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Hawaii #2
Mistress of Paradise
Hawaii in the 1890s: a land ruled by a princess struggling to remain independent from the United States. It was here on the sprawling ranch called "Palekaiko," or Paradise, that Lani Tucker grew up, an exquisite free-spirit, her half-island descent evident in her luminous skin, her half-American heritage in her amethyst eyes.
At her first glance of the wealthy Keith Stewart, her desire rose unbidden, boundless and exciting. He was handsome and charming - the direct opposite of his brooding, mysterious brother Adam.
But it was Adam who became Lani's guardian when her uncle died, Adam who refused to help her hold on to her ranch, Adam who captured her secret desire, who awakened a passion she never knew she had - and who then cruelly turned away....
At her first glance of the wealthy Keith Stewart, her desire rose unbidden, boundless and exciting. He was handsome and charming - the direct opposite of his brooding, mysterious brother Adam.
But it was Adam who became Lani's guardian when her uncle died, Adam who refused to help her hold on to her ranch, Adam who captured her secret desire, who awakened a passion she never knew she had - and who then cruelly turned away....
325 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 31, 1988
About the author
Marcella Thum
28 books5 followersMarcella Thum, an award-winning author and librarian, died Thursday (July 11, 2002) of lymphoma at St. Mary's Health Center. She was 77 and lived in Affton.
Miss Thum wrote more than 20 books, both fiction and nonfiction, on various subjects.
For her first book, "The Mystery at Crane's Landing," she received an Edgar Award for best juvenile work from the Mystery Writers of America in 1965.
Her nonfiction work, "Exploring Black America," was a guide to points of interest for African-Americans in 1975. For that, she received a Notable Children's Book Award from the American Library Association. She updated it in 1991, and it was published as "A Guide to Black America."
She also collaborated with her sister, Gladys, on several nonfiction books, including "Exploring Military America," which pointed out battlefields and museums of interest, in 1982.
Born in St. Louis, Miss Thum earned a bachelor's degree from Washington University and a master's degree in library science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Throughout the 1950s, she worked as a librarian and writer for the Air Force and was stationed in South Korea, Germany, Hawaii and Okinawa and at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
With her love of traveling and her experience living abroad, she was able to set a few novels in exotic locales. She wrote "Mistress of Paradise" about the takeover of Hawaii by the United States, and "Thorn Trees," which was set in Kenya in World War I.
"When she wrote her stories, she always wanted to teach the history in a way that would be interesting so people would learn," said her niece, Marilee Gilmore. "She always took the underdog side. She educated people, in a gentle way, to see the other side."
She wrote primarily in her spare time. After working for the government, she became librarian at Affton High School in the early 1960s. She later was a librarian at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
She was honored as a Distinguished St. Louisan at Cupples House at St. Louis University and by the Missouri Writers Guild. Although she received numerous accolades, Miss Thum did not boast about her accomplishments. "She was very humble; nobody would guess that she was such a great writer," Gilmore said.
Years ago, she was active in the St. Louis chapter of Romance Writers of America and several area writers clubs. She was a member of the Rose Society at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Mount Tabor United Church of Christ and the American Library Association.
She is interred with her sister, Gladys (1920-2005).
Miss Thum wrote more than 20 books, both fiction and nonfiction, on various subjects.
For her first book, "The Mystery at Crane's Landing," she received an Edgar Award for best juvenile work from the Mystery Writers of America in 1965.
Her nonfiction work, "Exploring Black America," was a guide to points of interest for African-Americans in 1975. For that, she received a Notable Children's Book Award from the American Library Association. She updated it in 1991, and it was published as "A Guide to Black America."
She also collaborated with her sister, Gladys, on several nonfiction books, including "Exploring Military America," which pointed out battlefields and museums of interest, in 1982.
Born in St. Louis, Miss Thum earned a bachelor's degree from Washington University and a master's degree in library science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Throughout the 1950s, she worked as a librarian and writer for the Air Force and was stationed in South Korea, Germany, Hawaii and Okinawa and at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
With her love of traveling and her experience living abroad, she was able to set a few novels in exotic locales. She wrote "Mistress of Paradise" about the takeover of Hawaii by the United States, and "Thorn Trees," which was set in Kenya in World War I.
"When she wrote her stories, she always wanted to teach the history in a way that would be interesting so people would learn," said her niece, Marilee Gilmore. "She always took the underdog side. She educated people, in a gentle way, to see the other side."
She wrote primarily in her spare time. After working for the government, she became librarian at Affton High School in the early 1960s. She later was a librarian at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
She was honored as a Distinguished St. Louisan at Cupples House at St. Louis University and by the Missouri Writers Guild. Although she received numerous accolades, Miss Thum did not boast about her accomplishments. "She was very humble; nobody would guess that she was such a great writer," Gilmore said.
Years ago, she was active in the St. Louis chapter of Romance Writers of America and several area writers clubs. She was a member of the Rose Society at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Mount Tabor United Church of Christ and the American Library Association.
She is interred with her sister, Gladys (1920-2005).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 6, 2012
Before I get into the actual review of this book, I present my case for why you should never ever judge a book by its cover, let alone the description written by the
Now let's look at the book description on the back:
"At her first glance of the wealthy Keith Stewart, her desire rose unbidden, boundless and exciting."
OK, in a way that is correct, but in another way it isn't. You see, Lani is fourteen years old when she first sets eyes on Keith. So yeah, she's hot for him but in a puppy-love kind of way.
"...Adam who refused to help her hold on to her ranch, Adam who captured her secret desire, who awakened a passion she never knew she had - and who then cruelly turned away..."
It makes it sound like he used her and dumped her, doesn't it? Can't spoil with details, but I'm telling you that doesn't happen. I would guess that many a potential reader has picked this up in the bargain bins, taken one look at the cover, stuck their noses in the air and sniffed "bodice ripper" and walked away. Hate to say it, but you can miss out on a good book with an attitude like that. To be fair, I actually was in the mood for a brain candy romance when I picked this up, but was pleasantly surprised to find something completely different inside.
So let's talk about the book, which is set in Hawaii in the early 1890s. Lani Tucker is descended from an early missionary family (although her mother was Hawaiian), a family that went on to build a great business empire. Her parents dead, Lani is first left in the care of her Uncle Daniel, until a series of events after a bad night at the gambling table makes her the ward of Adam Stewart. There are three Stewart brothers, all handsome, but oldest Keith is the one Lani sets her sights on, not realizing what a womanizing all around bad boy he is. And there's serious trouble brewing when Lani grows up and none of the Stewart boys can resist her charms...
While there is a strong romantic element in this book, the author also involved Lani and the Stewart brothers in a tumultuous period in Hawaii's history as forces plot to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy and annex the islands to the United States. This was a good solid read for me, and I frankly had a hard time putting it down, and one I would recommend to those who like a bit more historical detail in their romances. There is a book that precedes this story, Jasmine, about Lani's grandparents. It looks like the author has written several other historical romances, and I think I might hunt down a few of them for a looksee. 4/5 stars.
May 12, 2023
It was interesting in the beginning, then it became boring.this is actually a historical romance because there is a lot of references about the period of time and the place where the story is set.
The heroine is half Hawaiian half British, and she lives in Hawaii. She’s quite beautiful and she attracts many men even at a young age.
She’s got a crush on one of the hero’s brothers, that is a charming cad.
The hero is smitten and knows that he has to wait for her to grow up.
One night the heroine flirts shamelessly with his brother who asks her to wait for him in his bedroom but later, when she goes to his room, it’s the hero who makes love to her, all in the dark, so she doesn’t realize and she thinks she did it with his brother.
The day after his brother announces his engagement to a rich, plain and white girl, while the hero announces his with the heroine, who’s speechless.
There’s a lot going on here, they get married, she’s resentful and he’s resentful because he knows she’s in love with his brother, the only things they enjoy is sex, and even there, the hero knows she dreams of his brother when she has sex with him, and sadly it’s true.
There’s a lot of descriptions about the historical context, where the Hawaiian queen is forced to abdicate because of the influence of America, and there’s a strong disagreement between the heroine that resent the American hero because he helped his country .
The hero’s younger brother will risk his life because he tries to help Hawaiian rebels.
And the hero and the heroine separate.
This heroine is really one of the worst I’ve read recently.
Ok, she’s very young and maybe unable to see what is under her eyes, that the man she’s in love with, is only an opportunistic selfish idiot, a liar and a cheat, that he is also a bit racist and wants to get married to a white woman to be accepted in America, that he uses people without a care for their feelings.
She’s rude and cruel to the hero who is really a dear, he protects her since the start and is in love with her always, even knowing she loves his brother.
Of course she comes to love him but until the end she thinks the worst of him and is ready to believe his brothers lies.
I liked the hero a lot, one of the best lately, and I hated the heroine because she was immature, spoiled and rude, until the end.
She has to be kidnapped by the hero’s brother to realize that he’s evil and all he said were lies, but then it was too little and too late.
I found all the references to Hawaiian queen and her predicament a bit boring, I wasn’t interested in them and I wanted more focus on the main couple, so my rating is not so high.
I don’t know if the hero has been celibate because when he met the heroine she was a teenager and I wouldn’t mind it if he weren’t because she was only 14, but I’m sure that after he made love to her he was celibate even if they were separated.
The heroine is half Hawaiian half British, and she lives in Hawaii. She’s quite beautiful and she attracts many men even at a young age.
She’s got a crush on one of the hero’s brothers, that is a charming cad.
The hero is smitten and knows that he has to wait for her to grow up.
One night the heroine flirts shamelessly with his brother who asks her to wait for him in his bedroom but later, when she goes to his room, it’s the hero who makes love to her, all in the dark, so she doesn’t realize and she thinks she did it with his brother.
The day after his brother announces his engagement to a rich, plain and white girl, while the hero announces his with the heroine, who’s speechless.
There’s a lot going on here, they get married, she’s resentful and he’s resentful because he knows she’s in love with his brother, the only things they enjoy is sex, and even there, the hero knows she dreams of his brother when she has sex with him, and sadly it’s true.
There’s a lot of descriptions about the historical context, where the Hawaiian queen is forced to abdicate because of the influence of America, and there’s a strong disagreement between the heroine that resent the American hero because he helped his country .
The hero’s younger brother will risk his life because he tries to help Hawaiian rebels.
And the hero and the heroine separate.
This heroine is really one of the worst I’ve read recently.
Ok, she’s very young and maybe unable to see what is under her eyes, that the man she’s in love with, is only an opportunistic selfish idiot, a liar and a cheat, that he is also a bit racist and wants to get married to a white woman to be accepted in America, that he uses people without a care for their feelings.
She’s rude and cruel to the hero who is really a dear, he protects her since the start and is in love with her always, even knowing she loves his brother.
Of course she comes to love him but until the end she thinks the worst of him and is ready to believe his brothers lies.
I liked the hero a lot, one of the best lately, and I hated the heroine because she was immature, spoiled and rude, until the end.
She has to be kidnapped by the hero’s brother to realize that he’s evil and all he said were lies, but then it was too little and too late.
I found all the references to Hawaiian queen and her predicament a bit boring, I wasn’t interested in them and I wanted more focus on the main couple, so my rating is not so high.
I don’t know if the hero has been celibate because when he met the heroine she was a teenager and I wouldn’t mind it if he weren’t because she was only 14, but I’m sure that after he made love to her he was celibate even if they were separated.
October 29, 2016
My Lord, this book was so long, so freaking long I would have "liked" if it had 100 pages in less.
Plus it was boring, unnerving, annoying, terrible, awful. And I hated all the characters, no one was likeable. Such a waste of my time. And yet I don't know why I didn't stopped reading and added this book to the "did not finish" list. Why, indeed.
Plus it was boring, unnerving, annoying, terrible, awful. And I hated all the characters, no one was likeable. Such a waste of my time. And yet I don't know why I didn't stopped reading and added this book to the "did not finish" list. Why, indeed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews