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The bard of the Texas plains ventures into unfamiliar territory in this slender, entertaining travelogue of the tropical islands of the South Pacific.
McMurtry, a veteran of long car trips along the back roads of the American desert, boards a cruise ship this time around, and not without some foreboding; wandering among the Marquesas with a motley complement of international "island junkies" with whom he finds little in common, this most bookish of writers finds himself running short of reading matter, forced to slow down to the tedious pace of long-distance sea travel, and not entirely content at the turn of events. McMurtry doesn't complain: instead, he passes the time remarking on the national and personal idiosyncrasies of his fellow passengers, mostly in good humor, and reflecting on closeted family skeletons, feelings of marginality and loneliness, mortality, and other matters while observing the passing scene.
A departure in many ways, Paradise finds McMurtry in a contemplative mood. "Nowhere else," he writes, "have I felt so far," and not only geographically. There's enough local color, enough dank glens, misty mountains, and sun-dazzled beaches to satisfy armchair travel buffs, but this is a quiet, thoughtful voyage that reveals that true paradise lies close to the heart. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
At once an inviting travel book and an insightful reflection on his parents' marriage, Paradise is Larry McMurtry's most original and personal work to date.
In 1999, Larry McMurtry, whose wanderlust had been previously restricted to the roads of America, set off for a trip to the paradise of Tahiti and the South Sea Islands in an old-fashioned tub of a cruise boat, at a time when his mother was slipping toward a paradise of her own. Opening up to her son in her final days, his mother makes a stunning revelation of a previous marriage and sends McMurtry on a journey of an entirely different kind.
Vividly, movingly, and with infinite care, McMurtry paints a portrait of his parents' marriage against the harsh, violent landscape of west Texas. It is their roots -- laced with overtones of hard work, bitter disappointment, and the Puritan ethic -- that McMurtry challenges by traveling to Tahiti, a land of lush sensuality and easy living. With fascinating detail, shrewd observations, humorous pathos, and unforgettable characters, he begins to answer some of the questions of what paradise is, whether it exists, and how different it is from life in his hometown of Archer City, Texas.
Filled with moments as strong and moving as any found in his novels, Paradise is a penetrating look at life and love from one of America's most beloved writers.
Customer Reviews:
Not for the hard-core McMurtry fan.......2005-09-26
I confess: I have tried to read "Lonesome Dove" and have failed. My old school chums (McMurty was at Rice, years ago) stay loyal to their freshman English prof, and urge me to try again. Nope. But I like "Paradise." McMurtry claims at first to be getting away so he can write about his parents. But he as much as says that he's got to churn out prose to meet a deadline, and some of the book feels like words for hire. Well, that's a well-worn path for many authors: Think of Dickens. The product here is a low-key travelogue. The voice is that of the a sympathetic observer, well-read and well-spoken. (The tone reminds me of M.F.K. Fisher, who also wrote about the crew and fellow travelers on a cargo ship. ) I found it a delightful respite from plot-driven fiction.
For the Hardcore McMurtry fan.......2003-12-13
For those of you who enjoyed "Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen" and "Roads", this is a briefer introspective work by the same author. This time he's vacationing in the South Seas while taking a break from the mental anguish of watching his mother slowly pass on. We start with a lot of family history and assume that this will be the theme. Then we go off in a different tangent as the book becomes something of a cynical tourist guide to the Marquesa Islands. Ultimately we find ourselves at a very appropriate ending.
This book, even more so than the other two aforementioned books, is something of a free verse of observations by the author. One comes away wondering why this book was written and I guess my impression that it was more for the author than for us. We are able to follow, somewhat, McMurtry's attempts to resolve some of his inner feelings as he knows his mother is slowly drifting away (albeit several thousand miles away). Yet at the same time, his observations about his trip and fellow travelers confuse us as to the depth of any of his feelings. Perhaps that is the point; a man who is at one of those points in life where life itself is a numbing sensation.
Should you read this book? Probably not unless you, like many of McMurtry's literary aficionados, enjoy getting to know the author a bit better. Otherwise it is just a journal of a trip. And it's a trip that the reader has to feel would have been more enjoyable if we rather than McMurtry were the ones taking it. Nonetheless, I'm glad I read it.
