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Wanton Splendor
STORM OF PASSION
Kathleen had every intention of keeping her distance from the dangerously handsome Christopher Fletcher. But when a hurricane devastated Derniere Island, she crept into Chris's arms for comfort. The mocking look in his face made her palm itch to slap him. Yet the animal strength of his lean body and the heat of his breath upon her cheek made her wonder breathlessly what it would be like to kiss those cynical lips, and turn the amused glint in his eyes to the glitter of desire...
RAPTURE'S FLOWER
Christopher had every intention of keeping his distance from the spirited young Miss Kingsford. But as his eyes moved appreciatively from her windswept hair and fiery jade-green eyes, down to the swell of her rain-soaked bodice, he was overcome by Kathleen's golden beauty. Pressing his lips to her creamy throat, he slowly caressed her velvet flesh. Amid the fury of passion's storm, they surrendered forever to...
Kathleen had every intention of keeping her distance from the dangerously handsome Christopher Fletcher. But when a hurricane devastated Derniere Island, she crept into Chris's arms for comfort. The mocking look in his face made her palm itch to slap him. Yet the animal strength of his lean body and the heat of his breath upon her cheek made her wonder breathlessly what it would be like to kiss those cynical lips, and turn the amused glint in his eyes to the glitter of desire...
RAPTURE'S FLOWER
Christopher had every intention of keeping his distance from the spirited young Miss Kingsford. But as his eyes moved appreciatively from her windswept hair and fiery jade-green eyes, down to the swell of her rain-soaked bodice, he was overcome by Kathleen's golden beauty. Pressing his lips to her creamy throat, he slowly caressed her velvet flesh. Amid the fury of passion's storm, they surrendered forever to...
446 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1984
32 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Bobbi Smith
71 books514 followersAfter working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and several short stories. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. When she's not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writer's groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 6, 2019
This review is of “Wanton Splendor” by Bobbi Smith.
The book begins in 1855 in a New Orleans (One of Mrs. Smith’s three go-to settings; the others are St. Louis and Arizona) gaming hall. It is here that Christopher Fletcher, the hero of the book, a wealthy man about town from Philadelphia, wins a card game against, among others, Andre Montard, a wealthy Louisiana planter’s son. There will be many more interactions between Christopher and the Montard family, and none will be positive. Soon after the card game, Christopher buys a slave, Joel, and sets him free; Joel later becomes Christopher’s manservant. (Christopher’s backstory: as mentioned, he comes from a wealthy old money Philadelphia family. Both of his parents have passed, and Christopher is bored with life and looking for adventure. He’ll certainly find it!)
A year later, aboard a steamship headed again for New Orleans, Christopher is in another card game; among the players are Andre and his father, Emil, and Mark Kingsford, younger brother of Kathleen “Katie” Kingsford, the heroine of the book. Christopher wins against the Montards again, this time winning a plantation, Greenwood. (This was not unintentional. The Montards own Joel’s wife and son; Christopher previously tried to buy them from Emil to free them and reunite them with Joel; Emil refused; hence, this attempt). After the game, Mark, who is drunk and heavily influenced-not in a good way-by Andre, tries to pick a fight with Christopher. Mark loses. Seeing Mark knocked out, Katie plants a facer on Christopher. After this unusual meeting, Katie apologizes for Mark’s behavior, and begins spending time with Christopher, much to the dismay of Andre, who is pursuing her. (Katie’s backstory: she and Mark live with their father, George, a railroad surveyor; their mother Geraldine passed years ago. Katie and Mark are going to New Orleans to live for a while with their Uncle Isaac and their Aunt Suzanne).
When they reach New Orleans, Katie and Mark discover that “Aunt Suzanne” is far from matronly-she is many years younger than Isaac. She and Isaac have an unhappy marriage; he, like many wealthy Louisiana men, has a quadroon mistress on the side. Suzanne has started taking lovers herself; among them, Andre Montard. She soon adds her nephew to her list of lovers.
Readers soon learn that Christopher didn’t come to New Orleans just for fun; he is working with the Underground Railroad. In a similar vein, he and Joel arrive at Greenwood early to prevent Andre from selling Joel’s wife, Dee. Christopher and Katie become lovers, and Suzanne continues to push Andre’s suit of Katie. To that end, Suzanne also tries to seduce Christopher herself. She fails. Mark also soon discovers Suzanne’s true colors and ditches her; he later falls in love with and marries a young Louisiana woman, Jacqueline La Zear.
The book then shifts to Last Island, off the coast of Louisiana, as the wealthy leave New Orleans to get away from the oppressive heat. Tragedy soon strikes when a major hurricane destroys the island; most of the people survive, but Isaac is mortally injured and later dies from his injuries sustained during the hurricane. Before he passes, however, Isaac divorces Suzanne and rewrites his will giving much of his fortune to his mistress and true love, Cherie Delabarre, and their son, Denis.
Christopher proposes to Katie, and she accepts. Andre, who also proposed to Katie, is furious at this turn of events and decides to try to ruin Christopher by exposing his abolitionist actions. Andre tries to blackmail Katie; when Joel tries to intervene, Andre shoots and kills him. Later, Dee kills Andre. Aware of what can happen when a slave kills a white man, Katie and Dee, along with Joel and Dee’s son, flee for St. Louis and the protection of George. When Emil discovers Andre is dead, he tracks the women to St. Louis to exact revenge. Christopher is shot by slave patrollers and seriously wounded, but with care and help from Cherie and Mark, he makes it to St. Louis. Emil does catch up with Dee and Katie, but is stopped by George from doing them harm.
In the end, George stops Emil by offering him a deal: Christopher will give Emil back Greenwood-minus the slaves-in exchange for not telling about Christopher’s activities. Christopher and Katie, in turn, will not press charges against Emil for abducting Dee. Mark agrees to stay in New Orleans to be with Jacqui, while Christopher gives up his work with the Underground Railroad, and agrees to go west with Katie, Dee and George, and work on the railroad with George. Katie and Christopher have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I really liked Katie. She can fight, shoot, hunt and do a lot of “unladylike” things, but can also be very feminine when she wishes. Christopher is a nice character as well, although I was disappointed to see him give up helping slaves, it’s understandable given the danger he would be in.
Downside: There really isn’t much depth or character development; then again, there isn’t much depth or character development in any of Mrs’s. Smith’s books.
Sex: There are multiple sex scenes in “Wanton Splendor”. Some are mildly graphic, none approach erotica.
Violence: Assault, battery, sexual assault, shootings and killings. None of the violence is graphic.
Bottom Line: “Wanton Splendor” is just like most of Mrs. Smith’s books. Not exceptional in any way, but really really good.
The book begins in 1855 in a New Orleans (One of Mrs. Smith’s three go-to settings; the others are St. Louis and Arizona) gaming hall. It is here that Christopher Fletcher, the hero of the book, a wealthy man about town from Philadelphia, wins a card game against, among others, Andre Montard, a wealthy Louisiana planter’s son. There will be many more interactions between Christopher and the Montard family, and none will be positive. Soon after the card game, Christopher buys a slave, Joel, and sets him free; Joel later becomes Christopher’s manservant. (Christopher’s backstory: as mentioned, he comes from a wealthy old money Philadelphia family. Both of his parents have passed, and Christopher is bored with life and looking for adventure. He’ll certainly find it!)
A year later, aboard a steamship headed again for New Orleans, Christopher is in another card game; among the players are Andre and his father, Emil, and Mark Kingsford, younger brother of Kathleen “Katie” Kingsford, the heroine of the book. Christopher wins against the Montards again, this time winning a plantation, Greenwood. (This was not unintentional. The Montards own Joel’s wife and son; Christopher previously tried to buy them from Emil to free them and reunite them with Joel; Emil refused; hence, this attempt). After the game, Mark, who is drunk and heavily influenced-not in a good way-by Andre, tries to pick a fight with Christopher. Mark loses. Seeing Mark knocked out, Katie plants a facer on Christopher. After this unusual meeting, Katie apologizes for Mark’s behavior, and begins spending time with Christopher, much to the dismay of Andre, who is pursuing her. (Katie’s backstory: she and Mark live with their father, George, a railroad surveyor; their mother Geraldine passed years ago. Katie and Mark are going to New Orleans to live for a while with their Uncle Isaac and their Aunt Suzanne).
When they reach New Orleans, Katie and Mark discover that “Aunt Suzanne” is far from matronly-she is many years younger than Isaac. She and Isaac have an unhappy marriage; he, like many wealthy Louisiana men, has a quadroon mistress on the side. Suzanne has started taking lovers herself; among them, Andre Montard. She soon adds her nephew to her list of lovers.
Readers soon learn that Christopher didn’t come to New Orleans just for fun; he is working with the Underground Railroad. In a similar vein, he and Joel arrive at Greenwood early to prevent Andre from selling Joel’s wife, Dee. Christopher and Katie become lovers, and Suzanne continues to push Andre’s suit of Katie. To that end, Suzanne also tries to seduce Christopher herself. She fails. Mark also soon discovers Suzanne’s true colors and ditches her; he later falls in love with and marries a young Louisiana woman, Jacqueline La Zear.
The book then shifts to Last Island, off the coast of Louisiana, as the wealthy leave New Orleans to get away from the oppressive heat. Tragedy soon strikes when a major hurricane destroys the island; most of the people survive, but Isaac is mortally injured and later dies from his injuries sustained during the hurricane. Before he passes, however, Isaac divorces Suzanne and rewrites his will giving much of his fortune to his mistress and true love, Cherie Delabarre, and their son, Denis.
Christopher proposes to Katie, and she accepts. Andre, who also proposed to Katie, is furious at this turn of events and decides to try to ruin Christopher by exposing his abolitionist actions. Andre tries to blackmail Katie; when Joel tries to intervene, Andre shoots and kills him. Later, Dee kills Andre. Aware of what can happen when a slave kills a white man, Katie and Dee, along with Joel and Dee’s son, flee for St. Louis and the protection of George. When Emil discovers Andre is dead, he tracks the women to St. Louis to exact revenge. Christopher is shot by slave patrollers and seriously wounded, but with care and help from Cherie and Mark, he makes it to St. Louis. Emil does catch up with Dee and Katie, but is stopped by George from doing them harm.
In the end, George stops Emil by offering him a deal: Christopher will give Emil back Greenwood-minus the slaves-in exchange for not telling about Christopher’s activities. Christopher and Katie, in turn, will not press charges against Emil for abducting Dee. Mark agrees to stay in New Orleans to be with Jacqui, while Christopher gives up his work with the Underground Railroad, and agrees to go west with Katie, Dee and George, and work on the railroad with George. Katie and Christopher have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I really liked Katie. She can fight, shoot, hunt and do a lot of “unladylike” things, but can also be very feminine when she wishes. Christopher is a nice character as well, although I was disappointed to see him give up helping slaves, it’s understandable given the danger he would be in.
Downside: There really isn’t much depth or character development; then again, there isn’t much depth or character development in any of Mrs’s. Smith’s books.
Sex: There are multiple sex scenes in “Wanton Splendor”. Some are mildly graphic, none approach erotica.
Violence: Assault, battery, sexual assault, shootings and killings. None of the violence is graphic.
Bottom Line: “Wanton Splendor” is just like most of Mrs. Smith’s books. Not exceptional in any way, but really really good.
January 24, 2018
Wanton Splendor was a great book. I did have a big problem with the editing. The further I got into the book, the worse the editing got. All of the misspelled words and punctuation errors really interrupted the flow of the book. I wondered if the printed version of the book had as many errors, or if it was just the Kindle edition. I am sure I will read this book again, but I wish they would fix all the editing errors and reissue the book.
February 29, 2024
This was such an amazing book. Katie and Christopher were so sweet together. Their characters and interactions reminded me of some from my favorite 50s and early 60s musicals. All of the storylines were gripping; I never felt annoyed it was focusing on one part of the story over another. Highly recommend this book!
April 26, 2019
Splendor
I loved this story, I recommend every one to read her books, I look forward to reading more of her books. KATTIE.
I loved this story, I recommend every one to read her books, I look forward to reading more of her books. KATTIE.
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August 14, 2016As you might guess from both the cover and the title, this was a romance novel I lifted from my mom's book shelf and read in high school. It seemed so risque at the time, especially since one of the characters seduced her much younger step-nephew!
But I'm reading the "Heaving Bosoms" book that is a sarcastic and smart recap of romance novels. It's making me recall all the old romance novels I read. Many of them glorified violence against women, who are often portrayed as rather week and silly.
But I'm reading the "Heaving Bosoms" book that is a sarcastic and smart recap of romance novels. It's making me recall all the old romance novels I read. Many of them glorified violence against women, who are often portrayed as rather week and silly.
October 17, 2012
I've read about 10 books from Bobbi Smith and this is the best of them all. The characters are complex and the story is facinating and this story allows you to become personally involved in all the characters the good and the bad. This book is the most complex of all Ms. Smith books and ride leaves you wanting for more at the end. It was a book that I was sad to put down after reading it because I wanted more.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews