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A Candle in the Dark
"I NEED A MAN ... ANY MAN."
She had blood on her dress and trouble in her eyes when she walked into Cavey Davey's tavern and roused Dr. Cain D'Alessandro from his drunken stupor. The sight of Ana, "The Duchess" --- beautiful, icy, desperate --- almost sobered him. She looked like a whore and spoke like a lady ... who had just committed murder.
She had money, and they both needed to escape. So Cain D'Alessandro agreed to pose as her husband on the dangerous trip through Panama to California. But Ana hadn't reckoned on a full ship of sailors --- or the perilous trip through the Panamanian wilderness. All she had was Cain, an intimate stranger forced to abandon his liquor to save them both. Suddenly he was a threat, capable of seeing her weakness and offering his strength. And all he asked for in return was her love, something she'd never given to any man before ...
She had blood on her dress and trouble in her eyes when she walked into Cavey Davey's tavern and roused Dr. Cain D'Alessandro from his drunken stupor. The sight of Ana, "The Duchess" --- beautiful, icy, desperate --- almost sobered him. She looked like a whore and spoke like a lady ... who had just committed murder.
She had money, and they both needed to escape. So Cain D'Alessandro agreed to pose as her husband on the dangerous trip through Panama to California. But Ana hadn't reckoned on a full ship of sailors --- or the perilous trip through the Panamanian wilderness. All she had was Cain, an intimate stranger forced to abandon his liquor to save them both. Suddenly he was a threat, capable of seeing her weakness and offering his strength. And all he asked for in return was her love, something she'd never given to any man before ...
10 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 2, 1993
9 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Megan Chance
32 books708 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Megan Chance is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of several novels. Booklist calls her writing “Provocative and haunting.” Her books have been chosen by Amazon's Book of the Month, Borders Original Voices and IndieNext. A former television news photographer with a BA from Western Washington University, Megan Chance lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Visit her at www.meganchance.com
Megan Chance is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of several novels. Booklist calls her writing “Provocative and haunting.” Her books have been chosen by Amazon's Book of the Month, Borders Original Voices and IndieNext. A former television news photographer with a BA from Western Washington University, Megan Chance lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Visit her at www.meganchance.com
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 30, 2017
I bought this book on a whim, having no idea what to expect, but boy, am I glad I did! I couldn't put it down, and it's been awhile since I've read a romance THAT good. "A Candle in the Dark" is, hands down, one of the best romances I've ever read.
First of all, the setting. This is NOT another boring romance set in Regency England, which, quite frankly, I've grown rather tired of. "A Candle in the Dark" takes you from New York to the lush, exotic jungle of Panama, and I enjoyed every single minute of it!
Your heart breaks for both the hero and heroine, as you quickly discover that they are both broken individuals in desperate need of someone to love. Both have given up on such a frivolous notion. Ana, the heroine, is a prostitute who goes by The Duchess...the ice princess who never melts for anyone, and hides her heart behind a protective wall. After killing the man who is abusing her, she desperately needs to disappear, and she hires Cain D'Alessandro to help her. Cain is a doctor, but is haunted by his past failures and the complete lack of faith his parents had in him. He's turned to alcohol to drown out the memories and dark voices in his head. He is a SERIOUS alcoholic...the kind that gets physically ill if he doesn't get his next drink.
Together this couple learn to trust and love, and it is SO sweet when they do.
The steam level on this book is much lower than what I usually prefer, but the story was SO good I didn't care one whit. There is only one love scene, but it has an agonizingly sweet buildup, and the scene definitely delivers. It's erotic and sensual, while still being incredibly tender.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something different than the norm, and who enjoys books with tortured heroes (and tortured heroines as well!) who find healing in each other. There is plenty of emotional angst, but the ending is definitely sweet and satisfying.
An awesome read, and as I said, probably one of the best romances I have ever read. Seriously, it's THAT good!
First of all, the setting. This is NOT another boring romance set in Regency England, which, quite frankly, I've grown rather tired of. "A Candle in the Dark" takes you from New York to the lush, exotic jungle of Panama, and I enjoyed every single minute of it!
