This weekend I expected to spend entirely on one of the barrier islands off the coast. However, we ended up on Deer Island staring at the casino's of Biloxi with sand blowing in our faces. So yesterday afternoon we packed up early and this morning I spent a good four hours doing laundry. Instead of getting my fix on TLC or random internet browsing I decided to enjoy a quick read. Since it has been on my "too read" shelf a good while I picked up Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Cruise. The book itself was nearly the size of a novella or short story. So I kicked back on the couch with a cup of coffee (then a second) and read it completely through by the time I finished the last load of towels.
Strange Bedpersons is my first Cruise romance novel. I am a sucker for quick romance novels with modern themes. This one was written in 1993 about a pair of thirty year olds that could not be more opposite. The main character, Tess, is a liberal that grew up in a commune, and Nick is the up-tight Republican lawyer with her heart. The story line gets rolling when the unemployed Tess is propositioned by Nick to attend a weekend with the firm in order to pose as his fiance. Then the series of events unravel that begins their cat and mouse game in the normal romance novel fashion. Random sets of events tested the characters, ultimately bringing them together in a neat happily ever after package.
That being said, I did not dislike the book. Cruise gave us just what she intended, a few hours of no thoughts attached smutty romance. I enjoyed the descriptions of baggy nineties fashions, the environmental justice movement, and no mention of the internet. Not much more to be said about the quick afternoon read. How romance writers select the names of their characters is a burning question of mine. Do they draw them out of a hat? Is there an app for iPhone? They seem to be so random, I do not know anyone names Tess nor Park another character in the book. I swear one time I read on the back of a romance novel where the main rogues name was Devil! Does anyone else have any theories?
I have no idea where authors come up with names, but Tess seems to be popular. I was browsing the giveaways section on goodreads and came across three novels with a lead named Tess. I guess these authors think they don't know anyone with that name so it seems original. If the name is original enough, maybe the author hopes that readers will always associate the name with the character. Harry, Bella, Edward, and now add Tess to the list...
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