More of a 4+ star story. This book was a great read. The tender and passionate romance unfolds very sweetly and sometimes unexpectedly. The authors have an evocative writing style that pulled me right into the story. That said, be forewarned that this is a book from the early '80s, so even with the authors' ability to draw me into the story, the book inevitably included cultural references that sometimes jerked me back out (e.g., wearing a sweatshirt with E.T. on it or one of the secondary characters' driving a Gremlin).Some notes on the characters:
I loved Philip, who is a sensitive, gentle wildlife biologist who just happens to have been born with perfect features, which he capitalizes on as a stripper because that is the avenue that would bring him the most money to use to maintain a wildlife preserve that is on the acres of land that comprises part of his ancestral (but money pit) estate. He's a sexy beta most of his life, except (a) when he has to put on his stage mask for his stripping act and (b) when he is initially pursuing Jenny. I say "initially" because Philip soon realizes that his attraction to her feels different from any of his past interactions with women, who simply objectify and aggressively pursue him. He's drawn to Jenny's innocence (a cliche, I know, but work with me) and the gentle but spirited girl that lies under her seemingly frigid facade. Philip falls pretty hard and pretty fast, but it's obvious that he wasn't afraid to recognize "the one" when she came along.
Jenny, a children's librarian, is shy with men, and I was a little apprehensive at first when I saw how retiring she was. I was afraid that her character would annoy me with her fear of men and what I expected to be her reticence in recognizing her own attraction to Philip. Thankfully, such was not the case. Jenny is just untutored, and it took the right man (i.e., Philip) to open up her eyes to passion and love. It was very sweet to watch.
Overall: A great story. As expected, his profession is an issue through which they have to work, but there are no Big Misunderstandings or other major strife to stand in the way of the love story. I was actually a little surprised by how quickly they were to fall in love with each other, but, considering their characters and their respective openness to finding "the one," it worked for me ultimately.
One of my favorite lines (not really spoiler-y, but in case you don't want to read it, I'll hide it): After they've met and he has (pretty aggressively) expressed his interest in her, Jenny decides she's not sure if she wants to pursue anything with him. I love this line: Don't you want to be my redemption? he thought.
