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Belle
Melanie Jackson Book Review

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Plot Summary of Belle
"

Leisure, Apr 2002, 5.99, 305 pp.
ISBN: 0843949759

If life was fair and simple, Stephen Kirton would be happily married to a respectable lady. However, as far as Stephen is concerned life is unreasonable and complex so he knows his dream will never happen, as Polite Society will never accept a person born on the wrong side of the sheets let alone his commerce with the “lower classes”.

Instead, he seeks a night of revelry at the hedonistic Ormstead Park where he is shocked to see Annabelle Winston, an unattainable fantasy from his less complicated youth. They share drunken kisses at night, but that morning she rejects his proposal of marriage to avoid scandal. BELLE flees, but Stephen follows because he knows she is the one person who could bring happiness into his bleak dismal world.

BELLE is a warm historical romance though readers will wonder if the hero is a Regency adult or a disenchanted 1960s youth failing to score during the summer of Love. Stephen is the duel edge sword of the exciting plot. Readers will either moan along with him as a charmer who deserves the love of a good woman or tell him to get a life. Belle is an intriguing individual whose fall from grace contrasts with her letters to her mother. Melanie Jackson provides a well-written tale, but readers need to decide whether Stephen is an immature whiner or a misfortunate antihero.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Stephan Kirton has been dumped - the lady in question having no ambition to marry the scarred, son of a Duke; while Belle had been abandoned by her betrothed, Quincy.

Belle held a secret flame for Stephan, but wants to be loved for herself, so it not thrilled that Stephan has decided to save her reputation and marry her. She takes
off to avoid this, but Stephan catches up and decides he shall carry her off to Scotland for a quick marriage.

It's a madcamp romp, with the couple ended up in one mess after another, even meeting Sweeny Todd along the way!"

DeborahAnne MacGillivray, Resident Scholar




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Review Analysis of Belle
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - Regency era
Inner struggle subplot Yes
Struggle with... - angst over past traitorous lover
Hidden Identity/Secret Motive Yes

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - very picky
How romantic is this person? - somewhat romantic
Sex makes him - more demanding
Sex has good effect on him Yes
Sex makes him - confident - a better lover
Sex has bad effect on him Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional 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: - wealthy - prostitute
How sexual is this person? - very picky - naive virgin
How romantic is this person? - very romantic - somewhat romantic
effect of sexing - childish - more bitchy/arrogant - scared
Sex has bad effect on her Yes
Sex has good effect on her Yes
Effect of sexing - confident - obedient - a better lover - blissful
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - Fancy Mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death - generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related? - 70%
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much sexing? - 1-2 sex acts
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