A Regency Christmas Present (Signet Regency Anthology): Heart's Desire/ Christmas Wish List/ An Object of Charity/ A Christmas Canvas/ The Last Gift (Paperback)

by Elisabeth Fairchild (Author), Carla Kelly (Author), Allison Lane (Author), Edith Layton (Author), Barbara Metzger (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this heartwarming collection of all-new, original Regency stories, five bestselling authors share the one gift that lasts all year round: the gift of love.

Featuring romantic new Christmas stories by:

* Elisabeth Fairchild Winner of the Romantic Times Best Regency Novel Award
* Carla Kelly Winner of a Career Achieve-ment Award from Romantic Times and two RITA Awards
* Allison Lane Winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award
* Edith Layton Winner of numerous awards
* Barbara Metzger Winner of a Reviewers' Choice Award and a National Readers' Choice Award

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Signet (October 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451198778
• ISBN-13: 978-0451198778
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #942,541 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good Christmas book, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

I usually am disappointed in books that are anthologies, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The first three stories were very good and I would have rated them 5 stars but the last two stories were not as good. My favorite story is the one by Alison Lane HEART'S DESIRE and I became interested in an unseen character, Emma's brother-in-law James. I hope she does his story in the future.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 pretty good Christmas tales, 2 poor....., December 14, 2007

By	retroredux - See all my reviews

I totally agree with Scibarfans review-the first two stories by Allison Lane and Barbara Metzger were very good, I'd give each about 4 stars, but the last three stories quickly go down hill.

Surprisingly, even Carla Kelly's-whom I normally enjoy. Her story was OK-though nothing special to endear it to the reader.

The last two stories by Elizabeth Fairchild and Edith Layton were unreadable, in my opinion. In fact, I'm quickly finding that Layton and Fairchild are going on my "do not read" list as they just don't do it for me.

Of the five stories, like Scibarfan, I enjoyed Barbara Metzgers the best but not enough to recommend this Anthology just for that one story. If you must read this, I'd suggest you get it very cheaply.

2.5 stars.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uneven as always; Metzger's quite good (4 stars), March 18, 2004

By	S. Reader "scibarfan" (Dublin, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Fairchild's story is unusual but heartwarming, about a disfigured war veteran and a paragon of virtue and patience. She may be too patient and wise to be believed, and he nearly too weak, but they do get on well together. His dragon of an aunt is thoroughly conceived. All in all, a pleasant and diverting tale. 3 stars.

Metzger's story is the best of the bunch, in my opinion. A delightfully convoluted "wish list" holds this witty and quirky tale together. Metzger's clever "trick" of viewing the story from multiple viewpoints with similar phrasing is delightful, is occasionally taken a bit too far. Her characters are finely drawn, especially the secondary ones. Metzger delivers. 4 stars.

Kelly's offering is only so-so. It's a fairly interesting situation for the hero but is otherwise blah. There's nothing really special here, and the story is not firmly resolved. The author's style is nice, but the story is not particularly engaging, and there is a sense of it being unfinished. 1 & 1/2 stars.

Fairchild's piece is also less-than-wonderful. It involves a thoroughly dastardly brother and a twist of sorts. This tale is more sensual than most in such anthologies. There's some nice imagery, but it's only middling overall. 2 stars.

Layton's contribution is a take on Sleeping Beauty--one that is fairly obvious and straightforward. The tale is mildly diverting, but Layton, as usual, is overly wordy, relying too much on description and on "telling" the story. 1 & 1/2 stars.

Overall, this anthology is a typical mix and few stories are worth the effort. Metzger's near the top of her form here, however, and Lane is also worth a read.