About the Book:

A convenient bride

Can he be the groom she deserves?

Part of The Beauchamp Heirs. Lord Alexander Beauchamp has protected Lady Jane Colebrooke since childhood. So seeing she’s about to be forced to wed, he steps in with a proposal of his own! But Alex underestimated the closeness that taking Jane as his bride demands—something he expected never to give. As Christmas approaches, he knows he must confront the dark secrets that shadow their marriage…

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                             Christmas with His Wallflower Wife (The Beauchamp Heirs Book 3)

My Review:

Lady Jane Colebrooke’s stepmother is determined to marry Jane off and remove her from the household to focus on her two daughters who will soon be making their entrance into society.  Though Jane would love her own home, and to have a family, she has no desire to marry Sir Denzil Pikeford, the man her stepmother is pushing on her.  There’s only one man Jane wants to marry – Alexander Beauchamp, her own childhood friend, and brother of her best friend, Olivia.  The problem is that Alex has never noticed that Jane has grown up.  He still sees her as his young friend, and treats her with the casual affection he would show to a sister.

When Jane’s stepmother engineers a situation that ensures Jane will be compromised with Piketon, Alex arrives in time to rescue her.  Amidst the ensuing chaos, Alex asks Jane to marry him, only wanting to protect her from having to marry the awful Piketon, and to get her away from her stepmother.  Because of Alex’s past, he never intended to marry, but if he has to, it seems like a dear friend is a good choice.  Though Jane has her heart’s desire within reach, she’s hesitant to accept, not wanting to force Alex into an unwanted marriage.  Alex, however, charms her, as he always has, and they marry within days.

When Alex was only seven years old, he found his murdered mother’s body, and was so severely traumatized that he didn’t speak for a year.  He had nightmares, and has tried his best to block out that memory.  He certainly never speaks of it.  Though he loves his family, there is a distance between them, particularly his father, the Duke of Cheriton.  Alex has become something of a loner, and avoids returning to his family home, where the long ago tragedy happened.

After Alex and Jane marry, Alex finds that he is somehow mixing up in his mind the attack on Jane by Piketon with the long ago attack on his mother.  Soon he’s having nightmares again, though Jane is always able to soothe him back to sleep.  After some initial hesitancy on Jane’s part, due to the trauma she suffered at Piketon’s hands, she and Alex begin to share a wonderful physical relationship.  They have steamy nights and their days are full of both fun and work, as they settle into their new life together.

Their happiness is short lived, as Alex begins to have waking episodes.  He zones out as he begins to see more and more of what happened years ago, realizing that he actually witnessed his mother’s murder.  As more memories come to him, he realizes that the truth will tear his family apart.  He’s determined to keep the secret, though it’s destroying him, and ruining his relationship with Jane.  He won’t talk to her about it, despite her pleas, and becomes more troubled and distant.  When Alex refuses to attend his family’s Christmas gathering, Jane is heartbroken.  Alex arrogantly suggest she go without him if it means so much to her, and much to the surprise of both of them, she does.  Alex’s home is not the same without Jane, and he is in such a fragile state, that he chooses to finally confide in someone, the worst possible decision he could have made.

CHRISTMAS WITH HIS WALLFLOWER WIFE is so well written, literally a book I couldn’t put down.  Alex is the kind of hero who breaks your heart for what he’s suffering, yet maddens you when he makes wrong decisions.  He’s a sexy, charming hero with vulnerabilities he’s determined to hide from the world.  Jane is truly not a wallflower, but a strong and determined woman, one who’s in love and will do anything to help and protect her husband.  Janice Preston has ended the Beauchamp series beautifully in this passionate and emotional romance.  The reconciliation and healing was tear inducing, along with all the highs and lows along the bumpy road.  And, oh, what a despicable villain there is in this story!  I was so invested that I wanted to engineer his demise myself.  I feel that CHRISTMAS WITH HIS WALLFLOWER WIFE is the best book of the series, one that I highly recommend to all lovers of historical romance, particularly those, like me, who adore friends to lovers, family love, and Christmas joy.    ~Rose