Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway ~ THE WIDOW'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE by Jenna Jaxon

The Widow’s Christmas Surprise (The Widow’s Club, #5)
by: Jenna Jaxon
Series: The Widow’s Club
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2020
Publisher: Zebra Books/Kensington

The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises--that may change all her holidays to come . . .

Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow. A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .

Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .

What are some of Maria’s Christmas Traditions?

Sad to say, Christmas during the Regency era was very low key. The aristocracy didn’t make a big deal of it in England, although they did have some traditions they kept. Maria, Lady Kersey, had celebrated Christmas quietly in the past, however this year things get rather more exciting.

Most people in the Regency would go out into the woods surrounding their country estates and bring in lots of greenery to decorate the house with fragrant boughs of holly, ivy, and evergreens. They would also bring in huge balls of mistletoe to be hung strategically around the house. When gentlemen caught a lady under the mistletoe he’d kiss her and pull off one of the white mistletoe balls to give her. By the end of a Christmas house party the mistletoe balls would be quite bare! When Maria and a particular member of her family go in search of the evergreens, she ends up with rather more than she bargained for.

Another Christmas tradition Maria enjoys immensely is ice skating. This pastime was very popular during the Regency era as ponds and rivers on the estates usually froze over, giving the owners and guests the perfect opportunity. Maria loves it very much—especially when accompanied by a certain gentleman of her acquaintance.

House parties are another common way to celebrate the holidays in Regency England. When Maria becomes disillusioned with her life because she cannot have the husband she wants, she invites all her widow and ex-widow friends to her London townhouse to cheer her up. They and their families make sure Maria has a very merry Christmas, despite her troubles. And, like the miracle of Christmas itself, Maria gets a very special Christmas present that makes her holiday merry and bright.

“I see the skating came back to you,” he steered them down the center of the frozen pond toward the bulrushes at the end, then turned to head back up the far side.

“It did–this is so marvelous–I did not realize how much I had missed it until I started to skate.” Maria’s excitement was infectious. He’d not thought of skating since last year, but now the thrill of the speed—almost like flying—seemed one of the most exhilarating things he’d ever done. “Take my hands like this.”

He clasped her hands, left in left and right in right, until they faced one another, then he began to spin them around, faster and faster until the world sped by at a dizzying pace.

Maria leaned her head back, laughing up to the cloudless sky, her face more beautiful than he’d ever seen it.

He slowed them down until they stood facing one another, panting. “I love you.” Hugh managed to get the words out before he sank his mouth onto hers.

The kiss was quick—they were still both gasping for breath—then a gulp of air, then he kissed her again. Longer this time, pressing against her even as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him. Another breath and he settled in for a lengthy kiss that he deepened, delving through her lips, into her mouth, tasting all the entrancing flavors that were uniquely her. God, he would never get enough.

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Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories.

She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets--including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei mix named Frenchie.

Places to find Jenna Jaxon:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Tik Tok | Amazon Author Page

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