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Captive Melody
When a handsome stranger overpowered her in her boudoir right after her marriage ceremony, inexperienced Laura Upton was too frightened to do more than faint. Later when she awoke, the scarcely clad beauty found herself on a galloping horse, in the powerful embrace of her virile kidnapper. How dare this riff-raff deprive her of the most romantic night of her life! Stroking her creamy flesh as she struggled, the bold cowboy whispered how wicked a man her husband was -- and the ebony haired beauty didn't know whether she should rejoice she was rescued... or be terrified she'd be ravaged.
414 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 25, 2016
There were definitely some things to like about this. Crenshaw is a good writer, but I had problems with the hero that were never satisfactorily dealt with.
The heroine is quite well drawn. She was raised on the east coast with a stepmother who was very cold, puritanical, and controlling/abusive. The heroine had musical talent and the stepmother was determined she would become a professional concert pianist and was very pushy to the point that she almost destroyed Laura's love of music.
Laura runs away at the age of 20 and takes a train out west to Sacramento. She is immediately overwhelmed after her sheltered upbringing and quickly falls into an engagement with a local rancher, Laird, who pursues her aggressively. She doesn't know much about this man other than the nice face he put on for courting. On her wedding eve she starts to have misapprehensions about Laird, but before the wedding night she is kidnapped by the hero.
The hero, Andre, hates Laird and has been waiting for five years to get revenge on him. Andre had been married to a Chinese girl who Laird brutally raped while he was away getting supplies. His wife committed suicide shortly afterwards. Andre's plan was to wait until Laird married and then steal his wife and take her to the cabin he lived in with his wife. His plot was that Laird would show up to get his wife back and Andre would kill him.
Andre never intended harm against whoever Laird married. She was just an abstract tool of revenge that he planned to set free once he killed Laird. In reality, things didn't quite go to plan. For one, he didn't expect Laird's wife to be someone he was drawn to and he didn't expect her to be a nice, naive girl. He also (and this is shocking) overestimated Laird's humanity. He expected him to come right to them, while in reality Laird wasn't even sure he wanted Laura anymore now that he assumed Andre had raped her. He'd married her because her purity was a novelty and now Andre had, in his mind, ruined her. He still planned revenge, but he wasn't going to go off half-cocked and rush into a fair fight with Andre. Instead, he goes back home and puts together a band of hired gunman to go in and take Andre out.
Andre realizes his miscalculation when Laird doesn't show up as soon as he assumed. He's also become very enamored with Laura. So, he decides he'll just take Laura and keep her. Aside from being a rancher, he's also a bigshot tycoon type in San Francisco, so he has lawyers who he intends to use to get Laura an annulment on the grounds of non-consummation so she can marry him.
Laura doesn't get much say in this. You can feel her frustration. She finds Andre dangerously attractive, but she's not sure she believes the story he tells her plus she holds marriage vows sacred. Andre is determined, however, and eventually in a very dubious consent (but not quite bodice ripper style) situation they sleep together. Laura also admits she's in love.
Andre can be a really sweet guy once he sees past his vengeance, so I didn't dislike him. I did, however, want to smack him several times.
Andre leaves for a few days to confer with his lawyers and this is where things get really messed up. Andre's dead wife's father is his servant and obviously not happy that Andre didn't follow through with the original plan. As soon as Andre leaves he tells her that Andre doesn't want her anymore that he's to take her to the train station and send her back to her husband with one word "revenge".
Laura is heartbroken and when she arrives back at Laird's he sees her as damaged goods and almost beats her to death, thankfully he doesn't rape her too. So, she sets out to live her life on her own in San Francisco, taking a job in a pharmacy and barely surviving. Plus she finds out she's having Andre's baby. Lots of drama.
When Andre finally tracks her down he's very angry that she left him and forces a marriage. Even when the truth comes out about his father-in-law's lies he still blames Laura. He even refuses to dismiss the old man. I understand some loyalty and guilt, but come on!
Of course, Laird still plans revenge and there is drama around that. At that point Andre really realizes everything Laura went through (the beating, almost starving in San Fran) but as usual the grovel was a bit late in the game.
It also bothers me that several parallels are made to Laura's looks and those of his dead wife. Obviously, Andre is attracted to small women with dark hair. Many people have a preferred physical type, I get it. However, it does nothing for me to have the heroine being compared to the dead wife even if it is in a purely physical sense.
The heroine is quite well drawn. She was raised on the east coast with a stepmother who was very cold, puritanical, and controlling/abusive. The heroine had musical talent and the stepmother was determined she would become a professional concert pianist and was very pushy to the point that she almost destroyed Laura's love of music.
