Review: (3.5 stars)  Interesting concept makes for enjoyable reading.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 1, 2012
I bought this because the Sherry Thomas story here is intended to complementRavishing the Heiress (Berkley Sensation), her latest HR that I thought was excellent.  Not only that but the other 2 contributors here are also favorite HR writers.  How could I miss with that line-up?The 3 stories by the 3 authors are unified by taking place at the same house, Doyle's Grange, in the hills of Exmoor, each at a different period of time, but the 3 stories are only tenuously connected to each other.  I wish the connection had been slightly stronger but they are tied together better than some other collections I've read.Jewel's "One Starlit Night" begins the trilogy and takes place in 1813.  The H and h here meet again at Doyle's Grange 10 years after they were teenaged lovers.  He had married in the meantime and is now widowed and she has remained single.  They learn some truths about themselves and about what caused their separation and must accept that it's OK to reignite that young love.  Well, I'm a fan of Jewel's work but this story was truly tedious.  For every 2 steps forward that the plot advances, it seems to take one step back.  Actually it seemed like 1 forward for 2 back, but that's impossible because it did finally reach its HEA. (2 stars)Courtney Milan's story "What Happened at Midnight" takes place in 1856 and there's an actual story here.  There may even be a bit too much plot for the number of pages but it was an interesting read.  Here we have an engaged couple separated by the heroine's father's embezzlement and the hero's belief that she is involved.  She flees, they meet up again at Doyle's Grange where she is lady's companion to an unhappily married woman and he is checking out drainage systems nearby.  Well, I don't think I've made that sound very interesting but I don't want to say much about the plot.  It's more fun to read it not knowing where the story's going.  (3.5-4 stars)Now we come to the reason I downloaded this:  Sherry Thomas's "A Dance in Moonlight".  This one, of course, also takes place at Doyle's Grange, this time in 1896.  The widowed heroine here is nursing her wounds after being rejected by her first love, Fitz ofRavishing the Heiress.  He tells her he's in love with his wife and will not leave her.  Then she meets a gentleman who looks so much like Fitz that she kisses him passionately, thinking Fitz has changed his mind and come to Doyle's Grange for her.  After the first embarrassing moments, they begin a friendship, first through conversations and then through letters to each other.  The development of their romance is nicely done.  My problem with the story is that the heroine here does not seem much like the same character in the previous novel.  This one is too nice and not as spoiled as she was previously, IMO, and so for me this story didn't much complement the novel.  (3.5 stars)