KATHLEEN

Author: Irene Pascoe ISBN: 1590883314 11/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
Time Period: 1859/Civil War

Set against the backgrounds of Belfast's poverty-stricken countryside and Philadelphia's glittering high society at the height of the Civil War, Kathleen is a tale of blackmail, betrayal, and sizzling passion. From the moment penniless Kathleen McKenna enters the Philadelphia home of her powerful and wealthy step uncle, Thomas Fitzgibbon, she senses his lascivious design on her. As she struggles to outwit his subtle sexual advances, she also struggles to win the friendship of his perverse and pampered daughter, Shana. However, when both women fall in love with the handsome Dr. John Hayden, Shana's hostility escalates. She will go to any lengths to become his wife, even though just the thought of the marriage bed repels her.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I picked this book hoping for a nice Civil War romance but didn't find it here. To me, a romance starts with that spark between the hero and heroine, and then the author carries it forward until the happily-ever-after. Again, I didn't find that with KATHLEEN.

Where do I start...I think with Dr. John Hayden. John has a mistress, Melissa, that has tossed the condoms in favor of a pessary so she can really feel him. John is very turned on by Melissa, and wants to keep his relationship with her, even though he is moving from New York City to Philadelphia. No problem, Melissa has an aunt and uncle there and she will send a letter of introduction with John.

While setting his practice up in Philadelphia, John meets Shana, Melissa's cousin, who is very beautiful, sexy and spoiled rotten. He knows he must keep his hands off her, but marriage enters his mind a few times and enters Shana's until it is an obsession. Melissa plans a few trips to Philadelphia were she and John continue their affair, while John courts Shana.

Now, over in Ireland is our heroine, Kathleen. She is learning how to read and write with the help of the landlord's son, but at a cost. The final payment comes with a condom. When she and her father are evicted from their rented land, she moves in with the O'Brien's, whose son, Dennis, she has been in love with since childhood. Kathleen's father can't find work and decides to move to America, asking for help from his step-brother Thomas Fitzgibbon; Shana's father and Melissa's uncle.

After Kathleen's father leaves for America, Kathleen is happy with Dennis and tries to get him to see her as a woman. When he finally does, he asks her to marry him, but before the wedding—but not the wedding night—he is killed.

Kathleen moves to America to be with her father and is welcomed with open arms by her aunt Priscilla (I am going to admit right here, this is the only person in the entire book I liked). Priscilla loved her spoiled daughter, Shana, her faithless husband, Thomas, her unwed pregnant niece by marriage, Kathleen, and even her uneducated Irish brother-in-law. Priscilla saw good in all, and was loved by them all in return.

Kathleen finds her father has gone West, seeking his fortune in gold. One look at Kathleen and her uncle Thomas is lusting after her, but takes care of his needs with Priscilla's widowed best friend.

Okay, this book goes on and on with John having sex often with Melissa, courting Shana, and at one point trying to even get under Kathleen's skirts. Her uncle finds out that Kathleen never married Dennis, even though she is with child, so he insists after the baby is born that she become his in-house mistress.

KATHLEEN is a non-romance about one romp in the hay after another. I have to admire and respect my heroes, and John comes no where near hero status in my opinion. When life didn't go like he wanted, he not only ran once, but twice; the second time he ran out on Kathleen, leaving this reader wishing Kathleen had moved on to love the man who rescued her, instead of waiting around for John.

I also have a bone to pick with the author: There is one totally unnecessary death of a small child that did nothing to further the storyline, just upset this reader. Overall, KATHLEEN wasn't one of my better reads this week.

DeeKay