scars and injuries he never confided to her in any of his regular letters, and longs to reassure him that he’s still attractive to her.  Though Felicity fell in love with Edmund as quickly as he did with her, she never spoke of her love either.

When Edmund gives Felicity a sweet, but brief, kiss under the mistletoe, then retires alone to his own bed, it seems that there will be no bridging the gulf between this night.  Yet, Felicity doesn’t hesitate to go to Edmund when he cries out while having a nightmare.  What follows is a beautiful night of genuine passion, emotions and doubts expressed, and, finally, love confessed.  It feels like a Christmas miracle for these two lovers, who have been in limbo so long to finally find their happiness.  MISTLETOE AND THE MAJOR is a short, but beautifully written novella, which is full of heart, emotion, tear inducing sentiment, and a deserving couple finding their home and love with each other.  A recommended read for any time of the year.