Whisper to the Stars by Hettie Grimstead is a vintage Harlequin romance novel centered on unrequited love, featuring unique settings and characters but faltering in its storytelling and romance execution.
Rating:
Published: 1969
Illustrator: Jh
Imprint or Line: Harlequin Romance #1403
Published by: Harlequin, Mills & Boon
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 190
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon
Reviewed by: arkansasannie
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
A Star of a Lower Magnitude
Whisper to the Stars by Hettie Grimstead is a vintage-contemporary romance that revolves around a trope hard to find nowadays: unrequited love. It starts strong, with the promise of a deeply moving emo story. And it delivers, up to a point. Then it falters. Somewhere in the middle, it loses sight of what a romance is supposed to do: to engage and enthrall the reader.
Recently, I read and reviewed Yesterday’s Love by Marsha Manning, the pen name of the prolific Hettie Grimstead. I was so enchanted that I sought out other romances by the same author. Which led me to Whisper to the Stars. To say I had high expectations would be putting it mildly.
This book was first published in 1963 by Mills & Boon. The version I read is, of course, the transatlantic Harlequin reprint. Published in 1970, with three later editions (that I know of). It got good ratings on Goodreads, so I assume it was a crowd-pleaser.
For me, at least, it was a good try.
To Love in Vain
Tessa Chievers is a young English woman living on the (fictitious) Italian Island of Raltia near the Bay of Naples. With her is her widower father, a reclusive painter of undoubted talent but questionable sanity. Tessa loves her home turf and its people but also longs to see London and experience life in the fast lane.
Then Colin Kenward turns up. At first, he seems like a typical tourist, snapping photos of the island in general and Tessa in particular. She falls in love with him quickly. He doesn’t reciprocate.
But once he returns home to London, those pictures he took result in the first of many surprises in the storyline. Which I won’t reveal; I’m no fan of spoilers.
Suffice it to say the upshot is a glamorous new life for Tessa. However, it doesn’t include Colin’s feelings for her and her feelings for him. Instead, it leads to the story going off in a most unfortunate direction.
It’s pretty easy to tell early on that Colin is the hero. So, the reader would naturally expect the plot to focus on Tessa and him.
Instead, much of it, too much, deals with her rebound relationship with someone else. During the second half of the novel, the hero rarely appears. Why is the author spending so much time and wordage on a relationship that we readers know won’t end in a HEA? And why is it so dull, artificial, and unromantic compared to the heroine’s earlier passion for the hero?
But Wait, There’s More
There are several secondary characters; many come to life and make the narrative more interesting. My favorites include a smart-alec gossip columnist for a Fleet Street tabloid. And a cute little poodle named Snowball. Yeah, I go for pets in rom-fic!
But there’s also an absurd other-woman, a stuck-up beauty/spoiled rich girl/femme fatale. The author handles her very clumsily.
In the novel’s first half, the plot moves along at a nice brisk pace. But eventually, it bogs down. Though the early events and situations seem natural and believable, even the surprises, by the latter chapters, contrivances take over. The story seems to keep going on life support, if you know what I mean.
So, in conclusion, I’d say Whisper to the Stars has its moments. But not enough to make it a satisfying read.
It’s available on the major bookseller websites.
[rating-review]
Synopsis
Following the custom on her Italian island home, Tessa had asked the stars to send her a lover and the stars answered. Or did they? For though within minutes of her whispered pleas she had met Colin Kenward, and swiftly fallen in love with him, he was engaged to marry another girl.
Whisper to the Stars by Hettie Grimstead
You can also read WHISPER TO THE STARS online for FREE at the Internet Archive
Thanks for publishing my review, Jacqueline. And for pointing out a clue to the identity of the cover artist.
Hmmmm . . . “JH”. Who could he or she be? Anyone know?
Great review and in spite of your tepid reaction which I completely understand (why do authors imagine we want the heroine or hero to spend precious page time with a dud OM/OW?) you’ve managed to pique my interest about this one.
Thanks, Iris. Triangles and quadrangles were pretty common in old-school category romances. Sometimes they were done well. Sometimes not.
Nowadays, with the focus so tight on the hero and heroine, comparable romances rarely deal with such elements. I miss them. And the light comedy and heavy drama they generated.
Yeah, I know. Nowadays there are ménage à trois romances. Not the same thing!
I put Jh in as a placeholder, because neither Iris nor I can confirm “his” identity, but clues point to a Jack Hearne, who created comic covers and illustrations for boy mysteries and action books. Or a Jack Harman, but the timing doesn’t fit. Or it could be someone else entirely. I keep an cover collection on Pinterest, so maybe I can identify him through that.
Because you mentioned the puzzle aspect of figuring out the clues and suddenly an artist is totally recognizable I’m going to be didactic for a bit so I’m apologizing in advance!
From about 1963-1970, 3 artists were responsible for every cover–any outliers are prob reprints–with easily distinguishable styles: Bern Smith, Jack Harman and mystery man/woman “jh”.
So if you look at any group of 5 images at Fictiondb you will likely see at least one of each artist. Just as a late example look at Harlequin Romances #1444-1446 from Nov 1970. Fond Deceiver cover is by Bern Smith whose sig is almost always visible. The Bay of the Nightingales is by Jack Harman, whose sig is often cut off by cropping but look for the capital H in the lower left corner. The Time of the Jacaranda cover is by jh who somehow always manages to get those lower case initials in the bottom left corner.
Thanks again, Iris. Please, be didactic! It’s such a challenge to find info about much of the vintage romance scene. I should know! I appreciate any bits you share.
And yes, I’m a big fan of cover art. I believe good imagery and promo copy on the cover of a book significantly adds to the enjoyment of the text.
And bad imagery and copy can detract from it!
Don’t want to scream like an over excited kid, but OMG thanks, Iris! Your information is so amazing & valuable. 🙂
I can identity Bern Smith, Len Goldberg, and a few other oldies, but so many stump me. I’m better at 1970s-1990s covers, especially historicals.
Sometimes I’m like Detective Poirot with these covers, other times, as bright as a black hole. I can’t believe I had to have you point out that Don Sinclair created the first 100+ covers for the Presents line. It was staring me right in the face!
I know very little about historical covers which is why this site is so welcome as a place to talk about romance and share the info we’ve been able to glean.
oops–that was me
Iris: WordPress is weird!