The Dark Isle

by Mary Wibberley

Janis Sutherland didn't want her beloved, peaceful Dark Isle to be spoiled or changed in any way—and Breck Fallon with his brash ideas threatened everything that she most cared about.

He was to threaten her peace of mind in more ways than one . . .

Genres: Harlequin Romance, Romance

231 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author goes to great length to paint the heroine as a shrew who needs to be tamed by the hero but she had all my sympathy. At 21 years old, she has to run a household composed of a flighty father and two childish immature sisters, while her bovine older sister simply fled to bigger and better pastures with nary a thought about her family. And the heroine shoulders all these responsibilities at 21 years old! No wonder she is prickly. Then behind her back, the bovine sister and her flighty father conspire to turn her beloved, secluded island into the setting for a TV documentary directed by the hero. And he is not even doing this for the right reasons, because he wants to highlight the beauty of the island or research some interesting historical facts about it. No, he just wants to settle scores because his grandparents disowned his mother when she left the island against their wishes years ago so now he wants to come back and basically make a mockumentary showcasing how backwards and ridiculous the islanders' way of life is. The heroine was right to be wary of him and his motives. He was not sympathetic to me at all. The whole story was a giant bickerfest which is never my favored trope, and the ending love declaration barely made me feel better about it. At least the hero was not odious enough to dangle an OW before the heroine and he did manage to confess his love first, which I guess would be a big deal for an arrogant, condescending, commitment-phobe nincompoop like he is. It is one of those stories where you simply have to be happy that the heroine is happy :~{

[Iris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fabulous covers from both M&B and Harlequin. They're lovely side by side as the colors are almost perfectly contrasted and I can almost imagine the artists used the same models. The M&B cover is by yet another Spanish comic artist/illustrator: Luis Roca who specialized in romantic and erotic images. I love how despite the cool pretty pastels her tilted posture and his firm hold, with a hand that could pass for a rock, suggests she's just been hauled none too gently into his arms. The quintessential M&B kiss! And yet I think I prefer the Harlequin version by Emile Laliberté. He would have been given a brief to work from; was he told anything beyond character's coloring and the island setting? Because the woman while beautiful has a calm dignity totally at odds with the heroine's described personality. However any cover where the Laliberté hero assumes his best MAN ASTRIDE THE WORLD wide-stance is hilarious and unbeatable IMHO.

The story doesn't live up to it's covers. One MC lobs a trite insult and the other responds with an equally banal "I'll show you" or "I'm going to tame you shrew". Then finally on page 177 "Do you have to make such stupid remarks?" I'd been wondering the same thing about both MCs from page 9.

So the usual half-assed borrowing from The Taming of the Shrew where the only aspect of this multivalent play interesting to Harley authors is the sexy potential of hero taming heroine. And Wibberley places her thumb too firmly on one side of the scale. Jan models how female feistiness leads to foolishness and danger while Breck's equally pointless aggression gets excused as he saves her from herself time and again. Tedious rather than titillating.

[Betsy Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many "little" details made this story memorable for me above the formula factors and the "larger than life" tempest (subtext: slightly ridiculous dialogue and forcefulness) in the developing love relationship. I was drawn to the remote and isolated setting, where even television was absent. I liked references to the songs the three sisters sing as they go about their housekeeping duties, including Lord of the Dance ("I danced in the morning...") and Amazing Grace. Also, The Skye Boat Song, though unfamiliar. Another detail: mention of a James Bond film!

I like Janis "Jan" Sutherland's strength as the eldest child having to manage things because her widowed father is rather out of touch. I like that she is a great cook and a competitive athlete. She seems to spend more time than some Harlequin heroines do in dealing verbally with inner turmoil (over her feelings toward Breck Fallon) and in second-guessing how she ought to "attack" the situation. She is also a writer who creates an imaginary and emotive world on paper but is reluctant to share that world in terms of developing it as a manuscript to submit to any publisher. Breck challenges her on that and compliments her efforts by telling her "I wanted to keep reading" (" - and that is really the test of good writing, isn't it?").

I like the younger sisters and find myself wishing their stories could be developed. In my dream world, the author could spin a trilogy by giving Judy (age 17) and Helen (15) each their own sequels, the way Heather Allison/Heather MacAllister did for the Hall sisters Holly, Laurel, and Ivy in Deck the Halls and sequels Jack of Hearts and Ivy's League.

The formula romance factors include an initial conflict between the characters who ultimately fall in love; and an alluring, unusual setting. I find this book's plot more original than that of many vintage romances.

[*CJ* · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Dark Isle" is the story of Janis and Breck.

Heroine is the head of her household, amongst the four sisters and an absent minded father. When the hero is hired for a mysterious cause, she assumes it is to buy their beloved remote home. However he wants to put it on film which the heroine is against.

Basically it is chapters upon chapters of them fighting while the hero gets his way. Literally the heroine won zero fights and it was not fun to read. Yes he was smitten but he was too arrogant.

Meh

Safe
2/5

[RomLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

anis Sutherland didn't want her beloved, peaceful Dark Isle to be spoiled or changed in any way --and Breck Fallon with his brash ideas threatened everything that she most cared about.

He was to threaten her peace of mind in more ways than oneEen

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too much of a bickerfest for my liking. The heroine also gets a little violent towards the hero.