Rating: 
Summary: A mixed bag, but some very good Halloween bon-bons
Review: "Bridal Jitters" by Jayne Castle was an exceptionally enjoyable mix of sci-fi and romance, as can be expected from this author. "Tangled Dreams" by Lori Foster was fun and hot, but may not be everyone's cup of tea (there is some bondage, and a hero very turned on by control/domination in the bedroom). The other two were actually pretty bad. Hmm. Maybe I rated this book too high overall, but the Castle and Foster stories were well worth the purchase price.
Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared to salivate over "Tangled Dreams."
Review: "Tangled Dreams," Lori Foster's novella in Berkley's Charmed anthology, including stories from Jane Castle, Julie Beard, and Eileen Wilks, may be short, but it's definitely not sweet. It's steamy from the first page to the very last. In this short of a story, Lori couldn't go into much detail about the characters and their lives, but she managed to put in just enough to garner interest and make me care. Actually, it whet my appetite for a full-length novel revolving around Chase and Allison. It also proved to me that she is quite capable of writing a good paranormal. Hint, hint . . . are you listening, Lori? Buy Charmed to get your Halloween fix, then be prepared to salivate over "Tangled Dreams."
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Magical
Review: Bridal Jitters can be skipped,hard to follow,more sci-fi than romance. All 3 others are great. Each one different & magical & fun to read. Worth the price. Fun & entertaining. Don't quit after story #1,it gets better.
Rating: 
Summary: Look elsewhere
Review: CHARMED is perhaps the worst anthology I have come across. Three of the stories are cures for insomnia. The one story that is entertaining contains disturbing elements better left out of romances and also defies credibility."Bridal Jitters" by Jayne Castle: This was not the story to read in order to investigate Jayne Ann Krentz's futuristic stories. I had never read them before and will not be rushing out to buy them after reading this silly bit of fluff. I never did figure out what "rez" was supposed to be and I was annoyed that not even JAK's futuristic romances are free of New Age influence. I'll stick with J. D. Robb for futuristic romances, thanks. "Man In the Mirror" by Julie Beard: Nauseatingly sweet with a hero and heroine who never have a moment's tension between them. Am I the only one who noticed that Tristan never seemed to question Katie's explanation of her time-travel? If someone suddenly announced to you that she was really from a time that is a millennia-and-a-half in the future, would you just accept it right off the bat? "Tangled Dreams" by Lori Foster: This story is the only reason I am giving this book more than one star. It was consistently entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. The only major drawback was Chase's fascination with bondage and sexual domination. This definitely should have been cut from an otherwise great story. It added nothing to the plot and was creepy to boot. By the way, how exactly could Rose have hidden the directions to the treasure and the treasure itself where she did when she was deathly ill from the measles? Chase, a strong and healthy man, had trouble retrieving both items when he and Allison figured out their location. "Pandora's Bottle" by Eileen Wilks: The story had great potential but never took off. Read this when the warm milk isn't doing the trick.
Rating:
Summary: Out-of-this-world Romance!
Review: Charmed surprised me. I'd never read anything by Jane Castle aka Jayne Krentz. "Bridal Jitters" was teriffic. When the hero and heroine finally get together, I felt the heat even from beyond this other world. I'll be reading more of Jane Castle/Jayne Krentz. "Man in the Mirror" was an okay read. It was a more of a sweet romance. "Pandora's Bottle" was interesting, yet a bit confusing. I found myself torn between rooting for the ntroverted hero and the extroverted hero. I really didn't like having to choose. Of course, it all worked out in the end. "Tangled Dreams" was another Lori Foster slamdunk! YEAH! Once again, I got to read about another Winston brother who bites the dust. Superbly written and wonderfully plotted. Loved the fact that Chase could read the heroine's thoughts. Don't believe the hype about the bondage/soft porn. NOT! Romances have HEA endings. And if we are to believe that two people have been brought together and that these two people cannot live without each other, then there is no problem in exploring the sexual side of the hero/heroine's relationship. I'd like to tie my husband up for one night too! :) We get to meet a honest and hot hero who falls flat on his face for a shy heroine. Instant combustion as far as I'm concerned. Keep up the good work, Lori!
Rating:
Summary: STEAMY! SEXY!
