Author; Barbara Cartland
First published in 2000 by BarbaraCartland.com
The daughter of a wealthy, ambitious man, Rowena knew that her father longed to marry her to a title, preferably the Duke of Wenfield, whom she disliked and did not wish to marry herself. To avoid marriage, they hatched a plot.
Posing as brother and sister, they would take a trip on a yacht with their like-minded friends and would help each other find the love of their dreams. Plans went awry on the Mediterranean, when Rowna was kidnapped by a Sultan, and was imprisoned in his harem. It seemed that they would be parted forever.
The Ship of Love is the second book by this author that I have read. I thought this was a really cute story of two people who are looking for love and having a hard time finding it in a society that looks down on love matches. When Rowena and Mark feel they are being forced together, they plot a "love cruise" on her father's yacht in the hope that they can find suitable love matches for each other among their friends.
This book reminded me a lot of the plot of Jane Austin's Emma. Rowena and Mark become great friends and don't see that the love of their life is right in front of them. Rowena tries to play match maker, but every time she see's Mark with someone else, she feels jealous. These two were so cute together. I loved watching their friendship develop as it helped to deepen their love for each other.
It was a little cheesy with the Sultan kidnapping story line. But what is a great romance without a little cheese, right? The ending was perfect and really sweet. If you are looking for a cute and clean romance, I highly recommend checking this one out.
Author: Barbara Cartland
First published in 2000 by BarbaraCartland.com
Sylvia, daughter of the Duke of Belham, is bored with the various young men she meets at Lady Lamborne's masked ball. At last she escapes their attentions and makes her way into the cool, moonlit garden, where she encounters a masked stranger.
The following morning, Sylvia's father reveals that he has amassed such debts from his gambling that the family can no longer maintain their high profile London life. They must return to Castle Belham and Sylvia realises that she will never see her mystery stranger again.
At Castle Belham, Count Von Brauer enters their lives. In time, the Duke loses a vast sum of money to him at a gathering. The Count offers to overlook the debt in return for Sylvia's hand in marriage. At first, Sylvia refuses, but when the Duke suffers a nervous collapse, her resistence crumbles.
Only a stranger from the past can rescue her from her nightmare... only the stars in the sky can point the way.
Stars in the Sky was another random audiobook pick from my library. I had never heard of this author, so I gave it a go. The story was very sweet and clean. Sylvia longs to be swept off her feet, but her stepmother and father have other plans. They want her to marry the evil Count Von Brauer in order to have a gambling debt forgiven. This is a classic story of a truly despicable, evil villain trying to get the young innocent maiden all for the sake of wealth. There is a dashing young neighbor who Sylvia becomes friends with, but can he save the day? I'm not going to spoil it. I'll just say the ending has a twist and a sweet HEA. It made for a quick read and a great escape for a while.
I did a little research into this author and found out that she passed away in 2000. Her son has since been publishing the over 160 unpublished manuscripts that she left behind. I found a few more at my library, so stay tuned. I'm sure they will show up in a Throwback Thursday post soon! You can find out more about her and her writing career at www.BarbaraCartland.com.
