In Scandalous Lord Dere, Abby had seduced Adrian 7 years ago, now the tables are turned; in The Last Love Letter, Racheal believes that Jason willingly left her instead of eloping with her & she married his cousin. However the cousin and her father had a part to play in the breakup, and now that the parties are dead, can Racheal and Jason reunite?; In Now and Forever, as a late teen Brina breaks up with geeky Thomas in favor of the football player, Now 10 years later at the school reunion, their love is still there - can they come back from their mistakes? ( )

I enjoyed these three steamy new years reunion novellas. All had a good plot and action but it seemed the last third of each story was the characters internally debating about getting back together. Laurens – rake in snowstorm warmed by spinster; Alexander – young lovers plan to elope foiled; Gibson – good friends reconnect at class reunion. ( )

Scandalous Lord Dere by Stephanie Laurens - Scandalous Lord Dere is a tender, sensuous friends-to-lovers, reunion story, two of my favorite themes in romance. Stephanie Laurens seems to have a talent for writing richly descriptive prose that isn't at all boring, but instead draws the reader into the story as through they are actually there watching everything unfold. For a novella, I thought that the characterizations and plot were extremely well-developed. Adrian is a rake to be sure, but surprisingly gentle, vulnerable and sympathetic, which is my favorite kind of alpha hero. I loved his possessiveness and his persistence in getting Abby to agree to marry him. Abby was a kind-hearted young woman who had never forgotten her one-time lover, Adrian, but he had also unknowingly broken her heart all those years ago, making her reluctant to accept his proposal now. I thought it was sweet that out of the countless women Adrian had seduced over the years, Abby was the only one he could truly remember in detail even though they had only made love once eight years before. I also like that he had become tired and fed up with his rakish lifestyle and wanted to turn over a new leaf. At the heart of it all, Adrian was a great guy who had simply gotten off track in his wild youth, but what better time for new beginnings than on New Year's Day, the day that he reconnected with Abby, the only woman who had ever truly understood him and that he had ever really cared about.

I found it very endearing that these two were childhood friends who later became more, and was totally enamored of the deep intimacy Adrian and Abby shared. It was often in their quieter moments that this showed through the most. I loved reading about them simply sitting together in Adrian's study while she sketched and he worked. They also had a mutual love of books that I could relate to and their impromptu waltz in the park was very romantic. I just thought these two were completely perfect for one another, and their love scenes absolutely sizzled. Stephanie Laurens is very good at writing varied love scenes that are powerfully passionate and lushly sensual. In general her writing style reminds me a lot of Lisa Kleypas which is a very good thing in my book. It is a rare author who can write a short story and make me feel fully satisfied from beginning to end. This was my first read by Ms. Laurens, and she has impressed me so much, I can say with certainly that it won't be my last. I'm very much looking forward to trying more of her books soon. Star Rating: *****

The Last Love Letter by Victoria Alexander – Considering that The Last Love Letter is a friends-to-lovers, reunion romance, I thought I would really enjoy it, but unfortunately, it didn't quite make the cut for me. I spent a large part of my time reading this novella trying to figure out exactly what wasn't working for me. When I got to the end and read the author's bio, which indicated she used to be a reporter, it finally hit me that the story had seemed more like a news report than a fiction tale in which I could immerse myself and feel the emotions of the characters in a palpable way. In fact, I felt very little connection to the hero and heroine at all. The author also had a tendency toward having the characters ask themselves a few too many rhetorical questions which could get a little annoying.

I think my other issue with this novella is the way in which the plot unfolded and the way that Jason and Rachael responded to those events. They had supposedly known each other for most of their lives, and in my opinion, that should have been the basis of not only a deep love but also a deep trust. In spite of that, they were both overly quick to accept the word of Rachael's father when they knew he was a very hard and callous man who despised the idea of his only daughter being with a penniless untitled gentleman. Then Rachael's first husband, Jason's cousin, George, kept the truth from them for years, and when it finally came out, they weren't even angry with him about it. I don't believe that George was an inherently bad man for doing so, but knowing what they had meant to each other, I thought it was a pretty selfish thing for him to do once he found out. The author did bring some sympathy to the situation with George's illness and all that he had done for, and meant to, Rachael over the years, but still the idea that they wouldn't even be the least bit miffed by his actions was a little hard to swallow. Last but not least, Jason discovered the truth three years before Rachael did and when they saw each other at that time, he tried to tell her the truth, but she stubbornly wouldn't listen. Of course, this led to the dreaded “big misunderstanding” which I definitely don't care for in any romance. When they finally did reunite once and for all and were both privy to the whole truth of how they'd been manipulated ten years earlier, Rachael still held herself at arms length not trusting Jason at all. She was even insisting to herself that she didn't love him and was ready to break all ties until the final few pages which didn't work well for me at all. Everything put together just made it very hard for me to believe that they could finally have an HEA.

The Last Love Letter was my first read by Victoria Alexander. In spite of my criticisms, I wouldn't call it bad, but it was just OK. Any readers who can get past a hero and heroine who seem to be easily manipulated by others and all the anger of numerous past misunderstandings may like this one more than I did. As written, it just wasn't entirely my cup of tea. I'm sure I'll give Ms. Alexander's work another try at some point, but I doubt I'll be burning rubber to do so. Star Rating: ***

Now and Forever by Rachel Gibson - Now and Forever is a sweet little friends-to-lovers and reunion romance, two themes I can hardly ever resist. Thomas and Brina have a reunion in the literal sense of the word when they attend their 10th high school class reunion. I loved that they had been lifelong friends throughout childhood. It was rather disappointing that Brina had blown Thomas off for a jock at the end of senior year. It made her seem a little shallow, but given her confidence issues, I guess it made some sense. It's not like she didn't want to remain friends, but Thomas was understandably and deeply hurt. I was glad that during the time since high school, Brina had grown to be comfortable in her own skin and realized what a huge mistake she'd made. Thomas had grown and changed in more way than one too, and seemed to have developed more confidence as well. It might have been nice if he had been a little more settled in his life, but he seemed like a really nice guy.

Even though they hadn't seen or talked to each other in ten years, Thomas and Brina still hadn't stopped thinking of one another. The rekindling of their relationship progressed nicely and had some good sexual tension. I think this novella could have easily been a 5-star read for me except for two small flaws. One is that I wished that Thomas and Brina could have embraced their reunion a little more fully. As written, it felt like they were holding back the whole time, right up until the end. The other is that I felt like the author was sometimes telling a bit more than showing. I think perhaps a little more showing would have improved both the character-to-character and character-to-reader connections. Overall though, Now and Forever was a very solid 4-star story for me that I really enjoyed. It was my first read by Rachel Gibson, but it has definitely left me open to trying her other books. Star Rating: **** ( )

The Scandalous Lord DereNow and Forever (2003)