A good book to take on vacation or to the beach. Four authors with four stories to tell and each is a delightful read. ( )

I enjoyed each of the stories in this collection. I found each story to be captivating and well crafted. They gave me a new perspective of the South around the time of the Civil War. I find history fascinating, so this book was a good fit for me. A great summer read. ( )

They're Inspirationals, Linda, so probably not your thing. Not really mine, either, but I had my reasons. ( )

This is an anthology of four "southern" historical romance stories. I'd give it a four overall because I liked all the stories except the first one. The four authors are acclaimed for their bestselling previous titles and the mature quality of their writing made this collection easy and pleasant to read.

"A Heart So True" by Dorothy Love was the only one set in the antebellum, slave-owning era before the war and the heroine was spoiled and vain. She was given the best of everything, but still constantly complained, and the villain's aggressive sexual interest in her was poorly motivated as he was "used to having his own way."

"To Mend A Dream" by Tamera Alexander was beautifully crafted and subtle, like all her stories. The heroine was a little bland, but sweet and sympathetic as she struggled to cope with redecorating her former home before the war for the new owners, an engaged couple from Boston.

""Love Beyond Limits" by Elizabeth Musser was a great action tale. The daughter of a former plantation owner struggles against the violence and racism around her in the early days of the Klan while secretly crushing on an admirable young black man. This story had a lot of gritty history and sharply drawn characters.

"An Outlaw's Heart" by Shelley Gray was a nice story, but it didn't fit with the others. It was a traditional western with little connection to the south except one reference to the war, called oddly "The War of Northern Aggression." But otherwise this was a western. A good one.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book by BookLookBloggers in exchange for my honest review. ( )

As is often the case with novella collections, I liked a couple of the stories more than the other two. But all four novellas are shining examples of the tremendous talent belonging to these authors. In fact, each of these stories could easily have been the foundation for its own novel, and I found myself greedily wanting them to be.

“A Heart So True” felt to me like I was dropped in the middle of an ongoing story… which is fine, except that I wasn’t. At least not as far as the main characters were concerned. I needed more backstory to embrace the hero and heroine as a couple, and while we were told some of their history I didn’t really “feel” it. There were many scenes with her friends that I thought could have been used to focus on the couple instead. That said, the story was so well-written and the characters so engaging that I wanted to hop the nearest ferry and invite myself to the barbecue! And that day the main characters spent together in the city? Oh be still my heart – so bittersweet!

I had been waiting the most anxiously for “To Mend a Dream” after being so intrigued by the glimpse I received of Savannah’s story in To Win Her Favor. As usual, Tamera Alexander did not in any way disappoint. The pace, the characters, the romance, the plot – all elements were so solidly executed that I forgot I was reading a novella. My only clue was the fact that it ended far sooner than I liked!

When it came to “Love Beyond Limits”, I didn’t know which hero to root for, and maybe that was intentional. The antebellum South was a period of difficult choices, of polarizing decisions. The love in Emily’s heart raised those stakes a thousandfold. I found myself wondering how many people found themselves in similarly agonizing situations and were forced to calmly accept the fate that society had prescribed. While the romantic angle to the story may have been dissatisfying at times, I thought the historical portrait Musser painted – and the implications in today’s unsettled times – were eye-opening. This story, maybe more than any of the others, will stick with me for a long time.

“An Outlaw’s Heart” was one of those stories that played out like an old Western movie – with heart. Nora’s sweet spirit and Russell’s sincerity appealed to everything I adore about this time period. Add in the bad guy and the townsfolk and you have a formula that rings true every time! (The people of the town really made this story for me.) Shelley Gray always always writes with such heart that you can’t help but be drawn to her characters, and I think that’s why readers of her other western novels wanted Russell to have his own time in the spotlight.

Bottom Line: You can’t go wrong with these four outstanding authors at the helm. I’m sure that like me you will have your own favorite (and least favorite) story of the bunch, but each novella is still in a class even above some full-length novels I’ve read. If you love antebellum settings and stories about women caught between two choices, this is a great anthology for you to grab!

(I received copies of the book from the publisher via Litfuse and Netgalley in exchange for only my honest review.)

Read my full review here: https://readingismysuperpower.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/review-and-giveaway-among... ( )