Sammy’s review of Dressed To Kiss by Madeline Hunter, Caroline Linden, Megan Frampton & Myretta Robens
Historical Romance anthology published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 08 Sep 16
I love short stories. I personally think it’s a great way to find new authors to read. They work well because they’re not too long and it doesn’t take much time to read, especially for the very busy lifestyles we all lead. I would like to thank a very evil Duckie at the pond for pimping this anthology out to me. Enough of my rambling, let’s get to the good parts!
Each story revolves around Follette’s, a once renowned modiste shop. The shop has fallen on hard times, because Madame Follette hates the current fashion trends. This forces her daughter and son to step in and gently push her toward retirement. Felicity has her hands full, but she’s determined to succeed, especially since there is going to be a coronation of a new king. She knows it’s now or never.
The Duke’s Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter
Selina Fontaine has a secret identity thanks to the Duke of Barrowmore. Once upon a time Selina had the misfortune of falling for the Duke’s younger brother, Giles. Giles is flighty, a spendthrift, and an all-around player. Barrowmore put a quick end to their love affair. (You find out later why he put an end to it, which infuriated me even more.) Of course, Selina was left with a bad reputation and she had to move from her family and her small village. Selina works as a dressmaker for Follette’s, and her newest client happens to be Giles’s very young wife. The Duke escorts Lady Giles Woodville to her appointment. Giles is running from his creditors, and the Duke is concerned about her state of attire. Barrowmore recognizes Selina immediately and he’s love stricken. There was a lot of story jammed packed into this novella. I would say too much. The Duke did and said some horrible things to our heroine, and I thought he should have spent a hundred pages groveling. That’s the issue I have with this story. I didn’t like the hero. It was just wrapped up too neatly and too quickly for me to buy it. Your mileage may vary.
Grade: C
Summary:
When the Duke of Barrowmore walks into the dress shop, Selina Fontaine assumes her secret identity will compromised. Four years ago this man’s brother seduced her and abandoned her to scandal, and she holds the duke responsible. To her amazement the duke is more interested in pursuing her than exposing her, however—and that pursuit soon becomes seductively pleasurable.
No excerpt available.
The Colors of Love by Myretta Robens
Delyth Owen is a dressmaker with a penchant for odd color choices. Simon Merrithew happens to write a fashion column under an alias in the Town Gazette, which led to him writing a less-than-great review of the dress Delyth designed for her client. He also thinks that Miss Owen has nefarious intentions toward the ladies of society. To get to the bottom of his thinking, he uses his sister as bait to hire Delyth to make some dresses. From this point on the story reads very quickly. Simon goes from derision and suspicion to kisses and sex. While I found parts of this story sweet, I also found Simon hard to like. This is another short story that had a lot of conflict (Simon’s article could have cost Delyth her job and Simon also could have come clean sooner that he was the writer of that article.) Everything just moved at such a fast pace and I couldn’t get on board with the HEA.
Grade: C
Summary:
Delyth Owen’s exuberant passion for her new job as a dressmaker at Madame Follette’s is matched only by her love of diverse, vibrant, and frequently unfortunate color combinations. Simon Merrithew, the pseudonymous author of a well-regarded fashion column, is horrified by the gown Delyth creates for a friend, and suspects her motives. He sets out to uncover her duplicity, but instead, he uncovers genuine joy and discovers the colors of love.
No excerpt available.
No Accounting For Love by Megan Frampton
Henry Dawkins, Madame Follette’s son, is awkward and shy. He’s also very tall and very fit. He hides from society, sticking to accounting and trying very hard not to be noticed. Miss Katherine Grant was born a Lady but is impoverished. When her cousin took over the family, she moved out of her family home and went to work as a chaperone for Lady Effie. Lady Effie is a self-indulgent pain in the butt and Katherine is way out of her element trying to put out all her fires. Lady Effie also has her sights set on Henry, and Katherine is perfect to play into her schemes to get him. I loved this story. Both Henry and Katherine are awkward but so very endearing. Their road to discovery about each other and falling in love had me sighing and wishing there were 200 pages more. This story was sweet and sexy.
Grade: A
Summary:
Miss Katherine Grant is a lady’s companion, one whose number of dishonorable offers (six) greatly outweigh her honorable ones (zero). Now tasked with making certain her charge, Lady Euphemia, does not contract herself to someone inappropriate, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Mr. Henry Dawkins, the inappropriate gentleman Lady Euphemia wants to charm, who keeps the books at Madame Follette’s. But it seems that Henry only has eyes for Miss Katherine Grant.
No excerpt available.
A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden
Felicity Dawkins not only needs to rebuild her clientele for her mother’s modiste shop, but now she has to figure out how to save her building from being demolished. Lord Evan Carmarthen has all intentions of razing Vine Street where Felicity’s shop is located. Lord Carmarthen and Felicity strike a deal. He needs to find her a new location close to Bond Street, and it needs to be no more than 30 pounds annually. She, in turn, will talk her mother into accepting Lord Evan’s price for the building and immediately vacate the premises. Evan and Felicity’s courtship is everything I love about historical romances. They have beautiful chemistry, great banter, wonderful writing, and a tremendous conclusion to the four stories. I am a fan.
Grade: A+
Summary:
Madame Follette’s is Felicity Dawkins’s birthright; her mother founded it, and now she runs it. She’s fiercely committed to making it the most exclusive modiste in London. The Earl of Carmarthen also has big plans for the shop—he wants to buy it and tear it down, to make way for a grand new boulevard of shops. One way or another, he’s determined to persuade Felicity…not only to sell her shop, but to explore the passion that sparks between them every time they meet.
No excerpt available.
Overall Grade: B
