Remember, In Jamaica

Remember, in Jamaica
by Katherine Arthur
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
If you're looking for typical 80's Harlequin novels, this one's a pretty good one. It's got all of the nostalgic magic: The very intense emotions, lots of characters yelling and shouting about everything. The fashion - heroine is nearly swooning over hero's sexy sweater. And there's bathrobes throughout. Even silk ones. There's the rather innocent heroine and the much more experienced, older man. I had a fun time reading this one.

The story is told third person, but only getting into the heroine's head. I forget sometimes how little the novels in this time period tell about the heroes. By the end of the book, we know very little about him and even less about his motivations.

I liked Claire. She was an independent woman who stood up for herself and made a name for herself. I was a little disappointed at the end that there wasn't more groveling by the hero (he was gone for almost a year for pete's sake!) and that the heroine "obviously" decided to quit her job to be a wife and mother when the hero returns. It didn't feel true to the character that she'd just let everything go for this guy. He was gone for a year and within an hour of him being back, she's done being any kind of independent person.

The book was a fun trip down the rabbit hole of 80's romance, but I don't think it'll go on my keeper shelf. So far, I'll have to stick with 80's Diana Palmer books for that.