Sweetest Regret

Sweetest Regret by Meredith Duran is a 2016 Pocket Star publication. <br /><br /> This story has a touch of intrigue, which is always fun, but the story title suggested some regret is involved, and indeed a young couple in love were driven apart, losing two years together as a result. However, this delightful second chance love story, ends with the couple finally making up for all that lost time. There is some cute banter in this one and I really loved the ending. <br /><br />4 stars

<br />Some sweet reconciliation and some Victorian mischief under the mistletoe in a well-written and engaging novella. The shorter format usually doesn't allow much in-depth development, but Meredith Duran's clever and flawless prose still conveys a story arc, a sensual romance, humour and characterisations strong enough as to make it a thoroughly enjoyable read.

<b>Reread on October 16, 2022: </b> I miss Meredith Duran so much. A bit early for my annual reread, but desperate times call for desperate measures (read: I kept DNFing arcs in the first chapter and cursed at my tablet).<br /><br /><b>Reread on November 25, 2021: </b>I! Love! This! Novella! (I can’t tell if it’s actually good or if the nostalgia is overwhelming ?).<br /><br /><b>Reread on December 24, 2020: </b>I finally upped the rating to 5 stars because I reread this every year and I love it so.<br /><br /><b>Reread on December 15, 2019: </b>I don't even like second-chance but I love this. The definition of a comfort read and perfect for reading next to the Christmas tree.<br /><br /><b>Reread on February 24, 2019: </b>I love Meredith Duran. I don’t think she’s written anything that I haven’t loved. And she’s a master at writing novellas.

<a href="http://readasaurus.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1459070464i/18565492.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><a href="https://www.instagram.com/neniagram/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/NeniaCampbell" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> || <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aficionenias/" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a> || <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nenia-Campbell/e/B00AWVRKMS" rel="nofollow noopener">Amazon</a> || <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mightbeamisprin/" rel="nofollow noopener">Pinterest</a><br><br><br>I read this book for the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/187063-unapologetic-romance-readers" rel="nofollow noopener">Unapologetic Romance Readers</a>' New Years 2017 Reading Challenge. For more info about what this is, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/14473082-new-years-2017-reading-challenge" rel="nofollow noopener">click here</a>.<br><br><br><br>I have to say, it feels weird reading a romance about Christmas in April. Kind of like if you were to go to the grocery store, looking for adorable chocolate eggs for the kiddies, and happened upon a dusty red-and-green package of candy canes. You can't help asking yourself, "How long have these been here? Is it even any good?"<br><br><br><br>I've only read one book by Meredith Duran. It was FOOL ME TWICE. I really enjoyed that book, because it employed one of my guilty pleasure tropes (Byronic hero falls in love with his servant). I couldn't wait to start SWEETEST REGRET. My expectations were incredibly high. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but how could a book with a cover like that possibly be bad?<br><br><br><br>SWEETEST REGRET is not a full-length book, which I could have found out more quickly if I had bothered to look up the book beforehand. I did not. The story revolves around "Georgie," the daughter of a British diplomat. He's hosting a number of European guests for the holidays but is called away to Constantinople last minute on business. In his absence, he gives Georgie the task of searching through the guests' rooms for a letter of the utmost importance, which he claims that one of them has in all likelihood stolen.<br><br><br><br>Also tasked with The Purloined Letter Caper is Georgie's father's protegee, Lucas Godwin. Awkwardly enough, Lucas and Georgie have a history together. They were very much involved two years ago until Lucas abruptly ceased all contact with her, thereby breaking her heart.<br><br><br><br>This is a second-chance romance with a "twist" ending that's reminiscent of THE NOTEBOOK and made me think that Georgie's father was an arse weasel. For a foreign diplomat to do what he did, well, that's just asking for an international incident, don't you think? It was difficult to be too angry, though. The story is much too short for the reader to get very emotionally involved in Georgie and Lucas's affairs. Short stories are difficult to pull off. Even authors I like, like Alyssa Cole, can't always pull them off. Courtney Milan is one of the few romance authors whose short stories truly excel, and yet even she has her misses as well. And Duran is no Milan when it comes to short stories.<br><br><br><br>SWEETEST REGRET is a harmless, fluffy romance with a bizarre plot that traverses the line between nonsensical and amusing. The Christmas theme makes it ideal for romance challenges like the one I am currently participating in, and the length ensures that even if it is not an enjoyable read, it will at least be a quick one. I have read worse, though, and both of these characters were decent and likable, despite their blandness. If you're looking for something short and sweet, you could certainly do far worse. Do check out FOOL ME TWICE, though. It's much, much better than this!<br><br><br><br>2 stars!

