Myretta Robens

The Prologue sets up the background and the premise of the stories very nicely. It explains Madame Folette's shop and how they came to be in the predicament they were in. It also introduces the characters and their roles in the shop as well as their relationships to each other.
What was missing? Well, an epilogue. Each story had its beginning and its end, but overall, we never really learned what happened with the shop. Each story also ended rather abruptly. Each seamstress married wealthy, aristocratic husbands, so -- did they continue to work in the shop? And, Henry -- with all of the wealthy new aristocratic connections, did he manage to get more clients so he could support himself and his new bride?

I rated each story separately and then came up with an average of those for the whole anthology. The overall rating is 3.75, but I’ve rounded it up to a 4.
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The Duke’s Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter -- 4.5 of 5 Stars

This was a lovely romance between a Duke and a gentleman’s daughter turned seamstress. It amazes me that some authors can write a short story that is complete and robust with fully developed characters that you’d like to know. This is that sort of story.
Mrs. Selina Fontaine is really Selina Duval who was ruined by Giles, the brother to the powerful Duke of Barrowmore. She had done nothing wrong, but her reputation was shattered by lies and innuendo. Her parents were suffering terribly from the scandal in her village, so she decided to leave. Now, she’s in London working as a dress designer and seamstress.

Randal (Rand) Woodville, Duke of Barrowmore is rich, powerful and totally accustomed to getting his own way in everything. Well, he gets his way in everything except his brother behaving like the gentleman he is supposed to be. Rand is constantly paying off Giles’ debts even though Giles has ample income of his own.

One day, as Selina is fitting a dress for a client – yes, she knows that the client is the wife of the man who ruined her – but, she can handle that as long as she doesn’t have to meet him or his brother. As she is getting some fabrics, she hears a voice – a much-dreaded voice. No! She cannot face him now.

The Duke is shocked to see the woman who was once his brother’s liaison. What is she doing in this shop fitting clothing? The Duke can’t let it go and makes more and more excuses to see her and to get to know her better. Selina is resistant at first but comes to care for the Duke.
It was a lovely read.
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The Colors of Love by Myretta Robens – 2.5 of 5 Stars

This is a highly improbable tale from a new-to-me author. The writing was well done and the ARC was one of the cleanest I’ve ever read – no typo’s etc. The characters just didn’t resonate with me and I had a hard time figuring out where they were coming from.

Delyth’s family is wealthy gentry, but she wants more, so she runs away to London. She finds work as a costume seamstress in a local theater and works there until she finds a more respectable employment as a seamstress at Madame Folette's. Delyth is a gifted designer and seamstress but has absolutely no color sense at all. She dearly loves bright, intense colors and mixes them together liberally – to the point that they hurt your eyes to look at them. To her delight, she finally had a customer, Lady Marjoribanks whose taste ran along the same lines as hers and they created a gown. Delyth’s description of the dress colors is: “Oh, they were wonderful: a deep crimson with a violet over-skirt, yellow piping, and just a hint of the palest green lace.” Delyth is so happy until she reads the fashion column, Aglaea’s Cabinet, in the newspaper and it speaks of the dress worn by Lady M.

Simon Merithew is the brother of a Viscount and he’s also the author of the fashion column, Aglaea’s Cabinet. He has immediately jumped to the conclusion that this dressmaker must have decided to shame Lady M by displaying her in such awful colors and he decides to expose her for doing it. So, he brings his sister to the dress shop and commissions Delyth to make her a gown – then, he demands that she make several gowns and that she must live in their home will doing so.
At Simon’s home, Delyth enters through the front door, she is served tea in the drawing room with Simon and his sister and she is provided with a sumptuous visitor’s bedchamber. That is one of the most improbable situations I’ve read in a long time. Then, Simon actively pursues her and proposes marriage. Sorry, I just didn’t see the attraction nor did I believe the scenario.
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No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton – 4 of 5 Stars

I liked this story. You have two people of disparate backgrounds who find that one other person with whom they can be comfortable and ‘at home’. Henry Dawkins is a huge, but gentle man. He seems to fit that old saying “a bull in a china shop”. There are few if any, small-to-medium sized heroes in romance books, but Henry is larger than most. Add that he is shy and socially awkward and you have a really sweet and lovable hero. Henry’s sister Felicity is the one who now runs their mother’s dress shop.

