Mary Wibberley (1934–2013)

A fifty-year-old romance that shows how much the genre has changed. All in all, I enjoyed the story. There is a spoiled rich girl who thinks everyone should jump to her bidding. Taking her on is the hired pilot who calls her out on her attitude. The sparks fly from the moment they meet.

Eve is a spoiled, rich girl who has had everything handed to her her entire life. As the story opens, she feels jaded by the life she's living and decides to visit a school friend in Finland. This friend show more always treated her like a normal person. She hires a pilot to take her to the remote town and expects him to accede to her every demand. Garth accepts the job but has no intention of being her lapdog. He makes it clear from the start that he has no use for spoiled rich people.

I didn't like Eve much at first. She was entitled, sarcastic, and snooty, though not mean. Garth rubs her the wrong way from the moment they met. She always feels as though he is laughing at her. He does come across as judgmental. He teases her frequently about her easy life, and seems amused when she talks back to him. There's a hiccup in the plan to visit her friend, which forces them to spend more time together. There are some good moments between them, but there are also more instances of Garth's judgmental attitude.

Matters became complicated when the plane malfunctioned on their flight back to Helsinki. A forced landing in the midst of a storm strands them in a primitive wilderness cabin. The situation calls for cooperation, not confrontation. I liked seeing the changes in Eve as she discovered new abilities. Along with the decrease in antagonism came the realization that she had very different feelings for Garth. Before she can do anything about those feelings, she makes a disturbing discovery.

I felt bad for Eve and understood the feelings of hurt and betrayal that led to her injury. I liked how he took care of her and that he accepted his responsibility. I liked the ending and that she made him work for her forgiveness.

One of the differences I noticed about this older book is the lack of the male viewpoint. In most current romances, we see events from both main characters. I missed getting a look at Garth's thoughts and motivations. show less

A Dangerous Man by Anne Brooke is a re-release of a dark, psychological thriller that still stands out in my memory from two years ago. Just to be clear, I should say that it doesn’t give you the Happily Ever After ending that you might expect from traditional romance. You don’t even get a Happy For Now ending. This story reads more like gay-themed literary fiction, but it definitely has a lot to offer fans of m/m romance. It provides a vivid sense of place (mostly London, England) and show more is steeped in British culture. (A character hears another character’s voice as low and husky and “… a thousand notches above mine on the social scale.”) The strong plot and fast pacing draw you in to the psychological mystery surrounding Michael. What is the nature of his emotional disturbance and what in his past has made him what he is? The answer, finally revealed, is devastating.

The story opens with Michael, a handsome 24 year-old artist who is sometimes a prostitute. Though very talented, he can’t break into the art world because he does disturbing charcoal sketches of still-life arrangements. The prevailing trend in the London art world is nostalgic oil landscapes of the British countryside. Even so, several good people value Michael enough to try to help him, including a receptionist at an art gallery, the owner of the art gallery, and an aging bartender who’s attracted to him. Michael’s moods soar or plummet, depending upon what happens to him, affecting his fragile sense of identity. He gets an unexpected lucky break with a job to do some contemporary abstract art for an important firm, which leads to a loving relationship with a handsome executive. However, Michael’s past is waiting for a chance to destroy him. Because he’s such a sympathetic character, I couldn’t put down this powerful page-turner.

Val for AReCafe show less

3-1/2 stars
Well, that was different. Three separate scenes of dubious consent between the heroine and her divorced husband. And that wasn't even what was so odd. This one was chock full of secondary characters. These were secondary characters with a lot of page time. There was even one that I thought would be a good 2nd husband for the heroine. The story revolved around a bunch of Hollywood types who invade the inn where she is helping her cousin and incidentally her ex husband who is show more writing a novel which is to be turned into a movie by the Hollywood guys is there too. There isn't really any falling back in love and no real working things out. They just haven't ever gotten over each other. But the hero does keep forcing her to have sex while helping her run the inn. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure why really. show less

Another great book to read if you dream of writing a romance novel! As this was published in the mid 1980s, some of the content is terribly dated! (I doubt many aspiring authors are using a typewriter these days!) But don’t let that put you off reading it!

Mary Wibberley offers fantastic tips and advice on characters, settings, plot points and wording. I took many notes that I’m sure to refer back to when writing my own novel. It’s also a fun easy read. She has a very conversational show more tone, compared to many books about writing which can be dull!

Definitely recommend to budding romance writers! show less