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Sweet Paradise
The toast of New York's society bachelors, exotically beautiful Araby Stone-Leigh traveled West in search of a real man. What she found was Lake Montana. Arrogant unpredictable, tough, he was too wildly rugged to be handsome, yet the men back East suddenly seemed mere boys by comparison.Stranded in the wilderness, forced to share his bedroll beneath the glittering stars, Araby longed for the searing ecstasy of his tender kisses. This was one man who refused to treat her like a lady, the only man whose hard loving brought her... SWEET PARADISE
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 24, 2025
The male model on this cover looks like Pa Ingalls to me. Despite that, I still love this cover and think it's gorgeous.
...
Set in 1890, heroine Araby Stone-Leigh - a successful actress in New York City - is traveling to Idaho following the death of her beloved uncle. Her uncle left his ranch to her, with the stipulation that she must spend some time on the property in order to inherit it. She isn't interested in the property or uprooting her life to move out West, but feels she owes this to her uncle as they hadn't talked much before his death. Idaho suddenly seems a whole lot more appealing to Araby when she arrives at the ranch and meets her uncle's handsome cowboy neighbor, Jake Montana. Araby also meets her uncle's two shifty stepsons, and she can't shake the feeling that there was something suspicious about his death.
...
This was a good one, but nothing spectacular. Araby was an enjoyable heroine, and I particularly liked that she was an actress and drew on her acting skills frequently. I love it when heroines have interesting jobs or abilities. The most notable thing about Jake as a hero was his shyness, which I liked because it is unusual in a genre full of alpha male heroes.
Still, their relationship felt lopsided. Jake is the first man Araby meets in Idaho, and she is immediately willing to throw her acting career out the window - literally asking herself "just how long could she have endured so purposeless an existence" of being an incredibly successful and highly sought after actress in NYC. Like I wouldn't consider that a purposeless existence, but okay lol. Araby throws herself at Jake, and in return he is reluctant to commit to her. On one hand it's understandable that Jake is overwhelmed by Araby, because girl is coming in HOT, but on the other hand I don't think it's an attractive quality for a romance hero to waffle about his feelings for the heroine like that.
This book is set around Castle Rocks, ID, which today is Castle Rocks State Park. I think with a little digging, I could probably find a romance novel set in every national and state park in the US. 80s and 90s bodice ripper authors love a state park, and they always seem to be finding the most niche locations, which I think is charming.
Storyline wise, the plot was predictable but not poorly done and had a few of the ridiculous plot elements that I love so much in a bodice ripper. I thought that the villains were good and a little unsettling - as a villain should be. And again, I thought Araby's character was a highlight in the story. That said, the story was weighed down by a copious amount of repetitive, unimaginative sex scenes (which is odd because I thought that the sex scenes were well done in the other JPP book I've read, Bahama Rapture). There were also some glaring plot holes that were unresolved when the story wrapped up.
I have unintentionally thrifted almost all of Jolene Prewit-Parker's catalog, so I will definitely be reading more from her in the future. She seems to be a solid 3-star author for me.
...
Set in 1890, heroine Araby Stone-Leigh - a successful actress in New York City - is traveling to Idaho following the death of her beloved uncle. Her uncle left his ranch to her, with the stipulation that she must spend some time on the property in order to inherit it. She isn't interested in the property or uprooting her life to move out West, but feels she owes this to her uncle as they hadn't talked much before his death. Idaho suddenly seems a whole lot more appealing to Araby when she arrives at the ranch and meets her uncle's handsome cowboy neighbor, Jake Montana. Araby also meets her uncle's two shifty stepsons, and she can't shake the feeling that there was something suspicious about his death.
...
This was a good one, but nothing spectacular. Araby was an enjoyable heroine, and I particularly liked that she was an actress and drew on her acting skills frequently. I love it when heroines have interesting jobs or abilities. The most notable thing about Jake as a hero was his shyness, which I liked because it is unusual in a genre full of alpha male heroes.
Still, their relationship felt lopsided. Jake is the first man Araby meets in Idaho, and she is immediately willing to throw her acting career out the window - literally asking herself "just how long could she have endured so purposeless an existence" of being an incredibly successful and highly sought after actress in NYC. Like I wouldn't consider that a purposeless existence, but okay lol. Araby throws herself at Jake, and in return he is reluctant to commit to her. On one hand it's understandable that Jake is overwhelmed by Araby, because girl is coming in HOT, but on the other hand I don't think it's an attractive quality for a romance hero to waffle about his feelings for the heroine like that.
This book is set around Castle Rocks, ID, which today is Castle Rocks State Park. I think with a little digging, I could probably find a romance novel set in every national and state park in the US. 80s and 90s bodice ripper authors love a state park, and they always seem to be finding the most niche locations, which I think is charming.
Storyline wise, the plot was predictable but not poorly done and had a few of the ridiculous plot elements that I love so much in a bodice ripper. I thought that the villains were good and a little unsettling - as a villain should be. And again, I thought Araby's character was a highlight in the story. That said, the story was weighed down by a copious amount of repetitive, unimaginative sex scenes (which is odd because I thought that the sex scenes were well done in the other JPP book I've read, Bahama Rapture). There were also some glaring plot holes that were unresolved when the story wrapped up.
I have unintentionally thrifted almost all of Jolene Prewit-Parker's catalog, so I will definitely be reading more from her in the future. She seems to be a solid 3-star author for me.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review