This Time, Marriage

by Susan Wiggs, Muriel Jensen, Janice Kaiser

A trio of romance tales includes "The Borrowed Bride," in which Isabel is tempted by a past lover; "The Forgotten Bride," in which a gallery owner and her former teacher reunite; and "The Bygone Bride," about a model who poses for a bridal magazine with her ex-husband.

Genres: Romance

Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.

Reviews

[Barcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A trio of novellas by three different authors. First published by Harlequin in 1996, these stories are romantic and sweet, with hardly any steam. And snappy lines: "You little rascal!" A bit boring, to be honest. Short but took me forever to get through. They all use the second chance trope, which is my least favorite romance plot.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

Last story was a 2, but 0 + 0 + 2 = 2 ÷ 3 = .66 = <1

[Jeanne (love2cook) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 3 stories in one book issue. First story "The Borrowed Bride" by Susan Wiggs. As Isabel is attending her own bridal shower she is taken away by a one time love Dan Black Horse to his retreat and her Native roots. Second story "The Forgotten Bride" by Janice Kaiser. Caroline a gift shop owner in Chicago, find a girl waiting in the doorway of her store when she comes to work. As she talks to the girl she finds that it is her daughter that she had given up fifteen years before. When she takes her back home to New Mexico she finds she still has feelings for the father of her child. Third story "The Bygone Bride" by Muriel Jensen. Delaine has been divorced for over a year but has not told her family. So, when her mother decides to start a bridal magazine and use Delaine and her ex-husband Max as the first issues models. They have to pretend that they're still married. They both find that the feelings they once shared are still present. They need to find a way to bridge the rift between them.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hard time rating anthologies if I don't like all the novellas equally and I really didn't like one of these. I would give "The Forgotten Bride" one star, but the other two novellas rate 3 stars. They were enjoyable, quick reading..