The Last Chance Christmas Ball
by Patricia Rice, Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Nicola Cornick, Joanna Bourne

“Each author’s unique style and storytelling talents are at their best, gifting readers one scrumptious treat after another…glowing with the joy and romance of the yuletide.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

Christmas 1815. Upstairs and downstairs, Holbourne Hall is abuzz with preparations for a grand ball to celebrate the year’s most festive—and romantic—holiday. For at the top of each guest’s wish list is a last chance to find true love before the New Year…

A chance meeting beneath the mistletoe, a stolen glance across the dance floor—amid the sumptuous delicacies, glittering decorations, and swell of the orchestra, every duchess and debutante, lord and lackey has a hopeful heart. There’s the headstrong heiress who must win back her beloved by midnight—or be wed to another….the spinster whose fateful choice to relinquish love may hold one more surprise for her…a widow yearning to glimpse her long-lost love for even one sweet, fleeting interlude …a charming rake who finds far more than he bargained for. And many other dazzling, romantic tales in this star-studded collection that will fill your heart and spice up your holidays…

Originally published October 2015 in trade paperback and eBook by Kensington.

Patricia Rice's Bio

With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today's bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA, Patricia Rice, is one of romance's hottest authors. Her emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romance novels have won numerous awards, including the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice and Lifetime Achievement Awards, as well as the Bookrak Bestselling Paperback award. Her books have also been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories.

Ms. Rice's next two contemporaries will feature characters who were first introduced in Impossible Dreams (Almost Perfect, McCloud's Woman - Ballantine Ivy). Her next historical returns the reader to the bewitching milieu of magic (Must Be Magic - Signet).

A firm believer in happily-ever-after, Patricia Rice is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. Born in New York and raised in Kentucky, she resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and now does accounting only for herself. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Novelists, Inc., as well as numerous professional accounting organizations and local charities.