Streets of Fire (Superomance, No 407)

Rating:
Summary: Duncan's "superromance" is one of the best romances ever.
Review: Duncan has written a superior romance in Streets of Fire (Harlequin Superromance #407, 6/90). It concerns recovery on several interlocking levels. There's the central situation (fairly common in category romances) of confronting an old relationship that hit the skids. But what a difference in this treatment of it--the woman (Sydney Foster) has managed to deny her incestuous relationship with her father, which led her to a life as a prostitute on the streets. She's now a successful entrepreneur. Her old lover (Nick Novak), the policeman who rescued her and later got shot in the line of duty, comes back into her life when he needs help recovering from a catastrophic brain injury. This relationship is highlighted by the orphaned girl Sydney takes in, and through whom she must confront her past and true present. The setting of Calgary here is convincing and effective. Best of all, the descriptions of depression and its aftermath give the lie that category romances are only lightweight wastes of time. The book has some of the inflated prose of other Harlequin titles, but its subject, characters and plot put it in a class of its own. Strongly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Duncan's "superromance" is one of the best romances ever.
Review: Duncan has written a superior romance in Streets of Fire (Harlequin Superromance #407, 6/90). It concerns recovery on several interlocking levels. There's the central situation (fairly common in category romances) of confronting an old relationship that hit the skids. But what a difference in this treatment of it--the woman (Sydney Foster) has managed to deny her incestuous relationship with her father, which led her to a life as a prostitute on the streets. She's now a successful entrepreneur. Her old lover (Nick Novak), the policeman who rescued her and later got shot in the line of duty, comes back into her life when he needs help recovering from a catastrophic brain injury. This relationship is highlighted by the orphaned girl Sydney takes in, and through whom she must confront her past and true present. The setting of Calgary here is convincing and effective. Best of all, the descriptions of depression and its aftermath give the lie that category romances are only lightweight wastes of time. The book has some of the inflated prose of other Harlequin titles, but its subject, characters and plot put it in a class of its own. Strongly recommended