Reviews for The Hidden Pearl

The average rating for The Hidden Pearl based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-05-07 00:00:00 Andrew Pidcock [(or "resolved", really.) One of the things I really appreciated about the book was how the author showed us that the hero's wanderlust was just a part of who he was, and that his family supported him and loved him anyway. The rather abrupt aboutface he does in the last five pages of the book where he suddenly returns to the heroine and is all "nope, I'm going to do commitment" seemed both out of character and to be answering a question nobody had asked. As far as I could tell, it was never suggested that his desire to travel and roam the world had to do with a lack of commitment to anyone or anything but was instead just a part of who he was--there was no suggestion that he had abandoned past lovers or careers or let people down because of his wandering; the closest the book got to this was his *own* guilt at not being there for his father, not other people feeling he should have been there. Having him be like "you're right, I'm going to stay here with you and get married and have kids and work here" in the last five pages after the whole book was spent building a semi-nuanced portrait of him as a wanderer was like if Juliet Capulet went to Romeo and was like "okay, I'm going to stop being a Capulet so that I can commit to you." Yes, the fact that she was a Capulet was keeping them apart, but it's not like it indicated she had a fear of commitment. (hide spoiler)]

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-04 00:00:00 Joseph Rolli "Rule Breaker" is the story of Jamie and Rand. Jamie Saraceni is a overly cautious librarian- who has been burned by suitors before, and since then has learned from the behavior of her playboy brother and abandoned sister. She pushes away all things romantic for stability.. That is until Rand Marshall decides to court her! Rand, who is the real identity of thriller writer Brick Lawson, hears about the elusive Jamie, who has turned his charming friend Daniel down many times. Choosing to explore what the fuss was about, he goes to her library to meet her, and is instantly taken by her beauty. He then relentlessly pursues her, badgering her with proposals to boink- but she wants to be courted, and makes him work for it. That is until both their insecurities/secrets decide to interfere. As usual, Barbara has an amazing way with words and once I had started, I could not put this book down. I loved the humor and banter in this one. What I did not like was -Saran, the bratty and self centered cousin -Him dating OW and her being OK with it -The resolution of feelings SUDDENLY in the end The family was too interefering. I found them charming in some parts (the grandma's crazy theories), but annoying in some (taking the decision out of our h's hand). Overall, a good read with parts I was slightly meh about. The sex scenes were well written, as expected. SWE 2.75/5