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Whirlwind
All she'd ever needed was love
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Lamb
261 books316 followersSheila Ann Mary Coates Holland
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 30, 2021
Female Peter Pan slash theatre actress + egomaniacal wolf with trust issues = whirlwind romance (3.5 stars).
FUCKING PIT OF HELL I FINISHED THIS BOOK A FEW HOURS AGO AND I'M STILL FUCKING LAUGHING. 😂
I fully intended to write a serious, thoughtful review for this book up until the moment my eyes were blessed with THE VERY LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE MASTERPIECE:
The comedy queen Ms. Lamb has me in tears yet again... which brings me back to the visualization that seems to be crucial for the right interpretation of the whirlwind love story in question.
The heroine:
The hero:
Their first meeting:
The heroine trying to fight her attraction for the hero:
The hero not being able to restrain himself:
I worship this woman, Ms. Lamb, and her impeccable ability toruin spice up any relatively 'decent' romance she had the willpower to write. 🤪
Witty little pig and charismatic big wolf chasing her are forever imprinted in my memory;)
FUCKING PIT OF HELL I FINISHED THIS BOOK A FEW HOURS AGO AND I'M STILL FUCKING LAUGHING. 😂
I fully intended to write a serious, thoughtful review for this book up until the moment my eyes were blessed with THE VERY LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE MASTERPIECE:
She considered him, her eyes half-closed. 'What a very persistent wolf you are!'
'Little pig, little pig, let me in, let me in,' he wheedled, and with a husky little groan Anna put her arms around his neck and stopped arguing.
The comedy queen Ms. Lamb has me in tears yet again... which brings me back to the visualization that seems to be crucial for the right interpretation of the whirlwind love story in question.
The heroine:
The hero:
Their first meeting:
The heroine trying to fight her attraction for the hero:
The hero not being able to restrain himself:
I worship this woman, Ms. Lamb, and her impeccable ability to
Witty little pig and charismatic big wolf chasing her are forever imprinted in my memory;)
September 3, 2016
Re Whirlwind - CL is back and this time we have the huge misunderstanding that is actually pretty believable in the circumstances coupled with a huge disparity in the economic status of the h and H. CL does a fairly realistic (for once) romance in Whirlwind - so while this doesn't have all the angst and drama of CL's highly insanely possessive H coupled with a fragile little h, this is in many ways a more believable book and that makes the HEA pretty solid.
This one starts with the h being an aspiring actress with her first noticeable role. She is an orphan and has a burning desire to act. So she got herself through drama school and managed to land a part in a play that could be her big break. The h is really poor, she has to struggle on a limited salary just to pay her rent and get around the town and to the theater. This doesn't leave a lot left over for food and so the h misses more than a few meals. She figures it is worth it tho, cause she really is a good actress and she knows she can make it big and never have to worry about meals again if she can just hang on til she gets her big break. She also has to live in a horrible little bedsit room with a truly hideous landlady who loves nothing better than to spitefully gossip about her tenants.
The h is in rehearsals for the new play when she gets to be friends with one of the other young aspiring actresses who is a few years younger and it is her first part. The h and the young actress are going home one night when a wealthy older man offers them a ride. (Insert old guys with candy jokes here please.) The man seems to know the young actress really well and the young actress seems pretty flustered the guy is there. The h surreptitiously tells the younger actress to make an excuse to get dropped off first and she will run the lecher dude off. The young actress looks a bit startled, but the h figures she is so innocent she doesn't have the nous to run the obviously on the make guy off and the h, with a bit more worldly experience, can help keep the little actress safe.
They drop the girl off and then the H takes the h back to his penthouse flat, the h isn't too keen on being there and puts up a good argument against staying, but the H has this houseman who is a riot. He is elderly and a bit of an alcoholic but he is also a four star former chef that the H took in when he hit some hard times. The relationship between the H and his chef is pretty funny, they go back and forth about things a bit but the h is convinced to stay when she is offered some truly exceptional food.
They have dinner and the h winds up passing out from too much champagne and a food overindulgence. Since the last thing the h remembers is the H kissing her, she is pretty mortified to wake up in bed with the H in her slip and she believes the lurve club has been exercised. She runs out, humiliated and ashamed that her first experience is at the hands of a lout who gets her drunk and then seduces her.