Laura runs away at the age of 20 and takes a train out west to Sacramento. She is immediately overwhelmed after her sheltered upbringing and quickly falls into an engagement with a local rancher, Laird, who pursues her aggressively. She doesn't know much about this man other than the nice face he put on for courting. On her wedding eve she starts to have misapprehensions about Laird, but before the wedding night she is kidnapped by the hero.
The hero, Andre, hates Laird and has been waiting for five years to get revenge on him. Andre had been married to a Chinese girl who Laird brutally raped while he was away getting supplies. His wife committed suicide shortly afterwards. Andre's plan was to wait until Laird married and then steal his wife and take her to the cabin he lived in with his wife. His plot was that Laird would show up to get his wife back and Andre would kill him.
Andre never intended harm against whoever Laird married. She was just an abstract tool of revenge that he planned to set free once he killed Laird. In reality, things didn't quite go to plan. For one, he didn't expect Laird's wife to be someone he was drawn to and he didn't expect her to be a nice, naive girl. He also (and this is shocking) overestimated Laird's humanity. He expected him to come right to them, while in reality Laird wasn't even sure he wanted Laura anymore now that he assumed Andre had raped her. He'd married her because her purity was a novelty and now Andre had, in his mind, ruined her. He still planned revenge, but he wasn't going to go off half-cocked and rush into a fair fight with Andre. Instead, he goes back home and puts together a band of hired gunman to go in and take Andre out.
Andre realizes his miscalculation when Laird doesn't show up as soon as he assumed. He's also become very enamored with Laura. So, he decides he'll just take Laura and keep her. Aside from being a rancher, he's also a bigshot tycoon type in San Francisco, so he has lawyers who he intends to use to get Laura an annulment on the grounds of non-consummation so she can marry him.
Laura doesn't get much say in this. You can feel her frustration. She finds Andre dangerously attractive, but she's not sure she believes the story he tells her plus she holds marriage vows sacred. Andre is determined, however, and eventually in a very dubious consent (but not quite bodice ripper style) situation they sleep together. Laura also admits she's in love.
Andre can be a really sweet guy once he sees past his vengeance, so I didn't dislike him. I did, however, want to smack him several times.
Andre leaves for a few days to confer with his lawyers and this is where things get really messed up. Andre's dead wife's father is his servant and obviously not happy that Andre didn't follow through with the original plan. As soon as Andre leaves he tells her that Andre doesn't want her anymore that he's to take her to the train station and send her back to her husband with one word "revenge".
Laura is heartbroken and when she arrives back at Laird's he sees her as damaged goods and almost beats her to death, thankfully he doesn't rape her too. So, she sets out to live her life on her own in San Francisco, taking a job in a pharmacy and barely surviving. Plus she finds out she's having Andre's baby. Lots of drama.
When Andre finally tracks her down he's very angry that she left him and forces a marriage. Even when the truth comes out about his father-in-law's lies he still blames Laura. He even refuses to dismiss the old man. I understand some loyalty and guilt, but come on!
Of course, Laird still plans revenge and there is drama around that. At that point Andre really realizes everything Laura went through (the beating, almost starving in San Fran) but as usual the grovel was a bit late in the game.
It also bothers me that several parallels are made to Laura's looks and those of his dead wife. Obviously, Andre is attracted to small women with dark hair. Many people have a preferred physical type, I get it. However, it does nothing for me to have the heroine being compared to the dead wife even if it is in a purely physical sense.
May 29, 2021
This review is of “Captive Melody”, a standalone from January 1989 by Nadine Crenshaw.
The book starts in July, 1876, Northern California. A young wife, Ling Kee (I’m writing her name in the traditional Chinese way, last name first) is brutally attacked by three “men”; among them is Richard Laird, a rancher. After being beaten and raped, Ling Kee commits suicide.
Fast forward five years. Laird has just married Laura Upton, the heroine of the book. Their marriage won’t last, however, as on their wedding night, Laura is kidnapped by Andre Sheridan, the hero of the book, and Ling Kee’s husband. Andre plans to hold Laura as bait to draw Richard to Andre’s home and kill him.
As Andre takes Laura further away from Laird, they become attracted to each other, later acting on that attraction. Andre later takes Laura to one of his homes-he is quite wealthy-and their relationship deepens. One person not happy about this is Ling Soo, Andre’s housekeeper and Ling Kee’s father, who tries to break up their relationship.
