The School for Heiresses

Ten Reasons to Stay -Sabrina Jeffries

One night, the newly minted Earl of Montieth, Colin Hunt stumbles upon a horse thief. Eager to defend his property, he captures the thief easily and is shocked to discover that it is in fact a young woman. Desperate not to reveal her circumstances that forced her to 'borrow' his horse in an attempt to flee to London, Miss Eliza Crenshawe commences a battle of wits with the Earl, trying to prevent him from learning the truth of her identity. For surely he would send her back to her drunken uncle. But Colin is not easily swayed by the sharped tongued beauty and when he finally learns her circumstances -he doesn't believe her! Desperate for his aid, Eliza offers him a 'trade' of sorts; getting her to London in exchange for ~pleasuring~ him.

****4 STARS- Jeffries story is definitely the best of the bunch. Matching saucy and uninhibited (for a virgin that is) Eliza with the jaded and guarded Colin is a hoot. Eliza matches wits with the Earl and creates a palpable sexual tension, especially when she finds his erotic indian prints ;). And the 'ten reasons to stay'?, well lets just say that fans of Jeffries steamy writing style won't be dissapointed.

After Midnight -Liz Carlyle

Miss Martinique Neville, resident hellion of the school of heiresses, is given a her last lesson on the day of her departure -learn to value yourself. Her whole world turns upside down when during a simple country furlough, before entering London society, she is caught in a compromising position and is forced into a betrothal with the scandalous Lord St. Vrain. Neither wants marriage. His past still haunts him (as well as shuns him in most of decent society) and her heritage is not exactly one would expect to find in a lady. So they form a pack to pretend to accept the betrothal until the scandal passes. Only then do things take a turn when they fall in love with eachother and neither is willing to let go.

*1 STAR- Yeah it was that bad! No likeable characters whatsoever. And please, please don't have the hero *canoodling* with someone other than the heroine and then expect me to like him later -UGH! And the heroine? I'm sorry, virgin teenagers don't talk like 40yr old experienced women, even with a french accent. Don't get me started on the cold hearted family (who's explanations didn't pacify me at all). A semi-depressing story that really never recovers. Skip this one.

The Merchant's Gift -Julia London

Miss Grace Holcomb, a pretty heiress from Leeds, had anything and everything a titled gentleman suitor could want in a wife; poise, grace and training from the exclusive school for heiress, except for the fact that her family attained their wealth from TRADE! And sheep trade unfortunately, which caused a bevy of snide remarks behind the poor girls back and led to several unsuccessful seasons. Now home again with her family until the new season starts, she meets again her childhood crush Mr. Barret Adlaine, who tempts her in ways she'd rather not think about. After all, as a man in trade, he is wholly inappropriate according to her father's (who is determined for a titled match) standards. But that doesn't stop their little run-ins and when Grace returns to London and finds a real titled suitor she must decide between matters of the heart and matters of the family.

****4 STARS. Great underdog story. Plenty of sexual tension, Barret really goes out of his way to court Grace and his gifts are very touching. The only part I didn't like was that Grace was a bit too cruel/mean to him. Over and over she reminded him of what his station in life was and what was expected of her. But the author sort of made up for it in the end with a grand romantic gesture -done by the heroine surprisingly!

Mischief's Holiday -Renee Bernard

Surviving the holidays without incident proved too difficult a task for the accident prone Aylssa Martin. Disaster seemed to follow her everywhere she went, even home to a small gathering of her beloved father's friends for the holidays. Only the sinfully handsome guest Mr. Leland Yates would'nt mock her when she tumbled into the mud or snicker when embarrassing childhood stories where repeated. But what were her chances with him? Especially when her beautiful cousin Violet arrived?

****3 stars. I liked this one? Don't know, but its a cute story. Alyssa's bumbling was funny, but some of the guests comments were cruel. The story strangely lacked steamy love scenes compared to the others in this anthology. And the ending was kind of abrupt, your kind of left hanging -with your own imagination to fill in the gaps. Just kind of bland really.

These four stories were supposed to flow well together but didn't. The writing styles of these authors are way too different and ultimately brought down the whole anthology for me. A disappointment really considering that each can write full novels very well. I guess they should just stick to those.

For some really well matched stories in an anthology, check out Lady Whisteldown Strikes Back and The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown.

I am a huge fan of Sabrina Jeffries as well as Renee Bernard and for me they did not disappoint.

