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Wish List
written by Lisa Kleypas, Claudia Dain, Lynsay Sands, Lisa Cach
Studio : Dorchester Publishing Company
by Dorchester Publishing Company
Publisher : Dorchester Publishing Company
Released : 2001-11
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780843949315
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 21 reviews)
List Price : $16.00
Our Price : $4.58
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Money well spent!!! |
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I picked up this book at BigLots for 2 bucks and it was money well spent...and more!!! I gave 5 stars to L. Kleypas' and L. Sands' stories..these two create tales that made me sigh *aahhhh* at the end. L. Cach is a new name to me, but after reading her story I'll keep an eye out for her books in future days. Unfortunatly I have to say C. Dain's Union was a plop to me because.......................................... WARNING!!! *****SPOILER ALERT*****....................................................... I dont like the way Clarissa acted most parts of the book. She seemed overly confident of herself and so was Beau. well i guess in that sense the 2 suited each other well. All in all 3 out of 4 is not bad!!! :) |
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a ho-hum holiday grouping |
I collect Christmas romances so I'm always looking for those warm, snowy stories to get me into the proper seasony mood. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough in this anthology to make it a 'keeper'. Two of the stories were decent enough and two I didn't even finish, but passed over.
The first story is Lisa Kleypas' and she is apparantly known for writing romances with a different storyline and characters. I've attempted to read her before and have only finished one of her books completely. Unfortunately I don't usually care for her characters or the situations she puts them in. This story was no different. I find it difficult to care about a hero who, because his father wasn't nice, has deliberately ruined his life by drinking, whoring and gambling constantly to the point that his eyes are always bloodshot and he's unkept. He also doesn't care about who he drags along with him-openly admiting to the heroine that it doesn't bother him if her brothers gambling and drinking ends up with her and her mother in the poorhouse. What a hero. He basically blackmails the heroine into pretending to be his fiance because his dying father is planning to...disinherit him. So, we have a hero who's selfish, uncaring and a drunk who only cares about making sure the old man's money keeps comming so he doesn't actually have to work. Not really my kind of guy. So, after about 15-20 pages I skipped the rest of it. Also, it's not really a Christmas story as there's very little about the holiday in it.
Lisa Cash's story was sweet and overall I enjoyed it. Basically an orphaned young woman has been forced to live on various relatives stingy 'generosity' as an unpaid servant since her parents died when she was young. All she wants is to find a kind husband who can give her a stable home of her own and children. Given the time frame, her reasoning was completely understandable as the only real way to be her own person was to find a husband with a good heart. The hero has been gossiped about in society because he made the honorable decision to keep and personally raise the two children sired with a mistress. the interaction between two people who want love and acceptance was surprisingly lively and realistic. This was a sweet, warm christmas story.
Claudia Dain's story was the other one I skipped over. Right from the first page, the heroine was childish, petulant and had a really, really annoying fixation with Ireland (to the extent that she's angry that she might have to marry and Englishman! Oh, horrors!-even though she's NOT Irish). The hero is stiff and cold. I realized after reading the first ball scene that the author was attempting to copy Pride and Prejudice. So, after the first scene where they meet and the heroine is incredibly, incredily rude, ill-manner and stuck-up, I skipped the rest of it. Oh, and it doesn't take place during Christmas, but the regular London season.
The last story is by Lynsay Sands and it definitely has a mad-cap feel to it. It is not, however, a Christmas story. The only real part that has to do with Christmas is the mother making a Christmas wish that sets the storys action into place. the heroine was cute enough and the hero was likeable. I'm not usually into slapstick comedy as it seems contrived and most of the action involves the heroine (who's obviously not the brightest bulb in the socket) making clumsy mistakes that cost the hero business and/or injury. And, there was a lot of groping that just seemed a bit...odd given the circumstances of the story. It wasn't a great story (and the ending involving the Dad was incredibly unbelieveable) but it wasn't a complete waste of my time.
