Viva Jacquelina! by L.A. Meyer Book Review

Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away by L.A. Meyer

In the tenth installment of the Bloody Jack series, we find Miss Jacky Faber once again under the thumb of British Intelligence. Sent to Spain as a spy, Jacky soon finds herself in her usual mess in the company of guerrilla freedom fighters, eating hallucinatory mushrooms, posing nude for the famous artist Goya, running with the bulls, being kidnapped by the Spanish Inquisition, and traveling with a caravan of gypsies.

It is difficult to believe that this is the tenth installment in the tales of Jacky Faber. Perhaps this is because I have chosen to believe that Mississippi Jack didn't happen or simply because I enjoy this series so much. Jacky is vivacious and intense, flirty yet reliable, strong-willed and grand. She captures the imaginations of everyone she meets and produces in them a fierce love and loyalty. Yet, sometimes she can be a bit too much. When is she ever going to be with Jaimy? Perhaps she should just give up and move on, after all there are plenty of young men who have shown a great interest in her, and she does seem to have more opportunities to see Lord Richard Allen. (who I like better than Jaimy by the way)

This installment in the Jacky series felt sort of gimmicky and although Jacky was as true to herself as always, it did little in the way of moving the overall plot forward. It just felt like a chance to put Jacky in Spain where she could meet a famous person or two (as she does) and then run with the bulls, which any good street urchin would do of course. Jacky becoming a painter's model was a rather lucky break. Also, a chance for Jacky to be part of history once again for she poses for a rather famous portrait. (See picture below: we are supposed to believe that this is Jacky in a dark wig. I chose the image of the Maja clothed)

I don't know. I do so love Jacky, but the series is starting to feel rather drawn out and disconnected and her adventures, which have always been rather ridiculous, are beginning to feel completely contrived. Whatever happens, I will keep reading and smiling and hoping one day Jacky manages to settle down, and not at the end of a hangman's noose.