Normally I’m not a big fan of Harlequin Presents - I want to smack some sense into the arrogant heroes and inject some spine into the virginal heroines. But this one was recommended to me some years ago (and has been languishing in my TBR ever since).
Ishbel's Party by Stacy Absalom (HP 943)
(1987, Contemporary Series) 5/3/06
Grade: 4
After a bombing in Beirut, Bethan is under doctor's orders to rest and recover. She’s been working in war-torn hospitals for ten years, since a drunk driving accident that killed a child. She ends up as nurse and companion to Lorna Rushton, not knowing that her nephew was Fraser Laurie, the man she’d loved who abandoned her after the accident. At first Fraser is harsh and unforgiving, but as he gets to know Bethan again, he tries to help her recover from her guilt and doubt - but what about his young, innocent fiance?
The story is typical Presents - the misunderstandings, the other woman, the purple prose, the ending that wraps up everything a little too neatly. But Bethan is an interesting heroine, and most of the book focuses on her journey and her character. The author makes her sympathetic despite her too-perfect innocence. Fraser is definitely an alpha hero, and he's less believable, especially when he erupts with purple prose near the end. But he manages to get over his fits of arrogance without crossing into “jerk” territory. Despite the sometimes over the top story and dated language, I enjoyed it.
I doubt I'll become a Presents fan, but this one was an interesting change of pace.
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