Second Chance Love...Anthology

Second Chance Love...Anthology

Wendy LaCapra
Annabelle Anders
Tabetha Waite
Jenna Jaxon
Cynthia Sterling
Catherine Tinley

Historical Romance
Published in April, 2019

Read in April, 2019

My rating:

                                                          [spoiler alert]

3.5 stars. This rating and review is ONLY for “Mrs. Sartin’s Secretary” by Wendy LaCapra. If I read the other stories later, I’ll try to review them. Of course, the rating may change too.

****

Mrs. Sartin’s Secretary by Wendy LaCapra

When I read book 1 of Wendy LaCapra’s Lords of Chance series titled Scandal in Spades last year, I was blown away not only by Wendy’s beautiful writing but also the story and its protagonists. The H and h shared amazing chemistry that was palpable right from the moment they met. It was a straight winner so I was eagerly waiting for book 2...which turned out to be Heart’s Desire.

While I waited, I heard about Wendy writing a short story in between these two books, somehow connecting to book 2 through its hero, Lord Markham or Heart. But why is Markham called ‘Heart’? I talked about it a bit more elaborately in my review of book 1. In a nutshell, the other heroes of this series formed a group of sort where Markham joins later, and they called each other by sobriquets taken from the cards. The hero of book 1, the Marquess of Bromton Giles went by as Spades. Two of his close friends that will have the next books in the series, Lord Farring and Lord Rayne, are known as Club and Diamond. In that order.

In book 1 I had the hint that Markham, the youngest of them all, was a bit of a rake, hence he was the Hearts. It was said that he never left his lovers wanting. Just how much of a rake, you get a glimpse of it in this really short story here. From the beginning though, I had issues. I had a difficult time connecting this story with the series. For one, Mrs. Sartin or her secretary, the two protagonists were never even introduced in book 1 so I had no earthly idea who they were and why they even had a story to begin with?! Well apart from the fact that it becomes clear very early on that Mrs. Sartin is Markham’s lover. (note here that Mrs. Sartin may well have been briefly introduced in book 1 but I don’t remember her at all so my point stands)

In the end though, Wendy’s note explains that we’ll be seeing more of Mrs. Sartin in Markham’s book, Heart’s Desire. She wanted the lonely widow to have a story so she gave her one.

Fair enough.

What Happens Under the Mistletoe... Anthology

What Happens Under the Mistletoe (anthology)

Sabrina Jeffries
Karen Hawkins
Candace Camp
Meredith Duran

Historical Romance
Published in 2015

Read in April, 2016.

My rating:

                                                    [spoiler alert]

This review and rating (3 stars) is solely based on Sabrina Jeffries’ “The Heiress and the Hothead”. Rating may change if/when I read the other stories.

“The Heiress and the Hothead”

H/h - Lord Stephen Corry/Amanda Keane

Setting: England, 1829.

I had no idea that a novella of Sabrina Jeffries’ latest series, the Sinful Suitors, was published in the Christmas-y anthology What Happens Under the Mistletoe. So after I finished book 2, which was published very recently, I had look it up and check out Amanda’s story “The Heiress and the Hothead”. Unfortunately, it didn’t float my boat as I had hoped it would. :(

I won’t go into the introduction to the series. Please find my reviews of book 1, The Art of Sinning or book 2, The Study of Seduction, where I’ve discussed it in detail. By way of introduction, I’ll only add the following. Amanda, the h of this series, was first introduced in book 1 as the American artist Jeremy Keane’s sister. Jeremy is the H of book 1, who has been travelling the world to pursue his study on arts and paintings of various kinds for a long time. Amanda was left in America with her widowed mother to run the family business of several mills (I’m still not sure of the exact details yet), all on her own. Jeremy had no interest in these things, but Amanda couldn’t just leave things that way. She had to take control.

Possess: An Alpha Romance Anthology

Possess: An Alpha Romance Anthology

Joanna Blake
Cora Brent
Lana Grayson 
Jordan Marie
Cleo Peitsche
Winter Renshaw 
D.G. Whiskey
Rebecca Yarros 

Contemporary Romance
Published in 2015

Read in November, 2015.

My rating:

                                                           [spoiler alert]

“Saint”, Lana Grayson

H/h – Gold Mared/Annie Scott
Setting: Present time.

Review and rating (4 stars) ONLY for Lana Grayson’s novella “Saint”. I haven’t read any other story from this anthology, so the overall rating may change if/when I do!

I’ve become such a fan of Lana Grayson’s Anathema MC series, so it’s no wonder I had to check out this anthology containing a very surprising (at least for me) Anathema MC novella called Saint. I remember him a little from book 1 but didn’t think he’d have a chance of telling his own story. Well, surprising or not, I loved it!

