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Guardians #0.5 - The Alchemical Marriage
Irresistible Forces
New York Times bestselling authors Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, and Lois McMaster Bujold join forces with award-winning authors Catherine Asaro, Jennifer Roberson, and Deb Stover in this all-new anthology of original stories proving that love can conquer all...even the boundaries of time and space. From sixteenth-century Britain to the farthest reaches of outer space, from medieval adventures to tales of inter-galactic love, here is a compilation that explores the wonderfully kinetic forces that lovers share—forces too great to resist...
Contents
Winterfair Gifts (Miles Vorkosigan) / Lois McMaster Bujold
The Alchemical Marriage (The Guardian #0.5) / Mary Jo Putney
Stained Glass Heart (Skolian Short Fiction #2) / Catherine Asaro
Skin Deep / Deb Stover
The Trouble with Heroes / Jo Beverley
Shadows in the Wood (Robin Hood #3) / Jennifer Roberson
Contents
Winterfair Gifts (Miles Vorkosigan) / Lois McMaster Bujold
The Alchemical Marriage (The Guardian #0.5) / Mary Jo Putney
Stained Glass Heart (Skolian Short Fiction #2) / Catherine Asaro
Skin Deep / Deb Stover
The Trouble with Heroes / Jo Beverley
Shadows in the Wood (Robin Hood #3) / Jennifer Roberson
383 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2004
33 people are currently reading
661 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Asaro
93 books700 followersThe author of more than twenty-five books, Catherine Asaro is acclaimed for her Ruby Dynasty series, which combines adventure, science, romance and fast-paced action. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula® Award, as did her novella “The Spacetime Pool.” Among her many other distinctions, she is a multiple winner of the AnLab from Analog magazine and a three time recipient of the RT BOOKClub Award for “Best Science Fiction Novel.” Her most recent novel, Carnelians, came out in October, 2011. An anthology of her short fiction titled Aurora in Four Voices is available from ISFiC Press in hardcover, and her multiple award-winning novella “The City of Cries” is also available as an eBook for Kindle and Nook.
Catherine has two music CD’s out and she is currently working on her third. The first, Diamond Star, is the soundtrack for her novel of the same name, performed with the rock band, Point Valid. She appears as a vocalist at cons, clubs, and other venues in the US and abroad, including recently as the Guest of Honor at the Denmark and New Zealand National Science Fiction Conventions. She performs selections from her work in a multimedia project that mixes literature, dance, and music with Greg Adams as her accompanist. She is also a theoretical physicist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and a jazz and ballet dancer. Visit her at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro
Catherine has two music CD’s out and she is currently working on her third. The first, Diamond Star, is the soundtrack for her novel of the same name, performed with the rock band, Point Valid. She appears as a vocalist at cons, clubs, and other venues in the US and abroad, including recently as the Guest of Honor at the Denmark and New Zealand National Science Fiction Conventions. She performs selections from her work in a multimedia project that mixes literature, dance, and music with Greg Adams as her accompanist. She is also a theoretical physicist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and a jazz and ballet dancer. Visit her at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
April 14, 2007
The reason I bought this book was for one novella: "Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold, the wedding of Miles Vorkosigan and the star of my favorite book series. As soon as the book came in the mail, I read it immediately and loved it. It was very much a Lois story - wonderfully crafted and highly enjoyable. I then read the other five stories in the collection. It's very odd to find an anthology that contains only stories I enjoyed and loved. Usually, there's a mishmash of some that I love, some that I liked, some that were mediocre, and some that I could barely finish. I loved every story in IR and don't regret paying the 14 dollars for the book at all.
The premise of the anthology is a mixing of SF/F and romance, much like what Harlequin books is trying to do right now with their Luna line. However, I think this book far surpasses their Charmed Destinies in quality, talent, and just sheer variety. I already knew and loved Bujold and Asaro; had read a few of Jennifer Roberson's books. But I have never read any of the three romance writers featured in the book. But from the quality of their stories, I may seek them out. The stories in this book show that it is very possible for writers to transcend genre boundaries and do it well.
Highly recommended.
The premise of the anthology is a mixing of SF/F and romance, much like what Harlequin books is trying to do right now with their Luna line. However, I think this book far surpasses their Charmed Destinies in quality, talent, and just sheer variety. I already knew and loved Bujold and Asaro; had read a few of Jennifer Roberson's books. But I have never read any of the three romance writers featured in the book. But from the quality of their stories, I may seek them out. The stories in this book show that it is very possible for writers to transcend genre boundaries and do it well.
Highly recommended.
September 15, 2013
This book contains:
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. The reason I read this book. I always love returning to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, but this, like the last several novels, felt a bit slack to me. Miles's marriage is the background to Armsman Roic's love affair with Taura. Despite poison and intrigue, the plot never had the sense of urgency that used to make me tear through these books. Instead, it kinda felt like Bujold was wrapping up her time with the series by pairing the last spare characters off.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Two mages have to work together to prevent the Spanish Armada from invading England. In so doing they join their hearts, their magic, and their ~bodies~. Purple prose, silly plot.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Yet more purple prose and silly plot, but at least it's a twist on that old tune, the arranged marriage: to ensure his family's success, would-be dancer Vyrl is engaged to the Matriarch of Majda, but loves a simple farm girl he grew up with. The Matriarch is an experienced woman, older and wiser than Vyrl; although it's an arranged match, she hopes they'll grow to like each other in time. Which woman will Vyrl choose? Not that I gave a crap, but he chooses
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. A ghost is given one last chance to get into heaven: get his ex-wife to fall in love with her old boyfriend. I don't really know what I was supposed to think about this story: was I supposed to care about the selfish ghost character? The bland ex-wife or blander boyfriend? Another slog.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. On an alien planet, people with extra powers are named "Fixers" and tasked with everything from healing to preventing alien incursions. Then a lady falls in love with a Fixer and finds out that a lot of people have a tiny amount of Fixing power, and that they can all work together to make the world a better place. I guess? I started skimming this about 10 pages in; it felt very scattered.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Merlin emerges from a tree and asks Marion and Robin Hood to help him return Excalibur to its rightful place. Fans of the Mists of Avalon and that kind of pagan fantasy would undoubtedly appreciate this a good deal more than I did. I thought it clunky and artless.
