I'm not a fan of anthologies usually finding them to be poor quality stories but the authors here are favourites of mine and so I bought the book - sad to say I was disappointed! The stories were 'run-of-the-mill' for this type of book. Why do authors insist on penning such sugary-sweet stories for inclusion in an anthology? Their offerings are often so unlike their full-length novels that I feel I either cannot be reading something written by a favourite author or that they have simply chucked in a second class effort they otherwise wouldn't have bothered having published but feel that it will suffice for an anthology! No more of them for me I'm afraid.

The reviews for this book were not much help in making a decision whether to buy or not, I realise that some of the reviewers are #1 or top 500 reviewers (whatever that really signifies!) but goodness some of them didn't really enlighten me at all - too many commas in inappropriate places coupled with waffling, disjointed sentences - sorry reviewers!!

IN PRAISE OF YOUNGER MAN could well be a titillating perspective to view Regency romance but the full potential of most of the stories have yet to be realized. Especially the inchoate tale penned by Cathy Maxwell where it tells of Graham McNab who aspires to be a physician makes a bet with his malicious cousin to win the heart of his amorous target a Ms. Lucy Whitlaw. Being tone-deaf, he has difficulty mastering dancing and he seeks tutelage from best friend Sarah, who has long been in love with him.Sadly underdeveloped characters fail to attract readers. Ms. Maxwell has seemed to abandon the theme and doesn't give any insight of romance couples with age gap.

Lauren Royal's tale of Forevermore is simple and average. It tells of Clarice Bradford overcoming the fears of loving a younger man Cameron Leslie. She is split between duties and passion. Jaclyn Reding fares better with a Scottish tale where Harriet Drynan decides between a curse and love for childhood sweetheart Tristan Carmicheal. A leap year might prove a magical solution; the story is rescued by Reding's input of fairy tales and mythic aura.

JO BEVERLEY's The Demon Mistress makes the other stories look juvenile in comparison. It is poignant, exquisitely sensual and stays relevant to the theme. It tells of this widow Maria Celestin who tries to convert the profligate Vandermein. She sees it an obligation to undo the hurt her demised husband has inflicted on Van. With a promise to finance his debts, on the condition he be her fiance for a period of six weeks - they experience a shower of passion and love this short time. The flawed Van scarred by war and loss of kinship and friends sees a chance of redemption. He covets the love Maria withholds for his sake - the public ostracizing over their age gap will pose a barrier to them.

IN PRAISE OF YOUNGER MAN is bolstered solely on Jo Beverley's marvellous contribution. The inconsistency here unfortunately ruins what could have been a vint-age read.

I don't like short stories or novellas, they are just not my cup of tea but Jo Beverley's novella (110 pages), "The Demon's Mistress", in this anthology is a keeper. I was disappointed that the first story in the Three Georges trilogy (the others are The Dragon's Bride and The Devil's Heiress, and the trilogy is linked to the Company of Rogues series) was issued as a novella and not a full length romance. Luckily the novella length is long enough here to pack in the complexity of a novel (thank goodness it wasn't issued as a 70 page short story!) and I really got lost in the story and felt like I was reading a full length romance. Must have book to fit into the Company of Rogues/Three Georges series. Characters in the other books are met or mentioned also, and it explains some things about the other two Georges books. Goes on keeper shelf and is sure to be reread.

Jo Beverley now writes historicals, rather than the traditional Regencies published by Avon. All her traditionals and most of her earlier work is very hard-to-find, and some have amazingly high prices on the secondhand-book (used book) market. Of all these books, I can commend this one DEIRDRE AND DON JUAN, which I have read, and EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL (which I have not read, but plan to read). Both are slightly unusual takes on the typical Regency plot. The second is rated more highly, but I don't think that the first is *that* far behind. No, it does not rank with the highest, but I will consider this book a keeper.

The story is not of a beauty - Lady Deirdre Stowe is *not* a beauty, although she looks better when she dresses to her own taste rather than that of her mother. She is intelligent, but she also has a rather low opinion of herself, and is willing to settle for a rather inferior man (in terms of affection, rather than his rank). To begin with the beginning however.

The story begins with Mark Juan Carlos Renfrew, Earl of Everdon (aka Don Juan) learning that his wife has finally died abroad. She had left him very early into their marriage, and he had not bothered to divorce her. And as we learn, he is plagued with guilt about his short marriage, although it has enabled him to make merry as a "married" man without fear of the matchmakers. However, since his younger brother has died, it is incumbent on him to marry again, a suitable and plain wife who will be content in the country, and will give him heirs. His mother suggests Lady Deirdre Stowe who shares her passion for embroidery. And off Lord Everdon goes to meet the prospective bride, and to court her.

