An Autumn Kiss

Timeless Victorian Collection, Book 7

By: Laura Rollins, Annette Lyon, Lisa H. Catmull

Narrated by: Kim Bretton

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Will one kiss change their lives?

In this collection:

The Plucky Miss Ruth by Laura Rollins

Mr. Dowling’s Remedy by Annette Lyon

A Railway Through the Roses by Lisa H. Catmull

An Autumn Kiss is a Timeless Romance Anthology® book. Timeless Romance Anthology® is a registered trademark of Mirror Press, LLC.

©2022 Mirror Press (P)2022 Mirror Press

Good

I am keeping this anthology five stars because I felt that each book captured the overall theme of autumn and Romance. Each story was very different, which made it very enjoyable I especially enjoyed a net lions portion. She took on a subject near and dear to my heart, and she did a masterful job.

Wonderful Victorian Autumn Collection

This entertaining audiobook shares three Victorian novellas, all with the theme of "an autumn kiss." Despite a shared theme, they are all very different and entertaining in their own way.

The Plucky Miss Ruth is a light romance with a twist--Ruth is caught in a time loop. Every day is the same, and she must find a way to break the pattern. This romance does not have a lot of twists and turns, but sometimes that is not needed, as the characters are engaging and the romance is sweet. This is great for a light autumn read.

Mr. Dowling's Remedy by Annette Lyon has an intriguing plot. Beverly Stanton has been committed to an asylum by her stepfather, who had her diagnosed with "hysteria" to get her out of the way. Crandall Dowling has been at Sterling for six months, since he began to exhibit symptoms of what we now know as Tourette's Syndrome. They strike up a friendship, which they are immediately told is forbidden, for the doctors feel that Crandall is possessed. This was my favorite of the collection, as it examines the inhumane treatment and abuse that patients received at asylums in that era, and the way the "hysteria" diagnosis was used to manipulate women and take their property. It is also the story I would choose to be expanded into a full book.

In A Railway to the Roses by Lisa Catmull, Adrian Everhard needs to fund a railway to keep his father's factory open, but marriage to a wealthy woman seems to be the only way. His father arranges a house party for Adrian to meet eligible women. Lady Anne Baxter is Adrian's childhood friend. She is outraged that a railway has been proposed which will run right through her beloved garden, and she refuses to marry any "fortune hunters." At the same time, she is determined to undermine Adrian's attempts to marry for money. This is a sweet "friends to romance" story. The characters are engaging and well-written, and I enjoyed the romance and history entwined in the story.

The narration by Kim Bretton is very well done. She takes on three different stories and a plethora of characters and situations with ease.

The cover is absolutely beautiful, and the fall color in the dress is stunning.

Disappointing

I have loved this series of anthologies and have several in my library, but I was disappointed in this offering. The narration was a bit too "chipper" for the seriousness of the stories and the stories themselves were a bit too contrived (IMO).

A bit young

I’ve listened to all of these collections because they are usually guaranteed to be clean, delightful reads. But the last couple of collections have seemed more for teens than adults. I appreciated the historical tidbit at the end of the first story; however, the story was simplistic and youngish. The second story, though short, took a full hour to become interesting. The first half is scene setting and internal thoughts. It could have been intriguing, but it was all about “telling.” So it moved very slowly.