November 6, 2006
In four new crowd-pleasing Regency novellas, students from Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies return home for the holidays with high hopes for entering society. Despite their careful training under the wise Mrs. Harris, each defies the rules in her own way and, in the process, gets her first taste of romance. Bestselling Jeffries, author of the series that inspired this anthology, leads with panache: her passionate tale of Eliza Crenshawe finds the young firebrand fleeing a marriage arranged by her cruel uncle, attempting to steal a horse and falling under the spell of the horse's owner, the new earl of Monteith. Rita-winner Carlyle weaves a complicated tale about Martinique, a courtesan's daughter with a mysterious past in the West Indies, whose bedchamber is mistakenly breached by the scandalous Lord St. Vrain. London presents Grace Holcomb, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant, who inherits her domineering father's distorted values and nearly misses out on the love of a good man from Leeds. Bernard's tale of mischievous Alyssa Martin, whose odd luck lands her in a series of comical misadventures, rounds out the collection with an "all's well that ends well" finale.
December 1, 2006
Building on Jeffries's popular "School for Heiresses" series, this anthology takes four wealthy young women who are being educated in unconventional ideas of female independence and ways of selecting the perfect (e.g., passionate, caring, and desirable) husband, sends them home for the holidays to put their plans into action, and lets their stories unfold in the hands of four exceptional authors. Filled with wickedly handsome heroes and the heroines who bring them to heel, these totally delightful "lessons on love for daring young ladies" sparkle with sizzling sensuality. Liz Carlyle ("After Midnight"), Julia London ("The Merchant's Gift"), and Renee Bernard ("Mischief's Holiday") join Jeffries ("Ten Reasons To Stay") in a stellar collection that readers will adore.
Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2007
Three stars in the romance genre and one bright new light join together in this sparkling Regency anthology inspired by Sabrina Jeffries' School for Heiresses series. In Jeffries' sinfully sexy "Ten Reasons to Stay," after Colin, the new Earl of Monteith, catches Eliza "borrowing" one of his horses, he must find 10 good reasons that will convince her to stay with him. Liz Carlyle fashions another of her wickedly witty, sublimely sensual stories in "After Midnight," in which Martinique finds herself engaged to a notorious rake after he enters the wrong bedchamber during a house party. Grace Holcomb knows she must marry well, but the only candidate she finds intriguing is totally unsuitable in Julia London's lusciously sexy "The Merchant's Gift." Newcomer Renee Bernard dazzles readers with the delightfully amusing "Mischief's Holiday," in which Alyssa's goal of a merry--yet mishap free--holiday is ruined once she meets perfectly logical, perfectly irresistible Leland. In all, a clever, sensual, and superb collection. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)