The School for Heiresses (Mass Market Paperback)

by Sabrina Jeffries (Author), Liz Carlyle (Author), Julia London (Author), Renee Bernard (Author)
Key Phrases: cloth halls, gothic play, Miss Holcomb, Lady Sharpe, Sir William (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In four new crowd-pleasing Regency novellas, students from Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies return home for the holidays with high hopes for entering society. Despite their careful training under the wise Mrs. Harris, each defies the rules in her own way and, in the process, gets her first taste of romance. Bestselling Jeffries, author of the series that inspired this anthology, leads with panache: her passionate tale of Eliza Crenshawe finds the young firebrand fleeing a marriage arranged by her cruel uncle, attempting to steal a horse and falling under the spell of the horse's owner, the new earl of Monteith. Rita-winner Carlyle weaves a complicated tale about Martinique, a courtesan's daughter with a mysterious past in the West Indies, whose bedchamber is mistakenly breached by the scandalous Lord St. Vrain. London presents Grace Holcomb, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant, who inherits her domineering father's distorted values and nearly misses out on the love of a good man from Leeds. Bernard's tale of mischievous Alyssa Martin, whose odd luck lands her in a series of comical misadventures, rounds out the collection with an "all's well that ends well" finale. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
Three stars in the romance genre and one bright new light join together in this sparkling Regency anthology inspired by Sabrina Jeffries' School for Heiresses series. In Jeffries' sinfully sexy "Ten Reasons to Stay," after Colin, the new Earl of Monteith, catches Eliza "borrowing" one of his horses, he must find 10 good reasons that will convince her to stay with him. Liz Carlyle fashions another of her wickedly witty, sublimely sensual stories in "After Midnight," in which Martinique finds herself engaged to a notorious rake after he enters the wrong bedchamber during a house party. Grace Holcomb knows she must marry well, but the only candidate she finds intriguing is totally unsuitable in Julia London's lusciously sexy "The Merchant's Gift." Newcomer Renee Bernard dazzles readers with the delightfully amusing "Mischief's Holiday," in which Alyssa's goal of a merry--yet mishap free--holiday is ruined once she meets perfectly logical, perfectly irresistible Leland. In all, a clever, sensual, and superb collection. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416516115
• ISBN-13: 978-1416516118
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific Regency romance anthology , January 6, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Ten Reasons to Stay" by Sabrina Jeffries. Students are leaving Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies to go home for the Yuletide holidays. However, not all want to go home as Eliza Crenshawe knows awaiting her there is her odious Uncle Silas who plans to wed her to Minyard, a sot like he is. Eliza tries to steal a horse from Earl Colin Hunt, used to the balmy weather of his native India, but he catches her.

"After Midnight" by Liz Carlyle. Out of guilt, her uncle Lord Rothewell sent Martinique, a courtesan's daughter, from her West Indies home to attend Mrs. Harris' school. However, the female hellion knows no one wants her in England or the Caribbean, but goes to the Rothewell home for the holidays. Rakish guest Lord St. Vrain mistakenly enters her room, but instead of screaming, she welcomes the rogue.

"The Merchant's Gift" by Julia London. In Leeds, Grace Holcomb, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant, has high expectations to marry amongst the bluest of the bluebloods. However, to her chagrin she is attracted to a non titled nobody Barrett Adlaine when she has Lord Middleton in her greedy grasp.

"Mischief's Holiday" by Renee Bernard. No matter how hard she tries to stay out of mischief, Alyssa Martin always ends up in trouble. She vows to end these escapades because she feels if she fails to do so, logical businessman Leland Yates will only notice her as a pest not his loving wife.

The Mrs. Harris' novels (see NEVER SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL) are always fun to read and this four novella anthology affirms that belief, as each entry is a terrific Regency romance starring likable lead characters.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Vastly different writing styles of four authors ultimately brings this one down, December 30, 2006

