This is a quick and sweet holiday romance, featuring a former courtesan on her way back home to her estranged father and a newly minted baron tasked with stealing a book from her.

I love the way the relationship between Henrietta and Michael develops. Michael needs to steal a book from Henrietta in order to settle a debt of honour, and I love how torn he was over his sense of duty and his growing feelings for Henrietta. I also love how he wins Henrietta over by simply listening to her. At one point, she reflects that she had a soft spot for one of her former clients because of his best feature: his ears, and yet Michael had him beat by far.

There’s a bit of matchmaking from their respective coachmen, who recognize that their employers will likely have a lonely holiday ahead — Henrietta because her father has disowned her for her profession and Michael because his sisters live far away. But this mostly seemed unnecessary as Michael and Henrietta appeared to need no help in falling for each other!

Respect for Christmas is a novella (fairly short at 96 pages), and I admit I ended up wishing we had more time to explore Michael and Henrietta’s stories. But overall, it’s a really sweet romance, and a nice quick read for the holidays.

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Thank you to Forever Romance for an egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.