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After Their Vows
Broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage…
Angie de Calvhos meant every word of the vows she shared with husband Roque at the altar. Pity he didn’t return her sincerity… Expecting happy-ever-after, instead Angie found herself going through a mortifyingly public separation!
Now, divorce papers in hand, Angie has finally built up the courage to put an end to her time as a de Calvhos wife once and for all.
But she’s forgotten the magnetic pull that devilish Roque possesses. And that broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage…
Angie de Calvhos meant every word of the vows she shared with husband Roque at the altar. Pity he didn’t return her sincerity… Expecting happy-ever-after, instead Angie found herself going through a mortifyingly public separation!
Now, divorce papers in hand, Angie has finally built up the courage to put an end to her time as a de Calvhos wife once and for all.
But she’s forgotten the magnetic pull that devilish Roque possesses. And that broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage…
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
81 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Reid
388 books637 followersHi, my name is Michelle Reid and I’ve been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
April 8, 2011
The hero was a user, the heroine was weak. The plot centers around a married couple. The heroine has had to raise her brother past debt left by the parents and the constant fear that if she couldn't he'd be taken away. Her brother grew up horribly spoiled and getting into trouble. She spends most of their marriage running after her brother to help him out of some scrape. When the latest happens and she's called down to his school, the hero decides that if she won't tell her brother to shove it, he'll go find someone else to warm him bed for the night. Heroine goes not thinking that he'd actually do it. Instead she realizes that she has been putting her brother first and needs to work on her marriage so turns around. She goes to the party they were supposed to be attending at a club and finds out her husband actually meant it. He's at the party on the dance floor, making out with a model and one step away from having sex with her right on the dance floor. The heroine leaves and has to face all the papers the next morning showing him and the model wrapped around each other going into the model's apartment.
A year later the hero blackmails the heroine back to him using her brother. The heroine falls into lust with him and he considers the fact that because he eventually changed his mind and didn't actually have sex with the model, his character is lily white and he needs to punish the heroine for daring to believe that he would actually have sex with someone else. Yes, how dare she believe that he would have sex with someone else when he had every intention of having sex with someone else, went out and found the someone else, practically had sex with her in public, got himself plastered in the papers as a cheater, never denied it to the press, but it was all her fault for thinking he was capable of it. Apparently she should have lived in a rose tinted world where she didn't have a clue how he really was and just think there was no way he would. His reasoning is moronic and the heroine is no better. Instead of her telling him that a married man shouldn't behave like that, she agrees that if he didn't actually have sex with the model, then he deserved his revenge on her for leaving him. Excuse me? Someone hit these people with a stupid stick. This is about as dumb as believing that it's not cheating if it was just oral sex. And the hero doesn't even realize until over half way through the book that 'maybe' his actions weren't what a married man should be doing. But that's negated by the heroine denying his blame and instead saying of course he would cheat when she was such a lousy wife. So the next time he decides to find someone else, she better just take it to heart that the only reason why he's doing it is because she's a lousy wife and it's her fault. He holds no responsibility for his own actions. And I'm sure there will be a next time.
A year later the hero blackmails the heroine back to him using her brother. The heroine falls into lust with him and he considers the fact that because he eventually changed his mind and didn't actually have sex with the model, his character is lily white and he needs to punish the heroine for daring to believe that he would actually have sex with someone else. Yes, how dare she believe that he would have sex with someone else when he had every intention of having sex with someone else, went out and found the someone else, practically had sex with her in public, got himself plastered in the papers as a cheater, never denied it to the press, but it was all her fault for thinking he was capable of it. Apparently she should have lived in a rose tinted world where she didn't have a clue how he really was and just think there was no way he would. His reasoning is moronic and the heroine is no better. Instead of her telling him that a married man shouldn't behave like that, she agrees that if he didn't actually have sex with the model, then he deserved his revenge on her for leaving him. Excuse me? Someone hit these people with a stupid stick. This is about as dumb as believing that it's not cheating if it was just oral sex. And the hero doesn't even realize until over half way through the book that 'maybe' his actions weren't what a married man should be doing. But that's negated by the heroine denying his blame and instead saying of course he would cheat when she was such a lousy wife. So the next time he decides to find someone else, she better just take it to heart that the only reason why he's doing it is because she's a lousy wife and it's her fault. He holds no responsibility for his own actions. And I'm sure there will be a next time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2025
Re-read. April 2020. I had forgotten so many details about this story that I felt like I was reading it for the first time. On the one hand, it's great to have a "new" Michelle Reid story to read. On the other hand, I will probably forget this story again since it was very generic for a MR story. And back to the first hand - good lord, it's humbling to have such a bad memory. LOL
Supermodel orphaned heroine, saddled with a horrible teenage brother, marries billionaire hero. It all goes south fairly quickly because she is torn between paying attention to her jealous brother or her jealous husband. Hero threatens to have an affair with someone else if she doesn't put him first and she thinks that's happened when she sees him kissing one of her friends from the modeling world. The "friend" also taunts her about the affair.
Heroine is devastated and disappears for a few months without first confronting the hero. Then she picks herself up, goes back to the modeling agency as a receptionist and it is a year later when the story opens. Her brother has taken her credit card and run up gambling debts. The hero refuses to pay unless she gets back together with him. (It's thousands of pounds) and sends her brother off to Brazil to work off his debt. Heroine agrees, but wants to know about the OW. Hero refuses to justify himself - just says it's her fault if he strayed.
The rest of the story depicts how they work out their misunderstandings and find love again. The author did show both sides - but I'm still team heroine all the way. She suffered a lot more than he did - even if he was worried when she was off the radar for a few months.