After some time together, Andre sends Laura back to Laird. Big mistake. He tries to rape Laura and beats her brutally. Laurea leaves Laird-say that three times quickly-and gets a job in a pharmacy. She also discovers she’s pregnant with Andre’s baby and obtains another suitor, Yale Talbot,
Andre finds Laura after a long search, and breaks up her relationship with Talbot. Andre then compels Laura to marry him. They are happy for a while-Laura is pregnant-but then Laird shows up again. A violent confrontation takes place between Andre and Laird, and Laird is killed, not by Andre, but by Laura.
In the end, Laura becomes a famous concert pianist-fulling a dream her stepmother had for her-and Laura, Andre and their daughter have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: The fact that I finished it, which was accomplished only by speed reading and skimming; the reasons are explained below.
Downside: “Captive Melody” contains two tropes I HATE in books: revenge by proxy and Stockholm Syndrome. They’re both here, and they’re both terrible.
Question: Why do “heroes” in these books go after defenseless, innocent women? The answer: they’re really cowards. Going after a man requires emotional, financial, mental and physical strength. There is also the possibility that the "hero"could get killed. Going after a woman: most of those things are much less likely to happen, especially when the woman is an oatmeal, milquetoast heroine like Laura Upton.
Andre is, to put it simply, an abusive, arrogant, brutal, egotistical, possessive, predatory, self-centered, uncaring, unfeeling bastard. There are no redeeming qualities about him whatsoever.
Now, for an equal opportunity unloading on Laura, who is the dumbest romance novel heroine I’ve read since Eugenia Scott in Cassie Edwards’ putrid “Eugenia’s Embrace”. To be fair to her, she has been abused her entire life; first by her stepmother, then by Laird, then by Andre, then Yale, and finally back to Andre. (To be fair, Andre doesn’t physically strike Laura-big whoop-but every other action toward Laura is abusive). She has all the personality of white bread, and similar intelligence.
Sex: One really good love scene, and there are others, but the scene is dampened by the fact that Andre manipulated Laura into having sex with him, then used her lust for him to coerce more sexual favors as the book goes on.
Violence: When Laura goes back to Laird, he brutally beats her. Later, Andre and Laird have their confrontation; which is violent, before Laura shoots and kills Laird. The first scene is somewhat graphic; the latter is not.
Bottom Line: If it were possible to give less than one star to a book, “Captive Melody” would be the one. I’m not going to say “I’ll never read another book by” this author, Ms. Crenshaw, but “Captive Melody” certainly doesn’t inspire any enthusiasm for any books I’ll read by her in the future.
The book starts in July, 1876, Northern California. A young wife, Ling Kee (I’m writing her name in the traditional Chinese way, last name first) is brutally attacked by three “men”; among them is Richard Laird, a rancher. After being beaten and raped, Ling Kee commits suicide.
Fast forward five years. Laird has just married Laura Upton, the heroine of the book. Their marriage won’t last, however, as on their wedding night, Laura is kidnapped by Andre Sheridan, the hero of the book, and Ling Kee’s husband. Andre plans to hold Laura as bait to draw Richard to Andre’s home and kill him.
As Andre takes Laura further away from Laird, they become attracted to each other, later acting on that attraction. Andre later takes Laura to one of his homes-he is quite wealthy-and their relationship deepens. One person not happy about this is Ling Soo, Andre’s housekeeper and Ling Kee’s father, who tries to break up their relationship.
After some time together, Andre sends Laura back to Laird. Big mistake. He tries to rape Laura and beats her brutally. Laurea leaves Laird-say that three times quickly-and gets a job in a pharmacy. She also discovers she’s pregnant with Andre’s baby and obtains another suitor, Yale Talbot,
Andre finds Laura after a long search, and breaks up her relationship with Talbot. Andre then compels Laura to marry him. They are happy for a while-Laura is pregnant-but then Laird shows up again. A violent confrontation takes place between Andre and Laird, and Laird is killed, not by Andre, but by Laura.
In the end, Laura becomes a famous concert pianist-fulling a dream her stepmother had for her-and Laura, Andre and their daughter have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: The fact that I finished it, which was accomplished only by speed reading and skimming; the reasons are explained below.
Downside: “Captive Melody” contains two tropes I HATE in books: revenge by proxy and Stockholm Syndrome. They’re both here, and they’re both terrible.
Question: Why do “heroes” in these books go after defenseless, innocent women? The answer: they’re really cowards. Going after a man requires emotional, financial, mental and physical strength. There is also the possibility that the "hero"could get killed. Going after a woman: most of those things are much less likely to happen, especially when the woman is an oatmeal, milquetoast heroine like Laura Upton.
