Elizabeth Doyle - Shannon Drake - Karen Drogin
Doyle, Elizabeth - PRECIOUS PASSION (Zebra - 1/00) (4)
Setting: England, 1800s
Set during a time period when a woman was not considered a
person in her own right, PRECIOUS PASSION is the story of a talented young musician, Aurora Black, who tries to overcome
her family's strictures concerning her desire for a vocation.
Aurora is a pianist who writes and plays music as if born to the task. She lives with her ill mother and a mean-spirited aunt, who enjoy Aurora's music but do not understand her total devotion to the art. After Aurora's mother convinces her that she must marry, she accepts the marriage proposal of John Henderson; but Aurora is unaware that he plans to completely remove music from her life.
Max Birmingham, also a music lover, tries to help Aurora realize her ambition to be a concert pianist. Being part of the elite ton, he has contacts that will allow her to pursue her musical goals of performing and composing. He also helps Aurora try to find the cure for the illness that is slowly killing her mother.
Max and Aurora's fiancé had once been boyhood friends, so he tries to convince Aurora that John is a cold, heartless individual. By this time, of course, Max is madly in love with Aurora and wants her to admit to having the same feelings for him. He is a wonderful lover and quite determined to make her feel as no delicate flower of Victorian feminism ought to feel!
Elizabeth Doyle has hit on two things in life that bring people together: similar interests and deep love. PRECIOUS PASSION shows passion for music when a true vocation is felt, while the story beautifully illustrates true passion between two people who are right for each other. A fine debut. Well done, Ms. Doyle. ~Vicki Patterson for Bookbug on the Web
Drake, Shannon - KING'S PLEASURE, THE (Zebra - 1998) (3+)
At the age of ten, Adrian won King Edward's favor by giving him the key to taking the French castle Aville. Years later, he became the King's champion and was known as the fiercest warrior in all England and France. The King rewarded him for his loyalty by giving his ward Danielle in marriage, along with Aville and its surrounding land.
When her mother was on her deathbead, Danielle misunderstood her final words and vowed she would do anything to keep the future King of France safe. She is no shrinking violet and has just cause to detest Adrian as he was responsible for the capture of Aville. Adrian is a fierce and demanding man, but he is captivated by Danielle. He must keep a constant watch over her, however; believing she will either try to kill or betray him. THE KING'S PLEASURE is full of irony and unexpected happenings, and after the slow beginning it turned into a real page-turner for me. ~Carol C. (angelca@ibm.net)
Drogin, Karen - PERFECT PARTNERS (Zebra Bouquet - 1999) (4+)
Chelsie Russell and Griffin Stuart are attorneys and in-laws (her sister married his brother). A painful episode in Chelsie's past caused her to pull away from her sister and limit their contact
to only phone calls. When the unthinkable happens and her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, she mourns their death and regrets the decision she'd made to cut the close personal ties with her sister.
Chelsie lets her guilt get in the way of her better judgement and agrees to represent her parents in a custody battle against Griffin. Ashamed by the bribery tactics her parents attempt to use, however, she actually comes to hope she'll lose the case so Griffin will get custody of her (and his) two-year-old niece, Alix. When the judge decides in Griffin's favor, Chelsie attempts to apologize to him for her parents' behavior and she offers any help she may be able to give regarding Alix, but he angrily turns away from her.
Griffin helped raise his brother when their mother deserted them as children, so the pain he feels is almost overwhelming. He vows to provide the kind of care and nurturing Alix would have received from her parents. He even changes his law practice to a family practice and begins to work out of an office in his home in order to be near his niece. Those measures don't appear to be enough, however. Alix begins to have nightmares, so Griffin seeks Chelsie's help.
PERFECT PARTNERS is a wonderfully romantic story about two hurting, vulnerable people who are trying to raise a scared, hurt child. How they each attempt to get their feelings across to the other is what makes this book work. The vulnerability, the memories they carry, and the attraction both feel for the other is so well depicted that these characters become real. Fast-paced and packed with emotion, PERFECT PARTNERS is destined for my keeper shelf. Karen Drogin, who also writes as Carly Phillips, is an author to watch, no matter which name she writes under. ~Pat Cavender for Bookbug on the Web
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