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Sweet Songs of Summer: An Anthology
The Romance Writer’s Organization of South Africa brings you an anthology featuring new and seasoned authors.
We all need a little bit of sweet in our lives. And that’s why the authors at ROSA, thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring you the Sweet Songs of Summer! Join nine authors as they bring you romance wrapped up in a beautiful, pink bow!
The wonderful words of Alissa Baxter, Francine Beaton, Lara van Lelyveld, Lorna Kelly, PG Barker, Melissa A Volker, Meg Chronis, Kathy Bosman, Tlalane Manciya in a sweet, romantic collection of stories to happily ever after.
We all need a little bit of sweet in our lives. And that’s why the authors at ROSA, thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring you the Sweet Songs of Summer! Join nine authors as they bring you romance wrapped up in a beautiful, pink bow!
The wonderful words of Alissa Baxter, Francine Beaton, Lara van Lelyveld, Lorna Kelly, PG Barker, Melissa A Volker, Meg Chronis, Kathy Bosman, Tlalane Manciya in a sweet, romantic collection of stories to happily ever after.
- GenresRomance
Kindle Edition
Published May 20, 2021
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Alissa Baxter
13 books301 followersAlissa Baxter writes historical novels set in the Regency period, featuring women with unusual interests and occupations. Her Linfield Ladies series, a trio of traditional Regency romances, showcases women in trend-setting roles who fall in love with men who embrace their trailblazing ways... at least eventually. Her Dragonblade Publishing trilogy, The Grantham Girls, continues this inspiring theme.
Alissa currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband and two sons.
Alissa currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 15, 2021
I'm so disappointed by this anthology for several reasons.
For one, it was my first ever read off #netgalley and I was really rooting for this to be awesome and worthy of a good review so they'd be motivated to keep letting me get ARC's for reviews.
The second disappointment is with the calibre of the stories. I've read [edit] six out of nine and it's hard for me to believe that these stories have been edited at all. Did I get a version of first drafts?
Except for [edit] two stories, "Time waits for Nora" and "The Pool guy", that read like proper, intact, well written love stories with an arc, with dialogue, with character development and sweetness, the rest read like summaries of plots and they are SO flat. Besides which, there are spelling mistakes, even with the names of the protagonists. In one single page, Brian and Bryan both appear and they are the same person! Details and past events are crammed into unending sentences that left me shaking my head. This happened in several stories. It was super confusing and really broke my pace.
The stories are really unpolished and not in a gemstone way! The protagonists hold forth, they pontificate, they present paragraphs of information; in one story, the lead reacts with, "Oh My Word," three times in a row. It's all sloppy and could have done with so much tightening.
And finally, I was disappointed because it didn't live up to its promise. The anthology features South African writers and I was really looking forward to expanding my universe and reading stories set in a different land. I know South Africa has a mixed population, I thought I'd see that diversity, learn about culture and even race; Sadly, only one story at all "A Taste of Romance" even took us to the market at all with any kind of scene setting. Another had a polo ground, but seriously, it was just the setting for the sport. Could I picture Africa? Not at all! I mean four out of five male leads were blond and blue-eyed and the people, language, stories, settings were so bland, they could have been anywhere.
I don't think I can read the remaining four stories. I wanted to read this as a palate cleanser between two sci fi/magic realism books, but I need something to wash this off!
For one, it was my first ever read off #netgalley and I was really rooting for this to be awesome and worthy of a good review so they'd be motivated to keep letting me get ARC's for reviews.
The second disappointment is with the calibre of the stories. I've read [edit] six out of nine and it's hard for me to believe that these stories have been edited at all. Did I get a version of first drafts?
Except for [edit] two stories, "Time waits for Nora" and "The Pool guy", that read like proper, intact, well written love stories with an arc, with dialogue, with character development and sweetness, the rest read like summaries of plots and they are SO flat. Besides which, there are spelling mistakes, even with the names of the protagonists. In one single page, Brian and Bryan both appear and they are the same person! Details and past events are crammed into unending sentences that left me shaking my head. This happened in several stories. It was super confusing and really broke my pace.
The stories are really unpolished and not in a gemstone way! The protagonists hold forth, they pontificate, they present paragraphs of information; in one story, the lead reacts with, "Oh My Word," three times in a row. It's all sloppy and could have done with so much tightening.
And finally, I was disappointed because it didn't live up to its promise. The anthology features South African writers and I was really looking forward to expanding my universe and reading stories set in a different land. I know South Africa has a mixed population, I thought I'd see that diversity, learn about culture and even race; Sadly, only one story at all "A Taste of Romance" even took us to the market at all with any kind of scene setting. Another had a polo ground, but seriously, it was just the setting for the sport. Could I picture Africa? Not at all! I mean four out of five male leads were blond and blue-eyed and the people, language, stories, settings were so bland, they could have been anywhere.
I don't think I can read the remaining four stories. I wanted to read this as a palate cleanser between two sci fi/magic realism books, but I need something to wash this off!
May 22, 2021
Everyone needs a little bit of sweet in their lives, especially now. This was a great collection of those kinds of stories. All the authors were practically new to me so it was nice discovering all of them. I felt like a kid in a candy store with so many new stories.
June 1, 2021
Escape with these short, sweet, and oh so tasty romances
Looking for quick reads with guaranteed happily ever afters? This nine-author anthology of sweet romances will make you sigh, chuckle, or cry at the antics of all the characters. All the stories are set in South Africa. The authors skillfully bring to life the cities, beaches and bushveld of this beautiful country through the eyes of the men and women who all need someone to love. You can smell the grass of the polo fields in Alissa Baxter's Is This Love, and you'll want to curl your toes in the sand on the beach featured in Kathy Bosman's story, Every Moment.
In Lara van Lelyveld's Time Waits for Nora, a woman makes space for love in her life despite facing pressing deadlines while looking after a friend's antique store; in Tlalane Manciya's State of the Heart, Dineo and Bongani have to face up to the ghosts of their past; and PG Barker tells the story of a lawyer and a movie maker.
It is very hard to choose a favourite story, so I won't even try. But, I particularly enjoyed Second Fiddle by Meg Chronis. She captures the charm of the bushveld with a story about Sophie, a wannabe wedding planner who has to deal with her past hurts, baboons and a world-famous violinist in the form of the handsome Nate Holt.
If you enjoy stories that involve food, then you'll love A Taste of Romance, where photographer Olivia attempts to heal her broken heart by taking on a new assignment. She finds it hard not to get distracted by the hot chef who creates sizzling dishes for the photo shoots.
While there are quite a few insta-love stories in the anthology, Francine Beaton's story, Chances, is refreshing as she writes about two best friends who reunite after eight years and discover they might just want more from each other than friendship.
And can I just say that every woman deserves to have a Wyatt, The Pool Guy,featured in Melissa A Volker's story.
The stories featured in this limited-edition anthology will help you shorten your commute time, give you a welcome escape from everyday life and leave you with warm, fuzzy feelings of love. Give them a try.
I received an ARC copy of this anthology and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
Looking for quick reads with guaranteed happily ever afters? This nine-author anthology of sweet romances will make you sigh, chuckle, or cry at the antics of all the characters. All the stories are set in South Africa. The authors skillfully bring to life the cities, beaches and bushveld of this beautiful country through the eyes of the men and women who all need someone to love. You can smell the grass of the polo fields in Alissa Baxter's Is This Love, and you'll want to curl your toes in the sand on the beach featured in Kathy Bosman's story, Every Moment.
In Lara van Lelyveld's Time Waits for Nora, a woman makes space for love in her life despite facing pressing deadlines while looking after a friend's antique store; in Tlalane Manciya's State of the Heart, Dineo and Bongani have to face up to the ghosts of their past; and PG Barker tells the story of a lawyer and a movie maker.
It is very hard to choose a favourite story, so I won't even try. But, I particularly enjoyed Second Fiddle by Meg Chronis. She captures the charm of the bushveld with a story about Sophie, a wannabe wedding planner who has to deal with her past hurts, baboons and a world-famous violinist in the form of the handsome Nate Holt.
If you enjoy stories that involve food, then you'll love A Taste of Romance, where photographer Olivia attempts to heal her broken heart by taking on a new assignment. She finds it hard not to get distracted by the hot chef who creates sizzling dishes for the photo shoots.
While there are quite a few insta-love stories in the anthology, Francine Beaton's story, Chances, is refreshing as she writes about two best friends who reunite after eight years and discover they might just want more from each other than friendship.
And can I just say that every woman deserves to have a Wyatt, The Pool Guy,featured in Melissa A Volker's story.
The stories featured in this limited-edition anthology will help you shorten your commute time, give you a welcome escape from everyday life and leave you with warm, fuzzy feelings of love. Give them a try.
I received an ARC copy of this anthology and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
October 4, 2021
Two stories worth reading.
June 15, 2021
I enjoyed this anthology with stories in South Africa. The stories were quick and varied in characters. Here are some:
Is This Love by Alyssa Baxter - Jennifer and Ivan were great together. Her broken relationship made her hesitant. Ivan was very straightforward and knew what he wanted right away.
Time for Nora by Lara Van Lelyveld - Nora worked her friends shop and David worked the clock shop. I loved how he created Nora's favorite song using the clocks' chimes. The heat was quick and all consuming. They made a wonderful couple.
State of the Heart by Tlalane Manciya - Dineo and Bongani were brought together by Bongani's daughter Zara. Some secrets pushed them apart, but love proved to be stronger.
I received a copy of this book through Enticing Journey Book Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
Is This Love by Alyssa Baxter - Jennifer and Ivan were great together. Her broken relationship made her hesitant. Ivan was very straightforward and knew what he wanted right away.
Time for Nora by Lara Van Lelyveld - Nora worked her friends shop and David worked the clock shop. I loved how he created Nora's favorite song using the clocks' chimes. The heat was quick and all consuming. They made a wonderful couple.
State of the Heart by Tlalane Manciya - Dineo and Bongani were brought together by Bongani's daughter Zara. Some secrets pushed them apart, but love proved to be stronger.
I received a copy of this book through Enticing Journey Book Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews