Customer Reviews

Tapestry

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As with all anthologies, this is a mixed bunch. Lynn Kurland appears to be billed as the star of the collection, with her mediaeval tale about the ward of the king who is shunned by all the other ladies of the court because - at least, I assume this is the reason - she is scarred from the pox. During one particularly nasty scene, she's saved by the intervention of a mysterious gentleman, who turns out to be Kendrick of Artane, the knight everyone wants to meet and bed. The strange thing about this story is that it's not Kendrick who is the hero of Liana's story - it's his brother Jason. Now, what's the point of that? For a while, it almost looked as if Kurland was setting up a threesome! No, made no sense.

Madeline Hunter's story about old friends meeting again when she's poverty-stricken and he's wealthy and about to marry someone else is a very nice piece. Giselle pleads with Andreas to loan her some money, but he won't because her brother already owes him far more money than he could ever repay. But there is one thing Giselle owns which Andreas would pay large amounts for... her virtue.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's short story belongs with her Dark-Hunter series, and is her first were-creature story. Unlike the Katagaria in her books, Sebastian is part-human, part-dragon. He has travelled into the future to 'borrow' the tapestry which Channon is studying; in order to get it from her, he sweet-talks her and takes her to dinner. But he has reckoned without the Arcadian gods, who make her his mate for life... Now what can he do?

The weakest by far in this collection is Karen Marie Morning's Scottish story. Come on, publishers - romances with Scottish Highland characters are just *boring*, apart from having been done to death! This one is unconvincing, and the narrative rivals the heroine's novel for purple prose. Aeden has been kept prisoner by a faerie god (okay, start counting clichés here) for five hundred years. He's forgotten who he used to be. Jane Sillee (yes, the pun appears to be intentional by the author, but believe me, it fits!) has dreamed about having sex with him for most of her life. When she is transported back into the past, she has one month to make him remember himself and her. The dialogue here is wooden, and the narrative alternates between eye-rollingly over the top and plain boring. Zero stars for this one, two for the Kurland, three for the Hunter, but four for Kenyon.

wmr-uk

As with all anthologies, this is a mixed bunch. Lynn Kurland appears to be billed as the star of the collection, with her mediaeval tale about the ward of the king who is shunned by all the other ladies of the court because - at least, I assume this is the reason - she is scarred from the pox. During one particularly nasty scene, she's saved by the intervention of a mysterious gentleman, who turns out to be Kendrick of Artane, the knight everyone wants to meet and bed. The strange thing about this story is that it's not Kendrick who is the hero of Liana's story - it's his brother Jason. Now, what's the point of that? For a while, it almost looked as if Kurland was setting up a threesome! No, made no sense.

Madeline Hunter's story about old friends meeting again when she's poverty-stricken and he's wealthy and about to marry someone else is a very nice piece. Giselle pleads with Andreas to loan her some money, but he won't because her brother already owes him far more money than he could ever repay. But there is one thing Giselle owns which Andreas would pay large amounts for... her virtue.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's short story belongs with her Dark-Hunter series, and is her first were-creature story. Unlike the Katagaria in her books, Sebastian is part-human, part-dragon. He has travelled into the future to 'borrow' the tapestry which Channon is studying; in order to get it from her, he sweet-talks her and takes her to dinner. But he has reckoned without the Arcadian gods, who make her his mate for life... Now what can he do?

The weakest by far in this collection is Karen Marie Morning's Scottish story. Come on, publishers - romances with Scottish Highland characters are just *boring*, apart from having been done to death! This one is unconvincing, and the narrative rivals the heroine's novel for purple prose. Aeden has been kept prisoner by a faerie god (okay, start counting clichés here) for five hundred years. He's forgotten who he used to be. Jane Sillee (yes, the pun appears to be intentional by the author, but believe me, it fits!) has dreamed about having sex with him for most of her life. When she is transported back into the past, she has one month to make him remember himself and her. The dialogue here is wooden, and the narrative alternates between eye-rollingly over the top and plain boring. Zero stars for this one, two for the Kurland, three for the Hunter, but four for Kenyon.

wmr-uk

I bought this book because of Ms. Kenyon's Dragonswan. I loved it and it was worth the $9.99 all on it's own. For the most part all Ms. Kenyon's works should go on for thousands of pages as her characters are rich and the relationships strong. The other three stories were mediocre at best, especially "Interrupted Tapestry" which had no chemistry and odd time period . Over all worth the money if you stop after the third story.

Karen Marie Moning's story was very interesting. I loved the characters and the plot, no matter how far-fetched. A delightful read. I wished it were longer!
As for the other stories...not very interesting; bland, in fact, especially when compared to Ms Moning's story.

I just finished this book and overall the stories were well done. The first one To Kiss in the Shadows was about a young woman Lianne who was partially disfigured. She finds love in a man who thought that she could never have. The second An Interrupted Tapestry was also well done,but I wish it had been a bit longer. The third,and my favorite Dragonswan written by Kenyon was to me the best of the whole group, I wish that a novel had been written about these two Channon and Sebastian were so good together,I just wish that it had been longer. The final story was very good,Into the Dreaming. Loved the Fairie King and Queen and the young man called Vengance was also a very dreamy and tortured young who finds love again in Jane a young woman from the future who did not belong there. I highly recommend this anthology, but if your like me you will wish that all the stories were longer.

