I love Mary Balogh. She writes very human, very complex characters who usually have a unique perspective and relation to the world. However she also writes characters that are often a bit unlikeable and unappealing. You learn to love them or the hero/heroine does at least. But sometimes I find this tiresome and wish my Christmas book was a little easier to digest, the characters easier to love. So while I enjoyed it, I read only one of the two stories in this book and decided to save the next angst-ridden story for next year.