"Fun, romantic reads involving moonlight enchantments"
Well, since I can't summarize a story in less than two
paragraphs, I'm going to go with the books description for
each story: A KNIGHT IN TARNISHED ARMOR by Jill Barnett "Fleeing a
marriage of convenience to England's most fearsome knight,
the highborn Lady Linnett meets a handsome
stranger...unaware that her newfound protector is also her
betrothed, with only one week to woo and win his lady fair." I like Jill Barnetts' medieval stories and this one is no
different. It is a little silly because no lord would let
his granddaughter go off alone with a fierce warrior, lord
or not, but the story is fun. Linnett is somewhat of a
medieval veterinarian and I got a kick out of the humor her
entourage of animals brought to the story. A RIBBON OF MOONLIGHT by Elaine Coffman "Quinn Westcott,
Marquess of Waverly, is duty-bound to provide a home for
his young ward until she is wed. But his future changes
dramatically when he meets a mysterious maiden on a night
ashimmer with moondust, mischief and unexpected love." This was a cute story. Quinn expects his ward to be a young
child and instead ends up with a young lady. Not knowing
what to do with a grown ward, he decides the easiest way to
get rid of her is to marry her off by sending her to London
for the season. Caroline doesn't want to have a season in
London and therefore tries to act the part of a country
simpleton. I got a really good laugh over how easy it was
for Caroline to astonish Quinn with some of her "simple
country ways". Regardless, of the fact that the story is
fun, it is another "New Lord falls in love with his ward"
story. ENCHANTED by Alexis Harrington "Oregon's Leah Whitman has
her future mapped out: running her store and marrying her
minister fiancé. Austin Ryder, her rugged new neighbor,
isn't part of the equation...until Leah finds an unusual
amulet one magical night when the moon is full." Okay, this was a good story; there wasn't anything wrong
with it, but MAN! I really didn't like her fiancé! GRRR!
Leah grew up with a very low opinion of herself and
therefore she jumped at the opportunity to get married when
Josiah proposed. Then he ignores her. Austin is trying to
get over his past until he kisses Leah and discovers there
is more her than meets the eye. While this story makes the
most of the magic taking place around Midsummer's night,
the idea of the amulet is fascinating all by itself! THE GOLDEN MERMAID by Sonia Simone "In the spirit of
Midsummer's Eve, unconventional Nell Jolley calls up the
ghost of a notorious pirate. But the man who appears is no
centuries-old buccaneer-and soon Nell is swept away on a
voyage to buried treasure and heart-stealing love." To me, Nell was a character out of her own time of 1880.
She was a little too modern, however she was pretty
isolated on an island living with her father, but who
knows! This was a fun romp around an island in the Florida
Keys, however I had a hard time with the very small cast of
characters and the fact that Sebastian sailed around the
world alone on such a small boat. While I enjoyed all four stories included in MIDSUMMER
NIGHT'S MADNESS, I have to say that Alexis Harrington's'
ENCHANTED was my favorite. I haven't read anything else she
has written, but of the four stories it felt the most
complete. Yes, it could have been longer, but I didn't feel
that the characters suffered from how short the story was
as an anthology. Another thing I liked about ENCHANTED,
more than a couple days elapses during the story. Jill Barnett and Elaine Coffman's stories are what drew me
to this anthology and while I enjoyed their stories, it
really seemed like chunks were cut to make the story fit
within the page allotment...some "chunks" bigger than
others. All and all, this is a pleasant set of stories! Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted December 1, 2005
Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted November 19, 2006
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