Tea for Two [Paperback]

Cathy Maxwell's story is rather dull and, worse, silly. I've read better fan fiction -- much better, and lots of of it. This is so far below Cathy Maxwell's best; it's not even mediocre--it's amateurish. At the risk of sounding like Simon Cowell, it was abysmal. The hero's disguise is no disguise at all; the heroine acts like a teenager; and the ending is ridiculous beyond belief.

Liz Carlyle's offering, on the other hand, is a delight in every way. She starts with one of the most beautifully written descriptions I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time. Her hero evokes images of the best in Georgette Heyer's "These Old Shades" while incorporating some of the best of modern romantic heroes. I like him very, very much! Elise, is understandably drawn to him at once--until she learns his name; then his reputation causes her to keep her distance, or try to. My only reason for cutting 1/2 a star is that I think Elise could be a stronger, more individual character. She's good; she just doesn't quite jump off the page and into your heart the way the hero does. Christian (Grayston) really dominates this beautifully written tale.

This book is worth buying for Carlyle's novella alone. It is nearly everything that makes a romance a thing a beauty.

IN A MOONLIT GARDEN - Cathy Maxwell
Charming - Colonel Michael Stanson had been in love with Ivy for so long that when her father asked him to pose as a tea merchant to search an eccentric scientists house for a formula supposedly stolen from him, and the prize being Ivy's hand in marriage - he reluctantly agrees. He is an honorable sort, but he'd do anything to gain the very beautiful Ivy for his wife.
As soon as he laid eyes on the scientists niece Lady Jocelyn, he is soon quite taken with her goodness and charm, so much so that he agrees to help Jocelyn make her former beau jealous. (There are a lot of undercurrents in this short story) Why does Michael have trouble remembering what Ivy looks like? Too many schemes and too many lies, as both Michael and Jocelyn find their way to both confess the real truths to one another. Both the parties find they needed to reexamine their motives for what they once thought was love - thought provoking. Absolutely delightful secondary characters! You have to love Uncle Geoffrey!

HUNTING SEASON - Liz Carlyle
All I can say is 'the kiss' - how can anyone make a thank you kiss so absolutely sensually sizzling! Wow! And mind you, this is in the first 18 pages! This glorious rake - the Marquis of Grayston is one BAD boy and I would dearly love to meet him! Alas, he is the figment (?) of the very talented wordsmith Liz Carlyle. Before he knows who she is, Christian, Marquis of Grayston is entranced with the lovely widow Lady Elise Middleton and she - in spite of all her lady like tendencies and upbringing is oh so tempted to just take him up on his offer of a 'night of passion'. Eventually, he must come to terms with what is most important to him the revenge of his sister's death, or the love of a good woman. On the sensual scale of one to ten - this rates a 10!