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leslielikesthings's review
3.0
A fun anthology. My favorite of the novellas ended up being the one by Joanna Bourne, who I was not at all familiar with before. I will be seeking out more of her work, especially as some of the characters from this novella are featured in her other books.
bleulucy's review
4.0
Made me remember how much I love Joanna Bourne's books. Hawker at his youngest. I enjoyed the other stories as well.
kaa's review
3.0
This anthology was very inconsistent for me - I think having a variety of subgenres and historical periods was interesting, but it meant that the stories started out with highly varied levels of inherent appeal.
All or Nothing, Rose Lerner - This was my favorite story, and probably ruined the rest of the anthology for me. It has all of the things that I love about the author's novels - excellent writing, nontraditional characters, great use and destruction of tropes - plus it's totally hot. Seriously, this story checks so many of my boxes it's like she wrote it specifically for me. Menage, bisexual protagonists, relationships designed according to individual needs and desires rather than convention, sexual openness without slut-shaming... Can you write so much more like this, Rose? I would buy it all.
The Liar's Dice, Jeannie Lin & Gideon and the Den of Thieves, Joanna Bourne - Both good stories, and they led me to discover two new authors, but too short for me to really get into, though for sort of opposite reasons. At the end of "The Liar's Dice" I was left wanting more of Wei Wei and Gao's story, and I really hope Jeannie Lin has more stories or even a novel planned for them. (I just found an interview that says she does!) On the other hand, "Gideon" felt rushed and crowded to me, trying to fit too much action and romance into the word count. I've really enjoyed the novels that I've since picked up by both of these authors, so I can't at all regret having read these stories, but neither was anywhere near as good as the longer works.
Redeemed, Molly O'Keefe - An okay read, but American historicals are not typically my thing, and for me this one had too much darkness and nastiness (abuse/torture) for a romance short.
Raising the Stakes, Isabel Cooper - Even less my thing. I am not so much for elves or the random insertion of magical elements into an otherwise realistic universe (at least not in this very literal way), and there wasn't enough else interesting in the story to draw me in.
All or Nothing, Rose Lerner - This was my favorite story, and probably ruined the rest of the anthology for me. It has all of the things that I love about the author's novels - excellent writing, nontraditional characters, great use and destruction of tropes - plus it's totally hot. Seriously, this story checks so many of my boxes it's like she wrote it specifically for me. Menage, bisexual protagonists, relationships designed according to individual needs and desires rather than convention, sexual openness without slut-shaming... Can you write so much more like this, Rose? I would buy it all.
The Liar's Dice, Jeannie Lin & Gideon and the Den of Thieves, Joanna Bourne - Both good stories, and they led me to discover two new authors, but too short for me to really get into, though for sort of opposite reasons. At the end of "The Liar's Dice" I was left wanting more of Wei Wei and Gao's story, and I really hope Jeannie Lin has more stories or even a novel planned for them. (I just found an interview that says she does!) On the other hand, "Gideon" felt rushed and crowded to me, trying to fit too much action and romance into the word count. I've really enjoyed the novels that I've since picked up by both of these authors, so I can't at all regret having read these stories, but neither was anywhere near as good as the longer works.
Redeemed, Molly O'Keefe - An okay read, but American historicals are not typically my thing, and for me this one had too much darkness and nastiness (abuse/torture) for a romance short.
Raising the Stakes, Isabel Cooper - Even less my thing. I am not so much for elves or the random insertion of magical elements into an otherwise realistic universe (at least not in this very literal way), and there wasn't enough else interesting in the story to draw me in.
alisonalisonalison's review
3.0
Pleasant. This collection features five very different historical romance novellas and it was likeable, but not outstanding. I loved the diversity of these stories--there are people who are Jewish, Chinese, bisexual, poly, drug addicts, thieves, non-human, and more. I also enjoyed the variety of locations, and America, London, and medieval China are featured.
I enjoyed Rose Lerner's story, but my favourite was definitely Joanna Bourne's novella, which isn't surprising because I love her Spymasters series and I think her writing is superb. This was a fun little story set in a crime den and heavily features my favourite character of hers not long before he becomes a government spy--cunning Adrian (Hawker) is thirteen and full of brass and sharp as a tack, and is an awesome secondary character in this story.
I enjoyed Rose Lerner's story, but my favourite was definitely Joanna Bourne's novella, which isn't surprising because I love her Spymasters series and I think her writing is superb. This was a fun little story set in a crime den and heavily features my favourite character of hers not long before he becomes a government spy--cunning Adrian (Hawker) is thirteen and full of brass and sharp as a tack, and is an awesome secondary character in this story.
jaclynder's review
2.0
Originally reviewed at The Book Adventures.
Gambled Away is a novella collection that I find difficult to review. Objectively, this collection is well written and I enjoyed how all of the authors played with the historical romance genre, offering readers something different in a genre that is often slammed for its sameness. While intellectually I appreciate how unique all of the novellas were, I confess to feeling that none were to my personal taste. Perhaps it was the constraints of the novella format, perhaps it was just me, but I will admit to feeling that none of the novellas were particularly romantic. Now, I'm not saying that everything must be hearts and flowers, but I did personally feel that there was a lack of emotional depth to the majority of the novellas in this collection, at least for this reader.
