ONCE UPON A KISS By N. Roberts, J. Gregory, R. Ryan Langan and M. Willman Jove Romance ISBN # 0-515-13386-8 October 2002 {Click here to buy this book} The first story is by Nora Roberts entitled "A World Apart". This is a fantasy/time travel story about a Demon Slayer named Kadra.

Harper Doyle is another story. He's a disgruntled PI who lives from take down to take down. When he wakes up with the "mother of all hang overs", from his own personal birthday celebration, to find Kadra standing over him in a leather bikini and a sword at his throat he isn't sure what take to put on the situation. She insists on hunting with him and the more he learns about Kadra the more he wonders if her stories of another world are true.

"Impossible" by Jill Gregory is a tale of sorcery. When three wizards in training fail at an impossible task it's the teacher who must show them the way, to end the feud between noble families who have been warring for over 100 years without tampering with the hearts and minds of the humans.

Erinn of Marlbury is awakened one night by dreams that will not let her sleep. She finds herself atop the castle in the night air trying to clear her head. Her late mother had been a powerful witch and it's Erinn's destiny to follow in her mother's footsteps. For years she's tried to find a way to end the feuding between the clans of Marlbury and Bordmoor but to no avail.

Tynon of Bordmoor has captured Erinn. She believes that her reputation as a witch has been the cause for his family losing Bordmoor Keep. With her powers she can rebuild the castle so that his family can reclaim their seat of power. When he takes notice of Erinn's striking beauty he believes that she's bewitched him and fights the longing he feels for her.

"Seeled With A Kiss" by Ruth Ryan Langan is the third story in this anthology. Set against a Highland backdrop, the hand of Arianna Douglas is given to warrior Duncan MacLean in order to save her family home, Douglas Keep. But Arianna has a plan that will reunite her with her family, even though it could cost her dearly for disobeying not only her father but the bond he forged with their Highland protectors.

Lachlan MacLean has been sent to collect Arianna for his uncle, Duncan MacLean. During their travel home Lachlan begins to fall under Arianna's spell. A stolen kiss could mean his life if his uncle were ever to find out. But could his life be worth it to spend just one night with Arianna?

And finally, "Kiss Me, Kate" by Marianne Willman is the story of Kate Singleton, recently divorced, recently fired from her editors job with children's book publisher Hartland Press and recently inherited of an English manor from a woman she doesn't know. Once she realizes the inheritance is no joke she finds herself on a plane bound for England to see the estate for herself. And to try to discover who this mysterious Miss Culpepper was.

Michael Bellamy is the neighbor to the Culpepper estate, and until the death of Agatha Culpepper, had been negotiating to purchase the lands around her house. When he's discovered that Agatha left the house to a stranger Michael sets out to discover the reason, and more importantly, to take possession of the lands he believes is rightfully his.

On picking up this anthology, "Once Upon A Kiss", I was hoping to discover a few new authors to add to my 'must buy' list when I visit the bookstore. While well familiar with the works of Nora Roberts I'm not with the other three ladies so I thought I'd give it a go. Anthologies are usually the best way to discover new authors, in my opinion.

While these stories were all entertaining in their own right, I'm sorry to say that nothing struck me as unique. The plots seemed too familiar, as if I'd just read the story but with different character names and location settings. The characters were not developed enough for my taste; I want to know my characters' deepest desires and I didn't get a feeling for this here. And the stories just seemed so rushed in the telling, as if the beginnings, middles and ends were all squeezed together with the best bits taken out in order to fit in with a page count from the editor.

I really expected much more from at least Ms Roberts, as her reputation as a storyteller precedes her. But I do have to admit that her story, "A World Apart" was more unique than the others. I actually enjoyed the constant bantering between Kadra and Harper Doyle. Harper reminded me of the Bruce Willis character in "Last Boyscout", down on his luck, hard drinking and looking for his next big break. Kadra's character sure kept him on his toes.