All Regency Collection: A Timeless Romance Anthology, Book 10
By: Anna Elliott, Sarah M. Eden, Carla Kelly, Josi S. Kilpack, Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore / Narrated By: Mary Jane Wells
Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
TOTALLY got my Romance ya-yas out!
So you know me enough by now to know that I saw All Regency and immediately hopped on THAT wagon, right?
And boy was I delighted! The All Regency Collection has stories from some of my favorite authors, among them Anna Elliott (who did the absolutely great Pride and Prejudice sequels, the Diaries series—which I’ll get around to reviewing one of these days) and Josi S. Kilpack (who does some pretty heartfelt stories herself).
Anna Elliott’s offering, “The Wedding Gift”, tells of a misadventure of Elizabeth Bennet’s two weeks before her marriage to Darcy. What I like about Anna Elliott is that, while many authors who write P & P sequels and variations manage to convey the drama and passion of the original, only Elliott has been able to add the humor and cleverness that Jane Austen is known for. This story made me chuckle and delight in Elizabeth’s continuing ingenuity, in her spirit.
“Dream of a Glorious Season” by Sarah M. Eden is perhaps the weakest as it follows the old line of a young woman being in love with the man who is supposed to be proposing to her sister sometime soon. Still, I liked it okay as it’s always fun to hear the dawning realization in a young man’s voice that he is actually in love with this woman he’s only ever thought of as a little girl.
“The Mender” by Carla Kelly is about a Quaker girl who is off on an adventure at sea before she returns back to America to live a life of duty and same old, same old. I liked that it takes place at sea so that we get a glimpse of what it was like on a sailing vessel during the Regency era, plus it’s about what a war at sea is like. I liked the characters, and I liked the way the story unfolded.
“Begin Again” shows Josi S. Kilpack at her finest. This one made me cry. It’s about love coming fifteen years too late, about sometimes there being too much water under the bridge, too much pain that has been suffered. It’s a story of loneliness, anger, regret, and loss. Total tearjerker.
Then we get to “The Affair at WIldemoore” by Annete Lyon. Okay, this one had me flat out bawling. A middle-aged woman escorts her three daughters to a ball, watching as her oldest experiences love and romance. She realizes that she and her husband once had that in their marriage but have since grown into strangers, unable to love, unable to grieve, unable to feel. It’s a truly touching story about feeling invisible, about longing and want. I liked that the main characters are middle-aged, no longer beautiful or handsome but that maybe, just maybe, with experience comes wisdom.
Heather B. Moore’s “The Duke’s Brother” was a bit problematic but sweet. I kinda sorta thought the characters both behaved poorly, so I couldn’t see where their love or devotion came from. A woman with a scientific mind and a disdain for London society captures the heart of the brother of a Duke. Talk about London society! Mabel casts Gregory off with such ease that I wondered why he even bothered to try to make amends. But I liked it anyway cuz c’mon! Me and Regency? No brainer.
The true wonder of the collection is the narration by Mary Jane Wells. She did SUCH a variety of characters, each in different situations with grace and ease. Her performance had me feeling so much empathy for the characters that I laughed when they laughed, and God knows I cried when they cried. I admired her performance so much that I went and got another audiobook narrated by her (Get ready for a review of THAT audiobook soon as I don’t think I’ll be able to wait too long).
Really! 8 hours and 36 minutes of pure bliss for me!
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