Review: Fun, Interesting But Soft Ending
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 29, 2011
About the book:Adrian O'Shea just  learnt his fiance dumped him for his own brother, Mark, a worthless man who has already taken the family business into near bankruptcy.  Despondent, Adrian drops into a local bar but as he leaves, he passes out only to wake later lying on a barroom floor. But it's not the bar he remembered from earlier that night. As the bouncer drags him out, Adrian can't stand, feeling  like he has been beaten. Outside the bouncer puts him in a horse drawn cart. And so begins the new life for Adrian.The next day he wakes, still in the cart, in front of his grandparents old house, though it doesn't look quite right. When he hears a door slam, he looks up to find a beautiful young woman. Even after he meets the girl, he doesn't know where he is.  A trip to town increases his confusion - people he doesn't know call him by name.Eventual Adrian realizes he in in the past, filling in for his great, great, grandfather Adrian and the girl he is so attracted to is actually his great, great grandmother Cassandra. Adrian now has three problems, his attraction to his great, great grandmother, how to get back to his own life, and finding out who is trying to kill him.My take:Normally I don't read Romances because there is so little story to hang all that sensual, sexual tension and attraction on. But occasionally there is a real gem.  Good Fever is one of those. From almost the beginning, I sympathized with Adrian. While many may also sympathize with Cassandra and I did like her, my heart stayed with Adrian. I understand him.I like the characters in this book. Cassandra is a strong woman for the times, though not as strong as women of today. She does lean on her family but it is reasonable given it is the 1800's. Cassandra's father is another character I could identify with and probably know people just like him. (Maybe me?) This is one of the compelling parts of Gold Fever. Many of the characters are real enough the reader can relate to them easily.The plot is not deep nor are there any real twists.  The attempted murderer is not hidden from the view of the reader.  If there is anything the author could have improved on, it would have been making the plot more intricate and the end less stock. Never fear, however, the read is still good, particularly if you normally read Romances.I do have one caveat. The sexual scene about 64% into the book is extremely graphic. When I was a child, such a scene would have been considered x-rated. I suspect this is common in today's romance novels but I do want my readers to be aware it is there.The other thing I would have really appreciated is the author giving us more story about the modern day characters at the end of the book. The ending was a bit too pat for my liking.I did enjoy the read and would suggest it to anyone who likes Romance. I purchased it for $1 at the Kindle store and it was worth every penny.