aldadelicado's review
4.0
This collection combines eight historical novellas. It has a little bit of several genres with more or less successful storytelling. There is also a line that connects all the stories, namely a ring with a star although the last tales use it more successfully than the first ones.
The first novella is the story of an outcast in the IX century by Nicole Zoltack. Raiders appear and after a battle, the heroine helps the only survivor to dispose of the dead and a bound is created. A small and effective story but without much innovation.
The second one, by Jude Knight, is one of my favorites from this ensemble. A valley in the middle east, occupied by a couple formed by an English duke's son and a local princess has become a heaven for a group of people from different nationalities. The English man's family is anxious to have him back, but his home is in the valley. Beautiful, very well crafted, a delightful novella.
Somewhere like home is a story by Lizzi Tremayne set mainly in the Highlands and I found it very disturbing and the characters rather unlikable. Robert and Sofia are betrothed but he decides to find work and save money leaving her at the mercy of a cruel laird and his son.
Amy Quinton's novella is part of the Umbrella Chronicles and it is one of the best ones. Divided into chapters detailing the conquest process that the hero must follow to win his heroine, it's funny and inventive and I am definitely reading the other Umbrella stories.
Rue Allyn's A Wish for All Seasons is a conventional second chance story again set in Scotland without much spark.
The Last Post from Caroline Warfield is set at the end of WWI and follows a couple of separated lovers, a Canadian soldier, and a french window. Their travels and adventures to find each other are exciting and make you root for them. A great story from a thoughtful author.
A Fine Chance by Elizabeth Ellen Carter is a romantic story set in San Francisco after WWI. A soldier returns but can't decide to return to his family until Helen appears. A gentle working girl, she gets him a job and helps him regain his confidence in himself. A good story although I believe the villain was a bit too one-dimensional.
Finally a time-traveling story. It was efficient but rather flat. I enjoy this kind of story but it was so conventional and with none of the typical conflict of this kind of tale. The heroine accepts too easily a life in medieval times with no indecision or different time-related problems.
All in all, it was a good read but some of the stories are definitely better than others.
The first novella is the story of an outcast in the IX century by Nicole Zoltack. Raiders appear and after a battle, the heroine helps the only survivor to dispose of the dead and a bound is created. A small and effective story but without much innovation.
The second one, by Jude Knight, is one of my favorites from this ensemble. A valley in the middle east, occupied by a couple formed by an English duke's son and a local princess has become a heaven for a group of people from different nationalities. The English man's family is anxious to have him back, but his home is in the valley. Beautiful, very well crafted, a delightful novella.
Somewhere like home is a story by Lizzi Tremayne set mainly in the Highlands and I found it very disturbing and the characters rather unlikable. Robert and Sofia are betrothed but he decides to find work and save money leaving her at the mercy of a cruel laird and his son.
Amy Quinton's novella is part of the Umbrella Chronicles and it is one of the best ones. Divided into chapters detailing the conquest process that the hero must follow to win his heroine, it's funny and inventive and I am definitely reading the other Umbrella stories.
Rue Allyn's A Wish for All Seasons is a conventional second chance story again set in Scotland without much spark.
The Last Post from Caroline Warfield is set at the end of WWI and follows a couple of separated lovers, a Canadian soldier, and a french window. Their travels and adventures to find each other are exciting and make you root for them. A great story from a thoughtful author.
A Fine Chance by Elizabeth Ellen Carter is a romantic story set in San Francisco after WWI. A soldier returns but can't decide to return to his family until Helen appears. A gentle working girl, she gets him a job and helps him regain his confidence in himself. A good story although I believe the villain was a bit too one-dimensional.
Finally a time-traveling story. It was efficient but rather flat. I enjoy this kind of story but it was so conventional and with none of the typical conflict of this kind of tale. The heroine accepts too easily a life in medieval times with no indecision or different time-related problems.
All in all, it was a good read but some of the stories are definitely better than others.
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