A Regency Valentine

Lovers and Ladies #4.5

by Jo Beverley, Carola Dunn, Ellen Fitzgerald

When the widowed Mrs. Trent invited four young ladies to stay with her, she did not know Cupid would be one of the guests. But what else can one expect when one lives in the village of Valentine Parva?

Among Mrs. Trent's guests are Juno, whose strong principles and bluestocking ways seem too great a challenge for any man. But she had a romantic heart - and love finds a way.

Shy Philo, pretty and clever, but overshadowed by her charming and handsome older sister. It is Philo who first catches a gentleman's eye, when she meets the mysterious young man whom village rumour calls a wizard.

Aquila, a seemingly cold and haughty beauty, fears that scandal in her family's past will keep her from the man she loves. But that dashing gentleman has other ideas.

And pretty Katherine grew up without love and affection. Her well-meaning mistakes may cost her the man she loves.

Mrs. Trent would have her hands full sorting out lovers' tangles - if she herself were not distracted by the arrival of a man she knew long ago who has returned just in time for St. Valentine's Day.

Genres: Regency, Regency Romance, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Clean Romance, Historical Romance

234 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1991

About the author

Mary Josephine Dunn was born 22 September 1947 in Lancashire, England, UK. At the age of eleven she went to an all-girls boarding school, Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool. At sixteen, she wrote her first romance, with a medieval setting, completed in installments in an exercise book. From 1966 to 1970, she obtained a degree in English history from Keele University in Staffordshire, where she met her future husband, Ken Beverley. After graduation, they married on June 24, 1971. She quickly attained a position as a youth employment officer until 1976, working first in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and then in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.

In 1976, her scientist husband was invited to do post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When her professional qualifications proved not to be usable in the Canadian labour market, she raised their two sons and started to write her first romances.

Moved to Ottawa, in 1985 she became a founding member of the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association, that her “nurturing community” for the next twelve years. The same year, she completed a regency romance, but it was promptly rejected by a number of publishers, and she settled more earnestly to learning the craft. In 1988, it sold to Walker, and was published as "Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed". She regularly appears on bestseller lists including the USA Today overall bestseller list, the New York Times, and and the Publishers Weekly list. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Golden Leaf, the Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice, and a two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. She is also a five time winner of the RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers Of America, and a member of their Hall of Fame and Honor Roll.

Jo Beverley passed away on May 23, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is very much a fairy tale but I enjoyed it a lot. Most of the stories are rushed though in order to fit them all in. Philo's is the most developed and the one I liked the best. I can relate to her shyness and I think I could fall in love with Robin myself. I also liked Juno a lot and I think I would be a bluestocking just like her. Katherine's story comes at the end after being alluded to in previous stories. I think it should have come after Juno's story because I kept feeling like I had missed it though I know I had read the whole book thus far. The light, fun novel is perfect for a rainy day or any other day when real life is too dull.

[Lynne Tull · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite refreshing to read a book published in 1991. My how tastes have changed. I really liked the dialog and the way the stories fit together. It was like a complete novel not a series of short stories. Loved it!

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've definitely been bingeing on romance. not sure why but enjoying the world of manners, charm, and the high level flirtations. this one is unique. every author has taken a different voice and it's all been woven together quite well. recommended for a speedy resolution to multiple plot threads.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful interconnected regency anthology that includes novellas by Jo Beverley, Carola Dunn, Ellen Fitzgerald, Sheila Simonson, and Kitty Grey. The Beverley novella 'If Fancy Be The Food of Love' is especially good, and actually is connected to the characters and plot in her series of early regencies. The heroine, Juno Rathbone, is a charming adherent of Mary Wollstonecraft. Although younger, she is reminiscent of Beth, the early feminist character from 'An Unwilling Bride', of the Company Rogue series. The Dunn and Simon stories were also thoroughly enjoyable, with engaging characters and crisp, sophisticated dialogue. A real find.

[Claire S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realized these were interconnected stories although you can read them on their own and they still make sense. My favorite story was April When They Woo by Sheila Simonson, which doesn't surprise me since I really like her style of writing and her characters. I was looking forward to Carola Dunn's story, although she's usually a hit or miss with me, but this story was in the My Dearest Valentine book and it was the only one I didn't care to finish when I read that book recently :( There was nothing essentially wrong with it and the characters seemed nice enough but it just didn't hold my attention. I thought the Ellen Fitzgerald story very nice even though I'm not a fan of young and innocent heroines. I'll look for other books from her to see if I continue to enjoy her stories, which is an advantage of reading books with short stories by different authors: to discover new authors. Overall, worth the price.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year's Yom Kippur book. A fun concept and a fun read. A collection of short stories each focusing on a different character in the same group. The last was not as strong as the rest, but overall a very enjoyable read.

[HistoricalHussy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four novellas, each by a different author, set in a framework by a fifth, make an enjoyable visit to a country town during the Regency period in England. Widowed Cressida Trent invites four young women to visit her in Valentine Parva, little expecting that they will all soon be involved in romantic adventures. Three of the stories seemed linked, both to each other, and to the framing story, but the fourth, and final one, about Katherine, is the weakest, and could be omitted without being missed. In Jo Beverley's story, one re-encounters characters from Emily and the Dark Angel, which provides the reader with a feeling of being in a familiar place.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept--which is several shorter stories (written by different authors) all fully developed on their own, and yet still interconnected on a larger scale--but it was a little clunky (possibly because of all the authors).