"TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY: All Regency Collection," by Anna Elliot, Sarah M. Eden, Carla Kelly, Josi S. Kilpack, Annette Lyon and Heather B. Moore, Mirror Press, e-book $4.99 (f)
The 10th installment of the Timeless Romance Anthology series sends readers into the Regency world of courting and wooing.
Utah authors Sarah Eden, Josi Kilpack, Annette Lyon and Heather Moore, along with Anna Elliot and Carla Kelly, lend their skills to this latest compilation of short stories, the “All Regency Collection.”
In “The Wedding Gift,” Elliot explores characters from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” As Elizabeth and Darcy look forward to their wedding day, Elizabeth is tangled in a life-threatening plot. Alone and afraid, she is forced to hatch a scheme to thwart the villains and return to the man she loves.
In Eden’s work, “Dream of a Glorious Season,” Elizabeth is expected to refrain from society until her older sister is engaged. Kept from Julian, the man she has secretly loved since childhood, Elizabeth is in anguish. Unaware of her love but sympathetic to her plight, Julian makes heroic attempts to help but may lose his heart for his trouble.
Kelly’s story, “The Mender,” follows Thankful, a Quaker on her cousin’s merchant ship. Coming upon the remains of a bloody ocean battlefield, Thankful helps the injured doctor care for wounded men. As the two work together, Thankful reconsiders the life she had imagined and yearns to follow her heart.
Still single at 32, Regina Weathers, the heroine of “Begin Again” by Kilpack, has given up on romance. When a stranger unabashedly stares at her during a ball, Regina is intrigued. Caught in a flurry of memories and broken promises, Regina must choose between her peaceful life and the beauty of what could be.
“The Affair at Wildemoore,” Lyon’s creation, wraps around Ellen Stanthrope, who worries she has lost her husband, Anthony. Once deeply in love, the two have grown apart. Ellen’s fears seem realized when Anthony’s attentions at a dance focus on an old flame. Ellen hopes to win Anthony’s love once more — this time for keeps.
Mabel Russel, the central character of Moore’s story, “The Duke’s Brother,” loves bugs. However, her attraction to creatures has left her at odds with society. When she blunders into the life of Gregory, a gentleman also repulsed by society, she may have met her match.
As always, these stories are free of foul language and of sexuality beyond kissing. The works in the collection are unique, entertaining and just right for any Regency lover.
The next edition of this collection, "California Dreamin'," will be available in April.
Melissa DeMoux is a stay-at-home mother of six young children and lives in West Valley City, Utah. Her email is mddemoux@gmail.com, and she blogs about her adventures in motherhood at demouxfamily.blogspot.com.