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When The Gods Choose
Nothing was going to stop her —
Not even the powerful and arrogant Mexican Jaime Carreras! Sara Lawrence had vowed to find her archaeologist father because of a deathbed promise to her mother. And that was what she would do.
Carreras had warned her that her quest was foolish, and that without his help she could not be successful.
Ignoring his warning — and the strange, furious pounding of her heart — Sara struck out alone on a journey fraught with disaster. And to her dismay she discovered that the words of Senor Carreras were true: all roads in Mexico led to him....
Not even the powerful and arrogant Mexican Jaime Carreras! Sara Lawrence had vowed to find her archaeologist father because of a deathbed promise to her mother. And that was what she would do.
Carreras had warned her that her quest was foolish, and that without his help she could not be successful.
Ignoring his warning — and the strange, furious pounding of her heart — Sara struck out alone on a journey fraught with disaster. And to her dismay she discovered that the words of Senor Carreras were true: all roads in Mexico led to him....
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
1 person is currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Wilson
239 books179 followersPatricia Wilson (1929 – 2010) was a best-selling writer of 53 romance novels for the Mills & Boon publisher from 1986 to 2004. She placed her novels primarily in England, Spain or France.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 3, 2017
Wow - this was so good. If ever two characters were meant to be together, it's this H/h.
The premise was great - heroine must find her estranged archaeologist father so he will inherit his witchy mother's estate and not the heroine. It was a death bed promise to the heroine's bitter mother who hated her mother-in-law.
The hero, a banker by trade and the local lord above all by nature, refuses to guide her to the remote spot where her father was last seen.
Heroine takes matters in her own hands, flies to Mexico from England and then hires a small plane to take her into the mountains. Unfortunately, the plane crashes, the pilot dies and the heroine is injured.
Fortunately, the hero is on it and finds her in a few hours. That's when the title of the story is mentioned. This is fate. The hero realizes it, but doesn't like it because he thinks the heroine is golddigger. The heroine doesn't realizes it, and resents the attraction she feels for the hero who is keeping her from her deathbed promise.
The rest of the story concerns the heroine's recovery, the hero's domestic woes (a stepmother and stepsister who is billed as a possible OW), and a journey on horseback through the mountains to the heroine's father. But all of these plot points pale in comparison to the intense interactions between the H/h. They both have such strong personalities that it seems best for the rest of the world if they pair off. Not all readers will enjoy these epic battles, so beware if you don't like bickering/arguing/rowing/flouncing/ punishing kisses and hurt feelings.
There are some twists still to come, but suffice it to say the H/h do find their HEA and the heroine does get closure. In my review of Marriage at His Convenience I asked Santa for a heroine with a backbone and a hero with integrity. And Santa delivered in the next HP I picked up - this story. Thanks, Santa!
The premise was great - heroine must find her estranged archaeologist father so he will inherit his witchy mother's estate and not the heroine. It was a death bed promise to the heroine's bitter mother who hated her mother-in-law.
The hero, a banker by trade and the local lord above all by nature, refuses to guide her to the remote spot where her father was last seen.
Heroine takes matters in her own hands, flies to Mexico from England and then hires a small plane to take her into the mountains. Unfortunately, the plane crashes, the pilot dies and the heroine is injured.
Fortunately, the hero is on it and finds her in a few hours. That's when the title of the story is mentioned. This is fate. The hero realizes it, but doesn't like it because he thinks the heroine is golddigger. The heroine doesn't realizes it, and resents the attraction she feels for the hero who is keeping her from her deathbed promise.
The rest of the story concerns the heroine's recovery, the hero's domestic woes (a stepmother and stepsister who is billed as a possible OW), and a journey on horseback through the mountains to the heroine's father. But all of these plot points pale in comparison to the intense interactions between the H/h. They both have such strong personalities that it seems best for the rest of the world if they pair off. Not all readers will enjoy these epic battles, so beware if you don't like bickering/arguing/rowing/flouncing/ punishing kisses and hurt feelings.
There are some twists still to come, but suffice it to say the H/h do find their HEA and the heroine does get closure. In my review of Marriage at His Convenience I asked Santa for a heroine with a backbone and a hero with integrity. And Santa delivered in the next HP I picked up - this story. Thanks, Santa!
February 13, 2018
Re When the Gods Choose - "When the gods have chosen, let no man intrude!" Apparently this is a Native Central American saying and of course in PW's corner of HPlanida, the H is going to completely ignore that dictate in his stalkerific pursuit of a cute, cuddlesome h.
The book opens with the h dragging the English diplomat version of the Scarlet Pimpernel into a diplomatic do filled with Mexican dignitaries. She is looking for a guide to help her get to the Native village her father disappeared into over fifteen years before. It seems her evil maternal grandmother couldn't take her vast fortune with her when she finally kicked the bucket and the h has made a solemn deathbed promise to her mother not to accept a penny of it. So she has to find her famous but disappeared archaeologist father who abandoned them for the jungles of Central America and make him sign for the money so she doesn't have to.
The h is very adamant that this be done, even tho the platonically beloved and slightly crippled male cousin she lives with thinks it is a fool's errand. In pursuit of her goal, she convinces Mr. Pimpernel to introduce her to a prominent Mexican citizen who is renowned for his knowledge of the less traveled and remote reaches of that forbidding land. Unfortunately she and the Don Juan Zorro take one look at each other and the antagonism mixed with underlying lurve mojo tension is on. He thinks the h is a capricious fluffy gold-digger, and she thinks he is the most domineering, bullying man she has ever met.
The H warns her away from Mexico. He has such machismo charisma that he discourages anyone else from helping her and then after a devastating roofie kiss, he leaves to go back to Mexico --cause not only is he the modern Hernan Cortes of Mexico, he is also a tremendous international banker and there is a huge crisis afoot.
Well our h may be cutely cuddlesome, but she is also very, very determined and SHE WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT MONEY, her father can just sign for the mega fortune and face up to his responsibilities. She goes to Mexico and hires a somewhat dubious plane and pilot.
The plane crashes and the H has to go rescue her at the bottom cliff of an active volcano mountain. He defiantly carries her off, in spite of his superstitious belief that our cuddlesome h may be marked by the Gods. (Not to worry Mr. Don Juan Zorro, giant condors and puma's weren't swarming around her unconscious body, so maybe the Gods are saying "This one's for YOU!")
The h wakes up in hospital and because our Don Juan Zorro H is weary of having to track her down to contain her, he decides to just keep her instead. He takes her home to his remote hacienda that is shared by his vile step-mother and the daughter the vile step-mother is hoping to marry the H off to.
The h isn't happy about this, and she lets the H know - loudly. the H is now clearly obsessed with our cuddlesome h and he loudly states that he is keeping her, forever- as he seems to really like her. The h isn't too happy about that, she hates the country that stole her father and the evil step-mother has alreadly let her know that her daughter has first dibs on Mr. Don Juan Zorro.
When the H takes her into town to her concussion checked out, the h formulates a plan to get help and get out and get on with her search. She meets some American tourists and she plans to ask them to contact the British Embassy on her behalf, the h thinks she lost all her paperwork and passport in the crash. She steals a Mercedes from the H in attempt to get back to the town nad contact them. The H chases after her and forces her back to his house, he has her paperwork but she isn't going anywhere without him.
To get a little peace and to really get her into his clutches, Mr. Don Juan Zorro decides to help the h look for her dad. He could take a helicopter and fly her to the village where her father was last seen, but that would leave too many chapters to fill with plot, so he decides to go for the full horse ridden jungle adventure instead.
The h is anxious to get this horrible inheritance off her back, so she is very eager to set out and as soon as our H is satisfied that his fiery English cuddlesome hedgehog is over her concussion, we all set off for the Native Village with adventures, like things falling in deep ravines along the way. Fortunately our h was saved from tumbling after them by the strong and steady arm of our H. In fact our Mr. Don Juan Zorro Bossy Pants is practically nanny like in all his coddling of the h as they embark on their journey. The poor man may be getting a head full of gray hairs as he saves her from herself, but he doesn't seem to be complaining about it.
Finally we reach the Native village and find out the h's father died four years earlier. There is some tears and the h has a sad moment cause she really did want to at least talk to her dad, even tho she insisted the whole time that he meant nothing to her. She stuns the H even more when she bewails the fact that now she is really rich and the H finally figures out that she was so insistent on tracking her father down because she wanted to get rid of a bunch of money, not get some. It only makes him love her more.
That night the H and h finally give into the simmering passion and the H, when he finds out the h was chaste, immediately proposes marriage. The h thinks it is only his overdeveloped sense of honour that is forcing him to make the proposal, she hasn't forgotten the step-mother's daughter, and so she turns him down. This is not a pleasing thing for the H and he is rather angry about the whole thing.
So back to the Mr. Don Juan Zorro's hacienda we go and everybody is having a HUGE mopey moment. The h realizes that the H is like her father he really only wants to be free to roam, and she loves him enough to let him go and be free in the way that he wants.
With a parting shot from the evil step mother with a pithy "hands off my daughter's man" nasty lecture and the h seeing the H and the daughter in a close embrace, she sadly goes home to England. Tho she does find out that Mr. Don Juan Zorro's male assistant is in love with the step-mother's daughter, plus the daughter loves him right back and the h tells him to go ahead and stake his claim and make the daughter stand up to her mother.
