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    The Present
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    The Present
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    The Present
    Ebook216 pages3 hours

    The Present

    By Johanna Lindsey

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    As the entire Malory family gathers at Haverston to celebrate the season, a mysterious present arrives anonymously. The gift is an old journal—a tender and tempestuous account of the love affair between the second Marquis, Christopher Malory, and a dark gypsy beauty named Anastasia, who seeks a love match with a non-gypsy in order to save herself from a prearranged marriage to a brute. Though the dashing English lord Anastasia sets her sight upon burns for the exquisite, exotic miss, Christopher could never consent to wed such a lowborn lady. But miracles have been known to happen in this season of peace and giving and love, as two extraordinary people separated by circumstance of birth begin a passionate dance of will and wiles. And in the miraculous blossoming of a glorious romance at a long ago Christmastime, there are wise and well-learned lessons that will enrich the hearts of the Malory descendants—and, indeed, of everyone who has ever dreamed.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 31, 2010
    ISBN9780062035233
    Author

    Johanna Lindsey

    Johanna Lindsey (1952–2019) was world-renowned for her “mastery of historical romance” (Entertainment Weekly), with more than sixty million copies of her novels sold. She was the author of nearly sixty nationally bestselling novels, many of which reached the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. 

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    Reviews for The Present

    3.5/5

    180 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      In The Present by Johanna Lindsey, We have a delightful Christmas story of the Malory family. Now in this book, the family is gathering at Jason Malory’s home, to celebrate. But just because its a special holiday, doesn’t mean problems don’t arise in the family. James’s wife George, isn’t speaking to him. Anthony’s wife Roslynn isn’t too happy with her husband either. Jason is still trying to convince his mistress to marry him with little success. But then something interesting happens, the Malory’s discover a present, a present for the whole family which is a book, a record of their great grandmother, the “gypsy” and their grandfather. The reader gets taken back through time, to discover, the love story between Christopher Malory and Anastasia. Anastasia is considered to be royalty among their kind, and she is set to marry a man that is cruel especially with women. Her grandmother, tells her to find another man to love and marry and then she will be free. She sets her sights on Christopher Malory, but Christopher is a English Lord, and it would be unheard of to marry beneath him. But when he finds himself married to Anastasia, after a night of drinking, he doesn’t handle it well. And will have to win her back.This story was utterly delightful and even though I have read this before, it has been so long since then, it was almost like reading this one for the first time. I adore this family, they are so entertaining and simply a “hoot” to read. In this book, we see how close knit they are despite all the bickering they like to do. I enjoyed seeing the real story of how their great grandparents fell in love, which paves the way for Jason and Molly, who have been in love for over thirty years. And its always a fun time to see this family interact, and even many of my favorite couples, still have issues they have to work out despite being married for years. It feels real and cozy, this story just makes this family brighten up even more. Even though its not a full novel, I definitely recommend any one loving this family, needs to read this one. I do think you need to read some books of this series before picking this one up. Or you might be confused on some of the family members and their situations in life.Its a story that will take you on a ride through time, will give you plenty of laughs and some tears, but will also leave you fully sated in the end!!! TRULY HEARTWARMING!!
    • 3/5
      This slim novella gives the reader insight into the ancestry of one of our favorite romance families, the Malorys. The family gathers at Haverston to celebrate Christmas and finds a mysterious gift not addressed to anyone. Inside may be the key to uncovering one of their oldest family secrets. It may also be the key to convincing Molly to marry Jason. (The family patriarch has been in love with his housekeeper for several decades but she won't marry him because she doesn't want to cause a scandal in society).A lovely tale with fun cameos by all of the couples in earlier books in the series.
    • 5/5
      so far this has been a good book, and is a Christmas one, is number 6 in a series
      it starts in England in 1825
    • 2/5
      Overall, lacks in any real romantic tension. More a dull book, than a bad one. And the logic used in the ending is seriously flawed.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The Malory's celebrate Christmas all together in Haverston. Jason Malory lives at Haverston and all the Malory's come to visit for the Holiday. You have James, Georgina, Anthony, Roslyn, Derek, Kelsey, Edward, Charlotte, Reggie, Nicholas, Amy, Warren and all their children.When all the families start arriving a mysterious present appears in one of the rooms. There is no note, no card or anything to say who it is from. When Amy first sees the present she has a feeling but then the feeling leaves. It is when all the family is there that Amy feels that this present will tell them about their grandmother and who she really is.One night Amy talks Warren into going down and opening the present. It seems they are not the only ones that have thought of this. Soon the room fills up with all the adults. Amy opens the gift and they discover that it is sealed with a padlock and leather straps. They finally cut the straps and a letter falls out. Once the letter is read they realize that they must read the journal that their Grandfather Christopher and Grandmother Anastasia truth will be revealed to them.I found the story interesting and entertaining. I saw all the different personalities in Christopher and Ana in all their children. I look forward to reading the next Malory novel.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book is actually meant to give you a little history behind the Malory's. I loved it. I got the best of both worlds: A sweet romance from the past and present and the chemistry of this loving family.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Family coming together for the holiday season only to discover that while some are happy and content in their relationships, others of the Malory family still have some things to work out. Having all of the nieces, nephews and brothers around was good for Jason (the eldest of the Malory brothers), if only he could convince the woman he has loved for such a long time to finally marry him. With the arrival of the family, they also noticed of a present on the table that temps the whole family until one night, most of them congregate with the sole purpose of discovering what the present is, who it is for and who left it there. Opening it, they discovered a journal that is an accounting of how their great grandparents met, fell in love and married. The present may be just a good book to some of them, but for others it could change the way they look at their own lives. Book 6 ….. Yes, I read out of order and now remember why I don’t like doing that. There are a lot of characters, and if I had read the previous 5 books I would have known them all I am sure. Even with the struggles to keep each of them straight from the other, I found that this was a very fun and interesting way of recounting a love from a previous generation. I did enjoy the little bit about the family gathering, the little disputes between siblings and the teasing of the In-Laws, but the story of the Gypsies and the good luck charms, while obvious, was still a good story. I am deffinalty interseted in reading more of this family, but I think the next one will be book 1 (Love Only Once).
    • 5/5
      Okay, I'm cheating here, and I don't like them all equally, but I do love the Mallory's. They're all funny. I especially liked "Love Only Once" (the first book), "Gentle Rogue" (my favorite), and "The Magic of You" (where the heroine chases the hero shamelessly).
    • 4/5
      This is a great book for giving you history behind how the Malory's came to be, but I would not read it first if you want it to be a surprise of who marries who! I love Johanna Lindsey's books.