The first story is Colin's, whom we read about in, "Only A Duke Will Do". The widowered half English half Indian cousin just returned from his much beloved country of India to claim his title. He discovers a horse thief in his stables and attempts to apprehend the 'lad`. What he discovers is more than each of them bargains for. Eliza is fleeing an arranged marriage and lands herself as a welcome captive in the arms of Colin.

This was a very steamy read written with Ms. Jeffries' eloquent artistry. They become each other's salvation.

The second story by Liz Carlyle, was my least favorite. Perhaps because it should have been a full-length novel but instead was tied up in a hundred or so pages. Ms. Carlyle writes more on the gothic edge so that did not bother me. It was more because the romance moved so quickly I didn't really care about Martinique or St. Vrain. The love scenes were hot as any Liz Carlyle fan is familiar with, but that wasn't enough to sustain the story for me.

The third story by Julia London was enjoyable. The protagonists are two wealthy commoners from Leeds. Grace Holcombe is headed to London to find a husband, but there is something about Barret Adlaine that stirs her soul. What follows is some exquisite tension and high emotions as Grace feels she must do her duty by her father and marry above her station.

The final installment by newcomer, Renee Bernard rounds out the series on a high note. This author is an auto-buy for me since her debut, 'A Ladys Pleasure`. The last story showcases accident-prone Alyssa Martin and the dashing Leland Yates. These two meet when Alyssa needs rescuing from a rather embarrasing situation. Leland falls instantly in lust with his mysterious little baggage and then they're officially introduced....

What follows is page after page of taut sexual tension as Alyssa and Leland steal moments alone.

Overall, I loved this book. I encourage the novella reader to understand that the author has only a hundred or so pages from start to finish to create a love story. In that vein, things progress much faster than in a novel.

I like anthologies. It is a good opportunity to explore new authors and get a fix of your old favorites between full-length novels. I must admit that I loathe the work of headliner, Sabrina Jeffries, but, thought, how bad can it be, and there are 3 other authors, one of whom I regularly buy and like. Jeffries did not disappoint. "Ten Reasons to Stay" was as awful as expected. As usual, she gives a 21st century party girl mentality to a supposed 19th century virgin who is happy to get intimate at a moment's notice. Her template that requires a nod to the period every so many words gives us, for example, cabriolet every single time a carriage is mentioned; proof that Colin grew up in India is indicated by his use of the Sanskrit word for female "naughty bits;" and, for a two-fer, she has him dressing in a Banyan -- both more or less period AND Indian. Score. But they all sounded forced. Then, the whole thing wraps up in what seemed like a paragraph, with a modern interpretation of alcohol abuse.

I like Liz Carlyle. I like her heroes. But, as she said on her website, this story introduces the family that will be featured in her next series. What is with this whole family series business? It is so ubiquitous that it must sell, and you have to assume it is required by the publishers, so you can't perhaps blame the authors. But it seems lazy. You get the sense that authors line up the siblings, hand out the lunchboxes, and say, "okay, (insert name here), your turn." In Carlyle's earlier books, there were connections between the characters, but they weren't forced laundry lists. Additionally, Martinique was just a little too young to act so old, French or not. I will use this story for reference when the series comes out, but didn't get much out of "After Midnight" above and beyond that.

I had never read the last two authors, and might not bother again. Julia London's "Merchant's Gift" was nice, in its own way. It was refreshing to find main characters who were not aristocrats. However, the whole "hot" scene in the tower sounded physically impossible -- especially in the winter. And, wouldn't her dress have been impossibly dirty afterwards? When one is thinking about issues like that, the story can't be that memorable.

The last story by Renee Bernard, "Mischief's Holiday" was equally unmemorable, if pleasant -- but Alyssa? There are any number of lists of period names -- Alyssa would probably not be on it. I would try her again -- at the library.

I am a fan of Sabrina Jeffries, but this anthology was a bit disappointing. There weren't any real big problems, but there wasn't much to remember either.

Jeffrie's story got this whole thing started. It was a cute little story, but I thought it was sort of shallow. Colin and Eliza lusted after each other right away and ended up together. Nothing to make this go on the keeper shelf.

Next was Liz Carlyle's story and while it wasn't awful, I just got a depressing feeling after reading it. Not a good thing. The heroine was the daughter of a courtesan and the hero was a beautiful rake and the story was not that appealing.

