Shirlee Busbee
Author of Scandal Becomes Her
About the Author
Shirlee Busbee was born on August 9, 1941 in San Jose, California. She received a certificate from the Burbank Business College in 1962. She has worked as a receptionist for the Marin County Title and Abstract Co., as plant supervisor for Fairfield Title Co., and as secretary and drafting show more technician for the County Parks Department of Fairfield, California. She started writing historical romance novels in 1977. She has written over 18 books including Gypsy Lady, Lady Vixen, Love a Dark Rider, A Heart for the Taking, and Love Be Mine. She has received numerous awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Works by Shirlee Busbee
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Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Busbee, Shirlee Elaine
- Birthdate
- 1941-08-09
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Burbank Business College of Santa Rosa
- Short biography
- Shirlee Elaine was born August 9, 1941 in San Jose, California, USA. She was the first daughter of a career naval officer, later she had two sisters and three brothers, they raised traveling the world. She went to the institute in Kentri, Morocco, after which she returned to California and she went to Burbank Bussines College of Santa Rosa, where she received a certificate in 1962.
Shirlee married with Howard Busbee in June 22, 1963. Now, they live in hills of California, where they raise for pleasure Standard Schnauzers, Standardbred horses, and other many animals.
She has worked as a receptionist for the Marin County Title and Abstract Co., as plant supervisor for Fairfield Title Co., and as secretary and drafting technician for the County Parks Department of Fairfield, California, where she met her life-long friend and mentor Rosemary Rogers. Published since 1977, Shirlee Busbee is the proud author of over 18 novels, including seven New York Times bestsellers. With over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards.
You may write to Shirlee Busbee care of C/O Warner Books, Inc., Time and Life Building, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- San Jose, California, USA
- Places of residence
- San Jose, California, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- San Jose, California, USA
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Reviews
Shirley Busbee's "Rapture Becomes Her" is an involving historical adventure featuring a lovely and passionate romance. Emily Townsend, a squire's daughter raised to be a lady, dresses as a man in order to lead a band of smugglers to provide much needed income for her family estate in Sussex. After her father's death, her cousin Jeffrey had assumed the role of squire and promptly squandered the family fortune. Having grown up with vivid tales of bold smugglers plying their trade in her local show more coastal village, Emily forms her own band of privateers, including some of her own servants. On one of the smuggling runs, Emily's boat captain, Jeb, rescues a nearly-drowned stranger from the sea. Barnaby, Viscount Joslyn, is newly arrived from America to view his inherited properties when an attempt is made on his life. Finding himself rescued by those on the wrong side of the law is just the beginning of Barnaby's adventures. When he realizes that Emily is the bold leader of the enterprising band of entrepreneurs, his attraction to her intelligence and spirit steadily increases. Emily has never met a man like Barnaby, a large, commanding figure who is also thoughtful and down-to-earth. Their mutual admiration takes them both unawares, and their developing relationship is a pleasure to follow. The action and mystery of the story line is first-rate. I particularly enjoyed the stellar cast of supporting characters who added the salt and pepper to the delightful dish of "Rapture Becomes Her". show less
Before I read this book, I was surfing for info on Shirlee Busbee's novels, and discovered that some people hated "Gypsy Lady", others loved it. Some gave it one star, others four or even five. I decided to check it out for myself and discovered, as I suspected, that it was somewhere in between.
To me, this book had too much going for it for anyone to hate, yet too many flaws for anyone to love. It's a book to be liked, with reservations. It had flaws (which I'll get into first), good points, show more and things that could have been better.
One of the flaws was the rather silly beginning story of the h, Catherine and her half-brother, Adam being kidnapped as little children by gypsies, due to the machinations of their evil, greedy cousin, Clive (who really wanted them dead), and some years later, (and even sillier) having their adopted gypsy parents return them to their family, simply to do the right thing. All this was to give the brother and sister an excuse to be a bit wild and unconventional. It could have been done without that nonsense, just by having gypsies in the neighborhood that captured their attention, especially since their gypsy "family" disappears from the story, (after still being involved in their lives years after their return, without paying any price for the kidnapping, UNBELIEVABLE) and are then apparently forgotten, as if they never existed.
