Sail away, sail away, sail away
“To the Ends of the Earth” by Elizabeth Lowell
If someone were to ask me why I like alpha heroes, the answer is simple. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. What this means is, that if the hero is a jerk i.e he is the biggest ass in the world, his eventual reformation becomes all the sweeter. After all, what fun is there in taming a pussy, whey-faced sop? It’s like trying to arm-wrestle a one-handed dwarf with 2 fingers.
(Apologies to all one-handed, two-fingered dwarves out there, it’s nothing personal). Taming a SNAG, who thinks he looks good in pink and owns shares in Mattel is no challenge at all. Put a macho, pig-headed hott hero in front of us, and watch him struggle and rail against being Lassoed by Love, and now that’s entertainment.
Travis Danvers is one such hero. He’s lean, mean and psychotic (La Lola’s favourite kind. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a billionaire either.) Travis has an interest in ships, and has commissioned Catherine (”Cat”) Cochran, noted photographer, to take photos of his ships, for a book which he plans to release. Travis has been burned by his ho of an ex-wife, and so is convinced that All Women Are E-evil (tip of little pinky to side of mouth). He lusts after Cat, and wants to make her his mistress, but she refuses. Cat is also determined to pay her own way through the world, which means refusing to accept any money from Travis. And yet, Travis the Thick (and this is not a reference to his Mr Bojangles) is convinced that Cat is only after his money and seeking to trap him into marriage, because he is such a desirable prospect. Clearly Travis does not have any issues with self-esteem.
I’m going to keep this review short and sweet (Just heard that the chocolate shop on the next block is giving away free samples, and rushing down to avoid the stampede once Ma’mselle Mimi and Sheridan Sakura Carlotta hear about it) so basically, what you have in a nutshell is the Big Misunderstanding.
*spoiler*
Cat eventually ends up pregnant, and because while Travis clearly has no problems with self-worth, he does have what the psychiatrists term “unresolved trust issues.” Me, I’d just say that he got hit on the head when the boom on the ship was lowered, and the resultant mishap rattled his brain. But it could just be I’m a tad less sympathetic.
Travis of course thinks that Cat got pregnant on purpose to trap him, and so proceeds to vilify her with some choice, rather harsh words. And when he eventually finds out that he was wrong (surprise, surprise!) Cat has, by then, lost the pregnancy.
She isn’t willing to forgive him, and I was quite happy to see Travis twist in the wind because honestly, he so had it coming. He does learn a lesson though, and engages in a prolonged and heartfelt grovel, to the great pleasure of La Lola. When he realizes what Cat had given up to keep his baby, ah, priceless. I defy even the most cold-blooded not to feel their heart twinge like broken guitar strings. Although when Travis tries to take care of her, Cat’s rejoinder is “Rich man, I’d rather sell myself on street corners than take one cent of your money” (Or something to that effect. I don’t have the book with me now, so that’s pretty much off the top of my sleep/book/chocolate deprived head). Ouch. If it were me, I’d take the money, buy myself $50,000 worth of clothes and a vat of chocolate, and sit in it with Jonathan Rhys Meyer. But to each her own.
Anyway, I guess my point is that nothing beats a good grovel. Except maybe free chocolate.
Sheridan Sakura Carlotta said,
May 14, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
Are you saying that Mimi and I are so large as to cause a stampede?! YOU. US. MEETING ROOM. NOW.
betty b said,
May 18, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
I totally agree. This is one book I have read, will read and reread over and over just to feel those “guitar strings” twinge. It gets me every single time. and i’ve been reading and rereading this book for the past 3 years. Awesome.