She spends quite a bit of time in self-flagellation mode, but when she warns the young actress at rehearsal to stay far away from the guy, the girl only looks at her in puzzlement. Then the h finds out that the young actress is actually the H's half sister, and the h feels used and betrayed all over again. It turns out the H is a backer in the play and the actress got the part because of his financing, but she really does want to be an actress but her parents aren't real keen to see their deb daughter in the really tough life that is a career on the stage.
The h and H have a few more confrontations when the truth comes out and finally the H realizes that the h thinks he seduced her while she was toasted. He himself is pretty cynical about women, his mother left when he was a baby and then later died, his ex wife cheated on him multiple times and then ran off with a former friend before she too died from a drug overdose, and while his sister is sweet and his stepmum is nice, he really doesn't believe in the constancy of women or love.
He lets the h stew for a bit on what supposedly happened before he explains that she passed out, he put her in his bed and slept on the couch until he got a really bad neck ache cause the couch was only five feet long to his six foot height and he only slept beside her for a little while. The H was mad the h would assume he was a bounder and the h is mad that he wouldn't think that she would be upset at the thought that she just casually slept with a guy. They both learn a bit more about each other in that conversation and then the H asks the h to be a flat mate to his half sister while she goes to drama school.
The H's parents like the h, she has been to lunch with them several times and the young actress is barely 18, they don't want her living alone and the h is a good role model. She has shown the young actress that it is really hard getting a break into the theater and that you really have to be dedicated to make it. The h also is instrumental in getting the parents to approve the drama school route for the girl, she tells the young lady that she really needs the education, theatre is hard work and she tells the parents that if the actress isn't really serious about a theatrical career, drama school will show her she is isn't a good fit.
The H owns a huge construction company, and he is the one putting up the flat for the ladies. He had offered the h her own flat or to live with him, but the h rejects that cause the H doesn't know how to love and she is only moving in with a guy who does. The h is kinda wry about it, because over the course of getting to know the actress, her family and the H, she has fallen a bit in love herself.
The h and the little actress do move into a new flat together, but the h winds up rejecting the H because he tells her he can't love another woman and the h refuses to let him off the hook with that. She wants love and if the H won't at least try to have a loving relationship, she doesn't want anything to do with him - she can't afford to invest herself in a one sided love affair when she needs to be emotionally stable for her career. So she and the H wind up agreeing not see each other anymore. Then the H tries to get the h a part in a commercial and the h finds out about it and goes ballistic. She thinks he is trying to buy his way into her bed again and so she hunts him down and tells him off.
When she tries to leave, he does a rugby tackle and confesses that she terrifies him, but he can't stop thinking about her so he wants to be scared together instead of apart and they agree they love each other and to give marriage a try. We leave the H and h with mutual avowals of love and the HEA fades to black as they embark on boudoir bliss.
This one was very different from CL's usual stories up to this point. There is no H POV, but CL puts in lots of dialogue as the H and h explain their positions to each other. We also get a lot of CL's favorite foods, since food is one way the H woos the h. There are usual elements in all CL works tho, the H shows some domineering possessiveness but the h is more than a match to handle his arrogance. She makes it quite clear that she won't be giving up her career for him tho and in a first for a CL book (and maybe a first in the HP 'verse,) the H agrees. He feels that if his first wife had more to occupy herself with than being married to him, she wouldn't have gone down the path she did and died. The h makes it clear that she feels people are responsible for their own fate, but she also agrees that people need to have a life outside being in love.
This is a remarkably mature look at romance and life, especially for HPlandia, but the fact that CL wrote it and that there are few kisses and no sex makes it even more extraordinary in moving HP's down the road in reflecting how real world society has changed and HPlandia is rolling with the tide. This book is the start of a shift in HPlandia, the real world is moving on and Whirlwind is the first hint outside of Daphne Clair that women can have a life outside of marriage and babies and an HEA. That makes this one a groundbreaker and a landmark in the ever evolving world that is HPlandia and thus well worth hunting down for a read.
