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joanav's review against another edition
4.0
I've received a copy in exchange for a honest review.
Review in Portuguese: http://pepitamagica.blogspot.pt/2016/09/livro-dressed-to-kiss-de-madeline.html
This book is an anthology with four stories, all of them connected by Madame Follette’s dressmaking shop. I’ll give my opinion about each of the stories individually and then I’ll bundle them all up.
First, I just want to say that I’ve only read books by Madeline Hunter (one of my auto-buy authors), from whom I got this review copy, so the other three writers were a complete novelty for me.
The first story, written by Madeline Hunter, is about the Duke of Barrowmore and Selina Fontaine, one of the dressmakers. Selina already has a story connected with the Duke, and when he enters the shop, she became scared that he’ll reveal that she is gentry, and most importantly, that she had been practically abandoned by her almost fiancé. As you can imagine, the stories aren’t very long, so I won’t dwell on them, or I risk telling you everything. It’s a sweet romance, with witty and sexy scenes and, as always, Madeline Hunter’s writing creates an atmosphere that leads to a well-spent time reading one of her stories. It was one of my favourites of the anthology. (3.75*).
The second story, by Myretta Robens, was my favourite probably because it was a bit different than what I’m used to – not that that means that it’s not a Regency romance that ends well, it is, but it shows the two main characters, Delyth Owen and Simon Merrithew, in a different light that I enjoyed (an example is the way the two of them meet). Delyth is the most recent dressmaker at Follete’s, and her style is, at the very least, irreverent. This doesn’t mean that she has a bad sense of style or that she is cruel to her costumers (in the way that she would be dressing them poorly and making fun of them), like Simon initially thinks. I really liked seeing Simon changing and, consequently the reader, which led to an understanding of Delyth’s love for colour and fashion, making Simon fall in love with her, and the way she loves life itself. I think that was my favourite part, the fact that it had so much life, so much colour, so much… of everything! And in so few pages. (4*)
The third story, by Megan Frampton, ended up being the one I liked least. Not that it wasn’t sweet (in some way it may even be the sweetest of them all), but it lacked credibility regarding the characters, which made me feel quite distanced from them. Although I did like Henry Dawlkins, son of the owner, Madame Follete, and brother of Felicity Dawkins, the current store manager, the image that came to mind was that he looked like a giant teddy bear, that was afraid he was going to hurt someone just by being who he was. Katherine Grant, the female leading character, wasn’t my favourite. I don’t think she was created in a very coherent way, regarding what she was in the beginning and at the end of the story – I’m sorry for repeating myself, but I think it lacked credibility. (3.25*)
The last plot is by Caroline Linden, and it’s the story of Felicity Dawkins and the Earl of Carmarthen. Felicity, which showed up briefly in the other stories, seemed more interesting there than here, she seemed to have a bit more wit and a stronger character, which is too bad because it raised my expectations for her story and when I read it, it didn’t quite reach them. However, I would like to mention that Felicity is the kind of woman that takes matters into her own hands, and can deal with whatever problems that shows up, no matter how difficult they are. About Carmarthen there’s not much to say, which is sad, because I think he could have been much more developed and explored, making him a more interesting character. Although it was a good story, it left too many unanswered questions for my taste, because this story was where I thought we would actually know what would happen to everyone, but that did not happen. (3.5*)
By this, I mean that even though I actually enjoyed reading this book, it left me a bit disappointed, because I wanted to know what would happen to Follete’s, after two of the dressmakers married a Duke and an Earl. Because if Henry could still be Follette’s accountant, and Delyth a dressmaker, I’m not sure if Katherine would still be a chaperone or now just a wife, if Selina becomes a Duchess and stops all work at Follete’s and becomes a patron or if she’s still part of the shop, creating models, for example, or even if Felicity stayed running the store but now from the backstage because of her position or even if her mother was again the face of the shop or was pushed aside for ever. These are questions I would have liked to see handled, but that, sadly, I’ll never know the answer.
In conclusion, a reading that gave me great pleasure, full of romance and beauty, that showed a turning point in the history of fashion, regarding styles and colour, bringing at the same time a regency love story that will please the readers.
Review in Portuguese: http://pepitamagica.blogspot.pt/2016/09/livro-dressed-to-kiss-de-madeline.html
This book is an anthology with four stories, all of them connected by Madame Follette’s dressmaking shop. I’ll give my opinion about each of the stories individually and then I’ll bundle them all up.
