365 books in 365 days Challenge ... book #133

Come into the Sun - Barbara McMahon
Mills and Boon Romance
Mills and Boon, 1983
ISBN: 9780263744361





My rating





From the back cover:

"Alexis Kent was desperate to escape. For her, the glorious West Indies had stopped being a paradise some time ago, and the berth on Dominic Frazer's boat seemed like her last chance. It didn't matter that the two of them would be alone on board the Marybeth for weeks on end, so long as she could get off Santa Inez. And Dominic was a writer, absorbed in his work and unlikely to ask questions - he has made that very clear. It was after she had fallen gradually, inexorably in love with him, that Dominic found out why she had run away. And then, once again, Lexy's whole future was threatened by the shadow of her past. Dominic seemed to want the woman he believed her to be. But it was his love that Lexy wanted - and his trust."


I have been trying to read older books recently as I want to be more varied on this challenge. This is the oldest one I have on my bookshelf, it's scary to think this was published a year before I was born...! I really love the retro style of the header. Oh, and excuse the cover photo above, I couldn't find an image of the UK cover online so I had to photograph my book!

The heroine Alexis visits the hero Dominic in the hope of being hired as a crewman for his boat. Dominic initially turns her down but gives her the job after no one else applies. Dominic is a writer and plans to sail to a small uninhabited island to anchor and write for a while. On the initial sail to Barbados, Alexis and Dominic get on well and Dominic trusts her, but he realises that under her quiet nature she seems to be hiding something. Alexis finds she is starting to feel happy again after disastrous events in her past have caused her to leave many places. Her happiness is short lived when Dominic's cousin, whom Lexy once spurned, tells Dominic all about her seemingly sordid past. Lexy thinks she will now be without a job and again needing to move on, but is surprised when Dominic keeps her on. But his attitude towards her has completely changed and she has to put up with his rather cruel remarks whilst trying to deal with the fact that she had fallen in love with him. He makes it clear he also desires her but she knows for the sake of her heart and price she must resist.

I found this a bit of an up and down read. Some parts are really good and others not. I liked the story and plot, it is well written and interesting. What I didn't ;like though is the way Dominic treated Lexy, it was rather cruel and, I think, went a bit too far. I also found the writing style a bit too stiff, but this is not surprising considering it was written nearly 30 years ago.

Overall though it's a quick and 'easy' read.

Xx