Lady Deirdre is not pleased. She has been a wallflower all the Season, and she is about to go back home unmarried. And she wants to be unmarried. Why? Because she is in love with a commoner, a mathematician. Her idea of bliss is life in a cosy cottage, embroidering and watching her future husband work on his problems. Never mind that he ignores her almost completely all day. And she will have one little baby to love and care for, or so she hopes.

The Earl of Everdon is stunned to hear that Lady Deirdre prefers a mathematician with no fortune (about 100 pounds a year) to him, a belted earl. He cannot however withdraw from the marriage, having obtained the permission of Lady Deirdre's parents. And Lady Deirdre has promised her mother that she will not turn down any reasonable offer. And so, the engagement continues, but Lord Everdon promises to behave unreasonably (create some scandal) and thus convince Lady Deirdre's mother that he is not a suitable husband.

Of course, Lord Everdon does nothing of the kind. He tries to persuade Lady Deirdre that kissing is fun. And that her mathematician is really a dull sort, although he is more subtle about that. The mathematician is persuaded to go with Lady Deirdre and her mother back to Everdon Park, where we learn many unexpected secrets about Lord Everdon, his first marriage, and his financial condition.

That is the spoiler-free review. Now a critique, to explain why I cannot assign this a higher grade. I loved this book, and read it in one afternoon. And I grew to like both Lady Deirdre and Lord Everdon by the end. I also appreciated the fact that the author had created a half-Spanish half-British earl, and that there was an "other man" rather than an "other woman". Furthermore, this other man is a brilliant mathematician.

Unfortunately, the book has some serious problems. Firstly, given the Earl's situation with his first wife, it is inconceivable that he would have avoided divorcing her because he was afraid of a scandal. What did he think she was creating? Also, the idea that he would avoid a divorce for fear of hurting his wife's parents made little sense, given the vituperative feelings of his mother-in-law (who appears briefly and bizarrely towards the end). A divorce would have been relatively easy for him; it is possible that he could not have divorced her for financial reasons, but she had certainly given him enough cause under the legal system of the time. Also, given that he had no direct heirs, the matter of an heir should have been of greater import to him.

Secondly, the fact that he escaped the matchmakers as a "married" man is a premise or plot device that really annoys me. (It reminds me of a terrible book where a duke plans to marry a dying woman precisely to avoid the matchmakers for a little while).

The fact that he wants a plain well-bred wife willing to breed and remain in the country, and that he seeks his mother's advice, also does not sit well with me. I compared this mentally to Heyer's SYLVESTER, but found that the premise there was far different. The hero there was willing to consider a lady mentioned by his mother, but did not plan to marry her immediately - until she had caught his interest.

Lady Deirdre herself at the outset (and for most of the book) irritated me. If her mathematician had indeed been a worthy man (albeit an absent-minded genius), that would have one thing. She was however in love with a deeply selfish man, who was totally unconcerned with her and her needs and wishes. And she persuaded herself somehow that she was in love. How did she come to have such a poor opinion of herself (well-articulated by her erstwhile lover toward the end)? She was no beauty to be sure, but her parents appeared decent people. There was no explanation of why Deirdre would pick a lowly mathematician, would prefer life in the country (in a small cottage!), or would have such a low opinion of herself.

I thought that the best part of the book was the last third (apart from the bizarre mother-in-law). Here, we learn the truth about the Earl's finances, and about his first marriage (and the irrational sentiments of his first wife). I think that much more could have been made of these. I appreciated the fact that the hero was not overwhelmingly wealthy, and that his father had frittered the family wealth away on improvements to the grounds but had remained a loving father and husband. [Too many fictional fathers spent their money on gambling at cards or dice, at racing, or in the pursuit of fast women. It is refreshing to meet one who overspends on his estate].

At the end, while I was happy for Deirdre and her Don Juan (his middle names, incidentally, did not make a lot of sense), I felt curiously dissatisfied. I felt that both Deirdre and Everdon were lucky to have found each other; she could so easily have married Howard (the mathematician) and discovered only after several children what she had let herself in for. Perhaps, if she had become disillusioned herself, the book would have been stronger. Unfortunately, she seemed to lack an understanding of human motivation, and to be curiously naive about men right to the end. As for Everdon, he was lucky to have found Deirdre, although I could not understand why he wanted to persist with the engagement. [Yes, he realized early on that she was mismatched, and that she would be miserable, but we have little evidence at the outset that he cares that much about other people].