Five months later the h and her beloved cousin are now the proud custodians of a home for unloved little children. They used the h's inheritance and bought a huge country estate and set up a trust fund for the new home and the cousin is in heaven helping all those sweet little poppets that have no family's of their own. The h is very sad, but doing good deeds and then the H shows up.
The h's beloved cousin wrote to him and the H has decided since he successfully snatched the h from the Gods, he is just keeping her - plus he knows she loves him really and his life is empty without her. He does the big declaration moment to the h and she has her big declaration moment back and they both realize that they were jealous of other people for no reason. The H is taking the h back to Mexico, he reassures her that he doesn't want to roam the wilderness without her, and the evil step-mother got the boot when the daughter married his promoted assistant. The h and H have a happy reunion and plan for three weddings to really make things stick, with lots of future H and h's for the big pink sparkly HEA and the blessing of the Gods the H fought so hard to save the h from.
This one was cute, the H was overwhelmingly domineering and Alpha, but the h held her own nicely and tho she was kinda clueless - she really was very funny and not irritating. Give this one a go if you like the cuddlesome h with the waaay Alpha Manly but nice about it type. It was a good day's journey into HPlandia.
The book opens with the h dragging the English diplomat version of the Scarlet Pimpernel into a diplomatic do filled with Mexican dignitaries. She is looking for a guide to help her get to the Native village her father disappeared into over fifteen years before. It seems her evil maternal grandmother couldn't take her vast fortune with her when she finally kicked the bucket and the h has made a solemn deathbed promise to her mother not to accept a penny of it. So she has to find her famous but disappeared archaeologist father who abandoned them for the jungles of Central America and make him sign for the money so she doesn't have to.
The h is very adamant that this be done, even tho the platonically beloved and slightly crippled male cousin she lives with thinks it is a fool's errand. In pursuit of her goal, she convinces Mr. Pimpernel to introduce her to a prominent Mexican citizen who is renowned for his knowledge of the less traveled and remote reaches of that forbidding land. Unfortunately she and the Don Juan Zorro take one look at each other and the antagonism mixed with underlying lurve mojo tension is on. He thinks the h is a capricious fluffy gold-digger, and she thinks he is the most domineering, bullying man she has ever met.
The H warns her away from Mexico. He has such machismo charisma that he discourages anyone else from helping her and then after a devastating roofie kiss, he leaves to go back to Mexico --cause not only is he the modern Hernan Cortes of Mexico, he is also a tremendous international banker and there is a huge crisis afoot.
Well our h may be cutely cuddlesome, but she is also very, very determined and SHE WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT MONEY, her father can just sign for the mega fortune and face up to his responsibilities. She goes to Mexico and hires a somewhat dubious plane and pilot.
The plane crashes and the H has to go rescue her at the bottom cliff of an active volcano mountain. He defiantly carries her off, in spite of his superstitious belief that our cuddlesome h may be marked by the Gods. (Not to worry Mr. Don Juan Zorro, giant condors and puma's weren't swarming around her unconscious body, so maybe the Gods are saying "This one's for YOU!")
The h wakes up in hospital and because our Don Juan Zorro H is weary of having to track her down to contain her, he decides to just keep her instead. He takes her home to his remote hacienda that is shared by his vile step-mother and the daughter the vile step-mother is hoping to marry the H off to.
The h isn't happy about this, and she lets the H know - loudly. the H is now clearly obsessed with our cuddlesome h and he loudly states that he is keeping her, forever- as he seems to really like her. The h isn't too happy about that, she hates the country that stole her father and the evil step-mother has alreadly let her know that her daughter has first dibs on Mr. Don Juan Zorro.
When the H takes her into town to her concussion checked out, the h formulates a plan to get help and get out and get on with her search. She meets some American tourists and she plans to ask them to contact the British Embassy on her behalf, the h thinks she lost all her paperwork and passport in the crash. She steals a Mercedes from the H in attempt to get back to the town nad contact them. The H chases after her and forces her back to his house, he has her paperwork but she isn't going anywhere without him.
To get a little peace and to really get her into his clutches, Mr. Don Juan Zorro decides to help the h look for her dad. He could take a helicopter and fly her to the village where her father was last seen, but that would leave too many chapters to fill with plot, so he decides to go for the full horse ridden jungle adventure instead.
The h is anxious to get this horrible inheritance off her back, so she is very eager to set out and as soon as our H is satisfied that his fiery English cuddlesome hedgehog is over her concussion, we all set off for the Native Village with adventures, like things falling in deep ravines along the way. Fortunately our h was saved from tumbling after them by the strong and steady arm of our H. In fact our Mr. Don Juan Zorro Bossy Pants is practically nanny like in all his coddling of the h as they embark on their journey. The poor man may be getting a head full of gray hairs as he saves her from herself, but he doesn't seem to be complaining about it.