Supermodel orphaned heroine, saddled with a horrible teenage brother, marries billionaire hero. It all goes south fairly quickly because she is torn between paying attention to her jealous brother or her jealous husband. Hero threatens to have an affair with someone else if she doesn't put him first and she thinks that's happened when she sees him kissing one of her friends from the modeling world. The "friend" also taunts her about the affair.
Heroine is devastated and disappears for a few months without first confronting the hero. Then she picks herself up, goes back to the modeling agency as a receptionist and it is a year later when the story opens. Her brother has taken her credit card and run up gambling debts. The hero refuses to pay unless she gets back together with him. (It's thousands of pounds) and sends her brother off to Brazil to work off his debt. Heroine agrees, but wants to know about the OW. Hero refuses to justify himself - just says it's her fault if he strayed.
The rest of the story depicts how they work out their misunderstandings and find love again. The author did show both sides - but I'm still team heroine all the way. She suffered a lot more than he did - even if he was worried when she was off the radar for a few months.
February 27, 2017
Apparently he was faithful.
Even though he thought about cheating, almost went down on the other woman on public and made out with her in a way that qualifies for grounds for arrest for indecent behaviour.
Because he didn't stick his tool in apparently that's not cheating.
All because heroine had to put her brother before him couple of times! He needs to understand that just because they're married doesn't mean magically he is now the centre of her universe and she'd severe ties with everyone else and will live just to serve him. He wanted to punish her because she failed to act as the ultimate stepford wife!
Well die you bloody fucker comes to mind. Again.
Even though he thought about cheating, almost went down on the other woman on public and made out with her in a way that qualifies for grounds for arrest for indecent behaviour.
Because he didn't stick his tool in apparently that's not cheating.
All because heroine had to put her brother before him couple of times! He needs to understand that just because they're married doesn't mean magically he is now the centre of her universe and she'd severe ties with everyone else and will live just to serve him. He wanted to punish her because she failed to act as the ultimate stepford wife!
Well die you bloody fucker comes to mind. Again.
October 16, 2021
Hello, this is the other me, the therapist.
And this is a case, not a book I’m writing about.
The case of a domestic abuse.
The heroine is a young model that after the death of her parents has always taken care of her younger brother. He’s her only family and he’s a teenager with the issues of every teenager.
She meets a shallow playboy older than her and she marries him after being his mistress for some time.
The man is an abusive manipulator, a narcissist incapable of empathy and love. He expect her to care for nobody but him.
He’s jealous of her brother, of her job, of everything that keeps her from him.
This is typical of narcissists, that have a low self esteem and constantly need the other’s attention to feel safe. A narcissist is only seemingly a self confident person, deep inside he suffers from lack of self esteem.
So he and the heroine constantly fight because he is not the center of her universe and dare love another person, her brother.
After one of their rows he threatens her to go with another woman if she goes to her brother, who was having issues at school.
The heroine leaves then comes back and goes to the party where they both had been invited.
Yes, the big thing he was angry about was a shallow party of who knows who’s-friend of the hero.
And there she sees him making out with one of his former mistresses.
She leaves him.
She receives also a message from said woman who informs her that she had sex with hero and was not the first time.
The heroine was pregnant and lost her child
One year later the heroine asks him for a divorce and he blackmails her with her brother’s welfare: she will come back to him or he will send her teenage brother to jail.
Then he proceeds to demean her, debase her, manipulate her and eventually he will force her to have sex, blatantly tells her he had ow during their separation and basically tells her she’s guilty of everything happened.
He never apologizes.
He didn’t sleep with ow, so apparently she’s guilty for not believing him, even after seeing him making out with ow and seeing their pictures in the newspapers.
He’s a master of manipulation and emotional blackmail.
He uses emotional blackmail to keep her and since she’s a dependent trait of personality, which means she has low self esteem and would go to any lengths to keep her partner, she admits she’s guilty of all, she even admits it was her who pushed him in ow’s arms.
I hated this man with all my soul.
Unfortunately this kind of men exist in real life.
There are different types of abusive partner.
There’s the physical abusive partner, who is a coward, and who succeeds in keeping his victim because she’s afraid to leave.
There’s the emotional and psychological abusive partner who belittle and demeans his victim and this is a sadist and more dangerous than the physical abusive one, because it is based on the loss of self esteem and self confidence of his victim.
It’s easier to get free from a physically abusive man because the victim eventually hates him, and even if she may think she deserves to be treated badly, she eventually can’t stand the physical pain any longer and asks for help.
But a mentally and emotionally abused woman soon loses her self, and is unable to function and becomes dependent on her partner in a dysfunctional and destructive way. She thinks she deserves her abuses and she ends to believe that she is a worthless person.
When she - if she- asks for help, there’s not much of her left, and it’s very difficult to help her restore her self respect, confidence and esteem.
I hated how the writer wants to persuade the readers that actually it’s her fault for what happened and that a man making out with ow is all right.
Of course he cheated.
Of course it was him who was wrong.
He’s an awful person.
A real monster.
The boogeyman of our worst nightmares.
He sucks all the good that is in her, and leaves her with nothing.
When did he ever give her something?
When did he ever care about her suffering?
Did he ever wonder if she was hurt seeing him making out with ow??
No to everything.
He was the more experienced one, he should have cared for her and understood her and to helped her, not emotionally blackmail her.
And if he was not satisfied with their marriage he should have told her and should have asked - eventually- a separation.
He doesn’t love her because a man like this is unable to love anyone.
He only uses blackmail, threatening and forced seduction as a means to keep his wife with him.
Of course he will use this way again.
The saddest thing is that she had his son.
Another tool he will surely use in the future to blackmail her if something in their marriage will not satisfy him.
And please, save me the racist thing that he’s Portuguese, as if it’s a justification for his abject behavior.
I hope nobody consider this book as an example of a couple solving their issues because it’s not.
And this is a case, not a book I’m writing about.
The case of a domestic abuse.
