Delightfully Charming Tales

From this Anthology, I read “Georgina and the Red Charger” by Kathryn Le Veque, “The Boys of Summer” by Chasity Bowlin, “The Duke That I Want” by Alexa Aston, “Moonstone Angel” by Meara Platt, and “The Yellow-Polka-Dotted Bathing Costume” by Caroline Lee. The stories are entertaining, charming, and utterly delightful. Some of the stories have humor; others have suspense, but all of them had romance. If you like historical romance, you are sure to find something in this anthology. I look forward to reading the rest of the stories. As I read, I found myself smiling at the humor, sighing at the romance, or turning the pages because of the suspense in some of the stories.

This is a fabulous anthology with stories based on some of my favorite songs and by fourteen very talented authors. From the red charger to the yellow polka-dot swim costume, right on to the magical love shack, each story was filled with fun, romance and wonderful characters. I found my self humming the song for each story as I read it. A delightful way to spend a few summer afternoons. Loved it!
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, an am voluntarily reviewing it.

This is a collection of novella from various authors. I really enjoyed the quick reads. I enjoyed that you could read a story in an hour or so. These range from sweet, no heat stories to some that were steamy, heat stories. I like that range too. These are all books about Dukes who get their HEA Except the first story which is about a Viscount). I enjoyed that some of these are part of series. A few of my favorites were: Nell and the Runaway Duke by Sofie Darling, A Duke Never Tells by Nadine Millard, The Yellow-Polka-Dotted Bathing Costume by Caroline Lee, and The Duke That I Want by Alexa Aston. I like reading collections like this as I always find a new author I haven't read before, which was the case here.

I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

This was a good anthology with great authors, but in my opinion there was too many authors. I read over half the stories but got kind of bored. Since there was many authors, the story’s was shorter and I did not get into the story before it was over

must have anthology by many talented authors.
You can open the book and start from page one and be enthralled throughout the book…
or you can jump around and read individual stories by title or author.
Either method will bring hours of reading contentment.
I find it fun to read and love a story by an author I have not read before because then I find myself going back and reading all their books.
Dragonblade anthologies are a readers delight.

I’m not sure.which stories all these five star reviewers read, but this anthology of regency novellas is just ok.
As with all anthologies, you get a chance to try out authors who are new to you. I have to say hat I on,y read A Cruel Summer by Elizabeth Johns to completion.

Thank you to Dragon Blade for the ARC to read and review.

What a wonderful compilation from some of my favorite Regency authors. I definitely recommend this eclectic mix of wonderful romances.
Thank you Authors, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

This is a bunch of short stories. A few I felt were rushed along in the storytelling and a little to "mushy" for my taste. Some I wish would have been more in depth about the characters in the story. But overall a good variety of stories.

Wow! An amazing collection of authors that are at the top of their genre' and each with a new story!

Regency England will never be the same again! With each story based on a themed summer song and the endless Dukes and the women that capture their heart!

Georgina and the Red Charger by Kathryn LeVeque
I am thinking of a Prince song? More like a red phantom charging down the road! A delightful, fun story of a mother wanting the best bride for her son. Oh yes, she finds one!

The Duke that I Want by Alexa Aston
A heart warming story of love at first sight as only this author can tell. Wonderful characters and friends and an sigh worthy journey to love!

Moonstone Angel by Meara Platt
A duke and his grandmother's companion set up a sweet, funny story that will make your heart swell with the romance!! Love, love Meara and her stories and she always leaves me with a smile!

Lady, You're Mine by Cerise Deland
You know when you read a story by this author, you will be entertained with humor and intense romance that never stops! Magnus and Cass light up the pages as they journey to their happy ever after!

The Yellow Polka Dotted Bathing Costume by Caroline Lee
Well the song started in my head just at the title and of course with this wonderful author, the fun begins! Sebastian and Thea rekindle their romance that cannot be denied!

The Duke's Secret Longings by Amy Jarecki
What happens when you attend a house party to support a friend and his betrothed... But find she is pulling at your heart? Wynn and Lydia might just shake up things and find a love of their own!

Blue Skies by Mary Lancaster
Blue skies will be smiling with delight at the romantic journey of Gideon and Hope! Wonderful characters, witty banter and a journey to love!

More to come!

Loved Kathryn Le Veque's story about the Red Charger. Joshua's mother was determined to find him a wife. Georgina happened to be on her radar and the way she went about it was funny. Someimes you need a little push. HEA.

This was a well-written, entertaining collection of 14 Regency historical romances. They were fun, steamy, clever, charming, creative and all never before published. Their theme is summertime songs. They held my interest and I enjoyed reading them.

Short story collections are tough to rate as a whole. It’s hard to really develop characters in a short story. If you are aware of previous books in the series, that makes it a little easier—for instance, I’d read the previous books in the Dukes of Distinction series by Alexa Aston, so I was able to jump right back in. However, for those stories by authors I’d never before read, that was a little more difficult.

In addition, it’s really difficult to craft character development and build a relationship in just a few dozen pages of a short story, though many of these authors have done an amazing job of rising to that challenge. Unfortunately, not all were able to convince me that it was love and an HEA in the number of pages allotted. I really believe romance short stories must be the hardest to pull off. This collection did what all great short story collections do: introduced me to new authors whose books I immediately ran to purchase. Top of the list: Caroline Lee. The Yellow Polka Dotted Bathing Costume was a 5 star story and her writing delighted me. Luckily, I was alone because I laughed OUT LOUD several times. Her hero’s name made me snicker every time I read it. She’s been added to favorite authors.

The premise of this grouping is a cute one—songs! So they’re based on songs like Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl and Rick Springfield’s Jesse’s Girl, but with Dukes. That is creative and fun!

This is full of 4+ star stories. There was only one I didn’t like.

There are several 5 star stories in this bundle, though. I immediately grabbed up every other work I could find by these authors:
The Duke That I Want (Alexa Aston)
The Yellow Polka Dotted Bathing Costume (Caroline Lee)
Lady, You’re Mine (Cerise DeLand)
A Duke Never Tells (Nadine Millard)
Nell and the Runaway Duke (Sofie Darling)

Great read, only one that didn’t seem to fit quite as well and that didn’t fly for me. The rest were all 4-5, with several 5s (see above)

An amazing group of authors gathered together in one fantastic compilation. Many of these authors are tried & true favourites of mine, while a few were first time reads and just as enjoyable. I loved the musical theme, guessing what summertime songs each story was based around. A fabulous light read filled with great romance, good laughs and sweet moments.

A lot of book for the buck! This collection of novellas by several great authors is a really fun read. Thought using songs as story inspiration was a very clever idea. The stories vary enough to keep it interesting, but all have likable characters & HEAs. I even recognized a few characters from books I’d read in the past. Don’t hesitate to grab this one.
I received an advance copy of Get Your Duke On via NetGalley & am happy to leave this voluntary review.

I love to read anthologies. Sometimes it can get overwhelming picking which book to read, but something like this does it for you. These stories have something for everybody, and I enjoyed reading them all.

What an amazing collection of short stories combined into one anthology. This is the deal of the summer! Fourteen of our favorite authors put together this wonderful compilation of new summer stories! Who doesn’t love a handsome, arrogant Duke?! Here we have fourteen to enjoy all summer.

GEORGINA AND THE RED CHARGER by Kathryn LeVeque - What a fun read and I loved the Little Old Lady and her Red Charger! However, she was a typical mom when it came to finding a bride for her son, Joshua and her pick of a bride was Georgina. This was a clever and enjoyable story, with a cute and quick romance that left me laughing!

THE BOYS OF SUMMER by Chasity Bowlin - The couple in this romance met one summer while visiting and staying by the sea. Both Clarissa and Augustus, came from abusive father situations and they made a promise to each other that they would wait for each other and marry someday. Fifteen years later at a house party, the two meet again. I really enjoyed the reunion the entertaining set of problems to overcome but a wonderful HEA is experienced!

THE DUKE THAT I WANT by Alexa Aston - One of the main things I liked about this story was the strong friendships formed by the men. Elizabeth is the sister of one of the dukes and is introduced to Philip, a newly titled duke, and a school acquaintance of her brother many years ago when Philip was only seven years old. The love at first sight between the soul mates was exciting, the friendships and love that wrapped you up in the pages was heartwarming -the HEA was wonderful!

THE DUKE'S BROWN-EYED LADY by Maggi Andersen -Gene and Mellie were the perfect couple and I fell in love with both instantly. Their friendship turned romance had several problems - her parents wanted her to marry an awful man, Gene felt he was too old for Mellie, Mellie thought he only wanted a friend but in the end love won. This was a well written, sweet story with a wonderful HEA.

MOONSTONE ANGEL by Meara Platt - Oh, how I love this author's books! Rowan is a duke and Cara is his grandmother's companion and they are a perfect couple - their banter was hilarious, his grandmother was so loving, their romance was sweet and well, romantic! It was such a loving, heart-warming story set in a peaceful and picturesque seaside town. The book was very well written, and the author's descriptions were so clear, I could picture the scenery, the shore, the dolphins as if I was there.

BLUE SKIES by Mary Lancaster - I fell in love with Gideon and Hope. Their first meeting was such fun; the bantering between them was priceless and Gideon really appreciated her telling him how the cow ate the corn, even if he was a crabby, recluse of a duke. They built their romance on honesty, friendship and then love, which ended in a HEA. This eloquently articulated story gave this delightful couple life - loved it!

NELL AND THE RUNAWAY DUKE by Sofie Darling - Nell grew up in the East End but had managed to work her way up to being a seamstress to the elite in a shop she runs in London for her two friends. Lucas is a duke but hates the fact that it is all a young lady sees is his title. When they meet, Lucas decides not to tell her he is a duke & neither can forget the other one. The characters have such substance; the dialogue & bountiful humor are well written with genuinely emotional scenes - it was a wonderful HEA romance!

Fourteen Novellas, Averaging 8 Chapters per Story
Georgina and the Red Charger 4* by Kathryn Le Veque - While a cute story, I felt you had to take it with a pinch of salt. A viscount who though he has money, works for a living as a barrister, that would surely be looked down upon by the ton? A mother encouraging a relationship between her son and the daughter of a tobacconist, surely a mésalliance in the Regency period?
The Boys of Summer 5* by Chastity Bowlin - a beaten young boy becomes a Duke and a long ago promise is unexpectedly redeemed. Loved this romance.
The Duke That I Want 5* by Alexa Aston - the reader is introduced to Philip as a young boy of seven and have some idea of his miserable childhood. Roll on twenty years and he is unexpectedly a Duke, one who knows his duty is to marry but what he doesn’t want is a love match. Lady Elizabeth however will only marry for love and her heart is set on Philip. Who will win the battle of wills?
The Duke’s Brown-eyed Lady 4* by Maggi Andersen - a grieving Duke meets a vivacious young lady. Is it love at first sight or are their characters two different for them to be happy together?
Moonstone Angel 4* by Meara Platt - Cara has a Duke banging on her front door claiming she has abducted his grandmother, when nothing could be further from the truth. With his grandmother refusing to return to London, the Duke moves into Cara’s home worried that she is scamming the old lady.
Blue Skies 4* by Mary Lancaster - a Duke who was sickly as a child, is now a fully grown man, it’s just a shame his family doesn’t acknowledge this and so he escapes them. It takes a special young lady to make him see that he is hiding from life.
The Yellow-Polka-Dotted Bathing Costume 3* by Caroline Lee - Now that both her father and fiancé are dead, Thea can go after the man she truly wants. But not in the bathing costume that looks like a potato sack, but when she puts on the new French costume she feels she has taken a step too far.
A Cruel Summer 5* by Elizabeth Johns - life as Marianne knows it has been totally changed, both parents and her brother have died and during her mourning she is living with an elderly and bitter spinster aunt. Things get worse when she is caught in a storm, slips and breaks her arm and is unable to move due to the pain; though rescued she is unfortunately compromised.
Lady, You’re Mine 5* by Cerise DeLand - second chance romance, older couple - will she be able to give him an heir?
Summer in the City 4* by Bianca Blythe - Alfie pretends to be a long lost Duke in order to see the lady he is enamoured with but what happens when someone threatens to expose him as a fraud?
A Duke Never Tells 5* by Nadine Millard - The young man she was infatuated with ten years before, has become an arrogant and cruel rake. Can they recover the friendship they once had, and perhaps more?
The Duke’s Secret Longings 4* by Amy Jarecki - being smitten by the voice and person of a young lady at a houseparty, Wynn is devastated on realising that she is his best friend’s betrothed.
Nell and the Runaway Duke 5* by Sofie Darling - a beautiful Cinderella romance.
Love Shack Baby 4* by Merry Farmer - a childless Duchess gets a tip that she hopes will prove fruitful but is constantly thwarted in her attempts to carry out her plan by her oblivious family.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Duke that I Want – Alexa Aston
I have been reading Alexa’s stories for a while and they fantastic. I love when secondary characters show up with their own stories. Elizabeth is the sister of Jon from the Duke of Arrogance (go read that story, not that you have to but because it is a great book). Okay, so this is a little different from several of Alexa’s other stories. The heroine decides that the hero is the one for her and pursues him – you go girl. LOVED IT! It is short but tells a great story.

The Yellow-Polka-Dotted Bathing Costume – Caroline Lee
She wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny…you get the gist. I have not laughed so much at a story in a very long time. From the first page to the end I could not help giggling (from the names, Morningwood and Lickering to the “sexy” talk, two ham hunks). Caroline knows how to make us laugh. I love a good dark story (in fact they are my favorites) but sometimes laughter is just the thing. Fantastic story!

Nell and the Runaway Duke - Sofie Darling
Ahhh! This was such a sweet and endearing story. Both characters are great with fantastic personalities and genuine care. The story was so bright and fresh. If you want to read a nice lovely story this is for you.

Love Shack Baby - Merry Farmer
Thwarted over and over from going to that little ole place known as the love shack. Loved the play on words. It was great seeing all of the siblings. A very touching story that I am sure many go through. Merri is such a good storyteller.

A plethora of novellas...

From many authors I've enjoyed reading previously, comes a summer regency collection of short stories.
This was perfect to read a few stories at a time while sipping a cool drink under the shade of an umbrella in the backyard. Have some fun and take a chance on this summer collection from some great authors.
Recommend.