http://www.conniebrockway.com/
In 1997, Connie Brockway wrote one of her best books, As You Desire. Now, after 14 or so years, she has finally written a sequel: The Other Guy's Bride, which is the story of Harry and Desdemona's daughter Genisse. You do not have to have read the original to follow this story, because this is a very much stand-alone book, even if there are returning characters.
This is a charming, fun story and it plays best in the parts when Genisse and our hero Jim/James are cavorting through the desert in search of a lost tomb/city/archeological wonder. Or at least Geniesse is searching; Jim, on the other hand, is clueless as to her purpose in traveling through the hot sands. You see, he thinks she is somebody else: the fiancee of the stodgy commander of the fort. And he has been sent to bring the commander's fiancee back. Now, there is a good reason Jim thinks this is the commander's fiancee - Geniesse told him she was. Yes, this is a disguise romance...but in the hands of Connie Brockway it is quite entertaining.
I especially loved Genisse. She was a strong, intelligent woman, dare I say spunky. She was also a tad bit accident prone, which is why she decides she wants to find the lost city/tomb of Zerzura. She has one of those failings that a number of us have: she doesn't see herself as she really is. She has a feeling of not fitting in with her family, of not being good enough and this search for the missing Zerzura will make her of worth to her family. Or at least that's what she thinks. There was some interesting writing from Ms. Brockway as Genisse finally discovers who she really is and what she really wants. Quite nice.
Then we have our hero, Jim, who is also in disguise. Although, I didn't buy his disguise excuse as much as I did Genisse's. I liked Jim best when he was befuddled by our heroine. The banter between these two had me smiling throughout most of the book. There is also a wonderful "watch the woman melt" moment when he tells Genisse why he wants her to say his name. "Because when you say my name, it would touch your lips...like a kiss." Great line. Think I'll make my husband memorize it.
This would have been an extraordinary adventure, if the couple had not turned into standard Romanceland "you must marry me, I have taken your innocence, no, I cannot marry you, you have not said the magic words" couple. Up to the point of the taking of the magical woo-woo bud, this story was great. It was colorful, full of great scenes, fun dialogue, sand storms, camels, bandits, accidents, scorpions, rescues...the momentum of the story was so exciting. And then the magical woo-woo bud is broken and we get bogged down in Romanceland mundane love problems.In the end, it was great to have another historical by Connie Brockway. The story was a fun read and if the momentum had not been interrupted this would have been one of the best. However, I did enjoy the story, loved the main characters, loved the desert adventure and am looking forward to more historicals from Ms. Brockway.
My special thanks to Oded Fehr for making The Mummy memorable!
Time/Place: Edwardian...Egypt
Sensuality Rating: Warm/Hot
5 comments:
woo-woo bud? LOL!
I thought this one was adorable. Now I want to go back and read Dizzy and Harry.
Harry showing up at the end was awesome.
KatieBab/KT Grant: You know I love Dizzy and Harry, but my favorite Brockway is still her first, Promise me Heaven. I always wanted a sequel. My favorite scene in that book is when he gets caught in the act of about to sacrifice himself for his country. Eyebrows wriggling.
All Through the Night is hands down one of my favorite romances and my favorite Brockway. The library scene! Swoon.
KatieBab/KT Grant: I love that one also. I also love My Dearest Enemy. Connie sort of lost me with the McClaren Isle series, but her historicals are always auto-buys for me.
Loved this story! The characters were quite entertaining.
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