Historical English romance with a holiday theme that pulls at your heart strings because Larissa Ascot is seriously sweet and wholesome. She can't even hate the guy that is ruining her family and then takes her virginity, she still thinks that he is going to do the right thing by her and her family. She is really naive, but really loveable. I wish she was my sister!She finds out that she lost her house and has to move out in the next day while simultaneously worrying about her very sick younger brother and her lost at sea father. She is for the moment orphaned in London, far from her birthplace of Southampton, where she would have had friends to help her in her time of need.This is were things get hinky. Lord Vincent Everett, the Baron of Windsmoor, offers to take her in to his bachelor residence in London. I don't care how huge it might be, no self respecting single unwed woman would move into a bachelor residence at this time, unless she was becoming a mistress. Larissa should have gone elsewhere, but I supposes then there would be no story if she didn't end up in the connecting room to Lord Vincent.This is a holiday book, so I'll stop looking further into the plot holes and just enjoy the story.Sweet cute fast read for the holiday spirit from the Queen of romance novels, Johanna Lindsey.The Christmas tree scenes are really sweet and totally felt like real holiday moments.330 pages (lots of spacing so it felt like 200ish pages)2 and half stars
Kisah bermula ketika Vincent Everett, Baron of Windsmoor ingin membalas dendam pada keluarga Ascot, karena telah membuat adiknya bunuh diri dengan menyita rumah kediaman keluarga Ascot, tepat pada liburan Natal dan ketika sang Ayah keluarga Ascot belum juga pulang dari luar negeri dan meninggalkan hutang yang cukup banyak pada keluarganya. Padahal di rumah itu masih ada Larissa dan Thomas Ascot, kakak-beradik keluarga Ascot. Diperparah dengan Thomas, sang adik, sedang sakit. Larissa yang menerima berita tersebut dari sekretaris sang Baron dan langsung bingung harus pergi kemana. Sampai akhirnya sang Baron sendiri yang menyampaikan berita tersebut untuk kedua kalinya sekaligus mengundang Larissa dan adiknya untuk sementara tinggal di kediamannya sampai sang Ayah pulang. Setelah tinggal satu atap, Vincent tidak bisa mengingkari kalau ia menginginkan Larissa yang polos namun kuat dan tabah. Maka ketika sang Ayah kembali dari perantauannya, Vincent tidak siap kehilangan Larissa, apalagi ditambah dengan kebencian Larissa akan Vincent yang dianggap telah memperalatnya.Ya sebenarnya sih ceritanya cukup sweet, cuma kayaknya terlalu singkat sehingga saya tidak bisa mengeksplorasi kedua tokoh utama. Tapi hati saya juga sempat terasa di remas-remas ketika Vincent menceritakan kisah kelam masa kecilnya kepada Larissa. Bintang 3 untuk usaha Larissa mencari pohon Natal yang pertama untuk Vincent :)
What do You think about Home For The Holidays (2002)?
80% kayaknya hampir narasi semua. Isi buku didominasi jalan pikiran dua tokoh utamanya, conversation-nya dikit banget. Sedang ceritanya sendiri so so saja.Btw, kenapa gak pake ukuran font normal siiiiih? Kalo hurufnya gak gedong-gedong kek gajah kan bukunya bisa lebih tipis, hemat kertas, and yang utama...harga bukunya bisa lebih murah.Edit :Eeeehh...uneg-unegnya ada yang ketinggalan nih. Soal lukisan La Nymph yang konon bikin pria yang melihatnya bisa gila kalo tidak segera 'begituan'. Masa lukisannya cuma seorang gadis cantik luar biasa yang sedang naked and melompat-lompat dikelilingi empat manusia berbadan kambing? Yang bisa bikin gila apa ya? Johanna Lindsey gak kasih penjelasan yang memuaskan, jadinya gak mudeng deh.
—Mahareni Maldini
This is a lovely read for the holiday season. Grab a cup of coffee and snuggle up with this historical romance.Vincent Everett, the Baron of Windsmoor, is bent on revenge against Ascot, the man he thinks caused his brother to commit suicide. After evicting the man's family and, after he gets a good look at Larissa Ascot, invite her and her brother to stay in his home. Naturally, being a vengeful rake, he decides to seduce the naive Larissa. Larissa is sweet and does not have many options. Her father could be dead, her brother is ill, and they lose their home. She accepts Lord Everett's offer to stay in is home, but has no plans on falling in love with the rogue.As the book progresses, Larissa begins to tear down the walls surrounding Vincent's cold heart, breaking through his Scrooge exterior. She shows him what love and family are all about.This was a fun story and great a holiday read.
—Amanda
Believing that his brother killed himself because George Ascot ruined him in business, Vincent Everett sets out to systematically ruin this man's life. While George is out of the country, he freezes their funds, discredits them so they can't borrow money and purchases their house out from under them. Then, he evicts Larissa Ascot and her sick brother from their home when they've nowhere to go. But upon first seeing Larissa, Vincent desires her and decides that this works perfectly in his revenge
—Maura
