Review: Okay but not my cup of tea
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 24, 2013
When reviewing and anthology, one runs into a very difficult position--reviewing all six stories in one review. It's not necessarily fair when you like some of the stories but not all. There are six novellas in this anthology, and I absolutely loved the first two, found the next two pretty good, and did not care much for the last two. Again, realize that this is personal preference, and depending on your preference of genres, you may find that you enjoy different ones than I did.I loved the first two because they were historical in nature. It doesn't get much better than early settlers in Seattle--an English lord and a young widow? Talk about the ideal story! And then onto WWII, and a little bit of mystery. Add a Texas setting and a Seattle native--sounds pretty fantastic to me! I am honestly not sure which story preferred. Both were so well-written, and if the anthology contained only these two stories, I would have given it a five-star rating. But my favorite genre is historical fiction, so it stands to reason.The next two took place in the 1980's and then the 2000's. Seattle was still the setting, but things had changed. I found the stories much more lacking, and the sexual mores were much more open. None too surprising, of course. And the final two took place in 2011 and 2014. My least favorite was the last because I just didn't want to read a book about a Seattle earthquake--that is just too close to home.As to the writing of these books, all are written fairly well. Or course, I am biased as to my favorites, but each writing style is pretty good. There are no major sex scenes--plenty implied, and the morals of many of the characters are not good. The profanity in the stories is there, but it's not too rampant.The best thing about this anthology is that there is probably a romance story that will appeal to all romance lovers. So if you love romance, this is for you! And, of course, since I am a Pacific Northwest native, what could be a better setting the place that is always cloudy and often rainy--Seattle, Washington!I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.