Review: A Timeless Romance Anthology: Autumn Collection

Novellas are always fun when you don't have a lot of time or energy to put into a novel. However, they are very dangerous when you start them and think, "Oh, I have time for a quick read." but there are five others compiled with it and your "quick time" read turns into....well, longer than you were planning. For some reason my family never thanks me for this.  Go figure.

The Autumn Anthology is comprised of 6 novellas.  Here are my thoughts on what I read.

A Hound Dog Named Elvis - Heather Horrocks
You know how sometimes in a novella the main characters get together a little too quickly to be believable? Well, if that has ever been a hang up for you then you will probably like how Kaitlin and Joshua already knew each other well. And if you like dogs and Elvis then this story was made especially for you. Not being an Elvis fan or an animal lover (my vet husband cringes every time I admit this...I like animals, but not to the devotion level shown in the book.  You know how grandparents say they have the best job in the world because they get to enjoy the kids, and then send them back to their parents when the kids need a diaper change, or are acting up, or whenever...this is how I feel about animals, but that is neither here nor there.) I had a harder time loving this story. It's hard when you can't relate to things, and I really wouldn't consider this a suspense story, but the humor in Horrocks' story and other elements kept me reading to the end.

Eye for an Eye - Stephanie Black
I wasn't expecting this type of story from this book.  I should have known from the author that it would be a suspense story, but I didn't put things together.  I was pleasantly surprised. Right away in this story my attention was grabbed (which was bad because I was going to do something else, but I just kept reading). It's a quick read with likeable main characters. Mallory has made some bad decisions, and has had a hard life, but you root for her. Darien is just a great guy.  Personally, I like that he's a math geek. While I wish the story was longer and developed more, it's a novella, and a well written one at that.

First Heist - Heather B. Moore
I really struggled with this story. There is language, talk of sex, and unbelievable romance.  Mia goes from not trusting Omar, thinking he's drunk and going to take some blonde home, to trusting him completely.  All with no conversation, just looking into his eyes and him saying, "Trust me". At one point in the story Mia says she feels that everything is wrapped up. I had to go back and reread a page to see what I missed because nothing really got resolved, and rereading didn't make it any clearer. Mia was also pretty unbelievable. Shes supposed to be a great agent, but Omar saves her again and again and over "simple" things that a great agent would know.  She was too needy for my taste.

Letter for Two - Sarah M. Eden
While reading this story my husband walked in the room and shook his head. "What?" I asked. "You have a silly grin on your face." It's true. I did. I can still feel the grin.  Letter for Two was sweet and funny.  It had me smiling, laughing, and I'll admit that parts even gave me fun butterflies in my tummy.  Sophia and Ethan meet every evening to switch the mail that gets sent to the wrong person. They live in the same house, different apartments. He likes her, she likes him, and they each wonder what the other person thinks. I hated that it had to end. Do you ever get into a story that you hate to see the last page come up? That's how I felt reading this. The pace was good, the romance believable. My only hang up was that it was a novella and therefore too short and had to end. Letter for Two was everything a romance should be.

Silver Cascade Secrets - Rachelle J. Christensen
This was a fun story. Jillian and Travis clicked really well, and the romance was well paced and believable. While the ex-boyfriends role was predictable, I was surprised by "who-done-it" at the end. This is something I'd definitely read again, but I do wonder about the swear word that was thrown in there. The story didn't need it, and it just seemed to throw the flow of the story off. It was disappointing to me, although I realize most people probably don't care.

Chocolate Obsessed - Annette Lyon
This story is best read while snacking on some form of chocolate (obviously). Chocolate chip cookies were my snack of choice, and while polishing off my cookies I was able to "polish" off the last story in this Anthology (yes, that was my attempt at humor...this is why I'm not a writer). Two rival chefs, Whitney and Stephen, team up when Whitney is threatened by a culinary flunky.  While Whitney's side of the romance seemed a bit rushed, Stephen was a really "good guy" (you'll understand the " when you read the story) that from my romantic perspective kept me reading and rooting for him.

Title: A Timeless Romance Anthology: Autumn Collection
Authors: Heather Horrocks, Stephanie Black, Heather B. Moore, Sarah M. Eden, Rachelle J. Christensen, Annette Lyon
Publisher: Mirror Press
Published: July 2013
ASIN: B00E9V32H4
FTC FYI: I received an eCopy from one of the author's in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase: Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook