Reviews for Pure and Simple

The average rating for Pure and Simple based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-05-09 00:00:00 Bess Foster The town of West Dartmouth is desperate need of a new high school and according to the owner of the local health food store Kelly Bouchard the school system needs to revamp its cafeteria food from the greasy fat-filled food it is now. David Whittaker, the head of the committee pushing the new school and local architect believes that Kelly's crusade for healthy food is being used by the opposition to distract from the real crisis, making her downright dangerous. As both continue their campaigns the two begin to have feelings for each other. Shadowed by the looming political battle and the troubled past of their love lives neither are too willing to open up their hearts again. "Pure and Simple" by Peggy Nicholson was released in February of 1993, 19 years ago making this book about the same age as me. A lot has changed for Harlequin in those 19 years, Harlequin adding new titles and getting racier. "Pure and Simple" has no sex scenes and no swearing and the only difference between it and a Love Inspired title from today is the lack of Christian themes. As the third in my crusade of reading and reviewing Harlequin novels I think its a good choice and is a good show of how much the basic 'Harlequin' title has changed. The conflict in this book revolves mostly around the school system both in the need for a new and better funded high school and in the changes Kelly wants to make to the menus. Something shown throughout is that the wealthier people in West Dartmouth as the high schools started to fall into disrepair started sending their children to private schools which equaled a loss of investment to the public schools in the area. As far as these people are concerned building a new high school just means higher property taxes, something they want to avoid. This perspective while self-serving is very common today, putting money over the future of children that they don't know or don't have. The secondary, more personal conflict of the story is that both of our protagonists are projecting the negative qualities of their last SO on to each other which leads to a lot of misreading of intentions, something that keeps them skittish of each other up until the end. I do like that the entire book is told from Kelly's perspective, leaving the motives of the other characters up to her (and the reader's) interpretation. While from precedent we can guess that David's intentions are pure its technically up in the air until the end. While it is subject to the usual cliches of the genre and publisher "Pure and Simple" is still readable nearly two decades after it was published, not an easy feat let me tell you. That is a positive quality to Harlequin books, that no matter when their written they have a very timeless feeling to them unless they're trying to evoke a specific time period. Yet again no portrayal positive of negative of minority groups but it does pass the Bechedel test, only barely but still that surprised me. I would recommend "Pure and Simple" to any fan of the romance genre, particularly those who like clean romances without the Christian overtones. "Pure and Simple" by Peggy Nicholson gets 4 Hearts out of 5 <3<3<3<3

Review # 2 was written on 2013-09-02 00:00:00 Carla Thompson I haven't read this one in quite a while, but I was quickly reminded why I've always enjoyed it immensely (hint: it isn't the lackluster title!) There are many things I enjoy about TGB's writing: rescued animals, the beautiful English and Dutch countrysides, lovely descriptions of food and fashions of the periods. Sometimes, however, I must admit that these things rather overwhelm the actual romance between our RDDs and PBNs. Not so in this one! Florence is a lovely redhead with blue eyes and a shapely figure, while Alexander is tall and vast (as usual) with salt-and-pepper hair and grey eyes that range from warm to steely, depending on the occasion and his mood. Each admits to the other, early on, that they have fiery tempers. ***** "Is Sister Napier there yet?� 'Yes,� said Florence, slightly tartly, �she is; she came at eight o�clock sharp.� 'The time we agreed upon?� he asked silkily. �I should warn you that I frown upon unpunctuality.� 'In that case, Mr Fitzgibbon,� said Florence sweetly, �why don�t you have one of those clocking-in machines installed?� 'I frown on impertinence too,� said Mr Fitzgibbon, and hung up. **** Since they are working together daily, we see plenty of them together, both in harmony and out. However, their fiery exchanges are merely indicative of the chemistry between them. There is plenty of witty banter between them as well. Also, we see a good deal of Alexander's POV. And little by little, they learn more about each other, the really important stuff. When a theatre star comes to consult with him, Alexander expresses his thoughts. **** �Mothers of families are famous too in their own homes, and they face a hazardous future, and what about the middle-aged ladies supporting aged parents, or the women bringing up children on their own?� �Well, I didn�t know that you were like that�� 'Like what?� 'Minding about people. Oh, doctors and surgeons must mind, I know that, but you�� **** Alexander is the first to discover his feelings for Florence. **** "He wanted a wife, a home life and children, but not with Eleanor; the certainty of that had been in his mind for several weeks, although he had ignored it. Now, watching Florence, he acknowledged it." **** He then waits, more or less patiently, for her to realize that she loves him, too. When she does, she soon decides she cannot continue working for him so she gives her notice and begins thinking about taking a new job in New Zealand. This is what Alexander has been waiting for! He clears his schedule for a week and shows up at her home, but her response is perhaps not what he was hoping for. **** "Florence stood stock-still as he got slowly to his feet and walked towards her. �Go away,� said Florence, wishing with all her treacherous heart that he would stay, and then, to make things clearer, she added, �I don�t want to speak to you and, if you want me to go back and work for you, I won�t.� 'My dear girl, there is nothing further from my mind.� He looked amused. �And certainly I am going away, but first I must bid your mother goodbye.� **** So, he does as she says, but is back the very next day, and this time, he will not be denied. **** "I have a week�s holiday, taken at great inconvenience to myself and my patients; I have wasted two days already, and I have no intention of wasting any more.�" **** He declares himself and proposes very nicely. **** "If you won�t have me, my dearest heart, I think that I shall go into a monastery or emigrate to some far-flung spot.� 'Don�t do that�don�t ever go away,� said Florence urgently. �I couldn�t bear it. It took me quite a while to discover that I loved you, but I do and I shan�t change.� Mr Fitzgibbon swept her into his arms. �I�ll see that you don�t.� He kissed her then, taking his time about it, and then he kissed her again." **** *sigh*