Wild Child

ISBN: 0-7887-4048-2 Order from: Recorded Books

Overly long and filled with clich&eactue;s, this romance is still very pleasant due to polished style and fleshed-out, sympathetic characters.

Reviewed by David on November 30, 2002

Genre: Romance (Regency Romance)

Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Wild Child.

Once, the twin Renbourne brothers were the best of friends. As adults, however, a bitter rift opened between Kyle, the heir to the Earldom, and the younger Dominic.

However, the traces of affection remain, and when Kyle makes a desperate plea, Dominic agrees to a dishonorable deception. Dominic goes to court the Lady Meriel for his identical twin brother.

Meriel, considered mad after her ordeal as a child, roams her estate, wild as an animal. But Dominic, sensitive and humorous, sees the signs of penetrating if unconventional mind in the Mad Lady Merial, and gets captivated by her. But is romance possible for a madwoman and a younger son?

Full Review: The book uses nearly every convention in the Victorian melodrama: Indian adventure, sinister plots, handsome lords and ominous madhouses. Despite all that, and the superficial patina of the period, barely reflected in speach or thought, the book succeeds in keeping the reader entertained. The style is pleasant, and the characters: tormented Kyle, kind but sometimes bitter Dominic, the curmudgeonly father, and Meriel herself, are well, even affectionately described. The characters carry this book, and despite its predictability and Dumas-like wordiness, engage and keep the reader's sympathy.

Thus, despite its flaws, the book is pleasant, and succeeds in its aim—entertain rather than educate.

Overall: 6; Plot: 4.5; Characters: 5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 4.5; Originality: 4;

ISBN: 0-7887-4048-2 Order from: Recorded Books