I know the title isn’t very helpful, but I am at a loss for words with this one. Also, trigger warning for some pretty crazy stuff. This HaBO comes from PamG who is looking for a squicky maybe-romance from the 70s:
I read this book a looooooong time ago—probably in the 70s. I believe it could have been considered a gothic romance and there were no sexytimes, thank gods. Actually, I think this book contributed to my abjuring of romance for many decades, but I don’t really know if it was a romance or I just mistook it for one. It did have a semi-HEA. I don’t remember title, author, or character names. I only remember some plot elements that completely squicked me out to the point that the word squick seems to have been invented to describe this book.
I seem to recall that the heroine was young and a mite naïve. Somehow she met her idol, a considerably older artist with some sort of health issue. Health issue may have been old age and artist might have been musician or some other creative type guy. Miss Starry Eyes may have been interning or working for him.
Anyway, Mr. Silver Foxy sweeps her off her feet, marries her, and carries her off to a life of tropical luxury and possible corruption. Of course there was a young guy who was interested in her and probably warned her of her folly. He may have accused her of being seduced by the lifestyle as well. But who listens to guys like that in gothic romances of that era. All they do is criticize and warn and generally act like killjoys. Besides, Mr. Silver Foxy is soooo charming and has such a caressing manner…
There was also an older woman in the household who practically had her own Darth Vader theme or maybe she was just exceedingly sophisticated and made Miss Starry Eyes feel like the kid she was. Anyway, an atmosphere of impending doom under hot sunny skies just saturated this book as I recall.
In the course of time, our heroine becomes preggers, and the doom-doom-doom is gradually ratcheted up. I seem to recall her being strapped to a table and drugged by curare or something that leaves her conscious but helpless. Turns out, Evil Bitch was the deus ex machina who wanted to harvest the fetus as a cure for whatever ailed Mr. Silver Foxy—who was totally in on it. Needless to say, Critical Guy rescues Miss Starry Eyes and they ride off into the sunset together but she loses the baby.
In retrospect, perhaps not a romance, but it drives me nuts not to know the title and author. There are books I gave 4-5 stars to last month but can no longer recall in any detail, yet no amount of brain bleach can erase this opus from my memory. If I can name it, perhaps I’ll be able to exorcise it. Hopefully, all you SBs will come through for me.
Oh. My. God. We’ve had some weird things come up in HaBOs before, but this one is high up on the list of WTF-ery.
VC Andrews comes to mind, but then one or both heroes would have been her blood relatives…
Would this have been a historical or contemporary?
I can’t find anymore info on the book, but maybe “The Devil Drives” by Jane Arbor
Paperback Swap description:
“A dream of love or a nightmare of revenge? — Una Keith’s sudden marriage to Greek artist Zante Diomed seemed like a dream come true… until she learned she was merely a pawn. — Una’s testimony had caused Zante’s young cousin to be convicted of theft, and the youth’s consequent suicide had shamed the Diomed family. Now Una was being forced to right the wrong by pretending her marriage to Zante was perfect.
But the lie became unbearable, especially once Una met Zante’s beautiful model–and mistress!”
Comic book tv shows have made curare so trendy now.
Definitely not Jane Arbor! Once you are paralyzing people with curare (to say nothing of the rest of it) you are well out of Harlequin-land.
I never read this, have no idea what it might be, but it sounds so much like so many 1970s decadent tropical island gothics I can picture exactly what the cover must look like….
Someone please find this book!! I think I need to read it!!! I think I’m up to about 6 or 7 books purchased from reading HaBO!!!!
I think I read this decades ago. I tried googling “pregnant woman drugged with curare to harvest fetus” but that wasn’t helpful.
BTW, “squick?” What does that mean?
My definition of squick – so yucky it makes you squirm.
Agreed. I believe it’s a conflation of “squirmy” and “icky”
This sounds like Sidney Sheldon and Jackie Collins had baby.
I remember a novel like this, but it was more suspense and speculative medical fiction than romance. Girl was a ballerina, and she and Husband went to a Swiss “spa”, where bad medical things happened.
I thought it was by Michael Crichton, but I could not find it in his list of novels.
I remember reading a book in the 70’s that belonged to my sister and took place in Hawaii (thus tropical) and about a girl who unknowingly was destined to become the organ donor to someone who was a rare bloodtype. Can’t remember if it was an older guy or not. It was all very edge of your seat ominous and I think the title was “Aloha Means Goodbye”. It’s a guess anyway.
@Gloriamarie, I don’t even want to know the types of results you got from that search. That’s too much even for my crime obsessed mind. I can pictured that scenario happening on an episode of Deadly Women on Investigation Discovery.
I have no idea what this book is, but I do not that I don’t want to read it. 🙂
Bad fingers. That should say *I can picture that on Deadly Women. smh
To help narrow it down further, it’s not V.C. Andrews. I’ve read all of the earlier books. 😉 I’d remember that kind of crazy sauce.
@sifigirl1986, sadly, drugging pregnant women to harvest fetuses is a real thing. That’s all I’m going to say.
As for “squick,” apparently quite an onomatopoeic word. It’s etymology: “Seemingly phonaesthetic, formed of squ- as in squirm and -ick as in ick. Originated in the Usenet newsgroup alt.sex.bondage; popularized primarily in the newsgroup alt.tasteless.”
according to https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/squick
curious minds just have to look things up