This is another one of those three in one Nora Roberts' books, this time with three short fantasy stories.
The Witching Hour (2003) - A pregnant queen escapes her castle during a battle in which her husband dies and evil Lorcan takes over the kingdom. That night she dies in childbirth, giving life to Aurora, who is raised hidden and taught warrior skills to return to revenge her parents and rule fairly again. Her love interest is Thane, who is a lowly stable hand just waiting for the right moment...
Winter Rose (2001) - Deidre rules in a castle under the spell of perpetual winter, like Narnia. Kylar comes riding in through the wintry woods, wounded from battle. She heals him and they fall in love, but must part... The frozen rose in the garden is the indicator for the status of the spell. I liked the details about how she works in a greenhouse to raise food for her household.
A World Apart (2002) - Kadra lives in a primitive world and hunts demons. The demon leader escapes through a portal into present day New York City, where Harper Doyle is a private investigator. Kadra literarily lands on Doyle, who is nursing a hangover. This story was the most fun - I like it when worlds collide like in the Adept series by Piers Anthony. She is wearing Xena leathers and carries a sword. He is good with guns. Again, incredible attraction, when all is done they have to return to their own worlds, but ...
The plots are simple, so they can be told in a 100 pages. I'm sure it was just fun for Roberts to play with a different genre. She has her usual strong women and well developed settings, this time these are alternate worlds with magical power and swordplay.
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