First read in 2022 - 3 stars (my introduction to Vincy!)

Second read in 2024 - 4 stars!

This little novella should be read as a bonus story to A Wicked Kind of Husband (and truthfully is even more fun when you've also read A Dangerous Kind of Lady, if only to appreciate the scene with Arabella and Hardbury). There are so many little character moments and homages to the full-length stories, and this cast feels a bit much if you don't have that context (on my first read, I just didn't care enough about all of the cameos and mostly found them confusing). While I don't recommend this as an entry point to Vincy, it's a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas story that inverts some all-time favorite histrom tropes - the not-so-merry widow and the sunshine fake-rake (and virgin!) who woos her, sex lessons, and quick-off-the-mark (him!). This happens over the 12 days of Christmas and the story falls just short of convincing us these two could have truly fallen in love in that time, but it's honestly delightful, and I had a great time rereading it after completing the main series!