Hagar Wilde (1905–1971)

I've been reading one of these short stories every few days for the last month, usually as I'm in the mood for something light, but don't want to start a full novel before bed. I started to think of them like bonbons, a little treat, maybe not too much substance, but lovely.

The editor did a good job selecting stories that match our modern rules for the romance genre (all HEAs!) and most of the stories have the sorts of themes that are timeless - a few tweaks to vocabulary or fashion and show more technology, and they'd still be contemporary romance. Of course, they were written in 1929, so despite being contemporary then, they read as historical to us now.

I have the kindle version, and I'm really pleased with how legible the illustrations are on my paperwhite - so often, even plain black and white show up grey and indistinct, but that's not the case here. It's really fun to see the images originally associated with each story, a little bit of fashion vibe, even if the artist had only the barest of details to work from (lots of brunettes shown with light hair!).

None of the stories go beyond kisses, though some could very easily be interpreted as having more off screen. It was 1929, after all. Otherwise, there is a big variety of settings and plot tropes like we see today - though I'm not sure the itinerant Italian circus troupe of one story would appear outside an afternoon soap. (It's a ridiculous story, much like any good soap, with elements of social climbing, revenge, and ne'erdowell rivals of the hero. There's a story for everyone here!)

I truly enjoyed reading all the stories, even the ones that didn't quite work for my tastes, and often found myself wanting to turn to someone else to recount elements, like "can you believe it?!" gossip. The urge was especially strong in the first of the two novellas, when I nearly shrieked "he's what?!?!?!" at a certain reveal. But also some of the stories were just so sweet and fun, I wanted to share the delight.

I won't list my favorites of the 14 stories, since taste is so variable. But there were definitely a few I found to be particularly good, and I hope we get another anthology with more of their work. Or just another of these anthologies in general! show less

While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
Not Rated, Consider G