Your heart breaks for both the hero and heroine, as you quickly discover that they are both broken individuals in desperate need of someone to love. Both have given up on such a frivolous notion. Ana, the heroine, is a prostitute who goes by The Duchess...the ice princess who never melts for anyone, and hides her heart behind a protective wall. After killing the man who is abusing her, she desperately needs to disappear, and she hires Cain D'Alessandro to help her. Cain is a doctor, but is haunted by his past failures and the complete lack of faith his parents had in him. He's turned to alcohol to drown out the memories and dark voices in his head. He is a SERIOUS alcoholic...the kind that gets physically ill if he doesn't get his next drink.
Together this couple learn to trust and love, and it is SO sweet when they do.
The steam level on this book is much lower than what I usually prefer, but the story was SO good I didn't care one whit. There is only one love scene, but it has an agonizingly sweet buildup, and the scene definitely delivers. It's erotic and sensual, while still being incredibly tender.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something different than the norm, and who enjoys books with tortured heroes (and tortured heroines as well!) who find healing in each other. There is plenty of emotional angst, but the ending is definitely sweet and satisfying.
An awesome read, and as I said, probably one of the best romances I have ever read. Seriously, it's THAT good!
March 4, 2015
4.5 stars
Another controversial book by Megan Chance with the heroine being a prostitute and the hero an alcoholic for almost the entirety of the book. And still poignant and emotional and heartwrenching, as we get to watch two very flawed persons coming to care for each other and find salvation and hope in their love. Unique setting in the jungles of Panama, a bit of adventure, tons of drama and self -flagellation make this a very, very exciting read. I have to thank my friend AJ for bringing this author -and this book in particular- to my attention. I feel as if I've hit on a goldmine:)
Another controversial book by Megan Chance with the heroine being a prostitute and the hero an alcoholic for almost the entirety of the book. And still poignant and emotional and heartwrenching, as we get to watch two very flawed persons coming to care for each other and find salvation and hope in their love. Unique setting in the jungles of Panama, a bit of adventure, tons of drama and self -flagellation make this a very, very exciting read. I have to thank my friend AJ for bringing this author -and this book in particular- to my attention. I feel as if I've hit on a goldmine:)
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January 30, 2024Absolutely gorgeous cover. Really rooting for this one and can see why this may be rated high. Hero is an alcoholic doctor (gentle hints dropped tragic backstory and comes from a well-off family), his pining for the heroine is something real. Heroine is a courtesan on the run, high and mighty, scornful of the hero but also scared of intimacy he asks for.
DNF because not enough romance.
DNF because not enough romance.
January 11, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I'm beginning to believe that when I need a full-length historical romance with plenty of restlessness, internally tortured souls and loads of apprehension, Megan Chance is my new go-to author. She understands how to yank my chains and push my buttons.
Dr. Cain D'Alessandro had seen better days. He was a drunkard and lush. When given a choice of anything and the bottle, he always chose alcohol.
Ana 'The Duchess' was a prostitute and, possibly, a murderess. She hated what she had become and wanted to change but hadn't found a way to tackle her dilemma. She was closed mouth about her childhood, but you knew something horrible happened. Likewise with Cain. Both of these flawed people had damaged pasts.
Ana needed Cain's help but ignored him once they escaped from New York. He was supposed to be her protection in the guise of a husband. But when he looked at her all he saw was contempt. He managed to pick away at the wall she had surrounded herself, be it a simple comment, a look or a question.
Ms. Chance provided a more realistic view of what it meant to have an addiction. It was not glossed over, and you felt the struggling Cain went through. Ana came across as cold for some of the time but if she was written in any other way the story would not have been as interesting.
This was the author's first published romance and was actually pretty good for a debut. It did not beat The Portrait but was better than An Inconvenient Wife. This is a historical romance for those readers who appreciate very human characters with all their weaknesses and misgivings.
I'm beginning to believe that when I need a full-length historical romance with plenty of restlessness, internally tortured souls and loads of apprehension, Megan Chance is my new go-to author. She understands how to yank my chains and push my buttons.
Dr. Cain D'Alessandro had seen better days. He was a drunkard and lush. When given a choice of anything and the bottle, he always chose alcohol.
Ana 'The Duchess' was a prostitute and, possibly, a murderess. She hated what she had become and wanted to change but hadn't found a way to tackle her dilemma. She was closed mouth about her childhood, but you knew something horrible happened. Likewise with Cain. Both of these flawed people had damaged pasts.
