What do you think?
Rate this book
Deanna's Desire
It was a long ocean voyage from England to Virginia but Matt Deverall had a great deal to think about. He was aabout to embark upon a new life; that of a plantation owner. That America was in the midst of political turmoil with his native land did not worry him. He was not interested in politics; he was not going to get involved. But that was before he caught a glimpse of the mysterious beauty huddled in the darkness of the ship's bow, before he saw the creamy whiteness of her skin and the deep sea blue of her eyes. In that one moment he fell helplessly in love, had to make her his own, make her part of his life. Only destiny held another fate for these two; a fate that was rich in rapture...and stormy as the sea.
- GenresRomance
622 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Sylvie F. Sommerfield
35 books28 followersAka Sylvie Sommerfield.
In 1978, Sylvie Sommerfield's husband challenged her to write a "better" romance novel, than the ones she eagerly devoured. She accepted the challenge. And now the six-time grandmother has written many historical romance novels, which have sold into the millions of copies.
In fact, John Sommerfield had to retire from his successful career as an investment funds manager to run the business side of Sylvie F. Sommerfield Enterprises.
Some of her books, with western themes, all published by Zebra, include Moonlit Magic, Tame My Wild Heart, Captive Embrace, Savage Rapture, Savage Kiss, Wild Wyoming Heart and Autumn Dove.
In 1978, Sylvie Sommerfield's husband challenged her to write a "better" romance novel, than the ones she eagerly devoured. She accepted the challenge. And now the six-time grandmother has written many historical romance novels, which have sold into the millions of copies.
In fact, John Sommerfield had to retire from his successful career as an investment funds manager to run the business side of Sylvie F. Sommerfield Enterprises.
Some of her books, with western themes, all published by Zebra, include Moonlit Magic, Tame My Wild Heart, Captive Embrace, Savage Rapture, Savage Kiss, Wild Wyoming Heart and Autumn Dove.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 26, 2017
This review is of “Deanna’s Desire”, by Sylvie F. Sommefield.
The Story: In 1776, in England, we meet the hero of the book, Matthew Deverall. Matt lives with his father, Lord George Deverall, and his older brother, Jason. (Their mother passed some time earlier). Life is good for the Deverall men, until George dies in an equestrian accident. The brothers believe that Lord George’s estate will be divided equally between them. However, due to English law at the time, if there is no will-and Lord George did not have one-the estate and title of a wealthy person goes to the eldest child-in this case Jason-while the youngest child/children-in this case Matthew-gets nothing. Hurt and angered by this fact, Matthew uses a small inheritance from his late mother to buy property in the new country of America, and sets sail to create a new life for himself.
While on the ship bound for America, Matthew sees the heroine and titular character, Deanna Martin. Deanna lives with her twin sister, Deborah, brother David and parents Paul and Margaret, in Virginia, on land that borders Matthew’s land. However, David and Margaret are not currently in Virginia; they are being held hostage by the British. (Deanna and her family are very involved in the fight for America’s independence from England). David and Margaret are freed shortly and return to Virginia.
As the book goes on, Matt and Deanna meet officially, become lovers and fall in love. However, the path to happiness for them-and their family members-will be extremely rocky. For example:
Deanna and Matt fall in love; however, the American Revolution separates them for a while.
Deborah, at the beginning of the book, is engaged to be married to Vernon Markham, a local plantation owner whose property borders Matt’s. When Jason arrives in Virginia, however, he and Deborah fall in love and later marry. Markham heals his broken heart by falling in love with another young woman, Caroline Gibson.
Margaret meets her first love, British Colonel Mark Severn, engages in an affair with him and keeps secrets from both Severn and Paul. Later, Margaret gains another suitor in visiting planter Lucas Olivier, who loves Margaret, who doesn’t love him back the same way. Lucas later reunites with his first love, Maria Alverez, and the daughter he didn’t know he had.
David, after losing his first love, Susan Gibson, Caroline’s sister, to another man, Brandon Monroe, finds love with Jenna Mackenzie, the daughter of Mark’s best friend, Jeremy.
Tragedy occurs, but in the end, Deanna, Matt, their two year-old daughter, Lauren, and all the other couples find their Happily Ever After.
Upside: For the most part, Mrs. Sommefield does a decent job exploring her characters and their emotions. Very few authors I’ve read pay as much attention to their secondary, tertiary, and lower characters the way Mrs. Sommerfield did.
Downside: That latter fact, however, is also a big weakness from my perspective of Mrs. Sommerfield’s work. The book I just read is titled “Deanna’s Desire”, yet Deanna and Matt are only in about half of the book. The rest, as mentioned above, is focused on the other characters. This, to me, means the book is badly misrepresentative. If “Deanna’s Desire” were categorized as a “Historical Saga” or just a “Saga”, that would have been a more accurate description of the book. I also found Matt and Deanna, while nice, to be probably the least interesting characters in the book, not that I found any of the other characters to be that memorable. Mrs. Sommerfield started the book with a focus on the American Revolution. Once that ended, “Deanna’s Desire” kind of ended as well. Too many of the storylines were unfinished. There is also a great deal of “insta love”, with characters meeting each other and very shortly thereafter, falling in love, having sex and later planning to marry.
Sex: While “Deanna’s Desire” is a bit more graphic than her earlier work-setting the tone for Mrs. Sommerfield’s later work-she is still in no way an erotica author.
Violence: Assaults, stabbing, sexual assault, a forced miscarriage and killings. The violence is mildly graphic.
Bottom Line: Mrs. Sommerfield had 622 pages to write a great book here. Sadly, she failed to live up to the task.
The Story: In 1776, in England, we meet the hero of the book, Matthew Deverall. Matt lives with his father, Lord George Deverall, and his older brother, Jason. (Their mother passed some time earlier). Life is good for the Deverall men, until George dies in an equestrian accident. The brothers believe that Lord George’s estate will be divided equally between them. However, due to English law at the time, if there is no will-and Lord George did not have one-the estate and title of a wealthy person goes to the eldest child-in this case Jason-while the youngest child/children-in this case Matthew-gets nothing. Hurt and angered by this fact, Matthew uses a small inheritance from his late mother to buy property in the new country of America, and sets sail to create a new life for himself.
While on the ship bound for America, Matthew sees the heroine and titular character, Deanna Martin. Deanna lives with her twin sister, Deborah, brother David and parents Paul and Margaret, in Virginia, on land that borders Matthew’s land. However, David and Margaret are not currently in Virginia; they are being held hostage by the British. (Deanna and her family are very involved in the fight for America’s independence from England). David and Margaret are freed shortly and return to Virginia.
As the book goes on, Matt and Deanna meet officially, become lovers and fall in love. However, the path to happiness for them-and their family members-will be extremely rocky. For example:
Deanna and Matt fall in love; however, the American Revolution separates them for a while.
Deborah, at the beginning of the book, is engaged to be married to Vernon Markham, a local plantation owner whose property borders Matt’s. When Jason arrives in Virginia, however, he and Deborah fall in love and later marry. Markham heals his broken heart by falling in love with another young woman, Caroline Gibson.
Margaret meets her first love, British Colonel Mark Severn, engages in an affair with him and keeps secrets from both Severn and Paul. Later, Margaret gains another suitor in visiting planter Lucas Olivier, who loves Margaret, who doesn’t love him back the same way. Lucas later reunites with his first love, Maria Alverez, and the daughter he didn’t know he had.
David, after losing his first love, Susan Gibson, Caroline’s sister, to another man, Brandon Monroe, finds love with Jenna Mackenzie, the daughter of Mark’s best friend, Jeremy.
Tragedy occurs, but in the end, Deanna, Matt, their two year-old daughter, Lauren, and all the other couples find their Happily Ever After.
Upside: For the most part, Mrs. Sommefield does a decent job exploring her characters and their emotions. Very few authors I’ve read pay as much attention to their secondary, tertiary, and lower characters the way Mrs. Sommerfield did.
Downside: That latter fact, however, is also a big weakness from my perspective of Mrs. Sommerfield’s work. The book I just read is titled “Deanna’s Desire”, yet Deanna and Matt are only in about half of the book. The rest, as mentioned above, is focused on the other characters. This, to me, means the book is badly misrepresentative. If “Deanna’s Desire” were categorized as a “Historical Saga” or just a “Saga”, that would have been a more accurate description of the book. I also found Matt and Deanna, while nice, to be probably the least interesting characters in the book, not that I found any of the other characters to be that memorable. Mrs. Sommerfield started the book with a focus on the American Revolution. Once that ended, “Deanna’s Desire” kind of ended as well. Too many of the storylines were unfinished. There is also a great deal of “insta love”, with characters meeting each other and very shortly thereafter, falling in love, having sex and later planning to marry.
Sex: While “Deanna’s Desire” is a bit more graphic than her earlier work-setting the tone for Mrs. Sommerfield’s later work-she is still in no way an erotica author.
Violence: Assaults, stabbing, sexual assault, a forced miscarriage and killings. The violence is mildly graphic.
Bottom Line: Mrs. Sommerfield had 622 pages to write a great book here. Sadly, she failed to live up to the task.
December 14, 2022
BE WARNED: THERE MAY BE A COUPLE OF SPOILERS; I CAN'T GET THE HANG OF THOSE <> THINGS!
I really thought I'd be giving this novel more than 3 stars, but despite how good a story it was, it just had too many flaws.
First off, the title is deceptive. While there is indeed a Deanna in the story (Deanna Martin), and her desire is twofold: to make a life with the man she loves and to serve the Patriot cause and help her family during the Revolutionary War, the novel isn't just about her and her true love, Matt Deverell. It's also about her twin sister, Deborah, Matt's older brother, Jason (they're British, but become involved with the Patriot cause; Deborah and Jason fall in love), Deanna's parents, Paul and Margaret Martin and her younger brother, David, Matt's good friend Cat and Deeta, the woman Cat loves (both free blacks and former slaves), Mark Severn, a British officer who has a past with Margaret, John, a good friend of the Martin family, Sarah, the woman he loves (both are active in the Patriot cause), Sarah's daughters, Caroline and Susan, Vern, the man Caroline loves and Deborah's former fiance, and several other people, which gives you an idea of just how busy this novel is!
Way too busy in fact, as it kind of gets off track. Whereas in the beginning it was all about the Martin family trying to hide their Patriotic activities, while at the same time planning a rescue of Margaret and David, who were being held prisoner in England, as the suspicious Governor of their colony (doesn't say which one) wants to stop Paul's rebel activities. What follows is a lot of mystery (Deanna's aboard the ship Matt takes to America, where he's bought property, but she needs to keep her presence a secret), suspense, plans, subterfuge, disguises, and a whole lot of adventure, with the love stories of Matt and Deanna, Jason and Deborah and Cat and Deeta to keep the romance going, as well. You also start getting hints of a past between Margaret and Mark.
It continues on to the war, with the men going off to fight, and here's where a discrepancy begins. Ms. Sommerfield seems to have been careless with time, as the novel is supposed to start in the summer of 1776, but the next thing you know it's 1781, and the war's coming to an end. So where did the five years go? No one mentioned that much time passing, and it wouldn't have fit the story. (The twins could hardly be having affairs with the Deverell brothers for five years, before they got married, not in those days!!) Then, the Battle of Yorktown's described, the men come home, and then it states that it's a few months later, the Christmas holidays, which means December 1781, only the author says it's 1782??? To make things worse, she doesn't state any amount of time after that, just that years have gone by, but how many? The only clue you get is that David was 16 when he first made an appearance, and later he's 21, but meanwhile Margaret (like Jack Benny) seems to be 39 throughout the book. In fact, they celebrate her 39th birthday, after it was stated sometime before that she was already 39. What's even more confusing, her lost (and found again) love, Mark was said to be the same age, yet just a few months later he talks of how he's loved Margaret since he met her at age 18, 25 years ago, which would make him 43! He aged four years in a few months, while Margaret stays 39 all the time! To make things even more silly, when David falls for a girl named Jenna, he says how she's not much younger than his sisters, but Jenna's 4 years younger than him and he's a few years younger than Deanna and Deborah so how can that make sense? (The book never does say how old the twins are. For that matter, you never know Matt's age either, just that he's younger than Jason, who was 25 when the book starts.)
