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Bachelor In Paradise
Erin tried to bury her heart in her work
When British author Erin Page went to Florida to interview Jago Miles, star of a TV soap opera, she expected to meet a vain celebrity. Instead, Jago intrigued her.
In spite of his generous salary the bland actor didn't own a car or a house. Wednesdays he disappeared, no one knew where. And from the beginning he declared parts of his life ''off limits'' to Erin's questions.
As she uncovered the truth, Erin was irresistibly attracted to Jago. But, she told herself, emotional involvement would jeopardize her work--and her heart.
When British author Erin Page went to Florida to interview Jago Miles, star of a TV soap opera, she expected to meet a vain celebrity. Instead, Jago intrigued her.
In spite of his generous salary the bland actor didn't own a car or a house. Wednesdays he disappeared, no one knew where. And from the beginning he declared parts of his life ''off limits'' to Erin's questions.
As she uncovered the truth, