As You Desire

It's 1890 in the Egyptian desert and a perfect setting for a touching romance. Harry Braxton and Desdemona (Dizzy)Carlisle, both from England, have been close friends for five years and neither will admit they are desperately in love with the other.As You Desire is truly the most enjoyable book I have read from page one. The first pages of the book grab you quickly and by page ten, you are swept up in Harry and Dizzy's relationship and laughing and sighing over the fantastic hero, Harry. The first half of the book had me laughing again and again.The synopsis on the back of the book refers to Harry as a notorious rake. I did not see him in this manner. He has a real heart and his character is written well as a very desirable but concientious man. He adores Dizzy but hides from her a problem that he fears would repulse her. Reading the book, I did not understand the seriousness of his problem, but once I finished the book, I read the author's notes at the end of the book and realized that his problem was considered to be very significant in 1890. I suggest that you read the author's notes before beginning the book to understand many of Harry's feelings.Dizzy has thrown herself at Harry three years earlier and he had refused her advances due to her young age and his hidden problem. She was a child genius and is now a talented translator of ancient manuscripts. She is a very likable heroine and is embarassed by her earlier overtures that Harry declined. She longs to return to England someday.Harry and Dizzy enjoy their close friendship. When Harry's handsome cousin comes to visit him from England, he fears Dizzy is slipping away from him and sees her welcoming his cousin's attentions. The romance between Harry and Dizzy develops quickly at this point and it is one of the sweetest I have read. Connie Brockway is a fantastic author and does no formula romance writing. Everything about this book is fresh and unusual. Although I feared some misunderstandings arising towards the middle of the book, this author simply does not write silly misunderstanding between her love leads as we so often see in historical romance novels. Harry and Dizzy are each very hesistant to reach beyond the confines of their friendship. They communicate well and don't get lost in lies. There is a beautiful sensual scene between the two that I would rate about a three (see more about me for these guidelines) but this is a story that does not need additional sensual writing.The action of this book is quick for the first half, then falters for another fourth of the book and then picks back up to deliver a very satisfying ending. This is a book you will probably want to save to read again someday. I read many books each week and find I remember few storylines. This is one story that has stayed with me for months now. It is simply outstanding.

One of Brockway's best. Set in 1890 Cairo, it's fun, romantic, sexy and entertaining.Desdemona Carlisle was a child prodigy who easily mastered numerous languages from an early age, including hieroglyphics. She spent her childhood being dragged by her Egyptologist parents from one scholarly convention to another, often as one of the main attractions. Never provided with the accoutrements of a normal childhood Dizzy's only outlet was an active fantasy life culled from English romance novels that featured country manors, endless green and the heroic but perpetually brooding Bertie Cecil.After her parents' death when she was 15, Dizzy went to live with her grandfather, Sir Robert Carlisle. He is just as obsessed about Egyptology, both personally and professionally, as the British Museum's head of antiquities in Cairo. But he cares for Dizzy in a way her parents had not. He's horrified by the history of her barren childhood that gradually emerges and determined to see her fantasies fulfilled, even if it means he must return to England against his own preferences. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for the story) he can't go back to England until he is able to pay off the debts he left there, and with his obsession for acquiring artifacts for his personal collection, that goal never gets any closer to being realized.Dizzy and Harry have loved each other for a long time but neither admits it, either to each other or to themselves. Dizzy made a play for Harry some three years before and he rejected her, unwilling to play the fantasy hero who would "sweep her up on his silver charger and race her straight back to England." England was not a happy place for Harry for reasons that emerge as the story unfolds, reasons that explain why he hasn't acted on his feelings for Dizzy. Such has been the state of affairs between them for three years, but everything changes with the arrival in Cairo of Harry's cousin, Lord Blake Ravenscroft, a walking incarnation of Bertie Cecil.Part of the book's charm was how the author sometimes interspersed Dizzy's fantasies with what was playing out in real life. Especially when Dizzy had to mentally re-write an experience to make it "fit", like the disappointing kiss she and Blake shared: "If she just thought about it long enough, that kiss could become everything she'd envisioned. Maybe Blake's arms should have 'enveloped' instead of 'crushed' and if his lips had 'conquered' rather than 'bruised'..."Harry is an incredibly romantic hero once he lets himself act on his feelings for Dizzy instead of trying to hold them at bay. And Dizzy is finally able to see the real Harry - not the knight of her earlier fantasies or the unscrupulous opportunist he's encouraged her to think he is. He's just a man who overcame enormous obstacles to develop his unique expertise, and one who appreciates Dizzy precisely because of her unconventional ways.Altogether an enjoyable and wonderfully romantic story.