PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.
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A Review of
Desiring Cairo
by Louisa Young
Summary
This is Book 2 in the Angeline Gower Trilogy of books, and is the sequel to Baby Love. The central character of all three books, Angeline, is a former belly dancer whose dance career was ended by a disabling accident.
Desiring Cairo explores what happens when people from widely different cultural backgrounds find love, with complications thrown in by the assorted characters from the first book. |
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Fact Sheet
Title |
Desiring Cairo |
Author |
Louisa Young |
ISBN |
0-00-655189-0 |
Publisher |
Flamingo |
Category |
Fictional Crime/Thriller |
Rating |
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Number of Pages |
308 |
Published In |
1999 |
Description
This book is fiction, the sequel to Baby Love. The
characters introduced in the first book are back, entangling
their lives with one another even further and coping with the
consequences of the things they did in the first book.
In Baby Love, a former belly dancer named Angeline
becomes entangled with a criminal named Eddie Bates when she
enlists the help of a corrupt cop in avoiding a scandal that
could threaten her family. In Desiring Cairo, the plot lines left unresolved
at the end of Baby Love present all kinds of new complications
to Angeline: the fact that her ex-boyfriend Harry is a factor
in her life once again, the follow-up to what became of Eddie
Bates and Ben Cooper, Angeline's ongoing attempts to cope with
what Baby Love revealed about her sister's secret life,
and more. To make her life even more interesting, an Egyptian
family whom she had spent time with in the past reappears on
the scene. As you might guess from the title, Angeline's adventures
take her to Egypt as she deals with the annoyances of the past
and the opportunities of the present.
Although the plot of Baby Love was built around the
premise that its central character was a belly dancer who had
attracted the wrong man's attention, Desiring Cairo did
not continue this idea, which is probably just as well. In Desiring
Cairo, Angeline's history as a former dancer is just background,
and plays only a minimal role in the plot. Instead, the central
plot of Desiring Cairo explores what happens when people
from widely different cultural backgrounds find love, with complications
thrown in by the assorted characters from the first book.
Although Desiring Cairo offers quick explanations of what
occurred in Baby Love for the benefit of readers who missed
the first book, I wouldn't recommend reading Desiring
Cairo until after you've finished Baby Love. It would
be much more satisfying to get to know the characters and discover
the plot in the order the author intended.
If I were looking at the plot alone, I'd probably have given
this book only three stars. But because of its glimpses of Egypt
and realistic portrayal of Egyptian culture, I gave it four.
Is It Right for You?
You Will Probably Enjoy This Book If...
- You enjoyed Baby Love and want to see what happens next to the characters.
- You would enjoy a plot that takes place in Egypt for part of the story and makes some cultural references.
- You enjoy the genre of crime thrillers.
This Book Probably Isn't Right for You If...
- You dislike story lines that have predictable elements.
- You would prefer a book in which the main character's past as a dancer plays an important role in the plot. (In this book, it is peripheral.)
What I Liked, What I Didn't
What I Liked:
- I definitely found this book entertaining.
- It offers many of the elements
of appealing fiction: an exotic locale (Egypt), a sassy style
of narrative, a dash of danger, and some passionate romance.
- I had fun reading it.
- The book makes many references to Middle Eastern culture which
may appeal to readers who enjoy learning about that part of the
world. For example, it quotes excerpts from the lyrics of a legendary Egyptian song called "Inte Omri" ("You Are My Life"),
and includes an accurate translation into English. It also notes
a number of facts about Cairo and Luxor which offer glimpses
into Egyptian life. If you're already quite knowledgeable about
Egypt, you probably won't learn anything new from these references, but you may enjoy the nod to a famiiar place. If you're in the early stages of learning about Egypt you'll gain
a few good tidbits about Egyptian culture from reading this.
What I Didn't Like:
- At times, the references to Oum Kalthoum and Egyptian culture
seem gratuitous. They feel as though they were forcibly
shoved into the book to offer the "flavor" of Egypt,
without blending smoothly into the plot. Still, they weren't
as jarring as the references to belly dancing that appeared in Baby Love.
Conclusion
Read Baby Love first. If you enjoy it, then you'll
also like Desiring Cairo because it picks right up where Baby Love left off and tells you what happens next to
all the characters. In Desiring Cairo, you'll eavesdrop
on Angeline's thought processes as she digests what she learned
about her sister in the first book, you'll watch her love life
take interesting new turns, and you'll find out what happens
next to Eddie Bates and Ben Cooper.
If you didn't care for Baby Love, I expect you won't
enjoy Desiring Cairo either. It's written in the same
style, and explores the further adventures of the same characters.
Related Books
Desiring Cairo is Book 2 in the Angeline Gower trilogy. The others include:
- Baby Love. Book 1. Angeline protects the child she is raising as a single parent from the child's biological father when he surfaces to demand custody. In the process, Angeline learns about secrets from her past that are still haunting her life today.
- Tree of Pearls. Book 3. This is the sequel to Desiring Cairo. Angeline finally puts to rest the ghosts of her past and reaches closure on the problems she was having with her love life.
Disclosures
There is nothing to disclose. I have never had any contact with anyone associated with this book.
To Buy It
I bought my copy through the United Kingdom version of Amazon. It was originaly published in the UK, and for a long time was not available through US-based sources. However, I see it's now available in the US as well.
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