I don't always mind a romance book that has some kind of a theme going but this is just too darn silly! I picked this up by mistake in a used book store while getting a bunch of romance book companions, the type that have short love stories by several different authors and I simply just didn't like it! I have a relative who's always saying don't judge books by their covers and don't judge stories by their titles but in this one you sure can! They are just so hokey and quite ludicrous! These authors can and have done better! Sorry but I just prefer a themed romance book companion that doesn't insult my intelligence!

I read it and immediately gave it away.

~~~~~~~~Aladinn's Lamp by Carola Dunn~~~~~~~~~ "There was once a threadbare young Oxford scholar named Alan Dinsmuir, who was enamored of a rich and beautiful young lady of quality. Now only the genie who lived in an old brass lamp he'd brought could turn him into an eligible suitor."

Cute secondary characters, major ones were ok. The genie is wonderful and makes for interesting and amusing complications. The plot is mostly ;) sensible. I enjoyed it.

~~~~~~~~~The Seven Ravens by Karola Hocker~~~~~~~~~~ "It was bad enough that her father's will dispatched Lady Emily Marchmont on a quest for seven brothers she'd never heard of. Even worse, the key to their whereabouts lay with Sir Alexander Raven, once the object of her innocently bold overtures. And never did she imagine that his teasing eyes held the answer to her secret desires."

This one is ok. It was my least favorite. Hearing about her previous "innocently bold overtures" made me squirm. The plot really isn't. She trots off to Sir Alexander's home and that's all there is. Learning about her family's history is definitely interesting. The hero is nice enough and I could live with the heroine. Unlike the other two stories, there is no magic in this one.

~~~~~The Emeror's Nightingale by Judith A. Lansdowne~~~~~~ "The ducal estate of Julius Caesar Crofton was overrun with visiting young ladies and their matchmaking mammas. But Julius didn't believe in love...until an enchanted nightingale gave him a change of heart."

My favorite. It's by Judith Lansdowne so need I say more? Once I got past the first few pages of description I was hooked. As always, ALL the characters are wonderful! I love them all. Julius, his cousin, the servants, the young ladies. Correction: I liked them all except his mamma (who I barely tolerated). The plot is charming (its a little slow at times, but oh well), the events funny, the *people* well-developed, real, amusing. I laughed out loud several times. Read it. Enjoy it. Love it.

Yes this book is pretty dumb, I picked this book because I liked the title but later on I wish I hadn't bought it at all, I love romance books but this one just didn't cut it and I wish I had never read it and if I could rate it a 0 I would.

I don't always mind a romance book that has a theme going but this is just plain silly! I Made the mistake of buying this along with Once Upon A Kiss while in a used book store looking for romance book companions that have short stories by several different romance book authors and I just don't like Once Upon a Kiss or Once Upon A Time but especially Once Upon A Time, now I really like fairy tales but making Rumplestilskin which was about a nasty and scary little troll who wanted to take a woman's baby away into a romance is ludicrous and the other stories are ludicrous too! What's next in ludicrous romance book ideas, Snow White's evil step-mother and the magic mirror turned into a real man? Now I have a relative who's always saying don't judge a book by it's cover and don't judge a story by it's title but with this and the other book you really can, they are just too hokey! These authors have done much better! Sorry but I just prefer a themed romance book companion that doesn't insult a girl's intelligence!

I loved Carola Dunn's version of Rumplestiltskin. The hero is literally a child of a fairy with uncertain magic, the heroine is a country girl with her nose to the figurative spinning wheel who seems to almost realize she is reliving a story she once read somewhere. It's a neat little retelling of a familiar story. Lansdowne's retelling of Repunzel isn't quite as successful. It's cute but a bit silly. And Hocker's Little Match Seller made the least impression of the three novellas.