Lovescape

Rating:
Summary: An Appetizer for Longer Fare--But Worth Every Penny
Review: Anthologies are often blessed--some say, cursed--with variable talent; from the venerable writing pro to the vitriol of those less accomplished.

In LOVESCAPE, four talented authors--with yes, a variance of style and prose--achieve what very few anthologies do, and that is, maintain the reader's interest throughout.

A DANCE ON THE EDGE by Anne Avery couples Marlis Jones, an interior designer with architect, Jack Martin. Independent spirits of like mind and conviction, the two begin a rather unique relationship, corresponding through e-mail, and eventually, in a face-to-face reality. But is the risk too great for these two people 'dancing on the edge?' Poignant and sweet, Anne Avery utilizes a striking blend of humor and pathos to deliver a modern-day fairytale of love on the edge.

TOSS THE BOUQUET by Phoebe Conn has bridal florist Reagan Paisley swept away by a sexy Italian cyclist while vacationing alone without her 'fiancee.' Nursing a myriad of scrapes and bruises, Marco Tomasi is forced to spend a week recuperating in Reagan's home. The time before his next race is spent wooing Reagan and tussling in the sheets, but Marco has soon lost his heart. Can this famous Italian playboy manage a trek down the aisle with a woman running scared? The chemistry and dialog zing, the pace is quick. Ms. Conn has crafted a delightful romp of love in the fast lane.

HEART CRAVING by Sandra Hill is a comical tale of love, lust, and love-regained. "Nicholas DiCello is a desperate man..." Only seven days remain until his divorce with wife, Paula, is finalized. Before that happens, Nick must discover how to regain Paula's love and save their marriage. Following the advice of a chain-smoking fortune-teller, Nick sets out to discover his wife's secret heart craving, but success is not easily earned. From the get-go, the chemistry is hot, and the tension thick. For a cleverly crafted tale of wit, whim, and witchery, Sandra Hill delivers the goods.

MY ONE by Dara Joy is an eclectic blend of the futuristic and contemporary genres as Lois Ed finds her heart and soul captivated by the charm of a roguish alien. "She had called to him..." And Trystan answered, knowing that she was his 'One.' When Lois answered the knock at her door, she expected to see the plumber, not this tall, gorgeous man. And certainly not a space-traveling alien. Would these two star-crossed lovers earn a second chance at happiness? Dara Joy's trade-mark humor, witty dialogue, and sensual prose are ever-present in MY ONE. Short but incredibly sweet.

Overall, LOVESCAPE was a pleasurable interlude spent sampling four different authors' talent and scope, leaving you intrigued, curious but never QUITE satisfied...

Rating:
Summary: What a great book to travel with
Review: Four different authors, four different styles. What a wonderful way to meet new talent. All very good reads. Ann Avery's "A Dance on the Edge" was done in a style that I have never read before. It was light, fun and easy to enjoy. Phoebe Conn's "Toss the Bouquet" was the best of the four. This was the first time I have read anything she has written, but it will not be my last. Sandra Hill was in good form this time, and not bussy trying to be all things to all people. You can never be sure about this author. Some of her writtings can leave you wondering if there are two different authors by the same name. However, she comes through with flying colors this time around. Dara Joy's "My One" was not longe enough, for me that is the best thing you can say about an author. Although I enjoyed the story, knowing this author as I do, I know that she is capable of so much more. She did not get enough space in which to work her full scope of magic, and yet she did not disappoint. As always, she did her thing. I sure hope she goes back and gives her readers a longer look at her great character. This book is a keeper, and if you know someone who is about to take a trip and likes romance this would be a great going away gift.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book to travel with
Review: Four different authors, four different styles. What a wonderful way to meet new talent. All very good reads. Ann Avery's "A Dance on the Edge" was done in a style that I have never read before. It was light, fun and easy to enjoy. Phoebe Conn's "Toss the Bouquet" was the best of the four. This was the first time I have read anything she has written, but it will not be my last. Sandra Hill was in good form this time, and not bussy trying to be all things to all people. You can never be sure about this author. Some of her writtings can leave you wondering if there are two different authors by the same name. However, she comes through with flying colors this time around. Dara Joy's "My One" was not longe enough, for me that is the best thing you can say about an author. Although I enjoyed the story, knowing this author as I do, I know that she is capable of so much more. She did not get enough space in which to work her full scope of magic, and yet she did not disappoint. As always, she did her thing. I sure hope she goes back and gives her readers a longer look at her great character. This book is a keeper, and if you know someone who is about to take a trip and likes romance this would be a great going away gift.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book to travel with
Review: Four different authors, four different styles. What a wonderful way to meet new talent. All very good reads. Ann Avery's "A Dance on the Edge" was done in a style that I have never read before. It was light, fun and easy to enjoy. Phoebe Conn's "Toss the Bouquet" was the best of the four. This was the first time I have read anything she has written, but it will not be my last. Sandra Hill was in good form this time, and not bussy trying to be all things to all people. You can never be sure about this author. Some of her writtings can leave you wondering if there are two different authors by the same name. However, she comes through with flying colors this time around. Dara Joy's "My One" was not longe enough, for me that is the best thing you can say about an author. Although I enjoyed the story, knowing this author as I do, I know that she is capable of so much more. She did not get enough space in which to work her full scope of magic, and yet she did not disappoint. As always, she did her thing. I sure hope she goes back and gives her readers a longer look at her great character. This book is a keeper, and if you know someone who is about to take a trip and likes romance this would be a great going away gift.

