From Publishers Weekly
A vivid imagination and a love for fantasy are prerequisites for reading Barnett's (Bewitching) newest comedy romance. In 1896, 30-ish attorney Margaret Huntington Smith reluctantly goes on holiday to the South Seas. After the steamship boiler blows, Margaret, three orphaned children and a goat are rescued and brought abroad a lifeboat by Hank Wyatt, an escaped fugitive who was stowed away on Margaret's ship. Despite a raging storm, the castaways make it to a self-contained tropical island where they easily adapt. The only thing they have to do is learn how to get along with each other?not an easy task for Hank, a self-involved, hard-bitten lifer, wrongly accused of murder. He is a reluctant provider, yet he finds within himself a soft spot and becomes a father figure to the children. The goat is Hank's four-legged bane, and Margaret is his human nemesis; her talking drives him crazy. Margaret has her own problems with learning how to be domestic. She burns everything she cooks and occasionally misplaces a child. Soon the six shipwrecks are joined by Muddy, a genie, complete with classic old bottle. Muddy is a silly but delightful character who takes the children flying and serves as foil for a classic comic pas de deux with Hank. In fact, the antics overwhelm the romance, but it's doubtful readers will care. As a whole, the story is unusual: its plot manages to sidestep cliches and stereotypes and the short, fast dialogue give it a refreshingly clipped liveliness.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Although Barnett's latest demands a greater initial suspension of disbelief than some, once the story gets under way, the characters take over and the fun begins. A genuine genii, an escaped convict with a Humphrey Bogart air, a high-society San Francisco lawyer, and three enchanting children all shipwrecked together on an island paradise provide the unlikely ingredients for a whimsical romp with a tidy resolution. Occasionally, the humor becomes slapstick, and the middle could have been more rigorously edited, but the author's clean writing style and clever characters keep the pace lively. Barnett (Dreaming, Pocket Bks., 1994) has written a number of other light, imaginative historicals. [Barnett lives in Pleasanton, Cal.]
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
