A Little Holiday Magic • A Wallflower Christmas

A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas
Series: Wallflowers #5
Previous Books: Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened One Autumn, Devil in Winter + Scandal in Spring
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication: October 14, 2008
Source/Format: Bought || Kindle e-book

It’s Christmastime in London and Rafe Bowman has arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie Blandford, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady in waiting and, if it weren’t for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen. And winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.

I loved the Wallflowers series, and A Wallflower Christmas was a pleasant little addition to the series. Instead of focusing on a member of the Wallflowers, as the other four books did, this one focuses on Rafe Bowman, Lillian & Daisy's brother, and his search for a wife. He's linked to Natalie Blandford, but finds himself utterly intrigued with her companion, Hannah Appleton. 

As always, Lisa brings impeccable characters to life. I love Rafe and his brash, confident yet sensitive, mysterious personality. He seems to be quite similar to his siblings Daisy and Lillian, and because I have a soft spot for them, he gets a similar place in my heart. It was obvious, from the very beginning, that he liked Hannah, but I still cheered when they got together! Hannah, on the other hand, is another character easy to love. She seems to exude that aura of being just another one of the ordinary women on the street; but as we see from further reading, she's funny, compassionate, kind, witty and utterly a romantic at heart. I just love watching her fall in love with Rafe, though she doesn't want to! 

My favorite bits of the book, however, were the parts with the Wallflowers and their husbands. Those two or three pages devoted to each couple were charming, well written and inserted perfectly into the story without disturbing its flow. My personal favorite, of course, is the brief interaction between Evie and Sebastian. I just wish there had been more scenes with each couple! 

It was nice reading about the Wallflowers together again, and how they managed to bring Hannah into their little circle. I'm a sucker for books with strong female friendships and it doesn't get any stronger than the Wallflowers. Also, I love stories set at Christmas. There's just something magical about the holidays and the ensuing preparations that add to the charm of any story. Lisa does a fantastic job, adding new characters for us to love in this series, as well as spinning a fantastic, touching little tale about falling in love around Christmas time. I thought A Wallflower Christmas was a beautiful, if short, read.