The One That Got Away

Rating:
Summary: four delightful historical romances
Review: "The Trouble with Charlotte" by Victoria Alexander. Widow Charlotte may have lost her husband at sea, but knows to remain safe she must remarry. However, as she decides who to wed, the reported death of her spouse proves exaggerated as Captain Hugh Robb comes home with a need to be with his wife.

"Much Ado about Twelfth Night" by Liz Carlyle. Just out of the military, Rythorpe is panicking because Grandmama expects him to wed Sophie shortly. He asks Oliver for help as he wants to enjoy some civilian time before marrying. In an ironic comedy of errors, Oliver understands until he meets Sophie and soon wants to be the groom to the woman he loves.

"A Fool Again" by Eloisa James. Widow Genevieve is unhappy because her late husband placed an undesired stipulation in his will. She must remarry in two years or lose everything. The weighty Tobias is beneath her station, but wants her, not her money, while Lord Felton is her equal but could use an influx of pounds. Which muckworm will she choose?

"Nightingale" by Cathy Maxwell. Cris has to be an idiot challenging Dane to a duel, as the latter is the best. Jemma knows she must plead for her brother's life, but she thinks Dane must hate her as she rejected his suit several years ago,

These four novellas are delightful historical romances starring likable protagonists who readers will enjoy as they ponder to be wed or not to be wed for love.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: My Last Anthology
Review: Here we have 4 of my favorite authors and I didn't enjoy any of them. In fact, I just couldn't read one all the way through. Into the trash it went.

Each one of these authors write wonderful full-length novels. I just think their hearts aren't into the shorter format required by an anthology.

However, I've never read many books in this format that I've enjoyed. So, it may just be me on this book. I see that others have enjoyed it. I'm just tremendously disappointed.

So, I won't be buying any more anthologies. I'll save my money, time and energy for their stand alone books. In fact, I'm reading Victoria Alexander's "A Visit from Sir Nicholas" right now and enjoying it very much.

Rating:
Summary: Get your hands on it
Review: It's always difficult to rate anthologies when you like some stories but not others. At least 2 of the stories are 4-star; the others are 3.
I bought this book because of Carlyle and James, two of my favourite authors. But it was Alexander's story I enjoyed most: she's funny and I look for that in my romance reading. I've read her before and don't recall it being very witty..perhaps it's time to check again.
Carlyle's story, which hinges on misunderstandings, also sparkled, and while James' story was pretty passionate I couldn't really sympathise with Genevieve's motives. I've mentioned elsewhere that Maxwell isn't a favourite author and I found her story to have an ordinary plot, with predictable progress. People looking for passion will find plenty of it in her story though.

Rating:
Summary: I'm glad this one didn't get away!
Review: What a charming collection of stories! I haven't read all of these authors before but I'm certainly going to be looking for their books in the future. My absolute favorite was the Eloisa James story "A Fool Again" which was so delightful and romantic that it reminded me of why we should all be "fools for love" at one time in our life. Or in this case, twice! These stories are like delicious appetizers and now I'm starving for a main course. I'm off to the bookstore to find Ms. James' latest and to check out some of the books from the other authors too.