Another flaw was using the gypsies to get Catherine and the H, Jason Savage, together, since it could have worked well, if it had been done properly. Jason was in England, ostensibly to buy horses but really on a diplomatic mission for Pres. Jefferson, involving the Louisiana Purchase. Catherine divided her time between her proper British home and the wild gypsy camp, where she goes by her gypsy name, Tamara. Jason mistakenly thinks she's Clive's mistress, pursues her, (rather rudely), she comes up with a funny scheme to meet him in his suite, but has an elderly gypsy woman take her place! That should have given him a laugh, despite the blow to his pride, he should have told her, "Well played, you won this round, but my turn next". Instead, he retaliates by kidnapping her, stripping her, raping her (he had a moment of remorse when he discovered she was the virgin she claimed to be, but then raped her again) and making crude comments about what her relationship to Clive must have been. Prince Charming he sure ain't!!
Not to go into every detail, they have a rocky relationship, and when he later discovers her real identity, he feels compelled to make an honest woman of her, much to the protest of Catherine's cousin Elizabeth, whom Jason had been sleeping with. Overhearing Jason tell Elizabeth he only wants a wife so he'll have legitimate heirs, Catherine, who's now in love with Jason, does what most h's do in a difficult situation, runs away. (All the way to Mississippi, in fact, where her brother Adam lives.) While I usually get a bit annoyed with the wife who flees rather than stays and fights, in this case, I see her point. Who wants to be thought of as a brood mare?
More flaws follow. Naturally, they meet again, when he spots her in New Orleans, obviously pregnant, and with her brother, whom he assumes is her lover. (Considering the timing, it never occurred to him that the baby was his? He just assumed she found another man ASAP and got knocked up quick. Brilliant!) Meanwhile, before he settled down to running a plantation, he had turned into a wild man, drinking, gambling, partying, dueling and especially whoring. He lost count of the women he slept with, which made it a wonder he was still functioning, he should have been a walking STD! While I can understand him having a mistress or a couple of short-term relationships, (Catherine left him so he didn't owe her any fidelity) he didn't have to make a spig of himself. (That's my word for a sex pig: a woman who can't keep her legs closed, or a man who, to quote John Adams, dips his pen in too many inkwells.)
Anyway, Ms. Busbee goes on to waste time with silliness, as Jason finds Catherine at Adam's, assumes they're lovers, she gets stubborn and doesn't deny it, he thinks their son, Nicholas, is Adam's child, again, she lets him believe that (one good look at the baby who resembled him so much would have put him wise, but naturally that doesn't happen) and he insists she accompany him back to his plantation and resume being his wife. There's a long stretch of typical one step forward two steps back, as they both get more and more STUPID and keep hiding their true feelings. He realizes Nicholas is his son, is furious that she didn't tell him at once, they have a violent (literally) argument, where she foolishly states she'll get back at him by sleeping with other men and making him raise a bunch of bastards and he hits her so hard she gets a bruised face and swollen lip! Ironically, right after this, Catherine decides they should try to work things out! WTF!!! Plenty of times she should have given that a try but instead she got stubborn and acted bitchy, now, after he gets abusive, she wants to work on their marriage! Sheer lunacy!!
Another mistake was a really sappy romantic subplot between Jason's father and Catherine's mother (it turns out Adam is Jason's brother, too), that kind of gives things an incest vibe, YUCK!!
Also, the parents wanted things to work out for the couple and were concerned about all their troubles and wanted to help, but then did absolutely nothing but take up space. Boring!! (And so was their pathetic love story.)
Then, with all the things keeping them apart, you would think another pregnancy would help bring them together. No such luck, as Jason, with a lot on his mind, didn't show the enthusiasm he should have, so Catherine assumed he didn't want the baby as more than a spare to the heir, and started feeling like a brood mare, (yes, the rhymes are intentional) so she got snarky, he got angry, they drifted apart yet again, and once again they go from nightly lust fests to staying in their separate bedrooms.
Another big mistake is Catherine getting kidnapped toward the end of the book, by Jason's former friend and now worst enemy, Devalos, who rapes Catherine. Was that really necessary??? All it did was serve as another obstacle to getting the couple back on track. (Catherine lost the baby, and neither she nor Jason seemed to care all that much.) Also, in order to escape she had to kill one of Devalos's men, and she was traumatized by that, but then it was just brushed off as if it never happened. It was also ridiculous for Catherine to show bravado by constantly saying nasty things to Devalos, since every time she did, he'd react by hitting or kicking her, so either she's a closet masochist or else incredibly dumb, since you would think she'd try to avoid more violence, because she was pregnant. But then again, she wasn't all that interested in the baby, any more than Jason was.
Later, while he's caring for her, Catherine starts to talk about the rape and mistakes Jason's anger at Devalos and thinks he blames her, leading to more angry words and foolish stubbornness from them both. Finally, after a couple of months of separate beds and a phony act around others of being a happy couple, to help get her through the trauma, Jason makes love to her, but the abrupt way he handled it made it seem like another rape. He should have gotten them closer in stages, just held her one night, the next the same thing but with their clothes off, then touching each other, then having sex (I should have been a therapist, not to mention an author!)
As with a lot of early HR novels, the couple spends more time apart than together, then when they are together, misunderstandings always get in the way.
Okay, what I liked about the story was the historical detail, which was a good background as well as informative. You learn about the climate in both America and England during the Peace of Amiens, details of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans history, and both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe have some scenes with Jason. There's also an adventure story in the beginning, with Jason, his Native friend Blood Drinker, and the late Philip Nolan (killed by Devalos), a discovered treasure and legend of a lost city. (That story ties in with both Devalos and Clive, who also meets his end, thanks to the vengeful Spaniard.) There was potential here for the story to go another way. For instance, right before Clive was killed, he had a fight with Jason (whom he also dueled with) so it could have been written that Jason was accused of killing Clive, was imprisoned, and Catherine had to help discover the truth. There was also talk of Jason's political involvement in New Orleans, acting as spy for the new government, and Catherine could have figured in there, too. So much wasted potential.
BTW: for anyone who might be thinking why Catherine would fall in love with Jason, with all his flaws, they have to remember that she was hardly your typical society woman. Part wild gypsy, feisty, independent, nonconformist, as well as intelligent, fun loving, and caring (when she lets herself), she would hardly be satisfied with a typical man of that time, one who was either a stickler for society's rules, or one who played the adoring suitor, showering her with respectful attention, like that goofy friend of Adam's, Godfrey, whom Jason scared away. No betas for this lady, she needs an alpha to fight with, and she sure got one!
All things considered, this novel should have been a rough draft, and polished up later. show less
To me, this book had too much going for it for anyone to hate, yet too many flaws for anyone to love. It's a book to be liked, with reservations. It had flaws (which I'll get into first), good points, show more and things that could have been better.
One of the flaws was the rather silly beginning story of the h, Catherine and her half-brother, Adam being kidnapped as little children by gypsies, due to the machinations of their evil, greedy cousin, Clive (who really wanted them dead), and some years later, (and even sillier) having their adopted gypsy parents return them to their family, simply to do the right thing. All this was to give the brother and sister an excuse to be a bit wild and unconventional. It could have been done without that nonsense, just by having gypsies in the neighborhood that captured their attention, especially since their gypsy "family" disappears from the story, (after still being involved in their lives years after their return, without paying any price for the kidnapping, UNBELIEVABLE) and are then apparently forgotten, as if they never existed.
Another flaw was using the gypsies to get Catherine and the H, Jason Savage, together, since it could have worked well, if it had been done properly. Jason was in England, ostensibly to buy horses but really on a diplomatic mission for Pres. Jefferson, involving the Louisiana Purchase. Catherine divided her time between her proper British home and the wild gypsy camp, where she goes by her gypsy name, Tamara. Jason mistakenly thinks she's Clive's mistress, pursues her, (rather rudely), she comes up with a funny scheme to meet him in his suite, but has an elderly gypsy woman take her place! That should have given him a laugh, despite the blow to his pride, he should have told her, "Well played, you won this round, but my turn next". Instead, he retaliates by kidnapping her, stripping her, raping her (he had a moment of remorse when he discovered she was the virgin she claimed to be, but then raped her again) and making crude comments about what her relationship to Clive must have been. Prince Charming he sure ain't!!
Not to go into every detail, they have a rocky relationship, and when he later discovers her real identity, he feels compelled to make an honest woman of her, much to the protest of Catherine's cousin Elizabeth, whom Jason had been sleeping with. Overhearing Jason tell Elizabeth he only wants a wife so he'll have legitimate heirs, Catherine, who's now in love with Jason, does what most h's do in a difficult situation, runs away. (All the way to Mississippi, in fact, where her brother Adam lives.) While I usually get a bit annoyed with the wife who flees rather than stays and fights, in this case, I see her point. Who wants to be thought of as a brood mare?
More flaws follow. Naturally, they meet again, when he spots her in New Orleans, obviously pregnant, and with her brother, whom he assumes is her lover. (Considering the timing, it never occurred to him that the baby was his? He just assumed she found another man ASAP and got knocked up quick. Brilliant!) Meanwhile, before he settled down to running a plantation, he had turned into a wild man, drinking, gambling, partying, dueling and especially whoring. He lost count of the women he slept with, which made it a wonder he was still functioning, he should have been a walking STD! While I can understand him having a mistress or a couple of short-term relationships, (Catherine left him so he didn't owe her any fidelity) he didn't have to make a spig of himself. (That's my word for a sex pig: a woman who can't keep her legs closed, or a man who, to quote John Adams, dips his pen in too many inkwells.)
Anyway, Ms. Busbee goes on to waste time with silliness, as Jason finds Catherine at Adam's, assumes they're lovers, she gets stubborn and doesn't deny it, he thinks their son, Nicholas, is Adam's child, again, she lets him believe that (one good look at the baby who resembled him so much would have put him wise, but naturally that doesn't happen) and he insists she accompany him back to his plantation and resume being his wife. There's a long stretch of typical one step forward two steps back, as they both get more and more STUPID and keep hiding their true feelings. He realizes Nicholas is his son, is furious that she didn't tell him at once, they have a violent (literally) argument, where she foolishly states she'll get back at him by sleeping with other men and making him raise a bunch of bastards and he hits her so hard she gets a bruised face and swollen lip! Ironically, right after this, Catherine decides they should try to work things out! WTF!!! Plenty of times she should have given that a try but instead she got stubborn and acted bitchy, now, after he gets abusive, she wants to work on their marriage! Sheer lunacy!!
Another mistake was a really sappy romantic subplot between Jason's father and Catherine's mother (it turns out Adam is Jason's brother, too), that kind of gives things an incest vibe, YUCK!!
Also, the parents wanted things to work out for the couple and were concerned about all their troubles and wanted to help, but then did absolutely nothing but take up space. Boring!! (And so was their pathetic love story.)
Then, with all the things keeping them apart, you would think another pregnancy would help bring them together. No such luck, as Jason, with a lot on his mind, didn't show the enthusiasm he should have, so Catherine assumed he didn't want the baby as more than a spare to the heir, and started feeling like a brood mare, (yes, the rhymes are intentional) so she got snarky, he got angry, they drifted apart yet again, and once again they go from nightly lust fests to staying in their separate bedrooms.
