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Tender Triumph
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Paperback
First published February 1, 1982
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December 31, 2021
TENDER TRIUMPH by Jasmine Craig was Second Chance at Love #29 (February 1982), published by Berkley/Jove, when founding editor Carolyn Nichols still helmed the line. "Jasmine Craig" was a pen-name of Jasmine Cresswell, a British-born author who has lived in various countries including the United States. Much of the novel reflects this international outlook: the heroine Andrea is an American, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who has spent the past three years living in poverty in a Mediterranean village. She had gone there to marry a man named Raphael who, it turns out, was only interested in her money. Unfortunately for Raphael, Andrea's father disowned her because of his disapproval of the marriage, so no money would be forthcoming, and the abusive Raphael was subsequently killed in a car accident. When the novel opens, the widowed Andrea is seeking a job as a servant to Matthew Carleton, a famous British TV personality, also recently widowed, who has arrived at the little island to take care of some business involving his late wife's ownership of property there. Matthew has an eleven year old daughter named Julietta whom Andrea befriends during her servant duties, soon bringing Andrea into regular contact with Matthew.
In the end, Matthew and Andrea are married and return to his home in London, under the pretense that theirs is a marriage of convenience, so that Andrea can be a mother-figure for Julietta. Of course the married couple is actually in love, but Andrea's previous unhappy marriage has made it difficult to accept Matthew's attempts at showing physical affection and she also suspects that he, too, has married her for her father's money. One of the drawbacks to the novel is that it is filled with unpleasant supporting characters who scheme and lie to try and poison the relationship of the couple. On the other hand, this does give the novel a page-turning momentum. I found the writing style to be so engaging that I was sucked in from the very first page. The international setting also gives the story an "exotic" feel, reminiscent of the travelogue-ish Harlequin romances of the period. Overall I enjoyed the novel; it was a solid read that held my interest.
In the end, Matthew and Andrea are married and return to his home in London, under the pretense that theirs is a marriage of convenience, so that Andrea can be a mother-figure for Julietta. Of course the married couple is actually in love, but Andrea's previous unhappy marriage has made it difficult to accept Matthew's attempts at showing physical affection and she also suspects that he, too, has married her for her father's money. One of the drawbacks to the novel is that it is filled with unpleasant supporting characters who scheme and lie to try and poison the relationship of the couple. On the other hand, this does give the novel a page-turning momentum. I found the writing style to be so engaging that I was sucked in from the very first page. The international setting also gives the story an "exotic" feel, reminiscent of the travelogue-ish Harlequin romances of the period. Overall I enjoyed the novel; it was a solid read that held my interest.
Displaying 1 of 1 review