"THE DARLING is an American historical romance that shows promise."
Society debutante Lenore Brownley goes to Maine to stay
with her
grandmother after a scandal involving her beau. Also her
parents,
who are financially strapped, wish to butter up her
grandmother.
Once in Maine, Lenore, who has been taught to be the perfect
society wife, meets her childhood friend, Jake Warren.
Jake is now
a doctor who runs a clinic in the nearby mill town. Jake
and his
father are staying with Lenore's grandmother because their
house
burned down. Lenore's grandmother volunteers Lenore to
work at
Jake's clinic. Jake is unhappy with the plan but goes
along with
it out of respect for Lenore's grandmother. Lenore, who
has
decided to change her life sees this as a stepping stone to
finding
meaning in her empty, frivolous life. THE DARLING is an American historical romance that shows
promise in
some areas but falls flat in many others. The character of
Lenore
was interesting and her quest was admirable; she even was a
likable
heroine who learned and grew throughout the book. However,
I found
the characterization of Jake unfortunate. He was angry,
because he
wanted Lenore and took his feelings out on her. He was
angry,
because he couldn't cure everyone and took these feelings
out on
Lenore. I understand that this was a defense mechanism to
keep
Lenore at arms length, but he came off as less than heroic
which
lessened the pleasure of reading this story.
Reviewed by Marlene Breakfield
Posted April 2, 2004
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