Interesting Record of His Personal Observations.......2003-05-21
Granted, this is not McMurtry's best work, but if I were sitting beside him, and we were chatting "in a stream of consciousness" way, I would find his thoughts interesting enough, sharing as one tourist to another, in an unhurried, leisurely exchange of views. This is a period in his life when McMurtry was having to face "loss" and the reader needs to include this understanding in his analysis of the book. I feel I learned more about McMurtry as a person, from having read Paradise.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book One
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book Two
Paradise? Not even close........2002-02-06
At first glance, this is a beautiful book. The printing is very high quality, the pages are thick, and there is even a lovely Gauguin on the cover. This book, however, is a horrible example of a travel guide, a social commentary, and/or a personal journal type "memoir". McMurtry switches verb tense mid-sentence, he uses unparallel structure, and in general is not a very impressive writer. I have not read any of his other books, and I don't really want to after having read this one for English class. I feel he tries to brag about how insane his family is, he blatantly criticizes everyone he mentions (especially Thor Heyerdahl, for no apparent reason) and mocks both the European and modern Polynesian cultures. He is often "disgusted" by some of the other passengers on his cruise, simply because he cannot communicate with them (they are foreign!) and so he attacks their lifestyles and mannerisms. Also, at several times during his drably described journey through paradise he describes in excruciating detail the plots and characters of books he himself is reading on the cruise, as well as books other passengers are reading - as if we care! I would certainly not recommend this book to anyone; Unfortunately, it was money wasted.
Diary-like Entries in the South Seas while Grieving.......2001-11-30
Fans of Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen and Mr. McMurtry's many fine western novels will be very disappointed in this book.
He visits Tahiti and the Marquesa Islands in the few days before his mother dies (which seems like strange timing, since her passing was expected), and sees the area as paradise in a sad way. Obviously affected by his mother's failing health, he pretty much sticks to himself and reads books. Occasionally, he makes an observation about how beautiful tropical islands mainly vary by the extent to which "civilized" amenities have been plunked down in them. He ruminates about why people who lived there fought with one another, or became cannibals. But he doesn't really take the thinking anywhere. He is struck by the fact that the ocean surrounding a South Sea island isolates its inhabitants much like the desert does around Southwestern Indian pueblos. That's about the level of insight here. A high point is when a Polynesian woman gives him some passion fruit as an unexpected gift.
Like in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen, he reflects on his parents' marriage. But he doesn't reflect on it very much. Most of that ground is covered in the earlier book.
I only kept reading the book because Mr. McMurtry is normally a fine writer, and often has interesting observations. My reward for doing so was to find out about the logistics of visiting the Marquesas, which I have been thinking about visiting. I graded the book at two for its value as a travelogue. Otherwise, I would have graded it as a one.
Some people might characterize this book as an essay on the subject of paradise. It certainly has ruminations along those lines, especially about Gauguin. But the content isn't organized as an essay. It looks like notes in a daily journal, that were never turned into an essay or a book.
Paradise comes across as the work of a very depressed person who is grieving, who won't share his emotions with the reader.
If you want to keep your high opinion of Mr. McMurtry's thinking and writing, skip this book!
Book Description
With stolen cash and tickets booked through a shady travel agency, Marlon Cruz and his girlfriend, Reina, have smuggled themselves out of Colombia and into the United States. But on their first night in New York City, they lose each other, and Marlon finds himself cast into the citys immigrant underworld, alone. As he searches for Reina in the bars and boarding houses where illegals congregate, the story of their harrowing cross over the border is retold, mapping the arc of a relationship that has transformed him into a reluctant immigrant.
Customer Reviews:
Starting all over again in the Promised Land.......2006-05-09
Marlon Cruz lives in Medellin, Colombia and is quite happy with the life he leads, even though he has no money to go to university. Then he meets Reina, the girl with whom all boys fall in love, but who chooses him. And she has a dream: she want to go to the United States. Constantly (sexually) attracting and rebuking Marlon, she not only gets him to join her on this risky trip, but also makes him help her to steal 5000$ from the new husband of Marlon's aunt. So Marlon gives up everything that he values to go with Reina to New York. After a gruelling trip they arrive in New York as illegal immigrant. The first evening Marlon gets lost in the streets, cannot find Reina anymore and looses his mind for a while. He is -literally- taken from the gutter by the wife of a Colombian restaurant owner and then he can start where all illegal immigrants start: at the bottom of the social ladder, cleaning toilets. And meanwhile he keeps searching for Reina, even after he has met a much nicer and friendlier lady. Ultimately he finds Reina and discover that her reason to travel to the United States was not what he thought it was.
In itself a nice book, but it did not give me new insights: Marlon is a young man who follows his hormones rather than common sense and that life as an illegal immigrant is not a bed of roses is something I already knew after seeing the umptieth documentary on television.
"...I always think of English as the language of necessity.".......2006-01-11
Paradise Travel is more than a harrowing tale of an illegal immigrant's experience in New York City, Marlon Cruz separated from Reina on the first night they arrive at their coveted destination, exhausted, nothing as it was promised when they made plans in Medellin, Colombia. Stepping out for a smoke, Marlon comes face to face with a policeman. Startled, he panics, running into the night; soon he is lost in a city where everything looks the same, a stranger in a strange land without even a common language to protect him. Reina has engineered the details of their lives from the start of their romance in Colombia, drawing him with the force of her will into this terrifying journey to New York, the gold at the end of their rainbow. Without his muse, Marlon is pathetically vulnerable, wandering homeless until sympathetic Colombians take him in, clean him up and set the handsome young immigrant on the path to redemption from the nightmare of the unwelcoming streets. For one year and three months, Marlon spends all his time and energy in pursuit of his lost love.
His experiences along the way are charged with desperation and an urgent need for anonymity in New York City: "its millions of inhabitants; its blocks of cement, iron and glass; its tons of garbage; its time and energy, the madness and the blood." Those who befriend the distraught Marlon hear constantly of his love, his mission to find Reina in this vast sea of unfamiliar faces. He resides in flophouses, walk-ups that sleep three to a room, floundering among outcast alcoholics and prostitutes, willing to tolerate any condition until he can locate his woman, "until I found Reina I would live through whatever hell New York had to offer", not anticipating even one day of relief: "I was learning to live inside the intestines if the beast and feed off it, always careful not to provoke my host."
Moving back and forth in time, between Colombia, New York and Miami, Marlon incrementally reveals his story, the early days of Reina's determined seduction, the harrowing journey from country to country, courtesy of Paradise Travel, a front for moving illegals as tourists. With few clothes and money to bribe officials every step of the way, the ordeal is an unrelenting hell of trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, vicious coyotes and border guards, all looking to make a profit from the hushed masses dressed in black who shuffle through the night to the commands of their indifferent guides, "leaving their memories behind", along with identities, addresses and photographs.
From the confusion of that first terrifying night in New York, Marlon's emotions seesaw between fear and hope, new friends and a loving woman left behind when he picks up Reina's trail. With Reina as the more aggressive, dominant partner, Marlon has been the weaker of the pair, in thrall to her expectations. But the naïve, frightened young man is transformed by his trials, his harsh life lessons in dramatic relief in the hands of a courageous writer who speaks an uncomfortable truth. An unbelievable ordeal to the uninitiated becomes a path to a future free from fear, the prose as blunt and painful as Marlon's situation. Franco proves, once again, that you can't go home again, but that "a person's country is wherever there is love and affection." Luan Gaines/ 2006.
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Exotic Paradise: A Photographic Journey to the World's Most Intriguing Resort Hotels
Kazuyoshi Miyhoshi , and
Kazuyoshi Miyoshi
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Architectural
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Nature & Wildlife
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Photo Essays
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General
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Hotels & Inns
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ASIN: 1569316597 |
Book Description
Kazuyoshi Miyoshi spent several years traveling the Pacific Rim searching for and photographing the most beautiful and exotic vacation resorts he could find. Locales portrayed here include balcony views of the Himalayas, endless cabana rows in Hawaii, the coral reefs of Borneo, and the white sands of the Seychelles. Also included is current information about each hotel's accommodations, prices, and reservation process.
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Hotel Paradise: A Photographic Journey To The World's Most Exotic Resort Hotels (Hotel Paradise)
Kazuyoshi Miyhoshi
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Photo Essays
| Photography
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ASIN: 1569311498 |
Customer Reviews:
Dream Hotels.......2000-06-21
Well, since I am somone who loves hotels looking through this book and reading it was a blast. It had many very nice hotels that I would not mind staying at if I were to ever go in the area which the hotels are located. The price of this book is also a plus it is very cheap and is worth the money. So if you are interested in hotels or just want a cool book to look at this is for you. I highly request it to anybody. Well, since I am a man who loves hotels looking through this book and reading it was a blast. It had many very nice hotels that I would not mind staying at if I were to ever go in the area which the hotels are located. The price of this book is also a plus it is very cheap and is worth the money. So if you are interested in hotels or just want a cool book to look at this is for you. I highly request it to anybody.
