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Kelly, Carla - Beau Crusoe
Mon, May. 21st, 2007 06:48 pmJames Trevenen has just returned to London after being stranded on a desert island for five years. While he's there to be awarded for his scientific treatise on crabs (the crustaceans, not the VD), he'll be staying with Mrs. Susannah Park, her parents, and her sister. Mrs. Park ruined herself years ago by eloping with some not-Society person who died of cholera shortly after. They fight crime fall in love!
I've actually only read one Kelly before this, but other people have previously remarked on how kind Kelly's characters are; this holds for Beau Crusoe as well.
Even so, James has a whole lot of angst, possibly more so than most non-Kinsale romance novel heroes. At least, I think so, though I am probably biased because he is amazingly polite throughout, despite his penchant for white lies. He quickly manages to fix many of the broken aspects of Susannah's household, including getting rid of some annoying toucans and softening Susannah's sister Loisa, who has nursed a grudge for years on Susannah's ruins and the ruins of her own prospects.
I really loved all the characters here; Loisa's softening may have been a bit quick for belief, given how long she had held her grudge. But I believed it, because of how long she had held it -- I think sometimes people get into the habit of resenting something and are tired of it but just don't know how to change it. Loisa's situation struck me as something like that. And I like that she doesn't lose her prickliness and that she gets her own happy ending thanks to the sheer force of her personality, despite being rather homely. It's a nice contrast to the normal romance tradition of "Oh! I am so ugly! But actually I am gorgeous once I take off my glasses and get new clothes!"
I would have loved James and Susannah more had Kelly not thrown in one of my least favorite romance plot devices ever: the Slutty Former Flame. Seriously. If I hadn't enjoyed the book so much till that point, I would have tossed it at something. I mean, really! Slutty Former Flame had so many lovers she couldn't keep their names straight, liked a variety of sex positions (particularly being on top) and *gasp of horror* actually would work toward her own orgasm!
Yeah.
Anyway, I was actually horrified by the revelation of James' Big Secret, despite having guessed it long before, and I enjoyed the rest of the book that didn't focus on Slutty Former Flame.
Links:
-![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pocketgarden's review
-gwyneira's review
I've actually only read one Kelly before this, but other people have previously remarked on how kind Kelly's characters are; this holds for Beau Crusoe as well.
Even so, James has a whole lot of angst, possibly more so than most non-Kinsale romance novel heroes. At least, I think so, though I am probably biased because he is amazingly polite throughout, despite his penchant for white lies. He quickly manages to fix many of the broken aspects of Susannah's household, including getting rid of some annoying toucans and softening Susannah's sister Loisa, who has nursed a grudge for years on Susannah's ruins and the ruins of her own prospects.
I really loved all the characters here; Loisa's softening may have been a bit quick for belief, given how long she had held her grudge. But I believed it, because of how long she had held it -- I think sometimes people get into the habit of resenting something and are tired of it but just don't know how to change it. Loisa's situation struck me as something like that. And I like that she doesn't lose her prickliness and that she gets her own happy ending thanks to the sheer force of her personality, despite being rather homely. It's a nice contrast to the normal romance tradition of "Oh! I am so ugly! But actually I am gorgeous once I take off my glasses and get new clothes!"
I would have loved James and Susannah more had Kelly not thrown in one of my least favorite romance plot devices ever: the Slutty Former Flame. Seriously. If I hadn't enjoyed the book so much till that point, I would have tossed it at something. I mean, really! Slutty Former Flame had so many lovers she couldn't keep their names straight, liked a variety of sex positions (particularly being on top) and *gasp of horror* actually would work toward her own orgasm!
Yeah.
Anyway, I was actually horrified by the revelation of James' Big Secret, despite having guessed it long before, and I enjoyed the rest of the book that didn't focus on Slutty Former Flame.
Links:
-
pocketgarden's review-
gwyneira's reviewTags:
