In the Mood by Ellen Fisher

Bland and uninspiring short story
1 star

Jude Patterson is a cute and shy romance novelist who’s more at home with his historical romances than the contemporaries he’s trying to write. And that includes his love scenes which tend to be on the flowery side.

When a beautiful fan, Alyssa Stone, offers to help him write better love scenes, Jude jumps at the chance. But now he has to write a happy ending as well as make sure he gets one for himself.


I liked the premise of this short story and, at the start with the introduction of Jude, I started to enjoy it. But then along came Alyssa and the story took a major nosedive.

Alyssa was such an unlikeable character that I just couldn’t root for her in any way, shape or form. She wasn’t relatable and her attitude towards Jude was horrible. I wondered why Jude even liked her but the descriptions made it clear that it wasn’t for her winning personality. Even when the reasons behind her behaviour were revealed, I couldn’t drum up any sympathy for her as it seemed so far fetched and ridiculous.

Together, Jude and Alyssa had little chemistry and the story plodded along without much happening of interest. By the end, while I did finish it, I was extremely bored and had little interest in the love story or how it ended up.

Lots of people seemed to enjoy this story but I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me. At least it was free when I downloaded it but even then I really can’t recommend it.

Once Upon A Winter’s Eve by Tessa Dare

A fun and feisty Regency romp
5 stars

Violet Winterbottom is getting over heartbreak at Spindle Cove - a retreat/refuge for women tucked away from the prying eyes of the Ton. She’s quiet, sweet and intelligent - hardly the type to have men falling at her feet.

Until one night during the Spindle Cove Christmas ball when a dashing stranger does just that. He’s dirty, soaked, bleeding and speaking in a language only Violet understands. A sensible girl would stay well clear. But Violet’s not as delicate as she looks and has just one night to find out his secrets that might lead her to the love, and adventure, of a lifetime.

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This novella is a short story that is part of Dare’s Spindle Cove series. This story follows A Night to Surrender and comes before A Week to be Wicked. I’ve not read either and found that this story was an intriguing insight into the series and didn’t need to be read in order to be understood.

The characters in this story were great. Violet was a quiet girl but didn’t fall into the cliche of being shy with it. She was feisty, honest and bold - I really liked her. Equally, the hero was everything I like in a leading man - brooding, mysterious and willing to sacrifice anything for the woman he loves. The pair had great chemistry and I really liked them as a couple.

This is an implausible, fun and feisty romp with characters I really enjoyed and an almost farcical, fast-paced storyline that was a delight from start to finish. It will only take you a little while to read, but the price is right and the story is a great way to spend an hour or so. If you’re a fan of Tessa Dare or just looking for a light and frothy tale to take your mind off things for a while then I would recommend this to you. 5 stars.

Virgin Unwrapped by Christine Merrill

A fair, quick romance
3 stars

Even the thought of Robert Breton sets Anne Clairemount’s heart racing and fills her with a scandalous heat. But he is the business partner of her fiancé and her family’s future happiness depends on her going through with the marriage even if her betrothed is cold and unfeeling.

Then Robert gives her a heartfelt kiss under the mistletoe and Anne is thrown into turmoil. Should she go through with the wedding to please her parents or grab hold of what is sure to be the love of a lifetime?


This short and sweet romance is the sequel to Christine Merrill’s A Regency Christmas Carol. I’ve never read the first book and this one still made perfect sense so I don’t suppose you need to read them in order.

Having said that, it is obvious that Anne and Robert’s story had to fit around things that occurred in the other story – things that didn’t really make sense if you hadn’t read it beforehand. I also get the impression that these two characters, or at the very least Anne, weren’t painted in a flattering light in the first book which meant that some character traits were attempted to be explained away in this one. It made for some disjointed reading at times.

I also wasn’t overly fond of Robert if I’m honest. He was a little bit harsh and unfeeling of Anne and even towards the very end he expected the worst of her. I also felt that he took advantage of Anne’s innocence which made the sex scenes a little flat for me.

This was a short story that was a quick and ultimately satisfying read. I didn’t feel much emotional attachment to the characters but the story is worth a read at the price. 3 stars.

Storming the Castle by Eloisa James

A fun but short romantic story
4 stars

From a young age Miss Phillipa Damson has known that she will marry Rodney Durfey no matter what she might prefer. So when she hears that there is an ill baby at a nearby castle she sees it as her chance to escape her lot in life and runs away to take a position as nursemaid.

