Review: Love will always prevail
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2013
Clarissa inherits an old roll-top writing desk when her elderly neighbour, Mrs Hopewell, passes away.  Clarissa had been in love with this desk since she first laid eyes on it and Mrs Hopewell was well aware of that fact.  Not only did Mrs Hopewell want to pass on the desk to Clarissa because she loved it so much, she also wanted to pass on a very special message through a diary that was hidden in a secret drawer.  This diary was written by a one of Mrs Hopewell's great aunts and it was about her falling in love with a very special man.  Her name was Amanda and she lived in the 1700s and her life changed forever the day she met Alexander Corbett.  However, due to the restrictions at the time they were not allowed to court until Amanda's sister was married, so they started to meet in private and developed a secret relationship.The sentiment of the story is really sweet but I felt the language didn't do the story justice... I felt that the diary should have been depicted in the language that would have been used at the time - so instead of being innocent and convincing, it came across as slightly cheesy by describing old-fashioned times with the use of modern language.  However, the essence of the relationship and the love story were still cute and sentimental and there is a prominent theme that true love will always prevail.  This theme ran through the course of the book as this is the message that Mrs Hopewell was conveying to Clarissa and helping Clarissa to open her eyes and see that she too can have true love.The sex scenes were described with a virgin innocence and I think this makes it steamier in a sense!  This book will appeal to anybody who believes in true love.