Tapestry will not disappoint. Four novellas into one, this novel is filled with adventure and romance. All of the stories revolve around a tapestry.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dragonswan was a great read. Sebastian was a dragon slayer standing at six foot five, with long black hair and eyes a greenish-gold. Wow ~ talk about mouth watering!

My favorite, though, was Karen Marie Moning's Into the Dreaming. No, it wasn't Aedan MacKinnon which grabbed my attention. Nope ~ it was the Unseelie King. Wow! He just leapt off the pages and instantly DEMANDED my attention. The power he possessed was enormous and terrifying. He was so seductive and sinister as he cleverly set into motion a plan that even the Seelie Queen does not know about. I had such a soft spot for those that are dark. And there was no one darker than the Unseelie King. I would love to read a novel solely about him.

Enjoy.

I thought three of the four stories were pretty good - Madeline Hunter's story was the only one I couldn't really get into, although I did manage to finish it. What all the stories have in common is their medieval setting and a tapestry (not the same tapestry, but every one of the stories has one)

To Kiss In the Shadows by Lynn Kurland - Lianna is a noblewoman who hides behind the tapestries she creates because she wants no one to see her ruined face. The other ladies make life a misery for her, and she doesn't expect any man to ever love her for herself. Her life takes a turn for the better when Jason and Kendrick of Artane, two handsome brothers who don't mind what she looks like. The only thing that really bothered me about this story was the overuse - EXTREME overuse - of the word "visage". It was used practically on every page, sometimes twice on a page. However, I enjoyed the characters and found myself wishing that this story had been a book, instead, so that the characters and relationships could've gotten more developed.

An Interrupted Tapestry by Madeline Hunter - Giselle, a noblewoman, goes to Andreas, a rich German merchant who she knew years before, in the hopes of getting a loan for him. She needs the money to save her brother, the same person who has made her family so bankrupt. Giselle's devotion to her brother was annoying. Andreas' love for her made no sense, since she constantly clawed at him for "causing" her family's financial distress because he was the one to lend her brother all that money. This story was a headache.

Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Sherrilyn Kenyon was the reason why I picked this book up. I had just finished reading one of her books and found out that she had a short story in this book. In this story, a scholar named Channon is interrupted during her study of a mysterious tapestry. She feels drawn to him, as he is drawn to her, but he can't stay in her time. There are too many dangers for his kind in the modern world. Whereas (as far as I know), Sherrilyn Kenyon's books seem to mainly deal with vampire-like beings, this story featured shapeshifters. While I liked this story, I felt like it was a bit rushed. I wish it could've been a been, instead of a short story.

Into the Dreaming by Karen Marie Moning - Aedan has been tortured by the Unseelie king for so long that he no longer remembers who he is. However, the spell that binds him can be broken if, during the one month that he is allowed to live back in the mortal world without the king's influence, he can love and be loved. The Seelie queen decides to try and help Aedan by sending Jane Sillee back to his time. Aedan has been in Jane's dreams for as long as she can remember, and she's determined to save him. This, I think, is one of the funnier stories in the book. I can't help but think that Jane's determination to contine writing romance novels while in Aedan's time will bankrupt him.

Mostly this book is worth a read, although maybe not a reread. Usually, I find romantic short stories to be too short - they always seem to me to suggest longer books - and the stories in this book aren't really exceptions.

The only story I finished in its entirety (and actually enjoyed) was the one written by Karen Marie Moning. She has not disappointed me yet! The others, however, successfully kept me bored!

I bought this book mainly because Karen Marie Moning and Lynn Kurland are my favourite authors...and I was pleasently surprised by the other two authors' stories.. I have just recently bought a book called Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon...I haven't read it yet, so I dont know if its any good or not, but based on her story in this book, I thought to give her a chance, so we shall see...her story was a bit surprising because I dont usually read that kind of fantasy books.. Karen Marie Moning and Lynn Kurland's stories are wonderful as always, and Madeline Hunter's story isnt bad either, so all in all, this book is worth buying...

I borrowed this book from the library because I've been burned before with anthologies. Some stories would be wonderful, then some were awful.

I'm glad I didn't buy it, although I did enjoy most of the stories. My favorite was To Kiss in the Shadows by Lynn Kurland. It was refreshing to read about a heroine that wasn't this perfect drop dead gorgeous creature. You really felt for Lianna and all the persecution she endured from the other jealous cats(women) at court. What really drew me was that not one, but two gorgeous hunks saw through her scarred skin to the beautiful spirit within. I don't think Kendrick was really serious about pursuing Lianna, he befriended her, yes, but after Jason appeared, I think Kendrick's motives were purely to aggravate a younger brother. Regardless, Lianna's spirit blossomed under both man's tenderness.

I also liked Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dragonswan. I was mainly interested in this one because it is a set up for a future series she is starting. Go to her web site to see what I mean. I too felt it could have easily been developed into a full length novel and would have been much more enjoyable.

I didn't care for Into the Dreaming at all. The ending spoiled the whole story for me, when you realized all the pain and anguish both characters went through was just for gratification of a cruel fairy/something king. I hate manipulation!

Madeline Hunter's offering was insipid at best. You just wanted to shake the heroine and make her face the facts about her dissolute brother! I also couldn't quite swallow the fact that the hero spent years building an empire and worked toward an advantageous marriage to a wealthy merchant's daughter, only to chuck it all after seeing his "one true love" for the first time in over 5 years!

All in all, these stories are entertaining, but not worth buying. Borrow it from your library. It's not worth your money.