Jonas ‘Wick’ Berwick, the illegitimate brother of Prince Gabriel, serves as majordomo, overseeing the day to day running of Pomeroy Castle in Lancashire. His position in life – not quite a servant but not quite a gentleman – means that he has vowed never to marry. But when Philippa arrives at the castle he can’t help but wish for something different for his life.


This short story is a sequel from James’ A Kiss at Midnight which is the first in the Fairy Tales series. The series is set in Fairytale time with a dusting of the Regency so they aren’t as strict when it comes to historical detail and accuracy. You probably want to have read A Kiss… before reading this one but I don’t suppose it’s 100% necessary.

I’m really glad that Wick got his own story and from the start I thought Phillipa a great match for him. She’s that perfect blend of smart and strong but with a vulnerability in her that makes her likeable and relatable. Wick was also a good hero being proud and strong but truly in need of the love of a good woman. The pair had good chemistry and I was rooting for them throughout.

I debated between giving this 3 or 4 stars but decided in the end to be generous. My reason for this indecision was that due to its short nature the declarations of love came a little too abruptly for me. The conflict was also surrounding whether Wick and Phillipa could be together due to their different statuses but when the book concluded this was apparently a forgotten problem.

Overall this is a fun, quick read with characters I’m glad got their happily ever after. It’s not the best I’ve ever read but it’s a good read to pass an hour or so.

The Accidental Mistress by Kate Harper

Bad, clichéd short story
1 star

Devereux, Marquis of Roxburghe has his eyes set on the lovely Alice Gaskell. But he’s not ready to settle down so he plans to steal her away and make her his mistress instead.

The lady’s cousin, Sophie Hartwell, is appalled at the plans and realises she must save Alice from making a huge mistake. So when Dev comes to take Alice away it’s really Sophie taking her place.

Dev is furious once the ruse is revealed but realises that his plans needn’t change even if it’s the wrong girl he’s ended up with. But he doesn’t count on Sophie’s spirit and charm changing something inside him that makes him realise maybe he got the right girl after all.


I bought this at the same time as the disappointing His Wayward Ward by the same author. Had I not, I would definitely not have downloaded this one but I had so I felt I should at least give it a go. Unfortunately, I wish that I hadn’t bothered.

Within the first few paragraphs I had taken a huge dislike to our ‘hero’, Devereux. I normally like a dissolute rake that is redeemed by the love of the heroine but in this case it was his character and morals that were flawed and not just his behaviour. At one point he choked Sophie and bruised her but, don’t worry, he was sorry – he has a temper and it would never happen again!! Shocking that such a leading man could be in a romance novel.

Sophie was a fair enough character but she lacked any excitement or strength and you felt it was only lust that the two characters felt for each other. I also couldn’t forgive her for putting up with Dev’s behaviour towards her.

The plot was staid and clichéd but nothing truly offensive. There was also nothing particularly sexy about the story despite it being billed as a risqué Regency romance.

Overall this isn’t worth buying and I can’t recommend it even if it was free. Sorry.

His Wayward Ward by Kate Harper

Disappointing and not recommended
2 stars

Eliza has already got her perfect man and the pair have plans to marry. Now all she must do is convince her newly appointed guardian, the wicked rake Lord Julius Carlton, to give his consent.

One meeting between Carlton and Eliza and sparks fly. But will this rake realise where his heart lies before he loses Eliza forever and will Eliza realise that the perfect man might be in the last place she expected to find him?


I was quite looking forward to this story. Billed as a risqué Regency romance and at only 89p what could go wrong? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

I have read and enjoyed a number of stories where wards and guardians get together and never before have I read one where I felt slightly uncomfortable by the relationship between the two. Eliza is 18 but young with it. She’s naive, hot tempered and brattish. In contrast, Carlton is 32 and a disillusioned rake. There was just something off about their interactions in my opinion. Perhaps it was because he continually referred to her as a child or girl that, to be truthful, gave me the creeps.

As well as that, there were a large number of typesetting errors which is just sloppy and irritating when you’re trying to get into a story.

The story itself was very short but you know something’s not going quite right when you feel a little bored and unenthusiastic about the story even with such limited pages. The writing wasn’t terrible (hence the 2 stars rather than just 1) but it seriously lacked any emotion or depth which made it doubly hard to feel anything for the characters.

My last complaint has to be about the term 'risqué' romance because it wasn’t in the least sexy or sensual. Perhaps that harks back to the lack of emotion in the text but I still think it’s terribly misleading and makes the story even more of a disappointment.

Overall, even at only 89p I really can’t recommend this story and would suggest you avoid.