HEAVEN CAN WAIT A Paranormal Romance Anthology edited by Patricia Rosemoor
A love so deep that it can last through centuries. Star-crossed lovers drawn together through many lifetimes. Chased by evil, the women must discover their own magic to overcome the villain’s curse on the rings that draw them to the men they love.
HEAVEN SENT by Sherrill Bodine During Elizabethan times, Lady Elizabeth York's star-shaped birthmark proclaims her a child of magic. When she arrives at Dunham Castle to marry Carlyle, heir to the Duke of Lennox, she finds magic in the eyes and touch of Will Grey, the Duke's bastard son. Bewitched by Elizabeth, Will defies all for their love, and his half-brother places a curse on them both.
STARGAZER by Jude Mandell Actress Giselle Lascalles teams up with Irish Viscount Hugh Hawkswell, a spy in the British Secret Service, to attempt a daring rescue during the French Revolution. They mean to save Marie Antoinette’s young son, the uncrowned king, from evil captors. When new dangers threaten the king, the lovers must make choices that could tear them apart.
MOONSTRUCK by Laurie DeMarino Brave Irish immigrant Beth O’Hara feels driven to track down the man who killed her friend in a fashion identical to Jack the Ripper’s slayings. Only investigative reporter, Bill Greyson, who holds Beth’s heart and life in his strong hands, can protect her from being the next victim.
GUIDING STAR by Rosemary Paulas A World War II test pilot, WASP Kate Edwards, has a vision and sees her friend’s plane crash, after being chased and hit by another craft. The pilot killer stalks Kate. Afraid for her life, she turns to her former lover, her friend’s brother, pilot Blake Greyson for help. Will he believe her before it’s too late?
SHOOTING STARS by Cheryl Jefferson Saigon is about to fall. Just steps ahead of the conquering North Vietnamese, nothing-to-lose refugees, and the CIA, Miles Grey and Athena Leigh race across town toward the last flight to safety. He’s a Special Ops soldier and she’s a pacifist and media photographer, fighting their turbulent emotions and ultimately their love
MOONSPINNER by Patricia Rosemoor Searching for a treasure ship sunk in Elizabethan times, present-day marine archeologist Cordelia Ward has a dream vision of one diver cutting another’s airline. Both salvager Innis Foley and rogue treasure hunter Morgan Murphy pursue Cordelia. Not knowing which man is the killer, which the intended victim – which man is her enemy, which her soulmate – she seeks answers in an ancient journal that belonged to her ancestress, Lady Elizabeth York.
With 100 novels and more than seven million books in print, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Patricia Rosemoor is fascinated with "dangerous love" – combining romance with danger. She has written various forms of romantic and paranormal romantic thrillers, bringing a different mix of thrills and chills to her stories.
I really liked Heaven Can Wait. Romance, danger, suspense, and history unite in this very unique romance anthology. Each story is linked, the first story is the beginning of a saga, the first tale of ill-fated love, where a curse is placed on the main characters. Each consecutive story picks up in a later time with different incarnations of the ill-fated lovers. The saga continues through centuries until the curse can be broken. The main heroine's all share similar traits, they are descended from the same line, they all have a star-shaped birthmark, and have some level of magical ability.
There is a prologue to the anthology, but Heaven Sent by Sherrill Bodine is the base story, telling how the saga begins. Heaven Sent takes place in England in 1601. Elizabeth is the heroine sent to marry one man, but loves another. When tragedy strikes, magic rises and a curse is set in place over the lovers. I enjoyed this installment in the story. However, as is common with novellas, some of the development was a bit lacking. I understood the concept, but I was a bit confused about the actual curse. Either way, I was looking forward to the next story to see what would happen next.
The second story is Stargazer by Jude Mandell. This story is set in 1793 England, around the French Revolution. The lovers meet while on a covert mission to rescue the young future king of France. There is a lot of disguises and secrets in this installment. It was fun and exciting to read, but not the most believable of the installments, and the enemy was very unclear. One of the lovers has higher priorities than love, so the curse is not overcome.
The third story is Moonstruck by Laurie DeMarino, which takes place on a boat in New York Harbor in 1889. The people on the boat are immigrants coming to America, and the lovers meet on the boat. However, when a murder takes place on the ship, the heroine is in danger and the hero is obsessed with finding the killer. The lovers are united again, but the curse is still not overcome.
The fourth story is Guiding Star by Rosemary Paulas, which takes place in the USA, 1944. The characters in Guiding Star are fighter pilots, training for flight in World War 2. Prejudice runs high, as men prefer women to stay home, not fly airplanes. Kate, the heroine, shows her tougher side here, she is capable, strong, and has a tough of magic. Still, the curse is not defeated and the saga continues.
Story number six is Shooting Stars by Cherly Jefferson. This one takes place in Vietnam in the last days of the Vietnam war. Athena is a peace loving photographer, and wants to publish photos of the horrors of war. The hero is a soldier, who joined the fight to help his captured brother. I actually like this heroine the least, she is pretty selfish, and cold in the way she exploits the soldiers. War is never easy, good, or black and white, and this installment is darker in nature. The differences for the hero and heroine here are vast, and yet again, the curse remains standing.
The final installment is Moonspinner by Patricia Rosemoor, which takes place in Cresent Key, Florida, present day. The characters are searching the ocean for sunken treasure. Cordelia is the heroine, and she has family ties to the buried treasure. Cordelia's friend, Captain Inis Foley is helping Cordelia search the wreckage, and he also has ties to the treasure. And finally, treasure hunter Morgan Murphy joins the search with his own ties to the treasure. The enemy is unclear here, Cordelia is not sure who to trust, who is bad and who is good. With the help of her ancestors, Cordelia must find the treasure and stop the enemy from committing murder.
Overall, Heaven Can Wait is a very good romance story. The authors collaborated and combined various different stories to form a very unique reading experience. As I stated earlier, sometimes novellas have development issues, and there were some of these issues throughout the stories. However, after reading through the entire book, the curse began to make more sense and the concept developed along with the story. Each of the characters had their own unique traits and they were all interesting, it was not just the same story written in different ways, it went well beyond that.
With a unique and very creative concept, The Heaven Can Wait anthology is a very fun, good read. Romance readers, if you are looking for something a little bit different, and you like anthologies, I recommend reading Heaven Can Wait.
I really liked Heaven Can Wait. Romance, danger, suspense, and history unite in this very unique romance anthology. Each story is linked, the first story is the beginning of a saga, the first tale of ill-fated love, where a curse is placed on the main characters. Each consecutive story picks up in a later time with different incarnations of the ill-fated lovers. The saga continues through centuries until the curse can be broken. The main heroine’s all share similar traits, they are descended from the same line, they all have a star-shaped birthmark, and have some level of magical ability.
There is a prologue to the anthology, but Heaven Sent by Sherrill Bodine is the base story, telling how the saga begins. Heaven Sent takes place in England in 1601. Elizabeth is the heroine sent to marry one man, but loves another. When tragedy strikes, magic rises and a curse is set in place over the lovers. I enjoyed this installment in the story. However, as is common with novellas, some of the development was a bit lacking. I understood the concept, but I was a bit confused about the actual curse. Either way, I was looking forward to the next story to see what would happen next.
The second story is Stargazer by Jude Mandell. This story is set in 1793 England, around the French Revolution. The lovers meet while on a covert mission to rescue the young future king of France. There is a lot of disguises and secrets in this installment. It was fun and exciting to read, but not the most believable of the installments, and the enemy was very unclear. One of the lovers has higher priorities than love, so the curse is not overcome.
The third story is Moonstruck by Laurie DeMarino, which takes place on a boat in New York Harbor in 1889. The people on the boat are immigrants coming to America, and the lovers meet on the boat. However, when a murder takes place on the ship, the heroine is in danger and the hero is obsessed with finding the killer. The lovers are united again, but the curse is still not overcome.
The fourth story is Guiding Star by Rosemary Paulas, which takes place in the USA, 1944. The characters in Guiding Star are fighter pilots, training for flight in World War 2. Prejudice runs high, as men prefer women to stay home, not fly airplanes. Kate, the heroine, shows her tougher side here, she is capable, strong, and has a tough of magic. Still, the curse is not defeated and the saga continues.
Story number six is Shooting Stars by Cherly Jefferson. This one takes place in Vietnam in the last days of the Vietnam war. Athena is a peace loving photographer, and wants to publish photos of the horrors of war. The hero is a soldier, who joined the fight to help his captured brother. I actually like this heroine the least, she is pretty selfish, and cold in the way she exploits the soldiers. War is never easy, good, or black and white, and this installment is darker in nature. The differences for the hero and heroine here are vast, and yet again, the curse remains standing.
The final installment is Moonspinner by Patricia Rosemoor, which takes place in Cresent Key, Florida, present day. The characters are searching the ocean for sunken treasure. Cordelia is the heroine, and she has family ties to the buried treasure. Cordelia’s friend, Captain Inis Foley is helping Cordelia search the wreckage, and he also has ties to the treasure. And finally, treasure hunter Morgan Murphy joins the search with his own ties to the treasure. The enemy is unclear here, Cordelia is not sure who to trust, who is bad and who is good. With the help of her ancestors, Cordelia must find the treasure and stop the enemy from committing murder.
Overall, Heaven Can Wait is a very good romance story. The authors collaborated and combined various different stories to form a very unique reading experience. As I stated earlier, sometimes novellas have development issues, and there were some of these issues throughout the stories. However, after reading through the entire book, the curse began to make more sense and the concept developed along with the story. Each of the characters had their own unique traits and they were all interesting, it was not just the same story written in different ways, it went well beyond that.
With a unique and very creative concept, The Heaven Can Wait anthology is a very fun, good read. Romance readers, if you are looking for something a little bit different, and you like anthologies, I recommend reading Heaven Can Wait.