This one starts with the h being an aspiring actress with her first noticeable role. She is an orphan and has a burning desire to act. So she got herself through drama school and managed to land a part in a play that could be her big break. The h is really poor, she has to struggle on a limited salary just to pay her rent and get around the town and to the theater. This doesn't leave a lot left over for food and so the h misses more than a few meals. She figures it is worth it tho, cause she really is a good actress and she knows she can make it big and never have to worry about meals again if she can just hang on til she gets her big break. She also has to live in a horrible little bedsit room with a truly hideous landlady who loves nothing better than to spitefully gossip about her tenants.
The h is in rehearsals for the new play when she gets to be friends with one of the other young aspiring actresses who is a few years younger and it is her first part. The h and the young actress are going home one night when a wealthy older man offers them a ride. (Insert old guys with candy jokes here please.) The man seems to know the young actress really well and the young actress seems pretty flustered the guy is there. The h surreptitiously tells the younger actress to make an excuse to get dropped off first and she will run the lecher dude off. The young actress looks a bit startled, but the h figures she is so innocent she doesn't have the nous to run the obviously on the make guy off and the h, with a bit more worldly experience, can help keep the little actress safe.
They drop the girl off and then the H takes the h back to his penthouse flat, the h isn't too keen on being there and puts up a good argument against staying, but the H has this houseman who is a riot. He is elderly and a bit of an alcoholic but he is also a four star former chef that the H took in when he hit some hard times. The relationship between the H and his chef is pretty funny, they go back and forth about things a bit but the h is convinced to stay when she is offered some truly exceptional food.
They have dinner and the h winds up passing out from too much champagne and a food overindulgence. Since the last thing the h remembers is the H kissing her, she is pretty mortified to wake up in bed with the H in her slip and she believes the lurve club has been exercised. She runs out, humiliated and ashamed that her first experience is at the hands of a lout who gets her drunk and then seduces her.
She spends quite a bit of time in self-flagellation mode, but when she warns the young actress at rehearsal to stay far away from the guy, the girl only looks at her in puzzlement. Then the h finds out that the young actress is actually the H's half sister, and the h feels used and betrayed all over again. It turns out the H is a backer in the play and the actress got the part because of his financing, but she really does want to be an actress but her parents aren't real keen to see their deb daughter in the really tough life that is a career on the stage.
The h and H have a few more confrontations when the truth comes out and finally the H realizes that the h thinks he seduced her while she was toasted. He himself is pretty cynical about women, his mother left when he was a baby and then later died, his ex wife cheated on him multiple times and then ran off with a former friend before she too died from a drug overdose, and while his sister is sweet and his stepmum is nice, he really doesn't believe in the constancy of women or love.
He lets the h stew for a bit on what supposedly happened before he explains that she passed out, he put her in his bed and slept on the couch until he got a really bad neck ache cause the couch was only five feet long to his six foot height and he only slept beside her for a little while. The H was mad the h would assume he was a bounder and the h is mad that he wouldn't think that she would be upset at the thought that she just casually slept with a guy. They both learn a bit more about each other in that conversation and then the H asks the h to be a flat mate to his half sister while she goes to drama school.
The H's parents like the h, she has been to lunch with them several times and the young actress is barely 18, they don't want her living alone and the h is a good role model. She has shown the young actress that it is really hard getting a break into the theater and that you really have to be dedicated to make it. The h also is instrumental in getting the parents to approve the drama school route for the girl, she tells the young lady that she really needs the education, theatre is hard work and she tells the parents that if the actress isn't really serious about a theatrical career, drama school will show her she is isn't a good fit.
The H owns a huge construction company, and he is the one putting up the flat for the ladies. He had offered the h her own flat or to live with him, but the h rejects that cause the H doesn't know how to love and she is only moving in with a guy who does. The h is kinda wry about it, because over the course of getting to know the actress, her family and the H, she has fallen a bit in love herself.
