"A steamy historical romance"
Bayou planter Jack Brussard fell in love with a
prostitute. He married her, but she destroyed him with her
continual string of men. Their daughter Juliette looked
exactly like her deceased mother so Jack left her in a
convent in France. Eight months ago, Jack killed himself.
Now in 1853, Jack's solicitor informs Juliette that she
inherits her father's gold wedding ring and a neglected
piece of swamp land with the latter coming in two years
when she turns twenty-one or now if she marries. Accompanying the solicitor is her godfather Max
Hollingsworth, who has come to take Juliette home, that is,
his family home in Baton Rouge. Max plans to ultimately
gain control of her neglected estate through the marriage
of Juliette to his son Tyler. When Juliette returns to
Louisiana she falls in love with Chantz Boudreaux, a mud
dauber farmer who lacks the social class level expected of
a Brussard. However, contrary to belief and looks,
Juliette is a chip off of her dad's block willing to risk
everything for love. FEVER is a rich historical romance that emphasizes the era
just before the Civil War in the Bayou. The story line is
loaded with tidbits, dialogue, and behavior including slave
relationships perhaps befitting of the 1850s, but probably
will jar sub-genre readers used to a more genteel
description of the times. The secondary players add to the
feel of being there, but the lead characters, in spite of
numerous obstacles to a relationship between them, never
rise above the fray so that the novel seems to drift
between historical and romance. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 2, 2001
|
