| Plot Summary of As You Desire |
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"Set in Victorian Egypt, As You Desire is the story of Harry Braxton, an English entrepreneur-archeologist-adventurer and Desdemona Carlisle, a translator who is living with her archeologist grandfather.
Desdemona, or "Dizzy", as Harry calls her, was a child prodigy who knows twelve languages. Her parents took her around the world when she was a child, showing her off to scholars and basically isolating her, so now she has a tendency to spin romantic daydreams and get into scrapes. The only real friend she has is Harry, with whom she fell in love five years ago, when she first came to live with her grandfather in Egypt. However, she once foolishly offered herself to Harry and was turned away, and now she suppresses those feelings to remain friends with Harry, even if he's a rogue.
Harry is secretly crazy in love with Dizzy, and has been for years, but he has a devastating secret that prevents him from declaring his love to her. Instead, he settles for being her friend and all-around tormenter, always rescuing her from scrapes and never letting her forget his existence.
Then, Harry's aristocratic cousin arrives from England, and he is exactly what Dizzy thinks she wants: the perfect English gentleman, brooding, and dark and handsome. So maybe he's a bit dull and self-centered, but he's interested in her. Harry realizes that he has to fight to keep Dizzy, and Dizzy comes to see that perhaps the heroes of our dreams don't make such great heroes in real life.
But Harry and Dizzy have other obstacles to their happiness, such as an unscrupulous businessman, desert slave traders, misguided friends, and their own insecurities."
Casey, Resident Scholar
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" Desdemona "Dizzy" Carlisle is an old-fashioned romantic who resides with her grandfather in Cairo, Egypt. She is constantly getting herself in scrapes, and is continually rescued by Harry Braxton, the man she has secretly been in love with since her arrival in Cairo. When she first arrived she offered herself to him only to be rejected, from that point on she pretended indifference and they became "friends".
Harry, who secretly loves Dizzy, denies her love because he is ashamed of his dyslexia, and keeps his disability a secret. He is an properous trader/scholar of Egyptian artifacts and uses Dizzy's talents as translator to keep their friendship alive. The couple, who carry a large amount of sexual tension, deny their love and passion, pretending it does not exist until Harry's Cousin, Lord Ravenscroft, visits him in town. Ravenscroft is immediately attracted to Dizzy and Harry feels anger and jealousy towards their courtship.
Dizzy considers Ravenscroft as a potential husband, but cannot deny that she is still in love with Harry. When Dizzy is kidnapped by a villianous arab, Harry follows her trail to rescue one last time, hoping she will accept despite is disability. "
Angel Manners, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of As You Desire |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 19th century
- Victorian england
Love Triangles/Polygons
Yes
What kind:
- one woman-two men
Inner struggle subplot
Yes
Struggle with...
- feels s/he's not worthy
If one lover chases another...
- he chases after her
- they alternate
Main Male Character
Profession/status:
- trader
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
How sexual is this person?
- very picky
- several sexual encounters
How romantic is this person?
- very romantic
- somewhat romantic
Sex has good effect on him
Yes
Sex makes him
- confident
- blissful
- sensitive
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Female Character
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- scholar
How sexual is this person?
- naive virgin
How romantic is this person?
- very romantic
Sex has good effect on her
Yes
Effect of sexing
- confident
- blissful
- mature
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Desert?
Yes
Desert:
- hostile arabs
- funny heat-delusions
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related?
- 90%
- nearly 100%
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- licking
- actual description of sex
- descript. of female anatomy (the big B's)
- descript. of female anatomy (the big V)
- descript. of male nudity (the big P)
Focus of story
- equally on him and her
How much dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much sexing?
- 1-2 sex acts
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