Customer Reviews

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5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've said it before, I really do not like anthologies, but Look at these authors, two of my very favorites! Lisa Kleypas and Lynsay Sands! They were the two that made me buy the book and the other two were surprise bonuses!
I loved the dialog with Lisa Kleypas! I cannot tell you but the comment from Lord Andrew when he was told that he looked like an 'unmade bed' had me on the floor - you have to read the story to hear his outrageous answer - pure delight!

Lynsay Sands certainly did not disappoint either. The mischief she causes while trying to get her father to stop drinking and gambling before losing everything they owned - priceless.

Lisa Cach and Claudia Dain's offerings were every bit as delightful.

I must say this book should be at the top of everyone's list for just the pure enjoyment of full outrageous belly laughs!

First, I must say, it is extremely difficult to review an anthology. Usually, there are only 1 or 2 stories worth reading, and it's hard to rate a book because of this fact. Secondly, it must be very hard for an author to write a story that pulls the reader in, has likeable characters, and carries a good plot within 100 or so pages. However, a good author can accomplish this. This anthology is no different. Kleypas and Sands deliver with their stories, the other two authors are mediocre at best. Get this book at a garage sale, or check it out at the library. It is not worth the listed retail price because of the weakness of Cach and Dain's stories.

Kleypas - "I Will" - Lord Drake, a ne'er-do-well aristocrat, finds himself disinherited from his dying father's will. He gets the title and the lands, but not the money. He must convince (blackmail) respectable Miss Caroline Hargreaves to pretend a sham courtship, fooling his father into believing he has given up his dissolute lifestyle. Kleypas' characters are likeable, especially Caroline. Drake makes a good reformed rake, and the evil character is truly evil.

Cach - "Puddings, Pastries, and Thou" - Vivian Ambrose is a poor spinster, dependent on whichever relative needs her services. When her great-aunt, who treated Vivian as a lowly unpaid servant, dies, she is passed onto her distant cousins, the Twitchens. The Twitchens spoiled daughter, Penelope, immediately takes a dislike to Vivian, thinking Vivian will cause a pall to her first Season. However, this unlikely pair form a truce and agree that Vivian must be married off before Penelope's London season. Penelope has in mind Richard Brent, who has a scandalous past, making him ineligible for marriagable young ladies. Brent could have been written as an admirable hero of the story, but he is portrayed as someone who thinks too much about what others think of him. He appears to have a low self esteem, and is very self-conscious to the point of being pathetic. The author paints Vivian and Brent as two average to below average looking people who have colorless lives. Vivian is written as a woman with an eating problem. It's not difficult for this reader to predict that Vivian will be quite obese within the next few years, Brent may want to re-think his choice.

Dain - "Union" - Union was by far the worst story ever written in an anthology that I have read. Clarissa Walingford is being pressured by her many brothers to marry. She knows she must choose a groom, but she does NOT want to marry an Englishman. She wants to marry an Irishman, or at the very least, an Englishman who owns an estate in Ireland. Even though this is repeated several times through the story, Dain continues to batter the reader with the fact that Clarissa wants to live in Ireland. Okay, we GET that. She meets Henry "Beau" Wakefield, Lord of Montwyn. Beau, himself, is on the hunt for the perfect wife. At Lindley's, (Clarissa's brother), insistence, Beau meets Clarissa and decides immediately that she is the one for him. These characters are extremely unlikeable. Clarissa comes across as a selfish, spoiled, conceited brat. Beau is painted as an egotistical, arrogant, conceited nobleman. These characters deserve each other, the reader comes to hope that there was a pre-nup signed, for the marriage will not last. There will be too many people in it: Clarissa, her ego, Beau and his ego. I don't know what the editors were thinking to add Dain in this mix. If this story is a good representation of her work, I will not be buying any books from her in the future.

Sands - "All I Want" - Prudence Prescott's father is drinking and gambling his family into the poor house. All her mother wants for Christmas is for her husband to stop gambling, and Prudence's mission is to make this wish come true. She attempts to confront her father at his favorite gambling den, Ballard's, and meets the infamous owner, Lord Stockton. Needless to say, sparks fly - leading to a fun and hilarious story. I chuckled through much of this story - Sands has a great sense of humor. Prudence and Stockton are great characters, people who the reader will be rooting for all the way to the end. There is real chemistry between the hero and heroine. Great plot, good characters, good story. I will be looking for Sands' books from now on.

When I pick up an anthology featuring favorite romance novelists, like Lisa Kleypas, I'm just looking for some quick entertainment. Just make me smile for an hour or two.

4 stars for Lisa Kleypas - Her story starring Logan Scott's(Because You're Mine) younger brother - a dissolute alcoholic, albeit a good-looking one. Andrew, heir to a rich title, tries to convince his mean, grousing old father that he can manage the lands and wealth of the title by engaging in a courtship with a prim and proper spinster. Of course, neither Andrew nor his pretend love thought they would actually come to like each other...