Rating:
Summary: Two great, two blah stories
Review: I bought this because I needed a Dara Joy fix, because I am dying for High Intensity to come out already, and I certainly liked her story about Trystan and Lois Ed. BUT!!! It was Anne Avery's story of Jack and Marlis and their e-mail romance that really caught my attention. It is my favorite of the bunch and since then, I have read some of Ms. Avery's other books, like her newest, Bartered Bride. The other two were okay, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Rating:
Summary: Two great, two blah stories
Review: I bought this because I needed a Dara Joy fix, because I am dying for High Intensity to come out already, and I certainly liked her story about Trystan and Lois Ed. BUT!!! It was Anne Avery's story of Jack and Marlis and their e-mail romance that really caught my attention. It is my favorite of the bunch and since then, I have read some of Ms. Avery's other books, like her newest, Bartered Bride. The other two were okay, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Rating:
Summary: PRECIOUS!!! Absolutely a must-have!
Review: I know what you're thinking, "If you thought Lovescape was so precious, then why didn't you give it 5 stars?". Well, I'll get to that later. Out of the 4 short stories in this novel, the one I adored the most was "heart Craving". If you've read this story, you can sympathize with me when I tell you that I had tears in the corner of my eyes. Its one of the most beautiful tales I've ever read. "lovescape" was also my first introduction to the work of Sandra Hill and Dara Joy. Both write an extremely funny, sensuous, moving tale. As for why I only gave "Lovescape" 4 stars...Anne Avery messed it up for everybody with that riduculous story of e-mail tag. Other than that, Lovescape was indeed an escape!

Rating:
Summary: PRECIOUS!!! Absolutely a must-have!
Review: I know what you're thinking, "If you thought Lovescape was so precious, then why didn't you give it 5 stars?". Well, I'll get to that later. Out of the 4 short stories in this novel, the one I adored the most was "heart Craving". If you've read this story, you can sympathize with me when I tell you that I had tears in the corner of my eyes. Its one of the most beautiful tales I've ever read. "lovescape" was also my first introduction to the work of Sandra Hill and Dara Joy. Both write an extremely funny, sensuous, moving tale. As for why I only gave "Lovescape" 4 stars...Anne Avery messed it up for everybody with that riduculous story of e-mail tag. Other than that, Lovescape was indeed an escape!

Rating:
Summary: Two Mediocre Tales Open and Two Firecracker Tales End!
Review: The collaboration of four steamy tales written by (in order) Anne Avery- "A Dance on the Edge", Phoebe Conn- "Toss the Bouquet", Sandra Hill- "Heart Craving" and last but not least Dara Joy- "My One" was more of a batting average of 4 1/2 stars, mainly because of the first two mediocre tales that left nothing behind in their wake but the last two more than made up for the loss and left you gasping!

I cannot say what Ms. Avery's other stories are like, but this one she contributed to this anthology was in my opinion....awful. A quick tale about two people set to work on a project miles apart and unable to see one another they converse via email. I am not sure where the title 'the dance on the edge' comes in here because it was so flimsy and 'safe'. In that I mean that the author seemed to be afraid to say certain things a certain way and the characters were boring. The female lead of Marlis was too touchy and offended without provication. In turn the male lead Jack had way too many issues and it clouded the tale she was trying to create. The entire story was told through weird emails and without any real knowledge of the people involved writing the emails. Very tedious and slow. In short, it was about two people with major major issues that couldn't function with most people and found love in each other through emails. Very 'safe' story with no action or excitement.

Ms. Conn's tale also lacked any real fire. A woman also with issues that grated on one's nerves quickly. "Toss the Bouquet" would've been better had their been an urge to toss it? I was lost on why Regan loved her boyfriend to begin with and even wanted to marry him. He was cheap and obvious in his not loving her. She had the nerve to act shocked when he dumped her at the altar? Then she takes in this Italian cyclist and has this wild fling with him in the aftermath to soothe her wounds. I just couldn't care enough about the characters to think anymore on them when it was done, I was too worried about it not ending soon enough. Slow paced at times and tedious, then too fast and confused.

Now we come to the best of the tales by a long long shot...Ms. Hill's tale "Heart Craving" was so heart felt and real that I have been thinking about it since I finished it. I didn't want it to end and it being the longest story in the book I was still irritated when it was over. After two lackluster stories, I was eating this one up like candy! Ms. Hill is my favorite author and this was the reason for my buying the book and boy was I impressed yet AGAIN! A tale about a man named Nick who loves his wife Paula so much he is willing to do anything and I mean ANYTHING to win her back...the problem? He has 7 days. 7 days before their divorce goes through. Can he do it? He will sure try! Even if it means reading all the sex books he can, creating a imaginary oasis on the Jersey shore with camels and belly dancers and meeting with a chain smoking fortune teller to do it! Paula has her work cut out for her! She must resist her wily husband's charm and wit or fall once again in love with him...even if it means giving up the one thing she left him for...her 'heart's craving'.... Two thumbs up! Very funny at times and extremely sexy and sweet. Nick is the perfect man...

Ms. Joy once again impresses me with yet another tale of alien meets earthling and fall in love. Only Ms. Joy can pull this off and make it believeable. "My One" finds a man named Trystan who hears the 'call' of his mate and his only 'One' from another galaxy. Lois is having the worst year. Her boyfriend stole her money and nearly bankrupted her, now she is praying to the gods or whoever will listen to send her a life and namely a normal guy. She gets what she asks for in a 6'4 man rippling muscle and perfect features that claims to be her soulmate, or his "One". Through time and space the two fall in love and show one another that love can bloom in the oddest places...the twist here? We find out that these two are old souls...destined to find one another. Not revealing too much here, the twist is excellent. Very good tale and did not want to see it end. Touching and sweet and very believeable.

I gave this book 5 stars because the last two more than made up for a bad start and I wholeheartedly enjoyed them enough to look past "A Dance on the Edge" and "Toss the Bouquet" as merely a small and insignificant addition to the otherwise excellent book.

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