The Promise That Katy Did
by Annette Lyon
Katy promises a dying friend that she'll listen to Mr. Balmer when he asks something of her--that something being going to a dance with his grandson, Barrett. Barrett, who has been somewhat hesitant his whole life, finds himself taken with Katy, but as she's planning to move to accept a job elsewhere, he doesn't know what to do. This is a fun historical fiction story. Katy and Barrett were both sweet characters; I liked that they were just normal sorts of people, not incredibly good-looking or anything like that. Seeing their insecurities as they got to know each other made it a really interesting story.
A Lady of Sense
by Sarah M. Eden
Eleanor's parents are determined to see her married--and soon. As she tries to convince them not to make her marry the hideous Mr. Broadstead, her father offers her one choice: marry Mr. Broadstead or get Peter Haversham , with whom she spends a delightful evening at the theater, to marry her instead. Although Peter is infinitely preferable to Mr. Broadstead, and Eleanor suspects his honor would lead him to marry her if he knew of her plight, she can't bring herself to manipulate him into marriage. Peter doesn't want to be roped into a marriage--but he does find himself wanting to get to know Eleanor better...if he can only find a way to get Mr. Broadstead out of the picture long enough to give him and Eleanor a chance. I loved the idea of a Regency blind date; that was a fun twist and I love Regency romances. I also thought the whole plot was original and interesting and liked both Eleanor and Peter.
A Second Chance
by Heather B. Moore
After her divorce, Virginia's main concern is being able to care for her young son. She certainly isn't looking for a new husband. But her best friend Milly, who is gracious enough to let Virginia live with her and her husband, asks her to accompany a friend to a dinner, Virginia reluctantly agrees. Max isn't what she expected--and she finds herself drawn to him, but Julie Peterson, heiress to her fathers road construction business, has her eyes on him, too. This was another fun historical fiction story. I liked seeing Virginia's resilience and Max was just totally fun and lovable.
Braelynn's Blind Date
by Victorine E. Lieske
Braelynn isn't looking forward to her blind date--but when Tyler shows up, they have an instant connection and she has a great time with him. The only problem is, her date wasn't who she thought he was. Nathan knows he should come clean and tell her he wasn't her blind date, but he can't bring himself to do it; he just figures he'll never see her again. But it turns out Braelynn is the assistant head of marketing for his father's department--where he has just accepted a position as the head of marketing. Working so closely together, Nathan finds himself falling for Braelynn, but having dated a liar in the past, Braelynn can't forgive him for his betrayal. Loved it. I thought Braelynn's feelings were realistically portrayed, as she was drawn to Nathan but also didn't know how to trust him. I loved seeing their reconciliation at the end.
Bianca's Hope
by Rachel Branton
Bianca is a potter whose trademark and designs are being stolen by another artist; when she approaches a law intern about the possibility of a legal case against him, Stephen advises her to change her trademark, telling her it would be cheaper than trying to sue. Bianca is furious with his answer--so when her sister sets her up with none other than Stephen on a blind date, she's not exactly happy to see him. Stephen, drawn to Bianca, does some investigating on her case, and as he and Bianca work on stopping the imposter artist, they find they might get along better than they thought. Out of all of the stories in the collection, this one was probably the one I liked least; I liked Stephen and Bianca, but I felt like I was missing pieces of the story a little bit (perhaps because this novella ties into other works by the author). But it's still a fun contemporary romance, and maybe with a second reading it will flow better for me.
Blind Spot
by Sariah Wilson
Ria wants to marry a prince--so much so that she moves across the world to Monterra, where royals are supposed to be in plentiful supply. Using a dating app, she goes on 12 blind dates with potential princes who turn out to be complete duds. After her latest disaster, she decides to give up on finding her prince, much to the delight of her roommate, Tessa, who has been waiting to set Ria up with someone else. But when Ria finds out who she's being set up with--playboy Paolo, who has been flirting with her for awhile now--she isn't so impressed with her roommate's plans. Paolo was a little bit too good to be true, but hey, it worked for a fun contemporary romance.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that half of the stories in the collection were historical fiction; that's not what I expected from a collection of blind date stories, but I thought it was cool. I really liked this collection and can't wait for the next Timeless Romance Anthology.
I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment