PORTRAIT OF A MAN

Author: Tracy Fobes ISBN: 050552578X 4/2006 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/Love Spell

The Portrait In a world where only the wealthiest man has the price of a bride, Rourke of Calandor holds no hope of knowing a wife’s gentle touch, or having a helpmate of his own. A rebel against the established order, he will do anything to bring down the Patriarchy, even travel into the past to the place where it all started. Only by painting the likeness of a very special woman could he open the doorway between Blackfell and Philadelphia; only by concentrating his entire being on her could he safely pass through. The Portal Alexis Conner has been fascinated by the macabre all her life. As a kid, she loved horror stories and haunted houses; as an adult, she made a career of verifying the paranormal. But the image materializing before her in the charged darkness is no ghost. This is a man, heart stoppingly real, powerful, dangerous. And the first thing he does is crush her into his arms and blow away all her scientific cool with a kiss.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I'll tell you right now, the cover model on this book is worth the $6.99 US and $8.99 CAN; he is gorgeous and I kept looking at the front of the book to get the sense of the man, Rourke of Calandor.

Yes, I'm shallow.

Now, I'm sorry to say I didn't like PORTRAIT OF A MAN. Not that it isn't well-written (it is), and not because the characters aren't interesting (they are -- especially the model on the front), but this sort of storyline always makes me say "Oh, come on," out loud. You see, there's this portal, and if Rourke concentrates hard enough on his special woman, he can pass through.

You know, said like that, no one will read this book.

And then there's Alexis, who turns out to be the . . . whoops, almost gave it away. . .

If you're a paranormal fan, this is your top-pick. If you can temporarily suspend your belief in all that's reasonable in the world, this book is for you. Have at it . . . just leave the cover-model to me :)!

Cynthia Whitten