An Enchanted Christmas
By: Barbara Metzger / Narrated By: Pippa Rathborne
Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
loved Loved LOVED this!!! Happy Christmas, one and all…!!!
It’s like this, see: I write m’ reviews whilst listening to binaural brainwaves cuz they’re soothing. And I fancy they make me more creative. BEFORE that, however, I kinda give a quick, saaaay, 15-minutes to playing said audiobook to be reviewed, just to get the tone, memories of plot/subplots/narration.
And so, for An Enchanted Christmas, I went to the verrry last story, “Wooing the Wolf”, cuz it was a favorite…
Dude! I listened to the ENTIRE story again, so transported by the story-crafting and Pippa Rathborne’s specTACular performance was I that, Review Be Hanged! I’d get to writing my thoughts after enjoying myself immensely One More Time.
That’s the way of Every. Single. Story in this anthology of wonderful Listens of the Season. The oooooonly one that wasn’t imMEDiately memorable was “The Enchanted Earl” whereby Magicians are accidentally summoned to an Estate, but one Magician saves the day and earns the kiss, and love, of an intelligent and (Uber happily!) widowed young woman. I guess I kinda cringed at that one cuz, riiiight as she gained her independence from one man, she wound up with another. And we all know that women in the Regency era… or any era, come to think… had little agency, and few rights. Still, even that one was charming and well-written.
But hold! Let’s get back to how this opens because it sets the tone for just over 10-hours of enjoyable listening. “The Christmas Curse” has a Knight and his Lady haunting a Manor and Estate, unable to move on after their deaths because the Lady called a curse down upon her hotheaded husband for jousting on Christmas and getting the lot of them killed. Until her ring is placed upon the finger of a worthy woman, in love not duty, they will be consigned to being apparitions. There are shenanigans, a dog rooting around the roses to dig up the ancient finger that still wears the ring, and just charming twists and turns to go with delightful characters. Definitely a fave.
Or no no no! P’raps my fave was the second, “A Home for Hannah” where an adorable orphan calls, “Papa! Papa!” just as a poor gentleman is attempting to ask an heiress to marry him. It’s too bad she is the spitting image of him, so scandal! and what is he to do with the child? Precious!
Or maybe “The Lucky Coin” was a fave? whereby a down-and-out farming landowner is given a unique coin in payment for sharing his woes. And everything he wishes for comes to fruition thereby leading to good things just in the nick of time, even if it started off poorly. Say, a mangy dog Adam saves gets him thrown out of his rooms, but Lucky will be spared drowning, dang it! It’s just sweet and lovely through and through.
No no no! DEFINITELY “Wooing the Wolf” which caused me to re-listen instead of review. A lady’s companion suddenly finds herself caretaker of her dead sister’s daughters. That they’ve been living in India with Punjabi Hunting Cats? Ah well! That they’d dearly love their Aunt Maggie to wed the rake and rogue, Wolf, and live as a family? Surely, that’ll be worth Every. Single. Little (Disastrous!) ploy they can enact.
See? It’s sooo hard coming up with My Fave of the ENTIRE book cuz Pippa is beYONd wonderful, as per usual. Only she can plant her tongue firmly in her cheek, or add Knowing Tones to make author B. Metzger’s slightly suggestive asides wry rather than wretched. Plus, I really am not fond of children in stories, but Pippaaa! makes each of them truly adorable tho’ each of them do truly deplorably ill-advised things. Brava! Brava! Brava!
You in the Doldrums this Christmas, looking for charm, smiles, outright laughter? Do give this set of stories A Go.
Just wonderfully charming, cleverly plotted, beautifully narrated!!!
That said? Anyone know if Ms. Metzger is still writing or, uhm, ALIVE?! Cuz, seriously. I require many more Metzger/Rathborne productions. Uhm, LIFE in this world DEMANDS the wit, the intelligence of the writing, the superb performances that inspire Knowing Guffaws!
More! I say. MORE!!!
Happy Holidays of 2023, everyone!
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