Castle in Spain

by Margaret Rome

Never again would she dance on stage

Birdie's career as a ballerina was over, ruined by a fluke accident. Reeling from the shock, she let sympathetic friends lure her to the island of Menorca for a rest.

It was there that Birdie met the Conde, a man who was the antithesis of all she knew--and who wouldn't let her retreat into herself. He was overbearing and manipulative; Birdie knew his power could wreak even more havoc in her life!

Genres: Harlequin Romance

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroin is 20 year old Birdie. She’s a rising star in ballet when tragedy strikes and she hurts her ankle and is told she will never be able to dance fully again. She meets the Hero ,Vulcan, when she’s on holiday with friends to recuperate. He’s the guardian to a 5 year old girl who is crippled just like the h. Birdie feels sympathy for the girl and says that she can get better by dancing. The H thinks that she’s giving the girl false hope. But when he sees that the girl has taken to h he offers her a job as a companion to the girl (who has apparently scared away several companions so far). Birdie first refuses. She still hopes for a comeback to the ballet. Vulcan says some harsh truths, that she will never bee able to dance the big roles anymore. She still refuses, but then she overhears her friend and ballet instructor say much the same thing. So she starts as a companion and a sort of physiotherapist to the little girl. After a month Vulcan, all of a sudden, asks her out to dinner and dancing. He acts very affectionate towards her, and since she’s lived a very sheltered life, she’s never even been kissed before. So when he kisses her she realizes she’s in love. The night takes on a magical glow and when he proposes she says yes. She is in love with him and thinks he’s in love to. So fare so sweet.
The next morning she tells he little girl, who is delighted that Birdie will be staying forever. Enter the evil housekeeper, who tells the h that Vulcan only married her for the little girls sake and what not. Birdie first gets worried but lets it slide, convinced of the H love. At breakfast he still acts affectionate and the h ask if he truly loves her. But the answer makes her heart plummet. He says that he needs a hostess and a mother for the girl, oh, and some heirs while their at it. She wants to break the engagement but Vulcan says she can’t, what would the little girl say? So they get married. The wedding night is fade to black, she seemed to enjoy it though, judging by the afterthoughts. But after the one night they don’t make love. Some time later the H takes the h to meet the Romanies. There, to her surprise, they have a Romaine wedding ceremony. Vulcan takes her to a flower decorated caravan and they make fade to black love. The h is ashamed to have given in so easily and she avoids the H after that. Then, at a fiesta like event, Vulcan says he will set her free. She still loves him and, after agonizing for the whole fiestaesk party, she decides to be brave and tell him:

'Vulcan,' she whispered, 'do you mind very much if I love you? If only you'll allow me to stay I won't let my feelings show, won't ever expect my love to be returned!'

He then gives her a bear hug and declares his love in such a sweet way:

With a shaky hand he pushed aside a soft wing of hair to groan the confession against the tender nape of her neck, 'My heart flew into your breast, you clipped its wings, and it has remained there ever since the moment we first met. Will you allow it to stay, mi cara, can a tyrant's heart live for ever in your keeping?'

This book was better then I thought it would be. The Hero wasn’t possessive or mean, at least not as much as is usual in these kind of books. The only thing that putt me off a bit was the heroes name, Vulcan. I couldn't get the image of Spock out off my head!

[Tia · Rating 1 out of 5]

All this writing for nothing. The hero was an asshole and he showed no love only control in the book and the ending was so beyond fucked up. I can't believe this shit was published. What a waste of paper.

[Ntobeko Tshuma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great book really. Everything was rushed. The characters were not given enough time or encounters to actually develop feelings for each other however the author skips to them having feelings for each other. Conde pretends not to love Birdie then feels hurt when he believes that Birdie does not love him. Which makes no sense because Birdie did express her emotions even if it was indirect. Conde's reason for not confessing his emotions makes absolutely no sense at all. Conde has a nonsensical character and Birdie still settles for him all because of the illusion of imprisonment. The book was lazily written, it has a lot of flaws and unexplained events that feel unnecessary.

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prose - is purple.
The plot - is predictable. Hero thinks the heroine loves another. Heroine thinks the hero only married her for his ward's companion.
The conclusion - is inevitable. The heroine finally relinquishes her pride and tells him she loves him. (This is after two weddings and two wedding nights)

So it's a whole lot of self-inflicted angst for not a lot of payoff. It was still enjoyable, because the author conveyed it with style. Tyrant hero, sensitive ballerina heroine, bratty ward were all vintage caricatures. But enjoyed reading about them again.

[Vickie Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its ok, barely.

[SassyLeg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[RomLibrary]

ever again would she dance on stage

Birdie's career as a ballerina was over, ruined by a fluke accident. Reeling from the shock, she let sympathetic friends lure her to the island of Menorca for a rest.

It was there that Birdie met the Conde, a man who was the antithesis of all she knew--and who wouldn't let her retreat into herself. He was overbearing and manipulative; Birdie knew his power could wreak even more havoc in her life!

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read.