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Shining Wanderer
Trying to recover from an unhappy love affair, Jassy Lanyard was only too delighted to learn that she had inherited shared in a faraway estate. Perhaps out on the exotic Suran Islands in the Indian Ocean, she could make a new and happier life for herself. But her distant cousin Ben, who was very much in charge of the islands, didn't agree.
- GenresRomanceHarlequin Romance
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 28, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 28, 2018
After I read and enjoyed Fire Mountain, I looked at Rose Elver’s backlist and lo and behold, I recognized the cover of a story I read long ago and wanted to read again. I’m happy to say, it’s even better than I remembered.
The main trope is the misjudged heroine who longs to fit in somewhere and a cruel hero who does the misjudging based on hearsay.
The other delights of this story are: the careful, vivid, logical world building; the well-rounded minor characters who contribute to the themes of belonging and community without being distracting; and the careful unveiling of the heroine’s backstory and the family history she never knew about.
The story opens with the orphaned heroine finally visiting the island of her father’s birth. The hero is her distant cousin and they have the same last name. The islands/atolls, located just south of the Equator in the Indian Ocean, support a community, a palm plantation, and crops of fruit and spices. The heroine’s family have been living and working there for several generations. The hero runs the business and is the leader of the community with a board of advisers. He is the one who insisted on an air field and a company airplane. There is a hospital, a church and a school as well.
Heroine had been living with her guardians in London since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was four years old. Her parent’s lawyer is really her guardian and his wife is the one who inflicted the most damage on this heroine. The heroine later finds out why this woman was so cruel to her and that makes a huge difference in her self-regard.
The heroine is shy and reserved because of the evil guardian, boarding school and overhearing a bet made by the guy she thought she was in love with. She has been so depressed that even her lawyer noticed and he is the one who suggests she contact her distant relatives.
The hero and his sister are late to meet the plane, so the tension mounts as the heroine worries about her welcome. Luckily, everyone is warm and kind to her – except the hero. He thinks she has been living with a guy named Tony in London (Antonia – Toni was her roommate) and is there to cash in on the family wealth before she gets bored and goes back to the bright lights. Heroine is mystified by his treatment of her, but she blooms under the kindness of the community and the hero’s sister.
Here’s an example of a minor character reinforcing the kindness of the community/belonging theme. The hero sent a representative to accompany the heroine on the long journey to the island. He is a very proper, correct sort of person. Then the author throws out this line:
She turned with some relief to Mr Chandra as he came out of the plane. He stooped a little as he took each step, with his attaché case clutched in one hand, his topee tucked under his arm and the sun glinting on the bald brown dome of his head fringed with hair as white as his spotless cotton jacket.
This is a place you can literally let your hair down.
The heroine eventually realizes she belongs, too. She looks like her grandmother whom the community remembers well. She listens and learns and tries to ignore the OW – the French doctor’s daughter who spends most of her time in Geneva, acting as an interpreter. She has her sights set on the hero and plans to send the high-spirited sister off to finishing school and get rid of all of the family servants and retainers who don’t know their place. Heroine doesn’t realize the OW is delusional or that hero merely tolerates her until the very end of the story. But OW adds a nice dollop of angst whenever the H/h get a bit closer.
And the H/h do grow closer as the hero tries to figure her out and the heroine tries to hide how she really feels. The hero is a straight-talking guy and bluntly tells her what he thinks of her, breaking her heart in the process – every time. Eventually the heroine works out the hero has the wrong idea about her based on malicious misinformation from her guardian’s wife – and she finally realizes that she is a shareholder in the community and the hero is worried she will try to cash in and that will undermine everything.
They have many encounters before complete understanding and the black moment is about the heroine’s shares.
The scene that stuck in my mind some thirty years after I read it was a turning point scene where the hero begins to see the heroine differently. It’s also a scene that heightens the emotional heft of the story.
A young boy steps on a stonefish and is stung. His screams go on and on as the community pulls together to comfort him and get him to the hospital. The heroine holds the victims head during the jeep ride.
It was an almost superhuman task for them all. The boy's bare, wiry torso was dripping with sweat to which sand still clung, making his skin like emery paper. His black hair, reeking of coconut oil, was wildly matted with sand. His shoulders flexed and arched in spasms of raging torment, his shoulder blades dug into her thighs, his head pushed and strained against the clinging protection of her arms. His cries, muffled now by those arms, tore though her... so young... a mere boy about Betty's age.
As the nurse tells the heroine:
It is not the poison, Miss Jassy, it is the terrible pain that kills.
That line stayed with me the first time I read this story and it really leaped out this time. The poison the evil guardian spewed about the heroine to her family and to the small child in her care, didn’t kill, but it caused a lot of pain. But kindness and understanding and time healed the heroine – same with the boy who was stung.
(I looked up stonefish and that line is not really true. The poison can kill you, but it’s hard to tell when a victim has suffered a fatal dose of venom, since any venom causes immense amounts of pain and lingers for hours. )
The action builds toward the hero’s sister’s 18th birthday party, a marker that has been in place since the heroine’s first day on the island. Everything comes together beautifully as misunderstandings are ironed out and the heroine finally speaks plainly, and with newfound courage, to the hero. It’s a lovely scene.