A sweet, romantic novella set in Victorian England at Christmastime. If that doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, I don't know what will!<br /><br />There is nothing that frustrates me more than the entire plot of a book being based on a miscommunication that could easily be resolved with a single conversation. Which was what I believed was happening until the plot took a turn for the best. <br /><br />A bit racy for my taste in parts, but I am new to this genre. Overall I believed it to be a short and sweet love story.<br /><br />Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A note of clarification from the author -- this upcoming release is a novella that was previously published in 2015 in the Christmas-themed anthology, WHAT HAPPENS UNDER THE MISTLETOE. <br /><br />Modesty forbids me to rate it. ;-)

Yes.

<b>3.5 stars rounded up.</b><br /><br />An engaging, readable novella, <b>Sweetest Regret</b> tells the story of lovers reunited at Christmas. Georgina Trent, daughter of the influential diplomat, Sir Philip Trent, is used to acting as her father’s hostess, but is annoyed when he announces he has to travel to Constantinople immediately, leaving her with a half-dozen house-guests to deal with until Boxing Day. To make things worse, he tells her that one of the guests has stolen an important letter, he wants Georgina to find it and he has summoned Lucas Goodwin, one of his most able subordinates, to help her.<br /><br />Georgina is infuriated. Not only is her father leaving her in the lurch, he is throwing her into the orbit of the man who broke her heart two years ago. While living in Munich with her father, Georgina met Lucas who was not only handsome and charming, but someone she could talk to and whom she felt was genuinely interested in her opinions. They spent a fair amount of time together until one day, she discovered that he had up and left for a posting in Paris without so much as a goodbye. Devastated, Georgina concluded she had been silly for thinking that a man like Lucas would be interested in an unassuming, ordinary-looking woman such as she, and picked up the threads of her old life.<br /><br />Lucas is every bit as annoyed to have been summoned to Harlboro Hall as Georgina is to have him there. Their reunion doesn’t get off to the best of starts, but as they search for the missing letter, they discover that the pull of attraction between them has never really gone away, and eventually find out exactly what led to their parting two years earlier. <br /><br />This novella is well-written and the fact that there is a pre-existing relationship between the two principals means that the love story doesn’t feel rushed. Ms. Duran does a very good job in showing the level of hurt and sadness that lies between them, and in describing Georgina’s life as being secondary to her father’s career and her deep-seated frustrations at the way he has treated her over the years. And Lucas gets an equally well fleshed-out backstory; he is the son of a scandalous match between the son of an earl and the coachman’s daughter, so he has had to work doubly hard to prove himself and get to where he is in his profession. Both are likeable, attractive characters that are easy to root for, and I liked the way Lucas is prepared to put everything on the line for the woman he loves.<br /><br />Other reviewers have pointed out the huge howler in the story; we’re told that a couple of characters have gone out looking for a Christmas tree at 5.45am, which means they’d be stumbling about in darkness for a couple of hours, as it’s never light here until much before 8am in the latter part of December. There are a few others, too, one being that Sir Philip is referred to as “Sir Trent” – which is a big no-no; a knight or baronet is always “Sir firstname”. Another is the name of Georgina’s home – Harboro Hall – just doesn’t look like an English place name. Harborough would be more likely.<br /><br />Those errors apart, <b>Sweetest Regret</b> is an enjoyable seasonal novella and while not the author’s best work is well worth a look if you’ve got an hour to spare.<br />

Nice Christmas novella but it didn’t capture me as I thought it would.<br /><br />Part of it is the plot- two people torn apart by lies and misunderstanding and reunited again two years later. These lies were not revealed until 45 % into the novella. Every time I thought that’s it, now they’re going to clear the air, somebody would interrupt them. It became little frustrating.<br />Part of it is the great love that the hero had for the heroine. It felt little over the top for me. I just didn’t see what is there in the heroine initially or after their reunion that would inspire such an intense feeling. But, hey, love is a mystery.<br /><br />Nevertheless, the writing is as beautiful and imaginative as you would expect from the author.<br />

Cute Christmas novella! I think I've read every Duran at this point so I'm devastated.