Ana needed Cain's help but ignored him once they escaped from New York. He was supposed to be her protection in the guise of a husband. But when he looked at her all he saw was contempt. He managed to pick away at the wall she had surrounded herself, be it a simple comment, a look or a question.
Ms. Chance provided a more realistic view of what it meant to have an addiction. It was not glossed over, and you felt the struggling Cain went through. Ana came across as cold for some of the time but if she was written in any other way the story would not have been as interesting.
This was the author's first published romance and was actually pretty good for a debut. It did not beat The Portrait but was better than An Inconvenient Wife. This is a historical romance for those readers who appreciate very human characters with all their weaknesses and misgivings.
February 20, 2022
I'm surprised more people haven't read this. It was really good and very unique. It almost doesn't seem like they will be together until the very end... Ana's walls were a mile tall it seemed. They each had their own demons, which both had to face.
Wow, none of Ana's clients ever tried to pleasure her with oral sex...sad. She didn't even know what a climax was. For someone who is supposed to be very experienced in sex, she sure didn't know much.
Obviously, Ana wasn't my favorite kind of heroine. She was pretty mean to Cain, and I agree with what one reviewer said that it was hard to see what was so attractive about her besides her good looks.
I wish they revealed their secrets more to each other, that Ana's virginity was taken by the doctor who was there to help her mother, so that Cain would know why Ana disliked doctors. Or Cain's secret, it seemed like there was more to why he turned to the bottle and felt that he was a failure as a doctor. In the beginning, he seemed to have a recollection of a girl whose leg needed amputation but she didn't want to do it and she died ? Also, the book needed one more page of her agreeing to marry him. It was implied, but surely it couldn't have hurt the author to write a few more lines?
I see why this deserved the RTA's award (that's how I found it, I was browsing books that won that award). It was very well written and the romance and the way they had to let each other in and heal each other was thought out and executed well.
Wow, none of Ana's clients ever tried to pleasure her with oral sex...sad. She didn't even know what a climax was. For someone who is supposed to be very experienced in sex, she sure didn't know much.
Obviously, Ana wasn't my favorite kind of heroine. She was pretty mean to Cain, and I agree with what one reviewer said that it was hard to see what was so attractive about her besides her good looks.
I wish they revealed their secrets more to each other, that Ana's virginity was taken by the doctor who was there to help her mother, so that Cain would know why Ana disliked doctors. Or Cain's secret, it seemed like there was more to why he turned to the bottle and felt that he was a failure as a doctor. In the beginning, he seemed to have a recollection of a girl whose leg needed amputation but she didn't want to do it and she died ? Also, the book needed one more page of her agreeing to marry him. It was implied, but surely it couldn't have hurt the author to write a few more lines?
I see why this deserved the RTA's award (that's how I found it, I was browsing books that won that award). It was very well written and the romance and the way they had to let each other in and heal each other was thought out and executed well.
August 15, 2017
Powerful story that grabbed me from beginning to the very end. Ana, aka the Duchess, is a high value prostitute in one of the brothels of New York in the middle of 19th century. She is on a mission to find a man, any man, who can pretend to be her husband and escort her to San Francisco where she would be safe and can open her own establishment. She needs this man to escape a prosecution for killing an abusive customer. If she was not in such a hurry, she would never consider Cain to be such a man. Her first reaction seeing him is dismay. Cain is an alcoholic and a former doctor. Actually, the latter is what repulsed her more for reasons readers would find out later. But Anna has no choice, she has to leave, and he is the only man available to do so in a hurry with no attachments to the city. And so, begins the journey of two tortured souls from New York to San Francisco via Panama Canal. The book is very well written with amazing characters that are definitely unique, and remarkably described setting. The story is not for a faint of heart. I know it will stay with me for a long time.
May 30, 2013
Every now and then a book comes a long that really moves you. You find yourself thinking about it long after you've put the book down, analyzing the characters, their motivations, and the outcomes of their actions. For me, this was one of those books.
We first meet Cain D'Alessandro, an alcoholic, and sometimes medical doctor. He has lost his faith in medicine and frankly, his will to live. He has a chance encounter with the beautiful, murderess, prostitute, Ana. She enlists him to act as her Husband to help her cross the country after she murders an abusive client of hers. He accepts her offer as long as she will provide enough alcohol to get him through the trip. He even rebuffs her initial offer of "husbandly rights" to tempt him to make the trek. Cain, although an alcoholic with demons of his own, is quite tender and patient with Ana. He is not the Alpha hero who is oh-so-popular these days. He is willing to wait for Ana, cold and aloof as she may be. They do not fall in love at first sight, but only when they come to mutually respect and care for one another.
This is not the story about the hooker with a heart of gold. Nor is it about an alcoholic that put down the drink when he met a woman worth changing everything for. Life is never that simple. Ms. Chance does a wonderful job portraying two dilapidated souls drudging through the Panamanian Jungles. This book is a great example of why I love the historical romance genre.
We first meet Cain D'Alessandro, an alcoholic, and sometimes medical doctor. He has lost his faith in medicine and frankly, his will to live. He has a chance encounter with the beautiful, murderess, prostitute, Ana. She enlists him to act as her Husband to help her cross the country after she murders an abusive client of hers. He accepts her offer as long as she will provide enough alcohol to get him through the trip. He even rebuffs her initial offer of "husbandly rights" to tempt him to make the trek. Cain, although an alcoholic with demons of his own, is quite tender and patient with Ana. He is not the Alpha hero who is oh-so-popular these days. He is willing to wait for Ana, cold and aloof as she may be. They do not fall in love at first sight, but only when they come to mutually respect and care for one another.
This is not the story about the hooker with a heart of gold. Nor is it about an alcoholic that put down the drink when he met a woman worth changing everything for. Life is never that simple. Ms. Chance does a wonderful job portraying two dilapidated souls drudging through the Panamanian Jungles. This book is a great example of why I love the historical romance genre.
November 28, 2022
Great book, highly recommend. Megan Chance is the best at depicting raw/flawed characters without romanticising them or trying to make them likeable.
June 30, 2021
Ana is on the run after killing a man in the New York brothel she works at, so she hires Dr. Cain D'Alessandro to pose as her husband on her flight to California. One of Cain's stipulations for assisting Ana is that she stay with him through the journey- he's an alcoholic who is slowly obliterating himself, and he's afraid of waking up with no sense of where he is. Ana agrees despite her disgust of Cain's addiction, but it's a promise that she's more than willing to break for self preservation.
The book really tests you with Ana. She's deliberately cruel to Cain in order to get him to keep his distance, while he asks for compassion and comfort. Ana's strategy for survival is to trust no one, so she and Cain are frequently at odds. He wants to learn more about her, to touch her, to stay with her. She wants him to pick up the bottle and disappear so she doesn't have to think about him.
The journey and murder are secondary here - we spend most of our time with the push and pull between Ana and Cain. It's touching, maddening, and challenging.
The book really tests you with Ana. She's deliberately cruel to Cain in order to get him to keep his distance, while he asks for compassion and comfort. Ana's strategy for survival is to trust no one, so she and Cain are frequently at odds. He wants to learn more about her, to touch her, to stay with her. She wants him to pick up the bottle and disappear so she doesn't have to think about him.
The journey and murder are secondary here - we spend most of our time with the push and pull between Ana and Cain. It's touching, maddening, and challenging.
February 21, 2012
I'd give this book a million stars if I could. It just blew me away, and has stayed with me for weeks now. Ana and Cain were just so lovely together. And Cain's struggle with alcoholism was heartbreaking and so painful to watch. That this story had a HEA was a miracle but it was one heck of a Sighworthy HEA. Makes me hapoy just thinking of it. And thinking of it makes me want to read it again. It's definitely going on my Keeper Shelf.
August 10, 2024
A Candle in the Dark by Megan Chance (1993) is one of those HRs that’s ever so difficult to read.. a dark story of two individuals scarred by trauma. Choose it and discover an enthralling love story unlike any other… a masterpiece.
🕯️ The heroine, Ana is a whore, now fleeing NYC as she’s just killed a man. She needs someone to pose as her husband for a sea voyage to San Francisco. She finds Cain D’Alessandro at a tavern.., he’s a doctor, an alcoholic incapacitated by his drinking. He’s been aimlessly trading medicine for drink… free to drown in the failure that has haunted him his entire life.