The heroine is a young model that after the death of her parents has always taken care of her younger brother. He’s her only family and he’s a teenager with the issues of every teenager.
She meets a shallow playboy older than her and she marries him after being his mistress for some time.
The man is an abusive manipulator, a narcissist incapable of empathy and love. He expect her to care for nobody but him.
He’s jealous of her brother, of her job, of everything that keeps her from him.
This is typical of narcissists, that have a low self esteem and constantly need the other’s attention to feel safe. A narcissist is only seemingly a self confident person, deep inside he suffers from lack of self esteem.
So he and the heroine constantly fight because he is not the center of her universe and dare love another person, her brother.
After one of their rows he threatens her to go with another woman if she goes to her brother, who was having issues at school.
The heroine leaves then comes back and goes to the party where they both had been invited.
Yes, the big thing he was angry about was a shallow party of who knows who’s-friend of the hero.
And there she sees him making out with one of his former mistresses.
She leaves him.
She receives also a message from said woman who informs her that she had sex with hero and was not the first time.
The heroine was pregnant and lost her child
One year later the heroine asks him for a divorce and he blackmails her with her brother’s welfare: she will come back to him or he will send her teenage brother to jail.
Then he proceeds to demean her, debase her, manipulate her and eventually he will force her to have sex, blatantly tells her he had ow during their separation and basically tells her she’s guilty of everything happened.
He never apologizes.
He didn’t sleep with ow, so apparently she’s guilty for not believing him, even after seeing him making out with ow and seeing their pictures in the newspapers.
He’s a master of manipulation and emotional blackmail.
He uses emotional blackmail to keep her and since she’s a dependent trait of personality, which means she has low self esteem and would go to any lengths to keep her partner, she admits she’s guilty of all, she even admits it was her who pushed him in ow’s arms.
I hated this man with all my soul.
Unfortunately this kind of men exist in real life.
There are different types of abusive partner.
There’s the physical abusive partner, who is a coward, and who succeeds in keeping his victim because she’s afraid to leave.
There’s the emotional and psychological abusive partner who belittle and demeans his victim and this is a sadist and more dangerous than the physical abusive one, because it is based on the loss of self esteem and self confidence of his victim.
It’s easier to get free from a physically abusive man because the victim eventually hates him, and even if she may think she deserves to be treated badly, she eventually can’t stand the physical pain any longer and asks for help.
But a mentally and emotionally abused woman soon loses her self, and is unable to function and becomes dependent on her partner in a dysfunctional and destructive way. She thinks she deserves her abuses and she ends to believe that she is a worthless person.
When she - if she- asks for help, there’s not much of her left, and it’s very difficult to help her restore her self respect, confidence and esteem.
I hated how the writer wants to persuade the readers that actually it’s her fault for what happened and that a man making out with ow is all right.
Of course he cheated.
Of course it was him who was wrong.
He’s an awful person.
A real monster.
The boogeyman of our worst nightmares.
He sucks all the good that is in her, and leaves her with nothing.
When did he ever give her something?
When did he ever care about her suffering?
Did he ever wonder if she was hurt seeing him making out with ow??
No to everything.
He was the more experienced one, he should have cared for her and understood her and to helped her, not emotionally blackmail her.
And if he was not satisfied with their marriage he should have told her and should have asked - eventually- a separation.
He doesn’t love her because a man like this is unable to love anyone.
He only uses blackmail, threatening and forced seduction as a means to keep his wife with him.
Of course he will use this way again.
The saddest thing is that she had his son.
Another tool he will surely use in the future to blackmail her if something in their marriage will not satisfy him.
And please, save me the racist thing that he’s Portuguese, as if it’s a justification for his abject behavior.
I hope nobody consider this book as an example of a couple solving their issues because it’s not.
November 5, 2011
I enjoy most of Michelle Reid's books but this one just didn't work for me.
Angie, a former supermodel is a bit of a cardboard heroine. Yes, she's gorgeous, cares for her stupid brother and is still in love with her husband - the gorgeous feckless Roque. He's a real jerk in my opinion...what kind of man goes to fashion shows and involves himself only with models....right!!!!!! His behaviour towards Angie is so not there.....i wanted to hit him on the head.....
She let him walk all over her...what a worthless guy.
I don't know where the authors find names for their characters but being Portuguese I have never met a Portuguese man with a name of Roque....where did she find it???? and the surname Calvhos - nowhere in the portuguese language have I ever seen a word with vh in it.....well I guess it is only a story after all......author licence and all that.
Not one of my favourite Michelle Reid's books but I will read others of hers in the future.
Angie, a former supermodel is a bit of a cardboard heroine. Yes, she's gorgeous, cares for her stupid brother and is still in love with her husband - the gorgeous feckless Roque. He's a real jerk in my opinion...what kind of man goes to fashion shows and involves himself only with models....right!!!!!! His behaviour towards Angie is so not there.....i wanted to hit him on the head.....
She let him walk all over her...what a worthless guy.
I don't know where the authors find names for their characters but being Portuguese I have never met a Portuguese man with a name of Roque....where did she find it???? and the surname Calvhos - nowhere in the portuguese language have I ever seen a word with vh in it.....well I guess it is only a story after all......author licence and all that.
Not one of my favourite Michelle Reid's books but I will read others of hers in the future.
June 16, 2011
This is the story of Angie and Roque, they have been separated for a year after it was reported in the press that Roque had slept with another woman. Angie, a former model, has spent most off her adult life raising her younger brother and fighting to keep them out of debt. After she had married Roque she constantly felt torn between her troublesome brother, her career and Roque. Deeply heartbroken by Roque's betrayal she had retreated for a while then quit modelling to take up a regular job with her former agent. She was unaware that her brother had been stealing from Roque using one of her credit cards. When Roque finds out about this he uses it as blackmail in order to have Angie come back to him.
