Do NOT read this one for Woodiwiss, January 19, 2005

By S. Reader “scibarfan” (Franklin, TN) –
  

This review is from: Three Weddings and a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

Her very short story was not worth the time to read it. Flimsy, contrived, and boring, without interesting characters or a well-defined setting. Perhaps those who have read whatever book these characters come from would appreciate it, but I can’t imagine anyone else doing so. Anderson’s Old West story was somewhat contrived, but humorous and engaging. It made a nice change of pace for me; I rather enjoyed it. The title’s a mystery. Kleypas’ story was not her best effort and featured a rather dull hero and an irritating heroine, but the tale was mildly entertaining. The real treat in this set of short stories was Chase’s tale of the mad earl. It was populated with vivid characters, realistic settings, a tightly woven plot, and emotional range. Read this book if you read it for this story alone. I’ll be finding more by Loretta Chase thanks to this story.

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One good story, three also-rans, August 2, 2007

By Helen Hancox “Auntie Helen” (Essex, England) –
  

This review is from: Three Weddings and a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

Anthologies are curious things. With different authors you often find you’re reading several entirely unrelated stories, possibly linked around a theme but with little else to enable them to sit happily together. This book is the same, with two stories set in America and two in England, most around the English Regency period (although I’m not sure of the dating of the two set in America) and all featuring a wedding but apart from that there seems little to tie them together. As an introduction to the works of these authors this is a useful book but sadly this reader only found one story worthwhile in the collection. FANCY FREE The first story, “Fancy Free”, by Catherine Anderson surprised me by not being set in the Regency period in England, which is what I thought this book was about (although this was my mistake as it doesn’t specify English Regency on the cover, it was just the featured authors that made me assume this). Instead it was set in America in some unspecified time in history (my knowledge of American history isn’t enough for me to know when) and features Clint Rafferty, a cattle rancher, and his family of seven younger brothers who finds himself getting married, rather unexpectedly, and at the end of a pistol, to Rachel Constantine. So how can people settle down after a shotgun marriage when they know very little about each other and when Rachel is well aware she’s not want Clint wanted? He wants someone to make a home but her cooking skills are somewhat lacking, especially as she can’t see anything due to excessive short-sight and that she believes if she wears her spectacles men will be appalled by her ugliness. I felt the realism of this story was sorely lacking in terms of how Rachel could cope with her short-sight, especially when we learn she couldn’t read a recipe – short sight would meant that she COULD read paper close to, it’s distance things that would be a problem. Somehow Clint and the boys don’t seem to mind her disasters and very quickly she becomes important to them. But Rachel has a low self image and doesn’t understand this and when another woman comes to the house she can’t handle it and runs away – Clint and she have to decide what is important to them. This was a pleasant enough story but there wasn’t any great character depth and I did have some problems overall with Rachel’s domestic skills, especially bearing in mind her eyesight problems. Sometimes she seemed almost blind, other times it was clear she must have been able to see reasonably in order to function in public without her spectacles. It was an OK read but nothing that special and didn’t inspire me to read anything more from this author. THE MAD EARL’S BRIDE The second story, “The Mad Earl’s Bride” by Loretta Chase, was rather more engaging. We are given a brief history of Dorian Camoys’ youth under his autocratic grandfather. Dorian knows that he is beginning to succumb to the same brain disorder that killed his mother – after she had spent some time in a lunatic asylum. He returns to Dartmoor to live his last months in peace but his peace is shattered when the other close members of his family die and he inherits the title of Earl of Rawnsley and finds one of his distant relatives trying to help arrange the succession. Dorian is asked to marry Gwendolyn, a young woman who badly needs his money in order to build a hospital. Gwendolyn wishes she had been born a man as she wants to be a doctor but no men except for one doctor ever take her seriously. Her experiences in learning about medicine mean that she can help Dorian in his last months and so they marry. However there is much research to be done about his condition and as it begins to worsen they begin to plan for the future and to learn about each other. This story has links to “Lord of Scoundrels” and some of the characters from that story appear in this. It’s a very enjoyable read and although a short story it seems surprisingly detailed. I very much enjoy Loretta Chase’s writing style although her Regencies occasionally slip into Americanisms, but overall this is a good story with a likeable hero and heroine and a rather different theme from the norm. PROMISES “Promises” by Lisa Kleypas is another story set in England in the Regency period. Lidian Acland, our heroine, has been holding a torch for the improbably named Chance Spencer for a year whilst he does the Grand Tour. However her mother (along with pretty much everyone else) thinks Chance isn’t worth her devotion and tries to encourage Lidian to look at other men. None interests her until she meets Eric de Gray, heir to an Earldom and squiring his sister at various parties. She and Eric clash a number of times as he tries to get her to see Chance for who he really is and Lidian wants to hang on to her dream. There’s another mini romance within this story which isn’t particularly detailed but is enjoyable…

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Chase and Kleypas save the day!, June 17, 2002

By L. G. Schilling “aaronssweetheart” (SPRING HILL, FL United States) –
  

This review is from: Three Weddings and a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

The first of the four stories is by Catherine Anderson an author I wasn’t familiar with until now. Honestly, I did not care at all for the plot, the characters or her style of writing. The plot iscontrived and flimsy at best ( even for a short story ).The heroine ( she was so unremarkable I can’t even recall her name) is out to get revenge against the man she thinks broke her sister’s heart. She ends up taking revenge on the wrong brother and they’re caught in a compromising position by her father and they’re forced to marry. This is basically the only interesting part to this story as the rest is extremely unimaginative and boring.The second story The Mad Earl’s Bride by Loretta Chase is the real gem of this collection. The hero is diagnosed with a deadly brain disease that will not only ultimately kill him but will also cause him to lose his sanity. Having no immediate relatives he’s forced to marry and produce an heir so the title will stay in the family. He agrees to marry Gwendolyn after a memorable meeting with her. She’s a total bluestocking and not a great beauty so she doesnt have any illusions as to why the marriage is taking place. She’s extremely levelheaded and also ambitious she dreams of building her own hospital and that’s her reason for marrying a man with a death sentence. However, destiny has other plans for her and she ends up crazy in love with her mad earl. She becomes obsessed with finding the cause of her husband’s deadly ailment. Can this obsession ultimately destroy what little time these two star- crossed lovers have left? Read and find out! You will not be dissapointed.Lisa Kleypas short story “Promises” is also entertaining although not as intriguing and romantic as Chase’s. The real reason I loved this story was the hero Eric De Gray is absolutely delicious (He calls to mind the delectable oh-so tortured Derek Craven). The heroine thinks herself in love with another man who promised to come back after leaving to tour the continent. One small quibble: I got a little annoyed with the heroine about this obsession with waiting for this man whom she has not seen or heard from in over a year. She has underestimated Eric, whom she wants nothing to do with, and he sets out to charm and disarm her. This is a delightful story with a hero that’s to die for.Kathleen Woodiwiss “The Kiss” I didn’t even finish reading. One of my first romances was actually KW’s Shanna. This was many years ago and I loved it.However, Ms Woodiwiss writing hasn’t aged very well. I found her style overblown and the dialogue stilted. Halfway through it I asked myself “who talks like that?” and gave up and closed the book.As far as anthologies go I’ve read far better but it is recommended if only for Chase’s refreshing and romantic story.

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