The Brides Of Christmas: The Wise Virgin\The Vagabond Knight\The Unexpected Guest [Paperback]

Jo Beverley (Author), Margaret Moore (Author), DEBORAH SIMMONS (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

In the age of chivalry and the season of hope, three marriages are forged in this collection of stories involving knights, mercenaries and family patriarchs. The titles include "The Wise Virgin" by Beverley, "The Vagabond Knight" by Moore, and "The Unexpected Guest" by Simmons.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jo Beverley is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance. In a starred review of her most recent medieval romance, Lord of Midnight, Publisher's Weekly described her as "Arguably today's most skillful writer of intelligent historical romance." The author of twenty romance novels, she is a four-time RITA winner and a member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.

Margaret Moore Award-winning author Margaret Moore actually began her career at the age of eight, when she and a friend concocted stories featuring a lovely damsel and a handsome, misunderstood thief nicknamed "The Red Sheik." Unknowingly pursuing her destiny, Margaret graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.

Margaret was a Leading Wren with the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. During her stint with the armed forces, she learned many new skills, including how to yell at men, how to spit-shine shoes, what it feels like to be tear-gassed and the joy of marching for no discernible reason.

Since selling her first book to Harlequin in 1991, Margaret has written more than twenty historical romance novels and novellas for Harlequin Historicals7 and Avon Books. She now has over four million books in print. A past president of the Toronto Romance Writers, Margaret lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband, two teenagers and two cats. Visit her web site at http://www.mmoore.net.

Deborah Simmons is the author of more than a dozen historical romances and novellas. A native Ohioan, she graduated cum laude from Wittenberg University in Springfield and was a journalist before turning to fiction. Her first book, Heart's Masquerade, was published by Avon in 1989 and was followed by a number of Harlequin Historicals. Specializing in Regency and Medieval settings, she has created several series, including the popular de Burgh brothers. Her next release, The Gentleman Thief, is scheduled for January. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373771487
• ISBN-13: 978-0373771486
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two great stories, and one adequate one, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Brides Of Christmas: The Wise Virgin/ The Vagabond Knight/ The Unexpected Guest (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book for Jo Beverley's "The Wise Virgin", and I was not disappointed. The characters were awesome, the story well-developed, and the resolution plausible.

When I buy an anthology just because there's one author I know I want to read, I always hope that there will be good surprises in the other stories. I'm frequently disappointed, but not this time.

None of the stories in this book were a total waste of time. Deborah Simmon's story was wonderfully well-written. And it's clear that it's part of a series of stories about a family of men, which is great news. New books to read, a new author to explore.

The middle story I found less compelling. An enjoyable read, but not a keeper. Still, since the entire book was worth reading, I'll give it five stars to reflect the quality of the two stronger stories.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Superb Short Stories, March 17, 2002

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brides Of Christmas: The Wise Virgin/ The Vagabond Knight/ The Unexpected Guest (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book because I absolutely LOVE Jo Beverley and I was not disappointed with "The Wise Virgin". The case of mistaken identity but finding true love amidst such problems of long time bitter feuds. I really shed a few tears on this one, as to the poignant way Ms. Beverley fleshed out her characters. She makes me laugh and she makes me cry. So sensual in such a short story, it was a pure Beverley delight.

I was very much impressed with "The Vagabond Knight" by Margaret Moore, as well. Here you had two wounded souls both past the fresh dew of youth, older and hopefully wiser, but both carrying baggage. I cried for these two as well as laughed as some of the dialog, and shed tears of joy at the end. I felt she dealt well with giving both a history and tieing it up quite nicely in the end.

The "Unexpected Guest", by Deborah Simmons, again was a wonderful short story. Being able to flesh out so many characters this well in so short a story time is the mark of a very accomplished author. I was so impressed with this story, that I plan to look into other novels by this author to pick up more works on the de Burgh family.

As a rule, I dont like anthology novels and much prefer the meatier stories, but this was excellent. A keeper to reread around the holidays!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 1 out of 3 can't be bad, December 31, 2005

By 

stephanie porter "stephanie" (lawrence, ma usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brides Of Christmas: The Wise Virgin/ The Vagabond Knight/ The Unexpected Guest (Mass Market Paperback)

out of the three stories in this book, i was impressed with only one. but, i shall review them all.

THE WISE VIRGIN
it is wise to say that this is the only good story of the book, and it's a good thing that it's first or i wouldn't have read the whole book. when joan first realizes that she has been captured by the golden lion, she is annoyed to think that someone like him would go and get her cousin pregnant without being married. after a 'close encounter' with him, joan is stunned to find out that it's the golden lion's brother who was in love with her cousin. after a night of passion in a dark cave, joan is taken back to her uncle's land, where the golden lion is attacked. seeing him under seize, joan realizes that she loves him and goes against her own family to protect him. when she finially gets the golden lion to agree to a settlement with her uncle, she is as surprised as the towns people at her fate.
this whole story had me on the edge of my seat. the author kept me interested the whole time, without any real pornographic details.

THE VAGABOND KNIGHT
this story didn't hold that much of my attention. it's about a knight who comes to stay at a widow's manor. when the knight's horse gets sick, he is surprised that the widow is willing to help him. they both are extremely shock, and even in denial when a priest tell them that have feelings for each other.
there's not much to say about this story, except: boring.

THE UNEXPECTED GUEST
while a little more interesting that the second story, it is still not an attention keeper. the earl turns down all offers of sex with a widow until she gives up and leave his manor, than he realizes his true feelings for her. the widow looks at the earl only as a one night stand, until the earl keeps refusing her. she is just as shocked as the earl to find her own feelings of love for him.