Book Haul! Mary Balogh Heaven & A Special Thanks

It's that time of the year! This is Thanksgiving week and the Christmas holidays are approaching fast. For me that means reading Mary Balogh historical romances. A few years ago, a friend introduced me to this habit of hers... she has been reading and enjoying Balogh's Christmas stories for years! Well, I find that I not only love to read Balogh's holiday books, but all her stories do it for me during this time of the year. In 2009 A Matter of Class was one of my favorite December reads, and last year A Christmas Promise was also a hit with me.

Anyway going on to that haul... that same friend and I have been swapping books for a few years now, and this year she really, really indulged me! This weekend I received a little package consisting of Mary Balogh backlist books I've yet to read. Here are my precious for this season:

• A Regency Christmas VII is obviously a Christmas anthology. This is the 1995 Signet edition, and it contains the following stories: "The Christmas Ghost" by Sandra Heath, "The Rake's Christmas" by Edith Layton, "Lady Bountiful" by Laura Matthews, "A Mummer Play" by Jo Beverly and "The Surprise Party" by Mary Balogh. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading this anthology for the holidays!
• The Gifts of Christmas is another anthology, this one a 1998 Harlequin edition containing three longer, thematic stories. "A Handful of Gold" by Mary Balogh, "A Drop of Frankincense" by Merline Lovelace, and "A Touch of Myrrh" by Suzanne Barclay. It's the three kings! This is another must read for me. :) 
• Then there's Longing! The 1994 Topaz edition. This novel is set in Wales and it's the story of Sian the illegitimate daughter of a lord and Alexander, Marquess of Craille, a widower with a daughter who hires Sian as his daughter's governess. I love the fact that this story is set in Wales, there's mention of ironworkers, poverty, passions, desire and well... I can't wait to get started on this one!

• Truly (1996 Berkley edition) is another romance set in Wales! This time between a wealthy lord and a minister's daughter. It looks like I'm going to be enjoying historical details about Wales along with a sweeping romance full of adventure.  
• Silent Melody (1997 Berkley edition) is the second book in the Georgian set, the first book is Heartless. I haven't read the first book either, so I have no idea if that will make a difference to my enjoyment. However I do love books set in the Georgian period, plus the story sounds fascinating! The heroine in the story is deaf/mute and I can't wait to find out how Balogh handles the story and romance. 
• And well... Unforgiven (1998 Jove edition). This is the third book in the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' series. I read the first book, Irresistible and really enjoyed it, but have not been able to get my hands on the second book, Indiscreet! Believe me, I'm ecstatic to finally get my hands on the third book! 

I'll have to pick and choose which of these books to read, if not all of them! On this Thanksgiving week when we give thanks for everything we've received and for all our blessings (and this year I have to give lots of thanks), I would like to specifically thank my friend for her generosity throughout the years. But today? Well, today I'm a happy reader!