Gideon and the Den of Thieves by Joanna Bourne
Bourne's contribution to the collection was the strongest story for me. We've got a hero that infiltrates a den of thieves and a young woman that has been forced to work for them. For me, Gideon and the Den of Thieves was the most well developed novella of the collection. The characters were explored more than in the other collections; however, I still felt that the romance was lacking between our leads, which kind of made sense considering all the intriguing stuff that was going on, yet this was disappointing since I wanted to the romance to take centre stage.
Raising The Stakes by Isabel Cooper
This was my least favourite story in the collection, and in the efforts of full disclosure, I will admit to skimming the majority of this novella. While I did appreciate the fact that this one had an American West setting, I just wasn't a fan of this setting combined with more fanastical elements as it seemed to be more of the "odd man out" in the collection.
All or Nothing by Rose Lerner
I'm a big fan of Rose Lerner (Listen to the Moon was a masterpiece) and the fact that one of her novellas was included is what drew me to the collection in the first place. For me, Lerner comes across as a much racier Mary Balogh - the emotions are out on the page and it's the characters that truly ground the story. I will be honest, All or Nothing was a bit too unconventional for my tastes and this is purely a personal reading preference. Again, on an intellectual level I appreciate the fact that Lerner was pushing the envelope in the romance genre, but it was not personally a novella that I enjoyed.
The Liar's Dice by Jeannie Lin
There's no question that The Liar's Dice had promise; however, the indeterminate ending rendered this novella wholly unsatisfactory. For me, The Liar's Dice read more of as a teaser for a full length novel than a novella that could stand alone. Having not read any of the books that this novella ties to and because I have no idea if a full length book is forthcoming, I felt that The Liar's Dice missed the mark.
Redeemed by Molly O’Keefe
Redeemed was my second favourite novella out of the collection. Like Bourne's contribution, O'Keefe spent a good chunk of time fleshing out the characters of the novella. Here was have a tortured doctor and a young woman trapped by a ruthless guardian. What kept me from enjoying this one was the convoluted reasons for why Helen was put on display by her guardian. I spent more time puzzling out the guardians reasoning for what he was doing than just enjoying the story. For me, Redeemed pressed the bounds of believably to the point where I was taken out of the story.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Gambled Away was an uneven collection of historical romance novellas. Each novella was so completely different from the other that it really seemed that there was nothing really grounding this collection together other than the fact that they were all historical in some way. While I did like the fact that all of the authors presented readers with unique stories in the historical romance genre, none of the novellas really worked for me. I was looking for a romance collection and the majority of these novellas didn't really deliver that for me. Yes, they all had romantic elements to them, but many of these stories felt incomplete.
Gambled Away is a novella collection that I find difficult to review. Objectively, this collection is well written and I enjoyed how all of the authors played with the historical romance genre, offering readers something different in a genre that is often slammed for its sameness. While intellectually I appreciate how unique all of the novellas were, I confess to feeling that none were to my personal taste. Perhaps it was the constraints of the novella format, perhaps it was just me, but I will admit to feeling that none of the novellas were particularly romantic. Now, I'm not saying that everything must be hearts and flowers, but I did personally feel that there was a lack of emotional depth to the majority of the novellas in this collection, at least for this reader.
Gideon and the Den of Thieves by Joanna Bourne
Bourne's contribution to the collection was the strongest story for me. We've got a hero that infiltrates a den of thieves and a young woman that has been forced to work for them. For me, Gideon and the Den of Thieves was the most well developed novella of the collection. The characters were explored more than in the other collections; however, I still felt that the romance was lacking between our leads, which kind of made sense considering all the intriguing stuff that was going on, yet this was disappointing since I wanted to the romance to take centre stage.
Raising The Stakes by Isabel Cooper
This was my least favourite story in the collection, and in the efforts of full disclosure, I will admit to skimming the majority of this novella. While I did appreciate the fact that this one had an American West setting, I just wasn't a fan of this setting combined with more fanastical elements as it seemed to be more of the "odd man out" in the collection.
All or Nothing by Rose Lerner
I'm a big fan of Rose Lerner (Listen to the Moon was a masterpiece) and the fact that one of her novellas was included is what drew me to the collection in the first place. For me, Lerner comes across as a much racier Mary Balogh - the emotions are out on the page and it's the characters that truly ground the story. I will be honest, All or Nothing was a bit too unconventional for my tastes and this is purely a personal reading preference. Again, on an intellectual level I appreciate the fact that Lerner was pushing the envelope in the romance genre, but it was not personally a novella that I enjoyed.
The Liar's Dice by Jeannie Lin
There's no question that The Liar's Dice had promise; however, the indeterminate ending rendered this novella wholly unsatisfactory. For me, The Liar's Dice read more of as a teaser for a full length novel than a novella that could stand alone. Having not read any of the books that this novella ties to and because I have no idea if a full length book is forthcoming, I felt that The Liar's Dice missed the mark.
Redeemed by Molly O’Keefe
Redeemed was my second favourite novella out of the collection. Like Bourne's contribution, O'Keefe spent a good chunk of time fleshing out the characters of the novella. Here was have a tortured doctor and a young woman trapped by a ruthless guardian. What kept me from enjoying this one was the convoluted reasons for why Helen was put on display by her guardian. I spent more time puzzling out the guardians reasoning for what he was doing than just enjoying the story. For me, Redeemed pressed the bounds of believably to the point where I was taken out of the story.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Gambled Away was an uneven collection of historical romance novellas. Each novella was so completely different from the other that it really seemed that there was nothing really grounding this collection together other than the fact that they were all historical in some way. While I did like the fact that all of the authors presented readers with unique stories in the historical romance genre, none of the novellas really worked for me. I was looking for a romance collection and the majority of these novellas didn't really deliver that for me. Yes, they all had romantic elements to them, but many of these stories felt incomplete.
larisa2021's review
4.0
Read them all, unusual for a short story collection. 5 stars to Jeanie Lin and Joanna Bourne. Very interested other Rose Lerner offerings now!
stgts's review
4.0
I bought this book for the Rose Lerner story, because I will read anything with her name on it, and I was totally delighted by her novella. But I was impressed with the variety of style, strengths and individual takes on this prompt. This anthology has pulled together a ton of talent telling a lot of different great stories, and I'm charmed by all the different approaches to/thoughts on love. For all the differences, none of these were contradicting each other or making statements about what Love Is or what a happy ending looks like; simply, its a lot of different people loving in very different ways, which is heartening.
eak1013's review
3.0
I enjoyed aspects of all these stories, some very much so, but very little of that enjoyment was based on the romance. Not that most of the romance-y bits were BAD, but they weren't the point of most of these stories.
Rose Lerner: queer hero, Jewish heroine, complicated identities and relationships and how those all interact, and a soupcon of BDSM. Here. For. It. All. So much.
Jeannie Lin: the first Lin historical I've read, and it won't be the last. Reeeeally didn't care about the romance, but I was totally here for the sheltered heroine dressing up as her brother and getting involved in a murder mystery while out on the town.
Isabel Cooper: elf hero blah blah magic romance whatever. I'm here for the Depression-era scamming of the slimy preacher. Would read more about Sam and her schemes to provide for her family any day of the week.
Molly O'Keefe: I wish it leaned a tad less heavily on the novel it clearly followed, and again I'm less interested in the romance between the two leads than I am about the addiction/redemption narrative they want to share. Also I do love a good comeuppance of a particularly nasty villain.
Joanna Bourne: I'm here for the thief/underworld shenanigans and the consequent scheming, but mostly I'm here for a bit of Hawker origin story. Even as a supporting character, he pops more than the leads and is more intriguing. Makes me want to go back and read the rest of this series.
Rose Lerner: queer hero, Jewish heroine, complicated identities and relationships and how those all interact, and a soupcon of BDSM. Here. For. It. All. So much.
Jeannie Lin: the first Lin historical I've read, and it won't be the last. Reeeeally didn't care about the romance, but I was totally here for the sheltered heroine dressing up as her brother and getting involved in a murder mystery while out on the town.
Isabel Cooper: elf hero blah blah magic romance whatever. I'm here for the Depression-era scamming of the slimy preacher. Would read more about Sam and her schemes to provide for her family any day of the week.
Molly O'Keefe: I wish it leaned a tad less heavily on the novel it clearly followed, and again I'm less interested in the romance between the two leads than I am about the addiction/redemption narrative they want to share. Also I do love a good comeuppance of a particularly nasty villain.
Joanna Bourne: I'm here for the thief/underworld shenanigans and the consequent scheming, but mostly I'm here for a bit of Hawker origin story. Even as a supporting character, he pops more than the leads and is more intriguing. Makes me want to go back and read the rest of this series.
darlenemarshall's review
4.0
Like most anthologies the quality wasn't 100% five star, but I thought the mix was certainly in the top tier. Each story used gambling as a theme, and they ranged from China to the American West with a couple Regencies in the collection.
I think my favorite was Jo Bourne's, but that was partly because we got to see a very young Hawker, one of her best characters. Her writing truly stands out, and her use of syntax and vocabulary to illustrate the speaking patterns of various characters is like a mini-session in writing craft.
Kudos to Ms. Lerner for assembling an A list of authors. I hope we'll see more anthologies of this caliber in the future.
I think my favorite was Jo Bourne's, but that was partly because we got to see a very young Hawker, one of her best characters. Her writing truly stands out, and her use of syntax and vocabulary to illustrate the speaking patterns of various characters is like a mini-session in writing craft.
Kudos to Ms. Lerner for assembling an A list of authors. I hope we'll see more anthologies of this caliber in the future.
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