Love and Smoke [Hardcover]

Jennifer Blake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 1989

Riva Staulet's cool beauty belies the passions roiling within her. Now, she has everything she has ever wanted. But it hasn't always been that way. Many years before, there was a charming, handsome man who tried to take everything from her. Now he has his eye on the governor's mansion and Riva has not forgotten his cruelty....


From the Paperback edition.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prolific romance novelist Blake ( Perfume of Paradise ) makes her hardcover debut in a tale that brims with improbable melodrama, howling inanities, and laughable villains and temptresses. Wealthy New Orleans widow Riva Staulet loathes politician Edison Gallant--and with good reason. Years ago, the despicable playboy killed a civil-rights worker, was the cause of Riva's sister's death from a self-administered abortion and, later, committed bigamy by marrying Riva, whom he soon deserted. After Riva gave birth to Edison's baby, Erin, another of her sisters raised the child. Lonely and penniless, Riva began dancing in a bar frequented by affluent businessman Cosmo Staulet, whom she married. As the socially prominent Mrs. Staulet, Riva meets Edison and threatens to expose his vile past unless he prevents his son from dating Erin, who doesn't suspect her true parentage. Outstanding in a cast of absurd characters is Edison himself, particularly in his sexual assault of Riva in a hospital supply closet.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Riva Staulet's cool beauty belies the passions roiling within her. Now, she has everything she has ever wanted. But it hasn't always been that way. Many years before, there was a charming, handsome man who tried to take everything from her. Now he has his eye on the governor's mansion and Riva has not forgotten his cruelty....

From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 389 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1st edition (May 6, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044990430X
• ISBN-13: 978-0449904305
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,229,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Blake has been called "the steel magnolia of women's fiction" for her enduring career as an author. She has also been lauded as a "pioneer of the romance genre" and an "icon of the romance industry." A New York Times and international best selling author from the publication of "Love's Wild Desire" in 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA and Affaire de Coeur Halls of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two Maggies, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer's Choice awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written 65 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print. Jennifer and her husband live on a lake in northern Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Just finished story, resolution of romance makes me mad!, July 27, 2002

By 

Janalyn (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love and Smoke (Hardcover)

Love and Smoke is steamy alright, fascinating story, complicated plot, great descriptive writing. However, the romance between the main characters, Riva and Noel, is seriously lacking in warmth. They have passion enough, the few times they are together, but the side character of Dante is far more intriguing. He has laughter and kindness, and his romance with another character was so much better.
We never get to know Noel well enough, and Riva doesn't know him that much better than we do. Blake gives more insight into the workings of Gallant's mind than Noel's - the villain has a lot more presence. The dramatic subplot endangering the main characters is a lot more compelling than the central romance.
Noel has looks, nobility of spirit, and exaggerated martyrdom, but his character is not magnetic. ...

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story!, October 14, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Love and Smoke (Mass Market Paperback)

I love Jennifer Blake books and Love and Smoke is one of the reasons why. The story is about Riva Staulet, wealthy widow, who used to be Rebecca Benson. Now the man who once tried to destroy her is running for governor and the question is will Riva have the courage to come forward with the truth? And if she does will she ruin herself and those she loves in the process?