Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Random Romance Sunday: At The Drive-In, In The Old Man's Ford

The Book: The Fires of Paradise by Brenda Joyce

The Particulars
: Historical romance, Avon, 1992, In Print, Book 5 in Series

The Blurb:

Heiress to the dazzling Bragg empire, beautiful, headstrong socialite Lucy Bragg lives a life that defies convention. Dark and handsome half-breed Shozkay Savage lives an outlaw's life on the edge. They inhabit different worlds -- hers opulent and glamorous, his dangerous and untamed. But on the vast and sweeping plains of Texas, their worlds collide...

Abducted and held for ransom, Lucy despises Shoz for his arrogance ... yet is drawn to the magnificent and mysterious fugitive by a shameless, all-consuming desire. Sworn to escape him but betrayed by her heart, she will follow Shoz from the glittering world of New York high society to the tropical heat of revolution-swept Cuba -- braving scandal and heartbreak, risking life itself for a bold and passionate love.

Is It In Wendy's TBR?: Nope.

Any Reviews?: This is an older book, so not really. Customer reviews over at Amazon range from 2 to 5 Stars.

Anything Else?: This one has been reprinted a couple of times, the covers getting more bland with each print run - but dang, you just can't top that Old School cover. I love the female model's hair and make-up. Looks like she's on her way to a Poison concert and figures "What the hell? I have some time to kill. Why not shoot a romance novel cover before I throw my bra at C.C. DeVille?"

And Shozkay Savage? ::blink:: Seriously? We're going there? And revolution-swept Cuba? We're going there?! ::double blink:: Words always seem to fail me when trolling through Old School Romance Novel back cover copy. Those copy writers had a gift I tells ya.

5 comments:

JamiSings said...

Oh dig that cover. That's the kind when I was a hormonal teenage girl that would make me all tingly in special places. I still have a fondness for those types of covers.

Unknown said...

Love you comment on the cover. The old covers did have a certain "Dynasty" look about them.

nath said...

Well at least with that cover, it tells you there's a Native right? While the new cover, well it's really bland and really doesn't tell you anything except that it's historical.

Lisa R said...

I'm currently reading a historical western romance ("Midnight Satin" by Laurie Grant) I picked up at a local book exchange. While I applaud your faithfulness to the genre, I really dislike the use of "down home" phrases. They drive me insane. This particular book uses them quite frequently, too. Another thing, why do most of the western romances feature Texans and/or Texas? There's more to the West than Texas!

Wendy said...

Jami: I do too. The older I get, the more I've "softened" towards the Old School covers. I used to hate the clinch, now....not so much.

Georgia: All that chick is missing are the mammoth shoulder pads :)

Nath: The latest cover has just the heroine on it. Then there's an older reprint that's just a landscape. And not a very well-done landscape at that....

Giynlith: I love the sub genre, but even I won't say there isn't dreck floating around. Uh, case in point, my upcoming TBR Challenge read which was mostly disappointing.

I have that book somewhere in the TBR, and haven't had the heart to weed it. One of my western homegirls (Sybil, I think) didn't think much of it....