In five original stories, Jessica Cale, Sherry Ewing, Jude Knight, Amy Quinton, and Caroline Warfield bring you Valentines From BathThe Master of Ceremonies announces a great ball to be held on Valentine’s Day in the Upper Assembly Rooms of Bath. Ladies of the highest rank—and some who wish they were—scheme, prepare, and compete to make best use of the opportunity. Dukes, earls, tradesmen, and … opportunity.
Dukes, earls, tradesmen, and the occasional charlatan are alert to the possibilities as the event draws nigh.
But anything can happen in the magic of music and candlelight as couples dance, flirt, and open themselves to romantic possibilities. Problems and conflict may just fade away at a Valentine’s Day Ball.
Beauty and the Bounder, by Jessica Cale. He’s a liar and a fortune-hunter… and exactly what she needs.
The Earl Takes a Wife, by Sherry Ewing. It began with a memory, etched in the heart.
The Beast Next Door, by Jude Knight. In all the assemblies and parties of Bath, no-one Charis met could ever match the beast next door.
The Umbrella Chronicles: John and Emma’s Story, by Amy Quinton. A serious-minded, scientific man of learning seeks a complex and chaotic practitioner of all things superstitious who will upend his well-ordered life.
Candles in the Dark, by Caroline Warfield. Doug Marsh and his candles bring light to many, none more than Esther. They may light the Assembly Rooms even as his love lights her life.
more
A most excellent historical collection.
I very much enjoyed this novella collection. Jude Knight and Sherry Ewing’s contributions were enjoyable. It was nice to read some new to me authors as well.
Highly recommend.
Funny, witty, enchanting. These stories are somewhat interconnected and all involve couples who had help making their love story come true. Sometimes a little deception is needed until everything can be explained. And all of these couples attend the Valentine’s Ball. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review
This was a nice collection of novella romances about Regency women who are on the sidelines of balls and some have been for years, but are still strong independent heroines and the men who fall for them. The stories all center around a Valentine’s Day Ball held in Bath, England. Some stories and characters I liked better than others. There was plenty steam and sweet romance and some suspenseful and funny moments.
Enjoy all the stirring romances, intriguing characters and a fast moving plot with danger aplenty as you follow along on this journey. This boxed set will keep you wanting more.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A lovely quintet of mostly PG15 five star Valentines that will fill a very full two days of reading.
Beauty and the Bounder by Jessica Cale is delightfully humorous, PG15, and can be read in an afternoon.
The Earl Takes a Wife by Sherry Ewing is another delightfully humorous PG15 tale from Regency England with teenage Lady Celia and Lord Adrian in his thirties, and takes a LONG afternoon to read.
The Beast Next Door by Jude Knight is an amusing PG15 variation on Beauty and the Beast and can be read in a morning.
The Umbrella Chronicles by Amy Quinton is a humorous PG13 recounting of the courtship of Dr. John Edward Hartwell 30 and Miss Emma Merryweather which can be read in an afternoon.
Candles in the Dark by Caroline Warfield is a lovely PG13 second chance tale involving the invalided Sergeant Marsh and the betrayed Esther Hopkins which can be read in an afternoon.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was lovely. I was quite enraptured with all these books. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book in exchange for a free copy.
Wonderful box set all centered around The Assembly Room in Bath and the Valentine Holiday Dance
Book #1 Beauty and the Bounder
Sebastian is a war wounded actor who wants to marry a wealthy woman so he sets out to act his way into the heart of some wealthy woman. He expected to meet someone like Lady Emilia who is unusual, spirited and independant. What happens next is most unexpected and lovely.
Book #2 The Earl Takes a Wife
Young Lady Celia has set her cap for the older handsome Lord Adrian but he knows she is too young for him so he stays away. His sister sets a trap where Lady Celia is compromised and he has to marry her thinking she is in on his sister’s plan and ends up treating Celia badly until his sister tells the truth.
Book #3 The Beast Next Door
Ordinary Charis needs to marry well in order to help her mother and three sisters but she only wants to marry for love and that would be her good friend Eric who she has not seen in ten years. When he returns he is scarred from surgery on his face but Charis does not care she wants to marry him and he wants to marry her. What she does not know is he is now a Earl which would help her family.
Book #4 The Umbrella Chronicles
Dr. John is set in his routines and follows all rules until he meets Emma who is the total opposite of him but her aunt Lady Harriett is the matchmaker and soon he is falling for Emma.
