Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 16 Mar 10
Being one myself, I’m naturally drawn to romance novels that feature librarian heroines. Over the years I’ve read some very good ones, and some others that have left permanent psychological scars. Karina Bliss’s latest for Harlequin SuperRomance is, blessedly, one of the good ones. Although at times, I felt the heroine’s “issues” overshadowed the romantic storyline.
Devin Freedman has spent the last 17 years being the bass player for the extremely successful hard rock band, Rage. However a life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll have literally taken their toll. When his doctors give him the unvarnished truth of what his alcohol addiction has done to his body, Devin cleans up and heads to his mother’s home in New Zealand. Mom has had heart problems, and Devin is finally ready to take control of his life. To that end, he decides to enroll in college.
It’s there that he meets academic librarian Rachel Robinson who has no idea who the heck he is. That’s honestly about the only endearing thing he can say about her, since the woman seems hell-bent on challenging him with verbal sparring matches at every turn.
Rachel has led a fairly solitary life, and has just turned down a marriage proposal from a man who by all accounts has “good catch” written all over him. She’s almost 35, does want a husband and children some day, so why does she keep turning men away? She’s 35. Her ovaries ain’t gettin’ any younger. However, it’s rather complicated. Rachel has a past that she’s been hiding from for 17 years. A past that conveniently shows up just as Devin walks through the library front door.
I’m a bit of a sucker for opposites attract storylines, and rock star and librarian are just about as opposite as you can get. Devin’s love of music eventually became overshadowed by his addiction, and the state of his personal health has given him a wake-up call. There’s also the small matter that his older brother, the lead singer of the band, is possibly screwing him over financially. He has a lot to sort out, but cannot help but become distracted by Rachel, who is intelligent, quick-witted, and not impressed by his fame.
The bulk of the conflict centers around Rachel’s past, and a choice she made 17 years ago that she’s now confronted with. It’s pretty heavy stuff, and an issue I think the author handles well. That said, it’s heavy enough conflict that I felt, at times, the romance loses some footing. Especially since Devin and Rachel are extremely fond of jumping to conclusions about each other. These two are determined to assume the worst about each other, and several misunderstanding crop up over the course of the story. After a while, it gets a bit exhausting and a little old that these two just don’t confront each other, laying all their cards out on the table.
That being said, this was still a very strong, emotionally charged contemporary read. Rachel isn’t my favorite librarian romance heroine ever, but she easily lands in the Top 5 and Devin’s bad boy charm makes him the perfect foil. Karina Bliss is a new discovery for me in the SuperRomance line, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Grade: B
Summary:
Is Rachel Robinson the only one on campus who doesn’t know who Devin Freedman is? No big deal except that the bad-boy rock star gets a kick out of Rachel’s refusal to worship at his feet. And that seems to have provoked his undivided attention. Devin, the guy who gave new meaning to the phrase “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.” Devin, the guy who somehow becomes wedged between her and the past she’s kept hidden for years.
It’s up to this librarian to find out firsthand just how “bad” he really is. Because her secret—and her growing feelings for a man who claims he’s bent on redemption—depend on his turning out to be as good as he seems. Which is really, really good.
Ahhhh – I’ve been waiting to hear your thoughts on this one. As you know *g* I really enjoyed this book – so much so that I’ve gone searching and buying her back list. This long into the game, it’s wonderful to find a new author with a back list!!
I have you to thank for the great little read I thought What the Librarian Did was and for leading me to a new-to-me author!!
My grade would be with yours, Wendy, but for a different reason. Because of the nature of the line, profanities aren’t allowed, and when the hero’s bad boy brother uttered the immortal “frigging,” it made me laugh quite somewhat.
They didn’t really come across as ‘real’ rock stars. Musicians, maybe even pop stars I’d have accepted, but the old-fashioned idea of the rock star party (they really don’t do it that way any more) and the lack of profanities made me put the book down for half an hour.
I loved the heroine’s obsession with vintage clothes, and I liked the hero’s response at the end. And yes, I agree with you, the issues tended to obscure the romance a little. A B is a good grade for this book. I read it yesterday, and enjoyed the read.
I’d love to see a round up of your favorite and least favorite librarian heroines! As a fellow librarian, I’m a sucker for all books that feature librarians and libraries.
Kristie: You are most welcome – and I can’t belive you weren’t a regular reader of the HSR line! We’ve known each other all these years – I’m impressed you’ve been so successful at tuning me out 🙂
Lynne: The “friggin” didn’t bother me so much. It could have been worse. He could have said “golly” LOL. The part that did give me pause was at that party when a big hairy deal was made over the fact that the hero’s brother was smoking ::gasp:: a joint. Really?!? A joint?!?! He’s a lead singer in a rock band! At the very least, shouldn’t he be doing lines of coke off a naked porn star’s body?
Abby: Off the top of my head – good librarian romances include Breathless by Laura Lee Guhrke (a historical) and Three Little Words by Carrie Alexander (an older Harlequin SuperRomance). The LLG is just flat-out solid, period. The Alexander is notable because the heroine works for a small, rural library in the middle-of-nowhere Michigan. I have a background in rural, small-town libraries, and Alexander hit all the right notes IMHO.
Oh yeah, that thought did pass my mind. I don’t think it’s Bliss’s fault, but that line won’t include profanities, so she was a bit stuck there. But the joint, yes. OMG Addiction looms!
Wendy, just hijacking the comment thread to say thank you very much for mentioning Laura Lee Guhrke’s Breathless – I had as a used book it in my TBR and on your say so I bumped it up to be my train read of the week – except I pretty much inhaled it whole and went out and bought several of her back list in my lunch break today,
Ta very much, somehow I’d never read anything of hers before.
FD: Yippeee! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Another older LLG that is just fabulous is To Dream Again, although that one is fairly hard to find. Well worth digging up though. Says me 🙂