Book Review: Autumn Masquerade

I am so happy to be part of the blog tour for Autumn Masquerade (Timeless Regency Collection). I love novellas for those days where I need a little historical romance fix and can finish in a short amount of time. And these stories are like three helpings of a sweet dessert that you just can't resist!

The first one is by Josi Kilpack, A Merry Dance.  Lila has a little hiding place in her uncle's office where she can do needlework and listen to all the exciting topics men discuss.  I mean, who wants to talk about weather and flowers with the ladies? Everything is going fine until she overhears her uncle talking about an older man of thirty-three named Mortimer (who could love someone with that name?) that he hopes Lila can come to love.  Lila is stunned. She is in love with her cousin Neville and could never fall for anyone else!  

But Lila and her best friend come up with a plan to make her completely undesirable to Mortimer. What follows is a fun story of hi-jinks and love that will leave you with a smile. Josi is quickly becoming one of my must-buy regency authors.

The second story is Unmasking the Duke by Donna Hatch. This is a new author for me and she has a nice detailed style to her story-telling.  This one is about Hannah Palmer, a woman who is a little shy in crowds and with people she doesn't know. Her sister is throwing a masquerade ball, however, and Hannah takes the opportunity to be how she's always wanted to be---outgoing and witty and charming. She meets a man at the ball who intrigues her and she's seeing this masked man as someone she'd like to know better---until they remove the masks. He's the horrible neighbor, the Duke of Suttenberg.  The bumps in the road to this happily ever after were fun to read and had some really great dialogue.

The last one was What's In A Name by Nancy Campbell Allen.  Two beautiful twin girls are trying to find their way in the world after their parents have passed and they are being cared for by relatives who aren't exactly fair and loving.  Persephone is in love with the town doctor, but since she is seen as the more beautiful twin, her aunt wants a better match for her than that. She encourages her to write to the Duke of Wilmington, but Persphone asks Penelope to do it in her place so she can continue her romance with the doctor.  Penelope does it, falling in love with the Duke and his letters. All is going along fine until the Duke decides to attend the masquerade ball and meet Penelope whom he believes is Persephone because Persephone who is really Penelope might be the only woman on earth he could ever love.  (*lets out a breath* Did you get all that? It was a mouthful!) 

Penelope is mortified as she tries to act like her sister when she wants nothing more than to be the woman in the letters. A charming story that had me staying up way too late to finish it!

If you want to buy this awesome collection for $4.99 you can get it here

You can also add it to your Goodreads list here

Or see it on Facebook here

Here's the back copy:

A MERRY DANCE by Josi S. Kilpack. When Lila overhears her uncle talking about a man coming to look for property in the county, she doesn’t think twice, until her uncle says he hopes Lila will find enough interest to marry the man. How can she marry someone named Mortimer Luthford, not to mention that his advanced age of thirty-three, and especially since she’s already in love with her absent cousin Neville? But when Mortimer arrives, Lila has to try every trick known to women to act not interested in the rather fascinating man, which proves a very difficult façade to maintain.

UNMASKING THE DUKE by Donna Hatch. The last thing Hannah Palmer wants to do is flirt with men in a crowded ballroom, but when her sister throws a Masquerade Ball, Hannah can’t say no to the invitation and takes comfort behind a mask. She dances with a charming masked man, matching him wit for wit. When the glorious evening culminates in a kiss, and the two remove their masks, Hannah is horrified to discover the man she’s been flirting with all night is her most despised neighbor, the Duke of Suttenberg. No matter how charming the duke was at the ball, and how wonderful the kiss, he is the last man she’d ever accept.

WHAT’S IN A NAME by Nancy Campbell Allen. Penelope Timely has a terrible secret. She’s been writing letters to the Duke of Wilmington, pretending to be her ever-proper twin sister, Persephone. Now, the duke has written that he’ll be coming for the Autumn Masquerade Ball and Festival. Penelope will have to continue the charade while the duke is in town in order to protect her sister. The Duke of Wilmington isn’t fooled for a moment, but instead of confessing that he knows about the deception, he finds himself utterly charmed by Penelope and jumps into the game of deception to see how far the twin sisters will take it.