If you read my reviews regularly you will probably know two things about me by now. The first is that I'm pretty easy to please, most of the time a book just needs pages and I'll like it (!). The second thing is that I don't like being overly negative, so I will try and contain my frustrations about certain elements of this book. So, lets start on a positive note; as is expected of Michelle Reid's books the writing is really good, especially when it comes to describing and setting the scene.
OK so here is the stuff I didn't like. The premise of the story is samey, it's something that has been done many, many times before, and this has all the typical elements - playboy husband, false accusations of infidelity, blackmail to make the woman fall in line etc, etc. It's been done and it has been done much better than this. The next thing I'm going to talk about is what really killed my enjoyment. It raises the question of 'what constitutes as an act of infidelity?' To me any act of intimacy with someone other than your spouse/partner is infidelity, that includes kissing, embracing, sex etc. In this book the hero was caught passionately kissing another woman yet thinks he has been wrongfully accused of being a cheater because he didn't sleep with the other woman. He punishes the heroine for believing he cheated, but to my mind HE DID CHEAT! Infidelity, to me, is a no-no in books unless it had solid reasons and written with sensitivity, this is not the case with this book. If you take these things and add a rather cruel hero, a doormat heroine, a crow bared in miscarriage mentioned once, then a pregnancy that happens despite a condom and the pill (super sperm!) and you are left with a book that, unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
If you read my reviews regularly you will probably know two things about me by now. The first is that I'm pretty easy to please, most of the time a book just needs pages and I'll like it (!). The second thing is that I don't like being overly negative, so I will try and contain my frustrations about certain elements of this book. So, lets start on a positive note; as is expected of Michelle Reid's books the writing is really good, especially when it comes to describing and setting the scene.
OK so here is the stuff I didn't like. The premise of the story is samey, it's something that has been done many, many times before, and this has all the typical elements - playboy husband, false accusations of infidelity, blackmail to make the woman fall in line etc, etc. It's been done and it has been done much better than this. The next thing I'm going to talk about is what really killed my enjoyment. It raises the question of 'what constitutes as an act of infidelity?' To me any act of intimacy with someone other than your spouse/partner is infidelity, that includes kissing, embracing, sex etc. In this book the hero was caught passionately kissing another woman yet thinks he has been wrongfully accused of being a cheater because he didn't sleep with the other woman. He punishes the heroine for believing he cheated, but to my mind HE DID CHEAT! Infidelity, to me, is a no-no in books unless it had solid reasons and written with sensitivity, this is not the case with this book. If you take these things and add a rather cruel hero, a doormat heroine, a crow bared in miscarriage mentioned once, then a pregnancy that happens despite a condom and the pill (super sperm!) and you are left with a book that, unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
February 19, 2022
But it was well-written and passionate.
April 15, 2017
lousy hero!!the hero has every intention of cheating on his wife and goes half way into cheating by kissing another woman passionately and then has a change of mind!!and all this because the poor hero always wants to be the centre of the universe and couldnt tolerate when heroine gives importance to her brother !!wow what a crybaby!!I think he needs a doting nanny not a wife!the hero blaming the heroine for straying and heroine clamly accepting it was just too much.moreover I hate the double standards when the hero says he would have thrown the heroine out of his life if he saw her kissing another man but wants the heroine to accept him for doing the same!yuck!!also I feel the heroine's miscarriage was glossed over, the hero should have suffered!!
May 1, 2018
“After the Vows” is the story of Angie and Roque.
An estranged couple reunites because of the reasons they initially separated- his alleged cheating and her ott devotion to her younger brother.
Honestly, the couple barely communicated anywhere except the bed and I didn’t like their method of resolving their marital issues.
This started out very strong, but dwindled somewhere around 50% mark. I didn’t like the hero, neither was the heroine strong.
SWE
1.5/5
An estranged couple reunites because of the reasons they initially separated- his alleged cheating and her ott devotion to her younger brother.
Honestly, the couple barely communicated anywhere except the bed and I didn’t like their method of resolving their marital issues.
This started out very strong, but dwindled somewhere around 50% mark. I didn’t like the hero, neither was the heroine strong.
SWE
1.5/5
September 28, 2011
Overwritten, overwrought, yet still boring, who’d have thunk it. There are snippets of an interesting story here, but it’s mostly drowned in endless bickering and accusations.
What I liked: both characters have faults. The breakdown between Roque and Angie’s marriage is partially caused by his threat to be unfaithful -- which Angie refuses to believe he didn’t carry out -- but also by Angie constantly putting her feckless younger brother ahead of her marriage. Roque thinks ruefully about Angie’s “fierce ability to love unconditionally -- so long as your name was Alex, not Roque” and he’s quite right... she’s willing to accept and forgive any amount of bad treatment from her brother, but refuses to even listen to her husband.
And Roque, at least, shows some intelligence and growth. I enjoyed this line, which follows the heroine having a bout of vomiting: “Roque viewed her pinched pallor from the taut position of a man who was recalling the times he had cut it too fine with the use of a condom.” By category romance standards, that practically makes him Einstein. He's also concerned about possible pregnancy for noble reasons: because Angie is so young and "had been a mother to her brother for six years of her life. She deserved a break -- a chance to learn how to be Angie." Unfortunately, the heroine continues to court Big Misunderstandings as if they were her best friend.
There was enough good points in the second half that I wasn't really sorry I'd finished it, but overall, blah and not the story it could have been.
What I liked: both characters have faults. The breakdown between Roque and Angie’s marriage is partially caused by his threat to be unfaithful -- which Angie refuses to believe he didn’t carry out -- but also by Angie constantly putting her feckless younger brother ahead of her marriage. Roque thinks ruefully about Angie’s “fierce ability to love unconditionally -- so long as your name was Alex, not Roque” and he’s quite right... she’s willing to accept and forgive any amount of bad treatment from her brother, but refuses to even listen to her husband.
