awestruck's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I love it when an anthology is put together like this, and the stories and characters are all intertwined.

The first story was a bit cumbersome to get into, I loved the second and third stories, and the fourth again was a bit tiresome in the beginning - but at the end, I felt the book as a whole worked for me.

I'm not a huge time travel fan, though, and it was only in the end of the story that I felt that this part of the anthology came together.

What I would be really interested in reading would be the story of Henry and Bridget.

anwoodward's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Three of the stories within are good. Two of them are very good. One of them was so dreadful I read perhaps 6 pages and immediately moved to the next.

gemmalaszlo's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Enjoyed 3 out of 4. The first three novellas take place at the same wedding. The last story was a time travel, (so she then ends up at the same wedding). Didn't finish the last one. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be Caroline Linden's "How I Met My Duchess'.

ctsquirrel's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

That Rogue Jack by Maya Rodale
4/5

P.S. I Love You by Miranda Neville
4/5

When I Met My Duchess by Caroline Linden
3.5/5

How Angela Got Her Rogue Back by Katharine Ashe
3/5

b0okcupidity's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I have thought long and hard about how to review "At the Duke's Wedding". On one hand, it seemed short, with four fabulous novellaish parts written by four brilliant lady authoresses. And yet, it was hefty weighing in at 516 pages total! That's a lot of bang (and wowie, and shazam) for my buck.

There were moments of hilarity, *sizzly* scenes and some breath taking prose.

But to really describe it I find that I have trouble keeping my brain focused in the right direction...my thoughts start meandering to phaetons, and correspondence, and lightening strikes and moonlit dips in the lake.

And I'm stuck. Those images just keep flipping through my head like one of those old-time flip books. It all makes wonderful sense when you read them all together. How'd they (the genius authoresses) do that anyway? So cleverly written, each novella supports and uplifts the next, coming together to make a charming story of four pairings finding their HEA.

Like I said, when I try to think about that too hard my mind skips to fawn colored breeches over muscular thighs...le sigh. Okay! I give up.

It's good. Read it.




serenityfire's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Some of the stories are more entertaining than others, but an interesting collection overall. The last story is a time-travel romance, which I wasn’t expecting.

lauriereadsrom1's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I really enjoyed all four of the stories, though my least favorite was the last one by Katharine Ashe ("How Angela Got Her Rogue Back"). Normally I am a huge fan of both Ashe's writing and time travel stories, but this one wasn't a keeper for me. I think the biggest problem was that it didn't seem to fit with the other stories in this anthology. As a matter of fact, when I first started reading it, I was very confused because it started with the heroine in the future, and that was jarring because I wasn't expecting such an abrupt transition from the end of the previous story, which obviously took place in the past at the Duke of Wessex's estate. This kind of juxtaposition may work in traditional romance anthologies, but it didn't work so well here because all of the novellas were interrelated. Maybe if the story had begun with the hero in the past, or if there had been some sort of prologue, it wouldn't have bothered me so much.

I was also bothered by the fact that the heroine comes across one way in the beginning of the story (conservative, kind of timid, definitely a rule-follower), but when she goes back in time she suddenly goes in the opposite direction and decides to become a rule breaker. Part of this switch may just be that her modern customs stood out in contrast to the regimented rules of Regency society, but it seemed more like a fundamental change in personality. It was also kind of unrealistic that she wasn't afraid of having been transported back in time, or what might happen if she couldn't get home. The whole thing just seemed too easy.

ssejig's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

The first three stories were... okay. The last did not interest me at all. I rounded up from the two and a half stars that I would have given it if Goodreads did halves. I saw this listed on the Kobo site and was intrigued by the blurb. I had a little extra time and money and went for it.
I've read novellas around one event before and have enjoyed them. This one wasn't as well done.
The first story is "That Rogue Jack" by Maya Rodale. Henrietta Black is resigned to being a spinster companion for an irascible old lady. But right now she needs to get the Duke's ancestral ring from Jack, Lord Willoughby but he's not only a rake. He's something of a wastrel.
It was a hate-to-love story that felt rushed. I realize that this is a novella but it was still awfully fast.
"P.S. I Love You" by Miranda Neville came next. I like Neville but this one was... not her best. It's a Cyrano story where the man behind the letters takes a lot of liberties with the supposed woman he loves. Luckily, she figures it out pretty fast so that part held up but... meh.
"When I Met my Duchess" by Caroline Linden rounded out the trio that I was able to read. The Duke from the title figures out that he wants to marry his intended's vivacious sister. But he sort of blackmails her into it. Blergh.
I was already falling out of this book when I hit "How Angela Got Her Rogue Back" by Katharine Ashe. It's a time-travel story. Don't love those to begin with and this one just stretched my suspension of disbelief too far. This was a DNF.

You know, looking back, this really was just a two star book. Novellas tend to be underdeveloped just because of their length but these were especially not good.

anwoodward's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Three of the stories within are good. Two of them are very good. One of them was so dreadful I read perhaps 6 pages and immediately moved to the next.

xlynt's review

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5