What a book to read when the temperature is plummeting outside! Compromised for Christmas is one spicy, sensual story. But it’s also surprisingly endearing. That’s because both Fitz and Georgiana are outsiders. She’s in a liminal space—an only child who’s too rich for the tradesman class but not noble either. And Fitz is an odd duck, focused on Italian translations to the exclusion of everything else due to crippling social anxiety. On top of which, Georgiana knows she has certain proclivities when it comes to the bedroom. So when she seeks an assignation with a debauched duke, she’s in for quite the surprise when Fitz is the man who arrives in the room she intends to use for her encounter. This couple is honestly so endearing. They’re each desperate for love, but they don’t know how they can find it considering that she’s got unusual bedroom desires and he’s unable to express himself well. That results in multiple moments of confusion and resulting conundrums that Fitz and Georgiana must work out. And honestly, the steam pours off the pages in this book. Your temperature will rise reading it. Fitz’s siblings make for delightful secondary characters. I found some of Fitz’s and Georgiana’s actions confounding, and I wish we knew more about what Fitz was actually doing with his “Italian translations,” but how they find their balance is a delight to read.

Georgiana Hartley has a reckless streak that finds her in an unfortunate compromising situation. At a ball, she goes from lounging in a study trying to tempt the Duke of Ironcrest, to trying to aid Fitzwilliam Jennings, the younger brother of the Earl of Bentley who she has shocked into a near faint with her bare chest. Even more unfortunately for Georgiana and Fitz, they are discovered, and forced to wed immediately despite protestations that her state of unclothedness has nothing to do with Fitz... Thus, the seemingly bold and brazen Georgiana finds herself married to the seemingly awkward and shy Fitz, and her dreams of a marriage suited to her proclivities is out of her reach. Or is it? Compromised for Christmas is a steamy novel-length story set at Christmas 1816. It is passionate and steamy, laced with professions of love in Italian, a family full of energy and understanding, and seasonal joy. Much of the conflict hinges on miscommunication, which feels natural because of Fitz's awkward character and his inability to verbalize clearly in Georgiana's presence. He wants desperately to please his new wife, so he takes it upon himself to learn more, rather unfortunately, by going to ask his former mistress for advice. The book feels like a long novella in both style and conflict, but will be satisfying for anyone looking for a steamy regency holiday read.