Joy to the World

A Regency Christmas Collection

By: Carolyn Miller, Amanda Barratt, Erica Vetsch

Narrated by: Sarah Coomes

In Joy to the World, three popular romance authors come together to offer a heartwarming collection of holiday regency romance.

Based on lines from a beloved Christmas carol, these three novellas have depth, faith, and satisfying stories all packed into the perfect length for listeners to curl up and take a brief break from their holiday busyness.

Heaven and Nature Sing by Carolyn Miller: Two music lovers, deeply devoted to each other, were on the brink of engagement when family circumstances drove them apart. How can they ever overcome both their obligations and their fears to find their way back into each other's arms?

Far as the Curse Is Found by Amanda Barratt: One winter night, a woman struggling to provide for her illegitimate child encounters a scarred veteran of the Napoleonic Wars on the streets of London. Can love conquer the darkness of two broken pasts?

Wonders of His Love by Erica Vetsch: A Scots portrait painter finds work at a noble manor house over the holidays. He never imagined he'd fall in love with the emotionally frozen widow there. Now he wants nothing more than to thaw her heart.

©2020 Carolyn Miller ("Heaven and Nature Sing"); copyright 2020 by Amanda Barratt ("Far as the Curse Is Found"); copyright 2020 by Erica Vetsch ("Wonder of His Love") (P)2023 Tantor

Christmas romance

Great writers and true spirit of the season. God’s love is shown in each writer. Great love stories.

Sweet Holiday Romances

I enjoyed all 3 stories. The first is a second-chance romance and, while I don’t usually enjoy books/stories whose entire premise is built on a failure to communicate, this one was sweet and held my interest.

The second is a beautiful story of seeing past a person’s perceived flaws to who they really are.

The third was easily my favorite. Even though it is a short story, and I’ve never read this author’s work before, she was able to make me feel invested in the characters. This is clearly part of a book series but not in such a way that you feel you’re missing out on anything crucial. It works as a standalone.

Fine, not very memorable

I’ve read a few similar short story collections and found them to be more interesting. My favorite was definitely the first story, perhaps the other two just brought it down for me. If you’re looking for light, somewhat holiday-ish, then this fits the bill. I just didn’t love them.