Next up was probably my favorite--Julia London's story of a wealthy girl who needed to marry well to improve her family's standing in society. The hero, Barrett Adlaine, was one of the better heroes to come along lately. I really could see his appeal--even though he was in trade!!

Lastly, there was Renee Bernard's offering and, while it was inoffensive, it was not memorable.

In all, there were 4 stories here and maybe 1-1/2 were worth the price of the book.

I looked forward to the publication date of this anthology figuring that, with authors such as Liz Carlyle and Sabrina Jeffries, it was going to be great. It wasn't. The authors were correct in publishing these stories in their "short" versions, because there really would not have been enough substance to build a full-length book from any of them. As it was, they were somewhat entertaining but far from gripping. Not a stretch for them, and not a keeper for me.

Sabrina Jeffries continues her School for Heiresses Series with the exploits of four students of the Mrs. Charlotte Harris's rich, but untitled school for young ladies. This unique blend of authors keeps the reader's attention with short stories which are well-written and developed with strong characters that blend into moments of heartwarming sweetness, sensuality and humor.

It is a delight to see another story written by the new talent Renee Bernard, who delighted romance fans with her erotic historical debut, The Lady's Pleasure. In her Heiress Story, "Mischief's Holiday, we are treated with her traditional regency writing style when the beautiful, but clumsy Alyssa Martin meets the second son Leland Yates. Sparks fly the moment he sees her lush derriere popping out of her overturned carriage, in the first of many mishaps. He soon discovers it is Alyssa's father who has invited him for a holiday stay at the family estate. Leland finds each mishap of hers as delightful as the lady herself. It is a sweet and touching story with just the right amount of sensuality with an ending that will warm a reader's heart and keep a smile on your face.

In Julia London's "The Merchants Gift" Grace Holcomb, the daughter of a merchant, returns home for the holidays after two unsuccessful seasons in London, disappointing her father once again by not attaining a title for the family. Upon her return to Leeds, the handsome neighbor and sheep farmer, Mr. Barrett Adlaine, is immediately taken by Grace's beauty and loves her for simply being Grace, not for the rich dowry she is able to give him. Grace is drawn to Garrett, but feels she must do well by her family and marry into society. She is continually reminded of her duty to her family and why her father spent the money to send her to Mrs. Harris's school. The passion and desire are too much for Garrett and Grace and the sensuality burns between them at every meeting and touch, culminating in a moment of intense passion. Grace is finally offered a title by Sir William, a young Lord returning from the war in Paris, and as Garrett and William each offer her a gift, she has a decision to make as to which gift she will accept; love or a title? The ending is true romance in the style and talent fans of Julia London enjoy in each of her books.

In Liz Carlyle's "After Midnight," sparks fly in a steamy, erotic, passionate story between the young, beautiful Martinique, the daughter of a Barbados octoroon courtesan and ward of Lord Rothewell, and the scandalous rogue and neighbor, Lord Vrain, who ran away to Paris years ago with his step-mother. He meets Martinique at a family house party and is in immediate lust for her, but knows she is innocent. Later when he has the key to the room of a young widow for the evening, he crawls into the bed and realizes it is the young Martinique he is holding. Their desire ignites and he takes her innocence. They are discovered and with her reputation in ruin, he offers marriage. Although they both feel they are not the correct mate for each other, their passions ignite and culiminate into a steamy ending, which also includes some mystery and intrigue. A story sure to keep the holidays warm! Another truly sensual and delightful read by Liz Carlyle.

Sabrina Jefferies delights her fans with the continuation of her story about Colin Hunt from "Only a Duke Will Do." The new Earl of Monteith, recently arrived from India is moving into his new estate only to hear a rukus in his stables. Expecting to catch a horse thief, he instead finds the beautiful and luscious runaway Eliza Crenshawe. Her uncle is the local magistrate who is down on his luck and is forcing a blackmailed marriage on her. Eliza attempts to simply "borrow" one of Colin's horses to escape the marriage. She hides her identity from him for as long as possible, while he keeps her in his home in order to protect her from running away and into further danger, only to find that he is lusting madly for her. Finally his passion gets the best of him when he finds her in the closet he has locked her in wrapped in his Indian silks and reading his book on the Kama Sutra. As they pleasure each other he gives her "Ten Reasons to Stay." If there would be one criticism of this anthology, it would be that this story should have its own book. Colin and Eliza are passionate and desirable people who cannot get enough of each other and the reader desires more about these two intelligent, sensual characters.