First, I just want to say that I’ve only read books by Madeline Hunter (one of my auto-buy authors), from whom I got this review copy, so the other three writers were a complete novelty for me.
The first story, written by Madeline Hunter, is about the Duke of Barrowmore and Selina Fontaine, one of the dressmakers. Selina already has a story connected with the Duke, and when he enters the shop, she became scared that he’ll reveal that she is gentry, and most importantly, that she had been practically abandoned by her almost fiancé. As you can imagine, the stories aren’t very long, so I won’t dwell on them, or I risk telling you everything. It’s a sweet romance, with witty and sexy scenes and, as always, Madeline Hunter’s writing creates an atmosphere that leads to a well-spent time reading one of her stories. It was one of my favourites of the anthology. (3.75*).
The second story, by Myretta Robens, was my favourite probably because it was a bit different than what I’m used to – not that that means that it’s not a Regency romance that ends well, it is, but it shows the two main characters, Delyth Owen and Simon Merrithew, in a different light that I enjoyed (an example is the way the two of them meet). Delyth is the most recent dressmaker at Follete’s, and her style is, at the very least, irreverent. This doesn’t mean that she has a bad sense of style or that she is cruel to her costumers (in the way that she would be dressing them poorly and making fun of them), like Simon initially thinks. I really liked seeing Simon changing and, consequently the reader, which led to an understanding of Delyth’s love for colour and fashion, making Simon fall in love with her, and the way she loves life itself. I think that was my favourite part, the fact that it had so much life, so much colour, so much… of everything! And in so few pages. (4*)
The third story, by Megan Frampton, ended up being the one I liked least. Not that it wasn’t sweet (in some way it may even be the sweetest of them all), but it lacked credibility regarding the characters, which made me feel quite distanced from them. Although I did like Henry Dawlkins, son of the owner, Madame Follete, and brother of Felicity Dawkins, the current store manager, the image that came to mind was that he looked like a giant teddy bear, that was afraid he was going to hurt someone just by being who he was. Katherine Grant, the female leading character, wasn’t my favourite. I don’t think she was created in a very coherent way, regarding what she was in the beginning and at the end of the story – I’m sorry for repeating myself, but I think it lacked credibility. (3.25*)
The last plot is by Caroline Linden, and it’s the story of Felicity Dawkins and the Earl of Carmarthen. Felicity, which showed up briefly in the other stories, seemed more interesting there than here, she seemed to have a bit more wit and a stronger character, which is too bad because it raised my expectations for her story and when I read it, it didn’t quite reach them. However, I would like to mention that Felicity is the kind of woman that takes matters into her own hands, and can deal with whatever problems that shows up, no matter how difficult they are. About Carmarthen there’s not much to say, which is sad, because I think he could have been much more developed and explored, making him a more interesting character. Although it was a good story, it left too many unanswered questions for my taste, because this story was where I thought we would actually know what would happen to everyone, but that did not happen. (3.5*)
By this, I mean that even though I actually enjoyed reading this book, it left me a bit disappointed, because I wanted to know what would happen to Follete’s, after two of the dressmakers married a Duke and an Earl. Because if Henry could still be Follette’s accountant, and Delyth a dressmaker, I’m not sure if Katherine would still be a chaperone or now just a wife, if Selina becomes a Duchess and stops all work at Follete’s and becomes a patron or if she’s still part of the shop, creating models, for example, or even if Felicity stayed running the store but now from the backstage because of her position or even if her mother was again the face of the shop or was pushed aside for ever. These are questions I would have liked to see handled, but that, sadly, I’ll never know the answer.
In conclusion, a reading that gave me great pleasure, full of romance and beauty, that showed a turning point in the history of fashion, regarding styles and colour, bringing at the same time a regency love story that will please the readers.
chiaroscuro's review
1.0
I don't know why I keep on reading novella anthologies, when every single one I've read so far has been underwhelming.
The Duke's Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter
Mostly inoffensive, although Selina and the duke had zero chemistry. There were some good bits, when it felt like Hunter was going to indulge in the brilliant minor angst of the pining trope, but this never happened, because the writing was boring and the novella dull. Two stars.
The Colours of Love by Myretta Robens
Zero stars. Or maybe half a star, because whilst it was stupid, it didn't pretend to be anything more than it was.