This is not a bad read by any standards. But you might share my sentiments - liking the unusual heroine (and the odd situation the hero and heroine find themselves in) without being happy about how they work their way to a happy ending. I can say that I have had the same feeling about one other book - Joan Wolf's THE GAMBLE, where I also ended up keeping the book, but remained deeply frustrated with the heroine in particular.

Rating = 3.5

Mark Juan Carlos Renfrew, Earl of Everdon, is known throughout the ton as Don Juan, and with good reason. He is a rake who has had affair after affair, although he is a married man. But his transgressions aren't without cause: after all, he married very young, and his wife ran off with another man within six months of their wedding. Now, though, he has just heard that she is dead, and he needs to find another wife in a hurry, before the matchmaking mamas hear that there's a new matrimonial prize on the market. Everdon's mother has a solution: propose to her young friend Lady Deirdre Stowe.

Deirdre is not considered to be a great prize on the marriage mart; she is not especially attractive, with too large a nose, and she has a tendency to dress in styles and colours which don't suit her. But this is all part of her plan; she is in love with a penniless mathematician of whom her parents don't approve. She has, however, struck a bargain with them: she will undergo one more season and she will not turn down any respectable offer of marriage she might receive. However, if she receives no offers, they will allow her to marry her Howard. This, then, is the reason for Deirdre's unbecoming apparel and her failure to make herself attractive. But then Everdon proposes, and she's in trouble...

She can't refuse him because of her promise to her parents. So they come to an agreement: she will accept his offer and they will enter into a sham betrothal, and at some point Everdon will contrive to be discovered in compromising circumstances, which will give Deirdre a good reason to end the engagement.

Everdon doesn't particularly like the plan, especially as it will leave him without a fiancée and at the mercy of the sharks in the marriage mart again. He likes it even less once he meets Howard Dunstable and sees how the man treats Deirdre, forever complaining, failing to pay her any attention and clearly intending to treat her as an unpaid housekeeper once they're married. And as soon as Everdon actually kisses Deirdre he knows that she's never known passion - and that he wants her for his own. But how can he convince her that he isn't the irredeemable rake she believes him to be - and that they are meant for each other?

This is an enjoyable book; not as good as Beverley's best early Regency, Emily and the Dark Angel, but considerably better than most of the others from that era. There are familiar characters here too: Everdon's cousin is Ian Renfrew, the Daffodil Dandy first introduced in Emily and the Dark Angel, and Everdon first dances with Deirdre at a ball held at the Ashbys' home. The romance is sweet and certainly convincing; both characters have much to gain from knowing and loving the other. Appearances can be, and are, deceiving on both sides. Was Deirdre's attachment to Howard convincing? I'm not sure.

I was puzzled as to why Everdon's friends called him Don - yes, his nickname was Don Juan, but as he and they would have been well aware, Don is not a name in Spanish, it is a title and form of address for the nobility. Was it intended to be short for Everdon, as well as being part of his nickname? That would have made some sense, but should have been explained.

An enjoyable book, which I'll certainly want to re-read.

I have been reading all of Jo Beverley's novels from the earliest to this point (still have a lot to go) and found, as always that I love this women's style.

In Deirdre and Don Juan (he is only part Spanish, hence the nickname)you have a hero who, rather than divorce his wife after she left him, used the marriage to fend off any like-minded mamas and was able to conceal his hurt behind the many dalliances he engaged in.

In the beginning, this suave and handsome man appears quite arrogant, which as you find later in the novel, was a shield to protect him from the hurt and devastation he experienced when his beautiful bride left him after 6 months of marriage. The reasons are explained later in the book.

With Deirdre, however, one has to wonder why even a plain, young, intelligent woman from a good family would want to marry a commoner mathemetician with little prospects. She convinced herself that she was needed and, he was handsome, left her to her embroidery which was her passion, but there was very little communication.

Don Juan finds himself a widower and before too many people find out he must find a suitable wife, to beget an heir now that his older brother has passed on and it is now up to him to set up his nursery.

The tale between Deirdre and Everdon (his real name) is so sweet. He assumed all he needed was a biddable brood mare and plain was just fine with him, there was no passion or lust involved in the choice, in fact Deirdre was his mother's suggestion. What follows was an awakening on the part of both of the participants, with a little push from Don Juan at the end, that just shows the talent for storytelling by Ms. Beverley.

