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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book and highly recommend it., May 12, 1998
This review is from: Secret Hearts (Mass Market Paperback)
I read Alice Duncan's SECRET HEARTS yesterday and was completely blown away. This book was perfect. The hero and heroine were interesting and nice people. They like and respect each other from the beginning. Claire is a tremendously sweet person but she's also intelligent and practical. Nothing too saccharine. Tom is a discerning and intelligent man who realizes Claire's value almost immediately. Don't worry, though, they both have enough flaws to be human. I especially liked Tom's getting annoyed and impatient at one point while Claire is working through her problems. It made me realize how tremendously unrealistic the saintly forbearance of most romance heroes is. The secondary characters were comical and nicely developed, even though it looked at first as though they were going to fall into stereotypical roles. The conflict was internal to the relationship, no murder mystery or anything like that, so I felt like I really got to know Claire and Tom. This is one of my favourite plots: just concentrating on the love that exists between the h/h and its development as well as their relations with their families/communities. The plot description above is a pretty good summary, and I don't want to say much more because it will ruin the surprise. But add in a small artists' colony, the townspeople and Claire and Tom's families and you have a dynamic group of characters and a terrific story. You also have a wonderful statement about the value of pulp fiction. Alice dedicates the book "to romance writers and readers everywhere. Like Claire, we often find our reading choices disparaged. I figure that's only because the disparagers don't know what they're missing." The process of Claire learning to take pride in her novels is delightful and affirms the value of such reading to all our lives. I especially liked the character of Mrs. Finchley. Although at first I worried that she was there simply to make a statement about women and their value, she performed the very valuable fu! nction of giving Claire the strength and pride to stand up for herself. Although I hadn't noticed this problem in Claire up to that point, I realized that this could have bothered me a lot in retrospect. Sorry if this is a little cryptic but it comes towardthe end of the book, so I don't want to ruin anything. I also loved how the book was written. The descriptions of nature filtered through Claire's point of view are wonderful and very reflective of her personality and writing style. This is a definite keeper for me.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun story., July 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Secret Hearts (Mass Market Paperback)
Setting: California, post-Civil War Miss Claire Montegue, wears drab, unflattering clothing, keeps her hair tightly braided in coils, and gives every appearance of being a very proper spinster. Hired by Mr. Gordon Partington to be the housekeeper of his grand estate when she was just seventeen, Claire managed to put the dark secrets of her childhood behind her. Through the years she learned to be a lady, as well as an efficient manager of Mr. Partington's large household; but hidden beneath the prim and proper exterior lies a passionate woman, whose bold thoughts have become unwelcome and very upsetting to her. Putting her vivid imagination to work, and fueled by Mr. Partington's tales about his nephew Tom's exciting exploits in the Army, Claire has been secretly writing dime-store novels about "Tuscaloosa Tom Pardee." Although the books have certainly helped to promote the reputation of the real Tom, at the same time they have made him an object of ridicule among his friends...and caused him no end of embarrassment. When he arrives at Partington Place to claim his inheritance, he recognizes Claire as an invaluable asset and asks her to continue her employment as housekeeper for the estate. At the same time, Tom also senses there is much more to Claire than her outward appearance suggests. Some very humorous scenes follow when Tom decides that he is just the man to teach Claire about her passionate nature, which, up until now, she has kept so well hidden. SECRET HEARTS is a fun story that has a very bewildered Tom trying, every which way he can, to learn more about Claire. He knows she is hiding something from him, but Claire is determined to keep her past a secret. She also fears the probable repercussions should Tom ever find out that she wrote the novels that made his life so miserable. Add to this some goofy, artsy secondary characters, and you have the makings of a lively tale told with much humor. ~Carol Carter for Bookbug on the Web
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy, enjoyable, romantic read, September 13, 1998
This review is from: Secret Hearts (Mass Market Paperback)
If you don't like western romances (and I prefer my westerns to be by L'Amour) read this anyway. There is no deep mystery or cliff hangers here. It is just what it claims to be, a very warm and wonderful romance. It takes place post-Civil War, but is not really a western. Tom is a great hero and Clair really comes through in the end. If your looking for a romance that is a romance, don't miss this one.
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