"Warm historical romance"
If life was fair and simple, Stephen Kirton would be
happily married to a respectable lady. However, as far as
Stephen is concerned life is unreasonable and complex so he
knows his dream will never happen, as Polite Society will
never accept a person born on the wrong side of the sheets
let alone his commerce with the "lower classes". Instead, he seeks a night of revelry at the hedonistic
Ormstead Park where he is shocked to see Annabelle Winston,
an unattainable fantasy from his less complicated youth.
They share drunken kisses at night, but that morning she
rejects his proposal of marriage to avoid scandal. BELLE
flees, but Stephen follows because he knows she is the one
person who could bring happiness into his bleak dismal
world. BELLE is a warm historical romance though readers will
wonder if the hero is a Regency adult or a disenchanted
1960s youth failing to score during the summer of Love.
Stephen is the duel edge sword of the exciting plot.
Readers will either moan along with him as a charmer who
deserves the love of a good woman or tell him to get a
life. Belle is an intriguing individual whose fall from
grace contrasts with her letters to her mother. Melanie
Jackson provides a well-written tale, but readers need to
decide whether Stephen is an immature whiner or a
misfortunate antihero. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 11, 2002
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