Another big mistake is Catherine getting kidnapped toward the end of the book, by Jason's former friend and now worst enemy, Devalos, who rapes Catherine. Was that really necessary??? All it did was serve as another obstacle to getting the couple back on track. (Catherine lost the baby, and neither she nor Jason seemed to care all that much.) Also, in order to escape she had to kill one of Devalos's men, and she was traumatized by that, but then it was just brushed off as if it never happened. It was also ridiculous for Catherine to show bravado by constantly saying nasty things to Devalos, since every time she did, he'd react by hitting or kicking her, so either she's a closet masochist or else incredibly dumb, since you would think she'd try to avoid more violence, because she was pregnant. But then again, she wasn't all that interested in the baby, any more than Jason was.
Later, while he's caring for her, Catherine starts to talk about the rape and mistakes Jason's anger at Devalos and thinks he blames her, leading to more angry words and foolish stubbornness from them both. Finally, after a couple of months of separate beds and a phony act around others of being a happy couple, to help get her through the trauma, Jason makes love to her, but the abrupt way he handled it made it seem like another rape. He should have gotten them closer in stages, just held her one night, the next the same thing but with their clothes off, then touching each other, then having sex (I should have been a therapist, not to mention an author!)
As with a lot of early HR novels, the couple spends more time apart than together, then when they are together, misunderstandings always get in the way.
Okay, what I liked about the story was the historical detail, which was a good background as well as informative. You learn about the climate in both America and England during the Peace of Amiens, details of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans history, and both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe have some scenes with Jason. There's also an adventure story in the beginning, with Jason, his Native friend Blood Drinker, and the late Philip Nolan (killed by Devalos), a discovered treasure and legend of a lost city. (That story ties in with both Devalos and Clive, who also meets his end, thanks to the vengeful Spaniard.) There was potential here for the story to go another way. For instance, right before Clive was killed, he had a fight with Jason (whom he also dueled with) so it could have been written that Jason was accused of killing Clive, was imprisoned, and Catherine had to help discover the truth. There was also talk of Jason's political involvement in New Orleans, acting as spy for the new government, and Catherine could have figured in there, too. So much wasted potential.
BTW: for anyone who might be thinking why Catherine would fall in love with Jason, with all his flaws, they have to remember that she was hardly your typical society woman. Part wild gypsy, feisty, independent, nonconformist, as well as intelligent, fun loving, and caring (when she lets herself), she would hardly be satisfied with a typical man of that time, one who was either a stickler for society's rules, or one who played the adoring suitor, showering her with respectful attention, like that goofy friend of Adam's, Godfrey, whom Jason scared away. No betas for this lady, she needs an alpha to fight with, and she sure got one!
All things considered, this novel should have been a rough draft, and polished up later. show less
This type of romance book is not very common in today's romance, and was written during a time (70s, 80s, and even into the early 90s) when certain elements of romance were more common: the harsh alpha male hero and "forced seductions" (in other words, borderline rape scenes) were the norm. Nothing wrong with this type of romance, it has its own unique charm and in some ways I enjoy reading these older romances more than ones written by today's authors.
I have found that the historical show more romances written during this time period were very detailed and that the authors researched into the history of the setting of their stories (another author that comes to mind was Kathleen E. Woodiwiss). This is the 2nd Shirlee Busbee book I've read and the author did an incredible job in laying the background of what was occurring politically between England and Spain and their colonies in the New World.
The story is set in 1664-1668 and takes place mostly in the islands of the Caribbean. There are pirates, raiding, and fighting, and while reading The Spanish Rose it really did bring to mind swashbuckling pirates and captive damsels in distress. The descriptions of the battles between the English buccaneers and the Spaniards and the lush tropical islands of the Caribbean were vividly described that I could almost picture the scenes in my mind.
The hero, Gabriel Lancaster, is captured by the heroine's brother, Diego Delgato, during a fight at sea in which his young wife is killed and his sister taken captive. He is made a slave on the Delgato plantation on Santa Domingo for a year before he escapes where he later joins the Brethren of the Coast, a band of English pirates and plans his revenge. His revenge involves using the heroine, Maria Delgato, to strike back and he waits and bides his time. When he finally gets a hold of Maria, his plans for revenge backfire as he finds himself falling for his captive.
