From the Ballroom and Beyond, A Limited Edition Nine Book Regency Romance Box Set - Julie Johnstone, Christi Caldwell, Jane Charles, Catherine Gayle, Rose Gordon, Ava Stone, Jerrica Knight-Catania, Deb Marlowe, Claudia Dain A Scandalous Past - Ava Stone More Than A Governess - Jerrica Knight-Catania Twice a Rake - Catherine Gayle The Love List - Deb Marlowe Bargaining With a Rake - Julie Johnstone A Reluctant Rake - Jane Charles His Jilted Bride - Rose Gordon Much Ado About Dutton (More Courtesan Chronicles) - Claudia Dain My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords Book 1) - Christi Caldwell

 Well, I have certainly learned my lesson - No more box sets of novels unless they are trilogies or less and written by the same author. If I want to go searching for a new author to read, I will stick with anthologies of short stories. There was more downs than ups, although I did find a new favorite author (Deb Marlowe) and two other authors to keep trying in the future (Ava Stone and Jane Charles). I know who to stay away from too, despite their pretty covers with beautiful dresses.

 

The authors used all self-published works in this box set; some forgot to use a copy editor (and in some cases, story editor) which is one of the standard marks against reading self-published works. I still take the risk of reading self-published works because I never want to miss out on a possible great story just because traditional publishers didn't want to sell it. One thing for self-published authors to keep in mind when adding their work to a box set - use the first story/novella/novel in the series, not one from further down the series!

 

Another issue I had with this ebook was that there was no way to skip around and read a story from further in the box set; each story had to be read before going on to the next story, so DNF was not much of an option. I wish there was a table of contents that linked a title listed to the page the story starts on.

 

Here is a recap of my ratings for each book in the box set and a link to the reviews:

1. A Scandalous Past (Scandalous #4) by Ava Stone 2.5 stars review

2. More Than a Governess (Wetherby Brides #2) by Jerrica Knight-Catania 3 stars review

3. Twice A Rake (Lord Rotheby's Influence #1) by Catherine Gayle .5 star review

4. The Love List (Half Moon House #1) by Deb Marlowe 4 stars review

5. Bargaining with a Rake (Whisper of a Scandal #1) by Julie Johnstone 1 star review

6. A Reluctant Rake (Tenacious Trents #5) by Jane Charles 3.5 stars review

7. His Jilted Bride (Banks Brothers Brides #3) by Rose Gordon 1 star review

8. Much Ado About Dutton (More Courtesan Chronicles) by Claudia Dain 0 stars review

9. My Lady of Deception (Brethren of Lords #1) by Christi Caldwell 1 star review

 

I am so burnt out on Regency romances right now, that is another reason I am glad to be starting MM and OB's Halloween Bingo soon.