I really liked this book, and if you had read her earlier novels, you will see characters from her previous books enter the scenes to add to the continuity of the time period.

I look forward to reading more and more from Ms. Beverley who is a stellar talent with wonderful gift for storytelling.

For those following the series begun with Lord Wraybourne's Betrothal, this is the second book and is Justin and Chloe's story.

Chloe, Lady Stanforth, is the widow of Stephen, Justin's cousin, with whom Justin helped her elope when she was just seventeen. We discover, through lots of hints and introspection in the first couple of chapters, that it wasn't long before Chloe realised that she'd married the wrong cousin, and that Justin equally was in love with Chloe.

Now, however, Stephen is dead - has been dead over a year. His heir as Lord Stanforth has just died, and Justin has now inherited the title. Chloe isn't looking forward to seeing him again; she wants to leave the Stanforth estate and find a nice, conformable, boring man to marry. Delamere men are too rogueish and unreliable for her taste, and Justin's unlikely to have changed, she thinks.

Justin, who is longing to see Chloe again, gets sidetracked by the Prime Minister and the Prince of Wales, who want him to investigate a missing package of information about the French, and a possible murder, at his family home. Chloe, he is told, might well be a suspect. And so he returns home not only to take up the reins of the estate, but to investigate a mystery. Lord Randal Ashby, his friend and Chloe's cousin, accompanies him - this is before Randal's own story, and so he is still a rakish bachelor.

There's lots of suspicious minor characters, lots of talk about apples and potatoes (it was unclear whether pommes or pommes de terre were involved), more suspicious deaths and confrontations. Actually, I'd figured out the villains long before the end, as well as the hiding-place of the 'pomme' concerned.

There wasn't much romance; we knew that Chloe and Justin were in love, and the romantic plot simply involved Justin trying to persuade Chloe to forget her scruples and marry him. But they didn't have very many scenes alone together; not enough to stop the mystery plot from taking over the book. I also got *very* frustrated with Chloe for being so idiotic when it was obvious that she loved Justin and he loved her, and that he was clearly much more responsible now than he'd been when he was younger. Justin's jealousy didn't work for me either.

So, while I'll keep this book as part of my Jo Beverley collection, I doubt that I'll be re-reading it. Her other work is a lot better.

I would agree with the reader below, except for a couple of caveats. Firstly, I enjoyed the book far more than a "2-star" rating would suggest. Secondly, the book is billed expressly as a "regency romantic intrigue" as part of its subtitle. Thus, expecting it to be a "pure" romance when it is stated to be otherwise is not terribly fair.

As a mystery, this book gets mixed reviews. I had my suspicions from the outset, and it was nice to have them confirmed. But I could never entirely be sure as to who had committed the original crime (stealing a document desired by the Government and by the French), and who had committed the various murders. As it turned out, two deaths I thought was murder turned out to be accidents. [Ouch!]. But there were some surprises in store all the same.

Was the identity of the thief clear from the outset? No, although my suspicions were raised at one point. Was the identity of the murderer clear from the outset? No, again. So my interest in the intrigue and the overall mystery kept me reading to the end.

The romance part is slighter, I agree. If you are looking for a real love story, and where the hero and heroine fall visibly in love, you will be disappointed. It is clear that Chloe made a mistake in her marriage, but not clear that she understands precisely why her match was a mistake (apart from her choosing to elope to Scotland). And yes, she was remarkably dense at times, if rather more acute at others in catching on to the real culprit. I found her rather endearing in an odd way; she reminded me of people who can be amazingly obtuse about the motivations of others.

The story is simple in one respect: the romance is between the widowed Chloe, Lady Stanforth (so called because there are two other Dowager Lady Stanforths) and the new 4th Viscount Stanforth, the cousin of her late husband and the man who helped them elope to Scotland. This romance is however a minor plot element. The real story is about governmental intrigue, about family intrigues, and all manners of secrets. There is the Dowager Viscountess (Chloe's stepmother) who is rather batty, ever since she lost her husband in 1802. There is Belinda, Lady Stanforth, the rather insecure widow of the 3rd Viscount, who was born the daughter of a prosperous local farmer. She is not quite welcome in the family and her marriage has created a number of tensions in the area. There is Justin, the new Viscount, who has just returned from the war. There is his friend Lord Randal Ashby (who it soon becomes clear is also Chloe's cousin) who comes up to Lancashire with Justin. There is a cast of secondary characters including two servants who detest each other, the friend of the 3rd Viscount and so forth. And there is Sophie and Randal's grandmother, a Dowager Duchess of Tyne.