I really enjoyed this book, but the hero, Gabriel Lancaster, and the heroine, Maria Delgato could get really frustrating at times. The hero and heroine fought a lot throughout the book, and their desire for each other and determination not to give in could get tiring at times. I could understand that there was bitterness and hatred between the English Lancasters and Spanish Delgatos (all stemming from an event 100 years in the past!), but I felt the hero and heroine were too stubborn in their pride in not admitting to themselves how they truly felt for one another. They bicker, fight, make up until almost the very end of the book when they finally can no longer deny their love.
Despite the character flaws of the hero and heroine, I'd still recommend reading this book, the emotions and thoughts behind the characters were fully fleshed out and there was no question behind their behaviors and actions. Not to mention, the incredible richness of the scenery and setting of the story more than made up for the small annoyances I had with the hero and heroine. show less
I have found that the historical show more romances written during this time period were very detailed and that the authors researched into the history of the setting of their stories (another author that comes to mind was Kathleen E. Woodiwiss). This is the 2nd Shirlee Busbee book I've read and the author did an incredible job in laying the background of what was occurring politically between England and Spain and their colonies in the New World.
The story is set in 1664-1668 and takes place mostly in the islands of the Caribbean. There are pirates, raiding, and fighting, and while reading The Spanish Rose it really did bring to mind swashbuckling pirates and captive damsels in distress. The descriptions of the battles between the English buccaneers and the Spaniards and the lush tropical islands of the Caribbean were vividly described that I could almost picture the scenes in my mind.
The hero, Gabriel Lancaster, is captured by the heroine's brother, Diego Delgato, during a fight at sea in which his young wife is killed and his sister taken captive. He is made a slave on the Delgato plantation on Santa Domingo for a year before he escapes where he later joins the Brethren of the Coast, a band of English pirates and plans his revenge. His revenge involves using the heroine, Maria Delgato, to strike back and he waits and bides his time. When he finally gets a hold of Maria, his plans for revenge backfire as he finds himself falling for his captive.
I really enjoyed this book, but the hero, Gabriel Lancaster, and the heroine, Maria Delgato could get really frustrating at times. The hero and heroine fought a lot throughout the book, and their desire for each other and determination not to give in could get tiring at times. I could understand that there was bitterness and hatred between the English Lancasters and Spanish Delgatos (all stemming from an event 100 years in the past!), but I felt the hero and heroine were too stubborn in their pride in not admitting to themselves how they truly felt for one another. They bicker, fight, make up until almost the very end of the book when they finally can no longer deny their love.
Despite the character flaws of the hero and heroine, I'd still recommend reading this book, the emotions and thoughts behind the characters were fully fleshed out and there was no question behind their behaviors and actions. Not to mention, the incredible richness of the scenery and setting of the story more than made up for the small annoyances I had with the hero and heroine. show less
RAPTURE BECOMES HER by Shirlee Busbee is an exciting historical romance set in Regency England.It is written with depth and details. The characters are engaging,believable,charming and will capture your heart. It has romance,love,sweet sensuality,secrets, drama,attempted murder,family,passion,smugglers,intrigue,and danger. Emily Townsend is gently bred,leads a ring of smugglers,has a wastrel cousin,high spirited,and will lose than her life in the end. Viscount Joslyn,is handsome,sexy,a new show more viscount,from America,determined to uncover who is trying to kill him. Together, Viscount Joslyn and Emily must elude danger,surrender to an irresistible love,and risk everything on their biggest gambit ever. Stopping smugglers and finding a killer could cost them everything including their lives. This is a fast paced story of love,danger and finding happiness. A must read and a keeper. This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher. Details can be found at Zebra Books,published by Kensington Publishing Corp and My Book Addiction Reviews. show less
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