It Happened One Night by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'Alessandro and Candice Hern

How many romantic variations can you think of for the scenario for two people stranded at an Inn, one a proper young lady, now far away from the constraints of society? What could happen with that scenario? This book gathers four stories, each starting with the same idea. But will they be too similar, or will each writer add her own spin to the idea?

From Stephanie Laurens, we have "The Fall of Rogue Gerrard"- a fall rainstorm traps a rakish nobleman in an inn, where he meets the young woman he fell in love with when he was 22 and she just 16. But she's at the Inn for a reason, and an old love letter of her sister's has fallen into the hands of a dissipated nobleman who has reason to hate the sister. Robert Gerrard must help Lydia Westlake gain entree into the Orgy masquerading as a house party and retrieve the letter. But can he stop himself from loving her?

Mary Balogh writes "Spellbound". A Spring day brings together Nora, a down on her luck lady living the life of a Ladies Companion, and her husband, Richard Kemp, who she married in Scotland and spent a night in his arms before they were ripped apart by her father and brothers. Now, though they haven't seen each other in 10 years, she is destitute and he is wealthy and successful. But can a single day spent at a country fair together make them remember why they loved each other and bring them back together?

In "Only You" Jacquie D'Alessandro brings together a widowed noblewoman and the man she loved, a stableboy on her father's estate. They have spent ten years apart, she married to a cold, cruel man who only wanted her to bear him a son, and who treated her more than cruelly, and he trying to forget her, gone to war and back again, and now owning a prosperous Inn. Can they rekindle their friendship in a day spent together, or will her family's plans for her future drive them apart again?

And in the last story, "From This Moment On", Candice Hearn brings together two old lovers, he a former Captain of the Navy and she a Demimonde who married into the title of Countess. They have never forgotten each other, and still love each other after all these years apart. But can a series of strange coincidences allow them to spend a day and night together and rekindle their love and relationship after all? And can the old Sea Salt beat the Demimondaine Countess at her own game?

I really liked this collection of short stories/novellas. Though each started with the same device, the different characters made the stories feel remarkably different as well as similar. Each writer sucked me into the story she was writing, and while all of them relied on old acquaintances for the characters, each story was written believably and made me sympathize with the characters.

The first two writers I know I have read before, and I found both of their stories delightful. But the second two, Jacquie D'Alessandro and Candice Hern, I haven't heard of or read before. But both of them were equal to the task of writing stories that were just as compelling and interesting as the ones by more famous writers. This was good to see and I will keep my eyes open for other stories by those writers. It's always fun to find new authors you want to read!

For a collection of short stories, this collection hung together very well, and despite using the same device, each story managed to be distinctive and interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading good romance, and shows that writers starting from the same point need not always end up at the exact same destination.