A surprisingly uninspired, uninspiring collection, overall.
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. The reason I read this book. I always love returning to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, but this, like the last several novels, felt a bit slack to me. Miles's marriage is the background to Armsman Roic's love affair with Taura. Despite poison and intrigue, the plot never had the sense of urgency that used to make me tear through these books. Instead, it kinda felt like Bujold was wrapping up her time with the series by pairing the last spare characters off.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Two mages have to work together to prevent the Spanish Armada from invading England. In so doing they join their hearts, their magic, and their ~bodies~. Purple prose, silly plot.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Yet more purple prose and silly plot, but at least it's a twist on that old tune, the arranged marriage: to ensure his family's success, would-be dancer Vyrl is engaged to the Matriarch of Majda, but loves a simple farm girl he grew up with. The Matriarch is an experienced woman, older and wiser than Vyrl; although it's an arranged match, she hopes they'll grow to like each other in time. Which woman will Vyrl choose? Not that I gave a crap, but he chooses
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. A ghost is given one last chance to get into heaven: get his ex-wife to fall in love with her old boyfriend. I don't really know what I was supposed to think about this story: was I supposed to care about the selfish ghost character? The bland ex-wife or blander boyfriend? Another slog.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. On an alien planet, people with extra powers are named "Fixers" and tasked with everything from healing to preventing alien incursions. Then a lady falls in love with a Fixer and finds out that a lot of people have a tiny amount of Fixing power, and that they can all work together to make the world a better place. I guess? I started skimming this about 10 pages in; it felt very scattered.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Merlin emerges from a tree and asks Marion and Robin Hood to help him return Excalibur to its rightful place. Fans of the Mists of Avalon and that kind of pagan fantasy would undoubtedly appreciate this a good deal more than I did. I thought it clunky and artless.
A surprisingly uninspired, uninspiring collection, overall.
February 18, 2021
Like many of the other people who reviewed this on Goodreads, I bought this book for "Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've re-read that story many times, but never actually read the rest of the book until now.
The book is composed of six different stories, three by authors who are known for science fiction or fantasy and three who are known for romance novels. The concept was for each author to combine these genres. Some worked better than others.
In order of enjoyment:
"Winterfair Gifts" was clearly my favorite. This is part of the Vorkosigan series and tells the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding. There are cameos by many of Bujold's characters from previous novels. Taura (who Miles rescued from Jackson's Hole in "Labyrinth") has a major role along with Armsman Roic.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley is set on Gaia, a planet that was settled by people who left Earth when it was becoming unlivable (climate change? resources used up? humans destroyed the animal life that they were dependent on?). Gaia had appeared to be a utopian planet, but now the human inhabitants are being attacked by an invisible indigenous species. Some of the humans, known as "fixers" have evolved limited magical powers which they now need to use to fight off the "blighters". That's a really bad description, but a good story.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. This is apparently tied into Asaro's Skolian Empire series. I haven't read the series but didn't have any problems following the story. A young man of royal heritage is living with his family on a rural planet and falls in love with a neighboring farm girl. His family is still involved with government issues and has negotiated for him to marry an older woman who is a military leader from another planet. Love vs duty.
(I think I tried reading Asaro before and gave up, but I don't remember what book it was. This inspires me to try her again.)
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Robin Hood and Marian are fleeing from soldiers and meet Merlin of Arthurian legend. Meh. The concept was interesting, but the story never pulled me in.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Male and female wizards from different magical traditions must work together to save England from the Spanish Armada. Putney is one of the romance authors, and this story seems to just be a set up for the characters to have sex.
(Magical defense of England is also treated by Katherine Kurtz in Lammas Night which includes the Armada as backstory. I would recommend that instead.)
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover was the one story I clearly disliked (as opposed to just not caring). A sexist egotistical man dies, but he can't get into Heaven until he returns to earth in a female body to help his widow get together with her true mate.
The book is composed of six different stories, three by authors who are known for science fiction or fantasy and three who are known for romance novels. The concept was for each author to combine these genres. Some worked better than others.
In order of enjoyment:
"Winterfair Gifts" was clearly my favorite. This is part of the Vorkosigan series and tells the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding. There are cameos by many of Bujold's characters from previous novels. Taura (who Miles rescued from Jackson's Hole in "Labyrinth") has a major role along with Armsman Roic.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley is set on Gaia, a planet that was settled by people who left Earth when it was becoming unlivable (climate change? resources used up? humans destroyed the animal life that they were dependent on?). Gaia had appeared to be a utopian planet, but now the human inhabitants are being attacked by an invisible indigenous species. Some of the humans, known as "fixers" have evolved limited magical powers which they now need to use to fight off the "blighters". That's a really bad description, but a good story.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. This is apparently tied into Asaro's Skolian Empire series. I haven't read the series but didn't have any problems following the story. A young man of royal heritage is living with his family on a rural planet and falls in love with a neighboring farm girl. His family is still involved with government issues and has negotiated for him to marry an older woman who is a military leader from another planet. Love vs duty.
(I think I tried reading Asaro before and gave up, but I don't remember what book it was. This inspires me to try her again.)
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Robin Hood and Marian are fleeing from soldiers and meet Merlin of Arthurian legend. Meh. The concept was interesting, but the story never pulled me in.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Male and female wizards from different magical traditions must work together to save England from the Spanish Armada. Putney is one of the romance authors, and this story seems to just be a set up for the characters to have sex.
(Magical defense of England is also treated by Katherine Kurtz in Lammas Night which includes the Armada as backstory. I would recommend that instead.)
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover was the one story I clearly disliked (as opposed to just not caring). A sexist egotistical man dies, but he can't get into Heaven until he returns to earth in a female body to help his widow get together with her true mate.
