Tales From The Treasure Trove (VI) by Jewels of the Quill Authors
Book Title : Tales from the Treasure Trove VI
Author : Jewels from the Quill (see reviews for authors)
Publisher : Whiskey Creek Press
Genre Romance / anthology
Publication Date March 2010
ISBN : 978-1-60313-753-9 (e-book)
Pages : 208 pgs
Series : Tales From The Treasure Trove IV
Category : Contemporary, Historical, fantasy
Type : Sensual and sophisticated
Reviewer : Melissa
5 Wings
In this 6th edition of these wondrous tales the Dames deliver again. Eight tales of love and romance that are as diverse in their sub-genres and subjects as their writers are. They weave the tales and pull you in to keep you reading each line. Each story is as riveting as the last and each tale delivers on the romance promise in a delightful and sweet way that sends you looking for more by each of the authors.
The Amber Dragon (The Amber Chronicles, Book 3) {a love story} by Janet Lane Walters (Dame Amber): In this fantastical little tale, Dame Amber weaves a tale of a princess, spoiled and vain, who needs a husband, but those that come calling do not meet with her approval – they adore their looks more than hers. The sorcerer who claims her father’s ear, en-spells him to allow the princess to be transformed into a magical creature for a duration of 7 weeks, and she must find a prince to love her in that time, or she will be his. Princess Valia leaves the palace and wanders to find an unexpected prince wandering her lands looking for a kingdom. He had been put into an amber ball because he refused to marry a sorceress and didn’t believe in love at first sight, believed it should sheltered and nurtured and allowed to grow. As he travelled with this Amber dragon, he comes to a kingdom whose king is holding a tournament, the winner of which will be his adopted son and rule after him. Stephan Riva does not realise that he travels with the King’s daughter, and as he comes to care for the Amber dragon he determines that, after he wins the crown, he will bring the dragon to the King’s keep and care for it. As the tournament rages and evil sorcerer gets his hands on Valia, deciding to kill the winner so he can rule with the princess at his side, can Stephan – the prince with no kingdom – defeat his foes? Come to believe fully in magic? And manage to save the princess? Can Valia take the lessons learned on the road as a dragon and turn them to her life as a princess? Leaving behind the vanity and selfishness that caused her problems? And can she convince her prince to stay and nurture their love to something wonderful? Delightful and exciting, a true testament to a spoiled princess.
Jordana’s Chair (Kaleidoscope Series, Book 4) {romantic suspense} by Karen Wiesner (Dame Amethyst): In this latest instalment of her Kaleidoscope series, Dame Amethyst delivers yet again. She shows us how, once again, love can break down barriers from childhood and heal wounds once thought too deep to heal. Dex Everett is a wealthy playboy, at least that is what everyone thinks. In reality he is a man searching for his soul. He knows what he wants, and having been married once before, he knows what he doesn’t want, except he seems to keep getting the women he doesn’t want as he keeps discarding one socialite for another. But his new neighbour is nothing like what he usually dates, in looks or social status, and yet he can’t get her out of his mind. Jordana DeSoto is a young woman with a haunted past. A young life spent on the streets of Chicago with her family and a father with his fair share of Latino pride, has sent her to always fearing ending up back there. She celebrates each year since her family’s death that she has survived on her own by acquiring something new. The first year was getting her apartment, with the added bonus of having Dex across the hall, someone to dream about but never touch. On this, her second year of independence, she finishes paying off her new chair – a chaise type chair that she can curl up in – with just her tips, her take home money that she doesn’t use on food and rent, and which goes into a suitcase for an emergency. Can Dex break through the barriers she has built to keep herself safe? Can he accept the one dark stain on her soul that she fears makes her unclean for love? Can Jordana accept the love that Dex is offering to her? Can she let go of the fear of planning for the future and open her ear to the bright one that Dex offers? It is a very wonderful story, one that this reviewer empathized with easily, and felt that Ms. Wiesner truly was able to convey the fears and scars that the homeless live with every day for the rest of their lies.
The Nonesuch Curse (North of Nonesuch Series, Book Eight) {Gothic historical romance} by Jane Toombs (Dame Turquoise): In this story, Dame Turquoise introduces us to a family that had a curse put upon them in the late 1800′s in Scotland. Five generations later, the witch that cast the curse is back, and her next victim is the latest Ruthven male, Rom Ruthven, the last of the line if he has anything to say about it. He is not sure that he believes in the curse whose lore has been passed down the family, but he does know that on their 30th birthday the males of his family die with no apparent reason. In the 20th century, Rom uses the scientific progress and has every genetic test available, trying to find a rational physical reason for it, but science is no help to him. When he is in an accident in the middle of the woods in upper Michigan, Rom meets a Finnish witch with Native American gifts inherited from her mother. They find love in a very short time, but his fear of his 30th birthday, pushes him away. Trilla Pasanen starts studying and pushes her father to tell her more about her Finn roots in magic. He reluctantly agrees, and fills her in on the family lore. Six months before his 30th birthday, Rom shows back up at Trilla’s house to spend what time they have together. Can the Spirit of the Bear that protects and guides Trillia protect the one she loves? Can her Finnish witch-lore meet and defeat the “Nonsuch” curse of a strong elemental Scottish witch laid down five generations ago? Can the Love of two people create a life that will break all the pain of generations? Read and find out, and I promise you Ms. Toombs will not disappoint you.
