Product Description

It Happened One Night . . . and nothing was ever the same again!

Once upon a time, four superstar storytellers—New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with Jacquie D'Alessandro and Candice Hern—came up with a delicious idea. What if they each wrote a story about a proper young lady stranded at a remote inn away from society's constraints? What would happen? And how long would it take for her to give in to desire?

In these four amazing tales, four heroines will come face-to-face with the men who got away . . . only to discover that, instead of anger, there is still a passionate connection that cannot be denied. And while each of their lives is quite different, and their pasts utterly unique, they will all make a common discovery—that one night can change everything . . . forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70915 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-01
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061354168
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career. Her novels set in Regency England have captivated readers around the globe, making her one of the romance world's most beloved and popular authors. Laurens lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and two daughters.

Customer Reviews

1 great, 1 pretty good, 2 just alright
I bought this group of short stories only for the incomparable Mary Balogh, and I was not disappointed. Her story is absolutely marvelous as I knew it would be and, by far, the best of the bunch. I actually saved it for last because in other anthologies, I've read her story first and was bored to tears with the rest. This time, I read the other stories first. Stephanie Laurens and Jacquie D'Alessandro's bits were pretty average. They both start off fine but then whimper to the end filling pages and pages with sex scenes.....boring and unimaginative. That's the sign of an author who is on auto-pilot and not creative enough to plan a well-thought out story. Candice Hern, on the other hand, is a very good writer. I was involved with her story to the bitter end. But, as in almost every other book I've read of hers, I am repeatedly disappointed in her heroines. Why does every single heroine Hern creates have to be promiscuous? Without fail, her heroines have indiscriminate sex with a wide variety of men. Those heroines must appeal to a large group of women, but I am personally turned off by them. Hern is a good enough writer, however, to keep the reader glued to her story. I was drawn in and involved with the story even though I didn't really care for one of the main characters. That takes talent in a writer. So, while I was tempted to give this book three stars, I felt I had to go with four. I find it very hard to rate any Mary Balogh effort lower than four stars. My advice, however, is to read Laurens and D'Alessandro first, then Hern, and finish with Balogh, the main attraction in this anthology.

Four auhors, four different stories with the same plot premise -interesting results
From the inside cover-

The Fall of Rogue Gerrard by Stephanie Laurens
Robert Gerrard is London's most notorious rake. But he once did everything in his power to protect Lydia Makepeace, igniting a yearning that persists to the day they are trapped alone at an inn. Fueled by desire, Lydia is determined to finally have Robert for her own and delight in The Fall of Rogue Gerrard

4 1/2 stars -Best of the bunch IMHO. More lighthearted than the others, Laurens tells a tale of a young 22 yr old rake who kissed a girl (16) and shockingly realized that he'd found his soul mate. Of course this scares the hell out of him and he makes a run for it. Fast forward ten years and a chance meeting ..and well...he's tired of running from his heart. Bold/assertive heroine and wickedly dashing hero make this a fun read. Lighthearted romance with plenty of love scenes.

Spellbound by Mary Balogh
Bound for London, Nora Rider might have died in the terrible stagecoach accident were it not for the man who risked his life to save her. He is Richard Kemp, Lord Bourne, her husband -and she had no idea his ador could still hold her Spellbound.*note*-this is an error by publishers, Richard didn't actually save Nora from an accident but the incident did fuel their chance meeting.

4 1/2 stars -Great writing from Balogh's reversal of fortunes novella. Nora and Richard were in love once but were pulled apart rather brutally. Neither realized the other wasn't at fault. This was a slightly bittersweet deeply emotional read for me. I felt the ending didn't make up for all that previous turmoil the characters were originally put through -sort of left me hanging and begging for more. I would have liked to see what the future held for them.

Only You by Jacquie D'Alessandro
Casandra Heywood and Ethan Baxter were once cherished childhood friends. Now after ten long years apart. Ethan is determined to win Cassandra for his own. But Cassandra has her own ideas.

3 stars -Hero formally worked for Cassandra's family. They were friends as children and perhaps felt more but Lady's don't marry the stable master's son. Recently widowed, Cassie returns to see if she still feels something for Ethan. Although I generally enjoy these kinds of opposite in social stature parings, this one was sadly predictable all the way through. Tons of cliche's down to the abusive husband. A good read but nothing out of the ordinary.

From This Moment On by Candice Hern
He left her to defend His Majesty's honor. But Captain Sam Pellow never stopped fantasizing about Wilhelmina, Duchess of Hertford -and nothing she said or one will keep him away from her bed.

4 stars -Last story from Hern's Merry Widow series. I'm not fond of much older couples and the fact that the heroine was once a courtesan -thats already two strikes against this novella in my mind. But I found the novella to be very good even if its only for originality sake. Sam is a lovable and ardent suitor and who wouldn't cave under his *persuasions* even if they thought themselves to be unworthy? Enjoyable.

Good anthology with four very different but similar stories. Recommended.
Other anthologies I've enjoyed-
A Gift of Love -fantastic

Good in parts
Each story in this anthology is based on the same basic plot premise which was given to four different authors to see what they could make of it. Essentially the action takes place in a country inn, the two main protagonists have not seen each other for 10 years and have 24 hours to achieve a happy ever after ending.

I bought this for the Mary Balogh story because I don't generally like Laurens and have never read books by the other two. I left Balogh's till last and must admit I rather sped through the other three. I didn't find them particularly memorable. Laurens and d'Alessandro's stories were average at best with plenty of gratuitous sex in inappropriate places (rather a trademark of Laurens by now). Candace Hern's story was much better written and with a much more original plotline and kept my interest to the end. My purchase was worth it for Balogh's contribution though which was a very moving and believable tale of two lovers separated by force and misunderstanding when young and reunited by chance 10 years later. In spite of the shortened format its a complete story, with believable characters and very emotionally satisfying. I wish they'd put a collection of Balogh's short stories together in one book one day - she's written some great ones in anothologies over time.

PS. Although this has a Christmassy cover its not really a Christmas anthology. Each story is set in a different season.