September 12, 2012
The first story in this series overshadowed all the rest for me but then again I'm a Lois McMaster Bujold fan and any extra story in Miles' world is a good thing. This is a story of Taura who attends Miles' wedding and Roic who learns that appearance isn't everything.
The Alchemical Marriage by Mary Jo Putney is an interesting story of two magicians who have to work together to save England from the Spanish Armada. Pretty predictable but not a bad story and I really did care for the characters.
Catherine Asaro's Stained Glass Heart is set in her Skolian Empire world and is a story of one of the sons of Kurj and Roca and his choice between the Empire and love.
Skin Deep by Deb Stover is a fun story of the afterlife and an angel who gets something he didn't expect when he goes to help his ex-girlfriend find love.
The Trouble with Heroes by Jo Beverly is a story that just didn't resonate with me. It's a story of human contact with a people they really don't understand and how that mis-understanding causes serious trouble.
Shadows in the Wood by Jennifer Roberson is a very interesting Robin Hood story. Concentrating more on Marian than Robin and including Merlin it sounds at first like it could be overdone but it's well handled.
Overall it's not a bad set of stories but really didn't gel as a set of stories like many other sets of stories like this. A book to dip into between other books.
The Alchemical Marriage by Mary Jo Putney is an interesting story of two magicians who have to work together to save England from the Spanish Armada. Pretty predictable but not a bad story and I really did care for the characters.
Catherine Asaro's Stained Glass Heart is set in her Skolian Empire world and is a story of one of the sons of Kurj and Roca and his choice between the Empire and love.
Skin Deep by Deb Stover is a fun story of the afterlife and an angel who gets something he didn't expect when he goes to help his ex-girlfriend find love.
The Trouble with Heroes by Jo Beverly is a story that just didn't resonate with me. It's a story of human contact with a people they really don't understand and how that mis-understanding causes serious trouble.
Shadows in the Wood by Jennifer Roberson is a very interesting Robin Hood story. Concentrating more on Marian than Robin and including Merlin it sounds at first like it could be overdone but it's well handled.
Overall it's not a bad set of stories but really didn't gel as a set of stories like many other sets of stories like this. A book to dip into between other books.
November 7, 2011
Novellas and stories that are prequels or sequels or just other things in various series, or new fantasy romances. Bujold wrote the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin, Asaro wrote the first marriage of the Quantum Rose hero, Jo Beverley wrote a very intriguing story set on another planet that I’d like to see more of, from the pov of a “fixer”; Mary Jo’s story is an “explanation” of the wrecking of the Spanish Armada; Roberson wrote another Robin and Marian story—a good one, and Deb Stover wrote a ghost story of sorts. I liked the Bujold, Beverley and Putney stories best, but they were all excellent.
Read
October 18, 2008I bought this for Winterfaire Gifts, and at least tried the others; I loved the Bujold. Deb Stover's story had the most appeal to me of the others, though I don't know if I would reread it. The formula for romance appeals to me if there is a great deal of humor, or a knockout voice. I was not the audience for the Putney or the Asaro, though I'm sure their fans would like those stories.
May 31, 2009
Recommended by Marita for the love story element (she thought I might like the raciness). The first story was my least favorite as it was a bit out there for me (sci-fi/fantasy?) but I appreciate that the authors have to get to the action quickly in the short story format. The stories got much better as I went on and I enjoyed the variety.
Overall...very good - quality writers.
Overall...very good - quality writers.
May 3, 2012
I read this book for the Lois McMaster Bujold story, which was excellent. It brought back characters I loved from previous books, involved them in a mystery, gave Armsman Roic a love story of his own, and showed happily ever after for Miles and Ekaterin. Lois gift for characters and how they drive the story really shines through.
June 1, 2010
Really deserves more of a two and half stars for this book really does epitomize why I am weary of compilations, especially short stories.
I only liked two of the six stories. Of the other four, three were okay, and one I absolutely hated.
The book certainly didn't sell me on any of the writers.
I only liked two of the six stories. Of the other four, three were okay, and one I absolutely hated.
The book certainly didn't sell me on any of the writers.
September 5, 2007
I bought this for the Lois McMaster Bujold short story about Miles Vorkosigan's wedding, "Winterfair Gifts", which is very good.
May 28, 2008
I give this book five stars for the Miles Vorkosigan story. The rest of the stories are more in the romance field than SF.
September 6, 2010
Contains 'Winterfair Gifts' by Lois McMaster Bujold. The tale of Miles' wedding to Ekatrina.
January 6, 2014
Only read Catherine Asaro's short story in the collection and it was a spectacular read.
July 14, 2022
Like many others, I got this because I needed "Winterfair Gifts" - to come so far with Miles and then miss his wedding?? Of the other authors, only Catherine Asaro is on my radar (I've had her Skolian Empire books recommended to me, though I haven't read them yet), so I was walking into this rather blind.
As I would have predicted, "Winterfair Gifts" was fabulous. It was absolutely everything I didn't know I wanted. The rest, however, really weren't up to that same quality. That's not really fair, as I came into "Winterfair Gifts" with so much backstory that Bujold had the luxury of economy. All the other authors, however, had to build their worlds for me from scratch.
None of the stories were bad, by any means, but they also weren't amazing. For the most part, I just didn't find them particularly memorable. There were some good ideas, some bits I enjoyed, but I haven't been moved to seek out any of the authors.
The book is worth getting just to have "Winterfair Gifts" on my shelf, and I am glad that I got to read some stories that aren't in my usual wheelhouse. But if you buy this book, it'll almost certainly be for Bujold's story.
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold
I knew coming in that this was going to be the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding, but that's it. I was prepared to revel some more in their relationship, with maybe a bit of plot on the side, but this delivered so much more.
I didn't expect the POV shift. The protagonist of this story isn't Miles, but rather his armsman, Roic (of bug butter fame). Having gotten to know Aral in Cordelia's books, I enjoyed shifting to Miles's perspective and getting to see how Aral appears from the outside. Now, we get to see Miles through Roic's eyes.
