Review: Run, Run, Runaway Bride is a Great Read; Diamond at her best
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2013
If the title "Run, Run, Runaway Bride" sounds somewhat familiar it is. It is a 2013 update of Jackie Diamond's Runaway Bride, written about two decades ago.To say that Jacqueline Diamond is the heavy-hitter of the romance novel world, is an oxymoron because her broad body of work has defined the romantic novel for over three decades. During those decades, Diamond's work has filled the hours of many people with interesting plot twists and a light, airy style that is uniquely Diamond.An award-winner, Jackie Diamond was been honored by her peers for her Life Achievement, as well as for many of her individual works.Indeed, "Run, Run, Runaway Bride" is vintage Diamond. Its cast includes the usual set of Diamond foils: the young beauty in trouble for one reason or another, usually due to problems someone else has created; the bad guy who is trying to get our heroine, and the hero, usually unwitting, who saves the heroine.Of course, there's the usual cast of minor characters that Diamond develops quickly and surely. Diamond's ability to give her characters depth -- back stories included -- all the while spinning a delightful yarn is her strength and sets her apart from other writers.If you've read an earlier version of the original "Runaway Bride" or have seen the movie version, then you know the main characters: Hank, the ne'er-do-well jewelry thief who tries rush Samantha, the heroine of the piece, into a marriage from which she runs. She also has to hide because Hank is out to get her. Normally she would run to an island or cruise, but that's visible and Hank finds her, so she runs to Hot Springs, a spa being developed by Keiran, whom she ultimately marries.There's very little that Diamond doesn't spring on the key characters, but she does it in a delectable way that a fresh reading doesn't dampen.You'll like "Run, Run, Runaway Bride," even if you've read the original, because the update is excellent.