A review by taramisu
Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly
3.0
3.5 stars
The premise: Widow Susannah Parks is living on the "kindness" of her family. Her over-the-anvil marriage to the family secretary has estranged the entire family from society...and they most certainly blame her for it. Her life changes as she and her 6 year old son, Noah, act as guides for James Trevenen. James, formerly of the Royal Navy, is in London to accept an award for a paper written about crabs (of all things) while marooned on a South Seas island for 5 years. This island was not a paradise to James, and he is haunted by gruesome hallucinations of another shipmate.
Miscellaneous notes: First off, let me express my undying gratitude that Ms. Kelly has returned to the fold. I believe I read that she lost her will to write romances upon the death of her brother. With this new Regency release, came an awful lot of expectation on my part.
There is a certain mood that I expect from Ms. Kelly: chaste and somber with genuinely good people struggling against harsh realities. She hit very well upon the latter two in Beau Crusoe. It's the former that fails. I'm not a porn reader. I will never pick up a book by Beatrice Small, and I blush at the romance covers featuring half naked men in a passionate embrace with a buxom woman with long, flowing hair. Given my expectations, Ms. Kelly's overt descriptions of some very kinky sexual acts, dongs, male members, STDs and mistresses truly turned me off. Early in the book we are shown exactly what James did during his 6 month voyage back home. While one could argue that the man had been bereft of human company for 5 long years, I still have a very hard time imagining a good man doing what he did. Perhaps this is a change in her personal writing style. I suspect it is pressure from editors and publishers.
That being said, Ms. Kelly delivered very nicely. No BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. No over-the-top evil antagonists. Just two people trying to make their way through the real world. Ms. Kelly works her magic as she gives both James and Susannah something each is missing through love and friendship with the other.
The premise: Widow Susannah Parks is living on the "kindness" of her family. Her over-the-anvil marriage to the family secretary has estranged the entire family from society...and they most certainly blame her for it. Her life changes as she and her 6 year old son, Noah, act as guides for James Trevenen. James, formerly of the Royal Navy, is in London to accept an award for a paper written about crabs (of all things) while marooned on a South Seas island for 5 years. This island was not a paradise to James, and he is haunted by gruesome hallucinations of another shipmate.
Miscellaneous notes: First off, let me express my undying gratitude that Ms. Kelly has returned to the fold. I believe I read that she lost her will to write romances upon the death of her brother. With this new Regency release, came an awful lot of expectation on my part.
There is a certain mood that I expect from Ms. Kelly: chaste and somber with genuinely good people struggling against harsh realities. She hit very well upon the latter two in Beau Crusoe. It's the former that fails. I'm not a porn reader. I will never pick up a book by Beatrice Small, and I blush at the romance covers featuring half naked men in a passionate embrace with a buxom woman with long, flowing hair. Given my expectations, Ms. Kelly's overt descriptions of some very kinky sexual acts, dongs, male members, STDs and mistresses truly turned me off. Early in the book we are shown exactly what James did during his 6 month voyage back home. While one could argue that the man had been bereft of human company for 5 long years, I still have a very hard time imagining a good man doing what he did. Perhaps this is a change in her personal writing style. I suspect it is pressure from editors and publishers.
That being said, Ms. Kelly delivered very nicely. No BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. No over-the-top evil antagonists. Just two people trying to make their way through the real world. Ms. Kelly works her magic as she gives both James and Susannah something each is missing through love and friendship with the other.