The main highlight of the story, for me, was getting to spend more time with Taura. In particular, getting to see her in a social environment. I also loved the glimpse we get of Ekaterin, and how strong she is, as well as how perfect she is for Miles. She's reminding me a lot of Cordelia, while also being her own separate self.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney
Coming right after "Winterfair Gifts", this story really didn't have a chance. For one thing, it has to make me care about the lovers and their relationship in just a handful of pages, whereas I was already cheering in Taura's corner before I ever started "Winterfair Gifts." It almost seems cruel to put Bujold's story first in this collection!
Trying to look at "The Alchemical Marriage" in isolation, it's fine. It's not my genre, so I'm less practiced at overlooking the genre's conventions. Besides that, Macrae's growly wildness struck me as a silly affectation (particularly since I don't have much patience for that brand of masculinity).
I wasn't particularly sold on the relationship, either. The lovers seem to have an attraction to each other, but it's not really explored. We're told that they are plumbing each other's depths and vulnerabilities so that they can exchange magic more completely, but I didn't get a sense of what that would mean to the characters. Isabel seems to struggle with sharing some parts of herself, but we are never told what those parts are and, in the end, she gives them up rather easily.
When the lovers do finally bone, it's a matter of convenience - they have to bone to save England, you see! But then, suddenly, Macrae shows up at Isabel's house all a-bluster, assaulting her servants and threatening her parents, because now they obviously have to get married. Isabel seems to think that Macrae's approach is a performance to compensate for his own vulnerabilities, but is it? Really?
While perhaps more predictable, I would have liked more about the sharing of vulnerabilities. It's mentioned how lonely Isabel was, as the only real magic user in her family. That should have been more central, I think. As it was, I got the feeling that the author was going for an exploration of the male/female dichotomy, but defined those terms too casually (like having Macrae be gruff), and then failed to make a compelling case for why these two essentialities should go well together.
I did like the insertion of magic into a historical event, though. That was fun.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro
I found this one quite good. It was a little heavy-handed, but I did like the gender switching on the political marriage to a much older person plot, and I found that I quite liked the two main characters.
There was too much going on for a short piece, though. For example, having the main character's whole family be empaths, including both of his parents. Having them be empaths at all was unnecessary to the story, and then it raises so many questions - such as why they are all empaths and why no one else is, even though his mother and father are from entirely different planets. The role of dance was a bit hamfisted as well. I liked that the main character had something "different" about him, and that he had a real dream that he had to give up if he wanted to stay with the girl he loved, but it was introduced a little late in the story. Also, given how many times the reader is told that "men don't dance", I feel like it should have been a more important part of the story before it becomes a plot issue.
All that aside, I liked the two main characters, and I liked that I could actually see why they liked each other. Giving Vyrl a shameful passion and having Lily happily accept it as part of who he is was a nice touch.
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover
This one does pretty well with an absurd concept: A deceased husband is brought back to earth in a new body so that he can help his widow bone the man who had been his rival for her affections when they were first courting. Oh, also? There are male strippers, drug traffickers, and some sort of mob organisation complete with cops on the take. And all of that is crammed into a short story.
The story does well not to take itself too seriously, but it just doesn't have much for substance. It's competently written, but I'm sure I'll forget all about it in a day or two. Except, maybe, for its cheesy early 90s set up.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley
Not a bad story, but I felt that it was an awkward combination of too heavy handed while not having thought through what it was trying to say. There's something there about soldiers being changed by war and coming back to a population that honours their heroism while also being afraid of what they've become. That's all well and good, but then there's the stuff about magic and controlling people's minds, and it lost me.
It's well written, and there are bits of the worldbuilding that have potential, but the story just didn't work for me as a whole.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson
Nothing to write home about, but I did actually enjoy this one. I grew up on stories like Robin Hood and King Arthur, and seeing them combined was just good fun. I also liked the bits about old magic and the importance of blood and sacrifice, as well as giving the story to Marian.
As I would have predicted, "Winterfair Gifts" was fabulous. It was absolutely everything I didn't know I wanted. The rest, however, really weren't up to that same quality. That's not really fair, as I came into "Winterfair Gifts" with so much backstory that Bujold had the luxury of economy. All the other authors, however, had to build their worlds for me from scratch.
None of the stories were bad, by any means, but they also weren't amazing. For the most part, I just didn't find them particularly memorable. There were some good ideas, some bits I enjoyed, but I haven't been moved to seek out any of the authors.
The book is worth getting just to have "Winterfair Gifts" on my shelf, and I am glad that I got to read some stories that aren't in my usual wheelhouse. But if you buy this book, it'll almost certainly be for Bujold's story.
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold
I knew coming in that this was going to be the story of Miles and Ekaterin's wedding, but that's it. I was prepared to revel some more in their relationship, with maybe a bit of plot on the side, but this delivered so much more.
I didn't expect the POV shift. The protagonist of this story isn't Miles, but rather his armsman, Roic (of bug butter fame). Having gotten to know Aral in Cordelia's books, I enjoyed shifting to Miles's perspective and getting to see how Aral appears from the outside. Now, we get to see Miles through Roic's eyes.
The main highlight of the story, for me, was getting to spend more time with Taura. In particular, getting to see her in a social environment. I also loved the glimpse we get of Ekaterin, and how strong she is, as well as how perfect she is for Miles. She's reminding me a lot of Cordelia, while also being her own separate self.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney
Coming right after "Winterfair Gifts", this story really didn't have a chance. For one thing, it has to make me care about the lovers and their relationship in just a handful of pages, whereas I was already cheering in Taura's corner before I ever started "Winterfair Gifts." It almost seems cruel to put Bujold's story first in this collection!
Trying to look at "The Alchemical Marriage" in isolation, it's fine. It's not my genre, so I'm less practiced at overlooking the genre's conventions. Besides that, Macrae's growly wildness struck me as a silly affectation (particularly since I don't have much patience for that brand of masculinity).
I wasn't particularly sold on the relationship, either. The lovers seem to have an attraction to each other, but it's not really explored. We're told that they are plumbing each other's depths and vulnerabilities so that they can exchange magic more completely, but I didn't get a sense of what that would mean to the characters. Isabel seems to struggle with sharing some parts of herself, but we are never told what those parts are and, in the end, she gives them up rather easily.
