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Once upon a Castle
written by Marianne Willman, Ruth Ryan Langan, Jill Gregory
Studio : Jove
by Jove
Publisher : Jove
Released : 1998-03-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780515122411
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 11 reviews)
List Price : $7.99
Our Price : $2.46
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Product Description |
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Four enchanting, new tales of castles, spells, and happily-ever-afters... "Spellbound" by Nora Roberts A bewitchingly beautiful lady casts a thousand-year love spell on the man of her dreams--and unleashes a nightmare that only true love can conquer. "Castle Doom" by Jill Gregory A Gypsy's prophecy spells love when an unlikely pair join to fight the unltimate evil--and find themselves in their own battle of hearts. "Falcon's Lair" by Ruth Ryan Langan A young American travels to England to free her father's friend from a fatal curse...and discovers a helping hand from a charming, handsome spirit. "Dragonspell" by Marianne Willman With the help of a meddling sorceress, a brave young princess sets out to save her kingdom--and wins the heart of a dashing warrior along the way. |
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Not A Very Memorable Book |
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To be honest I read this book and after I put it down I didn't really remember anything about it. I like to read books that I remember and can think about . . . not the case here. Even after reading the summary of the book I had a hard time remembering what it was about. Hopefully the other books in this series are better. |
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Satisfaction plus |
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This book came in a very timely manner and in excellent condition. No complaints... |
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3 out of 4 Are Good! |
Once Upon a Castle is a compilation of four stories by four different authors. All have mystical magic included and are set in times of knights, sorceresses, and royal families. Being a Noraholic (die-hard fan of Nora Roberts) I picked up a copy with the purpose of reading her portion of the book and tossing it into the library bin for others to read. Once I started, I decided to read the entire book and not just Nora's story. So here's what I think on each of the tales:
Spellbound by Nora Roberts
A delightful tale that actually is set in modern times with "memories" set back in ancient times of knights and witches. Brynna is an Irish witch. Calin is an American photographer. When Calin was young, he had an active imagination; at least that's what they termed it since he had a friend that no one else saw, and he knew things that he couldn't possibly have experienced (or could he).
Calin once again starts dreaming the dreams of the past and wonders if he's having a nervous breakdown. His parents convince him that he needs a vacation and suggest he go with them to Montana. Before he thinks, he blurts out that he's going to Ireland. He seems to have an agenda that he doesn't even know - he rents a car and drives to an enchanted castle and sees the woman from his dreams. She's gorgeous, she's everything he remembers, and she's Brynna, a witch.
The story gets a bit slow when Brynna is trying to let Calin remember their "past" on his own, all the while battling a wicked witch. The battling of Alasdair is not slow, but the bouncing from past to present is a bit tedious. It seems a legend has it that if Calin doesn't pledge his true love to Brynna within 24 hours (which is exactly 1,000 years since the curse has been enacted), then she must become Alasdair's mate.
The story ends with a clash, lots of magic, and tons of undying love. Ah, yes, a pure romantic, 'happily ever after' type tale.
It's interesting, but not as well developed as I've come to expect from Nora Roberts. It could very well have something to do with the short length of the story (each of these tales runs just under 100 pages). I wish she'd do a rewrite and fully develop the characters and plot - it would make a very interesting full-length book!
Castle Doom by Jill Gregory
This is the first literary work I've read of Jill Gregory and if this story is any indication of her talents, I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future.
Castle Doom throws us into the middle of a battle over a kingdom. When Marcus, count of a neighboring land, went to talk with Archduke Julian about his reign of terrorism, he was thrown in the dungeon and is now about to be hanged. His sister, Arianne, vows to free him and sends word to Marcus' childhood friend, Nicolas that his life is in jeopardy. Nicolas arrives to rescue his pal and must match wits with his half-brother Julian in order to keep Arianne safe and free Marcus.
This story shows lots of various emotions, ranging from friendship to love to hatred to conceit; it definitely runs the gamut of feelings. It is also filled with humor and you'll find yourself chuckling several times in the short life span of this story.
