Historical romance, crap
"On a winter's day, an unnamed girl lies dangerously ill in hospital. When two course, rough speaking individuals come to clame her, she can remember nothing of the events that brought her to her present state, not even her name. According to the men, she is their younger sister, Lucy. As her health improves and her memory gradualy returns, she realises that she has been kidnapped. But she has no means of escaping the hideous confines of teh filthy basement room they have imprisioned her in.
They are hoping to clame her fortune as a ransom - for she is really Lucetta Froy, the daughter of a prosperous importer. Tragically her parents were drowned on the return voyage from Bali when their ship went down, but Lucetta and the two villians survived. Lucetta has no way of proving her identity, especially when her uncle refuses to recognise her and claims her fathers business for himself. Despite being virtually destitute, and her spirit brokenm she is determined to reclaim what is rightfully her...."
The book begin and bali and her behaviour is to be as expected for a willful girl of that age. while going out for a horseride she is rescued from some natives by the dashing ship's officer Sam Cuttler. She then sneeks out to try and see him but is caught by the desperate criminals, the gallant lutenant manages to save her from them. Up to this point it is belevable but them she goes to far with the passion with the lutenant and is caught by her father - this reeks of something put into the story to get the bodice ripping in and it just does not compute with her earlier behaviour, or for the rest of the tale.
back in england she is so beautiful that all sorts of men fall in love with her. the tale of how she survived is very beleviable and she has a number of narrow escapes, mainly because she does not understand how the lower class of culture is and ofcourse she now has nothing.
It was good to see that she did not in the end go with the gallant lutenant who is exposed as a gold digger who would most certainally have married her when they first met, she would ahve been an ideal wife for him, all money and no experience of life.
Other than the gatuitous lust seen this was a well written book for this type. I occasionally wish that people would realise that you can get more passion from having a character want than from being explicit.

1.5 ( )