12 Days at Bleakly Manor and A Tale of Two Hearts are part of the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series by Michelle Griep, and I chose to do a combined review. They’re amazing apart, but I loved them together because Clara and Benjamin from 12 Days at Bleakly Manor are mentioned in A Tale of Two Hearts. And then there’s the second-chance coin. Both stories are well-written and have phenomenal characters that I loved immediately. Clara is kind-hearted. Benjamin is passionate and protective. William is charming. Mina is steadfast.
12 Days at Bleakly Manor
Clara and Benjamin both receive mysterious invitations to Bleakly Manor with a promise of a prize if they remain all 12 days. But…when they arrive, they discover that only 1 of the 7 guests will receive the promised prize. And then there’s the tension between Clara and Benjamin, who were once engaged. Navigating that relationship is difficult enough without all the mishaps that begin occurring in the mansion. Not only is there the mystery of the manor owner’s identity, but there’s the added mystery of who’s behind all the mishaps narrowing the guests down one by one. I won’t spoil the ending, but I did not see that coming! It reminded me of a murder mystery dinner or Clue but ten times better.
A Tale of Two Hearts
Now, A Tale of Two Hearts also has a bit of intrigue. William hopes to be named his uncle’s heir instead of his cousin. But his uncle wants to leave the inheritance to a family rather than a bachelor. So William asks Mina to pose as his wife, and their secret is consistently threatened to come to light. And then they discover that William’s cousin is plotting something dastardly against their uncle.
Both stories are wonderful tales of second chances, but there are also other lessons taught in these stories.
In 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, Clara has to learn that not everything is as it seems, especially Ben. And Ben has to learn to leave vengeance to God. All the guests are searching for something. Some get it but in a way they aren’t expecting, which reminded me of blessings in disguise. We so often have a specific solution in mind that we try to limit God’s ability. If we don’t get exactly what we were looking for, we assume He hasn’t answered our prayers when He has.
In A Tale of Two Hearts, Mina learns that fantasy rarely intersects with reality, but sometimes falling in love with a real person is better than the fantasy version. William learns how to move on from past mistakes, and William and Mina both learn that a sin with good intentions is still a sin.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I highly recommend these books, especially if you need a stocking stuffer or two. They’re wonderful Christmas stories with substance and food for thought as well as a nice reminder that the first Christmas was about the world’s second chance.
For the third story in Michelle Griep’s Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series, check out my post Once Upon a Dickens Christmas.
12 Days at Bleakly Manor is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and Christianbook.com.
A Tale of Two Hearts is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and Christianbook.com.