5 stars - Our heroine is trying to stop her father from his drinking and gambling before he puts her whole family in the poor house. She figures her best bet is to catch her father at his favorite gambling establishment and stop him one way or another. Unfortunately, the owner of said gambling establishment does not let gently bred women in the door. Well, not willingly, but, if they sneak in some how, maybe a kiss or three. Lynsay Sands is new for me, but, this was by far the most fun, the most entertaining, the most joyful story. I may have to go read everything she has ever written. She reminds me of Julia Quinn, but with a drier sense of humor.

The middle two stories are forgettable. Lisa Cach's was downright boring. Get this book from your library. You won't want to keep it. Just read the first and last stories for some quick enjoyable romance.

Out of the four stories in this anthology, the only one that makes it worth buying is Lisa Kleypas's story, "I Wish". She manages a wonderfully emotional story within the confines of a novella.

Lyndsay Sands's story has a great premise, and starts out well, but fades by the end. It's almost as if it were longer and she was forced to edit it down to the point that the ending seemed abrupt and unsupported.

The Lisa Cach and Claudia Dain stories were ok, but not memorable. In addition, Dain's story contains a flashback scene involving "pitchcapping", imagery which some readers may find disturbing .

Individually, my ratings for the stories are:

Kleypas: *****
Cach: ***1/2
Dain: **1/2
Sands: ***

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because of "I Will". I am a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas and was pleasantly surprised to see Andrew, Lord Drake, with his own story. The other authors I was not familiar with, but I read their stories with the hope I would find new authors to read. But, alas, I found myself disappointed. I know it's hard to develop characters as in depth in novellas, but most of the characters in the last three novellas had little or none. I give this book a good rating for choosing Lisa Kleypas, but not the others. Sorry to the other authors' fans.

like most anthologies there are some gems as well as a few hunks of coal:) My breakdown:

Lisa Kleypas-great story, neat to see what happens to Logan's dissolute brother Andrew. Well written and super steamy-the books worth buying for this story alone-5 stars.

Lisa Cach-also a very good, sweet but spicy story. I loved the heroine's constant hunger-that is finally fulfilled by having someone love her. 4 stars.

Claudia Dain-in my opinion, the worst of the bunch-didn't finish it. In a word, the heroine is a brat! what could have been great-a family of 10 brothers and one sister-just ended up annoying. 2 stars.

Lynsey Sands-another 5 star story. Sweet, very funny and romantic.

All in all, well worth the time if you like anthologies or these authors. 3.5 stars.

I always have high expectations with Kleypas and she didn't disappoint. Kleypas' story was by far the best of the four. I liked the characters and the chemistry between them was great. I would give her story 4 1/2 stars.

Cach is a talented writer. I like stories about average looking characters finding love. I thought that the romance was sweet and I liked the exchanges between the two main characters. I've never read any of her books, but after reading this sample, I probably would purchase one of her books. I would give her story 3 stars.

Dain's story is one of the worst in any anthology ever published. The characters and storyline were boring. I really struggled to finish the story. It was torture. I give it 0 stars.

The romance in Sands' story was cute. I liked the characters and the back story. I give her 3 stars.

I have read MANY short story collectionns and this ranks as one of the best. With powerhouse authors like these, I figured it would be great and it was.

Anthologies are a way for me to find new writers with talent and at the same time read short fun stories. So if you're looking for short sweet stories about Christmas this is your book. Even if you're not Christian you will enjoy theses short romantic tales.

The book starts out with Lisa Kleypas's story about a man that needs a fake fiance to convince his father to put his name back in the will. I found this story to be gr8. Off course I did Lisa Kleypas is one of my favorite authors. She never disappoints me.

The second story by Lisa Cach didn't disappoint either it had me smiling in the end it's about a woman who needs to find a husband. So that she doesn't have to be a poor relation all her life. It was sooo cute the way the characters reacted to one another, and how she eats when she's nervous.

The Third story by Claudia Dain was BORING this is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5. The character insists on marrying a man that has Irish lands for a stupid reason. There was no romance whatsoever that I could sense, and I can't believe that he actually married her knowing she did so just for his land.

The fourth story by Lynsay Sands was the real jewel in the book it had me laughing out loud several times. It's about a woman that wants to stop her father from gambling away the family's finances. While trying to stop her father she gets into a lot of scrapes and meets Lord Stockton the owner of the club her father goes to, and the worst thing, a nobleman in trade. It was a lot of fun reading about them, I never wanted the story to end. I am definitely going to buy some of her books and see if she really is that good a writer.

I usually read Anthologies at the holidays and this is one of the best I have read. I picked it up because of the authors, mostly because of LISA KLEYPAS. Naturally, her story was up to
her usual standards.*Excellent* Fell in love with Andrew, Lord Drake. Lisa Cach wrote a good story also and so did Lynsay Sands, as I have not read any of their works, have all of their books, but haven't read them yet. The big *SURPRISE*, was CLAUDIA DAIN. I have all of her books but have not read them yet and will do it soon. She wrote a lovely story, had me chuckling and had to stay up to finish it. Clarissa and Beau were a wonderful couple. This story would have done better in a full length book, but nevertheless, it has me looking forward to the rest of her books.