Rating: 
Summary: This was awful!!!
Review: I was so disappointed -- I know I have read other things by Bertrice Small that I liked. By the end of the first novella I was feeling like I was reading someone's first attempt at writing a romance. No character development, extremely stiff dialogue, and some odd forays into vulgar references here and there that seemed completely out of place. At times I felt like I was reading bad porn. Very immature writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best, but not her worst.
Review: In my opinion, Ms. Small's worst was Just Beyond Tomorrow, but that's another review. I just purchased The Dragon Lord's Daughters, and while i admit the stories are a bit more lacking then her usual, they are engaging, and good. My favorite so far has to be Maia(personally, her story derserved to be a whole book, but hey, i'm not the writer) with its blend of magic and Arturian legend. I'm a sucker for even a mention of King Arthur legends, so maybe that's why i liked this book. All in all, a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: My First
Review: This was my first Bertrice Small book and I thought it was a very good book. My favorite character was Averil, her story was the best. I found Maia to be a bit whiny, but her hero Emrys was so cool! At first I was very disgusted with the rape of Junia, but when you think about it, it's very historically acurate. Most of the women in that time period had to endure rape, especially from their own husbands! And the fact that these women rise above their curcumstances and remain brave makes them heros in my heart.
Rating:
Summary: pulp fiction at its worst
Review: This was totally turgid. Wading through crudity and uninteresting characters just because they are supposed to be the descendants of King Arthur is NOT entertaining. The violence and rape is gratuitous and the 'deflowering' of each girl is formulaic and about as romantic as discussing the laundry. Which they do at length. The introduction is a rehash of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone to become king. Then we get his decendants hundreds of years later? Who cares-there is nothing mythological or magical about any of them. The three novellas have as much depth to them or their characters as a puddle. Killing off the little sister Mary so the hero can be 'someone' in the first novella is absurd and crass and covered in about a paragraph. It all goes downhill from there. Give us romances where we see the couple really falling in love. You can possible cover a year of marriage in less than 80 pages and leave the reader satisfied on even the most basic level.
Rating:
Summary: pulp fiction at its worst
Review: This was totally turgid. Wading through crudity and uninteresting characters just because they are supposed to be the descendants of King Arthur is NOT entertaining. The violence and rape is gratuitous and the 'deflowering' of each girl is formulaic and about as romantic as discussing the laundry. Which they do at length. The introduction is a rehash of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone to become king. Then we get his decendants hundreds of years later? Who cares-there is nothing mythological or magical about any of them. The three novellas have as much depth to them or their characters as a puddle. Killing off the little sister Mary so the hero can be 'someone' in the first novella is absurd and crass and covered in about a paragraph. It all goes downhill from there. Give us romances where we see the couple really falling in love. You can possible cover a year of marriage in less than 80 pages and leave the reader satisfied on even the most basic level.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad for a romance novel.
Review: When I purchased this book, I had no idea who Beatrice Small was, or what type of book she normally writes. I grabbed it because of the story summary on the cover. The book tells the tale of 3 young women who all descend directly from the bloodline of King Arthur. The girls Averil, Maia, and Junia each have different mothers and the same father. Each is described as unique in appearance and as each of them prepare to marry they face their own unique circumstances. Averil is kidnapped by a young man looking to find a wife with a land dowery; Maia (and here the King Arthur bit came more into play) falls in love with a faceless man in her dreams - refusing all others and chosing to wait for the day he rides through the gates; and Junia who falls in love with a man from a family feuding with the Pendragons for over a century. Each story line is interesting and the book reads fast and keeps your attention. However, despite the lean toward historical fiction - and in the case of Maia, the definate sci-fi tilt to the story, this is definately a romance novel. I must admit that I found the ending a bit sugar coated and some of the love scenes and wording to be more "lonely housewife" than I would have preferred. There is one rape scene that I could have lived without and I was not thrilled that the woman in question continued to "love" the rapist - I think there is no place for any such suggestion in any type of literature, but that's a personal belief - you decide for yourself. If you want a tale about King Arthur - this is NOT it. If you want a decent, enjoyable read - it's not a bad choice. Knowing now that Ms. Small writes romance novels (despite any efforts at an historical twist) I would assume this is the only book of her's I shall read...but it wasn't a bad choice, just a bit predictable perhaps.
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