Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Charmed Destinies: 3 Novels in 1 by Mercedes Lackey, Rachel Lee, Catherine Asaro ISBN: 0-373-21833-8 Publisher: Silhouette Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 3 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.45 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great launch of the new LUNA line!
Comment: This anthology marks the launch of the new women's fantasy line by Harlequin. THe Luna line will feature fantasy with women and romance as main themes.
I enjoyed all 3 stories- I do agree that the Catherine Asaro tale was the best. The shape mages and their powers and the world they live in is one I wish to read more about.
The Mercedes Lackey tale was brutal but I believe honest in its depiction of life for a mere woman in a loveless marriage of convenience. The mystical/magical happenings that changed the heroine's destiny were nicely written and unfolded in a satisfying manner.
The psychic connection between our bored out of her gourd data entry clerk and her hunky sys admin in the Rachel Lee tale was great! This was the first romance I have ever read that described the utter mind numbing boredom of life in cube land---- think Dilbert's world and how a woman with a lot of imagination could let her mind wander and explore outside of her body into some psychic cosmic bandwith where she shares her fantasies with another......
I look forward to more by all of these ladies!
I also recommend this years Harlequin Halloween anthology- When Darkness Falls. It too has strong supernatural themed romance- with an intro of Fantasy great Tanith Lee to the romance genre!
Rating: 3
Summary: Only one of three is a keeper...
Comment: Of the three authors who contributed to this book, I have only encountered Mercedes Lackey's works before. This book is a sort of experiment where all three authors try their hands at the romantic fantasy genre.
Mercedes Lackey's "Counting Crows" is the first story in the book. In it, Gwynn is wedded to a man she has never seen before, in order to ensure the safety of her father's lands. She goes to her husband hoping that he will be a man she can learn to love and finds instead that he is a brutal man who rapes her and beats her. While Gwynn brings order to her new household and decides whether to use her magic against her husband, she falls in love with one of her husband's knights, Sir Atremus. The story was an okay fantasy story, but a miserable romantic fantasy story. Gwynn was the most fleshed out of the characters, but she was too perfect to be truly interesting. I found myself more interested in Robin. Gwynn's husband was Bad, with only the hint of a backstory, not enough to make him more than a cardboard Bad Guy. Atremus was useless, which actually wasn't too bad, since I kept forgetting he existed. Gwynn may have fallen in love with him, but I didn't know enough about him to feel anything for him. Gwynn and Atremus apparently had long conversations that led to deepening feelings for each other, but Lackey just glossed over most of them. Since I know that in Lackey is capable of creating great romantic plots, this story was really disappointing and not good enough to be a keeper no matter what genre it's labeled as.
Rachel Lee's "Drusilla's Dream" was the second story in the book. I enjoyed the characters, and this story could have been very good, but the way Lee chose to write it made it, in my opinion, the worst story in the book. Technically, most of the story takes place during Drusilla's night shift job, while she's typing data into her computer. As she types, she's on autopilot, daydreaming about a world where she is a princess on a quest to find the Key of Morgania. Details from her job work her way into her daydream, such as the janitor, who becomes a powerful wizard, and Miles, her supervisor at work and the Behemoth tamer in her dreams. Although reality and dreams get really mixed up, and there's evidence that Miles is aware of Drusilla's dreams, I had a hard time seeing her dreams as evidence that she and Miles were falling in love. Unlike Lackey's story, which didn't feel like a romance, this did, but, unfortunately, it was a badly written one. If the entire story had been set in Drusilla's world, without any hint that there was a real world, it would have been a good, but very odd, story. I don't mind odd, though.
Catherine Asaro's "Moonglow" was the best of the three. Jarid is the heir to the throne until his parents are killed in an ambush. The entire kingdom believes he is dead, but he in reality he is still alive, deaf, mute, and blind. Iris, who believes she has no real magic, finds him. It's decided that Iris must marry Jarid, and much of the story covers how Jarid and Iris get to know one another. My explanation sounds ver cheesy, but I'm trying not to reveal too much. It's an excellent fantasy and romance, and I'm looking forward to the first book in this series. Asaro writes better romantic short fiction than many romance authors. I may keep the book just for this story. It's fascinating reading how Iris and Jarid fall in love even though Jarid can barely communicate and can't see or hear anything around him.
Overall, it's a weak book, but, if you can get it cheap, I would recommend it just for the last story.
Rating: 3
Summary: Damned with Faint Praise
Comment: I have to say that I liked the stories, but I've read far better by all of the authors. Counting Crows was indeed grim and the plot points were a bit too rough--I often found myself wondering about the backstory. I found myself skipping over most of the Rachel Lee story--the ending was very predictable. Of the three I liked the Catherine Asano story the best, and I would like to see more stories in this universe.
 |
Title: Sun In Glory (A Valdemar Anthology) by Mercedes Lackey ISBN: 0756401666 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Exile's Valor: A Novel of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey ISBN: 0756402069 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey ISBN: 0373802021 Publisher: Luna Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: The Outstretched Shadow (The Obsidian Trilogy, Book 1) by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory ISBN: 0765302195 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 08 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: This Rough Magic by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, Dave Freer ISBN: 0743471490 Publisher: Baen Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