Finally we reach the Native village and find out the h's father died four years earlier. There is some tears and the h has a sad moment cause she really did want to at least talk to her dad, even tho she insisted the whole time that he meant nothing to her. She stuns the H even more when she bewails the fact that now she is really rich and the H finally figures out that she was so insistent on tracking her father down because she wanted to get rid of a bunch of money, not get some. It only makes him love her more.
That night the H and h finally give into the simmering passion and the H, when he finds out the h was chaste, immediately proposes marriage. The h thinks it is only his overdeveloped sense of honour that is forcing him to make the proposal, she hasn't forgotten the step-mother's daughter, and so she turns him down. This is not a pleasing thing for the H and he is rather angry about the whole thing.
So back to the Mr. Don Juan Zorro's hacienda we go and everybody is having a HUGE mopey moment. The h realizes that the H is like her father he really only wants to be free to roam, and she loves him enough to let him go and be free in the way that he wants.
With a parting shot from the evil step mother with a pithy "hands off my daughter's man" nasty lecture and the h seeing the H and the daughter in a close embrace, she sadly goes home to England. Tho she does find out that Mr. Don Juan Zorro's male assistant is in love with the step-mother's daughter, plus the daughter loves him right back and the h tells him to go ahead and stake his claim and make the daughter stand up to her mother.
Five months later the h and her beloved cousin are now the proud custodians of a home for unloved little children. They used the h's inheritance and bought a huge country estate and set up a trust fund for the new home and the cousin is in heaven helping all those sweet little poppets that have no family's of their own. The h is very sad, but doing good deeds and then the H shows up.
The h's beloved cousin wrote to him and the H has decided since he successfully snatched the h from the Gods, he is just keeping her - plus he knows she loves him really and his life is empty without her. He does the big declaration moment to the h and she has her big declaration moment back and they both realize that they were jealous of other people for no reason. The H is taking the h back to Mexico, he reassures her that he doesn't want to roam the wilderness without her, and the evil step-mother got the boot when the daughter married his promoted assistant. The h and H have a happy reunion and plan for three weddings to really make things stick, with lots of future H and h's for the big pink sparkly HEA and the blessing of the Gods the H fought so hard to save the h from.
This one was cute, the H was overwhelmingly domineering and Alpha, but the h held her own nicely and tho she was kinda clueless - she really was very funny and not irritating. Give this one a go if you like the cuddlesome h with the waaay Alpha Manly but nice about it type. It was a good day's journey into HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2013
This was well worth the investment of my time and I could not put it down.
If you are a Patricia Wilson fan (prone to falling in love with super, stalkerific alpha heroes) than I highly recommend. Though, in fairness to the hero, the heroine was the one doing all the stalking since he was the only person capable of finding her long lost father. The sparks flew off these two. When it comes to chemistry leaping off the pages, no one does it better than Patricia Wilson.
The hero is super alpha and suffers from a "God complex", but as the story progresses you see an entirely different person emerge.
This was fun, fast-paced, and full of angst. Just the way I like my HPs!
If you are a Patricia Wilson fan (prone to falling in love with super, stalkerific alpha heroes) than I highly recommend. Though, in fairness to the hero, the heroine was the one doing all the stalking since he was the only person capable of finding her long lost father. The sparks flew off these two. When it comes to chemistry leaping off the pages, no one does it better than Patricia Wilson.
The hero is super alpha and suffers from a "God complex", but as the story progresses you see an entirely different person emerge.
This was fun, fast-paced, and full of angst. Just the way I like my HPs!
February 26, 2018
"When The Gods Choose" is the story of Jaime and Sara.
Sara needs to find her estranged father in order to fulfill a dying wish of her mother, and tries to enlist help of Jaime Carreras to travel to Mexico- who warns her against it, and instead asks her to stay away.
But Sara is determined, and vows to travel by herself but crashes and lands into Jaime's possession.
Soon Jaime takes her as his prisoner, and uses her father as a bait in order to keep her in line- but Sara resists as expected- and this leads to reluctant kisses.
I honestly found this one boring. The h using her cousin as a shield (fake OM) and H using his stepsister (fake OW) did not add to the story, and the heroine getting one-upped by the hero every single time was annoying.
Meh on this one.
SWME
1.5/5
Sara needs to find her estranged father in order to fulfill a dying wish of her mother, and tries to enlist help of Jaime Carreras to travel to Mexico- who warns her against it, and instead asks her to stay away.
But Sara is determined, and vows to travel by herself but crashes and lands into Jaime's possession.
Soon Jaime takes her as his prisoner, and uses her father as a bait in order to keep her in line- but Sara resists as expected- and this leads to reluctant kisses.
I honestly found this one boring. The h using her cousin as a shield (fake OM) and H using his stepsister (fake OW) did not add to the story, and the heroine getting one-upped by the hero every single time was annoying.
Meh on this one.
SWME
1.5/5
December 24, 2017
You know when you read books about alpha a-holes then suddenly there is a book where the hero turns out surprisingly ok and you now HAVE to give it 3 stars?
Well this was that book.
Behind all his disrespect he was still a kitten at heart and totally in love and was at loss whether to dangle the almost underage OW as a shield or not since like all "strong" true alpha males he was really rather vulnerable at heart in actual fact.
However the stepmom did the work anyway for him who does get the boot at the EOD!
Also, to be honest, the OW, who is not really the OW, rather his stepsister who he care for as a little sister really, was quite a spoilt little bitch!
She was in love with someone else but still was all over the H and was über possessive because she had the first dibs! She was NOT a kid. It was NOT an acceptable behaviour. Your stepbrother WILL have girlfriend honey, just because you were there before them doesn't give you the rights to be his priority and he's not going to stay single to keep you satisfied.
She was JEALOUS! I mean WTF?!
Well this was that book.
Behind all his disrespect he was still a kitten at heart and totally in love and was at loss whether to dangle the almost underage OW as a shield or not since like all "strong" true alpha males he was really rather vulnerable at heart in actual fact.
However the stepmom did the work anyway for him who does get the boot at the EOD!
Also, to be honest, the OW, who is not really the OW, rather his stepsister who he care for as a little sister really, was quite a spoilt little bitch!
She was in love with someone else but still was all over the H and was über possessive because she had the first dibs! She was NOT a kid. It was NOT an acceptable behaviour. Your stepbrother WILL have girlfriend honey, just because you were there before them doesn't give you the rights to be his priority and he's not going to stay single to keep you satisfied.
She was JEALOUS! I mean WTF?!
October 11, 2021
The hero was fine in this, it was the heroine that I could not stand.
She was neurotic, bitter, brittle, completely obsessed with finding her long-lost father in the Mexican wilderness.
She was neurotic, bitter, brittle, completely obsessed with finding her long-lost father in the Mexican wilderness.
October 12, 2018
Pretty entertaining. She is a little accident-prone (although to be fair, there are things that she really should have been alerted to) but her predominant personality trait is her strong character and personal honor. The H is super, super, possessive and makes assumptions, but it all works out. No serious OW/OM threat.
June 17, 2015
A great book! The scene I loved is when he found her in the plan reck. She was not a doormat and he was a little controlling. I liked it.
May 23, 2023
Well, I’ve missed the vintage craziness!🙈😂
February 20, 2018
Sara shows up at a diplomatic party because she wants someone to tell her how to get to a remote settlement in Mexico, where her archeologist father disappeared to about 20 years ago. She has some news for him, about some money.
Across the crowded room she sees a tall gorgeous man, and he stirs up desires and flutterings, but he looks at her with contempt, and it's very disappointing. Then it turns out he's Jaime the merchant banker and he owns Mexico, and he doesn't want her to find her father. She should have come looking for him 15 years ago! She should stop being a money-grubbing nasty and leave the man in peace! Sara is too irritated with his attitude to point out that 15 years ago she was between 5 and 8 (I'm never quite clear on her age) and therefore couldn't. Even if she wanted to, which she didn't, and it's none of his business anyway.
But Jaime decides that it is very much his business. He orders everyone at the party not to talk to her. He follows her around London to ensure that she's not talking to anyone from Mexico behind his back. And finally, he snogs her and while doing so plants some kind of tracking device on her, so that when she shows up in Mexico three months later, he'll know exactly where she is.
Which is a good thing, because the little plane Sara hires to take her to her father crashes on a mountain. The pilot dies, and Sara has to drag herself out of range of the flames engulfing the plane wreckage, and collapse under a nearby tree. Where, four hours later, Jaime finds her.
I'm pretty impressed by a heroine surviving a plane crash. I'd have been more impressed if she'd had to survive in the wild and hide from drug cartels and cope with worms hatching in her eyes, but it's fine that none of these things happened to Sara. The plane crash alone steps up Wilson's usual virus/sprained ankle game considerably - Sara's got some serious injuries and is hospitalised for many weeks. Jamie takes care of all the hospital bills and buys her a roomful of fancy clothes, but this is also a sort-of abduction story. He's stuck her in a hospital where no-one speaks English, and everyone is fine with him eventually discharging her into his care. And this is one of those abductions where the heroine is too embarrassed by the fact that she's been abducted to actually tell anyone that she wants to leave. E.g. Jaime's stepmother and stepsister, who both speak English. Either, you can take this as a sign that the heroine is fairly comfortable with the fact that the hero won't actually do her any harm, and this abduction thing is a little private game between the two of them, or: she knows no-one would believe her. I usually frame it for myself in the less depressing way.
