Belles of Christmas (Mindy Burbidge Strunk) Books in Order

Belles of Christmas is a shared Regency holiday romance series, with each book bringing a different couple into the same festive world. Mindy Burbidge Strunk's contribution, Unmasking Lady Caroline, uses a masquerade ball, a long-absent childhood friend, and a Christmas return to neighboring estates to tell a story about old feelings that never quite disappeared.

Lady Caroline Trowbridge has loved Peter Blythe for years. Peter, now Earl of Rockwell, left England after a painful break with his father and has been gone for nearly a decade. When they meet at a masquerade ball, Peter is drawn to the witty woman behind the mask, while Caroline recognizes him at once and chooses not to reveal her name.

A mask is an excellent way to start trouble.

The mystery of Caroline's identity does not stay safely at the ball. Peter and Caroline soon return to their neighboring homes for the holidays, where he seeks her help with preparations at his manor. Their childhood history gives the relationship warmth, but it also leaves them vulnerable to old disappointments and the people who once hurt them.

The Christmas setting matters because it creates a smaller, more intimate world. There are decorations to arrange, visitors to manage, snowy country scenes, and social events that keep putting the couple together. Yet the holiday atmosphere does not make their problems disappear. Caroline worries that Peter cannot love her if he learns she was the woman at the ball. Peter has to understand what he missed when he left.

As part of a multi-author series, Unmasking Lady Caroline can be enjoyed as a standalone romance. Readers do not need to know the other books to follow its central relationship. The broader Belles of Christmas collection simply offers more Regency holiday stories set around the same season and spirit.

Expect a clean, gentle romance with a familiar but satisfying setup: childhood friends, a secret identity, an old attraction, and the chance to make a different choice when life brings someone back home. Start with Unmasking Lady Caroline if you want Strunk's entry, then explore the shared series in whatever order appeals.