Jul 20 2007
REVIEW: George and the Virgin by Lisa Cach
Dear Ms Cach,
I said that this was one of my favorites and I’m finally writing a letter why. This has all the ingredients that make me love The Changeling Bride. Great hero, great heroine, fun, humor, everything.
George is a pro wrestler whose new age sister somehow transports him back in time while she’s trying to hypnotize him. He winds up in a small English village that has been paying a yearly virgin tribute to a dragon for 30 years. Only one of the virgins, Alizon, fought back 12 years ago and has been saving each year’s new offering, keeping them safe and hidden on the island where the dragon lives. They may be safe but they’re also trapped as the superstitious villagers would stone them if they tried to return. Alizon’s old friend has called on magic for a hero to slay the dragon in order to protect her own daughter and George is who she got.
George is great. I love this man. He has a great sense of humor and a tender heart underneath all that shiny, silver stretch Lycra. He’s intelligent, kind, cleans up after himself and can cook. Plus he’s gorgeous. His belief that he’s in some kind of hypnotic trance and is exploring his inner thoughts, fears and fantasies leads to some great internal musing.
Alizon is more prickly but after a lifetime of her being rejected, I could under that. She’s finally found a home and people who need her and has some real struggles about whether or not she’s willing to risk her bruised heart for a life with George or stay in a safe, but lonely, secure place. I liked the role reversal that George was the one who had to chase after her and try to get her to open up. He jokes that if most men are like this, he can see why it drives women crazy.
It got hard at times to keep the other 11 virgins straight but they did provide some comic relief. I didn’t have the problem that some did with Belch being killed. I never really saw him as a pet and could see why he had to be eliminated. The epilogue was pure schmaltz and could have been toned down but overall this was a fun, very enjoyable read. A-
~Jayne
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Jul 20, 2007 @ 14:53:53
God, I loved how unconventional and fun this book was. Thanks for reviewing it, Jayne!
I love early Lisa Cach. :)
Jul 20, 2007 @ 16:07:27
This is my favorite Cach, ever. Yeah, I agree that the end was a little over-the-top, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. The hero and heroine both had interesting layers to them.
I bought this book several years ago after reading Mrs. Giggles’ review. I got so many good recommendations from her site that I finally downloaded her entire Keepers page to my PDA and took it to every bookstore I visited!
Jul 20, 2007 @ 16:11:15
Somehow all I can think of is The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. LOL!
Jul 20, 2007 @ 16:11:22
My favorite Cach is DREAM OF ME, but this is a close second. Love this book.
Jul 20, 2007 @ 18:01:49
I agree with Lynne — my favorite Cach :). It’s so hard to balance quirky humor and touches of slapstick without being TOO silly or shallow, but this book fares quite well in that regard.
Jul 20, 2007 @ 18:39:12
I agree, Jody. The humor hit just the right balance. I got rid of a ton of books last year in a massive pre-move housecleaning, and this is one of the few dozen romances I kept.
Jul 20, 2007 @ 19:48:30
Since this book’s OOP, how’s the current Lisa Cach?
Jul 21, 2007 @ 04:55:18
Ditto :)
It’s just a fun over the top read, by far my favorite Cach book.
Jul 22, 2007 @ 09:48:03
I started this one very reluctantly (I mean, spandex-wearing wrestler for a hero?) and ended up loving it. Truly hilarious and George is a sweetie.
The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid was just as funny, I thought, and I’ve also recently read A Babe in Ghostland and it was great. Not as funny (not intended to be funny, really), but a very creepy and well done ghost story.
Jul 24, 2007 @ 19:53:24
I have this on Mt. TBR, so seeing a good review of it is awesome — as are the other comments. I’ll definitely have to dig this out soon.