Once Upon A Pillow

Once Upon A Pillow #1 To #4

by Christina Dodd

One bewitching bed… four captivating couples… two enthralling authors…

Once Upon a Pillow tells the story of the magnificent Masterson bed and the passionate couples who share it through the ages. This sparkling quartet of tales by two of historical romances brightest stars - Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway - is set during four of England’s most thrilling eras and proves that true love - and sizzling desire - are truly timeless. Once Upon a Pillow includes…

First Knight by Connie Brockway

In medieval England, a battle weary knight returns from the crusades searching for peace and finds instead the feisty - and bloodthirsty - wife-by-proxy he'd forgotten he even had.

Kidnapped by Christina Dodd

A poverty-stricken lord concocts the perfect plan to win a fortune by abducting and marrying an heiress, but finds his own heart stolen when he snatches the wrong girl.

Her Captive by Connie Brockway

During George’s III reign, a highwayman’s beautiful sister will do anything to protect her brother from the bold kingsman set on his trail, even if it means chaining the fierce and furious man to her bed.

Last Night by Christina Dodd

The man in her house is a stranger to her, a danger to her, and the one man she should never love… and can’t resist.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Anthologies, Historical, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Regency

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Brand new! TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction
Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all… The Daughter of Romeo and Juliet, the real story
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

New and Now!
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.

(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )

Reviews

[kris]

Read in 2026 as individual stories.

First Knight , Connie Brockway

Kidnapped , Christina Dodd

Her Captive , Connie Brockway

Last Night , Christina Dodd

[Triinu]

Minu arvamuse leiab blogist https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...

[Mojca]

This book suffers from short-storiness, if you ask me. As we all know it's tough writing short stories, since you have to cramp up a plot, believable characters and their development, romance, and the resolution in approx. 100 pages, give or take a page or two.

And though some anthologies are pretty decent (at least parts of some anthologies), this is not the case with Once Upon A Pillow.

The four stories revolve around a famous bed - The Bed. Which is pretty nifty if you ask me, if it weren't all botched up.

The first story, set in the Middle Ages, about how The Bed came to be was pretty sweet, with a battle-scarred hero that is still a decent, piece-loving guy despite having "served time" in a Saracen prison. The heroine though comes through as a blood-thirsty wench on her way to sainthood. Throw in three blood-thirsty monks, a young would-be suitor and you have Connie Brockway's story.

There is not much background for the characters, no development whatsoever. One day they're married by proxy with her hating his guts and him just calmly taking it all in stride and the next they're madly in love with each other and making master's sons.



Christina Dodd takes the quill next for an Elizabethan era would-be-romp, which is just plain weird, if you ask me. The hero kidnaps the heroine thinking it's her cousin, that in reality set the heroine up to be "ruined" because she hates her. So the heroine, trying to make the best of things, turns the hero's castle into a well-run household and his battle-weary men into gentlemen in a day.

The two resist their attraction, because he must marry a heiress to keep his castle and his lands, but they end up in The Bed anyway, because her friend and his friend set them up. But even after they did the deed he still needs an heiress and she leaves only to fall into the clutches of her uncle that tries to kills her, but the hero saves her, she turns out to be an heiress and they all lived happily ever after.



The third story, once again by Ms. Brockway, is a little too similar to Ms. Dodd's story in My Scandalous Bride. There are smugglers, a suspected brother (though he's alive), a huge misunderstanding between hero and heroine, and the hero ending up chained to the bed. The only difference is the fact that they use chains and the heroine ends up in the same predicament.

At least this one had a semblance of a backstory to it.



The fourth, wrapping up The Bed saga is a contemporary by Ms. Dodd, and it just freaked me out. Up to a few months past the heroine had apparently been one of the rare twenty-something virgins in England, the hero "deflowered" her and in a bout of chivalrous behavior immediately asked her to marry her.

That which would have worked nicely for a historical, is just a right-hook into the teeth for a twenty-first century romance. What the heck?!

The plot basically leaked like a barrel after a rundown with Al Capone's men. Besides the obvious ludicrous backstory of a one night of passion ending up in a marriage proposal, there are some more smugglers and Interpol agents thrown in the mix, with the final revelation of the hero's true heritage.


All in all, I give it four stars for the welcome workout my eyes underwent with all the rolling.

[Princess Thuy]

Stumbled upon this book at a book sale and I am so glad I bought it. It is a very different way to write novellas and I was very pleasantly surprised because I didn't know what to expect. There are 4 stories in this book, two written by each author, but they were all seamlessly incorporated into one full length novel. The story is about a bed. Yes, a bed and it starts off being told in the present day by Laurel who is kind of like the curator for this old English Manor. She gives tours for this "museum" and the main attraction is the Masterson Bed. So she tells the love stories of 3 of the previous Masterson owners of the bed starting with the very first Masterson circa 1200, then traveling through time to 1583, and 1815, then back to present day with her living her own love story. It's a really different format but the stories are bridged together with a little present day snippet tying the whole book together. It might sound kind of strange based on my description but hopefully it makes some sense. It's a really great book. Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway did an amazing job collaborating on this book. If you have a chance you really should read this book. You will absolutely love it also!

