The Present

This slim novella gives the reader insight into the ancestry of one of our favorite romance families, the Malorys. The family gathers at Haverston to celebrate Christmas and finds a mysterious gift not addressed to anyone. Inside may be the key to uncovering one of their oldest family secrets. It may also be the key to convincing Molly to marry Jason. (The family patriarch has been in love with his housekeeper for several decades but she won't marry him because she doesn't want to cause a scandal in society).
A lovely tale with fun cameos by all of the couples in earlier books in the series.

Typical Lindsey historical. Overblown emotional yarn with great characters. Quick read.

Family coming together for the holiday season only to discover that while some are happy and content in their relationships, others of the Malory family still have some things to work out. Having all of the nieces, nephews and brothers around was good for Jason (the eldest of the Malory brothers), if only he could convince the woman he has loved for such a long time to finally marry him. With the arrival of the family, they also noticed of a present on the table that temps the whole family until one night, most of them congregate with the sole purpose of discovering what the present is, who it is for and who left it there. Opening it, they discovered a journal that is an accounting of how their great grandparents met, fell in love and show more married. The present may be just a good book to some of them, but for others it could change the way they look at their own lives.

Book 6 ….. Yes, I read out of order and now remember why I don’t like doing that. There are a lot of characters, and if I had read the previous 5 books I would have known them all I am sure. Even with the struggles to keep each of them straight from the other, I found that this was a very fun and interesting way of recounting a love from a previous generation. I did enjoy the little bit about the family gathering, the little disputes between siblings and the teasing of the In-Laws, but the story of the Gypsies and the good luck charms, while obvious, was still a good story. I am deffinalty interseted in reading more of this family, but I think the next one will be book 1 (Love Only Once). show less

The Malory's celebrate Christmas all together in Haverston. Jason Malory lives at Haverston and all the Malory's come to visit for the Holiday. You have James, Georgina, Anthony, Roslyn, Derek, Kelsey, Edward, Charlotte, Reggie, Nicholas, Amy, Warren and all their children.

When all the families start arriving a mysterious present appears in one of the rooms. There is no note, no card or anything to say who it is from. When Amy first sees the present she has a feeling but then the feeling leaves. It is when all the family is there that Amy feels that this present will tell them about their grandmother and who she really is.

One night Amy talks Warren into going down and opening the present. It seems they are not the only ones that have show more thought of this. Soon the room fills up with all the adults. Amy opens the gift and they discover that it is sealed with a padlock and leather straps. They finally cut the straps and a letter falls out. Once the letter is read they realize that they must read the journal that their Grandfather Christopher and Grandmother Anastasia truth will be revealed to them.

I found the story interesting and entertaining. I saw all the different personalities in Christopher and Ana in all their children. I look forward to reading the next Malory novel. show less

This book is actually meant to give you a little history behind the Malory's. I loved it. I got the best of both worlds: A sweet romance from the past and present and the chemistry of this loving family.

Overall, lacks in any real romantic tension. More a dull book, than a bad one. And the logic used in the ending is seriously flawed.

Okay, I'm cheating here, and I don't like them all equally, but I do love the Mallory's. They're all funny. I especially liked "Love Only Once" (the first book), "Gentle Rogue" (my favorite), and "The Magic of You" (where the heroine chases the hero shamelessly).