Midnight Christmas Waltz

Chronicles of the Westbrook Brides, Book 1

Welcome to CHRONICLES OF THE WESTBROOK BRIDES, a dazzling new series by USA Today bestselling author Collette Cameron featuring the Westbrook family. If you’re a fan of the Bridgerton series, you’ll love getting to know the Westbrooks. 

A matriarch, sends forth an urgent, enigmatic summons, beckoning her family to their ancestral home for Christmas…

The indomitable Libby Westbrook, Dowager Duchess of Latham, decides this Christmas might be her last. In a bold move and using the clever ruse of an urgent, undisclosed crisis, she summons her descendants to the grand ducal estate in Cumberland. The Westbrook family, bound by an inexplicable force, finds themselves compelled to heed the matriarch’s call…

The eight Westbrook siblings, each immersed in their own lives, now face a journey back to their roots. Despite deep-seated rivalries, pressing personal matters, and risky romantic entanglements, they converge upon their ancestral home. As the holiday spirit spreads, the siblings find themselves enveloped in an atmosphere of reconciliation and good will.

Is it the magic of Christmas or something more? Rumors of Grandmama’s Roma gypsy ancestry and mystical abilities swirl throughout the Westbrook home. By the season’s end, hearts mend, bonds reignite, spirits uplift, and the Westbrooks rediscover that the essence of any season is the joy of family being together.

 

Free to Kindle Unlimited Subscribers

 

See what readers are saying! 

★★★★★ “What a stupendous idea to introduce a new series! Absolutely brilliant. I was completely blown away by the idea and presentation.” 

★★★★★ “OMG, I LOVE the way this is set up and cannot wait to read them.”
~ Dee

★★★★★ “I can’t wait for the next books to come after reading this prequel.”
~ Suzannah

★★★★★ “I loved that each sibling has a chapter, which gives the opportunity to get to know each one & to whet the appetite for their story. It’s different, it’s brilliant & totally did its job of whetting my appetite for this interesting new series & I can’t wait for it to begin not only for the individual stories but for the antics & machinations I’m sure Libby will reek on her beloved family.”
~ Janet  

★★★★★ “I can’t wait for the first book, so I can begin learning more about the family and all the siblings.
~ Lana Birky 

★★★★★ “GREAT READ TO INTRODUCE A NEW SERIES!!!”
~ Kat Tolle 

★★★★★ “I love how the author presented this whole thing. Everybody is together in one book, at one event, each with their own stories to tell, and bursting to tell them. It all ends beautifully with a Christmas waltz.”
~ Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill 

★★★★★ “This series will be great as you have a feel now for the characters and get to know a little about them before their story starts. Getting a little insight as to how they think and interact with family is greatly appreciated.”
~ Tina Ullrich 

★★★★★ “Midnight Christmas Waltz is a deviation from the norm for this author in a truly fantastic way! Filled with what I have love most – witty exchanges, a bit of intrigue, love, and lots of laughs – this prequel to the Westbrook Brides series has it all, and then some.”
~ Nancy H 

★★★★★ “Loved the insight we get into a little bit of the background of the Westbrook crew. The simple taste given, makes me want to read all their stories to see where they end up!”
~ Patricia Wissore

 

Prologue Excerpt

 

GRANDMAMA

Hefferwickshire House rose garden
Duke of Latham’s country estate
Late June 1825
Six months until Christmas

’Tis completely unacceptable, Portia, and I shan’t pretend otherwise.

Between them, Margaret and Haygarth have eight children. Eight!

And how many years has it been since this grand house saw a Christmastide with all their children present?

Or mine, for that matter?

 Too many, I tell you.

In point of fact, there has never been a Christmastide with every one of my descendants beneath this roof. Not to mention, this Christmas also marks Garth’s five and sixtieth birthday.

A celebration appropriate for the momentous occasion is in order.

I shall have to take matters into my own hands. I see no alternative. I’m too old to wait on the whims and peculiarities of capricious younger generations.

My health is not what it once was.

In truth, when Doctor Hartney, the younger, called upon me last week, he said my heart is weak, amongst other ailments that plague the aged. He also suggested bed rest and a reducing diet would benefit me greatly, the young quack.

Bed rest!

Me?

Never!

And what else does an old woman have besides her sweetmeats and her family?

I don’t own a cat or dog to dote upon.

I’d dismiss him for his impertinence if he wasn’t so handsome and charming, and if I wasn’t great friends with his father, now retired. Doctor Hartney, the elder, still brings me Turkish delights now and again. He did so just last week, though I was napping and Margaret accepted the delicacies on my behalf.

 Nevertheless, my greatest desire is to see all my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren gathered for one Christmas, though I know it’s immensely impractical.

Impossible, truth to tell.

However, I shall be satisfied if only Haygarth and Margaret’s brood are here, singing carols, sipping mulled cider, stirring the plum pudding, and opening gifts.

 If it’s the last thing I do, my dear friend, Hefferwickshire House will overflow with Westbrooks, festivities, laughter, and revelry this Twelfth Night. I have a trick or two up my sleeve. My dear departed Roma grandmother, bless her, imparted a few gypsy ways to me when I was a child.

There will be miracles this Christmastide.

Naturally, you must come for a fortnight. You are the sister I never had, and my family is yours. I shan’t take no for an answer. You shall have the room next to mine, just as we did at school all those years ago.

Now to devise a plan and put it into action…

~Elizabeth (Libby) Westbrook, Dowager Duchess of Latham,
in a letter to her bosom friend of seventy years,
Lady Portia Borthwick-Pickleton, a childless widow