Three of my all-time favorite authors in one anthology? No way I was going to pass this one up!

Authors such as these three women, do this once in a while for one purpose alone: to advertise to all those readers that have never read them before. I’m on board with that. That’s how I stumble on many authors that are now on my keeper shelf. You should know this ahead of time that this was going to be three short stories, and accept that. It is a gift actually. Not just to those that have never read anything by these awesome women, but to their faithful fans as well. We are always hungry for their next books and series, so when an anthology such as this, in between of eagerly awaited next instalment of their long-awaited books, this to us is like ‘manna’ from Heaven!

All stories are well written and executed within its limitation of length. You’ll like some more than others [what happened Ms. Foley!?], but all three are fast paced, interesting, funny and sweet. I recommend it, and urge you to research all three authors. They are awesome!

Melanie for b2b

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher ( )

What little girl hasn't dreamed of growing up and marrying a prince? Well, I'm certain there are some but in this very Disney age, it's almost de rigeur to go through the princess stage as a tiny girl. So what could be more enchanting than a trio of stories about royal weddings, even if the main character might not be the one marrying the prince (or maybe she is!). In the case of Royal Bridesmaids by Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley, and Loretta Chase, I have liked all three authors in the past so it seemed like a fun and diverting book to pick up and read of an afternoon.

Laurens' story, A Return Engagement, is the story of a sister who finds, to her great discomfort, that she's been paired with her ex-fiancé for her sister's wedding. But she can't focus on her own discomfort with him because she has to make sure that her sister's wedding to the Prince of Lautenberg comes off without a hitch despite an odd condition that strikes all the women of her family just before they marry. In managing her sister's wedding, Lady Nell helps her own former fiancé to a better understanding of what went wrong between the two of them as their relationship sparks back into fiery life.

Foley's story, The Imposter Bride, has a royal attendant stepping in and marrying the prince for the sake of peace between their two countries. The hitch is that she has allowed him to continue to believe that she is the princess he was supposed to marry. And while the passionate Lady Minerva might have slid into the bride's place as a political expedient, she and the controlled and seemingly cold Prince Tor fall hard for each other in the time before the deception is discovered, making the lies that much worse when they come to light.

Chase's story, Lord Lovedon's Duel, is a witty and humorous tale of a sister defending her newly married sister's honor to a seeming bore before seeing him as he really is. Immediately following the wedding, Chloe overhears Lord Lovedon saying that her sister's royal marriage is not the love match it has been touted as being but a financial pairing. A rather drunk Chloe bristles at this injustice and challenges him to a duel. The back and forth concerning this duel is entertaining and in the end, the whole thing is whimsically handled without loss of face for either of the incredibly loyal participants who are certainly on their way to being able to enact a battle of wits with each other for all eternity.

Romance collections are often hard as it's not easy to develop fully rounded characters, have them fall in love, develop a conflict, and follow many, if not all, of the expected conventions of romance novels within the brief amount of pages afforded to the short stories in their covers. In this trio of stories, the space constraint is especially tight as none of the stories even reaches 40 pages. A surprising chunk of the book given over to excerpts from the authors' upcoming releases. The stories themselves do manage to encapsulate the things that make romances appealing but each of them also feels a bit like a slightly more fleshed out version of an outline to the story. There is so much pruned from the stories that would have made them much more satisfying but that would have pushed them to novella or even full length novel size and so they wouldn't have fit into this anthology. And there's the rub. Because each of the stories could have been so much more than it was, not fully as complete and self-contained as a true short story but more of a dress rehearsal for something longer. The writers are good ones and the book is entertaining enough but ultimately it comes up a touch short. ( )

Stephanie Laurens's In A Return Engagement Lady Nell Daughtry has her hands full getting her reluctant bride sister safely married to the Prince of Lautenberg And matters only get worse when she learns she's been paired with Robert Knightley her ex-fiance in the wedding party

Nell has been tasked with getting her sister through the pre-wedding festivities. The women in the family seem to have some sort of panic disorder relating to weddings causing them to sometimes act irrationally. Nell has the ability to keep her sister calm. She was not expecting to see Robert in the prince's wedding party. They had courted many years ago then he had suddenly pulled away before proposing. Now they had to work together to make the wedding happen. I liked them both. They were able to put the past behind them and do what was needed. It also gave them a chance to get to know each other again. I enjoyed their teamwork. I also liked the way that Robert looked at Nell and their past differently after he learned about the panic attacks. The shortness of the story didn't allow for much depth, but overall I enjoyed it.

The Imposter Bride is Gaelen Foley's story about Lady Minerva who must make sure that her country's princess weds Prince Tor What can she do when the bride bolts? Since the prince has never set eyes on his betrothed she'll have to marry the prince herself.

This one starts with a war being ended with plans for a royal marriage. Prince Tor is the cool, always in control Viking-like warrior. His bride is from a Mediterranean country and known to be hot-headed, spoiled and emotional. When she runs away it leaves the potential peace at risk, so Minerva marries the prince in her place. I really liked both these characters. Tor's traditions are that you don't show your emotions, but it was obvious that he had them. I liked the way he didn't destroy the other city at the end of the war. When he had Minerva alone he showed a lot of compassion and patience knowing that the marriage had been a political one. He came to care for her quite quickly which made her deception that much harder for him to accept when it was found out. I really enjoyed Minerva's intelligence. She was a much better match for Tor. I loved the way that she was so amazed at his activities and came to realize how much she loved him. The exposing of the deception created a very tense situation and the resolution was pretty well done. Again, I think the story would have been improved by being a bit longer.

Loretta Chase's contribution Lord Lovedon's Duel tells the tale of Chloe Sharp When Chloe hears the handsome Earl of Lovedon say her sister's royal marriage is a match made in money, she challenges him to a duel—for love and honor.

I think this one was my favorite. When Chloe and her sister hear Lord Lovedon's disparaging remarks, first she has to calm her sister down. Once she has done that she goes back to confront him. I loved the way that she called him on his obnoxious behavior. She even goes so far as to challenge him to a duel. Unfortunately she has had a bit too much champagne with predictable results. I liked the way that he stepped up to help her. Until she confronted him he hadn't really paid much attention to her but he likes her courage and loyalty to her sister. They have a rather witty correspondence the next day as they set up their duel. I loved the actual duel and the way that they then continued their interest in each other. Even this one would have benefited from a longer length, but it was still good. ( )