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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One enjoyable story in this collection,
By Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Once Upon A Time .... (By Request) (Mass Market Paperback)
From the back cover:
Once upon a time...there was a financial genius who lived in a castle, an archeologist who was falling for a genie and a beautiful young lawyer on the hunt for a missing heir. Once in a lifetime, you get to live the fantasy... With Joe Scarlatti on the watch, reclusive financial genius Rowena Willow may finally have to let down her hair... Archaeologist Chelsy Mallon will be stunned by Alex Duport's ability to grant her three special, life-changing wishes... And Caron Carlisle, accustomed to spinning straw into gold for her curmudgeonly client, must find a billion-dollar baby through a man who had long ago broken her heart... Close your eyes, and make a wish, wish Carla Neggers, Margaret St. George and Leandra Logan. And my review: Well, that synopsis doesn't give you much of an idea of what the stories are actually about, so I'll give a brief sketch of each story before my own personal thoughts on them. First off, all of these stories are reissues from 1993. Each story is actually a full-length Harlequin (so 200+ pages each) instead of the shorter novella length you usually find in these collections. The common theme is supposed magic/paranormal, but only one of these stories actually has an "magic" element in it. First up is NIGHT WATCH by Carla Neggers. Rowena Morgan is a reclusive woman who lives alone, works out of her home, and rarely sees anyone. Years ago, she testified in a trial about money-laundering and put a man in jail. That man has just been released and wants to settle the score. Joe Scarlatti is the man who is trying to protect her, and they end up falling in love. I didn't realy understand why this story was included in this collection, since there isn't a paranormal aspect in it. The only reference was to the fact that she lived "trapped up in her tower", like Rapunzel, and always had her hair up. But other than that, this is a typical romance without a magic element. Kind of misleading, really. Anyway, I didn't find this one all that great. The characters were not well-rounded. I didn't know who they really were as people. Also, I felt the attraction between them was purely sexual. Not that physical attraction isn't important, but it can't be everything drawing and keeping a couple together. Two stars. The next story was A WISH...AND A KISS by Margaret St. George (who also writes under the name Maggie Osborne). Chelsey Mallon is a once-prominent archeologist who has lost her reputation since being falsely accused of stealing some priceless artifacts discovered on a dig. Though there was no proof, her career was effectively ruined and she is reduced to doing inventory of artifacts, rather than going on digs. One artifact she finds is a small lamp, which she polishes. Immediately afterwards, a man's voice from somewhere behind her says, "I have come to do your bidding, mistress." Turns out he's a genie, and she gets to have three wishes. Once her wishes are spent, he will return to his lamp (trapped in a "dream state") until summoned by someone new. This story was my favorite of the collection, and the one I kept the book for. The characters were well fleshed out, and marvelous people. I especially loved the heroine. She was such a wonderful person. Polio had left her with a weakened and deformed leg, yet she was never bitter about it. In fact, she tries to use her first wish to heal a dear friend from Alzheimer's disease. Now who wouldn't love a heroine like that? I felt that the author's use of magic was done with a light and entertaining hand. The heroine didn't accept the fact that the hero was a genie too easily, either, nor did she take forever to believe it. That's a difficult balance to strike in paranormal romance, so I applaud the author for ajob well done. Even though the way the story would end would be obvious to just about anyone, that did not detract from the story at all. I also felt that she didn't rely too heavily on sex to bring her characters together. Oh, they were physically attracted to each other, all right, but it wasn't the only reason they were together. This is one I will definitely read again. Five stars. The last story in this collection was THE MISSING HEIR by Leandra Logan. Caron Carlisle is desperate to make partner in her law firm. A ridiculously wealthy client wants to find his lost grandson to bequeathe all his money to said child. Caron is given the assigment, and the trail leads her to Rick Wyatt, the man who tormented her in high school, the man who broke her heart. Again, I failed to see where this story fit in with the "paranormal" aspect of this collection. Again, a little misleading, if a reader were to buy this book, thinking it was a "magic" or "fairytale" romance collection. This was a story that tried desperately to be funny, but wasn't. It was filled with cringy-worthy fashions and stilted dialogue. The characters were not all that engaging. I thought that Rick was not witty at all; instead, he came across as immature and silly. I also felt that there was nothing between these two but overactive libidos. Again, physical attraction is important, but it's not everything in a relationship. Love needs more than lust to work. Two stars. While two of these stories were busts, Margaret St. George's was marvelous, and made this book worth the money I paid for it. Recommended for that one story alone. I also recommend The Wives of Bowie Stone, written under her Maggie Osborne name.
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