Romance amongst 'dark satanic mill[s].'

Having inveigled an invitation to a Christmas house party, the radical Lord Stephen Corry, meets his match in Miss Amanda Keane. Stephen is a prolific writer who champions the cause for better mill working conditions and practices. He wanted to interview the American owner Montague Mills for an upcoming article.
Mill owner Amanda, and heiress, has modern and compassionate ideas about cotton milling, workers conditions and the treatment of children particularly.
Answering a friend's call to help stir a would be suitor into action, Lord Stephen Cory finds himself under the mistletoe kissing a different young woman by mistake.
A deeper than usual Christmas romance skating the surface of a not so light issue, conditions in mills and factories that are still present in various parts of the world.
I must admit that the dalliance during a fire took on a certain absurdity, that maybe fits with the surface story. On the other hand--maybe not!
Mill conditions and romance seem strange bedfellows but Sabrina Jeffries makes it work!

(I thought this title was familiar. Yes, like others I had read this Christmas novella before in the collection of Christmas stories, 'What Happens under the Mistletoe.' I must say that I'm somewhat nonplussed by the cost comparisons!)

A NetGalley ARC ( )

Received an ARC for honest review for netgalley.It was a cute story, not one of her best. But still a love story, involving two very hardheaded people unwilling to give up there lifestyles for the other. When they met, each had a misguided view on each other but as they spent time together, they realized that they were incorrect and there attraction grew along with respect. When a situation occurs that they thought they were going to lose there lives it bring to the forefront what is really important. ( )

This was a nice short story. I sometimes enjoy a complete story that can be read and a single sitting and this one had a lot of great things going for it. This story is listed as being part of a series but it reads perfectly well as a stand alone. I was pulled into the story almost immediately and found myself really enjoying myself as I read.

This story focuses on Amanda, who owns a cotton mill in America, and Stephen, who is working hard on factory reform. Stephen assumes that Amanda's factory has to similar to the ones he has witnessed. Amanda is a different kind of factory owner. She actually cares about her employees and works hard to ensure their safety. Amanda agrees to an interview with Stephen but only if he introduces her to some of his sources.

I liked Amanda and Stephen as a couple. They have immediate chemistry with each other from the start of the story even though they disagree on just about everything. As they spend more time with each other, they both learn that things are not always as it seems. I loved the sections of the book with the mistletoe - it was just a lot of fun.

My only complaint about this story was the oddly placed sex scene. I don't feel like a sex scene is a necessity in a romance novel although I do enjoy them when they are well written and help advance the plot. A sex scene squeezed into a book in an unnatural location isn't sexy. This pair are in a burning building and it looks like they are going to perish. Do they keep working to find a way out? No. They decide that this is the perfect time to have sex. It just didn't feel realistic to me at all.

I would recommend this novella to fans of historical romance. I had a lot of fun reading the story even with the oddly place sex scene. The characters were fun and intelligent. I plan to read more of Sabrina Jeffries work in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books via NetGalley. ( )

Lord Stephen Corry is attending his brother's house party in hopes to meet an American mill worker, a spinster, who has come to England to see how they differ from American mills, Stephen has been working hard to better the conditions in the mills.
Amanda is enjoying her visit and is first extremely surprised by Stephen, then has a feeling of attraction for him. As they got know each other they discovered they had misjudged and their goals were similar. And they get closer.
This is short novella but it has a full story with entertaining character's. The romance was in the plot was sweet but also had plenty of passion. A great historical romance, I highly recommend it! ( )