Lawson’s review of It Happened One Night by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern
Historical romance anthology released by Avon 30 Sept 08

These four authors tackle something that readers probably wonder about: how similar to authors write plots? The idea is to give four writers the same basic plot and see what happens. The common plot is the reunion of two lovers ten years since the last time they had seen each other. They two people meet at an inn and the author has the freedom to fill in the rest of the details, setting, etc. From this experiment comes four different stories set during the four seasons of the year.

The Fall of Rogue Gerrard by Stephanie Laurens

The first story happens in late winter. Robert Gerrard is traveling when a storm comes upon him. Instead of staying at the inn along the highway, he veers off the road and the inn he stops at has another traveler, Lydia Makepeace. They haven’t seen each other in ten years, since an innocent kiss sent Robert off to London’s entertainments. Lydia is a spinster, but not the wild sister and she’s on a mission to save her sister’s bluestocking reputation. When Robert hears of her plan, he helps her in the quest, and realizes what he’s been missing.

Robert was the typical turned around rake, though society doesn’t know it. Lydia is the sensible sister, but she enjoys her adventure and is happy to see Robert again. There’s some good chemistry, but it doesn’t really thrill. Lydia makes some remarks that don’t seem very in character and Robert is always right and doesn’t make mistakes. There’s really nothing to complain about in the story, but it was almost as if the story should have been longer. There wasn’t enough really to give a good emotional backing to the action.

Grade: C

No excerpt available.

Spellbound by Mary Balogh

Nora Ryder is down on her luck again, after loosing her job as a companion. Just before she arrives at the posting inn, there is an accident and she is forced to fend for herself. The accident involved Richard Kemp, who says he’s her husband to help her through the night. Though they haven’t seen each other in ten years, the feelings between them are still strong even though there are hurt feelings on both sides. When the post carriage leaves the next day, Nora has a decision about her future.

Both Nora and Richard had been lied to by her father, and though Nora believed they weren’t married, she never sought another man for her security. They carry the feelings from their past very close to them and it makes for an extremely emotional story. The pacing for the unfolding of the truth of past, their changing feelings and the eventual ending works on an emotional and physical level.

Grade: A

Read an excerpt.

Only You by Jacquie D’Alessandro

Cassandra Heywood is coming home after ten years in an abusive marriage. On her way home she stops at the Blue Seas Inn to see her childhood friend Ethan Baxter. Ethan isn’t the same boy she remembers, but he’s a connection to her past. Though Ethan is reluctant at first to spend time with Cassie, they quickly return to their close relationship with the desires of ten years brought into the open.

Cassie and Ethan were sweet characters, but the fact that Cassie’s life was abusive, from her husband and her parents made her more pitiful than sympathetic. She’s survived, but there was only one kind person in her life, Ethan, and he was ripped from her life. The multiple overdrawn sins of these characters overshadowed a touching reunion and in the end didn’t help the story to ring true.

Grade: C

Read an excerpt.

From This Moment On by Candice Hern

Fans of Hern’s Merry Widows series will be happy to see Wilhelmina, Duchess of Hertford, get her happily ever after as well as the others. Traveling on the way back to London, Wilhelmina stops at an inn and recognizes her childhood sweetheart, Captain Sam Pellow. They had been parted years before, though seen each other from time to time, though not for ten years. Sam never approved of Wilhelmina’s lifestyle, but could never forget the girl he knew and Wilhelmina never lost track of her first love.

Circumstances in the rest of the plot show the innocent to worldly life that Wilhelmina lead, and her luck in not only surviving but thriving in the end. Some of the feelings that had been buried come to the surface, and over all it was a good story. The need for forgiveness on both ends seemed a bit forced, but it’s a nice short ending for the last Merry Widow.

Grade: B-

Read an excerpt.

With some good and some just average it was a comfort read. Balogh’s story has the most impact and almost overshadowed the other two, but it definitely is the most memorable. A good read for one of those cooler fall days with some familiar authors.

Overall Grade: B-

It Happened One Night . . . and nothing was ever the same again!

Once upon a time, four superstar storytellers—New York Times bestselling authors Stephanie Laurens and Mary Balogh, along with Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern—came up with a delicious idea. What if they each wrote a story about a proper young lady stranded at a remote inn away from society’s constraints? What would happen? And how long would it take for her to give in to desire?

In these four amazing tales, four heroines will come face-to-face with the men who got away . . . only to discover that, instead of anger, there is still a passionate connection that cannot be denied. And while each of their lives is quite different, and their pasts utterly unique, they will all make a common discovery—that one night can change everything . . . forever.