🕯️ Ana has spent a lifetime keeping anyone from getting too emotionally close to her… she’s erected walls around herself… desperately afraid to admit she has feelings for anyone, and has never had a friend.
🕯️ Their journey aboard ship, and thru the jungles of Panama provides a great insight into the human condition, and builds tension from the very beginning. The descriptions of Cain’s suffering from his addiction to alcohol are graphic, feel realistic and are gut wrenching to read.
🕯️ The writing is superb.. powerful … as the author explores the emotionally painful journey these two individuals take as they struggle to keep apart from each other, and then to love. Almost a cliffhanger right to the very end. Absolutely one of the best HRs I’ve read this year… unique, and richly rewarding. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🕯️ The heroine, Ana is a whore, now fleeing NYC as she’s just killed a man. She needs someone to pose as her husband for a sea voyage to San Francisco. She finds Cain D’Alessandro at a tavern.., he’s a doctor, an alcoholic incapacitated by his drinking. He’s been aimlessly trading medicine for drink… free to drown in the failure that has haunted him his entire life.
🕯️ Ana has spent a lifetime keeping anyone from getting too emotionally close to her… she’s erected walls around herself… desperately afraid to admit she has feelings for anyone, and has never had a friend.
🕯️ Their journey aboard ship, and thru the jungles of Panama provides a great insight into the human condition, and builds tension from the very beginning. The descriptions of Cain’s suffering from his addiction to alcohol are graphic, feel realistic and are gut wrenching to read.
🕯️ The writing is superb.. powerful … as the author explores the emotionally painful journey these two individuals take as they struggle to keep apart from each other, and then to love. Almost a cliffhanger right to the very end. Absolutely one of the best HRs I’ve read this year… unique, and richly rewarding. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 30, 2013
I really loved this book. It would have been a 5 star for me except for one detail, which I will get to, and admittedly, its a personal thing.
I enjoyed the writer's style and will definitely seek more of her work out. Historical novels are among my favorites, and this one was done with great attention to detail, feeling immersed in the early 1900's. The characters were drawn accurately for the time period, and I never felt as if it was a 21st century character thrown into a 19th century setting.
Cain and Ana spend most of the book snipping at one another, but I had faith in them as a couple. Their adventure is perfect- it adds so much to the growth of the characters and their love for one another. And it makes sense.
Note there is romance and sex, but not a ton of sex all the way through, its not that kind of book. When they get together, and I think its just once, the build-up is worth it trust me. Soooo sexy.....swoon....
Now, my reason for the one-star deduction: The hero's "problem"... Luckily, I loved Cain enough to overlook it, even though it was difficult to read the detailed and there were many. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to spoil the read for me.
I enjoyed the writer's style and will definitely seek more of her work out. Historical novels are among my favorites, and this one was done with great attention to detail, feeling immersed in the early 1900's. The characters were drawn accurately for the time period, and I never felt as if it was a 21st century character thrown into a 19th century setting.
Cain and Ana spend most of the book snipping at one another, but I had faith in them as a couple. Their adventure is perfect- it adds so much to the growth of the characters and their love for one another. And it makes sense.
Note there is romance and sex, but not a ton of sex all the way through, its not that kind of book. When they get together, and I think its just once, the build-up is worth it trust me. Soooo sexy.....swoon....
Now, my reason for the one-star deduction: The hero's "problem"... Luckily, I loved Cain enough to overlook it, even though it was difficult to read the detailed and there were many. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to spoil the read for me.
April 25, 2020
Very engaging,should start writing my reviews as soon as I finish reading. This was a good one. Her best book in my opinion
March 28, 2021
I loved the premise, but the execution was very poor.
December 19, 2023
In a word. Bad. I DNF hated Jimene and the whole storyline.
July 21, 2016
A SOLID 4.5 STARS! THIS WAS A SURPRISINGLY REALLY GOOD BOOK!
I had qualms about the heroine but I absolutely did love the hero despite his drinking habit.
OUR HERO is a man tortured by his past mistakes and also haunted from the grave by a dead friend and by his family. He has been drinking himself to a stupor for the past three years until he meets Ana. He is actually a very street wise character, sometimes tough and dependable if only he was sober. There is just something about Cain that you cant help but love him, for all his misgivings and love of alcohol, you would want to reach out and just hold him. I wouldnt exactly peg him as an alcoholic because it doesn't show that he is addicted to it but rather the oblivion it provides to forget his ghosts. Later when forced to be sober, he may have temptations that only a true drunkard would have succumbed to but he proved worthy. And his love for Ana was complex in a good way because they understood or rather he understood her better than herself, soothing her demons while she healed his.