In many respects this was a fun read, especially the risque dialogue between Chloe, Justin and Randal. The descriptions of the area surrounding Delamere Hall were a treat. The various interactions between Chloe and Belinda were also great reads.

Unfortunately the book had some problems. Firstly, although this book is billed as a regency romantic intrigue, that does not appear in the Amazon title (or in most searches for authors). For a reader expecting a typical regency romance, this book will be a disappointment. There is nothing too incredible, but the romance is distinctly undercooked here.

Secondly, both Chloe and Justin act rather irrationally at times. Justin (like the government) jumps to the conclusion that Chloe must be the culprit based simply on the fact that she was living at the house all the time. While they are quick to suspect a young woman of birth, they overlook men of birth. [In most Regency romances, women are routinely discounted as criminals because of social prejudices and preconceptions]. They fail to confide in each other early - Justin because of a promise made to higher authorities, and Chloe because of what? Justin's youthful reputation for follies, or something else. Even after they have shared their stories, they do not always confide in each other. This I find irritating. We have two people working frequently at cross-purposes, who are hardly partners. Let me also say that I find the quickness of the two to discount certain other suspects to be ridiculous, and Justin's unwillingness to examine the many recent deaths appalling. I was also troubled by the conclusion, in which a murderer got off scot-free with four murders to his/her credit, and with a spot of extortion and terrorizing as well.

The book was the 2nd Regency published by Beverley with Walker (in the now-defunct Regency program), and falls between Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed (very hard to find, because of the tiny print runs) and the next story, presumably that of Lord Randal Ashby. There is a reference here to Piers Verderan, whom some readers will recognize as the hero of EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL.

Unless you want to have a complete collection of Beverley books, borrow this book and read. At [cost], this book is a little expensive to buy.
Rating = 2.6 (higher marks for the mystery and intrigue than for the romance).

The intrigue and romance in this book are deliciously well written. I found myself talking to the book, yelling at characters. In short, I became personally involved. And if you like excellently written sexual tension...WOW does this have it.

None of JB's Regency stories were any good. All the characters were fine but the plots were [not]. The men seemed to all talk like dandies too. Not very appealing even if it was accurate.

Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed is part of the series which also contains The Stanforth Secrets, The Stolen Bride and Emily and the Dark Angel. Jane Sandiford, brought up in a very sheltered and restrictive household, becomes betrothed to a man her parents have chosen for her, and suddenly finds herself catapulted into the ton and the middle of a London season, and tries to get to know this sophisticated stranger she's about to marry.

This book really didn't do a lot for me. I did quite like both Jane and David in the beginning, but - and this is a short Regency! - the story really began to drag from around halfway through. Jane and David were already pretty much in love with each other, and it seemed as if the story could be over. But Beverley dragged it out with a mystery plot (and since I'd guessed the identity of the culprit very early in the book, that wasn't exactly suspenseful) and a largely absent fiancé.

And those are my main problems with the book. First, I ended up feeling that I really didn't get to know David at all, because he was missing for so much of the time. Second, the mystery plot was uninteresting and a distraction from the real story. And then third, I found Jane a little too perfect to be either interesting or convincing. She's had no real experience of Society or even mixing with other people of her own class - and yet she fits into the ton as if she's been attending parties and coping with repartee all her life?! She's an instant success - but why? She copes with every obstacle placed in her path just too easily. And her behaviour in respect of David is too inconsistent: she keeps believing that he's having affairs, and yet every time she sees him she ignores that suspicion and behaves as if he's the love of her life.

I ended up being far more interested in Randal and Sophie, two secondary characters; but their romance was dealt with very abruptly in the end, and then I realised that their story is finished in The Stolen Bride.

There are also a couple of clichéd villain-types in the book, which is something later Beverley books avoid like the plague. All in all, this is definitely not Beverley's best work - if you want to read a good short Regency by her, try Emily and the Dark Angel.

I'm not generally a fan of Regency Romances, they always leave me wanting more. I am a huge fan of Jo Beverley's though, so I took a chance on this one and I'm glad I did.

Jane Sandiford is a sheltered and not very fasionable girl, raised in the country far away from the London scene. She hails from one of the oldest and wealthiest families in England which makes her a prime canditate to become the bride of David Kyle, Tenth Earl of Wraybourne. With much trepidation, she sets out on her first and last season as a single women. With a little help from David's sister Sophia, we watch Jane blossom, going from fear to awe and then total adoration for her betrothed. David is the typical Regency gentleman, a little stiff but with such endearing qualities the reader can't help but fall in love with him, right along with Jane.

