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Author Reviews
My Own Private Hero
Julianne MacLean
ISBN# 0-06-059728-3
Avon, 2004, 369 pages
Historical Romance, circa 1884
England
$5.99 (US) $7.99 (CDN)
Reviewed by Laurel
January 2005
Have you ever just gone through life with a preconceived notion about you? Where everyone thinks your perfect, almost a borderline saint. Where you are quiet, prim and proper, know the right answers and ask the proper questions? That is the trouble Adele Wilson is having. The youngest of the three Wilson sisters, Adele watched her sisters struggle to find love and the indecisiveness of it all. Wishing to escape that heartache she accepts the first marriage proposal given to her. Now travelling to England to meet her betrothed Lord Harold Osulton she is wondering if she made the right decision. Before she even has a chance to second guess her thoughts she is kidnapped off the ship she is travelling on, alone and scared she wishes someone would come rescue her.
Lord Damien Alcester cousin to Harold is just the man to rescue Adele, a dashing rogue, tall, strong, confident and discreet. When he storms into the room that contains Adele a shoot out follows with her captor being killed. Taken in by her beauty and innocent ways Damien starts developing feelings for this girl his cousin is to marry. Having seen what can happen to a marriage that is based on lies he encourages Adele to examine her heart and be sure that its Harold she indeed wants to marry, he does not want to see his cousin hurt and will protect him at all costs.
I really enjoyed this book, it started off with a bang and ended pretty much the same way. The character growth of Adele was quite fascinating to read. As a young girl she is facing her doubts, she always did the right thing, never following her sisters footsteps in mischief and mayhem. At a time when she should be confident all these feelings for another man surface. When she decides to do the honourable thing and call the marriage off disaster strikes in the family forcing her to hold off on telling. Damien on the other hand is firm in his resolve that she is off limits, however he cannot shake her from his mind, or heart for that matter. Devastated that he is about to hurt his cousin much like his mother hurt his father, it takes the special love of a grandmother and a untold story about his parents to finally accept that he is different from them and should follow his heart.
Harold what a character, I am not sure if he was real, a self-absorbed scientist he had no idea the unfurling chaos that was about to come unglued around him. Spending most of time in a conservatory turned into a laboratory he kept foisting Adele off onto Damien that in some point of the novel I was wondering if that was what he had planned all along. The crucial scene in this book is the confrontation between Damien and Harold over Adele. Misinformed about a few things from his sister Frances he sent Adele away with a heavy heart and a mind full of disillusions regarding Damien. But things were resolved and all is well.
It was refreshing to see Clare and Sophia in this book, and their confusion over there saintly sisters attitude and has one commented when she finally released all she was feeling “I surprised you have not exploded yet” made the bond between them all the more stronger, they in turn realized that there sister was not a saint.
My Own Private Hero is the third book in this series and the best one in my opinion. Julianne Maclean has come along way since her first book To Marry A Duke. I once compared her to the earlier work of Lynn Kurland with the style of writing, the emotional grasp on the characters and undeniable love and that remains true today. Where the differences lay between the two authors is the chemistry and heat felt between characters. Julianne excels in making you care about her characters, they are written with flair and personality. They the characters are not carbon copies of each other. Julianne also writes sensual love scenes that can nearly set your book on fire. She maintains true to her characters and does not add unneeded filler in the guise of trouble to stand in the way of the heroine and hero. Human emotion, a third party and a desire to do the right thing is all that kept this couple apart. The book was entertaining, it held me there from the first page, it intrigued me, captivated me and made me care for the two main characters, and sub characters involved.