When the lovers do finally bone, it's a matter of convenience - they have to bone to save England, you see! But then, suddenly, Macrae shows up at Isabel's house all a-bluster, assaulting her servants and threatening her parents, because now they obviously have to get married. Isabel seems to think that Macrae's approach is a performance to compensate for his own vulnerabilities, but is it? Really?
While perhaps more predictable, I would have liked more about the sharing of vulnerabilities. It's mentioned how lonely Isabel was, as the only real magic user in her family. That should have been more central, I think. As it was, I got the feeling that the author was going for an exploration of the male/female dichotomy, but defined those terms too casually (like having Macrae be gruff), and then failed to make a compelling case for why these two essentialities should go well together.
I did like the insertion of magic into a historical event, though. That was fun.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro
I found this one quite good. It was a little heavy-handed, but I did like the gender switching on the political marriage to a much older person plot, and I found that I quite liked the two main characters.
There was too much going on for a short piece, though. For example, having the main character's whole family be empaths, including both of his parents. Having them be empaths at all was unnecessary to the story, and then it raises so many questions - such as why they are all empaths and why no one else is, even though his mother and father are from entirely different planets. The role of dance was a bit hamfisted as well. I liked that the main character had something "different" about him, and that he had a real dream that he had to give up if he wanted to stay with the girl he loved, but it was introduced a little late in the story. Also, given how many times the reader is told that "men don't dance", I feel like it should have been a more important part of the story before it becomes a plot issue.
All that aside, I liked the two main characters, and I liked that I could actually see why they liked each other. Giving Vyrl a shameful passion and having Lily happily accept it as part of who he is was a nice touch.
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover
This one does pretty well with an absurd concept: A deceased husband is brought back to earth in a new body so that he can help his widow bone the man who had been his rival for her affections when they were first courting. Oh, also? There are male strippers, drug traffickers, and some sort of mob organisation complete with cops on the take. And all of that is crammed into a short story.
The story does well not to take itself too seriously, but it just doesn't have much for substance. It's competently written, but I'm sure I'll forget all about it in a day or two. Except, maybe, for its cheesy early 90s set up.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley
Not a bad story, but I felt that it was an awkward combination of too heavy handed while not having thought through what it was trying to say. There's something there about soldiers being changed by war and coming back to a population that honours their heroism while also being afraid of what they've become. That's all well and good, but then there's the stuff about magic and controlling people's minds, and it lost me.
It's well written, and there are bits of the worldbuilding that have potential, but the story just didn't work for me as a whole.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson
Nothing to write home about, but I did actually enjoy this one. I grew up on stories like Robin Hood and King Arthur, and seeing them combined was just good fun. I also liked the bits about old magic and the importance of blood and sacrifice, as well as giving the story to Marian.
September 26, 2017
Read it for Winterfair Gifts and enjoyed a few of the other stories as well. I copied some of the story descriptions from Wealhtheow's review just for reference.
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles's marriage is the background to Armsman Roic's love affair with Taura. Nice time spent with old friends. Not the greatest but much loved. - 5
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Two mages have to work together to prevent the Spanish Armada from invading England. Making this into a romance felt very forced. I was ok by the end but it was hard to get there. - 2
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Arranged marriage, forced to choose between a galactic ruler or the simple farmer girl that he has a crush on. Another that felt forced in order to have scifi included in the storyline. Sort of like it could have gone one of two ways and the author refused to choose and mushed both in. - 3
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. A ghost is given one last chance to get into heaven: get his ex-wife to fall in love with her old boyfriend. I liked this one. Very typical for the romance genre. Figure the ex in heaven being sent back is the genre cross over element. - 4
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. On an alien planet, people with extra powers are named "Fixers" and tasked with everything from healing to preventing alien incursions. This one was juicy. It is a scifi story and the romance grew out of it naturally. Not formulaic. -4
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Merlin emerges from a tree and asks Marion and Robin Hood to help him return Excalibur to its rightful place. The romance was in place before the story started. It was interesting take on two British myths. - 4
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles's marriage is the background to Armsman Roic's love affair with Taura. Nice time spent with old friends. Not the greatest but much loved. - 5
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Two mages have to work together to prevent the Spanish Armada from invading England. Making this into a romance felt very forced. I was ok by the end but it was hard to get there. - 2
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Arranged marriage, forced to choose between a galactic ruler or the simple farmer girl that he has a crush on. Another that felt forced in order to have scifi included in the storyline. Sort of like it could have gone one of two ways and the author refused to choose and mushed both in. - 3
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. A ghost is given one last chance to get into heaven: get his ex-wife to fall in love with her old boyfriend. I liked this one. Very typical for the romance genre. Figure the ex in heaven being sent back is the genre cross over element. - 4
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. On an alien planet, people with extra powers are named "Fixers" and tasked with everything from healing to preventing alien incursions. This one was juicy. It is a scifi story and the romance grew out of it naturally. Not formulaic. -4
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. Merlin emerges from a tree and asks Marion and Robin Hood to help him return Excalibur to its rightful place. The romance was in place before the story started. It was interesting take on two British myths. - 4
August 15, 2019
2.5
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold was a nice sequel to the butter bug story. This was a creative story with an interesting twist to what was basically a Beauty and the Beast tale. Like the rest of the Vorkosigan series, this was not what I would call a light read.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney grabbed me right away with the first page. I felt like it was a bit rushed, but I often feel that way about short stories.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro had an incredible setting, and I really liked the hero. The lyrine was my favorite part.
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover was my least favorite. I feel like I've seen this story before, with a ghost coming back to set things right. I'm sorry to say the pacing dragged for me. The scenes with Margo and Jared were the only ones I found entertaining.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley had a distinctive setting and an interesting premise. Unfortunately, I found it a bit laborious to read and didn't connect with the characters the way I would have liked.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson had a unique mashup. I was in suspense as to whether the disembodied entity was malignant or not. Some more conflict to drive the plot would have been nice, but I liked the story well enough.
"Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold was a nice sequel to the butter bug story. This was a creative story with an interesting twist to what was basically a Beauty and the Beast tale. Like the rest of the Vorkosigan series, this was not what I would call a light read.
"The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney grabbed me right away with the first page. I felt like it was a bit rushed, but I often feel that way about short stories.
"Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro had an incredible setting, and I really liked the hero. The lyrine was my favorite part.
"Skin Deep" by Deb Stover was my least favorite. I feel like I've seen this story before, with a ghost coming back to set things right. I'm sorry to say the pacing dragged for me. The scenes with Margo and Jared were the only ones I found entertaining.
"The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley had a distinctive setting and an interesting premise. Unfortunately, I found it a bit laborious to read and didn't connect with the characters the way I would have liked.
"Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson had a unique mashup. I was in suspense as to whether the disembodied entity was malignant or not. Some more conflict to drive the plot would have been nice, but I liked the story well enough.
May 13, 2019
Six romantic stories in either scientifiction or fantasy settings. Probably most people came here for Miles Vorkosigan's wedding, but the other stories are well worth reading. Bujold, Asaro, and Beverly set their tales off world in the far future, Putney and Roberson are set some centuries past but both in England, and Stover chooses Heaven as her setting. Many of the stories are part of bigger series by the authors, and all of them are love stories in one way or another. Four are mostly from the female pov, Bujold's from the male but not Miles Vorkosigan, and the Stover story is from both, sort of. All are entertaining, whether it be from humor or complex world building or the use of historical figures. I liked the idea of Jo Beverly's "fixer" world and would like to see more of it, but not the frustratingly indecisive main character who could spend several pages trying to make an obvious decision. A nice anthology.
August 1, 2019
I'm rereading the Skolian series in order, and was up to "Stained Glass Heart", so that's all i read from the book on this reread.
Lily and Vryl's romance isn't one of my favourite, both because I read The Quantum Rose first, which is set later and his story with Kamoj, and because they are both so young.
So it's a nice little story, but nothing profound.
Schism is next, which is both a full novel and will be my first Soz story of the reread, so I'm looking forward to that one more.
Lily and Vryl's romance isn't one of my favourite, both because I read The Quantum Rose first, which is set later and his story with Kamoj, and because they are both so young.
So it's a nice little story, but nothing profound.
Schism is next, which is both a full novel and will be my first Soz story of the reread, so I'm looking forward to that one more.
March 3, 2024
The four stars are for the first story, Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold, and would have been five stars on its own. I love the Vorkosigan series, and the saga would not be complete without this lovely tale of Taura and Roic at Miles's wedding . Simply beautiful. I also liked The Trouble with Heroes by Jo Beverly, although it was much darker and might have been more effective if it wasn't so long. The other stories here were just "meh."
October 3, 2021
Anthology. 3.33 stars average.
1. "Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. TRe-read 09/25/21 I read as part of the anthology Irresistible Forces. When I noticed it has been 8 years since I read this initially I was surprised because it didn't seem that long ago. I loved it. 5 stars again.
2. "The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
3. "Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
4. "Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
5. "The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. This reminded me a lot of another book set on another planet with an isolated village but these villagers were a lot nicer. I just couldn't get that worked up about the Blighters. The romance part was strange - did they really like each other or not? I liked that it was bent more toward UK sensibilities and not American. 3 stars.
6. "Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. This story is like a filler. No substance really. And why was Merlin there actually. 2 stars.
1. "Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold. TRe-read 09/25/21 I read as part of the anthology Irresistible Forces. When I noticed it has been 8 years since I read this initially I was surprised because it didn't seem that long ago. I loved it. 5 stars again.
2. "The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
3. "Stained Glass Heart" by Catherine Asaro. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
4. "Skin Deep" by Deb Stover. Couldn't get into it. No rating.
5. "The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverly. This reminded me a lot of another book set on another planet with an isolated village but these villagers were a lot nicer. I just couldn't get that worked up about the Blighters. The romance part was strange - did they really like each other or not? I liked that it was bent more toward UK sensibilities and not American. 3 stars.
6. "Shadows in the Wood" by Jennifer Roberson. This story is like a filler. No substance really. And why was Merlin there actually. 2 stars.
January 7, 2018
I picked this up because it was the only way to get Lois McMaster Bujold's story "Winterfair Gifts" in mass market paperback size, but I decided to read the rest of it before dismembering it. The stories are well-written, but romance is definitely not my genre.
November 2, 2023
This felt like an odd mix of YA & steamy romance. I like romance, but not YA. I usually enjoy Asaro's stories, but I felt like this one had already been addressed in her other novels. The other stories weren't what I was after; there were too many words like "twill."
June 12, 2017
Read this mostly for Bujold. Enjoyed that story most.
January 22, 2019
The Bujold story is my favorite in this anthology, but I did enjoy this book enough to give it as a gift to a friend who likes the romance genre. She loved it.
Read
September 7, 2022Most of the stories were very good but one was terrible - "The Trouble with Heroes" by Jo Beverley. Unlike any of her other books, I wasn't able to finish it. Most disappointing.
March 9, 2025
I purchased Irresistible Forces to read Asaro’s short story “The Stained Glass Heart” about Vyrl and Lilly.
June 24, 2025
Somre stories are excellent - Eg; Bujold, and Asaro, others less so.
May 1, 2009
I searched for this book long and hard because I desperately wanted to read the Bujold Vorkosigan short story "Winterfair Gifts". The first thing that threw me off about this paperback volume I found is that it looks like a romance novel - embossed flowery font for the title, a romatic elfish damsel on the cover. Inside it contains short stories by Bujold (right in front), Mary Jo Putney, Catherine Asaro, Deb Stover, Jo Beverley, and Jennifer Roberson.
Bujold's "Winterfair Gifts" does not disappoint - it features Miles and Ekaterin's wedding but the bride nearly doesn't make it to the altar due to sinister circumstances that Sergeant Taura and Armsman Roic manage to unravel in time. There is some nice romance there, nothing overstated.
