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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful anthology, April 1, 2011
This review is from: It Happened One Season (Mass Market Paperback)
A reclusive former soldier, the younger brother of a titled lord, must marry in order to ensure the succession of his family line. The heroine is shy and/or unattractive and has never had a suitor. These are the underlying threads in the four stories you'll find that It Happened One Season revolve around. The fun part - each author uses this thread and the stories they weave are all so very unique and different from one another.
The Seduction of Sebastian Trantor by Stephanie Laurens - Sebastian Trantor has no choice but to find himself a wife. His older brother has just had his fifth daughter and he knows that he is the only one that can ensure the succession of the family line. When he meets Tabitha Makepeace she is trying to break into a desk at a ball that they are both attending. He immediately knows that the feisty and clever young lady is "wife material". He just has to convince her of that.
Only Love by Mary Balogh - Cleo Pritchard is making the best out of her widowhood. Her belated husband was not a very nice man and she has found that, although she is alone, she can live with that. Plus, there is always the thought of a memorable kiss she shared years ago with Major Jack Gilchrist to keep her warm at night. When by chance Cleo bumps into Jack at a ball, she fibs, giving him the impression that she is content with her life. Jack, on the other hand, can't stop thinking about Cleo and that kiss they shared. Knowing that he must find a wife, he tries to woo Cleo into that role, but Cleo knows that Jack only wants an heir and she is not sure that she can have children. It will be up to Jack to convince Cleo that his feelings for her are true and an heir is the least of his worries.
Hope Springs Eternal by Jacquie D'Alessandro - Alec Trentwell is still plagued by guilt over the death of Edward Markham. In fact, he feels that to make up for it, he must take care of Edward's sister, Penelope. But Penelope is nothing like what Alec imagined. She is a beautiful woman, an artist surrounded by scandal and in dire need of funds. Since she refuses his charity, Alec commissions her to paint his portrait, but when she is threatened by more scandal and ruin he does the only thing a gentleman would.. he proposes. But how will she feel about him once she learns the part that Alec played in her brother's death?
Fate Strikes a Bargain by Candice Hern - Nathaniel Beckwith is in no mood to court the young ladies and their mama's in order to find himself a bride... thus he finds himself hiding behind a strategically-placed orange tree. But to his surprise, he meets Philippa Reynolds... also hiding behind said orange tree. Phillippa is there for different reasons... she has a disability that renders her unable to walk or dance without a severe limp. Nat can't help but find himself enchanted by her friendly and kind demeanor... so he finds himself striking a bargain... an engagement.
I thought the premise of these stories was so fun. I was interested in seeing if these authors would be able to use the same plot points and come up with different stories and I was not disappointed. These stories could not be any more different. I think out of the four, Fate Strikes a Bargain, was my favorite. I loved the sweet tale of a handicapped heroine and her brave hero. I also enjoyed the introduction to mostly all new authors - since I had only read Mary Balogh in the past.
These four stories will leave you feeling satisfied with their enchanting heroes, delightful heroines and requisite happy ever afters. Fans of historical romance will rejoice over this wonderful anthology.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful collection, March 31, 2011
This review is from: It Happened One Season (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Seduction of Sebastian Tranter" by Stephanie Laurens. Military code breaker Sebastian sneaks into a library to escape the gala. Tabitha enters the library mumbling about a blackmailer's letters. Sebastian says it is a code and offers to help her catch a rat, but must pretend an engagement that he plans to make real.
"Only Love" by Mary Balogh. Cleo the Widow and Jack the Major met before the war and meet again after. His brother orders Jack to marry in order to sire the male heir he cannot. Jack wants Cleo, but she agrees to be his mistress until she proves whether she can carry a child.
"Hope Springs Eternal" by Jacquie D'Alessandro. Alex has vowed to care for Penelope, whose brother died under his command. He locates her after a scandalous work she created leaves her with her reputation tattered. He offers marriage, but needs to tell her the truth about her brother.
"Fate Strikes a Bargain" by Candice Hern. Having just returned from the war, Nathanial is told by his brother to marry and sire children so the title remains in the family. He meets Phillippa who has a severe limp and is overly protected by her loving caring family. Nathanial has his own issues from the war that haunts him, but proposes marriage.
Using the same historical theme of second son bachelors returning from the war needing to sire heirs as the title older brother has no male offspring; It Happened One Season is a wonderful collection with four engaging diverse renditions to the premise. Ironically the females make each tale as they are not diamonds to the Ton but are to the men who love them.
Harriet Klausner
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great authors, so-so stories, March 30, 2011
This review is from: It Happened One Season (Mass Market Paperback)
I enjoyed the first anthology from these authors, It Happened One Night, and was so looking forward to this one that I bought it the day it was published. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed. None of the stories are truly bad, but none of them are truly great. I expected something better from these authors, all of whom I read frequently.
The publishers asked readers what they wanted to read (love that idea!), and the plots for the four stories are virtually identical - wounded soldier has to get married for the family's sake and finds a woman who doesn't recognize her own worth to be his bride. I really like that plot, but it reading it over four times got pretty boring. It Happened One Night asked each author to write on the same theme, but the plot structure there was much less stringent - single woman stuck at a hotel on a snowy evening. Each author was able to work their own angle on that theme in a way they weren't on this one.
The best of the bunch was Balogh's 'Only Love,' but it was pretty much just a mash-up of two of her novels - Simply Love and Irresistible (Berkley Sensation Historical Romance), both of which were done better.
If you haven't read It Happened One Night, go for that one and skip this. And if you have read that one and were anticipating It Happened One Season the way I was...well, I guess we'll have to wait till each of these authors publishes their next full-length novel.
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