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The Bare Truth by Elizabeth Clarke
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Elizabeth Clarke Edition: Mass Market Paperback Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2007-02-27 ISBN: 0843956720 Number of pages: 326 Publisher: Leisure Books
Book Reviews of The Bare TruthBook Review: The Bare Truth: Good But Could Have Been Better Summary: 3 Stars`The Bare Truth' is an engrossing historical romance. Set in late nineteenth century London, this is essentially a rags-to-riches tale. Our heroine is Juliette Garrison, a feisty young woman whose inability to keep her opinions to herself has caused her employers to dispense with her services. However, she lands on her feet when she obtains a job as a lady's maid.
Juliette is a very likeable character whose life has been a constant battle against poverty. The novel opens as she nervously waits for an interview with her prospective employers. We immediately sympathise with her situation and we are drawn into her life; the author, Elizabeth Clarke, does a fine job with the story's lead character.
Disappointingly, however, the same cannot be said for the novel's other main characters. In particular, Juliette's love interest, Thomas Jameson, an American entrepreneur, is sketchily drawn. He has also had a tough upbringing. We are given a tantalising glimpse of his tragic early life, but we don't find out much beyond that in terms of his back story. Given that his shipbuilding business is in trouble and the crew of one his vessels is missing, his story is alarmingly skimmed over as he pursues Juliette.
Similarly, another potentially interesting character, Sarah Whitehall, the young woman that Juliette is employed to serve as lady's maid, is somewhat wasted. Sarah's life has been the polar opposite of Juliette's. Brought up in opulence, she feels suffocated by her position in life and her apparent lack of freedom. Her sunny disposition makes her a likeable character and I wanted to find out what would happen to her when Juliette left service. It is at this point that the novel sags a little. Sarah is only fleetingly referred to again, having been a relatively major character in the story. I am not suggesting that the last third of the novel is badly written or that it lacks pace. In fact, the excitement and tension build nicely as Juliette pursues her goal (I won't reveal what this is). But, there is a feeling, for me at least, of promise not quite fulfilled.
If the author could have manoeuvered events so that Juliette kept her job with Sarah and fleshed out Thomas's life a little more, I think it would have made for a more satisfying read. If you like romances of this sort, then this novel is certainly worth reading and, if it were possible, I'd give it three-and-a-half stars.
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