"Bridal Jitters" by Jayne Castle: This was not the story to read in order to investigate Jayne Ann Krentz's futuristic stories. I had never read them before and will not be rushing out to buy them after reading this silly bit of fluff. I never did figure out what "rez" was supposed to be and I was annoyed that not even JAK's futuristic romances are free of New Age influence. I'll stick with J. D. Robb for futuristic romances, thanks.

"Man In the Mirror" by Julie Beard: Nauseatingly sweet with a hero and heroine who never have a moment's tension between them. Am I the only one who noticed that Tristan never seemed to question Katie's explanation of her time-travel? If someone suddenly announced to you that she was really from a time that is a millennia-and-a-half in the future, would you just accept it right off the bat?

"Tangled Dreams" by Lori Foster: This story is the only reason I am giving this book more than one star. It was consistently entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. The only major drawback was Chase's fascination with bondage and sexual domination. This definitely should have been cut from an otherwise great story. It added nothing to the plot and was creepy to boot. By the way, how exactly could Rose have hidden the directions to the treasure and the treasure itself where she did when she was deathly ill from the measles? Chase, a strong and healthy man, had trouble retrieving both items when he and Allison figured out their location.

"Pandora's Bottle" by Eileen Wilks: The story had great potential but never took off. Read this when the warm milk isn't doing the trick.


Charming....   July 10, 2000
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

This one has a little of everything for romance readers. Although it's considered a great Halloween romance, CHARMED is an entertaining read all year around. Just remember though, it is all make believe.

Jayne Ann Krentz's BRIDAL JITTERS has an interesting concept. Virginia and Sam run a paranormal business in the future. He is a ghost hunter; she is a psychic archeologist who uses her gift to release paranormal traps -- an equivalent to present day bombs. They agree to marry for the business, but Virginia is having second thoughts.

BRIDAL JITTERS was an interesting short story. I am constantly amazed at writers and their visions of the future. Ms. Krentz has some interesting ones and at some points I had to reread to make sure of what she was trying to get across. But once I understood her concept of the future, I had no problem with it.

Julie Beard's story MAN IN THE MIRROR takes to the reader in the opposite direction of CHARMEDS first story. When Kate accepts a mirror as a gift she has no idea what goes on inside it. On this typical Halloween night, it's storming and Kate decides to follow what she sees and finds herself transported back in time to help a dying Knight.

I found Julie Beard's writing style very pleasant to follow. For a short story I was impressed at how well developed each character was. I found it to be an interesting time-travel experience.

Lori Foster writes TANGLED DREAMS as a continuance of the four brothers who run a bar in Thomasville, Kentucky. If you recall the oldest one Cole met his true love in the steamy anthology HOT CHOCOLATE. Now it's Chases turn to find true love but it will take a couple of ghost and a mystery to bring it all together.

Lori Foster is blazing ahead as a contemporary author. Her writing is skillful; her characters relationships are bold and leave nothing to the imagination. TANGLED DREAMS is a wee bit tame compared to TANGLED SHEETS in HOT CHOCOLATE.

PANDORA'S BOTTLE by Eileen Wilks is magically. John, a stockbroker thinks he has found true love but fears Dora will not accept him for what he truly is. Once they are at John's old home, Dora is faced with the true desire hidden in her soul and must make a decision that could cost her fiancee his life.

I found PANDORA'S BOTTLE an interesting, whimsical read. It had the flare of a romantic fable with a moral. With this story, whether she meant to or not, Eileen Wilks points out the fact that having more than one side to us makes us complete as a person and we should learn to accept it. Good writing Ms. Wilks.


A mixed bag overall   January 21, 2000
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

I bought this anthology because of Jayne Castle and Julie Beard, but I'm keeping it because of Lori Foster! Her contribution was witty, very sexy and different. That's hard to come by if you read a lot of romances. I was somewhat disappointed in the Julie Beard story, which felt like it might have been a good novel that was condensed abruptly into a short story. The other two were satisfying as quick reads, but weren't great. They didn't live with me afterwards the way Lori Foster's story did.

If you like spice, buy this anthology for the Lori Foster story. If you don't, then don't buy it because there's nothing really special about the rest of it.


Out-of-this-world Romance!   December 14, 1999
 13 out of 15 found this review helpful

Charmed surprised me. I'd never read anything by Jane Castle aka Jayne Krentz.

"Bridal Jitters" was teriffic. When the hero and heroine finally get together, I felt the heat even from beyond this other world. I'll be reading more of Jane Castle/Jayne Krentz.

"Man in the Mirror" was an okay read. It was a more of a sweet romance.

"Pandora's Bottle" was interesting, yet a bit confusing. I found myself torn between rooting for the ntroverted hero and the extroverted hero. I really didn't like having to choose. Of course, it all worked out in the end.

"Tangled Dreams" was another Lori Foster slamdunk! YEAH! Once again, I got to read about another Winston brother who bites the dust. Superbly written and wonderfully plotted. Loved the fact that Chase could read the heroine's thoughts.

Don't believe the hype about the bondage/soft porn. NOT! Romances have HEA endings. And if we are to believe that two people have been brought together and that these two people cannot live without each other, then there is no problem in exploring the sexual side of the hero/heroine's relationship. I'd like to tie my husband up for one night too! :)

We get to meet a honest and hot hero who falls flat on his face for a shy heroine. Instant combustion as far as I'm concerned. Keep up the good work, Lori!


Good, but nothing new   June 3, 2000
 12 out of 15 found this review helpful

I bought this anthology because of the Jayne Castle/Krentz story but ended up enjoying all four. They were very quick reads - two were pretty good, one good and one fair. BRIDAL JITTERS by Jayne Castle has the kind of hero and heroine I expect in a Castle novel and I enjoyed their relationship and their story. Unfortunately, it was way too short! She should have been given another 50 pages to tell Sam and Virginia;'s story. I also agree with another reviewer that if you haven't read her other futuristic novels you probably won't "get" much of what goes on in this one. MAN IN THE MIRROR by Julie Beard was dull and predictable. When she met the "modern" Tristan I looked for flames to ignite and was dissapointed to find their meeting only lukewarm. TANGLED DREAMS was my first book by Lori Foster and I found it to be alot of fun to read. Yes, the hero prefers to dominate in bed and is into bondage, but he only choses partners who share his "interests" and there is no force involved. I found the story to be very erotic. PANDORA'S BOTTLE by Eileen Wilks was also enjoyable and fun to read. The idea of two halves of the same man existing - one human, one a djinn (genie) - was unique. The ending was somewhat predictable but it made me feel good. I would recommend this book if you're looking for some quick reads and like futuristical/magical types of tales.