The h and the little actress do move into a new flat together, but the h winds up rejecting the H because he tells her he can't love another woman and the h refuses to let him off the hook with that. She wants love and if the H won't at least try to have a loving relationship, she doesn't want anything to do with him - she can't afford to invest herself in a one sided love affair when she needs to be emotionally stable for her career. So she and the H wind up agreeing not see each other anymore. Then the H tries to get the h a part in a commercial and the h finds out about it and goes ballistic. She thinks he is trying to buy his way into her bed again and so she hunts him down and tells him off.
When she tries to leave, he does a rugby tackle and confesses that she terrifies him, but he can't stop thinking about her so he wants to be scared together instead of apart and they agree they love each other and to give marriage a try. We leave the H and h with mutual avowals of love and the HEA fades to black as they embark on boudoir bliss.
This one was very different from CL's usual stories up to this point. There is no H POV, but CL puts in lots of dialogue as the H and h explain their positions to each other. We also get a lot of CL's favorite foods, since food is one way the H woos the h. There are usual elements in all CL works tho, the H shows some domineering possessiveness but the h is more than a match to handle his arrogance. She makes it quite clear that she won't be giving up her career for him tho and in a first for a CL book (and maybe a first in the HP 'verse,) the H agrees. He feels that if his first wife had more to occupy herself with than being married to him, she wouldn't have gone down the path she did and died. The h makes it clear that she feels people are responsible for their own fate, but she also agrees that people need to have a life outside being in love.
This is a remarkably mature look at romance and life, especially for HPlandia, but the fact that CL wrote it and that there are few kisses and no sex makes it even more extraordinary in moving HP's down the road in reflecting how real world society has changed and HPlandia is rolling with the tide. This book is the start of a shift in HPlandia, the real world is moving on and Whirlwind is the first hint outside of Daphne Clair that women can have a life outside of marriage and babies and an HEA. That makes this one a groundbreaker and a landmark in the ever evolving world that is HPlandia and thus well worth hunting down for a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2024
It's the old story of the commitment-phobe rake chasing after the virginal heroine who is holding out for real love. But it is the details that Charlotte Lamb puts in her stories, the setting, the little anecdotes that do nothing to move the plot along but show us who these characters are instead of just telling us, the quickfire dialogue and banter that is just as witty today as when it was written decades ago, that makes the tale come alive and imprinted into your memory. When I read some of her stuff, even some of her turkeys, there's always magical bits in them. The heroine here is STELLAR. The hero plays second fiddle to her but he is still very charismatic. The background story and B-plot complete a well-rounded world building. I would have given a five star if the ending had been more romantic.
October 7, 2020
Delightful, charming and just so romantic, "Whirlwind" is a Love-Story by CL unlike any of her others. While her other books has some great deal of intense OTT angst to it, this story had a whimsy-like feeling. Anna Rendle is a actress who finds herself pursued by her co-workers older brother, the irresistible and smart tycoon Laird Montgomery. Their chemistry flowed in a way that just made it so delicious, and the blooming love between them was so beautiful. Laird is an intense alpha and a man very much in love with Anna, but lucky for many readers he haven`t the Anti-heroism many of other CL heroes has. I just came to adore this two together and they have many unforgettable scenes that touched me, especially the ones where they talked with such naked honesty that it hurt in my heart.
Laird opened his eyes again and looked at her fiercely, and she would never need to hear him say those words again because the feeling was there in his eyes. Laird had dammed up all that love for years; it had been there hidden, locked away, out of sight, behind the cynicism and the bitter wariness. Now it was visible, the dam broken, the emotion pouring out towards her in a tidal wave.
'I love you,' he said again with a husky triumph. 'Oh, Anna…'
The ending was such an awe to me that i actually fed one happy tear! Charlotte Lamb, you are the best! A Keeper that instantly deserves a place in my "favourite" shelf.!
Laird opened his eyes again and looked at her fiercely, and she would never need to hear him say those words again because the feeling was there in his eyes. Laird had dammed up all that love for years; it had been there hidden, locked away, out of sight, behind the cynicism and the bitter wariness. Now it was visible, the dam broken, the emotion pouring out towards her in a tidal wave.
'I love you,' he said again with a husky triumph. 'Oh, Anna…'
The ending was such an awe to me that i actually fed one happy tear! Charlotte Lamb, you are the best! A Keeper that instantly deserves a place in my "favourite" shelf.!