Review: Definitely romantic beyond your wildest dreams. Lori Foster develops characters with a passion for life and love. Tangled Dreams, one of four stories in the anthology Charmed, is indeed a spell-binding story! My only regret is that there wasn't more. I didn't want it to end, much less so quickly. ... I loved these characters and all they portrayed. Allison's secret thoughts are magically coming to life as Chase reads her mind -- word for word. They made me laugh and boy did I feel the desire the characters had for each other! Chase has a secret as well, and if it doesn't explode into desire for you, well, maybe nothing will!
Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag overall
Review: I bought this anthology because of Jayne Castle and Julie Beard, but I'm keeping it because of Lori Foster! Her contribution was witty, very sexy and different. That's hard to come by if you read a lot of romances. I was somewhat disappointed in the Julie Beard story, which felt like it might have been a good novel that was condensed abruptly into a short story. The other two were satisfying as quick reads, but weren't great. They didn't live with me afterwards the way Lori Foster's story did. If you like spice, buy this anthology for the Lori Foster story. If you don't, then don't buy it because there's nothing really special about the rest of it.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but nothing new
Review: I bought this anthology because of the Jayne Castle/Krentz story but ended up enjoying all four. They were very quick reads - two were pretty good, one good and one fair. BRIDAL JITTERS by Jayne Castle has the kind of hero and heroine I expect in a Castle novel and I enjoyed their relationship and their story. Unfortunately, it was way too short! She should have been given another 50 pages to tell Sam and Virginia;'s story. I also agree with another reviewer that if you haven't read her other futuristic novels you probably won't "get" much of what goes on in this one. MAN IN THE MIRROR by Julie Beard was dull and predictable. When she met the "modern" Tristan I looked for flames to ignite and was dissapointed to find their meeting only lukewarm. TANGLED DREAMS was my first book by Lori Foster and I found it to be alot of fun to read. Yes, the hero prefers to dominate in bed and is into bondage, but he only choses partners who share his "interests" and there is no force involved. I found the story to be very erotic. PANDORA'S BOTTLE by Eileen Wilks was also enjoyable and fun to read. The idea of two halves of the same man existing - one human, one a djinn (genie) - was unique. The ending was somewhat predictable but it made me feel good. I would recommend this book if you're looking for some quick reads and like futuristical/magical types of tales.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but nothing new
Review: I bought this anthology because of the Jayne Castle/Krentz story but ended up enjoying all four. They were very quick reads - two were pretty good, one good and one fair. BRIDAL JITTERS by Jayne Castle has the kind of hero and heroine I expect in a Castle novel and I enjoyed their relationship and their story. Unfortunately, it was way too short! She should have been given another 50 pages to tell Sam and Virginia;'s story. I also agree with another reviewer that if you haven't read her other futuristic novels you probably won't "get" much of what goes on in this one. MAN IN THE MIRROR by Julie Beard was dull and predictable. When she met the "modern" Tristan I looked for flames to ignite and was dissapointed to find their meeting only lukewarm. TANGLED DREAMS was my first book by Lori Foster and I found it to be alot of fun to read. Yes, the hero prefers to dominate in bed and is into bondage, but he only choses partners who share his "interests" and there is no force involved. I found the story to be very erotic. PANDORA'S BOTTLE by Eileen Wilks was also enjoyable and fun to read. The idea of two halves of the same man existing - one human, one a djinn (genie) - was unique. The ending was somewhat predictable but it made me feel good. I would recommend this book if you're looking for some quick reads and like futuristical/magical types of tales.
Rating:
Summary: 4 Super Halloween Tales
Review: I bought this because this contained a Jayne Ann Krentz( writing as Jayne Castle) Harmony tale,her off world series that I enjoy so much with Amaryllis, Orchid, Zinnia and After Dark. It is a charming tale of a ghost-hunter and a detangler (sorry, you have to read them for it takes too long to describe). They are supposedly getting married ( in the off world there are too marriage a MC - marriage of convenience for business and a CM - covenant marriage which is traditional), with a MC marriage but she is having cold feet until they spend the night of passion in an alien graveyard on Halloween night. A GEM!!!
In Man in the Mirror, Julie Beard has a shy young woman gazing into an antique mirror and coming face to face with a knight from King Arthur's Court. Wonderful!! Tangled Dreams - gets tangled as two ghosts set up a night of passion between a quite lady and the bartender she cannot get off her mind. Very typical Lori Foster!! Pandora's Bottle by Eileen Wilks is a tale of sort of a Clark Kent tale....he is a mild mannered stockbroker by day...but a djinn by night and she uncorks his bottle it sets them both free.... These are super tales and perfect for Halloween Spirit!!!!!!!!!!
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