And Roque, at least, shows some intelligence and growth. I enjoyed this line, which follows the heroine having a bout of vomiting: “Roque viewed her pinched pallor from the taut position of a man who was recalling the times he had cut it too fine with the use of a condom.” By category romance standards, that practically makes him Einstein. He's also concerned about possible pregnancy for noble reasons: because Angie is so young and "had been a mother to her brother for six years of her life. She deserved a break -- a chance to learn how to be Angie." Unfortunately, the heroine continues to court Big Misunderstandings as if they were her best friend.
There was enough good points in the second half that I wasn't really sorry I'd finished it, but overall, blah and not the story it could have been.
Read
April 10, 2020Warning: major spoilers ahead!
I am conflicted about this one. I actually really liked the story overall. I thought both hero and heroine were well-developed and interesting.
However. However, I have a MASSIVE problem with the fact that the hero equated Angie driving away from his house with him CHEATING on her with another woman. And yes, I consider Roque kissing another woman in a club cheating. Abso-freakin-lutely cheating. In fact, Roque admits that if he had found Angie making out with a guy in the same circumstance he would have gone ballistic and broken up with her.
So, if she had done the same thing, he would have thrown her out.
But, he did it and he equates it with her going off to see her brother?
He says that Angie driving away, then changing her mind, turning around, and coming back to him was the SAME THING as him making out with a woman at a club, and then deciding not to sleep with her.
Oh. My. God.
WHA????? Sorry. That is complete and utter bull pucky.
If I knew how to add a volcano gif to this review, I would do it. But I can't. So just imagine...VOLCANO EXPLODING! Hee hee.
Also, one more thing. Her miscarriage was a major trauma for her, and it was never really discussed between the two of them. At least, not "on page" for the reader to see. That was irksome. We needed some emotional resolution from that scenario. That was a major fail for me.
So, I'm not really sure how to rate this. Let's just leave it at...well-written, interesting characters, sexy chemistry, but unfortunately, some very frustrating moments.
I am conflicted about this one. I actually really liked the story overall. I thought both hero and heroine were well-developed and interesting.
However. However, I have a MASSIVE problem with the fact that the hero equated Angie driving away from his house with him CHEATING on her with another woman. And yes, I consider Roque kissing another woman in a club cheating. Abso-freakin-lutely cheating. In fact, Roque admits that if he had found Angie making out with a guy in the same circumstance he would have gone ballistic and broken up with her.
So, if she had done the same thing, he would have thrown her out.
But, he did it and he equates it with her going off to see her brother?
He says that Angie driving away, then changing her mind, turning around, and coming back to him was the SAME THING as him making out with a woman at a club, and then deciding not to sleep with her.
Oh. My. God.
WHA????? Sorry. That is complete and utter bull pucky.
If I knew how to add a volcano gif to this review, I would do it. But I can't. So just imagine...VOLCANO EXPLODING! Hee hee.
Also, one more thing. Her miscarriage was a major trauma for her, and it was never really discussed between the two of them. At least, not "on page" for the reader to see. That was irksome. We needed some emotional resolution from that scenario. That was a major fail for me.
So, I'm not really sure how to rate this. Let's just leave it at...well-written, interesting characters, sexy chemistry, but unfortunately, some very frustrating moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2017
Like most of Michelle Reid`s books,i also enjoyed this one.
With it`s angsty,hot romance and the sizzling chemistry between the main-characters i was just breathing in every scene with the two of them together.
Most people has given this book negative reviews and i understand completely why.But i also understand the reason for the main-characters of doing it.
You just have to dig deeper into the characters and understand their motives and emotions in the past,and that`s exactly what i did.
Roque (i love the name) is a typical hero of Michelle Reid.He is an arrogant as-hole and he is actually the most arrogant i have met so far,cuz he knew exactly how he effected the heroine and he used it to win.
Haha,i actually laughed every time he did it too.He is strong-minded and macho but easily make mistakes too,which is the ground to the love he feels for his wife.
I love their journey to get back to each other.
With it`s angsty,hot romance and the sizzling chemistry between the main-characters i was just breathing in every scene with the two of them together.
Most people has given this book negative reviews and i understand completely why.But i also understand the reason for the main-characters of doing it.
You just have to dig deeper into the characters and understand their motives and emotions in the past,and that`s exactly what i did.
Roque (i love the name) is a typical hero of Michelle Reid.He is an arrogant as-hole and he is actually the most arrogant i have met so far,cuz he knew exactly how he effected the heroine and he used it to win.
Haha,i actually laughed every time he did it too.He is strong-minded and macho but easily make mistakes too,which is the ground to the love he feels for his wife.
I love their journey to get back to each other.
April 19, 2017
I normally enjoy this author but I hated this book. The hero was an arsehole! All he did was hurt her and lie to her, then explain it away like oh well, it's because I'm a man and Portuguese. The heroine forgave him way too quickly, and i absolutely hate it when the trouble-making OW gets a happy ending!!
April 19, 2016
angst in slow motion (you get very vivid descriptions of exactly how the H and h are feeling/ their body language/ their physical gestures, etc to accompany the dialogue) is what Michelle Reid does best and this book is testament to her talent. It's like watching one of those movies that keep the camera rolling from one scene to the next without a perceptible 'cut'.The intensity between the couple was breathtaking and you see them having some very 'real' fights and misgivings with natural responses - as in their conversations sounded like something that would occur between a real life couple going through a bad patch in their relationship.
The H (Roque) and the h (Angie) are an estranged husband and wife duo who really love each other but are torn apart due to misunderstandings and third party influences ( like the h's super spoilt kid brother) and a basic inability to communicate and take each other's issues seriously. They both have valid reasons to be angry with each other- although, nothing that they couldn't have resolved by coming clean about what actually happened. So, the whole story is about that - how they re-build their marriage after a year apart; how they learn to trust each other again; how they fall in love again; and boy, was it intense! That's the thing about Reid's romances. Interactions between the couple are of paramount importance, so much so; when you read about them, it's very easy to feel cocooned in their world where emotions are always running high and the attraction is sizzling. The secondary characters seem only incidental and have no real role in the plot (not even the OW who caused so much trouble between Roque and Angie).
Eventually of course, the H and the h resolve their issues and get back to being happily married (minus distractions) via proper communication and all is as it should be in Harlequin land! However, the fact that the ending seemed a little too rushed - in comparison to the much slower paced chapters that made up the beginning and the middle- and I've read better stuff from this author, I can only give this one 3 stars. Still, this was a decent read.
The H (Roque) and the h (Angie) are an estranged husband and wife duo who really love each other but are torn apart due to misunderstandings and third party influences ( like the h's super spoilt kid brother) and a basic inability to communicate and take each other's issues seriously. They both have valid reasons to be angry with each other- although, nothing that they couldn't have resolved by coming clean about what actually happened. So, the whole story is about that - how they re-build their marriage after a year apart; how they learn to trust each other again; how they fall in love again; and boy, was it intense! That's the thing about Reid's romances. Interactions between the couple are of paramount importance, so much so; when you read about them, it's very easy to feel cocooned in their world where emotions are always running high and the attraction is sizzling. The secondary characters seem only incidental and have no real role in the plot (not even the OW who caused so much trouble between Roque and Angie).
Eventually of course, the H and the h resolve their issues and get back to being happily married (minus distractions) via proper communication and all is as it should be in Harlequin land! However, the fact that the ending seemed a little too rushed - in comparison to the much slower paced chapters that made up the beginning and the middle- and I've read better stuff from this author, I can only give this one 3 stars. Still, this was a decent read.
February 25, 2017
Angie was utterly incapable of dealing with her thieving brother, and no wonder, being a wimpy ostrich coward. When faced with a problem, she's totally "cool" and "English" (translation: da Nile ain't just a river in Egypt). I didn't hate her, but her inability to handle her younger brother in a remotely intelligent way was exasperating, and she really pushed the "fragile, breakable, wounded" thing pretty damn far, although granted she had good cause to want to protect herself.
Surprisingly, I liked Roque, although of course it was enraging that he cheated on his wife. But, junkie, he didn't actually cheat! Well in my eyes, a married man making out with his ex-girlfriend on a crowded dance floor with their bodies plastered together and his hands gripping her ass, with no regard to photographers and leaving his wife open to public humiliation, speculation, and ridicule, is cheating. So at first I was ready to wreck him, what with his righteous fury at being labeled a cheater when he hadn't actually slept with Nadia, and his blaming of Angie for pushing him away. I mean, how slimy can you get! However, later on he came around and realized he hadn't been totally innocent, and I actually forgave him when he fully acknowledged his transgressions and he told Angie that he'd behaved badly and been a lousy husband to her. Contrarily, I was mad at Angie for volte-facing and saying she'd forced him to do it. Woman! Just take his apology! Don't tell him it was your fault he cheated!! Gawd.
By the end Roque was racing around trying to make sure Angie didn't hurt herself or run away whenever something came up that might bruise her fragile feelings, and that was fun although I'm not sure I like it when the H is totally aware of the h's extreme emotional vulnerability. Still, very entertaining with a happy little epilogue to tie it all up.
Surprisingly, I liked Roque, although of course it was enraging that he cheated on his wife. But, junkie, he didn't actually cheat! Well in my eyes, a married man making out with his ex-girlfriend on a crowded dance floor with their bodies plastered together and his hands gripping her ass, with no regard to photographers and leaving his wife open to public humiliation, speculation, and ridicule, is cheating. So at first I was ready to wreck him, what with his righteous fury at being labeled a cheater when he hadn't actually slept with Nadia, and his blaming of Angie for pushing him away. I mean, how slimy can you get! However, later on he came around and realized he hadn't been totally innocent, and I actually forgave him when he fully acknowledged his transgressions and he told Angie that he'd behaved badly and been a lousy husband to her. Contrarily, I was mad at Angie for volte-facing and saying she'd forced him to do it. Woman! Just take his apology! Don't tell him it was your fault he cheated!! Gawd.
By the end Roque was racing around trying to make sure Angie didn't hurt herself or run away whenever something came up that might bruise her fragile feelings, and that was fun although I'm not sure I like it when the H is totally aware of the h's extreme emotional vulnerability. Still, very entertaining with a happy little epilogue to tie it all up.
February 11, 2016
This is a trope Michelle Reid has done several times with good effect. My favourite is Lost in Love which gave me all the feels. The Man Who Risked it All is similar but with the hero being unfaithful while they were apart which was a bit of a downer.
This story takes up a year after Angie leaves Roque. They were lovers and then married but her younger brother kept causing problems and every time, Angie would choose helping her brother over her loyalty to her husband. She was left with the responsibility of a 13 year old brother when she was only seventeen along with a mountain of debt and this has impacted on the way Angie reacts to everything, including her husband.
Roque made a big mistake a year ago, pushing Angie to choose and threatening to go to another woman if his wife insisted on chasing after her brother again. Furious at being abandoned again, he went out with an ex and ended up with a major scandal on his hands and a wife who walked away and vanished for months.
Now he's decided it's time and little brother has played into his hands by racking up an enormous debt on one of Angie's unused credit cards linked to Roque's account.
Now we might think Roque deserved all he got and the way he treats Angie unforgivable, but we are given a clue early in the book, before he takes action. He quotes a Portuguese proverb which says "Hope is the last one to die." For me, that was enough to trust him in connection to his campaign to get Angie back.
I enjoyed the story. I've read it before, before I started doing reviews so it was a reread. I remember loving it and I haven't changed my mind. Not the best of the authors books, but a solid read for me on a trope I love.
This story takes up a year after Angie leaves Roque. They were lovers and then married but her younger brother kept causing problems and every time, Angie would choose helping her brother over her loyalty to her husband. She was left with the responsibility of a 13 year old brother when she was only seventeen along with a mountain of debt and this has impacted on the way Angie reacts to everything, including her husband.
Roque made a big mistake a year ago, pushing Angie to choose and threatening to go to another woman if his wife insisted on chasing after her brother again. Furious at being abandoned again, he went out with an ex and ended up with a major scandal on his hands and a wife who walked away and vanished for months.
Now he's decided it's time and little brother has played into his hands by racking up an enormous debt on one of Angie's unused credit cards linked to Roque's account.
Now we might think Roque deserved all he got and the way he treats Angie unforgivable, but we are given a clue early in the book, before he takes action. He quotes a Portuguese proverb which says "Hope is the last one to die." For me, that was enough to trust him in connection to his campaign to get Angie back.
I enjoyed the story. I've read it before, before I started doing reviews so it was a reread. I remember loving it and I haven't changed my mind. Not the best of the authors books, but a solid read for me on a trope I love.
June 7, 2011
I like Michelle Reid's earlier stuff A Question of Prideremains one of my favorites by her because I thought it was quite intelligently written. But this one was really ...ugh.
The husband, Roque, was immature, possessive...all 'stop helping your brother or I will go sleep with another woman.'
The wife Angie was all weepy and pathetic and had the backbone of a noodle.
The younger brother was a user.
Angie left Roque b/c she thinks he cheated on her and disappeared for a year. He wants her back so he blackmails her using her loser brother as a threat. She hates him! She wants him! They fight, hurling bitter insults at each other all the while lusting for each other. He smirks a lot, she trembles a lot. This happens a lot.
All of this was interspersed with loving descriptions of Roque's Billionaire lifestyle and multiple ways of describing Supermodel Angie's abundant, fiery red curls.
Yawn.
The husband, Roque, was immature, possessive...all 'stop helping your brother or I will go sleep with another woman.'
The wife Angie was all weepy and pathetic and had the backbone of a noodle.
The younger brother was a user.
Angie left Roque b/c she thinks he cheated on her and disappeared for a year. He wants her back so he blackmails her using her loser brother as a threat. She hates him! She wants him! They fight, hurling bitter insults at each other all the while lusting for each other. He smirks a lot, she trembles a lot. This happens a lot.
All of this was interspersed with loving descriptions of Roque's Billionaire lifestyle and multiple ways of describing Supermodel Angie's abundant, fiery red curls.
Yawn.
June 13, 2020
Just no! The hero was scum, who seemed to think kissing another woman was not cheating. He was narcissistic and delusional to an extreme. He thought he deserved revenge because the wife left him without hearing his side of the story? He told her he was going to find a woman to replace her, she caught him groping another woman with his tongue down her throat, he then was pictured going back with the woman to her apartment, and the OW left a voicemail on the heroine’s phone confirming his infidelity (apparently lies), but she was suppose for trust him? Also the comparison of her going to visit her manipulative brother, to him cheating was just beyond gross. Also not a fan at all of the nasty OW getting a happy ending and a baby after wrecking yet another marriage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2016
A good read.....lots of drama and passion.
One arrogant sexy rich playboy catches sight of lovely sweet model and falls in lust. She keeps turning him down because he is involved with another model. Intrigued he offers his help when she needs it and they talk. Finding out his is not involved with the other woman frees her passion.....they have a wild affair. Being a possessive latin man he needs claim her so he marries her.
Both have fiery tempers which leads to heated verbal exchanges and some passionate makeup sessions until one night his judgement gets clouded and he makes a fatal mistake in her eyes......so she leaves.
One year passes and she decides to divorce his cheating ass. He is still as arrogant as before and tells her no then blackmails her back into marriage. They both have trust issues, stubborness, passion, love, and secrets.....can they make it?
Both characters are pretty real and both were hurt by him kissing his ex (cheating is cheating no matter what the excuse is) and her leaving. She needed to lick her wounds and decide what to do and for him to be pissed about this is stupid as it was his own fault. He does man up and take the blame when he discovers how much he hurt her and how much they lost. She too grows up and realizes she needs to start putting him first as he is needy too. All in all a well done passionate/emotional read.
One arrogant sexy rich playboy catches sight of lovely sweet model and falls in lust. She keeps turning him down because he is involved with another model. Intrigued he offers his help when she needs it and they talk. Finding out his is not involved with the other woman frees her passion.....they have a wild affair. Being a possessive latin man he needs claim her so he marries her.
Both have fiery tempers which leads to heated verbal exchanges and some passionate makeup sessions until one night his judgement gets clouded and he makes a fatal mistake in her eyes......so she leaves.
One year passes and she decides to divorce his cheating ass. He is still as arrogant as before and tells her no then blackmails her back into marriage. They both have trust issues, stubborness, passion, love, and secrets.....can they make it?
Both characters are pretty real and both were hurt by him kissing his ex (cheating is cheating no matter what the excuse is) and her leaving. She needed to lick her wounds and decide what to do and for him to be pissed about this is stupid as it was his own fault. He does man up and take the blame when he discovers how much he hurt her and how much they lost. She too grows up and realizes she needs to start putting him first as he is needy too. All in all a well done passionate/emotional read.
January 10, 2022
I found this compulsively readable in the way the best Presents novels are, but ultimately the couple did not shine. Heroine should have ditched the husband and the brother and lived her own life.
March 1, 2022
Never been able to read this one past a few pages. Something is missing. For me.
