Customer Reviews

It Happened One Night

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this group of short stories only for the incomparable Mary Balogh, and I was not disappointed. Her story is absolutely marvelous as I knew it would be and, by far, the best of the bunch. I actually saved it for last because in other anthologies, I've read her story first and was bored to tears with the rest. This time, I read the other stories first. Stephanie Laurens and Jacquie D'Alessandro's bits were pretty average. They both start off fine but then whimper to the end filling pages and pages with sex scenes.....boring and unimaginative. That's the sign of an author who is on auto-pilot and not creative enough to plan a well-thought out story. Candice Hern, on the other hand, is a very good writer. I was involved with her story to the bitter end. But, as in almost every other book I've read of hers, I am repeatedly disappointed in her heroines. Why does every single heroine Hern creates have to be promiscuous? Without fail, her heroines have indiscriminate sex with a wide variety of men. Those heroines must appeal to a large group of women, but I am personally turned off by them. Hern is a good enough writer, however, to keep the reader glued to her story. I was drawn in and involved with the story even though I didn't really care for one of the main characters. That takes talent in a writer. So, while I was tempted to give this book three stars, I felt I had to go with four. I find it very hard to rate any Mary Balogh effort lower than four stars. My advice, however, is to read Laurens and D'Alessandro first, then Hern, and finish with Balogh, the main attraction in this anthology.

From the inside cover-

The Fall of Rogue Gerrard by Stephanie Laurens
Robert Gerrard is London's most notorious rake. But he once did everything in his power to protect Lydia Makepeace, igniting a yearning that persists to the day they are trapped alone at an inn. Fueled by desire, Lydia is determined to finally have Robert for her own and delight in The Fall of Rogue Gerrard

4 1/2 stars -Best of the bunch IMHO. More lighthearted than the others, Laurens tells a tale of a young 22 yr old rake who kissed a girl (16) and shockingly realized that he'd found his soul mate. Of course this scares the hell out of him and he makes a run for it. Fast forward ten years and a chance meeting ..and well...he's tired of running from his heart. Bold/assertive heroine and wickedly dashing hero make this a fun read. Lighthearted romance with plenty of love scenes.

Spellbound by Mary Balogh
Bound for London, Nora Rider might have died in the terrible stagecoach accident were it not for the man who risked his life to save her. He is Richard Kemp, Lord Bourne, her husband -and she had no idea his ador could still hold her Spellbound.*note*-this is an error by publishers, Richard didn't actually save Nora from an accident but the incident did fuel their chance meeting.

4 1/2 stars -Great writing from Balogh's reversal of fortunes novella. Nora and Richard were in love once but were pulled apart rather brutally. Neither realized the other wasn't at fault. This was a slightly bittersweet deeply emotional read for me. I felt the ending didn't make up for all that previous turmoil the characters were originally put through -sort of left me hanging and begging for more. I would have liked to see what the future held for them.

Only You by Jacquie D'Alessandro
Casandra Heywood and Ethan Baxter were once cherished childhood friends. Now after ten long years apart. Ethan is determined to win Cassandra for his own. But Cassandra has her own ideas.

3 stars -Hero formally worked for Cassandra's family. They were friends as children and perhaps felt more but Lady's don't marry the stable master's son. Recently widowed, Cassie returns to see if she still feels something for Ethan. Although I generally enjoy these kinds of opposite in social stature parings, this one was sadly predictable all the way through. Tons of cliche's down to the abusive husband. A good read but nothing out of the ordinary.

From This Moment On by Candice Hern
He left her to defend His Majesty's honor. But Captain Sam Pellow never stopped fantasizing about Wilhelmina, Duchess of Hertford -and nothing she said or one will keep him away from her bed.

4 stars -Last story from Hern's Merry Widow series. I'm not fond of much older couples and the fact that the heroine was once a courtesan -thats already two strikes against this novella in my mind. But I found the novella to be very good even if its only for originality sake. Sam is a lovable and ardent suitor and who wouldn't cave under his *persuasions* even if they thought themselves to be unworthy? Enjoyable.

Good anthology with four very different but similar stories. Recommended.
Other anthologies I've enjoyed-
A Gift of Love -fantastic

The Fall of Rogue Gerrard by Stephanie Laurens

Lydia Makepeace needs to infiltrate the home of Lord Alconbury in order to retrieve a letter her sister had written. Problem is that Lord Alconbury has several guests and nightly orgies that do not end until past dawn. After scoping out Alconbury's home one evening, Lydia returns to the inn and is shocked to see Lord Gerrard "Ro". Perhaps Lydia can get a bit of help. **** A bit of adventure with this romance - and who would not enjoy that? ****

Spellbound by Mary Balogh

Long ago Nora Ryder had been the daughter of a gentleman of vast wealth and political influence. Richard had been her father's secretary. Now their situation has reversed. Richard Kemp is a baron and Nora is penniless. Having recently left a position, unpaid, she has no choice but to return to her brother's home until she can find new employment. Unfortunately, the stagecoach she was to travel on has collided with a gentleman's vehicle. Richard's. Will her heart survive seeing him again? **** To tell more of the couple's background would spoil the fun. Rest assured that the story is well done with an interesting twist or two. ****

Only You by Jacquie D'Alessandro

Ten years ago Cassie became Countess Westmore. In doing so she left her only friend, Ethan, behind and entered purgatory. Now a widow, Cassie returns to Cornwall. Ethan now owns and operates the Blue Seas Inn in St. Ives. Before returning to her parents, Cassie decides to spend one evening at the inn. Perhaps he will be there. **** Pure romance that left me with a warm glow. The story is spiced in a way that only Jacquie D'Alessandro can do. ****

From This Moment On by Candice Hern

She had been plain Wilma Jepp at one time. He had been plain Samuel Pellow. She thought he was dead. Instead Sam had gone into the navy - unwillingly. When her mother tossed her out, Wilma did the only thing she could do to survive. She became a mistress. Today she is the Duchess of Herford, widowed for over three years. Samuel is a retired blockade captain. Fate brings them together at an inn one stormy day and Destiny will do her best to keep them that way. **** This romance moves at a slower pace than the previous ones. It is mostly two people reminiscing about the hard choices each made in their past. The author has added some humor to keep things light and she has done it in a very sneaky way. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The premise of this collection is interesting: give four authors the same basic plot line and see what they do with it. The Balogh story about a formerly married couple thrown together was good and the D'Alessandro story about childhood friends of different stations also was a good read. However, the Laurens story had an incredibly convoluted premise and too many disparate elements: an eccentric family, a stolen love letter, disguises, and so on. Even it, though, didn't bother me as much as the Candice Hern story: most Regency novels have enough tension when a duke wants to marry a commoner, but this story would have us believe that a duke married a former famous courtesan *and* that she's accepted by most of polite society. I don't think so...

Each story in this anthology is based on the same basic plot premise which was given to four different authors to see what they could make of it. Essentially the action takes place in a country inn, the two main protagonists have not seen each other for 10 years and have 24 hours to achieve a happy ever after ending.

I bought this for the Mary Balogh story because I don't generally like Laurens and have never read books by the other two. I left Balogh's till last and must admit I rather sped through the other three. I didn't find them particularly memorable. Laurens and d'Alessandro's stories were average at best with plenty of gratuitous sex in inappropriate places (rather a trademark of Laurens by now). Candace Hern's story was much better written and with a much more original plotline and kept my interest to the end. My purchase was worth it for Balogh's contribution though which was a very moving and believable tale of two lovers separated by force and misunderstanding when young and reunited by chance 10 years later. In spite of the shortened format its a complete story, with believable characters and very emotionally satisfying. I wish they'd put a collection of Balogh's short stories together in one book one day - she's written some great ones in anothologies over time.

PS. Although this has a Christmassy cover its not really a Christmas anthology. Each story is set in a different season.

I guess anthologies are not my thing. All of the stories seemd shallow average and rushed for me. I bought this book because I love Mary Balogh. I've only read one other Stephanie Laurens, and can't remember the name of it--because it was forgettable.

Here is my rating broken down by author:
Stephanie Laurens: 2 stars--convoluted premise--Promisory note for a gambling debt written on a private letter that has to be stolen back? Seemed like a stretch for a plot. Too much erotic sex too quickly for a romance-more like a bodice-ripper, with very little chemistry.

Mary Balogh-by far the best story. Most believable premise, and dialogue. But compared to her other earlier works-just average work. 3 stars

The other 2 authors-- the dialogue was too contemporary to be believable for the 19th century. Candice Hern's actually had a better plot, but the dialogue seemed to deteriorate as the story went on- I didn't even bother to finish it. 2 stars for both--and that's generous.

(Possible spoilers)
Stephanie Laurens novella, actually was not bad however at the end when the heroine kept insisting that the hero not marry her because he wasnt in love with her was annoying, I hate when writers do this. This is very modern way of thinking and in those times, how ever much backbone a woman had, it would be extremely rare that a woman would do that (even with loving and supportive parents) and I wish this wasnt done here. It would have been more than an ok read for me had she left this frustrating part out. Mary Balogh's novella was very good, despite a 10 year misunderstanding (I also hate misunderstandings in book), I though it was carried out really well and I am glad there was no arguing from the heroine when the hero asked her to marry him. This was my second favorite because my favorite of the four was Jacquie D'Alessandro's story. Her story made me sigh and i absolutely loved it. It was the perfect length and i was so glad that the only thing that separated them 10 years prior was the difference in their stations. I liked how alike Cassie and Ethan were and that she confessed her love first. As for the last story by Candice Hern, though the h/h talked alot, so much that I feel that i know everything that happened in their lives (this is not a bad thing though) but i fell it lacked something. I have no issue with courtesans, in fact, i like to read about heroines with experiences and i liked that about this story but again the ending was similar's to S.L. and i didnt understand why she kept insisting on refusing him. Though the h/h in this story were much more deeply involved and better developed than in the other stories but again, I just wasnt as engrossed in it and I cant put a finger on what it lacked. Maybe I would have had a different reaction if i had read this before J.D's story. Overall, if i had to say the order of stories from what i liked best, its 1. D'Alessandro, 2. Balogh 3. Hern 4. Laurens. I do recommend this book, i read it all in one sitting and each novella has its moments (though an epilogue for each story would have been nice). I look forward to reading "It happened one season."

The plot seemed interesting-how 4 different authors tell a story using the same storyline (former love interests rekindling their love affairs after 10 years stopping at the same inn during different seasons of the year). Although some of these writers are best selling authors in their own right the stories were not memorable in the least. I have read similar books written by multiple authors and the stories although short were interesting and the characters engaging! These unfortunately were not. Pass on this book it is not worth the money or the time devoted in reading it. I just can't believe this was a R. I.T. A award winning book!?

The Christmas Edition
The stories are written in such a way that the reader can easily connect. The writing is excellent. Reading this book made me remember those long ago loves of my own. Excellent and a great winter read.

Anthologies are always a great risk to buy. If you're lucky there will be one or two good stories to justify purchase. This particular anthology has four of my favorite authors, with the added attraction that Candice Hern's story is the conclusion of the 'Merry Widows' series. On the whole, I thought this was one of the best anthologies I've read.Sadly for me, I thought the Hern story lacked sparkle and didn't do the other three 'Merry Widows' books justice, but having said that, it was still a competent story. The other three stories were lovely stories about lost love that gets a second chance. Possibly too much emphasis on sex in too short a word count, but otherwise, no real complaints.