Choices (Aquamarine Series, Book 3) {romantic suspense} by Dee Lloyd (Dame Aquamarine): Elly Jameson meets with her teenage crush Ward O’Donnell. They have both grown up and into their roles in life. Elly took a job as the event coordinator at her family’s lodge while Ward has come home to take a place as a detective on the Aquamarine police force. They meet again at her aunt’s engagement party. All the sparks are still there, but now she is not the teenage sister of Ward’s best friend, she is a small, perfectly rounded, professionally independent woman that his best buddy will kill him for looking at, maybe. Elly has learned her lesson with cops…. they protect and serve, serve everyone. But Ward had always been honorable when they were younger. With a murder tearing their friends apart, and putting family’s trust to question, can the two of them work together to solve the crime that marred her aunt’s party? Can they do it without giving into the inferno that rages between them? Can they finally find the adult love that their teenage crushes hinted at? And can Ward save Elly when she steps in over her head? Ms. Lloyd keeps you turning the pages as you try to figure it all out before end. It is always nice to revisit this loving little town set on Aquamarine Lake.
The Incomparable Miss Scarlet {Victorian romance} by Nancy Pirri (Dame Sapphire): This wonderful romp in Victorian era London has a spinster – Miss Scarlet – working in friends’ homes to catch their husbands at infidelity, and she is very good at it. Until called upon by her sister to ferret out her brother-in-law’s activities, that is. She does, and is able to bring their family back together, instead of ripping it apart. Then she meets the Duke of Danescliffe. He has heard all about her from his friends that have been caught by her. Personally he thinks they get exactly what they deserve, but now he wants her, in his life and to himself. But how to achieve it without rousing her suspicions? He devises a plan to have her look into his sister’s husband’s activities, in which she would enter the house as his sister’s maid. To his sister, he explains that she is a friend’s sister that needs a little polishing before her season. Can the Duke pull this off? For thirty years he has remained a bachelor, but can he go one more season with her there and not proclaim himself before he is sure of her? Can Scarlett figure out what he is up to? This man that makes her feel as no other ever has? Can she trust him with her heart after seeing what other husbands had done to their wives once they got the ring on their finger? Will she ever find her happy ever after that she has always dreamed of? Read Ms. Pirri’s story and you will find out, and get a new appreciation for Victorian England at the same time.
Garnet Hills {romantic suspense} by Liz Hunter (Dame Garnet): What do horse breeding, dog fights, rugged cowboys and a lonely ranch owner have in common? Read Garnet Hills by Dame Garnet and go through the layers to find out. The estranged father of Julianne Harrison left her his horse breeding farm, the foreman does everything to make her leave, and paints a picture of her father as a drunken loser. Much the picture her mother had painted all her life. Then one cowboy stands up for her and beside her, and paints a different picture of her father for her. Together they must find the mystery of the dog howls she hears at night, and why all of her father’s money has disappeared. Can they do it? Will their hearts get as tangled up as lead lines during breeding if the controllers are not careful? Do they want to be careful? A wonderful little western story to make you smile and set your heart aglow.
The Topaz Guard {swashbuckling romance} by Carrie S. Masek (Dame Topaz) Religious war shook France, shattering lives, and one young girl who lived in a trunk for three days after seeing her family killed by the very guards that were supposed to protect them. Her uncle and aunt raised her, and she was ready to enter the convent, a place of unlimited learning for her soul. That day she runs into a young man, a man who sparks feelings in her most female heart. He is getting ready to join the ranks of the Topaz Guard, the very guard that killed her family. Upon acting adversely at their first meeting, she makes arrangements to meet him to apologize and they are caught by her family which starts a courtship that leads Lisette Mercer away from her dream of the church and into Charles de Vernay’s arms. Can their love survive her fear of the guards? Can she triumph over the one ghost of her past that threatens her once again? Read Ms. Masek’s story to be transported back to the late 1800′s France.
All of these stories are a wonderful trip through the hearts of 8 wonderful couples that will make your emotions soar. I give this book and the Dames that contributed to it a solid 5 wings. Loved it completely, can’t wait till the next anthology.
Tags: crr reviews, jewels of the quill, tales from the treasure trove
