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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thoroughly enjoyable, fun read!, December 3, 2002
This review is from: The Mermaid (Paperback)
What a great book! This is my 2nd Betina Krahn book (first was the super "Husband Test") and she is quickly becoming a favourite! This Victorian battle of the sexes was such delicious fun! Celeste Ashton has just published "The Secret Life of Dolphins" amid much fanfare, and controversy. The (all male) scientific community is torn between denouncing her outright (she's a woman for heaven's sake, not a trained scientist!) and a salacious curiousity to see this woman who claims to sail, swim with dolphins and who boldy writes about the mating habits of the creatures. The fact that the tabloid press has dubbed her "The Mermaid" has not helped her credibility in this regard. Titus Thorne is a stuffy, pompous, repressed Professor of Ichthyology at Oxford who's made a name for himself by exposing quacks and charlatans. When Celeste is invited to speak to the Zoological and Oceanographic Societies, he is there to challenge her. She then challenges him to come to her seaside home and observe and verify her findings. He hesitates, but ultimately, reluctantly, agrees. From the moment he arrives in Pevensey Bay, Titus's world is turned upside down. Celeste's approach to her research is so foreign, unorthodox (and frightening) to him. And her grandmother and her friends from the Atlantean Society surely must be quite mad! And things are not going well for poor Celeste. She knows full well that Titus thinks she is a fraud, her Nana is not helping matters with her talk of Atlantis, but worst of all she cannot seem to summon her dolphins! Eventually the dolphins make their appearance, and Titus's world once more tilts. The fascinating creatures, not to mention the equally fascinating and alluring Celeste, are beginning to have a strong, transforming affect on Titus. And Celeste is equally smitten - he's so intelligent and handsome and so adorably, easily shocked. Their romance progresses well until the Atlantean Society sticks it's nose in and unwittingly drives Titus away. But back in London, Titus sees some of Celeste's dolphins looking sickly and mistreated. What has happened? How did they get there? He must get to Celeste - together they must try to save them. Great story! Between the old Oxford Dons pushing Titus out of his comfort zone, the Atlantean Society's rituals, even the dolphins themselves, Titus and Celeste don't stand a chance. They're meant to be!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great Victorian, July 13, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mermaid (Paperback)
Titus Thorne is famous for his work exposing scientific quacks and
charlatans. When he returns to the College of Cardinals in Oxford where he
is the chair of the Ichthyology Department, his peers assign him the job of
discrediting Celeste Ashton. The press and the public are having a feeding
frenzy over Celeste's work "The Secret Life Of Dolphins". The excitement
caused by her sensational book and its accompanying shrilling publicity
gets Celeste an invitation to speak at the prestigious joint meeting of the
Zoological and Oceanographic societies. Instead of critical acclaim from
her male compatriots, the scientists ridicule her work. Though dismayed by
their treatment, Celeste dares one of her critics, Titus, to observe her
as she proves her claims to be true. Titus is forced to accept her
challenge.
Titus travels to Celeste's home where he spends a fortnight with the
young writer and her zany grandmother. Almost immediately, Titus and
Celeste are extremely attracted to each other, an attraction encouraged by
Celeste's Nana. However, Titus is here to expose the woman as a charlatan
out to make a quick pound. Though he now loves her, he still doubts her
claims, leaving no chance for a future together to develop. if he does not
remove the seaweed from his brain, he will lose something more precious
than scientific research, he will lose the love of a lifetime.
Betina Krahn proves that she is one of the best writers of Victorian
romance with her classy new novel, THE MERMAID. The minute details of the
scientific community and its research methodology enhances an already
intriguing story line that is simply superb. The reference to Jules Verne
is sheer brilliance. However, it is the constant chauvinistic attitude of
the all male scientific community towards a female researcher that makes
this novel one of the best historical romances of the year and will be well
received by fans of the sub-genre. This is one book heading straight to
the keeper shelf.
Harriet Klausner
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Romance Novel Set In The 1800s, September 8, 2008
This review is from: The Mermaid (Paperback)
I loved theme of the novel being set in England in the 1800s with the lead character being a young female, Celeste Ashton, whose is strong, independent, intelligent and curious about the world around her.
Celeste lives along the English coast, enjoys being in and around the ocean in general. She encounters dolphins in the cove next to her home and becomes close with them and is able to study dolphin behavior, which then leads Celeste to write a book about her scientific studies of dolphin behavior.
The book she writes becomes a success with popular society, but not within the scientific community itself! A professor of ichthyology, named Titus Thorne, spends two weeks to study if what Miss Ashton has written is really true!! He is out to debunk her book as a total hoax.
Does he prove her wrong? You'll have to read for yourself! I found this overall plot/storyline was phenomenal and captivating.
What I didn't like where some of the minor characters in the novel like Celeste's irritating Nana and her elderly cohorts! There behavior in the novel was annoying at every turn. I didn't like a lot of the other minor characters as well. Plus Professor Titus Thorne seems way too rigid for a man of his age!
Some of the plot details were surprising and fun, while others weren't so great and detracted from the novel itself!
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