Fun on a Friday: review time

Anyhoo... I posted this review on a discussion / challenge in Good reads - but thought I'd share it here. Haven't reviewed anything in AGES!

Three times a bride
An anthology. So, three novellas - three 'forced' weddings. As always with anthologies, a bit rocky.
First up: 'Fancy free' by Catherine Anderson.
Western. She wears glasses, but was rejected because of them, so doesn't wear them in public - hence, embroils the wrong brother in her revenge plot. Found the next morning in a compromising position IN THE CHURCH! How convenient, they could just get married straight away... And, seeing as hero was thinking about getting hog-tied anyhoo (those brothers of his are all running wild and having nightmares) the Father with gun, *seriously - pointed AT HIS HEAD* (sorry, I think it was a pistol, not a shotgun) - he goes through with wedding. Introduce New Bride and all is perfect... until aunt arrives... blah, blah. Yep, predictable. 3 stars.... ok, but not overwhelming.

Followed by 'The mad earl's bride' by Loretta Chase.
He's just like his mother - over-sexed and headachy. So, convinced he's going to die at any moment, he lives recklessly in the wilds of Yorkshire (crap! I think it's Yorkshire)... anyhoo, moving on. Then calamity! He becomes the earl - thanks too close-to-impossible-plot-device... Enter, even whose than a blue-stocking, but *shock horror* an EDUCATED woman who wants to be a doctor, but those mean nasty men won't let her. That's ok - she's found a dying man to marry (and breed with, quickly you understand - thank goodness her family are so fertile) and leave her his fortune so she can build her hospital and run it without those pesky men interfering. Gotta love those frizzy-redheads... That said - I really liked her! 3.5 stars - nearly 4.

Last cab... 'Scandal's bride' by Samantha James.
How sad. Her father is forcing her to marry - three seasons you know. To stop his evilness, she finds the first man she doesn't already know and KISSES him in public. Well, on the balcony, just as her friend appears in a pre-arranged set-up. Father is there, tho! No escape!! It's marriage for sure. Right then. Well, an hour or so later. THEN... no consumation. THEN... misunderstanding... THEN... togetherness... THEN... misunderstanding... THEN... happy ever after. Ho hum 3 stars.
So - overall, an OK read. 3 stars. Right for those brain-dead times when you need the words to wash over your eyeballs, but don't actually require much in the way of brain cells to comprehend the meaning.

Oh... discussion questions!
Did the story & characters sound realistic? Um... that would be a NO.
Could you relate to any of the characters or certain things that happened in the story? If so, can you share an example? Frizzy-red head with an education? One who basically speaks in tongues when sharing her knowledge. Yep. That would be me. Well, sorta wavy, and sorta auburn. And, the whole speaking-in-tongue things, I've really cut down on that. Blank looks aren't always funny. (Sometimes they're hilarious).
There you go - is that enough of a review for you all?