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Title: Cupid's Kiss (Signet Regency Romance)
ISBN: 0451195353
Author:
Karen Harbaugh
Publicate Date: 1999-02-01
Publish: 1999-02-01
List Price: $4.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.95
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
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1: sweet romantic fairy tale
This is the third in a trilogy of Regencies involving Cupid, aka Eros, aka "Harry", and this time, it's his turn to be smitten. I've read the first one, but haven't found the second yet.
The gods are dying out, and Harry has to find his wife, Psyche, to save them, and with them, the world. He's sensed her at various times, and knows she's entered the cycle of birth and rebirth, and can tell when she's near, but her identity eludes him.
Harry loves his wife, but he's finding himself wanting to spend as much time as possible with Psyche Hathaway, who's been his friend since she was a child. We saw the development of this back in Cupid's Mistake, when young Psyche was the only one who could see Harry unless he made himself visible. But now she's grown up, and he's torn because he's having feelings for her he'd never had for another woman besides The Original Psyche (TOP). And Psyche Hathaway can't be TOP, because there's no spark of recognition from her.
Our heroine Psyche is likewise torn, falling in love with Harry, but knowing that for the sake of the world, she can't have him.
There's a wonderful blend here of romance, humor, and poignancy that's just a joy to read. Harry's "cousin" Artemis shows up at one point, and gets a lovely romance of her own as well.
My only quibble was that I didn't quite understand how the fate of the gods/the world hinged on Harry finding The Original Psyche.
Now if I could just find Cupid's Darts.
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2: Interesting premise but hated the execution
Set in Regency England, Eros is looking for his wife, Psyche. Over a thousand years ago, they got separated and Eros just keeps missing Psyche as she keep getting reincarnated. The longer Eros & Psyche are separated, the more the Greek gods' power dwindle. Unless Eros finds Psyche soon, the Greek gods will become extinct altogether.
Eros knows all this and he is racing against the clock to find Psyche. However, he cant help dawdling with his friend, Psyche Hathaway, whom he befriended years ago as her neighbor, Harry D'Amant. Just because Eros/Harry is drawn to Psyche and she shares the same name as his beloved wife, there is no way that she can really be the Psyche that he is looking for. Nuh-uh. Of course not.
I hated this book. I just wanted to throw a quid at Eros/Harry (real hard) so that he can buy a clue. I think this book is suppose to be charmingly whimsical but Harbaugh's use of the Greek gods in Regency England was so incongruous that I just couldnt buy it. And because technically, this is a story of reunited lovers, there is little romance shown. Just a lot of internal monologue about is-she-or-isnt-she-Psyche. Blech.
This is the last book in a trilogy. Maybe if I had read the first two books, I might be more invested in the characters but since I didnt, this was far from a satisfactory reading experience for me.
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3: Delightful, humorous and original
This is the culmination of Harbough's Cupid series, and is well wroth waiting for. I only managed to read Book 2 (Cupid's Darts) and not the first in the series, Cupid's Mistake. I was disappointed with the second book, feeling that the only characters worth being interested in were Psyche and Harry. Finally, here, we get Psyche's own story, in which, as her mother puts some pressure on her to find a husband, she realises with a shock that she's in love with her childhood friend, Harry... who she can't have because he is actually Eros, the God of Love, in disguise. Harry has been looking for his wife for the last thousand years, and Psyche is helping him in his quest. But now she loves him... and circumstances reveal to Harry that he loves her too. Both manage to hide their feelings quite successfully until, in a gesture of friendship, Harry kisses her. The book becomes very poignant at times, especially when Psyche pleads with Harry to make her fall in love with someone else; but thankfully, as the cover notes tell us, Harry realises who Psyche really is. The subsidiary romance involving Artemis is also delightful. This book really is a keeper!
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4: Caps a wonderful trilogy
The final book in Karen Harbaugh's Cupid trilogy, this book absolutely was the best of the three. Although I enjoyed all of them, this is the one that I go back and reread from time to time. We finally get to see Psyche and Harry together after watching their friendship and amusing stunts in the previous two stories about Psyche's brother and sister. Not remembering much about my mythology, I also enjoyed the background information that Ms. Harbaugh included - and the side plot with Diana the Huntress was also very enjoyable. Absolutely recommended reading for anyone who enjoys Regencies - and many who typically don't!
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5: One of the most imaginative Regency authors
Eros, the god of love--sometimes called Cupid-- has less than year to find his wife, Psyche, who's been missing for over one thousand years. If he doesn't, the gods will fade and the mortal world will be in turmoil--already the weather is unusually harsh this spring because of the waning power of the gods. Psyche Hathaway will be sorry to see her friend Harry (as she started calling him when she was young because she couldn't pronounce Eros) married, but knows that he must find his wife, the goddess for whom Psyche Hathaway was named. Both she and Harry wish that she were that wife, but Harry knows that his wife would never forget him, not even after one thousand years--and Miss Hathaway has no recollection of any previous life or incarnation.Readers who have enjoyed watching Psyche and Harry's friendship blossom over Ms. Harbaugh's two previous Regencies, CUPID'S MISTAKE and CUPID'S DARTS (starring Psyche's sister and brother, respectively), will relish the culmination of their relationship. Not all laughter and fun, CUPID'S KISS portrays the deep love of two people who have to sacrifice their own feelings for the greater good. Even readers who had not met Psyche and Harry before this novel will be feeling tugs at their hearts right along with these two memorable and intensely human characters. CUPID'S KISS is a stunning, emotional conclusion to this trilogy by one of the subgenre's most imaginative authors. Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews
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