Putney's "the Alchemical Marriage" is historical fiction, in this case the Spanish Armada awaits to invades Queen Elizabeth I's England and only two powerful mages can stop it, if John Dee can convince them to unite. It's a typical mutual attraction but denied due to needing to be working partners kinda smoldering romance that explodes into magical sex scenes on the front lawn that conviently raise storms that blow the Spanish Armada into smithereens in time for witty remarks about how the earth moved.
Asaro's "Stained Glass Heart" is idyllic and fanciful - about a world of farmers with a ruling class of spacefarers mated with the nobility. Our male protangonist is in love with the girl next door (who knew she was so pretty all grown up?) but he is meant to be wed to another. Drama ensues.
Deb Stover's "Skin Deep" is shallow and hides itself in ridiculous tough language that pop fiction is filled with. A deceased husband is sent to earth via his Irish Cop guardian angel to match his widow with the man she was supposed to marry (and still loves) if hubbie dear hadn't set up lover boy for a fall from grace. To make it more humiliating they choose to stick the husband in a woman's body. The widow is a reporter who happens to be writing an article about a strip joint where lover boy happens to be working his incredibly fit bod as a dancer (and happens to investigating the joint as an undercover cop). Coincidences are lavishly showered on all characters. A silly evil gangster plot is tacked together. Mutual passionate attraction is denied painfully by the widow and lover boy. Standard romance with lots of crow eating at the end.
Jo Beverley's "The Trouble With Heroes" is really good in comparison. The story introduces us to a newly inhabited Britified planet with walled cities that keep out creatures known as "blighters." This culture also nourished a new species of humanity with abilities known as "fixers" - regulated and trained people who can eliminate blighters and do lots of other nice things that the populace understands and supports. Only suddenly blighters are everywhere and walled cities are being emptied...things are going very badly very quickly and Jenny Hart, our protagonist suddenly looks at her old friend, now fixer, Dan and wonders about his responsibilities and his chances of going to war and re-evaluates him as a friend, acquaintance and possible lover. I very much enjoyed the simple discovery of how much Jenny valued Dan as a person and how she really explored her relationship with him. The ending is bittersweet but satisfying and perhaps resonates in today's world.
Jennifer Roberson's "Shadows in the Wood" is a short story linked to her established work with the characters of Marian and Robin Hood. It's a short serious work that features a clash of the world of Arthurian legend with the world of Robin Hood. Merlin, Excalibur, and Avalon all make appearances as Marian and Robin must do Merlin a small favor that turns into a minor epic of a magical quest.
Overall, the volume was solid about featuring romance in science fiction and fantasy and was a nice taste of different author's styles. Most of the stories were well written if familiar.
Bujold's "Winterfair Gifts" does not disappoint - it features Miles and Ekaterin's wedding but the bride nearly doesn't make it to the altar due to sinister circumstances that Sergeant Taura and Armsman Roic manage to unravel in time. There is some nice romance there, nothing overstated.
Putney's "the Alchemical Marriage" is historical fiction, in this case the Spanish Armada awaits to invades Queen Elizabeth I's England and only two powerful mages can stop it, if John Dee can convince them to unite. It's a typical mutual attraction but denied due to needing to be working partners kinda smoldering romance that explodes into magical sex scenes on the front lawn that conviently raise storms that blow the Spanish Armada into smithereens in time for witty remarks about how the earth moved.
Asaro's "Stained Glass Heart" is idyllic and fanciful - about a world of farmers with a ruling class of spacefarers mated with the nobility. Our male protangonist is in love with the girl next door (who knew she was so pretty all grown up?) but he is meant to be wed to another. Drama ensues.
Deb Stover's "Skin Deep" is shallow and hides itself in ridiculous tough language that pop fiction is filled with. A deceased husband is sent to earth via his Irish Cop guardian angel to match his widow with the man she was supposed to marry (and still loves) if hubbie dear hadn't set up lover boy for a fall from grace. To make it more humiliating they choose to stick the husband in a woman's body. The widow is a reporter who happens to be writing an article about a strip joint where lover boy happens to be working his incredibly fit bod as a dancer (and happens to investigating the joint as an undercover cop). Coincidences are lavishly showered on all characters. A silly evil gangster plot is tacked together. Mutual passionate attraction is denied painfully by the widow and lover boy. Standard romance with lots of crow eating at the end.
Jo Beverley's "The Trouble With Heroes" is really good in comparison. The story introduces us to a newly inhabited Britified planet with walled cities that keep out creatures known as "blighters." This culture also nourished a new species of humanity with abilities known as "fixers" - regulated and trained people who can eliminate blighters and do lots of other nice things that the populace understands and supports. Only suddenly blighters are everywhere and walled cities are being emptied...things are going very badly very quickly and Jenny Hart, our protagonist suddenly looks at her old friend, now fixer, Dan and wonders about his responsibilities and his chances of going to war and re-evaluates him as a friend, acquaintance and possible lover. I very much enjoyed the simple discovery of how much Jenny valued Dan as a person and how she really explored her relationship with him. The ending is bittersweet but satisfying and perhaps resonates in today's world.
Jennifer Roberson's "Shadows in the Wood" is a short story linked to her established work with the characters of Marian and Robin Hood. It's a short serious work that features a clash of the world of Arthurian legend with the world of Robin Hood. Merlin, Excalibur, and Avalon all make appearances as Marian and Robin must do Merlin a small favor that turns into a minor epic of a magical quest.
Overall, the volume was solid about featuring romance in science fiction and fantasy and was a nice taste of different author's styles. Most of the stories were well written if familiar.
July 30, 2015
Winterfair Gifts - ***
Roic is the awkward armsman for a short and eccentric nobleman on a distant planet. The nobleman is about to get married, and one of the guests is Taura, a biochemically engineered human who is taller than Roic. Sparks fly between Roic and Taura. However, the nobleman has attained many enemies throughout his life...
