Regency Ever After: Timeless Tales & Fables II

Dawn Brower, Amanda Mariel, Meara Platt, Collette Cameron,
Ari Thatcher, Sue London, Tammy Andresen
Genre: 
Historical

Lady Elizabeth is raised on the tale of Captain Jack. She later meets him at a house party, centuries in his future. Lady Elianna’s father dies without making plans for her, so she has two choices: be a maid in her own home or go to a nunnery. Gennalynn is the proverbial poor relation who is resented. Roarke comes home to his farm and finds he likes this eccentric girl. Jemmah is the scorned daughter, destined to always wear her sister’s cast-offs. Kitty sells flowers after her opera singer decides to quit singing. A Duke searches for this singer and Kitty is the key. Melanie is about to be engaged to dull, old Mr. Hartley. Oscar can’t imagine that happening, so he talks her into coming to London. Eirwen’s stepmother is so jealous of her that she wants her dead. 

 

Children’s fairy tales get a new life when some of our favorite authors rewrite them in the regency era. These stories are intricately woven to draw in the interest of adults who have grown up with Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, and other stories. Unlike fairy stories for children, these stories are racier as well as tell the darker side of life, such as when a mother rejects her child because she looks like her cheating father. There is the thrill that comes as one comes to recognize each story. The writers are all evenly matched and make a nice anthology that is easy to transition from one story to the next. Not all of the stories have a clear conflict, and characters did not react plausibly in the situations in which they find themselves. Several of the stories start out slow, but once all the characters are introduced, the tales gain momentum, making them difficult to put down!

 

Belinda Wilson