Again, I wish it could have been lengthened a bit, but it was a quick and very enjoyable reading adventure!
Falcon's Lair by Ruth Ryan Langan
Of the four stories, this is the only one that I really didn't like at all. Felicity, a young American woman, travels to England when she receives a message that her father's old friend needs him. Since her father has recently passed away, she takes it upon herself to go even though she's never met this man, nor does she know what assistance he needs.
Felicity finds herself at the home of Lord Falcon and is thrown into a plot for murder. It is believed that a curse follows the Lords of Falcon's Lair and all of the men are doomed to an early demise. The oldest son of Lord Falcon, Chandler, has been missing in the Americancivilwar jungles; the youngest son, William, was injured in a riding accident and is bedridden and slowing dying; while Lord Falcon shows signs of quickly failing health and his death seems eminent.
Felicity begins to uncover mysteries that surround these events and her life is then in danger. But when someone tries to push her down a staircase, her friendly ghost catches her just in time to save her life. This ghost is Gareth, the first Lord of Falcon's Lair and he appears to Felicity to point her in the right directions to help her solve the crimes. Not only is he a ghost, but he shape changes into a Falcon and flies off frequently.
The part that I don't like, or understand, is how a woman can fall in love with and have a romantic interlude with a ghost. Yes, it happened and I'm still shaking my head and wondering how and why. The story line is weak and contrived. The characters are well described and you can see the mental pictures clearly. Even with that clarity, I shook my head and wondered. This was a stretch for even my imagination!
Then there's the ending. You can see this one coming for miles and when it does finally get there, it's boring and anti-climatic. There's little imagination as to the plot and I would definitely recommend that you skip this short story altogether!
Dragonspell by Marianne Willman
This story showed a lot of humor along with the romance, which kept it from being predictable and made it highly enjoyable.
Princess Tressalara found her kingdom under attack and her father murdered by his top knight, Lector. She fled before she was forced to marry Lector and as she was planning her overthrow, she ran into Cador of Kildore, the most feared knight in the land. Since Tressalara is dressed as a young lad, Kildore at first believes the ruse and takes her to the camp as another sworn to help overthrow the villain Lector. Once he realizes exactly who Tressalara is, it's too late to keep from losing his heart to her.
Princess Tressalara is the ultimate in the fairy tale princesses - she's beautiful, kind hearted, and devoted to her subjects. Cador of Kildore, is the ultimate in knights - he's gorgeous, proud and brave. Yes, it was truly a perfect match.
The humor comes in with a subplot of two sorcerers and their ineptness. One is assigned to Cador and the other to Tressalara. In their attempts to help their humans remain safe, they have a series of mishaps that are hilarious. They turn themselves into frogs, into swans, and into mice. They spit at each other, and snipe at each other, but they always try to do what's best for their humans. It was a truly fun way to keep the reader glued to her chair and turning those pages as fast as she could read! This was a fun sideline.
If this humor and excellent weaving of a story line is any indication of Marianne Willman's writing abilities, then I'll definitely find more of her work.
My Conclusion
Three of the four stories were very good which makes the book definitely worth reading. I'd suggest skipping over Falcon's Lair but read and enjoy the others. The best part of anthologies such as this is when you get the book because of an author you really like and then you're introduced to new authors that you enjoy. Because of Once Upon a Castle I now have two more writers to read!
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Wonderful collection |
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I had already read the Nora Roberts Spellbound in another book, but the additional stories were absolutely wonderful. I am glad I bought the book. Now I want all of the Once Upon books! |
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Sigh.... |
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I have to admit, this is my favorite of the series. So far I've read all but the newest one (i'm working on it). I feel that the writing in this one is a little more interesting and thought out than the other books, but I would recommend it. All four authors have really pulled together a book where romance is just sweet enough (with some passion in the mix). Take it from me, I'm 19 and I love these books, so anyone should enjoy them. |
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