Review: Plod-away Heart
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2013
The author of Runaway Heart seems to have taken Georgette Heyer as her mentor, and that's good. Heyer is the grandmother of romance novels and originated many of the characters and plots used continually by those who came later.So much of Heyer can be seen in Runaway Heart, from the opening scene when the spunky heroine climbs out a window on knotted sheets to the boy-next-door best friend to the older man-about-town who falls for a refreshing innocent.However, the author doesn't capture Heyer's style (and a Heyer hero would never mention having a constant hard-on when the heroine is in sight). Heyer let her characters' actions speak for them. She unfolded her stories through dialogue and deeds, giving readers credit for having the intelligence to figure out the characters rather than merely giving description telling readers what to think. For instance in this story the heroine wanders in with a stray kitten and an abused child, a shorthand method of saying she is kind, although readers don't see her interactions leading to her kind deeds.Heyer writes fully realized secondary characters, rich in personality. The characters in this book seem like stereotypes going through the motions expected of them.The book is free, and there are far worse out there; however, this one is not a keeper, but an average read.