[Jan]

From Medieval times to cell phones, four linked stories flesh out the 800 year history of the Masterson Bed. Curator Lauren Whitney is devoted to the history and reality of Masterson Manor. Her love for the place is bittersweet. Today is her last house tour; the owners have sold it. The new owner wants the tours stopped, and Lauren will be out of a job and with an incomplete thesis.

Dodd wrote the Elizabethan and contemporary stories; Brockway the Medieval and Regency ones. The bed is the through line of the stories from the building of it as a sign of devotion to a kidnapping arranged by the daughter of her guardian, to a tearaway beauty who chains the man sent to find smugglers to the bed to save her brother from discovery, to modern day thieves and smugglers stripping off the house’s treasures.

Each story and set of characters are enjoyable on its own with tiny bridges of the final house tour to knit them together. The stories stand the test of time, and fans of either author, historical romance, or romance in general should enjoy them. This should also be a good dip in the water for fans of historical fiction who are not sure they will enjoy romance. Recommended.

Readalikes:
Janna MacGregor – The Bad Luck Bride; Amy Campbell – Captive of Sin; Virginia Heath – The Earl’s Inconvenient Houseguest; Kara Braden – The Deepest Night; Jude Deveraux – True Love; Lotte R. James – The Housekeeper of Thornhallow Hall; Katie MacAlister – The Importance of Being Alice; Kelly Bowen – A Duke in the Night.

Pace: Moderately paced
Character: Well-developed; likeable; strong women, appealing men
Storyline: Linked stories
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Steamy; witty
Frame: Cornwall, border with Devon; Medieval to contemporary
Themes: Enemies to lovers; second chance at love

[Gillena Cox]

In this arena of cock and nub, applause; for feminine mettle, heating the loins of Masterson warriors and skillfully bringing them through the foibles of lust to the rewards that waiting for the plunge of falling in love brings. Chapters where every woman is goddess and every male who is; man enough will knee and kiss the hand of woman in adoration.

Yeah for torrid passion, romance, courtship and love victorious.

Two women: Christina Dodd & Connie Brockway, co-author these steamy stories. Fitting pieces into right places, for this one jig-saw-puzzle of a fabulous novel.

Set against backdrops going as far back, as early as, the Ninth Century in the reign of King Alfred; returning to George III, then later to Henry VIII and still later to 21st Century Masterson Manor. With the tease of legends, such as that of St Neot's toe and the novel's center-piece, the museum Masterson Bed.

Nudged, in a little corner of England, between Cornwall and Devon.
Bravo!

[Cleo]

The first two stories are as charming as I remembered. They used to be on my comfort read rotation, back in the 2000s.

A recent HABO inspired me to pull this off the shelf. - https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2...

[Lori Lavin]

This book is a favorite of mine. Short stories with bits of history of a single house/family/bed.

[Deborah Vespo]

This book was a collaboration of Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway. I read in the back of the book that the idea for the story actually came from Christina's husband! Pretty cool!

Laurel Whitney is the curator of the the Masterton family home, which is now a museum. Due to the size and the age of the home it's an enormous expense and tours fund the continued running and upkeep of the home. However, the current owners have decided it's an expense they no longer want to have to deal with, they are older and want to retire and so sell the home. So Laurel is preparing the place for it's new owner, who will be using the place as a country home, and is also dealing with the thefts of very old and valuable antiques that belonged to the Masterton family. One antique that she won't have to worry about being stolen is a very large bed that has been around since the early 13th century, a bed that many of the Masterson family stories and legends are centered around.

Laurel is giving the final tour to a group of people and shares three such stories with them, that revolve around this very old bed and old aristocratic family. So most of the book consists of these stories of three very different members of the family, the first being about Sir Nicholas Masterton and Lady Jocelyn during the Medieval times. "The Bed Is Made". Sir Nicholas is the Patriarch of the family, and a knight. He has been gone for some time and is believed to have been dead. His family in his absence and before his apparent death had arranged a marriage for him. So when he returns he returns to a reluctant bride who feels that he will lead their family to ruin and destroy all her careful management of the way she has run their estate.

The second story, "The Bed Is Unmade" is about Lord Rion Masterson and Lady Helwin - takes place during Elizabeth era. Rion is the leader of an army of men who are all about to lose their home due to lack of financial resources. So he kidnaps Lady Helwin, believing she is a particular wealthy heiress - her cousin. He believes this will ruin her reputation and force her into marriage with him. He sadly discovers that he kidnapped the wrong person quickly finds that his mistake is not such a bad one.

