phyllish
Written on Jul 27, 2018
by Danica Favorite, Stacy Henrie, Tina Radcliffe, Terri Reed, Sherri Shackelford
An antique locket - can it bring love?
Can an heirloom locket have the power to bring about true love? A locket ties the five stories in this collection together. It first appears when a stranger at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago gives it to Violet. It is given to her sister next and then shows up in our present time in the hands of another pair of sisters and their friend.
I enjoy novella collections that have a common thread woven through them like this. The authors did a great job with the continuity of the theme. I was impressed by the way the characters who were introduced in one story were so naturally and seamlessly carried into the next as the main character. I also appreciate that though the locket could have been treated as a magical object, it was not. In many of the stories it was emphasized by the characters that the locket couldn’t have this power – love comes from God. Yay!
Each of the stories was enjoyable. Several of my favorite romance tropes were used. Marriage of Convenience (By Any Other Name), Best Friends to sweethearts (Winning the Fireman’s Heart), and Enemies to Lovers (The Lost Locket).
Heritage of Love by Danica Favorite addressed prejudice against the “Indians”. One of the things that I liked that the author brought out was the way that those who experience prejudice aimed at them often develop prejudices themselves. It was also interesting to see how even at that “modern” time, women attending the World’s Fair were expected to stay in the garden exhibits and were discouraged from attending any of the others.
By Any Other Name by Stacy Henrie was a touching twist on a Mail Order Bride – in this case, Sheriff Rome had already met and was corresponding with Ivy when he realized his need for a bride. There was a twist at the beginning that I was not expecting at all.
Forget Me Not, by Tina Radcliffe starts out with a bang, literally, and is a delightful story about secret identities, scorned lovers, antiques, and cupcakes.
The Lost Locket by Terri Reed was about Madeline’s sister, Penny. Both she and Brad first appeared in Forget Me Not. This was a very sweet story of this nurse and doctor falling in love but not wanting to admit it even to themselves out of fear and the way it would change their life plans.
Winning the Fireman’s Heart by Sherri Shackleford had me laughing out loud. With a slightly uncouth fireman (seriously, he belched in Ginger’s presence without even trying to cover it up – yuck!) with a protective nature and his best friend who had always felt herself lacking, especially in her appearance, this story was funny and touching at the same time.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads
I would like to thank Prism Book Tours for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.