Andre is, to put it simply, an abusive, arrogant, brutal, egotistical, possessive, predatory, self-centered, uncaring, unfeeling bastard. There are no redeeming qualities about him whatsoever.
Now, for an equal opportunity unloading on Laura, who is the dumbest romance novel heroine I’ve read since Eugenia Scott in Cassie Edwards’ putrid “Eugenia’s Embrace”. To be fair to her, she has been abused her entire life; first by her stepmother, then by Laird, then by Andre, then Yale, and finally back to Andre. (To be fair, Andre doesn’t physically strike Laura-big whoop-but every other action toward Laura is abusive). She has all the personality of white bread, and similar intelligence.
Sex: One really good love scene, and there are others, but the scene is dampened by the fact that Andre manipulated Laura into having sex with him, then used her lust for him to coerce more sexual favors as the book goes on.
Violence: When Laura goes back to Laird, he brutally beats her. Later, Andre and Laird have their confrontation; which is violent, before Laura shoots and kills Laird. The first scene is somewhat graphic; the latter is not.
Bottom Line: If it were possible to give less than one star to a book, “Captive Melody” would be the one. I’m not going to say “I’ll never read another book by” this author, Ms. Crenshaw, but “Captive Melody” certainly doesn’t inspire any enthusiasm for any books I’ll read by her in the future.
February 24, 2012
Wonderful Love Story Set in 19th century California
This was Crenshaw’s second historical novel following her Golden Heart winner, MOUNTAIN MISTRESS (another 5 star romance). Like her first and all her others (see list below), it’s a keeper. I have only found two or three other romance authors who are so consistently good, who deliver a 5 star story every single time.
This story pits a hurting vengeance-seeking hero against an innocent, courageous heroine who is thrown so many disasters, you will think you are reading the Perils of Pauline. Like many of Crenshaw’s, it includes treachery, a cruel villain and a heroine who needs convincing of the hero’s ever-consistent love. It’s one thing I love about Crenshaw: her heroes never stop loving their women. Yes, they get angry, but they fall in love early in the story and never give up.
Laura Upton wanted adventure and freedom from her controlling stepmother who drilled Laura unmercifully to make her a concert pianist, so Laura left her home in the East to travel alone to California in 1881. The first day she stepped off the train, she stumbled into the arms of Richard Laird, an overpowering rancher who started making decisions for her and the next thing she knew, she was engaged to him. On her wedding day, she regrets her hasty decision because the man she just married frightens her. But before the wedding night, Andre Sheridan abducts her. Andre has waited five years for Richard Laird to take a wife, so he could have his revenge on the man who raped and destroyed Andre’s young Chinese bride. He intended to steal Laird’s bride and use her to lure Laird into a fight so he can kill him. The young bride Andre stole was of no importance to him, but he is surprised at her beauty, innocence and dignity. Instantly attracted to Laura, he cannot imagine any woman of quality willing to wed the evil Laird. And that is just the beginning of the complex tale.
It will hold your attention, I promise. I recommend it!
This was Crenshaw’s second historical novel following her Golden Heart winner, MOUNTAIN MISTRESS (another 5 star romance). Like her first and all her others (see list below), it’s a keeper. I have only found two or three other romance authors who are so consistently good, who deliver a 5 star story every single time.
This story pits a hurting vengeance-seeking hero against an innocent, courageous heroine who is thrown so many disasters, you will think you are reading the Perils of Pauline. Like many of Crenshaw’s, it includes treachery, a cruel villain and a heroine who needs convincing of the hero’s ever-consistent love. It’s one thing I love about Crenshaw: her heroes never stop loving their women. Yes, they get angry, but they fall in love early in the story and never give up.
Laura Upton wanted adventure and freedom from her controlling stepmother who drilled Laura unmercifully to make her a concert pianist, so Laura left her home in the East to travel alone to California in 1881. The first day she stepped off the train, she stumbled into the arms of Richard Laird, an overpowering rancher who started making decisions for her and the next thing she knew, she was engaged to him. On her wedding day, she regrets her hasty decision because the man she just married frightens her. But before the wedding night, Andre Sheridan abducts her. Andre has waited five years for Richard Laird to take a wife, so he could have his revenge on the man who raped and destroyed Andre’s young Chinese bride. He intended to steal Laird’s bride and use her to lure Laird into a fight so he can kill him. The young bride Andre stole was of no importance to him, but he is surprised at her beauty, innocence and dignity. Instantly attracted to Laura, he cannot imagine any woman of quality willing to wed the evil Laird. And that is just the beginning of the complex tale.
It will hold your attention, I promise. I recommend it!
October 3, 2024
This started out intriguing, but there were two big flaws that ruined it for me. The first was that the h's musical talent was pretty much ignored until the very end of the book, The second was, that after she had a husband who was abusive and a lover (the H) who apparently abandoned her, she was willing to get involved with yet another Mr. Wrong, a man who was ready and eager to set her up as his mistress. True, she was had lost her job, was pregnant and felt she had nowhere to turn, but with all that musical gift, and living in a city, she could have found employment somewhere, her pregnancy notwithstanding. It may have been the 19th c, but she was telling people she was a widow so she'd have been considered respectable, and penniless widows always garnered sympathy.
Instead, she too easily gets talked into something that goes against her moral standards, even bargains with her would-be lover, telling him he either buys her a house or she keeps her legs together. We're supposed to believe this innocent Mary Sue has become a calculating kept woman overnight???
Even worse, she feels nothing for this man, not even a hint of desire (she tests this out by letting him kiss and grope her), and after being beaten by her ex and supposedly seduced and abandoned by the h, it's tough to believe she'd be so ready to let another man use her body, let alone offer it up as a business deal.
Worse still, was the way he talked to her, asking for a feel here or there, to let him put his hand up her skirt, for her to open her legs a little, DISGUSTING!!! He sounded like a horny teenage boy! At least a teenager has an excuse for that crude talk, but a grown, supposedly sophisticated man???? If I were her, I'd have put my knee to good use and made him sing soprano!
Worst of all, she was contemplating having sex with him while pregnant with the H's baby! GROSS!!!!
Not that the H was anything to rave about, as he had kidnapped her and planned to use her as part of a revenge plot against her ex. But still, it just seemed so sleazy to me!
Also: the reason she ran away and got into this mess was because she believed some negative stuff she heard about the H, without considering the source (the H's former father-in-law, who was not exactly unbiased). Not the brightest person!
Afterward, when the H explains a lot of things (finally) and points out that she had several alternatives she could have considered, rather than become a rich guy's plaything, she acted like a dim bulb and felt she had no choice. In fact, at one point in the story she actually felt it was her duty to go back to her ex, and nearly got the crap beaten out of her by that dumb decision!!!
(The ex did the beating, NOT the H!)
I think this h was a bit of a masochist and maybe got a kick out of men using her. After all, she fell for the H when he was in revenge mode and wanted her for a bargaining chip, as well as a bed warmer. And later, when he kept telling her he loved her, wanted to marry her and wanted their baby, she kept stubbornly resisting him. Maybe if he had slapped her a bit, called her a bimbo and fondled her breasts in public, she'd have said yes sooner???
Even after she learns the OM cared so little for her that he readily accepted money and a good job offer to dump her, she was still polite to him the next time they met, as if she were afraid of hurting his feelings. RIDICULOUS!!!
I'll bet if some crazy man showed up in town with tons of dynamite, ready to blow up everyone in sight unless he got a night of passion with a woman, she'd gladly have offered herself up as a sacrifice!
TSTL AND DNF
Instead, she too easily gets talked into something that goes against her moral standards, even bargains with her would-be lover, telling him he either buys her a house or she keeps her legs together. We're supposed to believe this innocent Mary Sue has become a calculating kept woman overnight???
Even worse, she feels nothing for this man, not even a hint of desire (she tests this out by letting him kiss and grope her), and after being beaten by her ex and supposedly seduced and abandoned by the h, it's tough to believe she'd be so ready to let another man use her body, let alone offer it up as a business deal.
Worse still, was the way he talked to her, asking for a feel here or there, to let him put his hand up her skirt, for her to open her legs a little, DISGUSTING!!! He sounded like a horny teenage boy! At least a teenager has an excuse for that crude talk, but a grown, supposedly sophisticated man???? If I were her, I'd have put my knee to good use and made him sing soprano!
Worst of all, she was contemplating having sex with him while pregnant with the H's baby! GROSS!!!!
Not that the H was anything to rave about, as he had kidnapped her and planned to use her as part of a revenge plot against her ex. But still, it just seemed so sleazy to me!
Also: the reason she ran away and got into this mess was because she believed some negative stuff she heard about the H, without considering the source (the H's former father-in-law, who was not exactly unbiased). Not the brightest person!
