It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: The Christmas Promise

The Christmas Promise

Happy Monday! Welcome back to our annual blog series spotlighting (over 60 again this year) new and recently-released Christmas reads!

Christmas is only 27 days away, according to Google, but of course it’s never too early for Christmas stories, and ’tis the season when I really start craving them (even more than I do the rest of the year lol), so now is the perfect time to jump right into these posts!

Continuing through just after Christmas, I’m going to spotlight several Christmasy releases from 2022. Most days will have more than one post, just FYI. So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes and start your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

THE CHRISTMAS PROMISE by Gabrielle Meyer
GENRE: Historical/Victorian Romance Novella (Clean & Wholesome)
RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2022
PAGES: 88

Lady Ashleigh Arrington is hosting a Christmas house party when her childhood foe, Christopher Campbell, unexpectedly arrives from America with a mysterious marriage agreement signed by their late mothers.

The only way out of the distasteful agreement is if one of them is married or engaged by Christmas Eve.

But which one will sacrifice their hopes and dreams to escape marriage to each other? And when they realize a match between them isn’t quite so distasteful, will it be too late?

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“The Americans will be joining us for Christmas,” Father said just above a whisper.

“The Americans?” Ashleigh frowned, forgetting about Lady Wessex for a moment. “Which Americans?”

“The ones your mother was so fond of.”

Ashleigh’s eyes widened and all her well-rehearsed manners escaped her as she gasped. “Not the Campbells.”

“I’m afraid so.” Father sighed.

Christopher Campbell would be in her home for Christmas? The very thought of it made Ashleigh want to disappear to her room for the remainder of the week. The last time she’d seen Christopher was eleven years ago, when she had been eight years old and his family had come to spend the holidays with them. Mrs. Campbell had been one of Mother’s oldest and dearest friends, but she had married an American railroad executive and lived in St. Paul, Minnesota. The visit had not gone well—not at all. Christopher had been a horrid boy, just four years older than Ashleigh. He had played tricks on her, caused her to cry, and ultimately ruined Mother’s entire Christmas Eve ball by setting the drapes on fire, though no one but Ashleigh knew he was to blame.

Instead, they had all blamed her.

“It’s impossible,” Ashleigh said with finality. “You must tell them there is no room at Anglesey Abbey.”

Father quirked a brow. With over twenty-thousand square meters of living space, it would be impossible to say such a thing.

“I’m afraid it’s too late.” Father didn’t like the Campbells any better than Ashleigh. He had never had anything good to say about the American family her mother loved so well. “They will be here any minute—and I suspect I know why.”

“Why?”

Father spoke barely above a whisper as the Eastons drew closer to the house. “Christopher Campbell is coming to fulfill an agreement your mother made with his mother when you two were just children.”

“What kind of an agreement?” Ashleigh whispered, not wanting their guests or staff to hear.

Father was very serious as he spoke. “It was your mother’s wish, and Mrs. Campbell’s wish, that you and Christopher marry—”

“Marry?” Ashleigh forgot herself for a moment and said the word much louder than she intended.

“Shh.” Father’s expression didn’t change as he chastised her. “I suspect they’re in need of money and they’ve come to make good on the agreement. But there is a way out,” he said quickly. “The mothers agreed that if either of you were married or engaged to someone else by Christmas Eve 1899, you would not have to go through with their plans. But, if both of you were single…” He let the words trail away.

Ashleigh was single. Very much so. And that was exactly how she wished to stay.

Gabrielle Meyer, The Christmas Promise
© 2022, Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Gabrielle Meyer is offering a print copy of The Christmas Promise to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read The Christmas Promise by Gabrielle Meyer?