The Christmas Ball

By: Sherrill Bodine

Narrated by: Polly Lee

The perfect Christmas gift can be found under the mistletoe.

Outshone by a gregarious stepsister and overbearing stepmother, Lady Athena Cummins is used to fading into the shadows. Beloved only by her youngest sister, Persephone, Athena has accepted her destiny as a spinster. But Persephone has a different scheme in mind, and conspires to send Athena out for one night of fun at Lord Finchley’s masquerade Christmas Ball. The masked beauty catches the Lord’s eye but, determined to avoid the wrath of her stepsister, Athena leads Lord Finchley on a wild chase to discover her true identity.

©1994 Elaine Sima and Sherrill Bodine (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Loved it. I wish it had been a full novel..

So, this was the best novella I’ve read in a long time. Drew and Athena were great, and Persephone was a wonderful little sister. While Minerva and her mother were total witches. It was a really sweet story.

As to the narration: Always love listening to Polly Lee aka Ashford McNab. Her reading and her voices are simply awesome.

Short but oh so sweet!

Completely delightful! I'm just sad that it's only a snippet of the story.... one that has such promise to bloom into a delightful book. The story here raced through to its conclusion when I wanted to know so much more about these people. Yet I enjoyed it all the same.

CREDITWORTHY? : Buy it on sale...it's so much less $ than a credit. But get it. I've listen to it more than once.

HEAT FACTOR : None. Cool and sweet with just two tender kisses...

NARRATOR: She faded away as the story played out in my mind. That is how it should be.

Great narration of a sweet Cinderella story

I love feel-good stories especially at Christmas and this filled the bill. I also very much like the narrator. A little quirky and very expressive.

A Christmas Cinderella

Setting: England
Genre: Regency romance

Narration is average. Polly Lee reads somewhat laconically, and male voices seem forced. These problems did take me out of the story a bit, but not enough that I gave up.

This is a retelling of the Cinderella story with, of course, slightly different characters. The "Cinderella" is the plain Jane spinster, Athena, and the step mother and half-sister, Minerva, aren't truly evil, just selfish. The "prince" role is filled by a visiting soldier. The "fairy godmother" is the younger sister, Persephone, a sweetheart thirteen year old girl Athena cares for, as Persephone was crippled by a high fever. The helpers are the cook and coachman.
The oft-told tale of the revelation of beauty hidden beneath the unadorned clothing and retiring manner was well enough done. It holds the listener well enough, even though you'll know what's coming next. My only problem is that there was a feeling of incompleteness in regards to Persephone.

A sweet Cinderella Story

loved it!. It was well written, and sweet. Is there a sequel? I want to hear about Persephone

Sweet Cinderella style story

A delightful, sweet romance with a Cinderella theme. I liked Athena and her sister, Persephone. The hero was also interesting. Just a light, short novella.