From Publishers Weekly
The few interesting details in British author Edgar's ( Bright Young Things ) disappointing novel are canceled out by its idealized heroine, predictable plot and effusive, melodramatic tone. Shareen "Rose" Abderhazy is the illegitimate daughter of English baroness Charmian Abderhazy and one of her many Persian lovers. Charmian dies, leaving Monsieur Leon, an elderly couturier, as Rose's guardian. Shortly afterward Leon dies, too, and 14-year-old Rose is sent from the Riviera to London to live with his former wife and business partner, Margaret, who happens to be Charmian's twin sister and to have an illegitimate son, Tom Grimshaw, 10 years older than Rose. After being expensively and exclusively educated, clever, sexy, too-perfect Rose ambitiously sets about seducing her first love, Tom, in hopes of becoming the perfect rich wife. With the advent of the First World War, Tom holds off on marriage, but supposedly intelligent Rose persists, believing that sex will complete their love. Pregnant as Tom is reported first missing in action, then dead, Rose marries well-connected but obsessively jealous Alban Stoneberry to avoid scandal. All conflicts are resolved in a sickly sweet ending.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Rose's childhood in Nice ends abruptly with the death of her glamorous, pleasure-seeking mother. Sent to her wealthy aunt in England, 14-year-old Rose overcomes hostile comments about her dark skin and uncertain parentage by using her beauty and charm to captivate potential enemies. Through adolescence, Rose ignores the attentions of many men to pursue Tom Grimshaw, a cousin ten years her senior. On leave from his World War I command, Tom finally admits his desire for Rose only to be sent on a secret mission from which he never returns. To spare her unborn child the taint of illegitimacy, Rose hastily marries a man obsessed with her, even though he knows she carries Tom's child. Although the novel begins slowly, the pace and complexity intensify steadily as Edgar's story and style combine to absorb the attention of romance readers.
-Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
