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Irresistible Forces is the Catherine Asaro-edited SF and fantasy romance anthology from 2004 that pulls together longer-form pieces from writers who do not normally appear in the romance-anthology field. The Bujold contribution, a Vorkosigan-universe novella called "Winterfair Gifts," is the book's anchor and one of the more emotionally satisfying short pieces in the long Vorkosigan sequence.
The other contributors (Catherine Asaro herself, Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, Deb Stover, Jennifer Roberson) bring the kind of careful long-form craft that the romance form sometimes does not get credit for. The Bujold piece is the strongest of the set, but several of the others are genuinely affecting.
Four stars. Recommended to romance readers who want to see what the form looks like when serious SF writers commit to it. Read the Vorkosigan series first to get the full payoff from "Winterfair Gifts."
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