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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
A trio of short and sweet tales by the master of romance herself, Eloisa James. Similar in tone, but with unique characters, this a perfect treat to enjoy while waiting for her next full-length novel.
I enjoyed that the the first story was quite innocent, the next a bit steamier, etc.
Thank you to Avon for the ARC!
I enjoyed that the the first story was quite innocent, the next a bit steamier, etc.
Thank you to Avon for the ARC!
Short reads
I really enjoyed all 3 friends to lovers stories. They are each sweet in their own way. The first is probably my favorite.
I really enjoyed all 3 friends to lovers stories. They are each sweet in their own way. The first is probably my favorite.
See the full review at HarlequinJunkie.com
In Midsummer Nights: A Short Story Collection by Eloisa James, we have three very brief but highly entertaining Regency romance novellas, previously published separately, but now all in one lovely collection. I had so much fun with each one that I think fans will likely breeze through these stories in one sitting just like I did. Read More
In Midsummer Nights: A Short Story Collection by Eloisa James, we have three very brief but highly entertaining Regency romance novellas, previously published separately, but now all in one lovely collection. I had so much fun with each one that I think fans will likely breeze through these stories in one sitting just like I did. Read More
I've always loved historical romances, but I've only begun to explore Eloisa James' impressive canon in the last year. I recently read and loved Too Wilde to Wed, and it inspired me to pick up Midsummer Delights. I've read romance novellas in the past, but this is the first romantic short story collection I've read. Unfortunately, I don't feel as though the format suits my reading tastes. It's very hard to suspend your disbelief, even about the powers of true love, when the stories are only 40 pages long.
In the first story (A Midsummer Night's Disgrace), the heroine knew the hero as a child. Back then, he'd torment her by hiding bugs on her person to make her scream. They meet again after years apart, and love and marriage follow mere hours after their reuniting. The hero reveals that he's been longing to marry the heroine for years... and I found it hard to believe that these feelings of love were genuine when they had spent a grand total of three minutes together as adults.
The choice to have the hero narrate the second story (At Midnight) was interesting because it involves the hero taking the heroine from a party and into the woods while he's in disguise. It sounds like the beginning of an assault or murder (or at the very least the ruining of her reputation in this time period), and since we do not get the heroine's POV, we're just assuming that she's seen through his disguise and is genuinely consenting to what is happening.
In the third story (Ever After), the hero and heroine had a relationship before he left England to travel. This does help to establish their feelings. However, the hero leaves for four years and only writes four short letters to the heroine in that time. In both the first and the third story, the heroes admit to keeping tabs on their heroines from afar and confirm that they would have returned earlier if the heroine found herself engaged. Personally, I didn't like the repeated theme of the heroine waiting at home and becoming increasingly shunned by society for her age and unmarried status while the heroes are off traveling.
Personally, I don't think I'll be satisfied as a reader if a romance is shorter than 100 pages. There simply isn't enough time to develop the characters' personalities or to watch their feelings evolve.
I've gone back and forth over the rating of this book. The writing is up to James' usual wonderful standards, and I do think if any (or all) of these stories were expanded into a novel, I would enjoy them. This ultimately helped bump my rating to 3 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this to readers who like to slowly savor a love story, but readers who enjoy short romances will likely love this collection.
In the first story (A Midsummer Night's Disgrace), the heroine knew the hero as a child. Back then, he'd torment her by hiding bugs on her person to make her scream. They meet again after years apart, and love and marriage follow mere hours after their reuniting. The hero reveals that he's been longing to marry the heroine for years... and I found it hard to believe that these feelings of love were genuine when they had spent a grand total of three minutes together as adults.
The choice to have the hero narrate the second story (At Midnight) was interesting because it involves the hero taking the heroine from a party and into the woods while he's in disguise. It sounds like the beginning of an assault or murder (or at the very least the ruining of her reputation in this time period), and since we do not get the heroine's POV, we're just assuming that she's seen through his disguise and is genuinely consenting to what is happening.
In the third story (Ever After), the hero and heroine had a relationship before he left England to travel. This does help to establish their feelings. However, the hero leaves for four years and only writes four short letters to the heroine in that time. In both the first and the third story, the heroes admit to keeping tabs on their heroines from afar and confirm that they would have returned earlier if the heroine found herself engaged. Personally, I didn't like the repeated theme of the heroine waiting at home and becoming increasingly shunned by society for her age and unmarried status while the heroes are off traveling.
Personally, I don't think I'll be satisfied as a reader if a romance is shorter than 100 pages. There simply isn't enough time to develop the characters' personalities or to watch their feelings evolve.
I've gone back and forth over the rating of this book. The writing is up to James' usual wonderful standards, and I do think if any (or all) of these stories were expanded into a novel, I would enjoy them. This ultimately helped bump my rating to 3 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this to readers who like to slowly savor a love story, but readers who enjoy short romances will likely love this collection.
Three short stories joined by a vague connection to Cinderella/fairytale themes. I raced through each story & enjoyed them all. My favorite was At Midnight, but I'm SO WEAK when there's long-term pining and a well-done male POV, no surprises there. For stories that barely cracked 20 pages, almost every romantic protagonist was well-drawn & likable in surprisingly unique ways.
Only the hero of Ever After bothered me (neglectful and yet possessive, never a great combination), but Ever After was probably the weakest story overall, as it also suffered from wandering POVs. However, the major reason for the star loss here was the shortness of the stories overall, and the way James handled their conclusions: three pat, painless resolutions, which each come about in the space of a page. I'm a sucker for a clean HEA, so it worked for me emotionally, but mentally, I heard myself asking "is that it?" at the end of every single one.
Only the hero of Ever After bothered me (neglectful and yet possessive, never a great combination), but Ever After was probably the weakest story overall, as it also suffered from wandering POVs. However, the major reason for the star loss here was the shortness of the stories overall, and the way James handled their conclusions: three pat, painless resolutions, which each come about in the space of a page. I'm a sucker for a clean HEA, so it worked for me emotionally, but mentally, I heard myself asking "is that it?" at the end of every single one.