The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance Book

Having missed my train, I was seriously glad that I had this on hand to read!

^ That, was my initial thought. Now though, I find that this collection of stories seem a bit of a mixed bag. At least they still kept to the regency theme, though I find the historical accuracy of it uneven. All in all, there seems to be the expectation fo sex, which is a bit jarring when most of them involved first loves.

Still, there were a few standout stories, and oddly enough, none written by Mary Balogh (why was her name pride of place on the cover?!).

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Desperate Measures: 4 stars
A fake relationship to draw her intended beau's attention going astray? Sign me up!

Upon a Midnight Clear: 5 stars
This was just as wonderful! 10 years may be a tad... unreasonable, but it was still wonderful to see a still-married couple come to terms with their previously immature selves.

The Dashing Miss Langley: 5 stars
This had a dash of farce through it, particularly with regards to Caroline. Ah, youthful ignorance! And the fact that it addressed the missed opportunity for Annabelle, Caroline's aunt, was actually rather awesome.

Cynders and Ashe: 4 stars
This story was a retelling of Cinderella, and it showed in a lot of places. That is not to say though, that the story was still rather charming and sweet. It just was a rather roundabout way of getting to the crux of the matter (and besides, it would do for a titled peer to marry a commoner, but meh. The story was cute, so I was happy to overlook it).

His Wicked Revenge: 3 stars
... Revenge was all well and good, but I'm usually none-too-fond of this trope. The secret-baby trope was a bit overdone, however, I did like that Vanessa Kelly subverted both of these tropes somewhat, tempering the usual outcome for such storylines.

Lady Invisible: 4 stars
Oh, that was rather silly, but good fun. I liked that Patricia Rice explored the unconventional relationship between a Major and his wild intended, instead of the usual lord/earl/etc that feature heavily in historical romance (not that there's no place for them).

The Piano Tutor: 3 stars
The story was far too short... and I suspected that the hidden identity trope was in play. Ultimately, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Stolen: 4 stars
A sweet story between two childhood friends, things just seemed much too convenient. But it was cute, and I finished it pleased and happy, so there is that. :)

Her Gentleman Thief: 1 star
Well, that was rather insipid. It was definitely not one of the strongest stories in this anthology of short stories.

The Weatherlys' Ball: 1 star
Another story where I ended up rolling my eyes. Some of the machinations were interesting, but everything just seemed too easily resolved (and that has a lot to do with the length of the story!).

The Panchamaabhuta: 1 star (maybe even a 0...)
Ah, insta-love. My most-hated trope. And this one had it in spades. I should've just skipped the story.

Angelique: 3 stars
This story was just a wee bit too flimsy, but since it was a second-chance story, I was willing to overlook it.

Like None Other: 2
I don't envisage a very happy ending for these two, not when one had a concerned mother, and the other a very ambitious mother. While they fell for each other in an instant, it's hard to tell whether it would result in happily-ever-love for them either.

The Catch of the Season: 4
For a Regency story, I didn't think that they would've succumbed to their passions so quickly, but meh. *shrug* Nevertheless, up until that point, I really liked the story, and its depiction of love-at-first-sight done right.

French Intuition: 2
It started out so well! /wail
A story of a marriage in peril, with a couple enduring many miscarriages and a nasty rumour of infidelity, it just disintegrated into sex. Take out the sex, add in a bit of a conversation, and it would've been amazing.

A Suitable Gentleman: 4
The twist was a bit contrived - but thank goodness for a love-at-first-sight story without sex involved!

Gretna Green: 4
Aside from the unnecessary sex scene and the slightly convoluted secondary love story, this was actually a pretty solid second chance story.

Little Miss Independent: 3
This started out so strong. I love stories about long-time crushes and loves, but this... the historical inaccuracies made me roll my eyes. In most of the stories I've read, it's rare for the chaperone to be a male; rare for a dress to be bought straight off the rack; rarer still for a woman to be open about her sexuality, let alone her heart's desires. So unfortunately, those factors reduced the rating for me.

The Devil's Bargain: 3
As it was with the previous story and the inaccuracies, surely it's beyond rude to leave your guests behind to deal with your personal matters? Stories involving the characters and their need to connect on a physical level (in particular!), leaving other matters to the side, always bothers me. And it seemed almost unpardonable that their marriage was left unconsummated for a year as well...

Kindred Souls: 4
This was a bit more fun, a story about two young people in love with one another for a long time, striving to clear their respective names. The only downside was all the telling as opposed to the showing, but I suppose that's down to the shorter format of the story.

Remember: 5
Other than the weak (and admittedly rather lame) ending, the story was otherwise solid. It was suitably angsty, and I really enjoyed it.

Moonlight: 5
This was just one, long sex scene, but meh. It hit the spot. What I actually enjoyed was its depiction of love from friendship, between a younger man and an older woman.

An Invitation to Scandal: 2
Yeah... no... The setup took too great a leap of faith for me to make. I suspect that their lives would be very difficult for a while, at least until some new scandal came along.