I’d recommend not reading this novella out of order, for you may find some confusing bits of info and spoilers in it. If you start with the Anathema MC novels, from book 1, Warlord, you also get to meet all the characters! To my estimation, this novella falls right after Warlord, when the story of Exiled, book 2, was still not completely realized. Why am I saying this? Well, you just have to read and figure it out for yourself. ;)

Take the Heat ... Anthology

Take the Heat (anthology)

Skye Warren, Giselle Renarde
Pam Godwinm, Sheri Savill
Shoshanna Evers, Candy Quinn
Tamsin Flowers, Elizabeth Coldwell 
Audrey Lusk, Cynthia Rayne, Trent Evans

Contemporary/Erotica (non-con/mm/menage)
Published in 2014

Read in Sept, 2014.

My rating:

                                                 [might be spoiler-ish]

“The Magnolia Hotel”, Skye Warren

H/h - Liam/Grace
Setting: Present time.

I’ve read Skye Warren’s novella “The Magnolia Hotel” and have to say quite disappointed. It’s barely 19 pages so there’s nothing much to talk about.

Grace, a budding artist, goes to free her good-for-nothing big brother from the local gang and ends up finding a part of her past that she thought she had long buried. The first man she had ever loved, secretly, had to be the one to whom her brother owns a huge sum! Grace is then faced with a new (and tempting) challenge from Liam. She knows it’s not right, yet she can’t deny the pull between them no matter what. Question is, will she give in or walk away?

Honestly, this just read like an excerpt. I did think the story was pretty good (or was getting to the good part) when it ends abruptly. I’d really love to see this expanded to something longer. 3 stars.

FYI: Since I haven’t read the other stories, the rating is based on “The Magnolia Hotel”. Obviously, this review will not be helpful for everyone. I’ll check out a few other authors gradually. Rating may change after that! Review will be updated in this space.

Whispers, Collection No. 1 by Carolyn Jewel

Whispers, Collection #1
Erotic Short Stories

Carolyn Jewel
Historical/Contemporary/Fantasy/Paranormal/Erotica
Published in 2013

Read in Feb, 2014

My rating:

                                

                                           [might be spoiler-ish]

Let’s just start by saying that I have a love-hate relationship with CJ’s writing. When it works, it works just fine. When it doesn’t... let’s just not go there, shall we? But I know she’s a very talented writer when I read The Spare couple of years ago, the fact why I keep picking up her novels. It only shone through this collection of short erotic stories.

These stories read rather like ideas or excerpts, yet I won’t say it hindered my enjoyment in any way. The settings are mixed, both historical and contemporary, genres too. These are narrated from first person POV. Don’t expect any traditional HEA; IMO these are way too short and rather oddly contrived. My rating is holistic for all 5 stories, each review written right after I finished that particular story.
***

Behind the Red Door by Jackie Barbosa

Behind the Red Door (anthology)
Ever After Novellas #2-4

Jackie Barbosa
Historical Romance/Erotica
Published in 2009

Read in Dec, 2012.

My rating:

                                                     [spoiler alert]

The rating (3.75 stars) is based on 3 stories, Wickedly Ever After (3.75), Scandalously Ever After (4) and Sinfully Ever After (3.5).

Behind the Red Door was a hot little anthology no doubt but my feelings are mixed about the stories, which I’ll try to elaborate in my review. But one thing I was sure of, that Jackie Barbosa is an excellent writer. I just loved her writing and her way with words. I’ll be checking out more of her books in the future.

“Wickedly Ever After”

 

H/h - Nathaniel St. Clair, the Marquess of Grenville/Eleanor Palmer

Setting: London, 1816.

Seasons of Love by Bonnie Dee

Seasons of Love
(a collection of short stories)

Bonnie Dee
Medieval/Historical/Contemporary Romance/Fantasy/Erotica
Published in 2006

Read in Nov, 2012

My rating:

                                          [spoiler alert]

Note: my rating (3.5) is based on the 4 stories by Bonnie Dee: “Maypole Dance” (2 stars), “Amish Paradise” (3.75 stars), “Crisp Apples” (3 stars) and “A Lily for Christmas” (3.5 stars).

Seasons of Love is a collection of four love stories by BD which spans from the medieval England to the present day US. I enjoyed all of them to some levels but my most favorite story was Amish Paradise. Some of these stories had good potentials and I believe, if a few pages were added, I would’ve enjoyed them more. As usual, I love BD’s writing. I feel for her characters, yet, not always things work out for me. If you’re in the mood for something light, this is a perfect anthology.