Finally, I have to say something about the world-building in this story. This is a post-colonial world – with the hero’s father being a survivor of Japanese concentration camp (more pain that can kill you). The author is careful to note that the community is made up of all colors and creeds. It’s the Commonwealth in a nutshell. But the author hints at change – the heroine’s shares are going to the community – absolute control by one family is being dialed back by the end of the story. That was in 1982 – pretty progressive stuff. (Of course now, rising seas are probably threatening these islands and atolls – but what can you do? The author really did create a lovely place.)
I know I haven’t said a lot about the romance. If you like a misjudged heroine and a cruel hero who has to keep apologizing before he gets it right, you’ll like the angst. I just wanted to wax lyrical about the other elements of the story that made this a standout in my mind. This author has a very positive view of human nature, which I find comforting. For every "bad guy" there are ten good guys.
The main trope is the misjudged heroine who longs to fit in somewhere and a cruel hero who does the misjudging based on hearsay.
The other delights of this story are: the careful, vivid, logical world building; the well-rounded minor characters who contribute to the themes of belonging and community without being distracting; and the careful unveiling of the heroine’s backstory and the family history she never knew about.
The story opens with the orphaned heroine finally visiting the island of her father’s birth. The hero is her distant cousin and they have the same last name. The islands/atolls, located just south of the Equator in the Indian Ocean, support a community, a palm plantation, and crops of fruit and spices. The heroine’s family have been living and working there for several generations. The hero runs the business and is the leader of the community with a board of advisers. He is the one who insisted on an air field and a company airplane. There is a hospital, a church and a school as well.
Heroine had been living with her guardians in London since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was four years old. Her parent’s lawyer is really her guardian and his wife is the one who inflicted the most damage on this heroine. The heroine later finds out why this woman was so cruel to her and that makes a huge difference in her self-regard.
The heroine is shy and reserved because of the evil guardian, boarding school and overhearing a bet made by the guy she thought she was in love with. She has been so depressed that even her lawyer noticed and he is the one who suggests she contact her distant relatives.
The hero and his sister are late to meet the plane, so the tension mounts as the heroine worries about her welcome. Luckily, everyone is warm and kind to her – except the hero. He thinks she has been living with a guy named Tony in London (Antonia – Toni was her roommate) and is there to cash in on the family wealth before she gets bored and goes back to the bright lights. Heroine is mystified by his treatment of her, but she blooms under the kindness of the community and the hero’s sister.
Here’s an example of a minor character reinforcing the kindness of the community/belonging theme. The hero sent a representative to accompany the heroine on the long journey to the island. He is a very proper, correct sort of person. Then the author throws out this line:
She turned with some relief to Mr Chandra as he came out of the plane. He stooped a little as he took each step, with his attaché case clutched in one hand, his topee tucked under his arm and the sun glinting on the bald brown dome of his head fringed with hair as white as his spotless cotton jacket.
This is a place you can literally let your hair down.
The heroine eventually realizes she belongs, too. She looks like her grandmother whom the community remembers well. She listens and learns and tries to ignore the OW – the French doctor’s daughter who spends most of her time in Geneva, acting as an interpreter. She has her sights set on the hero and plans to send the high-spirited sister off to finishing school and get rid of all of the family servants and retainers who don’t know their place. Heroine doesn’t realize the OW is delusional or that hero merely tolerates her until the very end of the story. But OW adds a nice dollop of angst whenever the H/h get a bit closer.
And the H/h do grow closer as the hero tries to figure her out and the heroine tries to hide how she really feels. The hero is a straight-talking guy and bluntly tells her what he thinks of her, breaking her heart in the process – every time. Eventually the heroine works out the hero has the wrong idea about her based on malicious misinformation from her guardian’s wife – and she finally realizes that she is a shareholder in the community and the hero is worried she will try to cash in and that will undermine everything.
They have many encounters before complete understanding and the black moment is about the heroine’s shares.
The scene that stuck in my mind some thirty years after I read it was a turning point scene where the hero begins to see the heroine differently. It’s also a scene that heightens the emotional heft of the story.
A young boy steps on a stonefish and is stung. His screams go on and on as the community pulls together to comfort him and get him to the hospital. The heroine holds the victims head during the jeep ride.
It was an almost superhuman task for them all. The boy's bare, wiry torso was dripping with sweat to which sand still clung, making his skin like emery paper. His black hair, reeking of coconut oil, was wildly matted with sand. His shoulders flexed and arched in spasms of raging torment, his shoulder blades dug into her thighs, his head pushed and strained against the clinging protection of her arms. His cries, muffled now by those arms, tore though her... so young... a mere boy about Betty's age.
As the nurse tells the heroine:
It is not the poison, Miss Jassy, it is the terrible pain that kills.
That line stayed with me the first time I read this story and it really leaped out this time. The poison the evil guardian spewed about the heroine to her family and to the small child in her care, didn’t kill, but it caused a lot of pain. But kindness and understanding and time healed the heroine – same with the boy who was stung.
