The Joyous Adventure by Elizabeth Ashton is a 1979 Harlequin Romance publication.

Susan is a young widow who wants to keep her husband’s estate- Thurston Hall- for her children’s sake- but in order to do that she will have to find a way to make the estate profitable.

Enter Raoul Sansterre-

Raoul, despite his obvious skepticism, agrees to help Susan launch a high-end restaurant on the estate. The pair instantly clash- but they are also irritatingly attracted to one another. Susan insists on keeping their relationship on a professional level, while Raoul has made it clear that he wouldn’t mind mixing a bit a pleasure with business…

This book was originally published back in 1979. I was so surprised to see it in the KU program, I felt obligated to help support it, as it is so hard to find older books in e book format.

Although, I do keep in mind the time frame in which a book is published, especially when it comes to older romance novels. Unfortunately, there were two scenes that, even if I had read this book in 1979, would have been a deal breaker, even then.

So, without spending too much time on it- Raoul was not a redeemable character. I hope Susan never has another ‘hysterical’ episode and hope any future pets will stay clear of Raoul!

1.5 stars

*Despite my issues with this book, I do hope any author- or their estate- who has the rights to their books will consider digitizing them. Once garage sales, eBay, and used bookstores stop selling these in favor of the next wave of 'retro-reads- these out of print books will be lost forever, especially as libraries are continuously challenged in their efforts to continue to provide older books for those patrons who are interested. ( )