Once Upon a Midnight [Paperback]

Nora Roberts (Author), Jill Gregory (Author), Ruth Ryan Langan (Author), Marianne Willman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Once Upon | Publication Date: September 30, 2003

All-new tales of love and enchantment from the New York Times bestselling authors of Once Upon a Kiss.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Midnight plays but a token role in this latest Once Upon a... anthology (after Once Upon a Kiss), with the exception of the solid offering from Roberts, who easily outclasses her companions. Roberts's "The Witching Hour" is a fantastical but slow-to-start romance between a warrior and the woman destined to save the magical island of Twylia. Gregory, best known for her western romances, also offers a pleasant fantasy in a medieval setting ("Mirror, Mirror"), but her protagonists, a feisty young healer and a wounded knight, are little more than rough sketches. The final two stories-Langan's saccharine, ghost-aided romance ("Dream Lover") and Willman's conventional werewolf tale ("The Midnight Country")-are strangely set in the present. Both, however, feature prosaic characters and improbabilities aplenty. In Langan's story, for example, the protagonists meet on a blind date, fall in love and find their happily ever after in a single day. Two equally far-fetched twists allow the protagonists in Willman's entry to find happiness. Overall, the skimpy character and plot development and awkward mishmash of historical and contemporary elements may convince readers that this series has played itself out.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jove (September 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515136190
• ISBN-13: 978-0515136197
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Anthologies
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Roberts, Nora
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars back cover, August 16, 2006

By 

Ottergal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Upon a Midnight (Paperback)

-The Witching Hour by Nora Roberts: A kingdom is plagued by tragedy until a wizard-god's spell brings forth a courageous and beautiful young woman who must follow her heart in love and follow her destiny in battle.- Mirror, Mirror by Jill Gregory: A healer sworn to protect their heir to a troubled kingdom must rely on a wounded knight and magic mirror for assistance...-Dream Lover by Ruth Ryan Langan: On a business trip to Scotland, a young American disillusioned by love gets swept up by the romance of the Highlands, and by the charms of a perfect stranger...-The Midnight Country by Marianne Willman: An American researching her family history in Europe stumbles upon an enchanting chateau and its enigmatic master, who is convinced she is the key to a terrible curse....

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great anthology, October 1, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Upon a Midnight (Paperback)

"The Witching Hour" by Nora Roberts. Cneturies of war has devastated the island Kingdom of Twylia. The hope of the people lies in Draco's prophecy that an intrepid queen will lead her forces to victory over evil. As Aurora falls in love with Thane, she risks her life not knowing if she is destiny darling facing the malevolent Loreen.

"Mirror, Mirror" by Jill Gregory. As King Mortimer of Grithain lies dying he obtains a vow from Ariel to protect Prince Brandon from their enemies. With the help of a magic mirror, Ariel's sister Fiona the Healer, Conor the wounded knight, and an incredible amount of luck and love they might succeed.

"Dream Lover" by Ruth Ryan Langon. Antiques expert Allison flies to Scotland to complete the purchase of Hamilton Hall from owner Malcolm. Allison will strip the house of anything of value so her firm can sell them. On the plane Allison meets the badly injured Heath. However the matchmaking of the mysterious Sir Malcolm combined with the magic of love propels Allison to need to save Hamilton Hall.

"Once Upon a Midnight" by Marianne Willman. Californian Jenna searches for her roots but cannot find her final destination. The locals insist that Beaumont Foret is a fairy tale. When Philippe senses her nearby he runs out to protect her from the wolves. As they fall in love, each keeps a genetic secret from the other that if revealed will lead to happiness for both of them.

The four magical romances are all delightful novellas that add to the enchanting mythos of the "Once Upon A" series.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars magical, November 8, 2003

By 

S. Lin "SL" (Wellesley, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Upon a Midnight (Paperback)

I divide this four story series into two parts. The good part...and the bad.

Nora Robert's The Witching Hour was enchanting...very well developed. The evil Lorcan has killed Aurora's parents and proclaimed himself king of Twylia. Now...as Aurora's birth and identity is revealed to her, she must follow destiny in order to reclaim her kingdom and heritage...and find her love, the seemingly cowardly Thane, who she spent time with in dreams since they were children. Thane also has this power to dream and they were in love long before they actually met. Now...they must see past the misconceptions each has of the other to rediscover each other. Very charming!

Jill Gregory's Mirror, Mirror is also very interesting to read. Fiona, a healer, was sworn to protect the heir to the kingdom of Grithain, who is currently a child and in hiding from those who wish to have the land to themselves once old King Mortimer dies. With a magic mirror that sees into the past, present, and future, she is able to save a brave warrior, who isn't who he seems to be. Once Fiona finds out that Conor is the illegitimate son, who is rumored as wanting to kill the heir, she regrets saving him, until he convinces her that he wants to protect the heir...and they fall in love (unwillingly on Conor's part)...He has to conquer his wrong notion of love. Great story.

This is the bad part:

Dream Lover started out as a very interesting story. Allison is betrayed by love and Heath has no love. They meet on the plane to Scotland and the chemistry begins. Ally nurses the injured Heath and it turns that they are both going to similar places so Heath offers to drive her there. "Unfortunately", the car leaves Heath behind while he goes with Ally to discuss business with the owner. However, there are many missing pieces...the author does not explain the concept of midnight, since that is the topic of the book. Also, Ally and Heath's love is developed within a day, with the help of a certain kindred spirit. Finally the story ends abruptly, leaving the reader to wonder when the author would explain all the little quirks throughout the story.

The Midnight Country also started out to be very compelling and I had thought that I would enjoy this story the most. Beaumont Foret was a fairytale told to children. A castle surrounded by wolves, but Jenna is determined to prove them wrong...her ancestors were all born in Beaumont Foret. She finds the mystical village, and finds out a genetic secret that Philippe, the owner, has been keeping from her. Philippe also finds out Jenna's genetic secret. I didn't enjoy this story because though I thought that they would find a cure to their genetic flaw and become humans permanently, they decide to forgo that and even make love while they are not humans...a bit disturbing. But after a while, I can accept it a bit more. Still was a bit disappointed.

Overall, nice read because of the first two stories.