Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #1) by Stephanie Laurens
Series: Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #1
Published by Savdek Management Pty Ltd on October 19th 2017
Genres: Historical
Pages: 192
Goodreads

FINAL DECISION:  This is a lovely Christmas story with a little mystery and a little romance. Lovely and sweet, I didn’t have high expectations but found this a pleasant little story.

THE STORY: Lady Osbaldestone, after being widowed a few years before has three of her grandchildren joining her for Christmas. Lady Osbaldestone has come to her dower house and the nearby village to see if wants to reside there more permanently. Despite not being high society, the village has plenty to keep a lady occupied. Among other things, the flock of Christmas geese have gone missing and a local gentleman and lady need a push to discover their destiny.

OPINION: This is a sweet Christmas story combined with a tiny mystery and a gentle romance. It was an interesting choice for the author to give the story from the perspective of Lady Osbaldestone who is discovering her own path after the death of her husband. This isn’t a story of grief because she has been a widow for several years, but rather her finding a purpose and a usefulness and a place.

I didn’t expect to like the story, but I really did. I thought the village was charming and Lady Osbaldestone’s relationships interesting and funny. I also loved seeing her work her matchmaking magic on a man who has lost hope and a woman who is living her life for her brother’s future. I thought the romance worked extraordinarily well and felt nice for the type of story this is.

I enjoyed this book and would definitely read more of this series.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is a clean romance. Kissing only.

CONNECTED BOOKS: Lady Osbaldestone is a recurring secondary character in many of Lauren’s novels. This book, however, is completely separate and doesn’t require reading any of the other books. In fact, it occurs prior to the other books.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.