Secret Fire

Rating:
Summary: First Romance I ever read. Horrifying!
Review: This is the first romance novel I ever read. I picked it up by recommendation of my mother, a long time Lindsey fan. This, of course, was several years ago and I have read more in the genre. When I first read it I was shocked and horrified. Recently I decided to reread it and see if it was as bad as I remembered. I still hate it!
The Basic Plot goes Lady Catherine, a forceful, competant earl's daughter of impeccable moral character, disguises herself as a maid to spy on her sister. When she goes out into London, she ends up belting an oaf who makes passes at her. This is something she regrets later on for the action amuses Prince Dimitri of Russia. Dimitri is a drop-dead-gorgeous stud who mission in life is to bed many beautiful women. His level of studliness is so high that maidens fall at his feet and beg him to relief them of their virginity. Catherine isn't the drop-dead-gorgeous vixen often found in pulp romance, but still she made him laugh, causing the prince to decide HE MUST HAVE HER! (What a plot twist.) So she's kidnapped and drugged with Spanish Fly in her tea to make her comply to his will. But raping her isn't enough for our dear prince charming. He decides to take her on his sea voyage to Russia while locked in a trunk. He can't have insane peasants who claim to be earl's daughters making waves during the Tsar's visit to England. So begins a turbulent lust -er- love story. Dimitri and Catherine hiss and spit at one another alot. (Dimitri trying to get her into bed again and Catherine adamantly refusing even though he makes her tremble with desire, making him angry which makes her angry ) But that doesn't stop them from reaching their quota of hot sex.
Here are the complaints:
1. Catherine's rape (any court would agree with me here) is too asily put on the back burner. It's like drugging someone into having sex is dismissed as if its not wrong. Even if the moral/ethical aspects aren't dealt with, Catherine doesn't worry being pregnant or that losing her virginity can bar her from marriage and make her a social pariah. This was set in 1844, y'know, but I guess Lindsey figured it didn't matter since she's going to end up with Dimitri anyway.
2. Dimitri has no illigitamate children! How can I believe this given Dimitri's high level of sexual activity. This guy probably thinks two days without a woman is a long period of celibacy. He should have enough kids to double the population of Bulgaria! Unbelievable!
3. Catherine realizes she loves Dimitri during a fit of lust induced by being drugged... yet again... on his order.That's just sick and wrong.
4. The Lust Potion itself sounds like Spanish Fly even though they never actually call it that. Just for your information, Spanish Fly is highly toxic, so you just have wonder what kind of hero is willing to poison a woman just becuase he's feeling frisky.
5. And perhaps most unbelievable of all is when Catherine returns to England with a child yet no husband... and the Ton welcomes her back and assumes her husband died while she was abroad. Huh!? Every other novel I've read depicts English high society as a malicious bunch of gossips who love nothing more than to destory people on the barest breathe of scandal. She dissapears out of the blue for months and comes back from Russia with a baby with her and yet her character remains untarnished!? Sounds pretty juicy to me.
Final Grade: F

Rating:
Summary: Combustionable Reading!
Review: This novel is set against the background of 1840's London and Russia. The first chapters knock one's socks off, they are so powerful. They describe how an earl's daughter is kidnapped, drugged, and against her will, driven by the drugs to submit to the passionate love-making of a Russsian prince. It is one of the most explicit such scenes that Ms. Lindsey has written. While the plotline that follows is interesting, the first chapters are just so extraordinary,that the rest of the book seems to drag in places. Ms. Lindsey's humor and wit are rife throughout, and the book pulls at one's heartstrings. There does not appear to be a sequel to this story, even though the secondary characters in this novel could carry a sequel--Dmitri's sister Anastasia, his friend Vassili etc. This is well worth reading, especially at this time in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks on America, it is welcome respite.

Rating:
Summary: Good job, JL!
Review: This was another typical, wonderful JL book. Though neither Katherine or Dimitri were my personal favorites, the story was hot!

Rating:
Summary: THE MOST EROTIC BOOK EVER!!!!!
Review: This was the first JOHANNA LINDSAY'S book, I EVER read and I WAS HOOKED EVER SINCE.....I then went out and bought every copy of her book...."A MUST READ FOR ALL ROMANCE LOVERS".....Dimitri and Katherine were UNFORGETTABLE....I must have read this book a dozen times....I recommended it to all my friends and they all loved it....

Rating:
Summary: Lindsey never ceases to amaze me!
Review: _Secret Fire_ has now moved into a top position on my Johanna Lindsey favorites list. Sensuous, provocative and wildly sexy, _Secret Fire_ is a beautiful fairy tale of a love story. One that I'd passed over numerous times during my years of reading, I picked it up a couple of days ago because I'd run out of things to read and what a surprise it was! Dimitri is the epitome of every woman's fantasy Prince and Katherine has a spunk that makes you laugh out loud and cheer her on! From England's streets to Russia's palaces, _Secret Fire_ takes you on a wild ride of passion. Through the passion blooms a love that can only be dreamt of. My only disappointment? That there isn't a sequel!