Yvonne L. reviewed on 7/4/2012 + 929 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This book consisted of three stories, loosely surrounding a holiday ball. I got it for the Jennifer Ashley story and have never read Emily Bryan or Alissa Johnson before.

"My Lady Below Stairs" by Emily Bryan: I confess that I didn't finish this story. It wasn't that the writing was bad but I hate plotlines of mistaken identities or having to pretend you are somebody else type of stories.

"The Longest Night" by Jennifer Ashley: I really enjoy Ashley's books. This story was a continuation of the Nvengarian series staring Mary (Egan's widow sister) and Valentin (Nvengarian's go-to guy for spying and assasinations). There was an element of paranormal not found in the other two stories in this collection. Valentin was one of my favorite characters in the series and I was surprised Ashley didn't choose to do his novel in a full length novel. Regardless this was a good story. Mary's hessitation to be Valentin was slightly weak but I enjoyed the whodonit aspect.

"Traditions" by Alissa Johnson: This was a nice addition. William was an Earl who liked planning everything except when he meets the very spontaneous Patience. Patience on the other hand was experiencing a glimpse of life for the first time due to spending most of her life dealing with her father's mental illness. Although she knew nothing can become of her liasion with William, she wanted to indulge just a bit before going into seculsion with her father again. It was easy to read and enjoyable. There are no surprises and ultimately a very sweet story.

Overall I thought it was a decent anthology (I am a harsh critic of anthologies). It was nice, fluffy reading to pass the time.

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