What an interesting story. Totally not what I expected and completely different from the previous books I've read recently. I appreciated that finally we had some non-stereotypical characters here, and even though in just a couple of pages I was introduced to a whole new world with a ton of people, I was barely every confused. I personally didn't like it as much due to the lack of neatly-wrapped-up ending, and it really just wasn't my thing, but very entertaining nonetheless.
The Alchemical Marriage - **
Macrae, a weather mage and Scotsman imprisoned for speaking out against the queen of England, gets recruited to create a massive storm to break up the Spanish armada. To help him is Isabel, a Jewish magician. The attraction is immediate.
Hmm... kind of boring to me. I don't really like the "rewriting of historical events" novels. Additionally, Macrae forces Isabel to marry him while they have precisely one thing in common, and nothing else: magic. They disagree on virtually everything else, and there's absolutely no development of their relationship.
Stained Glass Heart - **
Vyrl, son of a local noble, is forced to marry a much older warrior woman from another planet. But he is in love with local farmer's daughter Lily. They decided to run away...
Uh, somewhat whimsical love story. I don't know, a bit too whimsical for my tastes, and the hero & heroine are too adolescent, so there's no real drama. Just adolescent drama. Understanding parents, but sucky circumstances.
Skin Deep - **
Nick and Jared were always competing, even with the girl they loved. Nick won dirty, married Margo, and a heart-broken Jared joined the DEA and went undercover. However, Nick dies young... and due to his guilt over winning Margo when in fact he knew he didn't love her as much as Jared did, ends up in purgatory. Now he's back in the body of a stunning hot woman to fix it all...
Uhhhh............................ yeahh........... not enough romance. The whole thing is centered around Nick, barely any on the relationship between Margo and Jared. :\
The Trouble with Heroes - *
Dan Rutherford is a fixer, someone with magical powers, one of the only people able to keep the blighters out. His main purpose of protecting the world is protecting his childhood friend, Jenny. Then suddenly the blighters increase in numbers and start a swarm...
Way too much thinking on the heroine's behalf, and not enough talking. Seriously getting sick of hearing her questions. She's the most snively spineless heroine I've read in a while. No courage whatsoever. I honestly want to strangle her. Dan deserves much better, let's just say that. "It was a subtle point, made with a cynicism that was strange from him." Oh gosh, how surprising, the city he risked his life for is not welcoming him back with open arms, the girl he loves is afraid of him, how can he not be cynical??? Honestly, argh!! And then, against all common sense and the entire thread of the story, the heroine gets a spine in the last few sentences of the novel. Uh huh.
To sum it up: I felt trapped in a coward's mind.
Shadows in the Wood - dnf
Some strange retelling of Robin Hood, with Merlin coming out of a tree, and some other things like that. Not my thing.
Roic is the awkward armsman for a short and eccentric nobleman on a distant planet. The nobleman is about to get married, and one of the guests is Taura, a biochemically engineered human who is taller than Roic. Sparks fly between Roic and Taura. However, the nobleman has attained many enemies throughout his life...
What an interesting story. Totally not what I expected and completely different from the previous books I've read recently. I appreciated that finally we had some non-stereotypical characters here, and even though in just a couple of pages I was introduced to a whole new world with a ton of people, I was barely every confused. I personally didn't like it as much due to the lack of neatly-wrapped-up ending, and it really just wasn't my thing, but very entertaining nonetheless.
The Alchemical Marriage - **
Macrae, a weather mage and Scotsman imprisoned for speaking out against the queen of England, gets recruited to create a massive storm to break up the Spanish armada. To help him is Isabel, a Jewish magician. The attraction is immediate.
Hmm... kind of boring to me. I don't really like the "rewriting of historical events" novels. Additionally, Macrae forces Isabel to marry him while they have precisely one thing in common, and nothing else: magic. They disagree on virtually everything else, and there's absolutely no development of their relationship.
Stained Glass Heart - **
Vyrl, son of a local noble, is forced to marry a much older warrior woman from another planet. But he is in love with local farmer's daughter Lily. They decided to run away...
Uh, somewhat whimsical love story. I don't know, a bit too whimsical for my tastes, and the hero & heroine are too adolescent, so there's no real drama. Just adolescent drama. Understanding parents, but sucky circumstances.
Skin Deep - **
Nick and Jared were always competing, even with the girl they loved. Nick won dirty, married Margo, and a heart-broken Jared joined the DEA and went undercover. However, Nick dies young... and due to his guilt over winning Margo when in fact he knew he didn't love her as much as Jared did, ends up in purgatory. Now he's back in the body of a stunning hot woman to fix it all...
Uhhhh............................ yeahh........... not enough romance. The whole thing is centered around Nick, barely any on the relationship between Margo and Jared. :\
The Trouble with Heroes - *
Dan Rutherford is a fixer, someone with magical powers, one of the only people able to keep the blighters out. His main purpose of protecting the world is protecting his childhood friend, Jenny. Then suddenly the blighters increase in numbers and start a swarm...
Way too much thinking on the heroine's behalf, and not enough talking. Seriously getting sick of hearing her questions. She's the most snively spineless heroine I've read in a while. No courage whatsoever. I honestly want to strangle her. Dan deserves much better, let's just say that. "It was a subtle point, made with a cynicism that was strange from him." Oh gosh, how surprising, the city he risked his life for is not welcoming him back with open arms, the girl he loves is afraid of him, how can he not be cynical??? Honestly, argh!! And then, against all common sense and the entire thread of the story, the heroine gets a spine in the last few sentences of the novel. Uh huh.
To sum it up: I felt trapped in a coward's mind.
Shadows in the Wood - dnf
Some strange retelling of Robin Hood, with Merlin coming out of a tree, and some other things like that. Not my thing.
March 15, 2018
The romances in this collection were all okay, but I expected more from these authors. There's nothing specifically wrong with any of the stories, I just found them forgettable. I just didn't find the stories engaging enough to hold my interest. The story I most enjoyed was "The Alchemical Marriage" by Mary Jo Putney, but it was still not up to the standard I would expect from Putney. Overall, I was disappointed.
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