Customer Reviews

Charmed

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I enjoyed all of these stories; but, none held "surprises" -- I think the readers all knew after first couple of pages how plots would go. I had originally picked up book because of two enjoyed authors and a blurb on back of books suggesting very original plot lines. Possibly I'm being a little hard because these are shorter than normal novels and give authors less room to complicate plots and flesh out characters. Once I started each story, I did not put down until finished.

Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) returns in "Bridal Jitters" to her futuristic romance world and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm not sure I could recommend to readers who hadn't read Amaryllis, Orchid, and Zinnia. Much "fluffier" than the three longer novels.

Julie Beard is one of my favorite authors; but, the characters in "Man In The Mirror" had an extremely easy solutions to all problems, no one questioned anything, and the reader knew from page 1 almost exactly how the story would go. Still well-written but surprisingly the characters were not as "real" as Julie Beard's other writings show she can create. I'm not fond of the deus ex machina solution where the character finds a reincarnation or twin of their true love found in time travel as soon as they return to their own time.

I hadn't read any of Lori Foster's work before. I did enjoy her story "Tangled Dreams" and plan to read more, particularly the stories of the other brothers. The "kinky" or "bondage" sex mentioned in other reviews consisted of no force, pain, or anything weirder than a four-poster bed with soft ties and a hero who preferred being the agressor. I don't think it added to the story; but, didn't think it was as terrible as some other reviews suggested.

Eileen Wilks was also a new author for me and "Pandora's Bottle" was a very good read. I will be looking for more books from Ms. Wilks. This story did read like she had more books in same universe she created. Did a lot better with the characters and although I had guessed the ending to start with the plot was substantial enough I wasn't sure until last couple of pages how it would end. I'm not particularly fond of torn-between-two-lovers type of stories; I'm more of the romantic one-true-love sort.

This one has a little of everything for romance readers. Although it's considered a great Halloween romance, CHARMED is an entertaining read all year around. Just remember though, it is all make believe.

Jayne Ann Krentz's BRIDAL JITTERS has an interesting concept. Virginia and Sam run a paranormal business in the future. He is a ghost hunter; she is a psychic archeologist who uses her gift to release paranormal traps -- an equivalent to present day bombs. They agree to marry for the business, but Virginia is having second thoughts.

BRIDAL JITTERS was an interesting short story. I am constantly amazed at writers and their visions of the future. Ms. Krentz has some interesting ones and at some points I had to reread to make sure of what she was trying to get across. But once I understood her concept of the future, I had no problem with it.

Julie Beard's story MAN IN THE MIRROR takes to the reader in the opposite direction of CHARMEDS first story. When Kate accepts a mirror as a gift she has no idea what goes on inside it. On this typical Halloween night, it's storming and Kate decides to follow what she sees and finds herself transported back in time to help a dying Knight.

I found Julie Beard's writing style very pleasant to follow. For a short story I was impressed at how well developed each character was. I found it to be an interesting time-travel experience.

Lori Foster writes TANGLED DREAMS as a continuance of the four brothers who run a bar in Thomasville, Kentucky. If you recall the oldest one Cole met his true love in the steamy anthology HOT CHOCOLATE. Now it's Chases turn to find true love but it will take a couple of ghost and a mystery to bring it all together.

Lori Foster is blazing ahead as a contemporary author. Her writing is skillful; her characters relationships are bold and leave nothing to the imagination. TANGLED DREAMS is a wee bit tame compared to TANGLED SHEETS in HOT CHOCOLATE.

PANDORA'S BOTTLE by Eileen Wilks is magically. John, a stockbroker thinks he has found true love but fears Dora will not accept him for what he truly is. Once they are at John's old home, Dora is faced with the true desire hidden in her soul and must make a decision that could cost her fiancée his life.

I found PANDORA'S BOTTLE an interesting, whimsical read. It had the flare of a romantic fable with a moral. With this story, whether she meant to or not, Eileen Wilks points out the fact that having more than one side to us makes us complete as a person and we should learn to accept it. Good writing Ms. Wilks.

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.

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!

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.

This collection of fantasy tales has a bit of everything: sci-fi, time travel, and, since it 'tis the Halloween season, a fair assortment of ghosts and goblins.

Leading off the pack is Jayne Castle, a.k.a. Jayne Ann Krentz, with "Bridal Jitters," a sci-fi fantasy. Psychic archeologist Virginia Burch is having second thoughts about entering into a 2-year marriage of convenience with ghost-hunter Sam Gage. Virginia's feelings for Sam are too deep for her to be happy with just a business relationship.

"Man in the Mirror" is a strong story about love bringing out the best in a person. The problem I had with this tale is that you (and the heroine) fall in love with the man in the mirror, only find out he's not the man she's destined to be with.

"Tangled Dreams" by Lori Foster is hot; the sexual tension between the hero and heroine is terrific -- think Linda Howard writing with a touch of Halloween whimsy. I very much liked this funny, heated story of a man reading the intimate thoughts of a woman who wants him. Also, this tale has lots of Halloween flavor, with a genuine haunted house and some matchmaking ghosts.

The final tale, "Pandora's Bottle," by Eileen Wilks poses the following question: If you have to choose between a solid, dependable, sexy, but too serious man, or the fun, irresponsible sexy djinn of your dreams, who would you choose? The answer may not be easy for a heroine who's gifted, but doesn't practice witchcraft.

Charmed is a bit of a mixed bag, with stories that include sci-fi, time-travel, witches and ghosts. However all four stories are good and do contain a Halloween angle, however slight. So if you're looking for some seasonal fantasy reading, Charmed is an entertaining place to start.

This is a collection of re-runs. As I started to read the first story I realized that I had already read it. So...I checked the copyright and sure enough, these books were originally published in '99 and re-packaged for this edition. I always feel ripped off when the publishers do this. On top of that,they were marginal reads the first time.

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!!!!!!!!!!

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.

I purchased the book primarily because of Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) - I'll read just about anything she writes - but the other authors were surprisingly entertaining. As an avid Romance reader, if the book (or story) doesn't catch my attention quickly, I discard and move on. I couldn't put this one down.