Once Upon a Rose (The Once Upon Series)

What more can I say, everyone of this series stirs the blood and opens the heart to Compassion, warrior integrity and courage, and also magic and mystery. Love is the Essence of all and the reason for celebrating Existence, and all these writers burn with that inner spark and light. Thank you.

good

good looking book. Great reading book can't wait to read them all four or five of them. I'll love it

un peu de magie mêlée au romantisme, ça change... Mais il ne faut pas en abuser car on n'y croit pas une seconde... Le Roberts est meilleur que les deux autres.

As I was sitting at home recovering from the flu, I thought I could use a good fairy tale to make me forget all my aches and pains, so I grabbed this book off the shelf. Although pleasant enough little tales, there were rather annoying flaws in every story."Winter Rose" by Nora Roberts has some eerie parallels to the story of "Beauty and the Beast," what with the symbolism of the rose and the curse and all."The Rose and the Sword" by Jill Gregory was probably the best of the lot; however, the hero's initial nastiness was somewhat overdone, which made it difficult to believe his miraculous transformation on their wedding night."The Roses of Glenross" was easily the weakest story, although the love story was very evocative and sweet. The plot seemed a bit contrived, and it was with a raised eyebrow that I read about the two lovers consummating their love without benefit of marriage on the grounds of a convent with the holy sisters' full approval."The Fairest Rose" by Marianne Willman is plagued with a hero who is infatuated with the heroine's half-sister until the very end, at which time we are expected to believe that he is REALLY in love with the heroine herself and has been for some time. Frankly, I thought Rosaleen deserved much better.In fact, one of my complaints about these novellas is the absolute perfection of the heroines, especially in contrast to the heroes (at least in the case of "The Rose and the Sword" and "The Fairest Rose"). These women are too beautiful and good to be believed. How could anyone stand to be around them? The men, on the other hand, range from normal men with the usual faults to a man who paws serving women in the presence of his betrothed. I guess it's the usual double standard that you find in most fairy stories. And I did forget my aches and pains for awhile, so it was definitely time well-spent.