The One that Got Away

In passionate love stories from four of romance's most prominent authors, meet women who've spent years thinking they've missed their shot at Mr Right – only to discover that fate is handing them one more chance.to win back the love of the one who got away! Publishers Weekly Four of the brightest historical romance authors writing today serve up stories of lovers reunited in this somewhat patchy collection of Regencies. As the title suggests, all four of the novellas focus on couples who have broken up for some reason or another-usually due to a minor misunderstanding, scheming parents or a simple failure to say I love you-but who are given a second chance at love. Unfortunately, this premise proves too limiting, as the formulaic offerings tend to meld in the reader's mind. Alexander's The Trouble with Charlotte and Carlyle's Much Ado About Twelfth Night are both predictable confections full of stock characters who don't leave much of an impression. Maxwell's Nightingale, meanwhile, is notable for its high sensuality quotient, but it's burdened by an excess of contrived plot twists. The standout is James's A Fool Again. In her nimble prose, James spins a sweet, playful tale of a young widow whose long-lost betrothed returns to London after seven years to seduce and, this time, marry her. All in all, while this collection doesn't showcase the authors at their best, it contains some serviceable, pleasingly sensual tales. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. He was the first ... he was the best ... He was the one that got away! Now he's back ... but do you still want him? Every woman remembers that one special man who slipped through her fingers, leaving her not only asking the question "What happened?" but also wondering aboutwhat could have been if she hadn't let him go. Now, four of today's bestselling historical romance writers -- Victoria Alexander, Liz Carlyle, Eloisa James and Cathy Maxwell -- show us what can happen when the man you thought was out of your life forever returns. In this stirring quartet of original novellas, four sets of star-crossed lovers are given the golden opportunity to relive the passion ... and set the past right. Fate has brought these couples back together, but only love can determine if each is just momentary madness or a reunion that will last for all time! The trouble with Charlotte / Victoria Alexander Much ado about Twelfth night / Liz Carlyle A fool again / Eloisa James Nightingale / Cathy Maxwell.