November 19, 2020
I found this rich-guy-falls-for-poor-orphaned-heroine a bit slow. The heroine’s thoughts were full of the play she was starring in, her friendship with the hero’s sister, her financial state and the finally, the hero. It was all interesting but not romantic.
The smitten hero ‘doth protest(ed) too much’ about marrying again and then suddenly changed his mind. I was not convinced the hero overcame his jealousy issues, either. Needless to say, the ending was too abrupt.
I did enjoy the scene in the nursery with the hero showing the heroine his childhood toys. Very sweet.
CL is always good with the details. For instance, this description of the sister’s outfit for Sunday lunch proves season 4 of The Crown is accurate in its depiction of 80’s fashion:
She was wearing a blue and white striped sailor suit with a broad white collar, matelot bodice and a pleated blue skirt.
Boogenhagen wrote a spoiler review with all the details.
The smitten hero ‘doth protest(ed) too much’ about marrying again and then suddenly changed his mind. I was not convinced the hero overcame his jealousy issues, either. Needless to say, the ending was too abrupt.
I did enjoy the scene in the nursery with the hero showing the heroine his childhood toys. Very sweet.
CL is always good with the details. For instance, this description of the sister’s outfit for Sunday lunch proves season 4 of The Crown is accurate in its depiction of 80’s fashion:
She was wearing a blue and white striped sailor suit with a broad white collar, matelot bodice and a pleated blue skirt.
Boogenhagen wrote a spoiler review with all the details.
December 16, 2025
Not that exciting
Maybe my previous one was too insane and it made it harder to appreciate the more subtle unhinged-ness this hero brought to the table.
An unhinged-ness that was also hindered by t
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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Maybe my previous one was too insane and it made it harder to appreciate the more subtle unhinged-ness this hero brought to the table.
An unhinged-ness that was also hindered by t
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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October 28, 2018
"Whirlwind" is the story of Anna and Laird.
Our heroine Anna is a gorgeous, strong and self sufficient theater actress, who has learned to survive despite all odds, after being orphaned at a very young age. Living in her one room apartment, struggling to eat and pay the rent, she is never dissatisfied and finds happiness in her work and small things.
Things take a turn when she bumps across a stranger on her way to work, who calls himself Laird Montgomery- a name that makes Anna laugh. Soon she finds Laird pursuing her friend Patti, but warning her off soon leads of revelation of hidden secrets.
As Laird starts courting her, Anna soon realizes the depths of the handsome and caring man- but knows that he refuses to love again, especially after his shitty past marriage. But can she stop herself from loving him?
Extremely sweet and innocent love story between a heroine with a backbone and hero on her trail like a dog with a bone (LOL, forgive me it's been a long day). I really enjoyed their banter, his displays of jealousy, the way he cared for and pursued her. Also one of the funniest scene was her baby freak out, which only highlighted the point that the heroine was super untouched.
Enjoyed it.
Safe..ish
3.5/5
Our heroine Anna is a gorgeous, strong and self sufficient theater actress, who has learned to survive despite all odds, after being orphaned at a very young age. Living in her one room apartment, struggling to eat and pay the rent, she is never dissatisfied and finds happiness in her work and small things.
Things take a turn when she bumps across a stranger on her way to work, who calls himself Laird Montgomery- a name that makes Anna laugh. Soon she finds Laird pursuing her friend Patti, but warning her off soon leads of revelation of hidden secrets.
As Laird starts courting her, Anna soon realizes the depths of the handsome and caring man- but knows that he refuses to love again, especially after his shitty past marriage. But can she stop herself from loving him?
Extremely sweet and innocent love story between a heroine with a backbone and hero on her trail like a dog with a bone (LOL, forgive me it's been a long day). I really enjoyed their banter, his displays of jealousy, the way he cared for and pursued her. Also one of the funniest scene was her baby freak out, which only highlighted the point that the heroine was super untouched.
Enjoyed it.
Safe..ish
3.5/5
December 16, 2021
Ball-busting heroine made this a rough read.
