Timeswept Brides [Paperback]

From the back cover:

THE HEIRLOOM by Mary Balogh: A bewitching sapphire engagement ring leads a skittish groom to Regency Wales--where he learns there is no love like the present...

A DREAM ACROSS TIME by Constance O'Banyon: When a lovely librarian chases her dream to a New Orleans plantation, she finds a faded bridal veil she swears she has worn before...

MAN OF HER DREAMS by Virginia Brown: An antique wedding gown lures a Mississippi belle to the Civil War--and into the arms of a rebel love...

BRIDE'S JOY by Elda Minger: Love letters in an English manor send a reluctant bride into a centure past, where she must break a curse--and return to the church on time...

And my review:

Mary Balogh's THE HEIRLOOM was the only story in this book worth reading. She managed to create a lovely dual romance with a touch of the paranormal in just under 70 pages, and managed to make it touching and believeable. Now that's talent! Four stars.

Constance O'Banyon's A DREAM ACROSS TIME just wasn't engrossing. But then I wasn't surprised. I know this author has a big following, but her writing does nothing to capture me. And the heroine came across as weird. I just couldn't connect with her at all. One star.

Virginia Brown's MAN OF HER DREAMS suffered from a rushed romance and a large dose of unreality. People in this story kept doing thing that just made no sense. For instance, the heroine's ancestor, upon finding an unannounced houseguest in the middle of the night (the heroine), just accepts the heroine's assurance that they're related and gives her a room to stay in. Uh...okay. If a person who I'd never even heard of before, let alone met, was walking around me house in a robe, and then claimed to be one of my distant relatives, I'd be tossing them out the door and calling the police, not putting them up in my guest room! And the hero in this story came across as arrogant and full of himself. I guess he was supposed to be cocky and self-assured, but he just annoyed the heck out of me. Also, there was more political struggle in this story than romance. One star.

Elda Minger's BRIDE'S JOY was a story that focused more on the heroine breaking a curse than it did on romance. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two leads, and that's vital for a good romance read. One star.

As with most romance anthologies, the limited space means that the authors don't get enough room to work, resulting in a bunch of weak stories. If you find one good story, then you're lucky. In this case, one of the authors is Mary Balogh, and she has enough talent to pull off a novella.

But even that story is one that you'll only bother to read once. Borrow this book from the library if you're still determined to read it, but apart for Mary Balogh's contribution, you might want to skip TIMESWEPT BRIDES altoghter.

I enjoyed the stories. Each one held enough adventure, romance, and fun for a quick escape from reality.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  3.0 out of 5 stars