The third story "The Lady Makes Her Bed" was actually a pretty funny one. This is Ned Masterson and Phillipa Jones's story and takes place during the regency era. Phillipa overhears Ned talking with someone and discovers that her brother is facing arrest for being part of a gang of smugglers. She is determined to help her brother and do whatever she can to save him and stop Ned from arresting him - a man with whom we learn she has a history. She sneaks into his room to manacle him to the bed so that he can't go anywhere. Unfortunately her plans go awry - not only does she manage to manacle him to the bed she finds herself in the same position. Ned has a very funny sense of humor about the whole thing because this is a woman who he dearly loves and wants to work out their problems.

"The Bed Wins All" is really the surrounding story about Laurel and Max. Max is the carpenter that has come in to make the repairs to the home before the new owner moves in. The reader quickly learns that their had also been a relationship between Max and Laurel and that things didn't work out for them. Max however, has secrets and has more reasons for being at the house than just carpentry work.

[Flora]

I love anthologies because they provide a wonderful way of finding new authors. I first read this novella in a collection of related stories in a book called "Once upon a Pillow." It was collaboration between two authors that were new to me then, but who are now on my auto buy list for anything they write!
In “Once Upon a Pillow" we follow the history of a magnificently majestic bed, and the frolicking there-in, from its beginnings in medieval England, to the Elizabethan era, the Regency period and finally, the present day.
Thus, "First Knight" is a naughtily cute play on words that appropriately captures the introduction to the following short stories. Whether you choose to read these novellas individually as e-books of if you choose to read them in their original book format, you are in for a treat! Each of the four Novellas stands very well on its own and they make one great novel when taken as a whole! The novellas following, "First Night," are: "Kidnapped" by Christina Dodd, "Her Captive" (Brockway again) and "Last Night" (Dodd again).
Do yourself the favor of enjoying each of them and the literary talents of two of the best writers I could ever recommend.

[Judi Lacanlale]

This book by Christina Dodd & the awesome Connie Brockway (who I'm currently obsessing on, that's why I found this book) is the reason why I love Ms. Brockway. I love the four stories of love that has to do with one magical bed. It takes us from medieval times from 1200's during the crusade to the 1500's, to the Regency Era all the way to present day. I absolutely was take in by this book and was a joy from beginning to end. The love scenes were magnificently scorching HOT which is always a BONUS! Having read it during Christmas, it felt like a Christmas gift to myself having read such a wonderful, romantic, sweeping love stories that spanned through time!

[Rebekah]

How many love stories can one antique piece of furniture tell? This book of 4 romance novellas tells the story of one family from it's medieval beginning to the present and how a large carved wooden bedframe shapes their love stories. I don't think I'm a novella person.... I always seem to think that they would be better as full novels.

[Kristine]

This was on ok read. I generally like Christina Dodd's books more. The concept of a bed that has stories over the ages is intriguing, but the stories themselves seemed a little trite and easily wrapped up. I guess fitting 4 stories in one book will do that. Basically a quick bubble gum read for me.

[Kristi]

I generally enjoy anthologies and I particularly like those that have a connecting theme. This was a bed -- how delicious is that? I liked all the characters save the contemporary Laurel and Max story. For some reason, I couldn't warm up to them, especially Max. Overall, however, an enjoyable read.

[Mo]

Interesting device. Written by Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway. I didn't care for the modern romance as it felt rushed and unbelievable. (I believe it was a collaberation of the 2 authors.) The 3 historical short stories were better.

[Oyceter]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/123468...

[Tammy]

Super fun read!

[Donna]

This book was wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved the three historical segments and of course the charming present day love story.

[Susan]

Grt stories, 1,2,3,4 that order. 1st is best

[Diana]

Really enjoyed this book.

[Jocelyn]

This last installment was not my favorite, but I can see myself reading these novellas again!

[Sonja]

Loved this book... following the bed thru the centuries was fun... what an creative way to tie several stories together!

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1...

[Sandra]

This book was so amazing and interesting, that I want to read it again and again. Once I started I wasn't capable of putting it down.
All the romance and intrigue...
I just loved it!

[Terri]

Will read again!

[Stephanie Bolen]

Nice character development, interesting concept, good writing, smugglers were unnecessary

[Christine Kirchoff]

I read this awhile ago but I never rated it on here.

[D]

This was sweet, funny, romantic, and very cleverly written. Totally enjoyed it.

[Jo]

3.5 stars
Some stories were more enjoyable than others for me, but a wonderful idea.

[Cecilia Rodriguez]

A collection of four short romance stories which are all interconnected by a wooden bed.
The first story is set during the Medieval period and tell of the bed's origins.

[Rachel Kennedy]

Cute idea for an anthology, but the overall stories were average.