Very entertaining collection, very well done short stories. James has a real talent for telling the whole rich tale with an economy without losing the grace. Great characters, great fun!

Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

Three short stories joined by a vague connection to Cinderella/fairytale themes. I raced through each story & enjoyed them all. My favorite was At Midnight, but I'm SO WEAK when there's long-term pining and a well-done male POV, no surprises there. For stories that barely cracked 20 pages, almost every romantic protagonist was well-drawn & likable in surprisingly unique ways.

Only the hero of Ever After bothered me (neglectful and yet possessive, never a great combination), but Ever After was probably the weakest story overall, as it also suffered from wandering POVs. However, the major reason for the star loss here was the shortness of the stories overall, and the way James handled their conclusions: three pat, painless resolutions, which each come about in the space of a page. I'm a sucker for a clean HEA, so it worked for me emotionally, but mentally, I heard myself asking "is that it?" at the end of every single one. ( )

A fun little "snack" for your reading pleasure!

The first and longest story, A Midsummer Night's Disgrace was also found in The Official Essex Sisters Companion Guide , but it was definitely worth the re-read! It's a sweet former enemies to lovers story, told from the POV of Cece, Josie's ( Pleasure for Pleasure ) best friend, a wallflower who decides to take her future into her own hands. Things don't go exactly the way she'd planned, but IMHO even better than she could have imagined.

At Midnight is another story told from a single character POV, this time the hero, Eli. He's been in love with the same girl since childhood, but has convinced himself that they can never be--in fact, he's bracing himself for his best friend's midnight proposal to that same girl (spoiler alert--the best friend isn't thrilled either). Can these relationships be saved? (Of course they can. But wait until you see how Ms. James does it--there's a nod to Cinderella here that makes for a fun twist.)

Ever After was apparently published in the print version of The Ugly Duchess , but since I listened to the audio on that one, it was new to me. It's a sweet second chance romance story for a hero who's been gone a little too long and the heroine who might have given up on him...or has she?

All together, Midsummer Delights is a fun, quick read that's perfect for a cozy evening paired up with a cup or two of tea. Plus, there's a teaser chapter for the next Wildes of Lindow Castle book ( Too Wilde to Wed ) at the end that has me more anxious than ever for its release.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )