Review: 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' by Various Authors (2014)

24 short stories about romance.
From wedding days to special anniversaries, steamy one-night encounters to everlasting loves. Truly, Madly, Deeply takes you on an unforgettable romantic adventure where love is really all you need.
This collection brings together all new specifically selected stories from star authors from the Romantic Novelists' Association including international bestsellers Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews, Adele Parks and Miranda Dickinson, and many, many more and is edited by Sue Moorcroft.
I can’t really give a specific reason, but somehow I’ve never really been a big fan of short stories. I was always of the opinion that a tale consisting of just a few pages would never manage to grab me, would not provide me with the chance to get to know a character, and if it would actually be really good, I’d just be disappointed that it was a short story and not an entire novel. However, when I first heard of the release of ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, a collection of short stories by some amazing authors, published by Mills & Boon, I immediately knew I wanted a copy (thanks so much to Cherish PR for providing me with a review copy!) and would grab the chance to give short stories another chance. And I’m really glad I did!
‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ is a collection of various short stories that all focus on the same key element: romance. From love at first sight to one-night-stands to wedding anniversaries, different kinds of love and romance are all placed in the spotlight in this second anthology of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. The book is packed with fabulous authors like Carole Matthews, Chrissie Manby, Miranda Dickinson, Fiona Harper, Kate Harrison and Adele Parks. 
This compilation of short stories is quite fittingly described as ‘the ultimate romantic treat’ and I couldn’t agree more. I honestly loved this so much more than I thought I would; I think I unexpectedly even developed a new and growing love for short stories! One of the main things I loved about this book is that it was so easy to just pick it up whenever and read a quick story. For example during the commercial break while watching television, while waiting for the train to come, during your lunch break at work... Each of the stories in the book is about love and romance, which is a topic I personally can’t get enough of, but every single author managed to do something different with it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all these different stories about different aspects of love, with captivating characters at their core and set in various places and time periods.  
I was amazed by the fact that some of the stories really managed to grab my attention and I couldn’t get them out of my head for a few hours afterwards, even though they were just a few pages long. I guess it’s true you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you also shouldn’t judge a story by the number of pages! I honestly think every single one of the stories in this anthology was enjoyable, but if I have to pick a few personal favourites I’d have to go for ‘Love on Wheels’ by Miranda Dickinson, ‘A Real Prince’ by Fiona Harper and Sophie Pembroke’s ‘The Fairytale Way.’ Overall, ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ is a thoroughly enjoyable, easy-to-pick-up, romance-filled collection of stories which especially chick lit lovers do not want to miss! (Oh, and a tip: if you get the e-book version, you get 11 bonus stories!)
Rating:

  9/10

For more information about this book: Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads    Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.