Our heroine, Katherine, is the daughter of a Viscount who was impoverished before he died. There was no money to settle on Katherine and she had to enter service as a companion to a spoiled, rich, beautiful heiress. That heiress has set her sights on Henry because he is the one man who has said ‘NO’ to her (yep – I don’t buy it either). The heiress decides to go to the dress shop and wait until Henry is there without his sister. That way, she can basically blackmail him into coming to her home for dancing lessons. Henry has no interest whatsoever in the heiress, but he is very attracted to the heiress’ companion, Katherine.

I loved both the hero and heroine, they were lovely together. I loved that both were virgins and that they learned together. I’m not sure how Henry could take on the expense of having a wife nor was I confident of his financial success, but I still enjoyed the love story between Henry and Katherine.
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A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden -- 4 of 5 Stars
As always, this author created lovely, relatable characters in a lovely romance. Is it a plausible situation? No, but I loved it anyway. The writing is excellent and the story well plotted. I liked both the hero and the heroine.

Felicity Dawkins grew up in her mother’s dress shop. She was put to work picking up dropped pins, scissors, etc. as a very small child and she picked up more and more responsibilities as she grew up – until finally – she was a designer and seamstress. Now, she manages the shop for her mother and she is absolutely determined to bring the shop back to the prominence it once had. She loves the shop and is giving it her all – and then – a man shows up and he’s trying to take it from her! NO!

The Earl of Carmarthen likes order – modern, clean lines and amenities. He’s brought that to his country estate after it burned and he rebuilt. Now, he wants to bring that same modernization to Vine Street. It is a street that is slowly falling into ruin with old buildings in need of repair and sewers that leak and allow water to stand in the street. He’s bought the entire street – well – all of it except for one building and the obstinate shrew of an owner refuses to sell. WHAT! Since his solicitor hasn’t had any luck convincing the lady, he’ll just go to the shop and speak to her himself. Good luck with that!

Felicity obstinately refuses to approach her mother about selling the building. However, Carmarthen explains to her exactly what is getting ready to happen on the street. She can either sell to him now and profit from the sale or she can wait while he tears down the rest of the buildings, tears up the street itself while he installs gas lines, plumbing, and sewers and she’ll still have to close her doors because her customers won’t be able to reach her and her inventory will be ruined from the dust and dirt created by the construction.

Felicity isn’t a fool and she knows he’s right in everything he’s said – but – she also knows he REALLY wants her building in order to do the entire street. So, there is a small window where she has the upper hand in bargaining with him and she intends to use that to her best advantage. And she does!

I loved watching the two of them dance around each other. I love that Felicity wasn’t a pushover and that she stood up for herself and her business. It was a lovely romance.… (más)

I bought this book the day it was released because I really enjoy Madeline Hunter's books. This book did not disappoint. The book consists of 4 short stories: The Duke's Dressmaker by Madeline Hunter, The Colors of Love by Myretta Robens, No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton and A Fashionable Affair by Caroline Linden. The stories are all tied together by Madame Follette's modiste shop, located on Vine Street in Regency London. Each of the main characters associated by Madame Follette's got their own story. Each story reflects the author's own unique style but are skillfully woven together. I'm a little biased because I was expecting Selina and the Duke of Barrowmore's story to be my favorite (and it was!) but I was introduced to 3 authors whom I was not familiar with before.
The chemistry between the duke and Selina was sizzling. It made for a great romance. The dialogue between Edeline, the Duke's sister-in-law, was entertaining. The mystery surrounding their acquaintance keeps the suspense going throughout the story. My favorite part of this couples story was on Barrowmore's yacht. This was an unorthodox coupling between a dressmaker and a Duke but with a satisfying ending.
The Color of Love was the story about Delyth Owen and Simon Merrithew. They had a lot in common in terms of both being players in the world of London fashion and it was a well written story. No Accounting for Love by Megan Frampton is the story of Henry Dawkins, the Bookkeeper for Madame Follette's, and Miss Katherine Grant, a lady's companion. This author did a great job with developing Henry's character and the part he plays in the overall story. And finally, it's Felicity Dawkins turn at love with the Earl of Carmarthen. Carmarthen started off being portrayed as sort of the evil aristocrat, turning out tradesmen and women from their homes. But as the story develops he really wants to redevelop a old part of London with modern amenities. This story was a great way to wrap up the book as it tied up a lot of loose ends. The chemistry between these two characters is explosive. Definitely worth the read.… (más)