Book #5 Candles in the Dark
Douglas suffers a leg injury in the war and gets sent home where he inherits his uncles candle shop. He meets Ester who is pregnant by a man who walked away and her father ( a Earl) kicks her out leaving her on her own. Douglas wants to help her and soon begins to fall for her.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A well written set of five stories that held my interest until the very end. The stories are Beauty and the Bounder, by Jessica Cale, The Earl Takes a Wife, by Sherry Ewing, The Beast Next Door, by Jude Knight, The Umbrella Chronicles: John and Emma’s Story, by Amy Quinton, and Candles in the Dark, by Caroline Warfield. All stories are well worth reading. I will be reading this set again.
This is a wonderful collection of romances from five great authors. These stories take place around the Valentine’s Day Ball in Bath. These fine ladies are about to meet the gentlemen of their dreams. I enjoyed these sweet, fun, entertaining romances. I received an arc of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What do I love most about a Bluestocking Belle anthology? It is hard to name just one thing. First, there are the stories themselves, each one uniquely belonging to its author. Second there are the great characters, not always of the quality ton, but always quality people. Third, the locations, not always London, but often take place in Bath. Most of all, I love the way the characters are intertwined through an event and appear in another author’s story. In this case, the events surround the Bath Valentine’s Ball. Occasionally, we will spy a character from a preceding collection. Anthologies allow a reader to enjoy tales from their favorite authors in one place. Although I enjoyed all of the offerings in this anthology, I particularly liked the last three offerings. Jude Knight gave a new twist to the age old story of the Beauty and the Beast, leaving me cheering all the way for the beast. I just can not get enough of Amy Quinton’s Umbrella Chronicles and Lady Harriet. Well, Lady Harriet’s umbrella is on the prowl once again and has Dr. John Hartwell and Miss Emma Merryweather in its sites. Two very different people, how will they ever come together? The last story by Caroline Warfield just restores your faith in humanity. Whether in 1814 or today, the world could use more people like Doug Marsh. I have read several of the Bluestocking Belle anthologies and have enjoyed beach and every one. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a very good collection of stories. They all center around Valentine’s Day and are very romantic. You can’t go wrong with these.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
ONE PHENOMENAL BUNDLE
Tantalizing! This immensely talented and impressive group of authors pulled together one incredibly enjoyable treat, laying out all the frills, spills and fiascos, wrapping this baby up sleek, shiny and tight. Limitations are amplified and negotiated, riding the currents and breaching waves, booting this baby into a tizzy with an astonishing culmination. Twixt, twined and tightly woven, exposing the unique quirks and defying bents, putting our characters through their paces, testing them in ways they could have never imagined. The individual stories are thrilling with separate plots, goals and destinations, each one different and unique, with all the intensity and fervor, testing our characters in ways they could have never anticipated. The attraction and chemistry builds as each layer is peeled back exposing thrilling emotions, binding them to one another perfectly. The characters, banter, interactions and charged atmosphere are realistic, complex and genuine with traits and qualities that add depth and diversity, blending into charismatic personalities. The scenes are strikingly sharp with abundant details and descriptions that feel as though you were transported to ground zero with them. Fantastic job guys, thanks for sharing this fabulous little bundle with us.
Beauty and the Bounder: Emilia met Sebastian (Seb) who was everything she wanted but he was a rake. She later thought he was in love with her best friend (Countess Charlotte) and actress. Little did she know Seb was Charlotte’s best friend and had been missing for a long time. Seb was also an actor but no one knew because of his military service and imprisonment for years.
The Earl Takes a Wife: Lord Adrian fell in love with Lady Celia but didn’t want to admit it. Lady Celia fell in love with Adrian immediately upon seeing him. One of his sister’s was manipulating them trying to get them together and caused more problems and concerns. Both were hurt but neither wanted to give in and accept the truth.
The Beast Next Door: Because of a birth disfigurement Eric was teased by his brothers and abandoned by his mother. The only person to befriend him was the girl next door, Charis. He was sent away to try to have the birthmark removed he stayed where he was and fought in a war. Due to unfortunate circumstances Eric became an Earl. Charis still loved Eric and has only wanted to marry him.
The Umbrella Chronicles: absolutely loved this humorous story! An amusing story of Emma who is basically a wreck never staying pristine as other ladies of the ton and John who is always pristine. She believes in signs or fate, he doesn’t, only believing in science. Exact opposites.
