Review: ALL THE PLEASURES OF THE SEASON by Lecia Cornwall

All the Pleasures of the Season
by Lecia Cornwall
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release date: December 20, 2011
Source: Review copy from Publisher/NetGalley

On the first day of Christmas:

Lady Miranda Archer accepts a marriage proposal

On the first day of Christmas and 15 minutes:

Miranda realizes she’s made a huge mistake.

For the next 12 days:

Miranda must find a way out of her engagement, which is harder than it looks, especially when her fiancé is pompous, mean, and desperate for her family’s jewels… and convince her true love that all she wants for Christmas is him...

Lady Miranda Archer has just finished her debut season and has finally made her choice and decided to marry Lord Anthony Stanwood. Out of all of her suitors she knows that marrying the Earl of Kelton is the most advantageous to her and her family. Her sister, Marianne has been pushing for him since day one and she knows her Grandfather, The Duke of Carrington will approve of the match. Although, Anthony is gorgeous and the most eligible bachelor of the season, Miranda can’t seem to dismiss the fact that she is settling for anything less than love. 

The man that Miranda is in love with never asked for her hand in marriage. Gilbert Fielding is the second son of a minor baron with no title, no money and no land. There’s no way that Miranda’s grandfather will approve of a match between the two. It seems Miranda and Gilbert are doomed. Then Miranda’s betrothed is found in a dishonorable situation that opens the door for a possible reunion between the lovers. 

I thought this was a really sweet love story between and high born lady and a regular guy who have grown up together as friends who eventually fall in love with one another. I admired Miranda’s willingness to try to do the right thing for her family by going along with this aristocratic marriage even though she realized that Lord Kelton was a selfish, self-centered, ass who was only interested in her family’s jewels and money. I wanted to strangle Gilbert for waiting so long to go after his girl. But his eventual sacrifices to win her heart back made up for his earlier stubbornness. The Archer family members were not strangers to scandal and that made the story even more interesting and enjoyable. The setting of the story was lovely and I enjoyed the holiday traditions and festivities that took place at Carrington Castle. All the Pleasures of the Season is a lovely holiday novella and will definitely appeal to fans of regency romance.