Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: "Connie Brockway is a master at creating sparkling chemistry." I am using this quote, I believe is quoted by Laura Kinsale, and I am giving her full credit for being accurate. AS YOU DESIRE is my first book by CB that I've had the pleasure of experiencing, and I look forward to reading more by this fabulous author! The love story between Desdemona and Harry is powerful, and beautiful.Desdemona has loved Harry for as long as she can remember. Ever since she set her eyes on him in Egypt, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Three years ago, she shamelessly threw herself at Harry, and he rudely declined. Since then, the two manage to stay as good friends. Though as hard as she tries not to, Desdemona still realizes that she loves Harry. Soon Desdemona gets in lot of trouble, including getting captor twice! Miraculously, Harry is the one and only one that successfully saves her. These actions by Harry soon gets Desdemona confused and thinking that maybe Harry really does has some feelings for her. Regretting what he did to Desdemona three years ago, Harry tries to put everything in the past. He has always loved Desdemona, but he decided he rather give her up, than tell her his deep buried secret. He believes that even if he tells her, his secret she will turn away from him in disgust, and he would rather break off any attractions than bear the pain of Desdemona pitying him. Soon, it comes to the point when it is too hard for him to tolerate not touching and loving Desdemona, that he finally tells her his secret. The secret that Harry has been hiding for so long is something so different from many of the other romance novels today and for that reason it is why I believe AS YOU DESIRE to be one of the most original historical romances of all. It is not a secret of a brutal past, well maybe a little of that, but not the majority of it. This novel was also different, because the heroine, Desdemona, was intelligent, and at a same time not a spinster!!!! Wow! Moreover at the same time she was beautiful and unique, and was not put down by anyone at all because of her intelligence. All in all, AYD, is one of the most special and unique stories I have read. Way2Go Connie Brockway!
Rating:
Summary: Brockway knocks one out of the ballpark...
Review: ...with this book. Not a tired plot device or boring setting in sight. What a relief! The setting is unusual--late Victorian Egypt--and Brockway uses it well, evoking the sights and sounds and denizens. The h/h are unusual too: Harry is a lovable opportunist (Indiana Jones with a British accent) who nevertheless has his own code of honor from which he doesn't deviate and who loves his Dizzy to distraction. Desdemona (aka Dizzy) is intelligent without being a prig, high-spirited and adventurous without being stupid and proves herself to be both resourceful and compassionate throughout the course of the book. The unlikable cousin is well-drawn, too, and not wholly unsympathetic for all his faults. There's some humor, a nice bit of a mystery, danger and derring-do, and a tender but passionate lovescene. What more can you ask for? This one's a keeper...run, do not walk to your nearest bookstore--figuratively speaking--and buy this one today!
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Summary: Irresistible Romance Set Under A Hot Desert Sky
Review: When we first meet Desdemona Carlisle she's bored, bound, a bit tipsy on fermented milk and awaiting the auctioning block. She's an Englishwoman and has been abducted by an overzealous young Arab. A romantic, Desdemona begins to fantasize about how exciting it might be to bought by a desert Prince. Then opportunist Harry Braxton shows up to save her hide. She can't believe her rotten luck and tells him, "If you bought me I'll kill you!". Thus begins this truly fun, character driven, adventurous read. We soon find out why Dizzy (as Harry so charmingly calls her) is so disappointed with her savior. He is the scoundrel who broke her heart several years earlier. Unable to avoid each other (he's an archeologist often in need of Dizzy's translation skills) they have forged a platonic friendship. Dizzy never had a childhood. A child prodigy, her parents forced her to study languages and traveled around the world to show off her talents. When her parents died her Egyptologist Grandfather brought her to Cairo and she has been eking out a living using her language skills. Her fondest dream is living a normal life in England but, unfortunately, she's broke. She loves Harry but will never allow him to hurt her again. When Harry's hunky, brooding cousin Lord Ravenscroft shows up in Egypt she realizes he may just be the perfect antidote to Harry. Blake is a boring, sensible, uptight fuddy-duddy. He's everything her head tells her she needs ~- if she could only convince her heart she'd be all set. Harry (of course) loves Dizzy but he is unwilling to allow her to give up her dreams to make him happy so he pushes her away for her own good. He is hiding a painful secret that makes him feel inadequate and he will not return to England after his dreadful childhood. But when she starts making eyes at his priggish cousin he loses all sense of his faculties. I don't want to give too much away of this irresistible story so I'll just say that these two have my vote for most lovable couple of the year! They compliment each other perfectly in every way. Harry is a wonderfully original wounded hero. He's a man man enough to admit his love (there's no annoying denial of feelings going on with this guy!), shed a few tears, and face down a madman for the woman he loves. Dizzy (despire her name) is intelligent, strong, funny and she reads erotic scrolls when no one is looking. She's a romantic and a heroine the reader can easily relate to. These two people are so real they leap off the page and the hot desert sun is the perfect back drop for the super steamy tension they create.
Rating: 
Summary: A FUN STORY, BUT. . .