Sara won't tell Jaime that the money thing isn't what he thinks it is, because it's none of his business. It's also none of his business that she's not getting it on with the male cousin she lives with, so he can shove his judgement on that, too. She's trying to make a grand, dramatic gesture, but I also think she was hoping for something that wasn't to be. She'd been abandoned when she was a baby, and her mother had been incredibly bitter about it. Her wealthy grandmother had controlled both of them with money, and while Sara now has a fairly nice life in London, living with the cousin and working at a fairly boring job at the bank, she's still got issues.
Actually, her life post Mexico, before Jaime shows up to claim her again sounded pretty nice too, but I'm sure marriage to the hot merchant banker who owns Mexico will have some advantages. For a nosey kidnapping love-struck fool, Jaime wasn't completely awful.
Across the crowded room she sees a tall gorgeous man, and he stirs up desires and flutterings, but he looks at her with contempt, and it's very disappointing. Then it turns out he's Jaime the merchant banker and he owns Mexico, and he doesn't want her to find her father. She should have come looking for him 15 years ago! She should stop being a money-grubbing nasty and leave the man in peace! Sara is too irritated with his attitude to point out that 15 years ago she was between 5 and 8 (I'm never quite clear on her age) and therefore couldn't. Even if she wanted to, which she didn't, and it's none of his business anyway.
But Jaime decides that it is very much his business. He orders everyone at the party not to talk to her. He follows her around London to ensure that she's not talking to anyone from Mexico behind his back. And finally, he snogs her and while doing so plants some kind of tracking device on her, so that when she shows up in Mexico three months later, he'll know exactly where she is.
Which is a good thing, because the little plane Sara hires to take her to her father crashes on a mountain. The pilot dies, and Sara has to drag herself out of range of the flames engulfing the plane wreckage, and collapse under a nearby tree. Where, four hours later, Jaime finds her.
I'm pretty impressed by a heroine surviving a plane crash. I'd have been more impressed if she'd had to survive in the wild and hide from drug cartels and cope with worms hatching in her eyes, but it's fine that none of these things happened to Sara. The plane crash alone steps up Wilson's usual virus/sprained ankle game considerably - Sara's got some serious injuries and is hospitalised for many weeks. Jamie takes care of all the hospital bills and buys her a roomful of fancy clothes, but this is also a sort-of abduction story. He's stuck her in a hospital where no-one speaks English, and everyone is fine with him eventually discharging her into his care. And this is one of those abductions where the heroine is too embarrassed by the fact that she's been abducted to actually tell anyone that she wants to leave. E.g. Jaime's stepmother and stepsister, who both speak English. Either, you can take this as a sign that the heroine is fairly comfortable with the fact that the hero won't actually do her any harm, and this abduction thing is a little private game between the two of them, or: she knows no-one would believe her. I usually frame it for myself in the less depressing way.
Sara won't tell Jaime that the money thing isn't what he thinks it is, because it's none of his business. It's also none of his business that she's not getting it on with the male cousin she lives with, so he can shove his judgement on that, too. She's trying to make a grand, dramatic gesture, but I also think she was hoping for something that wasn't to be. She'd been abandoned when she was a baby, and her mother had been incredibly bitter about it. Her wealthy grandmother had controlled both of them with money, and while Sara now has a fairly nice life in London, living with the cousin and working at a fairly boring job at the bank, she's still got issues.
Actually, her life post Mexico, before Jaime shows up to claim her again sounded pretty nice too, but I'm sure marriage to the hot merchant banker who owns Mexico will have some advantages. For a nosey kidnapping love-struck fool, Jaime wasn't completely awful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2018
3.75* 1993
Initially I thought the hero Jaime was a real a$$hole... He seemed to have taken one look at heroine Sara and disliked her! And she was supposed to seek his help to find her archeologist father in a remote Mexican mountain!
What happened next was your typical 80/90s Mills & Boon heavy handedness - he told Sara to leave her father alone and if it's money she wanted she might consider becoming his mistress! Since she was already living with a man! Well Sara did not tell him the man was her cousin, her one and only kin left alive if you discount her absentee father!
However Jaime's actions spoke louder than his words...bark being worse than his bites etc. He was always taking care of her even as he tried to prevent Sara from going to find her father.
