Someone to Love - Jude Devereaux

This is an odd style of romance book. It's set in modern times, but involves both the romance of a modern day couple as well as the love of a couple back in the 1870s. The hero is an American, while the heroine is an English woman. It's a blending of cultures and times. Oh yes, you have to be prepared to accept ghosts as well.

I don't mind ghosts, and I am an avid fan of English culture. I realize that it can be boring to write the same-old romances over and over again, and give Jude great credit for trying something quite off the wall. I can't imagine there are a great number of books involving this combination of situations.

I went into this really wanting to adore this oddball combination and to applaud Jude's venture into something out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to connect with all of the characters and their situations, it was very difficult.

First, the two main characters. Jase Montgomery is a wealthy American who does general business "stuff" despite his degree in history. His fiance - a legal secretary - commits suicide in England and he's been distraught for the past few years. He finally decides to go to England, buy the house she was interested in, and figure out why. On the other hand is Nightingale Smythe, a CNN-style reporter who first ridicules him and then is drawn into his quest.

Both are painted with very broad strokes, and it's not really believable that their instant connection is valid, or that they are drawn together so quickly. In fact, during the first scene or two, I felt that she was going to be a nemesis that would cause trouble for him and a woman he *really* would care for. No such luck.

The encounters with the ghosts are equally odd. It's very stuttering in style, hit or miss affairs that leave you wondering if he really cares at all about what they are doing.

The plot unfoldings really require you to suspend disbelief about what people would choose to hide from others - and what objects people would carry around with them. In some cases individuals' memories are incredibly accurate - and in other situations things people should remember easily have been completely forgotten. I realize that romance stories expect you to take things with a grain of salt - but again, I was really trying to love this story. It just became too much.

I read the book in a few hours, and it was an OK way to pass the time, but to be honest, I would much rather have re-read several other books I own rather than have gone through this. It's not that it was bad - but it just didn't draw me in.

Fantasy Book Reviews

Top Selling Books of All Time