Sybil’s review of The Power of Love by Foster, McCarthy, Laurey, Stockham, Blake, Castell, Sargeant, McLane, Monroe, Kelley, Maynard, and Wilder
Special Romance Anthology released by Berkley on 3 Jun 08

The Power of Love isn’t at all what I thought it would be. Novellas are hard to do well. Make it a short story and it more often than not doesn’t work for me. Add in the awesome fact the author’s proceeds go to The YMCA Battered Women’s Shelter of Cincinnati – well I was expecting more women’s fiction than romance. I was very wrong.

Each of these women deserve a round of applause. Not only did they put together a book for a great cause, they did it well. These are not throw away stories. Each story ranges from a nice bite to a snack size and the overall book will give you a great taste for each author’s writing.

We are talking 305 pages and 12 authors, so I am going this a touch differently than a normal review. You can find the summary and a bit of background here. And excerpts Vol I and Vol II have been posted as well. The reviews are arranged by grade, not order of appearance in the book.

Grade: A+

Salesman of the Year by Karen Kelley
This was a hard story for me to grade because I so adore the author but haven’t been able to read a book of hers lately that worked for me. Karen Kelley is awesome on the funny, which rarely works for me. Salesman of the Year is a tale of second chances and finding the stregth in yourself to be who you want and not what you are told to be. In 20 pages she wasn’t able to flesh out the heroine as well as she could have but since I knew to expect that going in I went with what I was told. Because no woman deserves an Adam…

Angel in the Alley by Patricia Sargeant
Completely loved this story and was surprised because I admit I saw ‘Angel’ in the title and my reaction was ACK here be inspy. I am not sure if Patricia was going for an inspy feel to her tale or not but it is a fabulous story. My complaint is I wanted more pages because it was wanted more with more time with Archer.

Grade: A

Unpredictable by Erin McCarthy
Predictably I loved this story. The h/h were fantastic and interesting. McCarthy shines in novella form and this, while not her best, shows just what she can do. I really hope Kensington does for her what they did with Foster’s Truth or Dare and McKenna’s All About Men – release her Bad Boy novella’s in a MM book with just her connected stories.

Chicken Soup for Annie by Luanne McLane
This is an author I have never been able to connect with and don’t think I have finished a novel by her yet. Again she is one who does well with the funny (and I don’t). I was shocked by how much I adored this story. I would have given it an A+ but honestly I wish she hadn’t of put it in here (although it fits perfectly with the theme) because even though the story begins and ends to where you KNOW where they are going. I wanted to read it all.

Dance the Fandango by Rosemary Laurey
This is another tale of 2nd chances only this time it is for LOVE itself not a love lost. I didn’t expect a 65 year-old heroine and honestly do not pick them up to read that much. Dance the Fandango works perfectly in The Power of Love and is done very well. But man the kids annoyed and hello they were in their 30s.

Grade: A-

Sweet Dreams by Lori Foster
I LOVED how this story unfolds and Foster shows why so many people love her novellas. She is awesome at building a story, characters you care for and telling a whole story in a short page count. This one was 23 pages! I would have given this an A+ but the five year wait didn’t work for me – just too long

The Mouse Who Roared by J.C. Wilder
This is the one story I would say isn’t a romance, doesn’t tell a whole story and is more of a moment in time. But more than that it is THE beginning of a woman taking control of her future and embodies what “I think” this gift of stories is about. I was too bummed that it ended like it did to give it an A but it is a fabulous story of finding your strength and going for it.

Grade: B+

The Girl Next Door by Janice Maynard
TGND seemed a touch out of place because it starts from Jason’s pov (the hero). A tale you all know, parent’s die sibling comes home to raise the younger kids. Somewhere along the lines lurve developed between a best friend forever of one of the sibs. I love those stories. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. And I loved Jason and Felicity.

Grade: B

No Angel by Lucy Monroe
This is a would be office romance story and I like those. No Angel has a Harlequin Presents feel to it but too much time was spent away from the h/h. With the page count being so small I would have like to have more time with Cheryl and Zack.

Hannah’s Choice by Kay Stockham
Another 2nd chance at love story… do so love those. Hannah and Mitch are great characters. And you feel so much for them in so few pages. This is a grade A story that is missing at least 10 pages. (at least) Hannah’s choice to run made sense but not from Mitch. Mitch is too great a guy and the author doesnt have enough time to sell why Hannah made such a bonehead move.

Grade: C

Last of the Red-Hot Mammas by Dianne Castell
I think this was my least favorite story. It isn’t really bad but I just couldn’t take that ride. The plot seemed to unbelievable and the characters didn’t click with me enough to over come that. It is a sweet story but I can’t see any school wanting the Principal to behave like that.

After Hours by Toni Blake
More lurve in the office… only this one the hero annoyed. And there wasn’t enough room for Michael to grovel enough. Odd it seemed like there wasn’t enough connection between the h/h, thinking back on it I think this was the steamiest story. Blake can do really steamy really well when she wants too.

Overall this really is a great novel to pick up and get a chance to try out 12 different authors. Or, if you are already a fan of Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy, you will want to pick this up. And of course it is supporting a great cause – by helping people by buying a book ;).

Overall Grade: A-

Blurb:

In this engaging anthology of never-before-published stories, twelve award-winning and bestselling authors are united by their unique visions of the resilient woman and her quest for self, for fulfillment, for empowerment, and for an enriching new appreciation for what love really means—and why it matters.

A young woman is torn between the overbearing security of her fiancé and the excitement of an old flame…a desperate wife is forced into the workplace for the first time in her life…an ambitious professional woman finally finds the courage to take control of her career—and her man…an emotionally fragile divorcee finds resolve in the ethereal visitations of an archangel. These are just some of the women who discover and rediscover their wonderfully fallible selves in the shadow of love—romantic love, platonic love, new love, and lost love. You’ll be touched, inspired, charmed, and amused by these twelve original stories of disparate longings, unsettled lives, and the power of love.

Read short excerpts of each story here.