SPOILERS
Her reason for risking her life to find her father was erm lame as hell to me. The moment I read about the inheritance and Sara's promise to her mom to NOT accept a cent from her grandmother, I immediately thought why couldn't she just let William have the funds to start the special needs school in her grandmother's name. I'm so glad that's what happened. ..at least she used her brains and William was able to talk sense into her!
I felt bad for Sara and her mom though... William was right in that her mother could have tried harder to stand up to her tyrannical grandmother but instead her whingey mother chose to suffer but pile on the hatred and emotional baggage onto the young Sara. Her father too was a coward choosing to leave his responsibilities behind to chase his own obsession in Mexico. ..
In the end some uncomfortable questions were asked by Sara and answered by Jaime. I saw through the plot with Jaime-Maria Teresa-Hernando but I was grossed out by the intimate gestures between Jaime and stepsister Maria Teresa... Nothing explicitly sexual but more loving and intimate ones like hand touching and kisses on the cheeks. To find that he's using it as a shield of his attraction to Sara was... *roll eyes*
Overall the book has drama, awesome and exotic settings and the gamut of Sara's emotions made this a very enjoyable reading.
Initially I thought the hero Jaime was a real a$$hole... He seemed to have taken one look at heroine Sara and disliked her! And she was supposed to seek his help to find her archeologist father in a remote Mexican mountain!
What happened next was your typical 80/90s Mills & Boon heavy handedness - he told Sara to leave her father alone and if it's money she wanted she might consider becoming his mistress! Since she was already living with a man! Well Sara did not tell him the man was her cousin, her one and only kin left alive if you discount her absentee father!
However Jaime's actions spoke louder than his words...bark being worse than his bites etc. He was always taking care of her even as he tried to prevent Sara from going to find her father.
SPOILERS
Her reason for risking her life to find her father was erm lame as hell to me. The moment I read about the inheritance and Sara's promise to her mom to NOT accept a cent from her grandmother, I immediately thought why couldn't she just let William have the funds to start the special needs school in her grandmother's name. I'm so glad that's what happened. ..at least she used her brains and William was able to talk sense into her!
I felt bad for Sara and her mom though... William was right in that her mother could have tried harder to stand up to her tyrannical grandmother but instead her whingey mother chose to suffer but pile on the hatred and emotional baggage onto the young Sara. Her father too was a coward choosing to leave his responsibilities behind to chase his own obsession in Mexico. ..
In the end some uncomfortable questions were asked by Sara and answered by Jaime. I saw through the plot with Jaime-Maria Teresa-Hernando but I was grossed out by the intimate gestures between Jaime and stepsister Maria Teresa... Nothing explicitly sexual but more loving and intimate ones like hand touching and kisses on the cheeks. To find that he's using it as a shield of his attraction to Sara was... *roll eyes*
Overall the book has drama, awesome and exotic settings and the gamut of Sara's emotions made this a very enjoyable reading.
March 16, 2019
Nothing was going to stop her --Not even the powerful and arrogant Mexican Jaime Carreras! Sara Lawrence had vowed to find her archaeologist father because of a deathbed promise to her mother. And that was what she would do.Carreras had warned her that her quest was foolish, and that without his help she could not be successful.Ignoring his warning - and the strange, furious pounding of her heart - Sara struck out alone on a journey fraught with disaster. And to her dismay she discovered that the words of Senor Carreras were true: all roads in Mexico led to him.
October 27, 2013
Beautiful book.....Different plot...Utterly romantic.
June 15, 2015
Good read but could have done without the adeventure parts.
October 30, 2024
'I looked across the room and saw you, a girl who had stepped straight out of my dreams. I was stunned, could not believe it, and I was also furious with myself when I realised that I wanted to walk across, unannounced, and take you into my arms! It is an unnerving thing, my darling, to meet your fate without warning.'
The h needs a guide to find her long-lost father in Mexico. Her paternal grandmother left an extensive inheritance and if her father doesn’t appear in 3 months the money goes to the h. The h is adamant that she won’t take a penny as her grandmother was a monster who made her late mother’s life hell.
The h is alone in the world and is supported only by her dear cousin William.
And now back to her quest. She approaches a rich Mexican banker and he firmly refuses to have anything to do with her. The h decides to find some other way to get to her father. She hires a pilot to fly her to the remote part. The plane crashes and the H who’s been aware of her plans all along saves her. He brings her to his isolated ranch. The H is certain she’s a money hungry gold-digger and that she has an affair with William.
The h needs a guide to find her long-lost father in Mexico. Her paternal grandmother left an extensive inheritance and if her father doesn’t appear in 3 months the money goes to the h. The h is adamant that she won’t take a penny as her grandmother was a monster who made her late mother’s life hell.
