The Lady and the Unicorn

* Spoiler Alert* Corporate raider, Rafe Santine ('Santine')came up from a bad situation to become the 'satorial[ly] elegan[t]' man he is today: Born a bastard (today, I think we would say 'illegitimate'), abandoned by a mother with more important things on her mind than raising her son into a man, Santine had little more than the foster system and his own drive and God-given ingenuity to serve as his foundation. At sixteen, Santine began working at the construction company that would be the first company he would own-and all by the age of twenty three! And so, when game warden and curator of a wild-animal reserve near Sandiego, Janna Cannon makes her fateful entrée into his life, while he may have developed into a `legend[ary]' and `self-made billionaire wielding more power than many heads of state', Santine is noticeably less developed in the emotional department; The male lead of THE LADY AND THE UNICORN often acts the part of a spoiled and petulant child-thinking everything should be his way all the time. A supreme narcissist, readers will agree that is about time Santine had a reason to think about someone other than himself. Janna is supposed to be that reason. Johansen wants the reader to accept that Janna's need to save some of the endangered species and other wild animals would make her willing to accept an indecent proposal from a giant of a man with harsh, rugged features, who cool as a cucumber proclaims that he'd like to keep her as a pet: "I said that I'd never had a pet. Well I've decided to acquire one for the next month or so. My own wild thing to keep me amused until I can return to San Franci[s]co." A bargain is struck-a grant of Santine's land in return for Janna's cooperation. And so, using this rather unbelievable and yet interesting device, Johansen's contrivance keeps the leads together and a romance...of sorts...is set to unravel. The story is really a play on Beauty and the Beast to this reviewer's mind. The 1983 setting allows for a hero that is more dominant and cavalier with the heroine's needs than is popularly described today. Accordingly, the heroine accepts this rough treatment with eternal serenity and grace-also unlikely to see a female lead written this way today. Also, there are a few uncomfortable moments, such as when Santine declares: `I've been on the verge of raping you since I looked up and saw you shimmering in the lamplight like a sexy ghost' and his determination to call Janna an `earth mother' in several (maybe all) of the love scenes or `Pocahontas' because of her Native American heritage.... If you can get past the fact that THE LADY AND THE UNICORN is NOT politically correct, then you'll be okay. And Santine's revelation regarding the meaning of the title alone is worth reading THE LADY AND THE UNICORN. It Is What It Is: Love It or Hate It.

This is a wonderful romance, with a strong heroine. Janna Cannon would do whatever it takes to ensure Rafe Santine donated a huge chunk of land to her wildlife refuge for endangered animals. Santine's price: for Janna to become his "pet". A great romance about how only by letting a wild thing free can one ever truly own it. I love all of Iris Johansen's romances, but this one is one of my personal favorites.