Now I read reviews and find it has a narcissistic hero. Ugh. Nope.
Now I read reviews and find it has a narcissistic hero. Ugh. Nope.
April 26, 2016
This guy... wow, this guy. I don't even know what to say. You know you get those people who, no matter their own actions, always see themselves as the wronged party? And they spend their lives being the perpetual victim, whining about how unfair life is and listing their many difficulties like they're the only person to ever suffer? Well here's a good rule of thumb for romance writers: those types don't make good Heroes. They are by their very nature whiny. And whiny guys aren't hot.
This is one of the worst romances I've ever read. Which sucks, because Michelle Reid is normally awesome.
This is one of the worst romances I've ever read. Which sucks, because Michelle Reid is normally awesome.
February 24, 2013
i do not know why the book got so many bad reviews because i really liked it. but then i always enjoy books by michelle. anyway coming back to the book. from the 1st page itself, i really thought roque had been unfaithful. and he was forgiven (by me at least) because it was clear he loved his wife very very much. and infidelity can happen to the best of couples. frustration and anger can drive you to do things like that. but roque did not do it. he had intended but he stopped himself..he was lucky he came to his senses. great read..showed how infidelity destroyed angie. how she dropped from being a famous top model to a receptionist. how she hid for months and miscarried. how she was angry when she got back with roque and fighted against his love making. how she had difficulty trusting him again. and roque's emotions also touched me. he was furious because his wife did not give him benefit of the doubt, did not ask him if he indeed cheated. he was worried to death when she went missing for months, where was she, had anything happened her. so when he had her back, he did not tell her that he had not slept with nadia. he let her think he had cheated and still got her back in his bed. so he had his redemption. intense read. hats off michelle you described all these emotions poignantly. i did not give it a 5 star however because my favourite of your books is still "mia and the powerful geek"
January 26, 2022
Reread
September, 2020
September, 2020
I still like it, but not love it too much like other ones by this author. I believe he wanted to get her wife back, but I missed his confirmation of celibacy (if someone has any confirmartion of that, let me know in the comments). The epilogue is always a "plus" for me.
The first time I read it I gave the book 4 stars, but I think 3.5 is OK.
April 21, 2014
Good read but not as well written and intense as other MR books!
September 23, 2021
I love a besotted H and the blackmail trope in a HP.
January 16, 2022
Lots of reviews for this one….Stmargarets gives a fine overview of this book(and she is actually the one who introduced me to Michelle Reids many fine books) So you can read that review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Quickly: The h becomes guardian of her 13 year old brother when their parents died(she was all of 17) It is a case of the ole’ “sparing the rod, spoils the child” saying. Anyhoo, her spoiled brother caused lots of issues with her marriage(a marriage that took place within 3 months of meeting the H). Then the H caused the final blow to their already passionate but fragile marriage. The h takes off for a year. She is now back and serves the divorce papers to the H. Our H has been biding his time for the last year, and now it is his turn to show the h that he is the alpha in the relationship and she doesn’t just get to end the marriage….So this is pretty much where the story begins for this 2nd chance romance with angst thrown throughout. It is better than lots of HPs, but probably not MR’s best on the angst meter!
Quickly: The h becomes guardian of her 13 year old brother when their parents died(she was all of 17) It is a case of the ole’ “sparing the rod, spoils the child” saying. Anyhoo, her spoiled brother caused lots of issues with her marriage(a marriage that took place within 3 months of meeting the H). Then the H caused the final blow to their already passionate but fragile marriage. The h takes off for a year. She is now back and serves the divorce papers to the H. Our H has been biding his time for the last year, and now it is his turn to show the h that he is the alpha in the relationship and she doesn’t just get to end the marriage….So this is pretty much where the story begins for this 2nd chance romance with angst thrown throughout. It is better than lots of HPs, but probably not MR’s best on the angst meter!
March 4, 2011
Reid is one 'Presents' author I have a "can't wait for christmas" book wish. I've always had a fascination with Michelle Reid's voice. I can count on an adult/mature take in her highly emotional stories. This one is no different. I loved that her heroine is the one struggling in a very real character arc/growth. The hero with his own issues has the inner strength and love to carry her through her journey. Stellar story telling as always.
My next question is... Michelle when is your next book? I CAN'T wait!
My next question is... Michelle when is your next book? I CAN'T wait!
June 4, 2021
Broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage…
Angie de Calvhos meant every word of the vows she shared with husband Roque at the altar. Pity he didn’t return her sincerity… Expecting happy-ever-after, instead Angie found herself going through a mortifyingly public separation!
Now, divorce papers in hand, Angie has finally built up the courage to put an end to her time as a de Calvhos wife once and for all.
But she’s forgotten the magnetic pull that devilish Roque possesses. And that broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage
Angie de Calvhos meant every word of the vows she shared with husband Roque at the altar. Pity he didn’t return her sincerity… Expecting happy-ever-after, instead Angie found herself going through a mortifyingly public separation!
Now, divorce papers in hand, Angie has finally built up the courage to put an end to her time as a de Calvhos wife once and for all.
But she’s forgotten the magnetic pull that devilish Roque possesses. And that broken vows don’t necessarily mean a broken marriage
August 9, 2023
3.5 to 4. Not bad. It has almost the same trope as Lost in Love which is one of my favourites.
Husband behaving badly because his wife has other priorities like a brother or career so the marriage is neglected. It sounds shallow but Michelle Reid does a good job working this angle.
Lots of angst and heartbreak before they finally get their happy ever after.
Lost in Love was still the better book.
Husband behaving badly because his wife has other priorities like a brother or career so the marriage is neglected. It sounds shallow but Michelle Reid does a good job working this angle.
Lots of angst and heartbreak before they finally get their happy ever after.
Lost in Love was still the better book.
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