Book Description
Acclaimed author Robin D. Owens returns to Celta, a world where psychic talents and desires of the heart flourish--and two star-crossed lovers defy all the odds...
Customer Reviews:
Just o.k........2007-07-06
While I found some parts of the book to be quite enjoyable, there were whole sections that I found to be extremely tedious and the ending left me disappointed.
The best of the series...so far..........2005-10-23
I have read each book in this series and I have to say this one was the best of them all. All of them were wonderful, but this one stayed with me even after I read it. I was emotional, passionate and more powerful on different emotional levels. You can feel the frustration with each character and the longing as well. It is an awesome series, but this one really was the best book this far, in my opinion. But I hope there are more to come!
Great story by a great author.......2005-04-23
I purchased this book after reading Ms. Owens first book "Heart Mate" and second book "Heart Thief". This book mixes sci-fi/fantasy and romance together, which makes it a great combo for me, as I enjoy reading both genres. I think this is a beautifully written story rich in detail of the world Ms. Owens has created. I enjoyed reading the first and second books and I enjoyed this one just as much. I can barely wait for new stories by Ms. Owens to come out.
Not up to her 2 previous books.......2005-03-13
I absolutely LOVED her first 2 books in this series, HeartMate and Heart Thief, but this book annoyed me. The main characters, HollyHeir Holm and Healer Lark, spend the whole book having the same basic conversation over and over again. Noone learns from their mistakes, even with a great oracle (Vinni, a very interesting little boy) helping them. I liked Holm in previous books, but found him unsympathic in this book. I wished for old characters to show more often, just to relieve the boredom. The ending was VERY disappointing. I will continue to buy her books, having loved the first 2 so much, but pray they live up to the first ones.
bittersweet, rather Romeo & Juliet.......2004-07-27
What's to like? Celta & all that involves, appearances by T'Ash & Danith and Ailim & Ruis (from previous novels), heartbreaking moments, especially with Holm (not giving anything away here), the kittens.
Problems: Where's the charismatic Holm we came to love in the first 2 books? I had a little trouble believing he was so inept with Lark (and only Lark). Lark is a bit annoying at times because she refuses to see past Holm's status as a fighter; it's opposed to her status as a Healer. Lark's Heartgift just doesn't seem to fit the rules; I hated it; it didn't even use her creative gift which seems to be a requirement of sorts. The bittersweet ending. Saying much more would harm one's enjoyment of the story by taking away the suspense, but I hope that the next book (or 2) addresses that which still causes my heart to ache. These problems dropped the rating to 4 stars.
Not as good as #2, but still a wonderful effort by Ms. Owens. She's on my automatic buy list (and it's a VERY small list).
Product Description
Historical Romance: Follow family lines through historical seventeenth-century Italy as they struggle to survive and find love amidst the most trying battles. Françoise Chaplain is wounded almost too deeply to grasp the proposed love of Stefano Marinelli. Bianca Marinelli seeks unorthodox apprenticeship in a male-dominated culture of Italian arts, just as love comes to the studio by equally unusual circumstances. Costanza Biliverti faces fire, theft, revolt and her own daughter kidnapped, but marriage is no comfort if it's not for love. Anabella and Albret nearly lose one another when pride and honor put their love on the line in a duel.
Customer Reviews:
Sad book!!.......2007-09-18
I had a hard time reading this book because I could not concentrate on the stories. I found them to be so boring, at times very depressive and sad. In the middle of the first story, I stopped reading it to jump to the next one only to abandon it within few pages.
A nice, pleasant read.......2007-02-28
Since the other reviewer did such a nice job, I won't go into repeating what she said. I originally thought about buying these books seperatley, but then I saw that they were all in a novella, which saved me $$:). I found that I really enjoyed these stories, and that I was really able to get into them. My favorite of these was "Both Sides Of the Easel," which featured Mateo and Bianca. I felt that they were really well-developed, and that I could connect to them really easily. I also liked how Mateo was so supportive of Bianca's art and that he understood how much it meant to her while everyone else around her treated it as just a passing, youthful fancy that she was supposed to end once she became engaged.
I really enjoyed this book and am glad that I bought it. The Renaissance period has always fascinated me, and I was really happy that the author chose this as a setting for her stories.
If you are looking for a collection of pleasant, readable stories, then I suggest that you give this book a try!!
Love conquers British socialite .......2006-11-26
Reviewed by Kelli Glesige for Reader Views (11/06)
Barbara Youree has taken her love for Italy and its Renaissance art when she visited Florence and written four short love stories. All four stories take place in an intriguing Italian Renaissance setting with characters struggling in keeping faith, dealing with love, and toiling with restrictions society has placed upon them. This collection is entitled "Renaissance Brides."
"Silent Heart" (2005) begins on a farm in France in 1572 with mother, Elise Chaplain, and her children, 16 year old daughter Francoise, and 11 year old son Etienne, fleeing for their lives after the rest of their family has been brutally killed because of civil war in France. To make matters worse, the plague is a constant danger. The kind Marinelli family helps the distraught Chaplains and the young Marinelli son, Stefano, finds himself in love with Francoise. But wounds run deep for Francoise after witnessing her family's death and destruction, and she feels too scarred to ever love again.
"Both Sides of the Easel" (2000) takes place in Rome in the early 1600's. It is the story of Bianca Maria, daughter of Stefano and Francoise, who desires to be an artist and follows the career of the best young artist in all of Rome at that time, Caravaggio. Marco Biliverti is Caravaggio's model who befriends Bianca and enables her to meet the famous Caravaggio. Unfortunately for Bianca, Caravaggio is nothing like she imagined him to be, but Marco is the perfect gentleman. After evil brother Jacopo kicks Marco, sister Annabella, and mother Costanza from the family's castle after their father's death, Marco dutifully takes the responsibility to see the family has all the necessary accommodations. Bianca soon begins to see the true colors of Marco.
"Forever is not Long Enough" (2002) begins in Italy in 1610 and finds the widow Costanza Biliverti trying to run the family vineyards despite a suspicious fire and stolen cattle. It is obvious the castle is housing a spy, but who could it be? With Marco away, the young Albret takes on new responsibilities. Tragedy occurs when daughter Annabella is kidnapped and a young merchandising train, led by Antonio, finds the distraught Annabella. Costanza is slowly pulled under Antonio's spell of charm.
And finally, "Duel Love" (2005) has Albret growing up and realizing how much he cares for Annabella, but his pride and honor to prove himself worthy take precedence over love. Taking place in Florence, Italy, in 1612, Albret foolishly agrees to a duel with the coward, Conte Frederic Bargerino, who has moved in on Annabella's affections after Albret deemed himself unworthy. Annabella attends the duel, but the participants are unsure of who Annabella really loves. In all four stories, history proves faith in God is resolute and love can prevail.
The stories in "Renaissance Brides" are engrossing and will keep you entertained, especially if you enjoy 17th century historical romance, for Barbara Youree appears to be a knowledgeable author. But be forewarned, "Renaissance Brides" is not a quick read. At 478 pages and with small print, you will be reading for awhile. I found I needed to stop a few times to rest my eyes with the print so small. My suggestion is to definitely pick up a copy of this book, but have a magnifying glass at hand just in case. Make sure you have a long weekend to devote to reading too!
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A Duel of Hearts
Manufacturer: Pyramid Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0515035378 |
Product Description
Could she set him free from the secret that threatened their love?
Customer Reviews:
a mixed bag regency...........2007-05-20
I have mixed feelings on this story. This is my first book by Anita Mills. While I did finish the book-the story was entertaining but had a lot of flaws pertaining to her characters out of place behavior. The hero was very good but the heroine was a bit of a nitwit although she's supposed to be a bluestocking.
This story falls into the theme of "commoner character (or "cit") marries a titled character (or "quality").
I think my main problem with this book is what starts as a romantic comedy quickly turns into non comedy with the H/H constantly fighting with each other. About the only saving grace of the story was the anti-hero Rotherfield-a brooding male secondary lead interesting enough to warrant his own story. Another surprising facet is the story was pretty racy for a regency but was tastefully written.
