Inside Paradise

by Elizabeth Turner

Innocent Temptation

In the custody of her tyrannical grandfather who preaches against the evils of sin, spirited Jael Kincaid dreams of escape. And it is her innocent independence which thrusts her into danger, and into the seductive arms of her rescuer, sea captain Nathan Thorne.

Sweet Seduction

Nathan is fiercely attracted to the fiery young missionary he rescues front a crazed kidnapper, yet he valiantly tries to keep his distance. But their solitary journey back to safety through the secluded tropical paradise tests their willpower to the limits—and neither can resist the sinfully sweet temptation that is theirs to savor.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance

377 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 1996

About the author

born: 1943
A pseudonym used by Gail Oust.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1) romance

Reviews

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another mediocre romance novel. I love the setting - highly unusual to find a romance novel set on the Hawaiian Islands during its missionizing period. The characters were alright I guess. Jael was intriguing, if not a little too innocent, raised by an abusive preacher grandfather. One would think she'd be rather ingrained to avoid the sin of lust, but alas, she's not and that's how she ends up married to Captain Nathan Thorne. Him I'm not so sure of.

The wedding was a shotgun kind, the two of them forced because of a "compromising" situation. Thorne despises marriage, but reluctantly agrees, and then comes up with the plan to annul the marriage later. Jael is somewhat offended but sees the wisdom. A few days pass, and before you know it, they've consummated their marriage on a beach (with no mention of the chafing tendencies of sand). Thorne of course realizes that the annulment is no longer possible and tells his wife. Jael is okay with this - she loves Thorne now and was willing to give herself to him. Thorne insists that they'll go through with a divorce now, since he couldn't keep it in his pants, and now Jael will simply have to live with the scandal of divorce because he will NOT be married.

So Thorne, a whaling boat captain, takes Jael on his boat and they set sail to America, where they'll obtain a divorce and Jael will start her new life. In close quarters, the tension grows, and Thorne, ever so strong and noble, suggests that they occupy their time with sex. If a child comes of it, it's okay, he'll give her money. Jael shows integrity and strength of character by denying him - reminding him that she would then live with divorce and a child! Captain feels a twinge of guilt.

He has his good moments as well, but he doesn't endear himself to the reader throughout the book. But he seems to bring the right amount of angst and he wasn't a character that I despised. And at the end of it all, I was happy that all was resolved, Thorne realized he was a blind idiot and that the characters got their HEA! So not too bad a book then.