Review now up on the blog as part of the blog tour: http://www.thewritinggreyhound.co.uk/2016/12/book-review-christmas-surprise-by-emily.html

The novella is a quick, fun and light-hearted festive read. It's the perfect accompaniment to a warm fire, a hot cup of tea and these long, dark winter nights. If you need some help getting into the Christmas spirit, then this is the book for you!

The story itself is very simple. Lady Audrey must find a husband, and her father's annual Christmas ball is the perfect place for her to do so. The plot works well in this setting as it requires such little setup, so we can pretty much get straight into the story itself. Of course, it's rather predictable and the happily ever after ending didn't come as a surprise at all, but you don't read books like this to challenge yourself; you read them out of enjoyment and to relax.

I found the characters to be a bit of a mixed bag. Lady Audrey did get on my nerves a little at times. She is so stubborn and headstrong that she refuses to listen to anyone else (including her father) and after a while, her personality began to grate. I did feel as though we didn't really get to know Thomas very well, too, especially as he is such an important character. The little narration we had from him seemed fragmented and I didn't feel as though he came across in a very good light. After all, he was at points basically spying on a young girl more than 10 years his junior as she was being dressed... does that not seem a little off to anyone else?

Despite that, the storyline was fun. The whole concept of the masked ball was great as it allowed for so many dramatic possibilities, especially considering the usual rigidity of upper-class attitudes at this time. I felt that the story fit very well into the Regency period, and from the level of detail, it's clear that the author knows her stuff. The only thing I would say, however, is that I wasn't entirely convinced by the fact that no-one seemed fazed by Thomas and Audrey's relationship. A high-society lady marrying her father's valet? That's hardly a match that would have been allowed at that time, surely. I just didn't buy into Lord Marchwood's reaction to the news at all. That was the one part of the story that sadly just didn't feel authentic or realistic to me.

Regardless of that, the story as a whole is a great, quick read.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lady Audrey is eighteen and about to have her coming out Christmas Ball. With rumors swirling that her father is having some financial trouble, she hopes to meet her future husband on the same night. A late decision to make the Ball a mask sets up a night full of intrigue and magic. Thomas has been the valet to Audrey's father for the last five years and developed a close relationship with Audrey. With her turning eighteen and beginning the search for a husband, he feels the urgency to examine his feelings. The Christmas Ball will be a night neither will forget.
 
At fewer than one hundred pages, A Christmas Surprise is a short novella that will require you to be very forgiving with its regency period setting. I was curious how the daughter of a viscount would/could be set-up with her father's valet, the story for the most part decided to not address it and went with "luv". Audrey's father had no objections as Thomas must really love Audrey because he still wanted to marry her even when he thought she was poor. Having characters with these roles was an intriguing idea and to have the author flake out on providing the meat of this situation was disappointing.
 
Audrey and her father were the most fleshed out characters with Audrey coming off a little flighty. Thomas was disappointingly missing; he was a pencil sketch of a character. There is talk of how Thomas and Audrey grew close because of their conversations but we are never shown any of them. I was left bereft of any reasoning as to why these two cared for one another.
 
The language used by the characters felt off but the overall writing flowed well, you'd have no problem finishing this in an hour. I was looking for a shorter story with a holiday feel, this was both but it also read more as a pitch for a story, rather than an actual story. I needed more depth of character from Thomas and for him and Audrey to have more interactions and evidence of feelings between them.

I personally think it's awesome because I don't really read romance and this is an open for me to Emily's books and totally enjoyed it through the way. But the only thing I don't really like about this is Thomas being too obvious but it's okay!i knew the ending when I saw Thomas being cute HAHA.

In this Regency romance Lord Robert, the Viscount of Marchwood, is throwing his annual Christmas Ball in the Highlands of Scotland even though his financial position is a poor one. His daugher the Lady Audrey, who's coming out ball this is decides it will be a masked ball. This leads to her falling for a stranger. Can the discovery of who he is bring them together or will they be parted for ever.
A nice enjoyable novella, though not really long enough to give a depth to all the characters.
A NetGalley Book

Yes, I am aware that we are still 3 months away from Christmas, but I always start enjoying Christmas around this time! I’ve already had my first cup of hot chocolate for the season, binge listening to Michael Bublé’s holiday music, and now, I’ve read my first Christmas book of the year! *no judgey*

As for A Christmas Surprise in particular, it was cute. It was very short, I think I finished it in 45 minutes to an hour, and because of that, the story is very rushed. I didn't have a lot of time to get to know Audrey or Thomas, and before I really knew what was happening, the book ended with an (extremely predictable) "happily ever after". Also, the romance was a little odd to me. At the beginning of the week (the book takes place over the course of a week), Audrey didn't even notice Thomas but by the end of the week, she goes to him with her *very personal* problem, regarding the stranger, and seeks out his council, thus blossoming into our predictable ending. The romance was just, nonexistent and then existing in all its passion and desire at once.

I did love the description of the masquerade ball however, and would have loved for that scene to have lasted so much longer than it did. It captured the spirit of Christmas that I love so much and was described so elegantly. I saw it just as if I had been watching it play before my eyes in a movie. Murdoch most definitely has a way with words.

The book is clean, with only a couple semi-passionate kisses. Though there is a scene in which a man tries to force himself on a woman, though the details are kept short. There is no cursing either.

So, overall, I give A Christmas Surprise 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it if you're looking for a quick dose of Christmas!

I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

This is a LiteratureApproved.com Review.

Initially I wasn’t sure what to expect from A Christmas Surprise. Though I am a sucker for a good love story, historical romance is a genre I never felt particularly drawn to. However, I found no trouble getting into this novella. This was my first Emily Murdoch novel and I will definitely be reading more. It’s clear, from her writing, that she has a vast knowledge of the era in which the story takes place. And she has a wonderful way of painting a scene with her words.

The only downfall of a quick read is that there is very little room for character development. Though there was some development, mainly focused around Lady Audrey and her father, but I found myself wishing there was more. Fortunately, this didn’t take away from how quickly and easy it was to fall in love with the characters. I would have enjoyed to watch Lady Audrey and Thomas’ fondness for one another grow, but I was not at all disappointed with what was given.

I would recommend this in a heartbeat for anyone looking for a good read for the holiday season.

3.5 actual rating
It was surprisingly sweet in all it's shortness. I had some issues with the characters... Especially Thomas, I would have liked to see more of him.

*Disclaimer, I was given this book in return for an honest review*

"She had never felt like this, not since her last severe winter cold. And she could not tear her face away from Thomas’s – Thomas, she must remember to think of him as Thomas: her father’s valet, a servant, and not a man of flesh and blood whose gaze was the most potent she had ever seen."

A Christmas Surprise was certainly a surprise to me. This is not the typical book I lean towards, regency romance is very new to me, but I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows Lady Audrey, a noblewoman who is about to have her coming out ball now that she has reached the age of 18. An age where woman in this era are ready to marry and presented as such. She decides upon a masked ball and ends up dancing with a stranger who she feels she knows, and who knows her. Thus becoming a short tale of young love, family bonds, and even delving a bit into a woman's right to assert herself and make her own choices. Audrey and her father, Lord Robert, are the characters you feel most attune to, as they both are given more backstory, something I wish another character or two were given as well. But really overall, it's a short and heart warming read perfect for the Christmas season that is coming upon us. It reminds us of first loves and the excitement and confusion of it all, and it brings on a happy ending that will delight.

I do wish the ball had a bit more detail, as Lady Audrey insisted on making the decor a reflection of herself, I would have loved a vivid description. And the romantic in me would have loved to read about the wedding, but I really can't complain about the ending. I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a short read to uplift you and make you smile.