By	Misuzmama (New York, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Ten Reasons to Stay -Sabrina Jeffries
One night, the newly minted Earl of Montieth, Colin Hunt stumbles upon a horse thief. Eager to defend his property, he captures the thief easily and is shocked to discover that it is in fact a young woman. Desperate not to reveal her circumstances that forced her to 'borrow' his horse in an attempt to flee to London, Miss Eliza Crenshawe commences a battle of wits with the Earl, trying to prevent him from learning the truth of her identity. For surely he would send her back to her drunken uncle. But Colin is not easily swayed by the sharped tongued beauty and when he finally learns her circumstances -he doesn't believe her! Desperate for his aid, Eliza offers him a 'trade' of sorts; getting her to London in exchange for ~pleasuring~ him.
****4 STARS- Jeffries story is definitely the best of the bunch. Matching saucy and uninhibited (for a virgin that is) Eliza with the jaded and guarded Colin is a hoot. Eliza matches wits with the Earl and creates a palpable sexual tension, especially when she finds his erotic indian prints ;). And the 'ten reasons to stay'?, well lets just say that fans of Jeffries steamy writing style won't be dissapointed.

After Midnight -Liz Carlyle
Miss Martinique Neville, resident hellion of the school of heiresses, is given a her last lesson on the day of her departure -learn to value yourself. Her whole world turns upside down when during a simple country furlough, before entering London society, she is caught in a compromising position and is forced into a betrothal with the scandalous Lord St. Vrain. Neither wants marriage. His past still haunts him (as well as shuns him in most of decent society) and her heritage is not exactly one would expect to find in a lady. So they form a pack to pretend to accept the betrothal until the scandal passes. Only then do things take a turn when they fall in love with eachother and neither is willing to let go.
*1 STAR- Yeah it was that bad! No likeable characters whatsoever. And please, please don't have the hero *canoodling* with someone other than the heroine and then expect me to like him later -UGH! And the heroine? I'm sorry, virgin teenagers don't talk like 40yr old experienced women, even with a french accent. Don't get me started on the cold hearted family (who's explanations didn't pacify me at all). A semi-depressing story that really never recovers. Skip this one.

The Merchant's Gift -Julia London
Miss Grace Holcomb, a pretty heiress from Leeds, had anything and everything a titled gentleman suitor could want in a wife; poise, grace and training from the exclusive school for heiress, except for the fact that her family attained their wealth from <GASP!> TRADE! And sheep trade unfortunately, which caused a bevy of snide remarks behind the poor girls back and led to several unsuccessful seasons. Now home again with her family until the new season starts, she meets again her childhood crush Mr. Barret Adlaine, who tempts her in ways she'd rather not think about. After all, as a man in trade, he is wholly inappropriate according to her father's (who is determined for a titled match) standards. But that doesn't stop their little run-ins and when Grace returns to London and finds a real titled suitor she must decide between matters of the heart and matters of the family.
****4 STARS. Great underdog story. Plenty of sexual tension, Barret really goes out of his way to court Grace and his gifts are very touching. The only part I didn't like was that Grace was a bit too cruel/mean to him. Over and over she reminded him of what his station in life was and what was expected of her. But the author sort of made up for it in the end with a grand romantic gesture -done by the heroine surprisingly!

Mischief's Holiday -Renee Bernard
Surviving the holidays without incident proved too difficult a task for the accident prone Aylssa Martin. Disaster seemed to follow her everywhere she went, even home to a small gathering of her beloved father's friends for the holidays. Only the sinfully handsome guest Mr. Leland Yates would'nt mock her when she tumbled into the mud or snicker when embarrassing childhood stories where repeated. But what were her chances with him? Especially when her beautiful cousin Violet arrived?
****3 stars. I liked this one? Don't know, but its a cute story. Alyssa's bumbling was funny, but some of the guests comments were cruel. The story strangely lacked steamy love scenes compared to the others in this anthology. And the ending was kind of abrupt, your kind of left hanging -with your own imagination to fill in the gaps. Just kind of bland really.

These four stories were supposed to flow well together but didn't. The writing styles of these authors are way too different and ultimately brought down the whole anthology for me. A disappointment really considering that each can write full novels very well. I guess they should just stick to those.

For some really well matched stories in an anthology, check out Lady Whisteldown Strikes Back and The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection from fantastic authors!, October 19, 2008

By	Sonja Foust "romance author" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Loved this collection of holiday stories about Ms. Harris' School for Heiresses! Loved Sabrina Jeffries' story of course, since she is the creator of the series. She captures scenes so well, and my only complaint was that I wanted more! Renee Bernard is a new-to-me author and I absolutely loved the short story she contributed. I'll be looking for more from her in the future.