This HaBO comes from Amberly, who is looking for this historical romance:
I am in desperate need of help, as many are. This book is driving me crazy. I remember so many small details, but nothing concrete enough to google! This is a summary of what I remember:
The book was a historical romance. The heroine was a sort of plain Jane lady-in-waiting to her higher class friend/possible cousin. They attended events during courtship season. I specifically recall Christmas scenes mentioning candles on the tree. She was very practical, whereas her friend was naive, and she cared greatly for maintaining the friend’s chastity. The hero was introduced as a possible suitor for the friend. He was of the same class as the friend and had a reputation as a playboy who would steal kisses. The friend preferred him to other suitors because she hoped for extra romance, and the heroine saw straight through it.
It was nearly an enemies to lovers trope, with the heroine trying to keep him away from her friend. There was lots of teasing, and some NSFW scenes took place throughout the book. The hero wasn’t obvious at first. It seemed initially the heroine was going to end up with a lackluster scientist/doctor who studied phrenology, for sheer practicality, but the hero did everything in his power to stop it. While she thought it a practical match, she ultimately couldn’t maintain the relationship with the scientist/doctor in the face of the rakish hero.
It was a slow burn. The relationship softened over time. I remember a scene where the hero watched the heroine read a Christmas story to a group of children, where he commented on her being curled in the chair. The friend ended up in a relationship with a shy and subdued older man, who had been courting her all along but had been pushed off due to his quiet nature. Both pairs were in love by the end.
That is about all that I can recall which would be of any use. I hope it is enough to get some leads!
The phrenology detail might help track this one down!
I know this one! It’s Lisa Kleypas’s A Wallflower Christmas, the holiday novella from her Wallflowers series featuring the brother of Lillian and Daisy, heroines of books 2 and 4.
Definitely Lisa Kleypas Wallflower Christmas! — one of my fav holiday historical novellas.
Yes, I agree that it’s A Wallflower Christmas. It’s a fun book where we catch up with all the Wallflowers.