The book was interesting enough to stick it out but I'd recommend that a regency fan not go out of their way to search it out.
Book Description
Lilah Chadwick wants to stop her father from marrying a young woman.
Lord Drakesley wants to stop his cousin from marrying Lilah's father.
So the two join forces to stop their loved ones from making a drastic mistake-only to discover that falling in love is never a mistake.
Download Description
Lilah Chadwick thinks she's the apple of her father's eye-until he announces his plans to marry. Hoping to counter his decision, she rushes to London. Adam Harleston, the ninth Earl of Drakesley, is a man possessed. His young cousin has been seduced by an older gentleman, and he's determined to save her honor before it's too late. But wedding bells are about to ring for Lilah's father and Drake's cousin. Joining forces, Lilah and Drake vow to stop their loved ones from making a drastic mistake-only to discover that falling in love is never a mistake....
Customer Reviews:
horrible...........2007-05-17
I hate to be so harsh but this book is horrible.
While I make many allowances for accuracy (or lack thereof) in a historical romance, SOME inaccuracies cannot be ignored.
When an author so blatantly "rewrites" the behaviors and speech of characters in a historical period as to be laughable then I'll be the first to say skip this book. This is the case here.
I quit the book by page 30. By then we know the heroine is a spoiled, supposed upper crust lady who treats her servants terribly. The hero, an EARL, is beyond rude, leers at her and calls her a brat when they first meet in a tavern, even after he knows she's a lady of quality and doesn't even know her name! Even if she was a peasant-no Earl would ever talk to someone the way Miss Farr has her male lead speaking and behaving.
Another reviewer points out the obvious immaturity of the book and I wholeheartedly agree! Do yourself a favor and skip this book.
1 star for a pretty cover.
Hated it!!!.......2006-08-30
I must be getting older, and I mean that in a good way. Or maybe it's just that I have alwayd hated screwball comedy. Whatever the case, I hate this novel. I hate to write reviews of stories that I don't finish but if you know you hate something why torture yourself? I hate this book. I hate the characters, the plot, and the writer for torturing me. Maybe I don't hate the writer, she did write the Fortune Hunter which was great. But this feels like a bait and switch. You find a writer you like based on one book and then you rush out the get something else with their name on it only to be disapointed. It happens. This story is just not my type of thing. I have outgrown stories where people fall in love to suit the authors plot idea. I want real people with real problems and real life stuations just like the one's I have. I am too old for this nonsense, and when I say too old I mean too mature, I'm still young.
It's like oneday you no longer enjoy baby dolls and now you want barbie. Babydolls just don't cut it anymore no matter how cute they might be. There are a lot of babydoll romances out there. They cater to a simpler audience. But since I have discovered dark fantasy romance I find I can't go back to babydolls fluff.
Even if this was trying to be funny it failed. The humor was forced just like the thin plot and the cardboard characters. It reads like something that was just pulled out of hat full of story ideas and thrown together quickly just to fullfill a contract or something.
I see this book has a lot of 4 and 5 stars and I'm not surprised. People actually like that movie Bringing Up Baby. Every time I see that movie I wonder why Carey Grant and Katherine Hepburn had a career afterwards. It is as dreadful as this. Not that I don't like some screwballs; "It happened one night" was perfect as was "His Girl Friday". But these stories had characters you could relate to. They weren't too stupid or annoying to live types like in most so called screwballs. Intelligent characters in screwball situations is good, screwball charactes in screwball situations is bad.
Duel of hearts is bad!!!
Hilarious, clever, well-written, tongue in cheek froth.......2004-07-19
Some of the reviewers obviously didn't "get" this book. It's a comedy! Lilah and Drake are made for each other, precisely because nobody else could stand to live with either one of them. They ENJOY their conflicts and it is that air of naughty enjoyment that makes their confrontations so droll.
And, by the way, the cameo appearance made by Lord Rival takes place when he is clearly in his early 20s. He doesn't meet Olivia in THE FORTUNE HUNTER until he is in his 30's. So he's an unrepentant rake because he hasn't repented yet. In other words, DUEL OF HEARTS takes place several years before THE FORTUNE HUNTER. I agree with the other reviewer that he would never cheat on his beloved wife, but he hasn't met her yet. The author could have made this clearer, perhaps, since it probably bothered a few readers who didn't figure that out.
