by Cara Colter
Appearances, symbols and substitutes
nothing in the face of real love
Cara Colter's The
Playboy's Plain
Jane packs an emotional story of romance between a man and a
woman who learn through each other to reach out beyond stereotypes and
appearances to their hearts. Cara Colter's romance brings the reader to
a powerful emotional experience as the reader feels the very
frustration over appearances that leads the characters to see each
other and indeed themselves anew through the eyes of love.
Katie Pritchard has had her heart broken. Working as a florist, she
sees love in terms of appearances and symbols and she sees herself as
plain. Flowers and their symbolism become a substitute for the risk of
feeling and interaction. Sports hero and daredevil Dylan McKinnon with
his fast car and sexy looks is irresistible to women. Katie knows
everything about his love life from the flower orders he places. She
will not fall for this fickle man with his fast track dating record!
What will happen when he asks her out? Can they put appearances aside
and share from the heart?
True to this author's style in this romance as well as in Their Christmas Wish Come True,
Cara Colter uses objects to stand for emotions; here flowers and in the
Christmas book, figurines. This author shakes things up so that when
the two meet, each character realigns their ideas about each other and
themselves. Katie, unlike the other string of women dates, opens the
door to Dylan's past and his past hurts. As they see themselves through
the eyes of the other instead of their own misconceptions, both Katie
and Dylan work through the hurt of the past events in their lives. The
scenes around Dylan's mother were very well written --- emotional and
thought-provoking. Cara Colter's The
Playboy's Plain Jane is a powerful romance about the
transforming power of love.
Readers may wish perhaps the author had spent more time on Dylan and
his parents and a little less on the flower symbolism, particularly if
they are already aware of flower color symbolism. To me, it felt a bit
overdone. For younger readers or those not fluent in flower symbolism,
Cara Colter gives enough background for the reader to understand the
symbolism and to begin to feel that the symbolism is a substitute for
experiencing emotions. Cara Colter's use of flowers and appearances
creates a kind of emotionally moving frustration as the reader is one
step ahead of the heroine's progression. Katie comes to a breakthrough
within herself only after her reliance on appearances is frustrated and
broken. Cara Colter uses form to reinforce the emotional message of
this romance. This book can be a personal button-pusher but that is
also what makes it so moving. Cara Colter's The Playboy's Plain Jane carries a
powerful message for the reader as well as her characters, especially
in a context of one's own past adolescence or growing experiences.
Publisher: Harlequin
Romance (February 2008)
