Love's Reckless Rash

by Rosemary Cartwhell

Meet Lady Vanessa Sherwin-Williams, whose heart-stopping beauty has caused more coronaries than saturated fats. Join her in a dizzying odyssey as she's transported from nineteeth-century England to old New Orleans (and back again).

Swooning at the drop of an eyelash, Vanessa is swept from rapture to reverie, reverie romp, and romp back to rapture; she won't rest until she finds Real Romance -- or loses her virginity -- though she'd kind of prefer it if they happened close together.

Voluptuous Vanessa's virtue is nearly (darn it!) compromised by such luminaries as the filthy French explorer, Trapper Jacques, who wins her in a poker game aboard a Mississippi steamboat; Lord Gastleigh, who dresses like a bloodhound and has been known to lift his leg at masked balls; and, most romantically, the dashing Duke of Earl, Vanessa's One True Love.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Romance

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Eh?Eh! · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love puns. Love them. Luvs. <33333*

This book nearly made me hate them! It was full of the bad stuff, the obvious and painful ones that just yank a groan from a reader. But it reminded me of a middle school science teacher I knew who would make these kinds of puns. He wore Birkenstocks with wildly colored socks and frequently stood on the lab table to declare his awful awful puns. Also, he seemed to have half-eyebrows, like he shaved them to wear a Vulcan costume on weekends....

An extra star for pity.

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I guess I should add something about the book? It grabbed all the romance stand-bys - beautiful heroine, handsome man, unwanted betrothal, scandal, journey to the New World, etc., et al, blahblahblah - and made an intentionally ridiculous parody of a Romance novel; it even preserved virginity until she marries her One True Love. It's like those Naked Gun movies, where it can be clever but after a while it's comparable to seeing a home video of a cat riding on a dog's back. It was funny for maybe 2 seconds but then, blah.

There was a hilarious paragraph on "it" and Romance:

...it was the price she always sensed she would have to pay for romance. Though what romance had to do with "it," she could not imagine. It was such a shame, really, that love had to turn so...icky.

Amen, sister. So true. "Romance" has twisted into this small thing. The word has lost meaning. It's been appropriated just like the word "love."

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p.s. - This book was a gift! I didn't seek this out on my own. So while words were silly, I actually love this book and will be keeping it. Just not displayed in case the parents decide to look at my shelves.

*Some moments of pun-fun:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
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[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Badly-needed spoof of the historical-romance genre. Every page is a knee-slapper. Every so often, I remember how the handsome prince signed his mash note to the heroine with a smiley face and rush to read it again.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ridiculous spoof of bodice rippers full of every cliche known to the genre.

[LOL_BOOKS]

LOVE'S RECKLESS RASH NEVER LIVED UP TO ITS TITLE.