Four Weddings and a Sixpence: An Anthology by Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Stefanie Sloane, Laura Lee Guhrke
Published by Avon on December 27th 2016
Genres: Historical
Pages: 384
Goodreads

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in your shoe.”

This is an anthology of four stories about four friends from Madame Rochambeaux’s Gentle School for Girls and the sixpence coin which brings each of them a husband.

SOMETHING OLD by Julia Quinn:  This is the prologue to the stories and introduces the four heroines: Miss Beatrice Heywood, Miss Cordelia Padley, Lady Elinor Daventry and Miss Anne Barbourne.  The four find a old coin which they agree to use to find their husband and if it works, they will pass it along to the next girl.  For a prologue, this one managed to pack a lot of information into a few pages.  It definitely made me want to know more about these girls.  Rating: 5 stars.

SOMETHING NEW by Stefanie Sloane: Miss Anne Brabourne has an uncle as a guardian who has declared that she must marry by her twenty-first birthday. Anne, however, doesn’t really want to marry but if she does she certainly doesn’t want to marry for love.  Her parents tempestuous relationship has soured her on the idea of passion and love. Rhys Alexander Hamilton, Duke of Dorset is a man determined not to marry until he has no choice meets Anne and is charmed by her.  He doesn’t fit Anne’s ideal husband (he will never be easily controlled) but he proposes that he help her find a husband.

This was a sweet little story. I liked the characters and I liked their situation. Both Anne and Rhys have reasons to not recognize that they are falling in love and yet their connection pulls them together throughout the story.  I found this story charming.  The only thing that didn’t fit was the obligatory sex scene which I thought did not actually fit with these characters.  Rating: 4 stars.

SOMETHING BORROWED by Elizabeth Boyle:  Miss Cordelia Padley grew up rich but at her father’s death she learned that he was squandered his entire fortune. She has another, more pressing problem. She has three aunts who are determined to find her a husband, so Cordelia has made up a betrothed to stop their efforts.  Now that one of her dearest friends is marrying, Cordelia has to produce that betrothed or admit her deception.  She goes looking for a temporary fiance to produce and then have him jilt her.  Winston Christopher Talcott, Earl of Thornton needs rich bride to save his failing estate.  Just when he is about to get engaged to an heiress, Cordelia comes back into Kipp’s life and turns it upside down.

This was a wonderful story.  I loved the connection between Cordelia and Kipp. They had a sweet and childhood friends to lovers story. This was a story that was so good that I could have read a whole book about these two.  Cordelia finds her old friend and is dismayed that he never had the chance to fulfill his dreams. Kipp finds a vivacious woman who makes him believe in his dreams again even has his goals have changed. I loved the hope and joy these two bring to one another.  Yes, the resolution was predicable (I figured it out from the beginning), but the story was so good that I was willing to go along with the predicable solution.  Everything worked for me.  Rating: 4.5 stars.

SOMETHING BLUE by Laura Lee Guhrke: Lady Elinor Daventry is determined to marry the son of a duke to help save her father from the investigation by Lawrence Blackthorne who is determined to prove her father is a criminal.  Ellie and Lawrence were childhood friends who were in love and set to marry until he chose his duty and honor over their love and she chose her father over their love.  Lawrence steals the sixpence in order to prevent Ellie’s marriage.

This was an enjoyable story because Ellie and Lawrence are such combative towards one another. The two have deep unresolved feelings even though they are on opposing sides regarding Ellie’s father. There is some serious push and pull between them as they clearly love one another and yet neither can abandon their principles. The interactions between the two were funny and yet sad as it seems at times that these two will not be able to find a way to be together.  I like my books with some angst and drama and this one fulfills those requirements.  Rating: 4 stars.

…AND A SIXPENCE IN HER SHOE by Julia Quinn:  Miss Beatrice Mary Heywood plans never to marry but rather to care for her aunts who took her in when she was orphaned. She takes the coin only reluctantly, but she has the coin when she literally runs into Lord Frederick Grey-Osbourne on the street.  Frederick is sensitive to his looks because of an accident which left him with a scar and blinded in one eye, but he finds himself intrigued by the academic minded Bea who has a passion for astronomy.

Bea and Frederick are so cute together. This is another story that I could have read an entire book about. There is an awkwardness and a pure sweetness of these two being interested in one another. There are meddling aunts, sexy scientific talk, deep empathy and even some sexy moments.  There is a wonderful scene between them (I don’t want to give it away) but it is all about trust and vulnerability between them.  I loved that scene.  This was my favorite story in the anthology and it struck the perfect ending note for me.  Rating: 5 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in order to provide a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions contained herein are my own.