Review: A good plot, wonderful location, hunky hero and beautiful girl, but - - please, Connie Brockway, get a thesaurus. Way too many "insouciants" and "piquants." It really distracted from the story. Other than that, enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not Brockway's Best
Review: As You Desire is my least favorite among talented Connie Brockway's novels, which is to say that it is still quite good in terms of setting, dialogue, character development and character repartee. Nevertheless, I found myself bored because I disliked the hero as well as the absence of much action.
Desdemona Carlisle has been raised in Victorian Egypt by her grandfather since the death of her parents many years ago in England. She flourishes in this sensuous landscape full of mystery, antiquity and the heady freedom she does not realize she could never possess back in restrictive England. She'd love to bask in Egypt's warmth and culture forever but is trying to convince herself she wants to go back to England because she mistakenly believes her grandfather wishes to return to gain the recognition he deserves as an accomplished Egyptologist. In the meantime, Desdemona indulges her love of Egyptian antiquities and her multilingual talents collecting and translating ancient papyri, etc.
Harry Braxton has been "Dizzy's" best friend for many years, though it still stings her that Harry refused to make love to her five years before when she offered him her body and heart. Harry is supposed to be a charming rogue, but he comes across as a manipulative opportunist, a ne'er do well who deceives his precious Dizzy about his passionate feelings for her because he's too cowardly to admit to her his "defect" (dyslexia). In the meantime, he shadily acquires then sells off Egyptian antiquities to the highest bidders.
The attitude of nonchalance and bravado that Harry outwardly projects along with his inner fear to court Dizzy until his insipid cousin Blake is on the verge of proposing to her made me lose all sympathy and respect for him. When Harry redeems himself-and Brockway tries to make him come off as a highly ethical and courageous man who's simply been misunderstood-it's too late for me to buy it. Also, though some of the dialogue was clever, which I enjoyed, I kept waiting in frustration for something to happen. Other than Dizzy being kidnapped twice and Harry saving her, nothing happens apart from a few social outings and Dizzy nursing a wounded Harry back to health. Brockway does a good job of bringing the sights and smells of Victorian Egypt to life, but this and the repartee can't save a novel sinking under the weight of an unsympathetic hero and little diverting action.
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Summary: One of the most ROMANTIC Historicals....
Review: Connie Brockway has written a sensitive, moving, wonderfully intense historical romance ever! Harry Braxton, an archeologist, opportunist, (Prince of Jackals), is in love with Desmonda Carlisle or Dizzy as he so lovingly calls her. Problem is, he can't tell her and she has no idea. Harry hides a painful secret from his past that he is unwillinging to share with Dizzy, so he gives her up instead of revealing his secret. Dizzy, our heroine, extroadinary child prodigy, and romantic, has loved Harry for five long years. She offered herself to him once and he scorned her so she swears never to make the same mistake again. She is used to making due with little, and somehow she will gather enough money so that her grandpa can have a triumphant return to england, and she will have the thatched roof cottage and Bertie Cecil. Enter the brooding cousin from England and things get a couple of degrees more complicated from then on. But Ms. Brockway has written a gem of a story with several of the most moving self revelations and confessions that ever was. The story gets tied together delightfully and the last chapter, though not an epilogue, won't leave you banging your head trying to figure out what happened to the pair. You will fall in love with both Harry and Dizzy, along with the rest of the supporting cast. You can't help but root for them, and you can't help but fall in love with an author who has her hero say--I love you-- first. Unique! Buy this book, you won't be dissapointed.
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Summary: My Favorite Connie Brockway book
Review: Connie Brockway is one of my favorite authors, and this book shines as her best. Different, quirky and exotic, lovers of Elizabeth Peters will recognize the setting and atmosphere while enjoying Brockway's unique way with words. Brockway's the only author I know who can make me smell the odors, see the beauty, and feel the passion. Great stuff! Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Romance
Review: Harry and Dizzy (hero's nickname for the heroine) are the lead protaganists. Their characters are quite well drawn and I especially like the hero's treatment of the heroine - protective & possessive. The ways and means he tried to convince the heroine not to go back to England were very touching and sometimes humourous. Dizzy is also quite finely drawn by the author. She's funny & sensitive. You care about them and really wish for them to get together. I strongly recommend this book.
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Summary: A don't-miss historical romance with a wicked twist!
Review: Harry Braxton and Desdemona Carlisle battle their way into love in 1890s Egypt, surrounded by interfering relatives, unscrupulous merchants, and a loyal servant or two. Will Harry break from his painful past and learn to trust? Will Dizzy give up her romantic dreams and find the treasure that's right before her eyes? As You Desire offers readers a spunky heroine, an unusual hero, and a quirky love story guaranteed to leave you smiling
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I absolutely love this book. I bought it about 5 years ago and I still re-read it today. I think that Desdomena and Harry are fabulous characters. The dialogue between them is some of the best I have ever read. I think that the setting is marvalous too. Colonial Egypt has a great mystique and it allows the characters to have the special quirks which make them so memorable and enchanting.
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