manuscript review by Publishers Weekly, an independent organization
Set in 19th century Australia, this a bodice-ripping romance features a mysterious evil stranger and a beautiful, subservient sex toy. Beth Campbell meets Martin Mulvaney — a family enemy, natch — when she goes to him to beg him not to report her twin brother Alistair for consorting with outlaws. But on her way to the fearful meeting, she falls off her horse in a storm, hits her head, and gets amnesia. Finding her weak and rain-soaked on his doorstep ("she appeared so frail and ethereal, she might well have come from a religious painting"), Martin dubs Beth "storm girl" and promptly undresses her. Soon enough, Beth is pregnant, but when Martin learns she’s a Campbell, he’s reluctuant to offer marriage. Can Beth ever regain Martin’s love? And will she ever regain her memory? Quite literally, Beth is a weak main character: she faints and collapses; the blood drains from her face, and she goes on frequent crying jags that last for pages/days. Martin is occasionally tender to Beth and there is frequent, mutually satisfying though poorly-written sex, but Martin cannot verbally express love. Still, Beth believes he loves her and hopes to confirm it by bearing their son. More moments of melodrama: a kidnapping for ransom, Beth standing up for ill-treated aboriginal slaves who later save her life, and not one but two instances where she leaves Martin because she thinks he’s sleeping with an old friend, a whore named Dolly. The climax involves fire and childbirth in a field. Perfect.
Amazon Top Reviewer
Storm Girl is a well researched and well done romance novel set in the 1870s. Beth, the heroine, is a well written character, willing to do anything, even face the feared Martin Mulvaney, in order to protect her beloved brother. Martin is a convincing hero, not as bad as people think he is. The amnesia plot line has been used before but it fits in nicely in this novel. It is, however, a bit unbelievable that Beth, while suffering from amnesia, would totally lose all her inhibitions to the point that Martin thinks she is a prostitute. That misunderstanding is humorous, but the situation is a bit unbelievable. Storm Girl is a well written romance novel and fun to read, but a bit unbelievable.
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