The Old Mermaid's Tale

 The Old Mermaid's Tale

by Kathleen Valentine

Overall Rating: *****

Dev Rating: **

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. The writing is lush and rich and full, yet not at all boring. It's what I think romance novels should be.

The main character, Clair, is from a small town in the midwest and she yearns for the ocean and for adventure. She has a romantic soul. It's the 1960s and she goes off to college near the Great Lakes.

From the title I was not expecting such a modern story!

The atmosphere is so well drawn, I can really feel every moment of Clair's love of the fishermen and the water.

About half way through the book Clair meets the gorgeous, mysterious Baptiste, a single leg amputee.

He is undeniably sexy and Clair falls hard for him. It's a great depiction of disability because Baptiste hardly notices his missing leg and certainly never lets it stop him. He wears a prosthesis and it is not very noticeable. He is such a deep, rich character who is so beloved by those around him that no one tends to say much about his leg.

This makes it great from a disability issues standpoint, but not great from a dev standpoint! There is no lingering on his body for us to enjoy.

Don't let that stop you from reading the book, though. It is so beautiful and absolutely worth reading.