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kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars, actually. This romance is some kind of fun. It starts out with a kidnapping, and its over-the-top romance trope melodrama...but then you quickly find out that the heroine, Dizzy, combines this extremely romantic self with a quite business like desire to get things done (she started a turkey farm so that street children could use turkey digestive tracts to "age" fake scarabs to sell to tourists, you know, that kind of business.)
It only gets better from there. Enter a dyslexic grave-robbing Harry, whom Dizzy threw herself at a while ago and was refused. And also his brooding darkly handsome aristocratic cousin, Blake, here in Egypt to deal with inheritance and an equally brooding manor named Darkmoor.
This is over-the-top, but so, so fun. Harry describes Dizzy as "his verdant Nile" etc, and there's also some salacious poetry supposedly written by Nefertiti...and really, who cares about plot because Dizzy and Harry are such fun. And once they come together-- wow, yeah that's some steam that actually hooked into some emotional development on both their parts.
It only loses half a star because of some stupid "I want you to love me for me" kind of action on Dizzy's part near the end, which felt like an overly manufactured romance conflict, but I'll definitely be looking up the rest of the Braxton books.
It only gets better from there. Enter a dyslexic grave-robbing Harry, whom Dizzy threw herself at a while ago and was refused. And also his brooding darkly handsome aristocratic cousin, Blake, here in Egypt to deal with inheritance and an equally brooding manor named Darkmoor.
This is over-the-top, but so, so fun. Harry describes Dizzy as "his verdant Nile" etc, and there's also some salacious poetry supposedly written by Nefertiti...and really, who cares about plot because Dizzy and Harry are such fun. And once they come together-- wow, yeah that's some steam that actually hooked into some emotional development on both their parts.
It only loses half a star because of some stupid "I want you to love me for me" kind of action on Dizzy's part near the end, which felt like an overly manufactured romance conflict, but I'll definitely be looking up the rest of the Braxton books.
waterfairy's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars. It would have been 4 stars but the ebook formatting sucked. Sentences kept getting chopped off at the start of page. Tried different formatting but it didn't work. *Sigh* Totally ruined my enjoyment of the book when I had to guess what the earlier sentence was or keep changing the formatting to see the missing sentence. Well, so far, not a review.
The book is basically a friends-to-lovers trope. The journey taken was sweet but frustrating at times. Brockway has drawn the characters very well. Even the secondary characters shine and some end up being a hoot (like the housekeeper, Magi) and others (like Blake, the other guy) you want to strangle. I will definitely pick up another book of this author.
The book is basically a friends-to-lovers trope. The journey taken was sweet but frustrating at times. Brockway has drawn the characters very well. Even the secondary characters shine and some end up being a hoot (like the housekeeper, Magi) and others (like Blake, the other guy) you want to strangle. I will definitely pick up another book of this author.
divineauthor's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
“You are my country, Desdemona. My Egypt. My hot, harrowing desert and my cool, verdant Nile, infinitely lovely and unfathomable and sustaining.” —Harry Braxton
OK DESPITE THIS BEING LIKE A DECENT BOOK . . . NGL THAT QUOTE MADE ME SCREAM!! if u know me u know my malina brain rot and u KNOW mal’s ‘you’re my flag. you’re my nation’ lines bc this was IT. anyway this was different i was terrified about it being set in victorian egypt but it’s a vibe. genuinely SO sure the author got the language wrong but like it’s fine ig
OK DESPITE THIS BEING LIKE A DECENT BOOK . . . NGL THAT QUOTE MADE ME SCREAM!! if u know me u know my malina brain rot and u KNOW mal’s ‘you’re my flag. you’re my nation’ lines bc this was IT. anyway this was different i was terrified about it being set in victorian egypt but it’s a vibe. genuinely SO sure the author got the language wrong but like it’s fine ig
33p3barpercent's review against another edition
3.0
I would have rated this one higher, because it was really, really good, except the pacing was so goddamn slow. About halfway through, I was like, "Come on, come on!"
I loved Desdemona. Such a bluestocking. She's snarky, she's witty, she's smart, and she has no idea how weird she is. (Usually oddball displaced Englishwomen know how weird they are and try to curb their impulses. Not Dizzy.) I loved Harry. He's so charming and such a rogue.
The story takes place in Egypt, and I liked the change from most historical romance novels that I read that take place in England. There's some action, there's some jealousy, there's some Secrets, and there's a lot of revenge and resentment. If it was a bit quicker, this would be a five star book. But I got impatient.
I loved Desdemona. Such a bluestocking. She's snarky, she's witty, she's smart, and she has no idea how weird she is. (Usually oddball displaced Englishwomen know how weird they are and try to curb their impulses. Not Dizzy.) I loved Harry. He's so charming and such a rogue.
The story takes place in Egypt, and I liked the change from most historical romance novels that I read that take place in England. There's some action, there's some jealousy, there's some Secrets, and there's a lot of revenge and resentment. If it was a bit quicker, this would be a five star book. But I got impatient.
ccgwalt's review against another edition
4.0
Egypt makes a great setting for this Victorian era action-romance. This is the first book I've read by Connie Brockway, and I intend to read more. While not overburdening the reader with too many descriptive passages, Brockway nonetheless manages to get across the rich colors, the heat, the smells, and the foreignness of Egypt. She has similar success with revealing the characters with relatively few words. I enjoyed the setting, the characters, the emotions, the humor and the glimpse of history.
My one reservation about the book is that most of the plot balances on people not openly communicating with each other. I realize this is a different time and place, but it seemed like Magi, the Egyptian housekeeper for Desdemona and her grandfather, is the only character willing to speak the plain truth. Since I feel like some of the reasons behind the misconceptions were understandable, I didn't penalize the book much, but it missed the "perfection" mark because lack of communication is the crux upon which the entire story rises and falls.
My one reservation about the book is that most of the plot balances on people not openly communicating with each other. I realize this is a different time and place, but it seemed like Magi, the Egyptian housekeeper for Desdemona and her grandfather, is the only character willing to speak the plain truth. Since I feel like some of the reasons behind the misconceptions were understandable, I didn't penalize the book much, but it missed the "perfection" mark because lack of communication is the crux upon which the entire story rises and falls.
readwithchey's review against another edition
5.0
A PERFECT historical romcom! If you’re tired of the conventional contemporary romcoms coming out right now may I suggest this absolutely laugh out loud historical??
Set in one of my favorite fictional locales, EGYPT, this story features a lovely friends to lovers story with tons of wit, banter, and slow burn goodness. Harry is the consummate rake and scoundrel, but of course his beloved Desdemona is too ~perfect~ for him and deserves more. The PINING was EVERYTHING.
•
Also this book was just funny as shit. Like so funny. I think this would be a good pick for those who like the vibes present in the cinematic masterpiece The Mummy but is slightly lighter on the adventure aspect! Seriously read this! Thanks @namedafterromance for pushing me to bring it on vacation!
Set in one of my favorite fictional locales, EGYPT, this story features a lovely friends to lovers story with tons of wit, banter, and slow burn goodness. Harry is the consummate rake and scoundrel, but of course his beloved Desdemona is too ~perfect~ for him and deserves more. The PINING was EVERYTHING.
•
Also this book was just funny as shit. Like so funny. I think this would be a good pick for those who like the vibes present in the cinematic masterpiece The Mummy but is slightly lighter on the adventure aspect! Seriously read this! Thanks @namedafterromance for pushing me to bring it on vacation!
thebookwormadventures's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
megatza's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Genre: historical romance
Egypt, 1890
Published 1997
Desdemona “Dizzy” Carlisle is a polyglot savant, able to read many languages, a talent her parents exploited. Upon their deaths, Desdemona moves to Egypt to live with her Egyptologist grandfather and manage his failing estate. But she’s a hopeless romantic, and dreams of returning to an image of England she has heard from tales and a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. Harry Braxton is as far from that knight as she can imagine, but he’s also the closest thing she has as a friend. Luckily he seems to have forgiven her for throwing herself at him three years prior (even while nursing a tendre for her himself). Harry is a business opportunist with a dark secret: he’s the opposite of his beloved Dizzy in every way–he’s dyslexic and can only read very simple phrases.
Reading this on the tails of Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase was *chef’s kiss.* Do note the publication date, and Brockway, like Chase, stays fairly true to the 19th century sentiments of the English in Egypt. We are in the era of grave robbers selling artifacts to the British Museum after all, and our main character here is an opportunistic reseller of these artifacts.
That said, the plot of this one is primarily focused on the romance between Harry and Dizzy, as well as the power-plays by the other ex-pats who have their own stakes in either Harry or Dizzy emotionally, or the Big Bad threatening Harry’s life. Let me also tell you how much I hated Blake, Harry’s cousin. I got bad vibes from him early in the book, but my disdain for him grew as the book progressed. He’s the kind of character I really enjoy hating (and tbh I’m very thankful book two isn’t about him!)
wearecompletelybooked's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25