The secondary characters are extremely likable too. Sophia, David's devilish sister and his friend, Lord Randal Ashby, an incorrigible rake with the face and form of Adonis. A secondary romance?

Add to all of this, a mystery; Lord Wraybourne is recruited by his uncle to help solve a rash of attacks on women which he reluctantly does. Beverley keeps the reader guessing till the very end.

This book is out of print, but you can find it through out-of-print searches,it is well worth the effort. It is a quick and very enjoyable read (I read it in one sitting). Do yourself a favor and get it.

I knew there was a reason I tend to avoid anthologies; this one has reminded me of it with a vengeance. Basically, most anthologies aren't worth the paper they're printed on: you get a selection of authors, some of whom may not be very good, and shorter stories than usual, some of which - if they are at all good - don't benefit from being compressed into under 100 pages.

This book is very definitely a case in point. We have novellas from Jo Beverley (normally excellent), Tanya Anne Crosby, Samantha James and Kathleen Woodiwiss - three authors I'd never come across before and whose work therefore I know nothing about. After reading this anthology, I know to avoid their work in future.

The Beverley novella, The Determined Bride, was interesting, but I kept feeling that I'd come in halfway through the story. Told by her soldier husband that their marriage hadn't been genuine, Kate desperately wants her baby to be legitimate. Unfortunately, her 'husband' has just been killed in battle. His commanding officer offers to marry her to give the baby a name. Afterwards, Kate returns to England with her son - but what of Captain Charles Tennant, the man she's just married? Does she want him? Does he want her? How does he really feel about having a legal son who is not his biological child?

An intriguing premise, written with something close to Beverley's usual style; but too rushed. Perhaps three stars.

Next, there is Tanya Anne Crosby's A Kiss After Midnight. Two children brought up together are separated when Victoria's father, a duke, becomes concerned about her friendship with the gardener's son. Can their love survive? What happens when Victoria needs to marry to save her estates? To begin with, I thought her hero, Thomas, was American; his internal narrative in the first few pages is entirely American in dialect and vocabulary. Too many things didn't ring true in this story for me to take it seriously. For instance, apparently Thomas and Victoria drove to Gretna Green in under five hours. So where were they? North of the Lake District and in the middle of nowhere fifty miles south of the border? Unlikely. And did Victoria really not recognise Thomas??

Oh, and *what* is "a'tall" supposed to mean? That simply isn't a word. It's not an expression used anywhere in the UK (or in Ireland, in case Crosby thinks it is). If she means 'at all', then she should say so. Terrible. One star.

The next story is Samantha James' Scandal's Bride. It was readable, more or less, though Victoria seemed to me to behave like a spoilt brat. I can't understand what Miles saw in her; he should have refused to marry her and insisted that her father sent her back to the country until she grew up. Two stars, maybe.

And finally, Kathleen Woodiwiss's Beyond The Kiss. This, I gather, is the sequel to another book by Woodiwiss. She spends the first dozen pages summarising Raelynn and Jeff's story to date (tedious exposition of an overly melodramatic tale) before launching into this story. The language is extremely overblown -talk about purple prose! The dialogue is stilted: I couldn't believe some of Jeff's speeches. Take this:

"In my lengthy quest for the woman of my dreams, I cannot deny that I've tested my heart with others, but they never assuaged that unsettled feeling gnawing at my vitals. I tell you no lie, madam, when I say that of those maidens I've courted, I favoured none with a plea to be my wife. Whatever enticements inspired me to seek their company were ephemeral, as fleeting as the morning dew." Ewwwww!!!!! I couldn't take this guy seriously at all.

In fact, I couldn't even finish this story. After 30 pages of it I'd had enough, and it's definitely put me off reading any more by Woodiwiss. I can't believe she's considered to be a top historical fiction writer! Zero stars.

Don't waste your money on this one.

It's not easy to rate four stories with one mark, so I do it one by one:

„The determined bride" - I give it 3 stars. It's not a bad story, but I found something missing there.

„A kiss after midnight" - nice, but just a little bit unbelievable. How Victoria couldn't recognize her best friend? I don't believe a man can change so much! And that marriage ceremony ... oh, it was sooo long, I became unpatient! 3 stars.