Nevertheless, finishing this was an achievement. There is not a single redeeming thing about this - no, not even its short length, because most of the story was meaningless junk which could've been cut out. The whole novella revolved around the fact that the dressmaker/seamstress heroine was super into clashing colour combinations, and the fashion-conscious hero found this super repellent. Well, I wish he'd stayed repelled, because then I wouldn't have read this disaster of a story. The colour-blindness is not the only quirk of this novella. There's an ongoing joke (?) that Delyth's Welshness is why Simon dislikes her, which is so random that I can't even find the words to explain how inane it is. Delyth herself is possibly on Agnes Grey levels of irritating, and also the purveyor of some very odd thoughts, including: 'my, but the man has elegant toes'. Also, this novella does that awful thing where the woman is always right and the man always wrong, even though the woman is an oversensitive idiot and the man perfectly free from fault. And yeah, I know, if the man loves the woman then he should know if something would hurt her, but I would argue in this case that it's impossible to love someone so insipid.
Ah, that was a good rant.
No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton
I love a punny title, so we were already off to a good start when this began. This was infinitely better than the previous one, but you could say that about almost any text. Mostly inoffensive, the writing was a bit cringe, but I liked the heroine well enough. I'd say this is probably worth reading. 2.5 stars.
A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden
Caroline Linden is probably one of my favourite historical romance writers, and she is the reason why I ploughed through those three earlier stories. Well, she let me down.
I mean, whilst not actively bad, the characters were so boring, their interaction so uneventful and the writing so standard romance fare (Like, "You are so beautiful," he murmured, brushing a tendril of hair behind her ear and gazing at her with worshipful eyes', or words to that effect) that maybe it would've been more interesting if it were actually awful.
In conclusion, don't read this. Read Caroline Linden's 'I Love the Earl', 'What A Gentleman Wants', 'All's Fair in Love and Scandal' or 'Love in the Time of Scandal' instead.
The Duke's Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter
Mostly inoffensive, although Selina and the duke had zero chemistry. There were some good bits, when it felt like Hunter was going to indulge in the brilliant minor angst of the pining trope, but this never happened, because the writing was boring and the novella dull. Two stars.
The Colours of Love by Myretta Robens
Zero stars. Or maybe half a star, because whilst it was stupid, it didn't pretend to be anything more than it was.
Nevertheless, finishing this was an achievement. There is not a single redeeming thing about this - no, not even its short length, because most of the story was meaningless junk which could've been cut out. The whole novella revolved around the fact that the dressmaker/seamstress heroine was super into clashing colour combinations, and the fashion-conscious hero found this super repellent. Well, I wish he'd stayed repelled, because then I wouldn't have read this disaster of a story. The colour-blindness is not the only quirk of this novella. There's an ongoing joke (?) that Delyth's Welshness is why Simon dislikes her, which is so random that I can't even find the words to explain how inane it is. Delyth herself is possibly on Agnes Grey levels of irritating, and also the purveyor of some very odd thoughts, including: 'my, but the man has elegant toes'. Also, this novella does that awful thing where the woman is always right and the man always wrong, even though the woman is an oversensitive idiot and the man perfectly free from fault. And yeah, I know, if the man loves the woman then he should know if something would hurt her, but I would argue in this case that it's impossible to love someone so insipid.
Ah, that was a good rant.
No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton
I love a punny title, so we were already off to a good start when this began. This was infinitely better than the previous one, but you could say that about almost any text. Mostly inoffensive, the writing was a bit cringe, but I liked the heroine well enough. I'd say this is probably worth reading. 2.5 stars.
A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden
Caroline Linden is probably one of my favourite historical romance writers, and she is the reason why I ploughed through those three earlier stories. Well, she let me down.
I mean, whilst not actively bad, the characters were so boring, their interaction so uneventful and the writing so standard romance fare (Like, "You are so beautiful," he murmured, brushing a tendril of hair behind her ear and gazing at her with worshipful eyes', or words to that effect) that maybe it would've been more interesting if it were actually awful.
In conclusion, don't read this. Read Caroline Linden's 'I Love the Earl', 'What A Gentleman Wants', 'All's Fair in Love and Scandal' or 'Love in the Time of Scandal' instead.
larisa2021's review against another edition
2.0
Enjoyed the Linden & Hunter stories, couldn't get into the other two...so a personal thing, not a reflection on quality of writing.
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