Customer Reviews

Brides Of Christmas: The Wise Virgin/ The Vagabond Knight/ The Unexpected Guest

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Jo Beverley's story leads this anthology and it was the only story I liked. Joan and her "too perfect" hero are wonderfully written and very likable. Joan has this problem, you see, she can't keep her opinions to herself as a proper maiden should and Edmund has had too many people toading up to him----how could they not connect? Ms. Beverley is a fine author and this small gem is another example of her fine skill. I only wish the other two stories in some way matched, but I can not say I liked either one. Ms Moore's story suffered from being too predictable in format, but unbelievable in content. I don't think the hero/heroine would ever have met or fallen in love. Ms Simmons has delighted me in the past, however not in this story. I did not like her hero. I felt he was too old for the heroine and the addition of his family of grown sons made it worse for my sensibilities. If you are not opposed to the plot points, yuo may enjoy this story more than I did. It is well written just not to my taste.

The first in this trilogy is "The Wise Virgin" written by Jo Beverley, an interesting idea but poorly executed. Too much subjective dialog to give the story the strength it needed.

The second story, "The Vagabond Knight", written by Margaret Moore to my surprise was boring. I've read quite a few books by her and found them to be enjoyable, but in this one, the main character just didn't come through. It was obvious what she had intended, it just didn't work, leaving him appearing weak and confused.

The third story, "The Uninvited Guest" written by Deborah Simmons, the best writer of the three, who for some reason wrote the worst story of three, was a real let down. I've read her prior 6 books on those wonderful deBurgh males and if anyone deserved a good story it was Campion! It paled in comparison to her other works. Another good book from her is "The Devil's Lady", a highly likeable heroine, an interesting story, and of course, a great Knight.

Normally, short works are dull for me because they aren't long enough to develop the characters... but Beverley was awesome in her The Wise Virgin, which appears in this book! The characters develop superbly and I think it takes a lot of talent to do so in less than a hundred pages! You laugh! You cry! I looooooved it! Highly recommended!

I don't generally buy anthologies but I realized that Deborah Simmon's story related to the DeBurgh series, which I love! I thought Jo Beverley's story was a novel plot idea and I enjoyed both characters -- he, the famous knight who just wants someone to like him for who he is and treat him like a normal person and she, the strong, intelligent woman who doesn't fully perceive her own value. I also like Deborah Simmon's story precisely because it didn't have the typical young knight but an older, experienced (certainly mature in his own mind which is part of the plot). Can't wait to read Reynold's story and what is going to make Stephen grow up (and dry out)!

I would have to disagree with the other reviewer. This book was very good and I enjoyed all three stories. Anyone who enjoys Deborah Simmons' medieval De Burgh series will love her story because they will be well familiar with Campion, who makes a great hero. There is an age difference but frankly it is never clear how old either character is, so I don't know how someone can determine he is too old for her. In any event, history shows many marriages with age differences. The other story by Margaret Moore is also cute and light hearted. I like Jo Beverly's story very much as well.

I got one of the books from an old stack when we were cleaning out my grandmothers house and have been searching for the rest of the books online. I have not been dissapointed! Everyone is as good as the last. These are books I read over and over again and still feel the anticipation and tension between the characters every time.

The sad part is that without a current publisher Simmons will never be able to publish Reynold & Nicolas' stories.

I hold out hope that someday the right person will want these published and will have the power to do something about it.

This book of three different Christmas stories is the perfect item to cozy up to the fire with this Holiday season. Each story is charming and heartwarming. The stories are light and fun passing quickly and leaving you smiling. When you find yourself stressed out over the long day of working and preparing for the season, this book makes for an excellent way to wind down.