The School for Heiresses is a Regency treat appropriately released for the holiday season, as these four novellas are like getting an extra small gift from the authors. A pleasurable and fun read.

Honestly, I am glad that I started with another of the latter books in Sabrina Jeffries' School for Heiresses. If I hadn't I would've burned the series and never bothered to read the rest. What a disappointing part of the series. The stories are completely devoid of tension or reality. I couldn't feel a single strand of sympathy or empathy for any of the characters except poor Colin who in Story 1 who possibly deserved Angel Wings for his patience. Story 2 (Martinique's) was so confusing that I found the subplot to have more interest and tension than the romantic story itself. However, like the other stories, the romance is tied up nice and neat while the more interesting subplots are just left hanging. Frustrating read. I had to force myself to finish and stories.

This anthology is a mixed bag. The stories by Sabrina Jeffries and Liz Carlyle - two authors that I usually like - are nothing special and lack depth and emotion, but those by Julia London and Renee Bernard are quite well done.

Jeffries' "Ten Reasons to Stay" pairs two minor characters from her previous novel: half-caste Colin, now an Earl, and outspoken heiress Eliza from Mrs. Harris' School. Eliza is on the run from her drunken uncle, who is forcing her to marry against her will, and is snagged by Colin when she tries to "borrow" his horse. Colin doubts Eliza's hard-luck story, so he holds her at his house until she tells him the truth. Colin is an attractive hero, but Eliza does not appeal to me. Her unusually blunt sex talk and her immediate intimacy with a stranger are out of place with her background. Although sex-filled, the overall feel of the story is not that romantic.

Carlyle's "After Midnight" gives us another uninhibited miss who immediately becomes intimate with a stranger. Martinique, a mixed-race heiress, no sooner arrives at her relative's country estate than she becomes sexually involved with a handsome neighboring lord with a sketchy past. The lord shows far better behavior and more scruples than our heroine, with whom I just couldn't connect. I am a big fan of Liz Carlyle, but this one does not do it for me.

London's poignant "The Merchant's Gift" is sweet, straightforward and well-told, with two very appealing leads. A wealthy tradesman expects his daughter Grace to marry into a title and move up in society, and this is what Grace wants also - until she meets handsome and provocative mill owner Barrett and starts to question her long-held beliefs. Grace's journey of self-discovery is charming, and Barrett's pursuit of her is particularly touching.

Bernard's "Mischief's Holiday" is very good as well, with an adorable accident-prone heroine. Alyssa's all too frequent mishaps make her wish she could be invisible. Then she meets a business friend of her wealthy father's who appreciates her unique charms and wants her very much in the flesh - yet is oddly hesitant to declare himself. This story is funny and sexy, with straight-man Leland a perfect foil for the unconventional Alyssa.

I was very excited at first to see this anthology based on Sabrina Jeffries' previous books, but that excitement dwindled within the first fifty pages of opening this book.

The first selection, by Sabrina Jeffries, features Colin Hunt, the widowed, half-Indian Earl of Monteith who is reaquainting himself with England, and Eliza Crenshawe - a damsel in distress seaking an exit from a marriage arranged by her drunk, abusive guardian. Think this sentence has a little too much going on in it? Well, so does this first story. Had Ms. Jeffries dragged this out for an entire book, it may have worked, but jammed into 90-some pages, it lacks much and delivers little.

To be honest, I skimmed the other three stories. I knew going in that I didn't care for Liz Carlyle, and I was proved correct again by her passionate-yet-not-quite romantic story of St. Vrain and Martinique. What I have never understood about Ms. Carlyle is her propensity to make her heroes so tortured. They have all committed some horrible, unconscionable act, and have been wracked with guilt ever since, and yet they seek redemption from young girls on the basis of a few quick tosses. Confusing.

Julia London's story seemed interesting enough, but not quite enough to keep my reading page after page - the way I feel about most of her books that I've read.

Of the three, Renee Bernard's tale of somewhat-jinxed Miss Grace Martin and Leland Yates was the most entertaining, until you realized that Mr. Yates was far to honorable to be tossed in with the other three men of this anthology. I think at times I was more frustrated than Grace.

Overall, this collection is not something I'd advise connoisseur readers - and possibly even newbies to the genre - to pick up.

The plots in the stories were okay. There was way too much sex described. There was definitely not enough about actual schooling involved, suggested, developed or used.