(I looked up stonefish and that line is not really true. The poison can kill you, but it’s hard to tell when a victim has suffered a fatal dose of venom, since any venom causes immense amounts of pain and lingers for hours. )
The action builds toward the hero’s sister’s 18th birthday party, a marker that has been in place since the heroine’s first day on the island. Everything comes together beautifully as misunderstandings are ironed out and the heroine finally speaks plainly, and with newfound courage, to the hero. It’s a lovely scene.
Finally, I have to say something about the world-building in this story. This is a post-colonial world – with the hero’s father being a survivor of Japanese concentration camp (more pain that can kill you). The author is careful to note that the community is made up of all colors and creeds. It’s the Commonwealth in a nutshell. But the author hints at change – the heroine’s shares are going to the community – absolute control by one family is being dialed back by the end of the story. That was in 1982 – pretty progressive stuff. (Of course now, rising seas are probably threatening these islands and atolls – but what can you do? The author really did create a lovely place.)
I know I haven’t said a lot about the romance. If you like a misjudged heroine and a cruel hero who has to keep apologizing before he gets it right, you’ll like the angst. I just wanted to wax lyrical about the other elements of the story that made this a standout in my mind. This author has a very positive view of human nature, which I find comforting. For every "bad guy" there are ten good guys.
June 7, 2011
I really enjoy old harlequins. They keep the romance I like without all the copious amounts of sex that recent romances drown in. Shining Wanderer takes place on a beautiful secluded island and focuses on the return of a young lady who was farmed out to what was thought to be loving family after her parents died. The plot focuses on the confusion between the two "truths" of what her life was like and the person she becomes in spite of it and after the introduction of true affection. Perhaps it was the warmth and spirit of the setting, or watching the careful shell she had constructed break apart, but this book warmed me to my core and I will reread it again and again.
December 5, 2021
This was adorable.... until I googled robber crabs 🤤.... I would have run screaming too!
October 24, 2016
Ben is attracted to Jassy against his will and his better judgement. He takes a while to accept her for who she really is characterwise instead of who he assumed she was from circumstantial evidence.
March 30, 2025
I really enjoyed this one! It's a very touching story. I actually prefer old Harlequins to the newer ones.
June 21, 2021
2.5 rounded to 3
I didn't really like this one too much. Its only for vintage enthusiasts.
The setting has a very colonial, lord of the manor vibe where all the people in the Island kowtow to the ruling family. This is the family of the Hero and, the same family to which the heroine, as a distant relative from London, belongs.
I didn't like it because for most of the book, the Hero is a judgmental jerk, who treats the heroine shabbily despite the fact that he is supposed to be hosting her at his home. So he doesn't even possess common courtesy, he treats the heroine contemptuously due to misinformation he didn't bother to confirm properly from a nasty woman.
When some of these are clarified, he doesn't even grovel, no, he merely feels free to act on the attraction that he has had for the heroine from the start, and he expects her to accept him immediately and gets miffed when she does not. Finally they clear up even more misconceptions, declare their mutual feeling to each other and settle into an understanding.
Then, an evil OW who has been trying and failing at her attempts to reel in the Hero, drops poison into the ears of our low self esteem heroine, so she starts having doubts. So after having harbored ill thoughts about the heroine for 80% of the book, this Prince among Heroes is just so offended that the heroine would even dare think he can act in such an underhand manner!!! Obviously he has the monopoly on being a misjudging jerk!
All gets cleared in the end and they have their HEA. She will be stuck on that island with an arrogant domineering husband, but hey everybody loves her like the queen.
I didn't really like this one too much. Its only for vintage enthusiasts.
The setting has a very colonial, lord of the manor vibe where all the people in the Island kowtow to the ruling family. This is the family of the Hero and, the same family to which the heroine, as a distant relative from London, belongs.
I didn't like it because for most of the book, the Hero is a judgmental jerk, who treats the heroine shabbily despite the fact that he is supposed to be hosting her at his home. So he doesn't even possess common courtesy, he treats the heroine contemptuously due to misinformation he didn't bother to confirm properly from a nasty woman.
When some of these are clarified, he doesn't even grovel, no, he merely feels free to act on the attraction that he has had for the heroine from the start, and he expects her to accept him immediately and gets miffed when she does not. Finally they clear up even more misconceptions, declare their mutual feeling to each other and settle into an understanding.
Then, an evil OW who has been trying and failing at her attempts to reel in the Hero, drops poison into the ears of our low self esteem heroine, so she starts having doubts. So after having harbored ill thoughts about the heroine for 80% of the book, this Prince among Heroes is just so offended that the heroine would even dare think he can act in such an underhand manner!!! Obviously he has the monopoly on being a misjudging jerk!
All gets cleared in the end and they have their HEA. She will be stuck on that island with an arrogant domineering husband, but hey everybody loves her like the queen.
January 31, 2024
One of those old-school category romances that is as much travel narrative and young-woman-comes-into-her-own as romance. Our heroine is young, our hero is her domineering cousin, and there are misunderstandings coming out of everyone's ears. There's also a pretty repugnant amount of colonialism, which took it down a star for me.
August 10, 2024
Lovely tour of an unfamiliar place, good minor characters but I had a hard time sticking to it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews