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Review by Sandy Huseby
A
s BookPage's new romance columnist, I hereby resolve to show you, the reader, the diverse and entertaining world of romance fiction.
Diversity in reading is something I've learned in over a year of reviewing hardcover general fiction for these pages, everything from Anne Rice to Larry McMurtry.
In the months to come, this column will showcase the best of romance fiction. For the stories of romance, of women empowered to choose their men and their lives, are vividly told these days in facets ranging from comic to suspenseful, in stories that entertain and educate and even illuminate the most adventurous of all writing: the exploration of relationships and the inner universe of human emotion.
Starting anew has a bittersweet quality this month. And the not-so-subtle reference to an early LaVyrle Spencer title springs from the announcement by Spencer that "Then Came Heaven" is her final novel.At an age when many writers of the fiction of "woman as hero" are just getting warmed up, Spencer has announced her writing retirement.
"Then Came Heaven" is a fitting climax for a 21-year writing career during which Spencer has gained acclaim for her heartwarming stories of ordinary folk who become as unforgettable as beloved family.
Spencer began her writing career with a historical romance set in Browerville, Minnesota, her hometown. She returns again to that locale to tell us a story of powerful choices.
Those choices confront Eddie Olczak, a loving husband and father, whose wife Krystyna dies in a shattering car-train accident. Always dependent on Krystyna's support as he works for the Polish Catholic church and parochial school virtually every waking hour, Eddie must now cope with caring alone for his two young daughters.
Turning to Krystyna's older sister, Irene, would be an easy choice. After all, Irene has spent hours at her sister's home, doting over the family -- and secretly loving Eddie.
The harder choice would be opening himself to loving Sister Regina, a nun who confronts her own crisis of confidence and faith. Did she rightly choose the religious life, or was it nurtured in her so powerfully from childhood onward by well-meaning family and friends that she never allowed herself to consider an alternative?
The choices these ordinary people face are all the more riveting for their everydayness. Decent, reverent, loving. These people of Browerville, up Highway 71 in Minnesota, are the people you will want to call neighbor, friend, family.
Then Came Heaven
By LaVyrle Spencer
Putnam, $23.95
ISBN 0399143696
Also available on audio from
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Audio ISBN 0787116769
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When the lairds of two neighboring clans betroth their son and daughter, they enact a ritual of the Scottish Highlands designed to insure peace and tranquility.In Pat Potter's "Starcatcher," Marsali Gunn's childish dreams of marriage to Patrick Sutherland are shattered when the two lairds' agreement is severed by rumor of adultery and murder.
Paternal pride, however, will not stand before the determined young couple, who keep their bond by the ritual of handfasting. As Patrick and Marsali conspire with their siblings to resolve the conflicts between the two clans, Potter liberally weaves the "getting to know you" tension of their relationship with the homely realities of clan loyalties and clan intrigues in 17th-century Scotland.
Marsali plays an active role in the efforts to reconcile the two clans while she impresses Patrick with her value as an equal partner in their relationship.
In the process of creating "Starcatcher," Pat Potter proves herself a gifted writer as artisan, creating a rich fabric of strong characters whose wit and intellect will enthrall even as their adventures entertain.
Starcatcher
By Pat Potter
Bantam, $5.99
ISBN 0553575074
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The brave hearts of the Scots hero and heroine beat strong through the centuries and in many clans. Two additional titles worth noting this month also showcase this land of powerful rivalries and equally powerful destinies of romance. Visit the sixteenth century in "The Lady and the Knight", first in Lois Greiman's trilogy of Highland Brides.Stella Cameron brings us closer to home, the mid-nineteenth century, in "Wait for Me". Gray Falconer may think he can meander about the West Indies for years and his fiancee Minerva will dutifully wait for him. But it's about time he learns not to presume anything about Minerva or the gentle countryside he's left behind.
The Lady and the Knight
By Lois Grieman
Avon, $5.99
ISBN 0380794330
Wait for Me
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By Stella Cameron
Warner, $6.50
ISBN 0446604305
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The nineteenth century is as lively on the wild American plains as in the misty hills of Scotland.The roots of the Western romance, as well as the traditional "guy's" Western both spring from the dime novels of the late 1800s. Maureen McKade provides the backdrop of that early pulp fiction in "A Dime Novel Hero" (Avon, $5.99, 0380795043). Hero meets author when Jake Cordell returns to Chaney, Wyoming and discovers his family ranch is now in the hands of Kit Thornton. Kit's childhood adoration of Jake, who came to her defense against schoolyard bullies, continues into adulthood. Under the nom de plume K. C. Thorne, she has told his tales in a popular series of dime novels.
But Jake's return poses multiple problems for Kit. She is raising as her own the child he fathered years earlier. He buys the bank's paper on her mortgage of his family ranch.
And the schoolyard bully has grown up, too, and still challenges Jake as he tries to regain his ranch and establish himself as a lawyer.
McKade shows the West with its raw realities. Kit must cope with chauvinistic prejudice in many guises: the banker's bias against her as a businesswoman, community bias against non-whites, both native and black.
Kit's warmth as she rears young Johnny, her spirited defense of her ranch hands and her loving, growing relationship with Jake make her a woman of the Western tradition worth meeting. McKade may have intended Jake Cordell as the hero, but here both Kit and Jake prove themselves worthy of that designation.
A Dime Novel Hero
By Maureen McKade
Avon, $5.99
ISBN 0380795043
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Edwina Huntington is determined to convert the warehouse she's purchased into a proper ladies finishing school. Tom Wolcott has purchased the same building, and he has plans for a sportsman's paradise, filled with hunting gear and trophy mounts. Everything clashes -- from their businesses even to the paint colors, but that pales in comparison to the determined clash of wills between Tom and Edwina.
Harmony
Pocket Books, $5.99
ISBN 0671002058
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Murder While I Smile
By Joan Smith
Fawcett Crest, $4.50
ISBN 0449224945
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Sandy Huseby lives and writes in Fargo, North Dakota. She is online at SHuseby@aol.com.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.