„Scandal's bride" - a bit cliche. I read so many books about London high society of 19th century I became tired of them. Why always London and 19th century? Why not France during 100 years war for example? 3 stars.

„Beyond the kiss" - out of question the best of „Married at midnight". I just love Woodiwiss and Birminghams. 5 stars.

And at the end - romance authors, keep writting. We need your stories to warm our hearts and make our lives easier.

i chanced to stumble upon this in a library, and sat down to read it. it was much more than i had been expecting of a jumble of romance stories strung together. The stories had nothing to do with each other. One of the stories was about a soldier who married a woman in labor to give her child a name. One was of an heiress who had to be married by midnight of a certain day in order to keep her inheritance. unfortunately, I didn't read to the other story. The first two were very intersting. The one about the heiress was done mainly from the prospective of the hero, a different approach, andn had childhood sweethearts reunite. it was touching and heart-warming to read of their childish delights and the bond which held them together. The first one was an interesting tale, which could probably be turned into a novel if the circumstances were stretched somewhat and the problems more dramatized. The ending was happy, though. This was a refreshing collection of stories 9three in all, i think). Read and find out for yourself.

Legend holds that at the last Christmas of each century, a mysterious sapphire pendant blessed with the power of eternal love will find its way into the hands of a woman who needs guidance.

In Day of Wrath, Wulfhera of Foxton, in the face of 999 a.d. millenium turmoil, flees her convent sanctuary to her childhood home. There she finds more confusion for her heart when brought face to face with her first and only love Raef Eldrunson, whom she'd believed was lost to her. In Starlight Wedding, Miss Felicity Fairchild, spinster, agrees to a marriage of convenience after finding herself under the protection of Sir William Court, guardian of his brother's young heir. Last Kiss at the Loving Cup Saloon finds Joe Nelson the unwilling guardian of a brood of orphans. Kidnapping Katherine Stark, wife-by-proxie to the shady gambler who landed him in this mess, was a mistake and a blessing. Joy to the World is the last thing Angela McMichaels feels this Christmas. Instead of celebrating, she mourns the Mysterious and untimely death of her brother. Can she find aid and solace from loneliness in the arms of his best friend Joshua?

Conflicts abound in these stories of rediscovered hearts, providing readers with a good balance of love and adventure.

April Redmon 2/01/00

I wanted this book because I'd heard a lot about the Jo Beverley story, Forbidden Affections. Many of Beverley's fans don't like this novella because of the age gap between the hero and heroine, and so I wanted to see what I thought. But first, the other three stories.

We begin with Janet Dailey's Castles in the Sand. This is a tale about a couple who were in love as teenagers, but were separated by time, events, misunderstandings and simply growing up. They meet again at a time of trauma - the father of one, and the mentor of the other - is seriously ill. However, I didn't find myself at all emotionally engaged with Bridget and Reese's story. I think this was because Dailey skipped over long periods in time, and so we'd have a development at the end of one chapter, only to find that the next chapter jumped forward several months - the emotional impact was lost. Extremely forgettable.

Debbie Macomber's The Marrying Kind could have been good - but wasn't. Katie and Jason were married as teenagers, but Katie's parents didn't approve of Jason and they took Katie away and made her annul the marriage. Now, ten years later, Katie and Jason meet again, three days before his wedding to someone else, and find that they're still in love. Okay... a well-worn premise, but I usually like Macomber so I expected good work from her. Instead, I got a plot which has been done many times before, and a hero I didn't particularly like. The way he treats his fiancée is particularly abhorrent, and the rather convenient manner in which she turns into a selfish harridan wasn't at all convincing.

Rebecca Brandewyne's Hasten Down The Wind has been described by another reviewer here as a history lesson disguised as a romance, and I couldn't have put it better myself. Instead of focusing on Elizabeth's relationship with Chaingo, the novella gives us lots and lots of information about the outlaws - and it's all incomplete too, as if the reader is expected to know all about the period and the characters. I couldn't follow the detail of the events at all, and certainly have no interest in re-reading the novella.

However, Beverley's Forbidden Affections certainly didn't disappoint. Anna is a fan of Gothic romances, and when she discovers that her new London home has a room decorated exactly as the heroine's room in one of her favourite author's books, Forbidden Affections, she is curious. Discovering a secret doorway, she explores the house next door, owned by a mysterious nobleman who is believed to have killed his former mistress. But the Earl of Carne is nothing like she imagined, and she finds herself working secretly with him to clear his name. Along the way, she falls in love - but he is 30 to her 16, and even if her family would agree, Carne can't reconcile with his conscience the idea of marrying someone so young.