Spoiled brat meets arrogant autocrat -- Ugh!.......2004-07-15
Lilah & Drake have to be the most immature, least likeable couple in all of romantic fiction. They are both selfish, unthinking, rash, self-absorbed, flighty, shallow, and lacking in common sense. Their constant arguments grew old quickly, and their "attraction" rang false. No one but Drake has the spine to stand up to willful Lilah. Everyone but Lilah simply humors Drake. Yet, we're supposed to believe that they are acting out of character. Doesn't hold water.
The story line is uninspired, the pacing drags, and the dialogue and sentiments all too often sound modern not Regency. Lilah's companion is an annoying chatterbox, her father is a wimp (except when it suits the plot), and what little humor is there is bludgeoned into an ephemeral mist by the utter silliness and head-pounding annoyance of the rest of the book.
One of the worst "mistakes" was having Rival (from The Fortune Hunter, a wonderful book) appear as an unrepentant rake. In his book (published prior to this one), he falls in love & marries. So why is he apparently cheating on his beloved wife in this story? Very badly done.
Ignore this book; it's horrid. It's so bad (especially compared to The Fortune Hunter) that I have to read somebody else for a while.
Witty and Exuberant.......2003-08-25
Witty and exuberant Diane Farr again treats the reader to a highly entertaining romp in her novel Duel of Hearts.
Delilah Chadwick is incredulous that her adoring widowed father could really be contemplating remarriage without consulting her, but so the letter she receives from him states. She embarks on a mission to save her beloved father from Eugenia Mayhew, a young woman Lilah has never met but who must be "a mercenary harridan...taking advantage of Papa's good nature."
Lilah is so used to everyone capitulating to her demands that she's failed to notice how headstrong and domineering she actually is. So she's astonished and extremely annoyed by the very forceful man actually opposes her will when, at the local inn, she attempts to wrest from him the carriage he has just rented-the last suitable vehicle in the area to carry her to London where her father is.
Adam "Drake" Harleston, the ninth Earl of Drakesley, is stunned and highly displeased with the forceful harpy who has the nerve to repeatedly demand he give up his rented carriage to her. When he begrudgingly ends up sharing the carriage with Lilah and her companion Miss Pickens, he's even more displeased to discover that she's the daughter of the older gentleman who's no doubt seduced his poor cousin Eugenia into pledging marriage. Drake was raised with Eugenia and always assumed that he would marry her one day. After all, a biddable wife who can offer him a quiet life is just the ticket to enable him to maintain the status quo of his existence. And that's surely what he wants-right?
Drake is alarmed to discover the overwhelming physical reaction he has to Lilah, and she is equally embarrassed by the passion she feels whenever she's near him. Although they form an alliance to stop the disastrous marriage of her father and his cousin, they cannot stop arguing over how to do it. And what a wonderful, feisty argument it is. As they wittily oppose one another's wills, they feel extraordinarily alive and begin falling in love while the reader is treated to highly entertaining repartee.
But nothing goes as planned, and by the time Drake apparently persuades Eugenia to break her engagement and to marry him instead, emotions are running high all around, and it's no longer clear who is tricking whom. What is clear is that Drake and Lilah must stop fooling themselves or an extraordinary love will be lost forever.
Lilah and Drake are lively, well-drawn and thoroughly enjoyable characters who take the reader on a thrilling ride in this witty page turner. The supporting cast is equally endearing and funny. Duel of Hearts is a delightful book that no romance lover should miss.
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Duel of Hearts
Manufacturer: Signet Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739429221 |
Product Description
From Booklist: Lilah and Adam, ninth Earl of Drakesley, have only two things in common. The first is that Lilah's father and Drake's cousin plan to marry, a marriage they rush to London to stop, meeting along the way and discovering their mutual mission. The second thing they share is their forceful, overly assertive personalities, the results of having been raised with no one to gainsay their every wish. Constant bickering ensues when each finds that the other is not responding as most do to their habit of riding roughshod over any and all obstacles. In pursuit of their common goal, they must work together: and, in spite of finding this difficult, the passion that results from their close proximity is as forceful as their personalities. Farr's headstrong characters aren't terribly likeable at first, but this romance's appeal grows as the reader gets past Drake's and Lilah's egocentrism. Maria HattonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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A Duel of Hearts
Manufacturer: Pyramid
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000CROOJ4 |
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