A Kiss For Mama (Zebra Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Jo Ann Ferguson (Author), Valerie King (Author), Jeanne Savery (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821768077
• ISBN-13: 978-0821768075
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,738,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love for Mom, April 14, 2001

By 

Michelle Davis (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Kiss For Mama (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

"A Kiss for Mama" revolves around love for mothers in time for Mother's Day.

The first short story, "The Dowager's Dilemma," by Jo Ann Ferguson, actually has two mothers. This is a funny story about a dowager's attempts to keep her mother and her son out of trouble. The son has a reputation for causing chaos, but he keeps quiet while his grandmother starts causing trouble with the new neighbors, Lord Overbrook, his daughter and uncle. Grandma wants to make sure the uncle enjoys life and starts disappearing with Lord Overbrook's uncle to have fun. Through it all, the families get to know each other, which is the son's plan, but Grandma adds schemes of her own.

The second story, "A Mother's Devotion," by Valerie King, has an older half sister that has taken charge of her younger siblings. Sophy Deverill refused Lord Sheriston's marriage offer to care for her siblings. Now, years later Sophy is almost smothering the children while Lord Sheriston is still stuck in the mindset that his parents' marriage did not work because his mother devoted too much time to her children. They both have lessons to learn. The story, however, takes a long time to get there and drives you nuts with the couple's apparent love for each other but strong disagreement over child raising.

"Happily-Ever-After," by Jeanne Savery does not even involve a mother figure at all. It more tells a story of how a woman, Justina Dunsforth, grows to become a mother. Justina's brother suddenly leaves his kids with her when he has to rush to an assignment. Justina has no idea how to care for children or inclination to do so. After a few weeks, her nephew's godfather, Lord Earl Mowbray, arrives disrupts her life, takes charge of the children, and shows her what her life is missing.

Overall the book is enjoyable, but the middle story annoyed me. Also, confusingly, the third story does not really have a mother in it until the end when the lady grows into the adopted mother. Even though the third story did not really fit the theme, it is still nice to see the strong father figure in Lord Mowbray.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hit and Miss, May 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Kiss For Mama (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)

These three stories are a tribute to mothers, although only the first one involves a biological mother. The first story, "The Dowager's Dilemma" by Jo Ann Ferguson, has a cast of wonderful and likeable characters. However, the plot quickly becomes disjointed and confusing. Characters behave ways that are not explained and make no sense. Also, it often seems that Ferguson cut phrases or scenes to shorten the novella, and the plot seems hacked apart. I would give this story 3 stars.

The second story, "A Mother's Devotion" by Valerie King, is simply awful. The characters are unlikeable, the plot terribly contrived, and the whole thing is boring. The two main characters proclaim to be in love, but don't even seem to like each other. The secondary characters are annoying. The plot has huge holes in it (e.g., where is the children's father and what did he do that was so terrible?). This story only deserves 1 star.

The third story is the best one. Although it really didn't involve a mother, the characters are wonderful and the emotions believable. This one involves two main characters who grow and change while they fall in love with each other. The secondary characters bolster the story without overshadowing it. The only problem with this story is that it is too short: it could have been a full-length book. I think this story deserves 4 stars.

Overall, this wasn't bad for a book of Regency short stories. The second story by King can easily be skipped, but the other two by Ferguson and Savery are enjoyable reads.