THIS WICKED GIFT is a prequel novella for Courtney Milan's
Carhart series. It was originally released in 2009
in the
anthology The Heart of Christmas. It was re-released as
an
enhanced ebook in July 2014. It is fascinating to have
the
advantage of the enhanced content, and read about how
Milan
thinks now about what she wrote then, and what was
intended
when she wrote the short story to begin with. I always
enjoy learning about an artist's process, and the
commentary
deepened my enjoyment of the story.
Lavinia Spencer runs her family's lending library while
her
father lies in bed with a chronic illness. Lavinia has
been
saving her pennies daily for months, in order to provide
her
family with a little Christmas cheer. But her
irresponsible
fifteen year old brother steals her savings, along with
some
money form the till, to "invest" in a shipping venture.
It
turns out that he's been swindled, and Lavinia annoys me
by
taking it upon herself to take care of his debt, thereby
enabling her brother's bad behavior and allowing him to
continue to make poor choices. Lavinia has great love for
her family, who although they love her right back, allow
her
to sacrifice herself too much for them.
William White is a downtrodden man who was cheated out of
his inheritance. As a result, he's lost his middle class
status and is now toiling as a bookkeeper for a pittance
under a greedy and selfish boss. The man who denied
William
his inheritance has just died and left William an
insultingly tiny bequest. This bequest might be the only
thing standing between William and penury. Lavinia has
pined for William from afar for the past year, mooning
over
him as he's come into the lending library. Unbeknownst to
her, William also carries a torch for Lavinia. When
Lavinia
declares to her brother that she will save him from the
swindler and William overhears, William steps in with his
bequest windfall and makes an outrageous offer to save
Lavinia and her family.
Much of the story is rather down, showing all the trials
and
privations that Lavinia and William suffer, especially
given
that it was originally included in a Christmas anthology.
Many of the supporting characters are truly awful people.
Only such a talented author as Courtney Milan could take
such a despicably-acting man and turn him into a
sympathetic
character by the end of the novella. I loved how Lavinia
fought for what she believed in and did not let William
get
away with much. The reader is rewarded in the last part
of
the story with true growth of both the hero and heroine,
and
a deeply satisfying happily ever after.
Lavinia Spencer is too poor to be anything but practical.
But when her younger brother lands himself in trouble, she
has no choice but to do the unthinkable. She accepts the
help of the dishonorable man that she’s always wanted,
even
knowing that it might mean her ruination…
This Wicked Gift is a novella prequel to the Carhart
series.
The full series is:
This Wicked Gift, a prequel novella
Proof by Seduction
Trial by Desire
This historical romance novella is an enhanced ebook. The
unenhanced text was originally published in the anthology
"The Heart of Christmas." This work contains pictures,
audio, and author commentary. You can read this enhanced
ebook on any device, but the audio content may not be
accessible on all ereaders. That content has been made
available on the web, so you won't miss anything if your
device doesn't support audio.
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