Wild Jasmine begins where This Heart of Mine left off, from the separation of Jasmine's parents. Jasmine's mother, Velvet, managed to rekindle love with her first husband, while Jasmine's father Akbar, wasn't as enamored of any of his other 39 wives, and the loss of Velvet in his life made his hair turn white in a week.And so Jasmine's childhood in India continues without her mother, but with some very devoted caretakers.(view spoiler)[ The reason she leaves India as a teenager is her half-brother's insane lust for her. He has killed her husband and when Akbar dies he will force Jasmine into his bed.Jasmine's life in England starts, where she meets her grandmother--and the rest. She effortlessly makes an enemy with Velvet's stepdaughter Sybil, but then makes up with her after nearly causing a scandal. She marries, has children, travels to Ireland, and is widowed. It is here that ONE of the most contrived situations in the book takes place.Understandably Jasmine would grieve at her husband's death, but it doesn't seem remotely realistic that she would have the power to drain her own life force away, unless her demand of one last sexual encounter with the dead husband is granted. (Or as my husband states it, "She needs dick or she'll die.") And how bad could a nineteen-year-old girl's eyesight be, that she doesn't notice the man in her bed isn't her husband? I think it was only the author's device for making that child have bright red hair, or perhaps for letting the character of Rory Maguire have a night in a woman's bed who is so far above his station.Contrived situation #2: The prince wants you, and you have to do it, because one day he'll be king. Really? Again, huh, twice in the same book? Wasn't this why she once left India? I find it difficult to believe that any man in a powerful position would insist on an unwilling woman in his bed when there must be an assortment of beautiful, willing women. However, the Bertrice Small ethos is, "But she's REALLY beautiful, so of course he will settle for no one else." And although Jasmine's grandmother certainly has a recipe for a potion preventing pregnancy, it is not used with the princely lover, so Jasmine has a bastard son. If ever there were a time to use "the potion," this would have been it! But conveniently for Bertrice Small there is one bastard child, so she can use the phrase "not-so-royal Stuart" EVERY time she refers to this child FOR THE REST OF HIS NATURAL LIFE!! As well as referring to which "side of the blanket" the child was born on, and a recap of how Stuarts deal with such progeny (generously). The "stain of bastardy" helps pad her subsequent books in this series, certainly. (hide spoiler)]
Princess Yasamin lived a charmed life in India until her brother's quest for power and dominance resulted in the death of her husband. Realizing her father, the ruler of India was ill and unable to protect her much longer, Yamasin flees to England to the safety of her English mother's family. Anglicizing herself as Jasmine, she forms a special bond with her dynamic grandmother Skye O'Malley, and begins a journey of love, heartache and scandal.Almost written as two books (part one being India, part 2 as England) this was an interesting although not entirely engrossing. Jasmine is an interesting, strong willed heroine yet after over 500 pages, I still didn't feel like I "knew her." Small had the potential to incorporate plot points from Jamine's time in India yet missed the opportunity. As a result-the ending was mundane.
What do You think about Wild Jasmine (1996)?
several love stories, Jasmine is more like her grandmother Sky, Her first husband was killed by her half brother and her 2nd was killed as well, Jasmine then has an affair with Prince Henry, and she then she finally finds love but runs from it.
—Cathie Smith
