Title: Lilac Time
Authors: Fern Michaels, Lori Foster,
Carolyn Brown
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Women’s Fiction; Romance
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 320
Date of Publication: April 29, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
SWEET AS HONEY * Fern Michaels
Natalie Simmons is through with pining over her ex. If only her efforts to be social again didn’t lead to repeated run-ins with an infuriating beekeeper at the local farmer’s market. Yet Garrett keeps buzzing around. And as Natalie watches his patience and dedication in tending his hives, she begins to wonder if life has a sweet surprise in store.EVERYTHING SHE’D EVER WANTED * Lori Foster
Fern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
Lori Foster is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author with over 10 million books sold. She received the Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews and her books have been chosen as editors picks by Amazon multiple times. Foster is actively involved in charity work, and all of the author proceeds from her anthologies have gone to various organizations, such as the Animal Adoption Foundation, the Conductive Learning Center, and One Way Farm. She lives in Ohio with her high school sweetheart.
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Brown was born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma. These days she and her husband make their home in Davis, Oklahoma, a small town of less than three thousand people where everyone knows everyone, knows what they are doing and with whom, and read the weekly newspaper to see who got caught.
A plaque hangs on her office wall that says I know the voices are not real but they have such great ideas. That is her motto and muse as she goes through the days with quirky characters in her head, telling their stories, one by one, and loving her job.
She has been married almost half a century to a retired English teacher that she calls Mr. B and he does not read her books before they are published because she cannot afford a divorce. They have three grown children.—and enough grandchildren to keep them busy and young.
When Carolyn is not writing she likes to sit in the back yard and watch the two tom cats protect the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, other cats, spiders and blue jays.
Annabeth can see that her neighbor’s handsome nephew, Devlin, has his hands full, raising his little girl single-handed. Yet though his life is frazzled, it’s full of the kind of joy and togetherness she longs for. And when Devlin’s daughter and Annabeth’s tiny dog fall hard for each other, it might be the start of more than one beautiful friendship.
THE MEMORY CABIN * Carolyn Brown
Jenna Stewart loves gathering at her Texas lakeside cabin with her girlfriends. It’s an annual tradition to reconnect with the women who helped her deal with her mother’s passing along with the end of her marriage. But this year, lives are changing, dreams are evolving. And perhaps Jenna’s heart has healed enough to welcome a new love that arrives with the first flowers of spring . . .
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SWEET AS HONEY * Fern Michaels
Healing a broken heart while helping her father mend a broken hip provides Natalie with the perfect distraction. In fact, it doesn’t take long for her to realize that her heart wasn’t truly broken after all. Could a certain beekeeper find his way into her heart? Despite her initial reservations, Natalie can’t help but be drawn to Garrett. This story goes beyond simply being impressed with Garrett’s beekeeping skills and honey-making process. In this charming novella, Natalie’s compassionate nature shines through, and it’s easy to hope for her to find her own sweet and happy ending.
EVERYTHING SHE’D EVER WANTED * Lori Foster
AnnaBeth, with her unfortunate past, has always yearned for a family of her own. Devlin, with his sweet little girl Mia, captures her heart. This touching story demonstrates that tragedy can blossom into hope. What Devlin and Mia have experienced has shown this to be the case. I thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding of this sweet romance, particularly the unconditional love that Mia embodies.
THE MEMORY CABIN * Carolyn Brown
Sparks fly instantly when Jenna and Carson meet, especially considering their shared history. This heartwarming romance includes the bonds of friendship as well as grief counseling, giving this book an emotional edge. While this was undoubtedly a wonderful romance, a tragic past and hidden secrets could have easily derailed everything.
I thoroughly enjoyed all three stories in this delightful anthology. It’s no surprise that each novella would have a happy ending. These heartwarming stories have an emotional depth that makes them a quick and enjoyable read.
Many thanks to Kensington and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
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A plaque hangs on her office wall that says I know the voices are not real but they have such great ideas. That is her motto and muse as she goes through the days with quirky characters in her head, telling their stories, one by one, and loving her job.
She has been married almost half a century to a retired English teacher that she calls Mr. B and he does not read her books before they are published because she cannot afford a divorce. They have three grown children.—and enough grandchildren to keep them busy and young.
When Carolyn is not writing she likes to sit in the back yard and watch the two tom cats protect the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, other cats, spiders and blue jays.
