Jessamine
First sentence: When the vegetable-man knocked, Jessamine went to the door wearily. She felt quite well acquainted with him. He had been coming all the spring, and his cheery greeting always left a pleasant afterglow behind him.
Premise/plot: Jessamine never expected to fall in love with anyone, but love knocks at her door one day. He's the nephew of her regular vegetable-man, Mr. Bell.
My thoughts: I enjoyed this one! Jessamine, our heroine, lives with her brother and his snooty wife. But she longs for the country life she was forced to leave. I am so glad she got her happily ever after ending!
Miss Sally's Letter
First sentence: Miss Sally peered sharply at Willard Stanley, first through her gold-rimmed glasses and then over them.
Premise/plot: Willard Stanley is madly in love with Miss Sally's niece, Joyce. But Miss Sally has sworn that she would never, ever, ever give her consent for Joyce to marry anyone. Miss Sally's heart was crushed and broken once--men are not to be trusted. Willard Stanley is determined and clever. He seeks Miss Sally's help in decorating his new house. He acts as if he'll be bringing home a bride soon. And Miss Sally assumes that it is someone besides Joyce. He lets her believe this. Now Miss Sally loves, loves, loves, loves to fix up old houses. If they'd had HGTV back in the day, she'd have had her own show. Will Miss Sally get to know and trust Willard doing this home renovation project? Will Joyce and Willard get their happily ever after?
My thoughts: I really loved this one!
Quotes:
"But I think it will do," mused Miss Sally. "We'll make it do. There's such satisfaction getting as much as you possibly can out of a dollar, and twice as much as anybody else would get. I enjoy that sort of thing. This will be a game, and we'll play it with a right good will. But I do wish you would give the place a sensible name."
"It will be Eden for me when she comes." "I suppose you tell her all that and she believes it," said Miss Sally sarcastically. "You'll both find out that there is a good deal more prose than poetry in life."
Prose, rightly written and read, is sometimes as beautiful as poetry.
My Lady Jane
First sentence: The boat got into Broughton half an hour after the train had gone. We had been delayed by some small accident to the machinery; hence that lost half-hour, which meant a night's sojourn for me in Broughton. I am ashamed of the things I thought and said. When I think that fate might have taken me at my word and raised up a special train, or some such miracle, by which I might have got away from Broughton that night, I experience a cold chill. Out of gratitude I have never sworn over missing connections since.
Premise/plot: A man is given a second chance at love. This story is completely silly but has a charm about it as well. Clark Oliver and Elliott Cameron are cousins who could be identical twins. They hate each other. They LOATHE each other. Elliott had no intention of seeking out his cousin's company, but, he missed his train. Delayed for a day, he sees his cousin and ends up agreeing to do him a favor. He will pretend to be Clark for the evening and attend a social dinner. At the dinner he sees an old girlfriend that had broken his heart. In the role of Clark, the two talk and chat...will he get a second chance?!
My thoughts: This one is essentially a short story version of George Strait's LEAD ON. I liked it very much.
© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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