Three Weddings And A Kiss (Hardcover)

The second story The Mad Earl's Bride by Loretta Chase is the real gem of this collection. The hero is diagnosed with a deadly brain disease that will not only ultimately kill him but will also cause him to lose his sanity. Having no immediate relatives he's forced to marry and produce an heir so the title will stay in the family. He agrees to marry Gwendolyn after a memorable meeting with her. She's a total bluestocking and not a great beauty so she doesnt have any illusions as to why the marriage is taking place. She's extremely levelheaded and also ambitious she dreams of building her own hospital and that's her reason for marrying a man with a death sentence. However, destiny has other plans for her and she ends up crazy in love with her mad earl. She becomes obsessed with finding the cause of her husband's deadly ailment. Can this obsession ultimately destroy what little time these two star- crossed lovers have left?
Read and find out! You will not be dissapointed.

Lisa Kleypas short story "Promises" is also entertaining although not as intriguing and romantic as Chase's. The real reason I loved this story was the hero Eric De Gray is absolutely delicious (He calls to mind the delectable oh-so tortured Derek Craven). The heroine thinks herself in love with another man who promised to come back after leaving to tour the continent. One small quibble: I got a little annoyed with the heroine about this obsession with waiting for this man whom she has not seen or heard from in over a year. She has underestimated Eric, whom she wants nothing to do with, and he sets out to charm and disarm her. This is a delightful story with a hero that's to die for.

Kathleen Woodiwiss "The Kiss" I didn't even finish reading. One of my first romances was actually KW's Shanna. This was many years ago and I loved it.However, Ms Woodiwiss writing hasn't aged very well. I found her style overblown and the dialogue stilted. Halfway through it I asked myself "who talks like that?" and gave up and closed the book.

As far as anthologies go I've read far better but it is recommended if only for Chase's refreshing and romantic story. :)

My favorite of the stories is the one of the mad earl. It's really something different, and the reversing of the role of the woman to be the strongest character in the starring couple, was very rewarding and most original. The development of their relationship starting from alienation and distrust to friendship, tenderness and love delighted me. Not only getting away from the usual pattern still kept the romantic basis, but it just improved it! It didn't hurt it had a pretty good plot. (It was the sexiest of all too.)

The funniest story in the other hand was the one of the cowboy, where fate and vengeance go wrong and hilarity results. It's not so usual we are able to laugh at the male character and still fall for him. I chuckled a lot in the first pages of it, although it slacked a little bit towards the end, so it isn't in itself a five start story.

The other stories are sweet too so this is a book not to be missed by any lover of the genre!

"Fancy Free" by Catherine Anderson features two hero/heroine types that I like the most -- the girl who's spunky despite having little confidence in her looks, and the boy who's a doll but won't admit it. The plot is somewhat contrived (as is the case with a lot of short romantic stories), but the story is very cute.

"The Mad Earl's Bride" by Loretta Chase was my favorite of the bunch. Bluestocking/doctor heroine meets reformed-rake earl. Very romantic, and rich story. A great incentive to read the other stories set in this "universe", the most famous of which is Lord of Scoundrels. Ms. Chase writes wonderful period literature without getting caught up in all the nitty-gritty details of manners and dress (a huge relief to this reluctant Regency reader), and this is a perfect example of that ability.

"Promises" by Lisa Kleypas has fantastic love scenes between the hero and heroine, but I didn't find the storyline very interesting the first time I read it. I revisited this story after having read the full-length novels features Derek Craven (Dreaming of You is my FAVORITE romance of all time!), and appreciated this story a tad bit more after that.

Finally, Ms. Woodiwiss's contribution. It should be telling that I don't even remember the name of this story. I know that many people who discovered romance earlier than me love her work, but I found the prose stilted, and the idea of getting this very childlike bride and experienced groom vaguely disgusting (and I actually like May-December romances, generally). The fact that the hero BOUGHT the heroine, an indentured servant, was a little icky, too. In terms of technical experience, I found the writing very stilted and unnatural (another viewpoint might call it "lush", I will concede). This was a big disappointment to me, b/c obviously Ms. Woodiwiss is a legend in this genre.

All in all -- pretty good as far as anthologies go. Very good incentive to read the first three authors' other works, at least!