The Michaels and Swann stories, the first two, were both very weak in my opinion. I didn't find the events at all buyable, the characters were paper-thin (and a bit daft), and overall the stories were quite forgettable. The third story, by Templeton, was at least a bit different, and I was curious how things would play out. I won't clamber to find more stories by her, but I'd be open to reading another.

JM- 1 star
LS- 1.5 stars
JT- 3 stars ( )

These are unusual, even novel stories. I hadn't read anything like the second story with the parlour games played for gentlemen's amusement.

I've read a couple of Jess Michaels' novels, but the other two authors were new to me and were as good. However, the short story is not my favourite medium. ( )

BDSM is very light, majority of the story was sex and each of them trying to keep control, with a tiny dash of a story of someone out to kill Arabella. I give this story a shrug.
( )

Fallen Angel by Jess MichaelsArabella Nichols – a stunning beauty and a notorious madamJohn Valentine – handsome, sexy and a disgraced Bow Street Runner.Someone is stalking her: she hires him for protection. But they both have something to hide and will need to trust each other with the truth before the would-be killer can be unmasked. Jess Michaels brings us a romantic tale of intrigue with some highly erotic love scenes. Parlor Games by Leda SwanSarah Chesham - a curate’s daughter, an innocent virgin, jobless, almost destitute and trying to avoid a life on the streets.Tom Wilde – a rake and a gossip merchant who makes his living producing salacious pamphlets about prominent members of society.Tom encounters Sarah on her first day at Mrs Erskine’s coffee house (brothel), where parlor games to tempt the clientele are the order of the day. He is so taken by her that he pays for a month of her time. Sarah spends her time in his company indulging in these parlor games, at the same time, trying not to become a whore, thus frustrating Tom at every turn. Leda Swan brings us a very erotic romance with some rather graphic descriptions of explicit sexual encounters. Not all sweetness and light.Border Lord by Julia TempletonTerri Campbell discovers her fiancé in the act of being unfaithful and escapes to Scotland to lick her wounds. She tours a priory where she enters a sealed chamber and somehow ends up in the 13th century as Annabelle MacLellan, the daughter of a Scottish Laird.Brochan Douglas is a Scottish Laird who is intent on revenge against Angus MacLellan for the murder of his brother. This revenge takes shape as the kidnapping of MacLellan’s beloved daughter Annabelle. Terri suddenly finds herself the captive of a handsome, sexy, green-eyed border lord who is intent on having his way with her. Julia Templeton brings us a truly sensuous romance. Throw in a bit of time-travel, and this becomes a delightful erotic tale. Easily the best of the three. ( )

Three stories. So far two of them are very, very bad. Bad enough that I couldn't read more than 10 pages or so. This book is definitely going in the don't want stack. ( )