Afterward, when the H explains a lot of things (finally) and points out that she had several alternatives she could have considered, rather than become a rich guy's plaything, she acted like a dim bulb and felt she had no choice. In fact, at one point in the story she actually felt it was her duty to go back to her ex, and nearly got the crap beaten out of her by that dumb decision!!!
(The ex did the beating, NOT the H!)
I think this h was a bit of a masochist and maybe got a kick out of men using her. After all, she fell for the H when he was in revenge mode and wanted her for a bargaining chip, as well as a bed warmer. And later, when he kept telling her he loved her, wanted to marry her and wanted their baby, she kept stubbornly resisting him. Maybe if he had slapped her a bit, called her a bimbo and fondled her breasts in public, she'd have said yes sooner???
Even after she learns the OM cared so little for her that he readily accepted money and a good job offer to dump her, she was still polite to him the next time they met, as if she were afraid of hurting his feelings. RIDICULOUS!!!
I'll bet if some crazy man showed up in town with tons of dynamite, ready to blow up everyone in sight unless he got a night of passion with a woman, she'd gladly have offered herself up as a sacrifice!
TSTL AND DNF
dnf
July 13, 2025Gave a retry. It’s MEH.
H kidnaps h at her wedding. He kidnaps her because her husband raped his wife and then the wife killed herself.
After kidnapping when they ride on horse through jungles was very harsh. H was not at all understanding or caring. He keeps touching and manhandling the h creepily. He was a biggest Creep.
No chemistry.
Also H getting revenge for ow (because they love ow) is not really my trope. Still I gave this book a chance. A double chance I must say. First time I quickly abandoned. Second time I read a bit further. Still it didn’t hook me.
H kidnaps h at her wedding. He kidnaps her because her husband raped his wife and then the wife killed herself.
After kidnapping when they ride on horse through jungles was very harsh. H was not at all understanding or caring. He keeps touching and manhandling the h creepily. He was a biggest Creep.
No chemistry.
Also H getting revenge for ow (because they love ow) is not really my trope. Still I gave this book a chance. A double chance I must say. First time I quickly abandoned. Second time I read a bit further. Still it didn’t hook me.
July 25, 2017
LOVED it!!!! Kept my interest and not just a little bit. Exciting and great characters. A super fun read.
December 4, 2020
lots of tuneful fondling
May 28, 2023
This lacked the strength of Edin’s Embrace. The book was a little to mawkish, too saccharine at times with all the exclamations of undying love that kept being questioned just a short while after that.
While there was a lot of communication it almost seemed like every conversation ended with them in bed. That isn’t always necessary.
I also didn’t like Andre’s blowing hot and cold the whole time. I get that he thought he had a right to be angry but I expected a better drawn hero since reading Ms. Crenshaw’s five star novel.
I did like the parts with Laird, he was a very suitable, albeit one-sided, villain. Dr. Kellog was a fun character. I wished we could see more of her romance. It seems like secondary characters are Ms. Crenshaw’s strong point. They aren’t strictly needed, but they add so much depth to a story.
I didn’t feel like the time period made that big of a difference in the novel in the same way it did in Edin’s book. Tidbits were thrown around but it seemed there wasn’t much purpose. Why was Garfield’s illness CONSTANTLY mentioned?
The purple prose was WAY over the top here. The constant references to music started getting annoying after the fifth mention. We get it! It’s in the title! Stop metaphorizing (my contribution to English) it to death. And nobody wants to read about body parts that are so firm they resemble bursting fruit. Gross.
While there was a lot of communication it almost seemed like every conversation ended with them in bed. That isn’t always necessary.
I also didn’t like Andre’s blowing hot and cold the whole time. I get that he thought he had a right to be angry but I expected a better drawn hero since reading Ms. Crenshaw’s five star novel.
I did like the parts with Laird, he was a very suitable, albeit one-sided, villain. Dr. Kellog was a fun character. I wished we could see more of her romance. It seems like secondary characters are Ms. Crenshaw’s strong point. They aren’t strictly needed, but they add so much depth to a story.
I didn’t feel like the time period made that big of a difference in the novel in the same way it did in Edin’s book. Tidbits were thrown around but it seemed there wasn’t much purpose. Why was Garfield’s illness CONSTANTLY mentioned?
The purple prose was WAY over the top here. The constant references to music started getting annoying after the fifth mention. We get it! It’s in the title! Stop metaphorizing (my contribution to English) it to death. And nobody wants to read about body parts that are so firm they resemble bursting fruit. Gross.
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