Shirley Harrison

BET/Arabesque

1-58314-219-3

October 2001

(4+) Shirion Shropshire

Contemporary Romance

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

For 200 years, psychic abilities have flowed through the women of Sela Bennett’s family.  But when tragedy strikes for each man that she loves, Sela questions her fate – and vows to spend her life alone in the small town where she was raised.  But when she meets renowned architect Ben Russell, fate takes a decidedly romantic turn. 

REVIEW: 

Sela Bennett is cursed, so the people of Fairlight, Georgia believe.  It seems that every man that she’s ever loved has died tragically.  To add to her fate is the reputation of the Bennett women.  It seems that every other generation of women possess psychic abilities.  Fortunately for Sela, these abilities skip her, but the curse cannot be denied.  Sela vows to spend the rest of her life alone.  She cannot let another man fall victim to her family’s tragic history.

Aunt Claire had been raising Sela since her mother died in an apparent suicide. The time comes for Aunt Claire to live her own joy.  She’s ready to marry the man she loves, but needs to be sure Sela’s will have happy future.  She meets the handsome Ben Russell on her yearly cruise.  Her powers tell her right away that he’s the perfect man for Sela.  She set’s out to seal Sela and Ben’s fates together.

Ben had been working in the family business since graduating from college.  After years of dedication, he realizes that it’s time to follow his own dreams.  As an architect he’s always been interested in old churches, he wants to write a book on their history. When he meets the mysterious Aunt Claire on a cruise and shares this dream with her, she talks him into going to her hometown to study her old church.

When he arrives in Fairlight and is nearly arrested for breaking and entering, he realizes that Aunt Claire may have had an ulterior motive.  It seems that she purposely avoided telling Sela about his visit.  She also doesn’t tell him that he’d be sharing a house with the lovely Sela.  Their introduction is comical and set’s the stage for a wonderfully written story.  Instant attraction with lot’s of sexual tension, I was hooked from the start.

One of the things that stood out for me in this story was the relationship between Ben and his family.  Many times our writers get so caught up in creating controversy within the family that you end up disliking the mother, the father, the brother or someone.  But in Dangerous Fortune, although the family had issues, they were supportive of one another and the overall relationships were very positive.

I truly enjoyed the characters in this novel.  Aunt Claire was a mess! The secondary characters were kind of spooky, but they gave the story character and drew you in to the sub-plots.  The suspenseful aspect of this novel was very well written.  Uncovering the secrets of the Bennett Family had me hooked from beginning to end.  It was an all-nighter for me, I kept reading until I uncovered the mystery.  (And the love scenes helped keep me awake!)

DANGEROUS FORTUNE is definitely a recommended read.  Full of suspense, romance, and intriguing characters, readers will truly enjoy this story.

1st October 2001