The reason some of Beverley's fans dislike this novella is precisely the notion of a 16-year-old marrying a man so much older. But, having read Forbidden Affections, that aspect doesn't bother me in the least. Anna may be 16, but she's no child. She's actually far more sensible and mature in her outlook than her older sister, who is 19. Carne does recognise this, even while he's telling her that he's too old for her and that she'll meet someone younger in time. And he doesn't rush into anything where Anna is concerned; he takes his time, which shows some degree of consideration.

I enjoyed the Beverley novella very much and for me it compensates for the remainder of the anthology. But if you're not a fan of Beverley or of Regency romance, give this one a miss!

Like the other reviewer I bought the book for the Jo Beverley story, Forbidden Affections. I liked the story so much that I hoped it would be longer.

The Marrying Kind by Debbie Macomber wasn't bad. It was a little improbable, and given the limitation of the format, a novella, there wasn't much character development.

The other two stories, Castles in the Sand by Janet Dailey and Sonja Massie, and Hasten Down the Wind by Rebecca Brandewyne, because they didn't draw me in seemed long-winded for novellas. Hasten Down the Wind was a history lesson pretending to be a romance.

Overall, three stars.

I bought this book for the Jo Beverley story, and I was not disappointed. If the other stories had been up to the standard of this one, I would give the book five starts.

Since it is an anthology, I had hoped to discover one or two new authors to love. No such luck. The other stories did not move me, did not suck me in. The only one which started to engage me ("The Marrying Kind") lost me with its callous treatment of the soon-to-be-jilted fiancee and the totally implausible series of events leading up to the end of the story. (And this was by far the best of the other stories.)

So, a final rating of 3 stars.

So many secondary characters abound in THE STOLEN BRIDE, the reader almost needs a score card to keep track. A sequel to THE STANFORD SECRETS, many of those characters return in this continuing regency saga. Warning: if you haven't read THE STANFORD SECRETS, you should do so before reading THE STOLEN BRIDE, as the author has many spoilers spread throughout the book.

There's a reason why this book is so hard to find. It really isn't up to the author's usual standards, and I'm sure she would want to rewrite it before reprinting it again. While there was a plot of sorts, there wasn't much romance between the title character and her fiance. In fact, the book's biggest weakness is that we never really connect with Lady Sophie. We are given much more insight into one of the secondary characters, Beth Hawley, who is portrayed much better. THE STOLEN BRIDE isn't one of the author's best works, but then, it is one of her earliest efforts. If you never locate a copy, be satisfied with one of her more recent books, which are much better.

This book is ostensibly the story of Lady Sophie Kyle and her fiance Lord Randal Ashby. Sophie and Randal became engaged just after the drama which came at the end of Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed, and as I found Sophie and Randal more interesting than Jane and David, I wanted to read this book.

The first half of the book is far more about Beth Hawley, Jane's old governess, however. Beth is on her way to Steyne for the festivities leading to Sophie and Randal's wedding, when she meets up with Sir Marius Fletcher, another friend of David Wraybourne. He's a very big man, but unfailingly courteous, though with a good sense of humour. We sniff a secondary romance, and we'd be right.

On to Sophie and Randal, though, and for most of the book we only really see them through other characters' eyes. Something's wrong with what should be a blissful romance. Randal is avoiding Sophie, while she tries to flirt with him. She even tries to flirt with his friend Piers Verderan in order to make Randal jealous, but that only makes both men angry. Why is Randal so aloof? Why is Sophie so insecure? Why is Sophie wondering whether Randal was forced into proposing after he compromised her? Even though everyone around can see how much Randal loves Sophie, his behaviour is making her unhappy.

Into the mix here we then have anonymous threatening letters, and an attempt on the life of Randal's brother, where Randal himself seems to have been the intended victim.

The book was readable, but problematic. It was unclear whether it was meant to be about Sophie and Randal or Beth and Marius, and as such neither couple got adequate attention. The dramatic plot, although it tied into the events in Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed, was a distraction; it would have been much more interesting to see if Sophie and Randal could have sorted out their problems without this outside intervention. And, unusually for Beverley's work (or has she just got better?), the book was riddled with grammatical errors and typos, such as words missing or printed twice.

All in all, her longer novels are much better than these early regencies - although Piers Verderan's story, Emily and the Dark Angel, is really excellent. It's almost worth buying The Stolen Bride to find out more about his background and reputation, as we do here.