Candles in the Dark:
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m not normally one for anthologies of short stories, but I must say that the Bluestocking Belles truly hit this one out of the park! It was a nice read of romances all connected by a Valentine’s Day ball and the characters were so good.
“Beauty and the Bounder” was one of my favorites in this. It had the fun romance, the betrayal (kinda, but not really), and the HEA:) I loved how I could really connect with the characters and felt all the emotions. It was a sweet romance for the most part and was truly a great read.
“The Earl Takes a Wife” was also a good one. It was about a young woman who loves a man 9 years older than her and their love story. I normally am afraid of age gaps in romances, but the author did a great job keeping it sweet and wonderful. This story involved a lot of misunderstandings caused by lack of communication which led to a lot of angst (if you will). Really good story:)
“The Beast Next Door” was probably my other top favorite. It’s the love story of childhood friends. I loved the humor and background and just everything about this story. The characters were easy to connect with and I really loved them. You just have to read this one:)
“The Umbrella Chronicles” was probably the strangest one yet still good. It’s about a man dedicated to science and who kinda has OCD and a woman who is very superstitious and literally chaos ana person and an old lady playing weird matchmaker. I enjoyed this one, but it was still weird.
“Candles in the Dark” was such a sweet one. The characters were so awesome and sweet especially the man who helps the woman through her hardships and really cares for her (so cute). It was nice reading a regency romance that dealt more with the middle class instead of all the lords and ladies.
This anthology is truly a must read if you love sweet, swoon worthy regency romance:)
I love this anthologies. All stories collected together around the same event where characters appear in each other’s stories. A wonderful experience.
BEAUTY AND THE BOUNDER – JESSICA CALE
I enjoyed this romance with deceit and the arts. Our heroine has a wit about her that I appreciated (as did our hero). I liked the intertwining of the characters from Artemis.
THE EARL TAKES A WIFE – SHERRY EWING
Ooh. The adventure and misdirection in this book was enjoyable. Good, annoying, and unsavory characters lie within and a most invigorating romance.
THE BEAST NEXT DOOR – JUDE KNIGHT
A childhood friends romance. Two meddling mothers and what becomes of all that… a lovely and enjoyable secret romance.
THE UMBRELLA CHRONICLES – AMY QUINTON
Opposites attracting. Magic and a disheveled mess, mathematics and a carefully ordered life… is there a place for the two to meet? Definitely a few moments of hilarity within this novella. I enjoyed the starkly opposite characters.
CANDLES IN THE DARK – CAROLINE WARFIELD
A single mom, in desperate conditions, and a war wearied man who finds some kindness within himself. I enjoyed watching this relationship progress. It was a quick novella, but enjoyable.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love the Belles stories.
The Bluestocking Belles have done it again giving the read five wonderful stories to enjoy. What I really like about the Belles is that write using language that would have been heard during the time setting. That is not always the case with some writers. I also like how well-written they are with characters that stand out. There is also humor in the tales with romance front and center oh I cannot forget a bit of drama too. You will not go wrong with this collection in your library these are stories you will re-visit time and time again. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Five stories revolving around Valentine’s day, set in Bath. The characters appear in more than one of the books but only one couple stands out in each story. I enjoyed all of them but I did find the language in the first story rather coarse and not really needed other than that I highly recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
TrueLove Runs Through It
What a wonderful box set of unusual Regency Romances between true gentlemen and strong willed, educated young women!
Each novella is connected to the city of Bath, but the characters are quite different. Some are nobility, others just hardworking men. The leading men each have a common thread of being former soldiers, and each has some sort of permanent injury from war, either physical, mental, or both.
The young women that love them are smart and strong willed, and able to look past the scars and see the men for their true selves. Great reads!
ARC Received from Booksprout
I also got this ebook for $.99 from Amazon.
Five unique voices come together with one common goal. Valentines From Bath is an ode to romance. From a rogue in need to an impetuous damsel, this anthology gives hearts something to swoon over. Jude Knight proves how tempting, temperamental can be. Jessica Cale reminds our hearts how it feels to be set free. Warfield shows the beauty of true love’s kiss. While Ewing and Quinton enlighten on why love is worth the risk. Fashionably fabulous fun.
Four very sweet stories. My favorite is the third “ The Beast Next Door.” I especially love this one because it features two underdogs who get a happy ending. They had promised themselves to each other as children and fulfilled that promise. The second story is also great because the parents set their daughter up for a happy life. These are all stories that are filled with love and joy. It is a beautiful arrangement.