OUR HEROINE came across as a CLASS A SELFISH BITCH who I really really hated for the first half of the book. She was demanding, mean and so selfish I wanted to punch her face. She takes things for granted because she is such an ice cold person who doesnt appreciate small gestures of kindness and scorns them. Despite the author portraying her this way, because eventually she will change but not much by my standards, it was still so damn annoying. I hated how she manipulated man, and treated Cain like dirt the first half. It was nice to see her brought down a peg or two, becoming more human.
OVERALL this story was very heartfelt, and even if I hated the heroine, it still had a way of making me read the whole story, word for word until the end. It is just a pity that there is no epilogue that shows a definitive HEA.
I had qualms about the heroine but I absolutely did love the hero despite his drinking habit.
OUR HERO is a man tortured by his past mistakes and also haunted from the grave by a dead friend and by his family. He has been drinking himself to a stupor for the past three years until he meets Ana. He is actually a very street wise character, sometimes tough and dependable if only he was sober. There is just something about Cain that you cant help but love him, for all his misgivings and love of alcohol, you would want to reach out and just hold him. I wouldnt exactly peg him as an alcoholic because it doesn't show that he is addicted to it but rather the oblivion it provides to forget his ghosts. Later when forced to be sober, he may have temptations that only a true drunkard would have succumbed to but he proved worthy. And his love for Ana was complex in a good way because they understood or rather he understood her better than herself, soothing her demons while she healed his.
OUR HEROINE came across as a CLASS A SELFISH BITCH who I really really hated for the first half of the book. She was demanding, mean and so selfish I wanted to punch her face. She takes things for granted because she is such an ice cold person who doesnt appreciate small gestures of kindness and scorns them. Despite the author portraying her this way, because eventually she will change but not much by my standards, it was still so damn annoying. I hated how she manipulated man, and treated Cain like dirt the first half. It was nice to see her brought down a peg or two, becoming more human.
OVERALL this story was very heartfelt, and even if I hated the heroine, it still had a way of making me read the whole story, word for word until the end. It is just a pity that there is no epilogue that shows a definitive HEA.
June 15, 2019
The author of this book is a gifted writer; Dr. Cain D'Alessandro starts the story as a continual drunk. How he changes is slow enough to be realistic. If there is one word to describe this book, it is realistic. Sometimes, authors write about bleak subjects with rose-tinted glasses. Megan Chance is accurate in her descriptions and shows the attitudes of the time.
Ana, 'The Duchess,' is a prostitute and looking for a quick way out of town. She may have killed one of her customers and she knows that the madam of the bordello will not sit on her hands while Ana escapes.
D'Alessandro is recommended as a protector (in the guise of being Ana's husband), to accompany her on the long ship voyage from New York to Panama and then via a horrible overland journey through 20 miles of jungle. Finally, the travelers will board a ship to travel up the California coast to San Francisco.
D'Alessandro and Ana are deeply flawed people in great pain. As soon as Ana boards the ship, she ignores Cain as much as possible. When she looks at Cain at all, he sees contempt. The reader quickly understands that neither person feels able to talk about the grief they carry.
This is a very different kind of book; I hesitate to say much more about the complex plot. My only disappointment was the uneven pacing; things dragged a bit at times. This book isn't always easy to read because of the subject matter and the conditions of life and travel at the time. In the end, the reader will feel a greater insight into the human condition. An amazing book. 4.5 stars
Ana, 'The Duchess,' is a prostitute and looking for a quick way out of town. She may have killed one of her customers and she knows that the madam of the bordello will not sit on her hands while Ana escapes.
D'Alessandro is recommended as a protector (in the guise of being Ana's husband), to accompany her on the long ship voyage from New York to Panama and then via a horrible overland journey through 20 miles of jungle. Finally, the travelers will board a ship to travel up the California coast to San Francisco.
D'Alessandro and Ana are deeply flawed people in great pain. As soon as Ana boards the ship, she ignores Cain as much as possible. When she looks at Cain at all, he sees contempt. The reader quickly understands that neither person feels able to talk about the grief they carry.