So, my recommendation is to get it at the library if you can. Two of the story's were worth the read, two were not. Only 1 of them actually had anything to do with the Christmas season and that's one of the main things that turns me off. If authors are going to put their work into a Christmas anthology, that they should make sure they're actually christmas stories!!! |
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Three out of Four Ain't Bad |
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I loved the final story by Lyndsay Sands. It was funny, witty, and quite a cute story. Don't expect steamy love scenes. Everything is very low key and hinted upon. The third story by Claudia Dain did not hold my attention at all. I was waiting for it to be over. Lisa Kleypas wrote a beautiful story of a sister's love for her brother. Lisa Cach's tale was nice as well. |
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3 out of 4 are good. |
I always have high expectations with Kleypas and she didn't disappoint. Kleypas' story was by far the best of the four. I liked the characters and the chemistry between them was great. I would give her story 4 1/2 stars.
Cach is a talented writer. I like stories about average looking characters finding love. I thought that the romance was sweet and I liked the exchanges between the two main characters. I've never read any of her books, but after reading this sample, I probably would purchase one of her books. I would give her story 3 stars.
Dain's story is one of the worst in any anthology ever published. The characters and storyline were boring. I really struggled to finish the story. It was torture. I give it 0 stars.
The romance in Sands' story was cute. I liked the characters and the back story. I give her 3 stars. |
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What a dissapointment this collection was! |
With all of the "big names" in this anthology, I expected to find at least one story that was worth reading and keeping. But to my dissapointment, none of them were.
I had high hopes for Lisa Klepas' story I WILL, given that it had won a RITA award. Reading this made me wonder what other awful stories this must have been up against, because I was so disgusted. Granted, Kleypas is talented, but she never seems able to refrain from doing something truly revolting with her characters. When the heroine basically rapes the hero while he's handcuffed to a bed, I was so sickened that this book almost flew across the room. Just because a man is physically aroused doesn't mean he should be ignored when he repeatedly says no. Forcing someone to have sex with you is rape, no matter who does it or under what circumstances. Now I remember why I no longer buy books by Kleypas; this isn't the first time she'd used the disgusting lie of romantic rape in her stories. One star for this story, only because no stars isn't an option on Americancivilwar.
Lisa Cach's PUDDINGS, PASTRIES, AND THOU was more a story about the heroine constantly stuffing her face than it was about romance. Seriously, every time we encounter the heroine, she's pigging out on something. It was just ridiculous. Not only was she always eating (and I mean ALWAYS), but she was constantly using food as a comfort whenever something stressed or upset her. Can you say eating disorder? This is not romantic. And I read romance for a developing relationship, not to read about food. It could have been an interesting story about an poor gentlewoman hoping to marry so that she no longer has to rely on the grudgingly given charity of her relatives, but instead, it was just a story about a gluttonous woman chowing down on everything in sight. Two stars.
The next story was Claudia Dain's UNION. It was so boring. I couldn't get more than twenty pages into it. There are a ton of characters to keep track off, and none of them are at all interesting. Okay, so the basic story is that the heroine is coming out in society and needs to marry. Only, she has no wish to marry an English gentlemen. She considers herself Irish, and wants to marry an Irish man. Unfortunately, the heroine came across as more of a spoiled child than a woman I could cheer for. And the hero wasn't anything special. He was just taking up space. I never got to the "pitchcapping" torture scene (mentioned by another reviewer), but I'm glad I didn't, as I don't like to read disturbing, graphic violence that keeps me awake at night. Two stars.
Lynsay Sands' ALL I WANT had the most promise. In this story, the heroine is attempting to save her family from debtor's prison. Her father is gambling and drinking all of their money away and won't stop. Since women are not allowed in the gambling establishment, she dresses in her father's clothes and sneaks inside, determined to make her father listen to reason. But of course, her ruse is discovered and pandemonium ensues.
Seems interesting, but the author wasted her talent by falling back on the old romance cliche of "big brawny hero kisses the heroine to shut her up while they're having an argument" scene. And this is basically right after they meet. Arrrgh! I am sooo sick of this contrived scene. It's overdone, and stupid in the first place. As if any woman alive wouldn't smack a guy's face if he tried to do that to her. I will probably try one of this author's full-length novels, as it's obvious she has talent and could write an enjoyable book, if only that talent was properly used. But this novella was very dissapointing. Two stars.
Romance anthologies are usually a hit-or-miss situation. This one was a complete and total miss. There are far better Christmas romances out there. See my list "Christmas romance books worth reading" for a list of my keepers and re-reads. As for WISH LIST, I recommend that you either borrow it from the library, or skip it altogether. |
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