She fought against him too hard and for too long. I understood that she didn’t want to have sex with him if he wasn’t in love with her, but she was so angry and militant. I never warmed up to her. 🤷🏼♀️
I liked Laird. He was a jealous bulldozer, but I felt like his *light* was dimmed in the face of Anna’s unwarranted hostility. Bummer.
The ending was emotional but more of a bittersweet HFN than a true HEA.
Bottom Line? Not my favorite CL book. 😕 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama- h initially thinks he’s seeing OW, but she turns out to be his sister
- OM drama - the H thinks the h is into her director
- no dubcon
- h is a 22 yr old virgin
- H is a 37 yr old divorced man
- this book had no sex and very few sexy scenes. 😩
- HFN ending 😐
She fought against him too hard and for too long. I understood that she didn’t want to have sex with him if he wasn’t in love with her, but she was so angry and militant. I never warmed up to her. 🤷🏼♀️
I liked Laird. He was a jealous bulldozer, but I felt like his *light* was dimmed in the face of Anna’s unwarranted hostility. Bummer.
The ending was emotional but more of a bittersweet HFN than a true HEA.
Bottom Line? Not my favorite CL book. 😕 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama- h initially thinks he’s seeing OW, but she turns out to be his sister
- OM drama - the H thinks the h is into her director
- no dubcon
- h is a 22 yr old virgin
- H is a 37 yr old divorced man
- this book had no sex and very few sexy scenes. 😩
- HFN ending 😐
August 31, 2013
I don't understand the low ratings on this one. It was a well-written romance intercepted with humor. There was prominent class distinction but CL handled that very well and for that I almost admired her H. Was it a perfect story? Well... no and hence the 4 star rating. But in terms of the other formulatic books there are out there, this one at least tried to be different. Plus, you do get to see the guy's just as discomfited as the girl is and not all in control despite being older, richer and more experienced (maybe the reason for low ratings by many? Hmmm)
May 24, 2021
The first time I read this book was when I was a teenager. I loved it then and I still love it now.
It’s a fantastic, great, romantic love story. The rich, dominant, powerful man who falls in love with the poor orphan woman.
The way he tries to persuade her to let him take car of her, the way he worries about her poverty, all his tenderness and lovingness, his passion and even his dominance and persistence towards her, it all just made my heart melt. He made my heart melt.
He really is that knight in shining armour that women dream about. He is the dream. Charlotte Lamb really was a master HP writer.
It’s a fantastic, great, romantic love story. The rich, dominant, powerful man who falls in love with the poor orphan woman.
The way he tries to persuade her to let him take car of her, the way he worries about her poverty, all his tenderness and lovingness, his passion and even his dominance and persistence towards her, it all just made my heart melt. He made my heart melt.
He really is that knight in shining armour that women dream about. He is the dream. Charlotte Lamb really was a master HP writer.
March 30, 2011
Mild, clean & mellow. Not a fan of theatre setting & too much shop talk.
July 15, 2024
Others have reviewed this well. The h Anna, an actress of humble orphaned origin is the 'realest' h who knows what she wants and sticks to it. Laird is the tortured H scared to love. It's not half bad although not wildly romantic.
June 22, 2025
Turns out to be surprisingly wholesome, for a Charlotte Lamb!
January 29, 2014
One of my favorite romance. The hard working and naive Anna is hard to not love. I like how she fight for her life with its poverty and evil landlady. I love this kind of heroine with her struggling life.
Laird Montgomery (what a name ^^) however is a rich man with difficulty of love and deny it with his life.
Laird Montgomery (what a name ^^) however is a rich man with difficulty of love and deny it with his life.
June 27, 2022
Anna was an orphan who had to provide and protect herself since she was sixteen and therefore she though she was doing great focusing on her aspiring acting career even though she was hardly making ends meet. She was averse to a serious releationship, but when Laird Mongomery tried to proposition inncent Batty, a young friendly actress with her in a play, she had to intervent. Unfortunately, her intervention was disasterous! Not only did she mistook the whole situation, but Laird took advantage of her drunk state in his penthouse and made love to her! She vowed she would never forgive him, but her resolve was always weakened by his overwhelmingly maganitic charcater whenever they met.
I would have given this book three stars but I couldn't because of the main characters attitudes after the night they "supposedly" slept together. It really gave the whole book and my enjoyment away. It is something against Laird not to correct Anna's assumption they sleep together straight away just because he was "too angry". She was adament not to see him and for a person who wanted to get closer to her as he claimed, he failed miserably by not revealing this assential truth. Anna was also a strange heroine since no woman would take kindly to being handled totally unconscious and then continue to go along with the person who did that to her almost normally - albiet angrily! The least she would do is file a case against such a pervertied "rapist".
I enjoyed some parts, though. A good pass time for a once in a life time read.
I would have given this book three stars but I couldn't because of the main characters attitudes after the night they "supposedly" slept together. It really gave the whole book and my enjoyment away. It is something against Laird not to correct Anna's assumption they sleep together straight away just because he was "too angry". She was adament not to see him and for a person who wanted to get closer to her as he claimed, he failed miserably by not revealing this assential truth. Anna was also a strange heroine since no woman would take kindly to being handled totally unconscious and then continue to go along with the person who did that to her almost normally - albiet angrily! The least she would do is file a case against such a pervertied "rapist".
I enjoyed some parts, though. A good pass time for a once in a life time read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2024
I love this one. More realistic than some CL romances and I particularly like the fact that we saw just how vulnerable the H was. Normally we only get that from that h's point of view.
Great secondary characters too especially Parsons 😁 and a lovely romantic read.
OK the last few lines were utterly daft but
I'm still giving it five stars.
Great secondary characters too especially Parsons 😁 and a lovely romantic read.
OK the last few lines were utterly daft but
I'm still giving it five stars.
March 14, 2019
Was just okay.
This one was also set against a theater background, but without the depth of characterization and emotional backstories of her older books like Dark Dominion and Strangers in the Night.
An easy read that made me long for the turmoil of those old vintage books. Sigh.
This one was also set against a theater background, but without the depth of characterization and emotional backstories of her older books like Dark Dominion and Strangers in the Night.
An easy read that made me long for the turmoil of those old vintage books. Sigh.
October 19, 2020
3.5 stars
August 18, 2021
Pleasant story with a very good heroine and a decent hero. The hero's man servant/cook is a hoot who adds humor and shows a different side to the hero.
October 11, 2021
I loved this story. The Hero was surprising tender and protective and sweet but still retained enough alpha characteristics to keep me happy.
The heroine was wonderful; in spite of (or because of) extreme adversity she was strong, driven, and ambitious to be the best in her profession, but still retaining enough sweetness and integrity to be lovable. The H had a lot of vulnerabilities because he had been badly damaged by women in his life, and although the heroine had been starved of love, she was the stronger of the two, willing to take a risk on loving her man. I was really rooting for these two.
Best of all, CL gives some wonderful side characters to this, including an hilarious drunken butler and a shamelessly sly landlady. Can't believe CL packed so much into a short space. She really outclasses so many HP writers.
If I could I would give it 6 stars out of 5!
The heroine was wonderful; in spite of (or because of) extreme adversity she was strong, driven, and ambitious to be the best in her profession, but still retaining enough sweetness and integrity to be lovable. The H had a lot of vulnerabilities because he had been badly damaged by women in his life, and although the heroine had been starved of love, she was the stronger of the two, willing to take a risk on loving her man. I was really rooting for these two.
Best of all, CL gives some wonderful side characters to this, including an hilarious drunken butler and a shamelessly sly landlady. Can't believe CL packed so much into a short space. She really outclasses so many HP writers.
If I could I would give it 6 stars out of 5!
September 8, 2019
All she'd ever needed was love
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
May 14, 2015
Eww. :(
Read
December 31, 2017All she'd ever needed was love
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
Anna Rendle was an aspiring young actress on her way to the top. Her training had prepared her for a life of frenetic discipline, self-sacrifice and controlled emotion--but not for someone as dangerously exciting as Laird Montgomery.
Anna's initial meeting with Laird--even his name sounded phony--made her head spin, made nonsense of her plans for the future.
Getting back on course wasn't easy. It took all Anna's powers to mask her love for him--a love she knew he'd never return.
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