This is a very different kind of book; I hesitate to say much more about the complex plot. My only disappointment was the uneven pacing; things dragged a bit at times. This book isn't always easy to read because of the subject matter and the conditions of life and travel at the time. In the end, the reader will feel a greater insight into the human condition. An amazing book. 4.5 stars
July 23, 2013
pretty poor.
chance's prose is fairly strong, but she has a tendency to dither with plot progression, and in this case it was the book's death sentence. i just wanted to SMACK the hero and heroine by the end, there was so much hemming and hawing, deciding and undeciding, and biting lips about making decisions. just toxic.
plus, her hero had a tendency to overwrought, repetitive internal monologue -- "Christ, she's beautiful!" "Christ, that hurts"! "Christ!" it was wearying.
and the heroine was supposed to be an emotionally damaged ice queen but came off as reaaaaaaally one-dimensional, so much so that it was super hard to figure out what was attractive about her besides her, naturally, stunning good looks.
and that was another thing. after however many months without a bath, these people would not have been stunningly good looking. her hair would not have smelled like lilacs. his skin would have smelled of more than clean leather and coffee. for the love of god. (christ?)
ensuring clunker status, other characters were introduced suddenly and loudly simply to disappear a few pages later, ostensibly to provoke some sort of important psychological growth in the hero and heroine, but it felt sloppy and cheap. and jarring.
there's better chance stuff out there. i really wouldn't bother with this.
chance's prose is fairly strong, but she has a tendency to dither with plot progression, and in this case it was the book's death sentence. i just wanted to SMACK the hero and heroine by the end, there was so much hemming and hawing, deciding and undeciding, and biting lips about making decisions. just toxic.
plus, her hero had a tendency to overwrought, repetitive internal monologue -- "Christ, she's beautiful!" "Christ, that hurts"! "Christ!" it was wearying.
and the heroine was supposed to be an emotionally damaged ice queen but came off as reaaaaaaally one-dimensional, so much so that it was super hard to figure out what was attractive about her besides her, naturally, stunning good looks.
and that was another thing. after however many months without a bath, these people would not have been stunningly good looking. her hair would not have smelled like lilacs. his skin would have smelled of more than clean leather and coffee. for the love of god. (christ?)
ensuring clunker status, other characters were introduced suddenly and loudly simply to disappear a few pages later, ostensibly to provoke some sort of important psychological growth in the hero and heroine, but it felt sloppy and cheap. and jarring.
there's better chance stuff out there. i really wouldn't bother with this.
January 16, 2015
Overall I found the complex characters and constantly moving plot to provide a very interesting read. The multiple small external conflicts experienced by the main characters were nice additions to the main conflict between characters. However I found some of the supporting characters to be superfluous and frankly meaningless. The writing style could at times be rather repetitive and overly descriptive. I would recommend this book to other women because of the interesting relationships that form and the romantic aspects of the book.
July 1, 2013
I thought it started out strong, but by the middle I was annoyed with the main characters. I know they were facing their own inner demons and all that, but I tired of hearing it over and over. The story was decent, thrown together hero's travel to California, but get stuck in Panama and face life or death situations together. I also thought the slow burn of affection between the heros was well done. If it wasn't for the mind numbing repetition I would have given it 3-stars.
August 27, 2016
Aaaaarrrrggghh! I can't do it anymore I mean for fuck's sake ana if you are so fucking lonely then fucking do something about it!!! There is cain wanting to talk to you your so-called partner yet you treat him with scorn. She has no concept of other people's feelings just plays with them, I'm sick of this bitch.
December 24, 2014
Good Book
While I did enjoy this book I was not happy with all the spelling mistakes. Because of that I rated the book a 3 along with the fact it was not one of Megan Chance's better books.
While I did enjoy this book I was not happy with all the spelling mistakes. Because of that I rated the book a 3 along with the fact it was not one of Megan Chance's better books.
April 2, 2015
Non so perché ma (a parte poche eccezioni) non mi piacciono molto i romance con protagoniste prostituite o cortigiane, e questo libro conferma la regola.
June 4, 2016
Skimmed the last few chapters. The plot was interesting enough, the characters were a bit one-dimensional. I was completely bored towards the end.
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