Anthology Reviews

all author related reviews

  • Naughty or Nice

    As cynical as it may sound, stories tend to become cheesy when they incorporate a Christmas theme. It’s therefore refreshing to come across an anthology that manages to be an original paean to the season. Naughty or Nice is, for the most part at least, charming, romantic, and h-h-hot.

  • A Knight’s Vow

    As you may have guessed from the title, this anthology features a quartet of medieval knights, all of whom have made a vow of some sort. For one it’s a vow to protect damsels in distress; for another, it’s a vow of fealty to an overlord. Still another has promised his dying mother he would…

  • My Scottish Summer

    My Scottish Summer was not assigned to me; I bought it myself, so I have only myself to blame. These four stories bounce between bland and bothersome, the best being barely boffo, the worst, baneful. Aye. I don’t know what criteria were used when the editor asked for these stories, but the four entries have…

  • His Blushing Bride

    You know, I finished this anthology a few days ago and I can barely recall a thing about any of the three stories. In a way that’s good, because it means none of them was so horrible that it stands out in my mind. But it also means that none of them was special enough…

  • Out Of This World

    It’s great to have an anthology where the majority of the stories are so good. Even if you’re mainly interested in only one of the authors, be sure to check out the stories by J.D. Robb, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Susan Krinard. Hamilton fans should be aware, however, that the Anita Blake story is actually…

  • Hot And Bothered

    Well, the title of this anthology perfectly summed up my feelings. One story was hot, and the other three were bothersome Still, one keeper in an anthology is not too bad, and Lori Foster’s story Luring Lucy is not only hot, it’s darn good too.

  • Love Came Just In Time

    Lynn Kurland’s current release, Love Came Just In Time, is a compilation of four previously published novellas, two of which have appeared in collections already reviewed here. The overall tone is sugary-sweet and light on the credibility, with humor that flip-flops between genuine and forced. Yet the final story breaks this mold, which brings the…

  • A Season for Scandal

    A Season For Scandal is a reissue of two of Stephanie Laurens’ regency romances from early 90s. Sensually, they are much tamer than her later full-length historicals, but her prose is already polished and very readable. I have the feeling that these books make it or break it depending on your taste in heroes. If…

  • A Kiss for Mama

    This anthology is a collection of tales to honor Mother’s Day about mothers and mother figures falling in love. Unfortunately for the reader each of the stories tend to drag on past their natural ending and none of the couples involved are very likable.

  • Wait Until Dark

    Wait Until Dark is being marketed as a “sizzling, stay-up-all-night ” anthology: “When the sun goes down, the mood is right – for heart pounding romantic suspense!” Eh, I don’t think so. Nothing sizzled (except the pancakes in the fourth story’s Easy Bake Family Reunion). This book didn’t keep me up one second past my…

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