The h is alone in the world and is supported only by her dear cousin William.
And now back to her quest. She approaches a rich Mexican banker and he firmly refuses to have anything to do with her. The h decides to find some other way to get to her father. She hires a pilot to fly her to the remote part. The plane crashes and the H who’s been aware of her plans all along saves her. He brings her to his isolated ranch. The H is certain she’s a money hungry gold-digger and that she has an affair with William.
June 13, 2023
The cover for this one is so BORING - two vaguely beautiful people dancing in posh outfits. It says nothing about the book, which includes plane crashes in the jungle, adventure, danger and kidnap. I had no idea going in this was more a jungle adventure than a swanky dinner party style romance lol.
Anyway - he's aloof, cold, super protective and obviously in love behind all his sneering and disdainful looks. She's principled, a bit reckless and pretty dumb considering she would solve 99% of her problems if she told the truth and didn't deliberately present herself as fast and greedy when she isn't. I cannot stand when the h is 'if he thinks I'm a whore then I'll not correct him' then goes on to tell a bunch of lies about some non-existent fancy man. It's such an immature baby move, I hate it.
Anyway - he's aloof, cold, super protective and obviously in love behind all his sneering and disdainful looks. She's principled, a bit reckless and pretty dumb considering she would solve 99% of her problems if she told the truth and didn't deliberately present herself as fast and greedy when she isn't. I cannot stand when the h is 'if he thinks I'm a whore then I'll not correct him' then goes on to tell a bunch of lies about some non-existent fancy man. It's such an immature baby move, I hate it.
March 14, 2024
Again with Patricia Wilson - the heroine sucks.
She's aggressive in a stupid way, self-absorbed, and vapid. I am also discovering the sappy broken heart trope - seriously, she needs to catch a grip. Why are these women all so BROKEN when love goes wrong? As usual with this author, she gets thin when apart from him. It's not even Victorian going into a decline, it's just shameful.
The hero deserved much, much, much better. I see no reason for him to love her, she is not loveable, fun, smart or amazing in any way and he pretty much runs Mexico (rolling eyes), but he "hasn't had an Englishwoman" - nice.
Drivel.
She's aggressive in a stupid way, self-absorbed, and vapid. I am also discovering the sappy broken heart trope - seriously, she needs to catch a grip. Why are these women all so BROKEN when love goes wrong? As usual with this author, she gets thin when apart from him. It's not even Victorian going into a decline, it's just shameful.
The hero deserved much, much, much better. I see no reason for him to love her, she is not loveable, fun, smart or amazing in any way and he pretty much runs Mexico (rolling eyes), but he "hasn't had an Englishwoman" - nice.
Drivel.
August 5, 2017
liked it, but it's not the best of Patricia Wilson
March 31, 2022
Really liked this one except the unnecessary misunderstanding at the end. Hero was pretty mean to the heroine at times but to me it was obvious he was smitten!
October 24, 2011
ahhh ahhh Jaime Carreras tam bana göreydi...
çok sevdim bu karakteri..
dediğim dedik..ben ne dersem o..
Meksikada bütün yollar Jamie'e açılır...
önemli bi pozisyonda..hemde zengin...
ama kitapta yer yer kaba davranışları ve sivri diliyle sizi sinirlendirebilir:)
Rosa'da altta kalmıyor tabi..ona sinir olduğum bi iki şey var..
şu beyaz dizilerde yada romanlarda aşkını itiraf etmekten korkmalarına sinir olmaya başladım...
söyle sevdiğini..olsun bitsin:)
neyse güzel bir bdydi..tavsiye ederim:)
çok sevdim bu karakteri..
dediğim dedik..ben ne dersem o..
Meksikada bütün yollar Jamie'e açılır...
önemli bi pozisyonda..hemde zengin...
ama kitapta yer yer kaba davranışları ve sivri diliyle sizi sinirlendirebilir:)
Rosa'da altta kalmıyor tabi..ona sinir olduğum bi iki şey var..
şu beyaz dizilerde yada romanlarda aşkını itiraf etmekten korkmalarına sinir olmaya başladım...
söyle sevdiğini..olsun bitsin:)
neyse güzel bir bdydi..tavsiye ederim:)
March 22, 2013
Jaime Carreras Heralde nasıl haraket edeceğine karar veremeyen deli aşık biri :D Meksikalıların böyle olacağını tahmin etmezdim :)
April 20, 2020
~Re-read in 2020~
Everytime I read the word "señorita" the song began playing in my head lol.
Everytime I read the word "señorita" the song began playing in my head lol.
May 29, 2016
I can't believe I've read such a book...
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