Aside from age and time discrepancy, Ms. Sommerfield throws more people into the story, in fact too many, like possible new love interests for characters that don't need them, and they turned out to be time wasters. Also, too many couples found their soulmates just a bit too conveniently, and they all got naked too fast. While human nature is what it is, so was society in centuries past, and people just didn't hop into bed the way they do today, the young women would want at least an engagement ring and more than a few words of love before she surrendered her hymen, no matter how turned on she was. A day or two of knowing a guy was not enough for her to know him in the biblical sense. It could have been excused with one couple, maybe two, but not all of them, come on!
What really got silly was how she had to keep Margaret's 39 believable by having her absurdly young when she got married and pregnant (not necessarily in that order.) I won't give that whole story away, but I'll just say that there was quite a secret that involved Deanna and Deborah, and the book ended without them knowing it! That really determined me to take away a star! (If it was possible here, I'd give the book two and a half.)
After the war, the book just lost momentum and the author filled the void with a really disturbing story involving Cat and Deeta. They make it through, but it was rough going! Then, she added a bit of melodrama concerning a minor character, and suddenly the spotlights on him, but it was so unbelievable, that instead of making you want to cry happy tears, like I'm sure Ms. S intended, it'll probably make you want to laugh.
One thing the book does have going for it, is that there was none of the usual stuff you get from HR books written at this time (early 80's). The H (plural in this case) isn't a cold, domineering, somewhat ruthless autocrat, and the h (also plural) isn't a spoiled, willful, volatile, somewhat bitchy brat. They all treated each other well, with love and respect, a refreshing change!
Ms. Sommerfield should have concentrated her novel entirely on the twins and the brothers, as well as Cat and Deeta, kept everyone else in the background, skipped the Mark/Margaret story (as well as the others) and concentrated more on the war, with the sisters doing their part for the cause they believe in, the brothers gradually learning to feel the same way (making that the big conflict), with some spying and adventure along the way. There could have been some conflict, maybe ether Matt or Jason (or both) identifying with the Tories and causing problems with the woman he loves. So much potential here, too bad it went to waste.
I really thought I'd be giving this novel more than 3 stars, but despite how good a story it was, it just had too many flaws.
First off, the title is deceptive. While there is indeed a Deanna in the story (Deanna Martin), and her desire is twofold: to make a life with the man she loves and to serve the Patriot cause and help her family during the Revolutionary War, the novel isn't just about her and her true love, Matt Deverell. It's also about her twin sister, Deborah, Matt's older brother, Jason (they're British, but become involved with the Patriot cause; Deborah and Jason fall in love), Deanna's parents, Paul and Margaret Martin and her younger brother, David, Matt's good friend Cat and Deeta, the woman Cat loves (both free blacks and former slaves), Mark Severn, a British officer who has a past with Margaret, John, a good friend of the Martin family, Sarah, the woman he loves (both are active in the Patriot cause), Sarah's daughters, Caroline and Susan, Vern, the man Caroline loves and Deborah's former fiance, and several other people, which gives you an idea of just how busy this novel is!
Way too busy in fact, as it kind of gets off track. Whereas in the beginning it was all about the Martin family trying to hide their Patriotic activities, while at the same time planning a rescue of Margaret and David, who were being held prisoner in England, as the suspicious Governor of their colony (doesn't say which one) wants to stop Paul's rebel activities. What follows is a lot of mystery (Deanna's aboard the ship Matt takes to America, where he's bought property, but she needs to keep her presence a secret), suspense, plans, subterfuge, disguises, and a whole lot of adventure, with the love stories of Matt and Deanna, Jason and Deborah and Cat and Deeta to keep the romance going, as well. You also start getting hints of a past between Margaret and Mark.
It continues on to the war, with the men going off to fight, and here's where a discrepancy begins. Ms. Sommerfield seems to have been careless with time, as the novel is supposed to start in the summer of 1776, but the next thing you know it's 1781, and the war's coming to an end. So where did the five years go? No one mentioned that much time passing, and it wouldn't have fit the story. (The twins could hardly be having affairs with the Deverell brothers for five years, before they got married, not in those days!!) Then, the Battle of Yorktown's described, the men come home, and then it states that it's a few months later, the Christmas holidays, which means December 1781, only the author says it's 1782??? To make things worse, she doesn't state any amount of time after that, just that years have gone by, but how many? The only clue you get is that David was 16 when he first made an appearance, and later he's 21, but meanwhile Margaret (like Jack Benny) seems to be 39 throughout the book. In fact, they celebrate her 39th birthday, after it was stated sometime before that she was already 39. What's even more confusing, her lost (and found again) love, Mark was said to be the same age, yet just a few months later he talks of how he's loved Margaret since he met her at age 18, 25 years ago, which would make him 43! He aged four years in a few months, while Margaret stays 39 all the time! To make things even more silly, when David falls for a girl named Jenna, he says how she's not much younger than his sisters, but Jenna's 4 years younger than him and he's a few years younger than Deanna and Deborah so how can that make sense? (The book never does say how old the twins are. For that matter, you never know Matt's age either, just that he's younger than Jason, who was 25 when the book starts.)
Aside from age and time discrepancy, Ms. Sommerfield throws more people into the story, in fact too many, like possible new love interests for characters that don't need them, and they turned out to be time wasters. Also, too many couples found their soulmates just a bit too conveniently, and they all got naked too fast. While human nature is what it is, so was society in centuries past, and people just didn't hop into bed the way they do today, the young women would want at least an engagement ring and more than a few words of love before she surrendered her hymen, no matter how turned on she was. A day or two of knowing a guy was not enough for her to know him in the biblical sense. It could have been excused with one couple, maybe two, but not all of them, come on!
What really got silly was how she had to keep Margaret's 39 believable by having her absurdly young when she got married and pregnant (not necessarily in that order.) I won't give that whole story away, but I'll just say that there was quite a secret that involved Deanna and Deborah, and the book ended without them knowing it! That really determined me to take away a star! (If it was possible here, I'd give the book two and a half.)
After the war, the book just lost momentum and the author filled the void with a really disturbing story involving Cat and Deeta. They make it through, but it was rough going! Then, she added a bit of melodrama concerning a minor character, and suddenly the spotlights on him, but it was so unbelievable, that instead of making you want to cry happy tears, like I'm sure Ms. S intended, it'll probably make you want to laugh.
One thing the book does have going for it, is that there was none of the usual stuff you get from HR books written at this time (early 80's). The H (plural in this case) isn't a cold, domineering, somewhat ruthless autocrat, and the h (also plural) isn't a spoiled, willful, volatile, somewhat bitchy brat. They all treated each other well, with love and respect, a refreshing change!
Ms. Sommerfield should have concentrated her novel entirely on the twins and the brothers, as well as Cat and Deeta, kept everyone else in the background, skipped the Mark/Margaret story (as well as the others) and concentrated more on the war, with the sisters doing their part for the cause they believe in, the brothers gradually learning to feel the same way (making that the big conflict), with some spying and adventure along the way. There could have been some conflict, maybe ether Matt or Jason (or both) identifying with the Tories and causing problems with the woman he loves. So much potential here, too bad it went to waste.
September 10, 2020
This is one of Ms. Sommerfield's first novels. It was very disappointing as there is really no character development before the hero and heroine get in on. It's way too fast and unrealistic. The story flow was hard to absorb because of this. I really couldn't read this book past the 75th page because of it. Ms. Sommerfield does much better as she progresses in her writings through the years. I'd say that any book she has written before 1982 isn't worth a read if you are into getting to know the characters and falling in love with them first. If you just want to get to the passion and love-making, then this might be your cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews