Light And Shadow

by Lisa Gregory (Pseudonym), Candace Camp

A World of Reckless Deception

Jason Somerville aroused unquenchable fire in Carolyn Mabry ... burning desires like she had never known before. Forcibly, he brought the beautiful actress to his ancestral home in England. Passionately, he made her his wife. But Carolyn knew her life was a charade, a lie she lived to protect her innocent twin sister.

There was no untruth in the overpowering feelings Jason aroused in her, there was nothing false about her desire for the strikingly handsome nobleman. But would Jason reject her if he knew the truth? His determined pursuit was for the right woman -- living in her own world of reckless deception...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, British Literature

284 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 15, 1985

About the author

Pseudonym of Candace Camp

Candace Pauline Camp was born on May 23, 1949 in Amarillo, Texas, U.S.A.. The youngest of three children born into a newspaper family -- her mother, Lula Mae (Irons) Camp, had been a reporter and her father, Grady Camp, was the business manager of the Amarillo, Texas, newspaper -- some of Candace's earliest memories are of making up stories which she played out on the floor of their den with whatever objects were handy. She cannot remember a time when she was not interested in creating stories. She began writing down her stories when she was about 10, and from then on writing was her favorite form of relaxation. Explains Candace: "I was always very shy and did not talk much. However, in written form, I could express all my thoughts and feelings."

Writing remained only a hobby, though, as Candace attended college at the University of Texas at Austin and West Texas State University, then became a secondary teacher in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She later moved to North Carolina, where she worked in the trust department of a bank. It was there that she discovered the romance novel in modern form and started to write her first romance. She also began law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and while she was there, she finished her first novel, entitled Bonds of Love, that was published by Jove Publishing in 1978, under the pseudonym Lisa Gregory. Candace credits the rigorous training of law school with teaching her the discipline necessary to finish a book. She gave up the practice of law to devote her time to writing. Two pseudonyms later (Kristin James and Sharon Stephens), Candace writes under her own name Candace Camp-- and still loves creating stories.

Candace is married since 1980 with Pete Hopcus, and they had a daughter Anastasia Hopcus in 1982, who had started on her own career path in the field of acting and now also writes young adult novels.

Reviews

[Mermarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a huge freakin' let down. I started off thinking this could possibly be a bodice ripper, as Bitterleaf & Bonds of Love, Gregory's other piece are. It wasn't. I was OK with that, the sexual tension between the H/h proved to withstand the crazyfest commonly associated with my general BR intake, but overall, it resounded a unified THIS IS AS DULL AS DOORKNOBS! by the end.


Carolyn Mabry was a fallen woman. In pursuit of love some years before, she ran off with her suitor, whom her father found inadequate, and married him in a whirlwind romance. Naturally the husband wasn't competent and had no way of managing their finances, so they had to sell everything owned to survive. The husband eventually died(unknown reasons) and Caro took to acting in the West Indies.

Her twin sister Cynthia, whom I couldn't determine or not if she was actually embittered/jealous of Caro, left her husband in England in her pursuit of her own suitors. She knew her husband would hunt her down to keep face with his high fluting family image, so Cynthia led him to Caro, and he couldn't tell the difference between the two, therein kidnapping Caro. Caro played along to defend/protect her weak, overly sensitive sister. *ensue eye rolling*

Now, I know we had a lunatic trying to kill Caro, an arsenic poisoning, old nursemaids with past grudges, but I'm going to forgive all of that. What I wanted to make comment on was Caro's complete, and unyielding insanity. She masquerades as her sister, the mother to her child, and thinks it's a means to compensate for her own deceased child. She literally thinks her sister's child, whom her sister abandoned, is the answer to all of her problems.... that they were brought together by magical forces. Where Cynthia was all badassery and unfit, Caro swoops in like an angel to correct, nurture and coddle. You know, I can even understand that Caro was the other woman; a woman who does serve as the 'clean up woman'..and I can understand that completely, but generally the CLEAN UP WOMAN, is someone else entirely. Her position isn't made easier by the role she's undertaking. In my opinion, it was Cynthia's mess to clean up, and Caro endured untold difficulty to bring the Hero into heel. It was Cynthia's Life, not Caro's Life. Fail or fly, it wasn't Caro's Life to dismantle or act as a pick-me-up. For all of Caro's would-be independence and salvation, she was still too weak and lacked the fortitude to admit the misunderstanding and start from there. Not only that, but the author prompted Caro's insight by the tiniest of things, and without much to go on. She leap-frogged to conclusions at random, and it rankled my nerves to no end.

Dear Author, please stop thinking for your characters, and leave mystery/suspense for the reader to indulge upon. You cannot prove to me how otherworldly knowledgeable a character is by shifting the entire story's subtlety.

And what did I like? The endless, sexual tension. It's like self-inflicted(glorious) torture, and I enjoyed that immensely. Also, Laurel, Cynthia's daughter; she had special needs and required a different sort of love that most Heroine's are capable of, in my opinion. I'm glad the Heroine was a mother her sister could not be, but not at the sake of somehow giving Cynthia credit for it, or deceiving the people she supposedly loves the most.

[Olnega · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected this to be a BR but it turned out to be a traditional regency romance. I loved everything about it; the writing, unusual premise and most importantly sexual chemistry and tension between Caroline and Jason were electric.

[Mary23nm]

Lisa Gregory.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite romance novals.....it has mystery but love still wins over greed & jealousy for a happy ending. Read it again & again! But then I was lucky to find the original paperback that I have had for 20 years (wow!) & it is still an amazing book.

[Natalija · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nostalgic reread for me, and while the chemistry between Caro and Jason remains engaging, the central deception overstays its welcome.