Many a woman has had to deal with the male ego but few have
had as tough a go of it as Phoebe Hampton in Jayne Taylor's
WHIRLWIND COURTSHIP. After enduring a kidnapping by two
possible rapists, a night spent on a mountain while escaping,
and a brush with poison ivy, Phoebe hopes she has found refuge
when she comes to Harlan Garand's mountain cabin. What she
finds is an angry Harlan who accuses her of trying to entrap
him in marriage. A belief that neither Phoebe's protestations
or her acceptance by Harlans's dog, Jinx, can overcome.
But Phoebe is not a successful business woman for nothing and
she convinces Harlan to give her shelter and keeps Harlan,
figuratively if not literally, at arms length. Yet it is
only when Harlan captures one of her kidnappers that he
shamefacedly acknowledges the truth. Then begins the bigger
battle as Phoebe must contend with a Harlan who is prepared
to protect her from the remaining kidnapper and is determined
to marry her.
Like the title, the story is a whirlwind of good humor. Some
people may object to the way Phoebe seems to go along with
Harlan's high handedness. I view her actions as an attempt
to fight her own attraction to Harlan, and his roughshod methods
as a disguise to cover his fear that he might not win her.
Despite a lack of complex plot and full-rounded characters,
you will be caught up in the reversals of romantic conventions:
the tall, dark and handsome hero who turns out to be the average
sized, red-headed type who offers fish to be skinned instead
of candy and flowers, and a heroine who is more rounded than
fashionable and whose dependable front hides a wild romantic.
Add to this the animal antics of Jinx and Ferd the Bird and
you can't help but be entertained by WHIRLWIND COURTSHIP.
Anna Budziak
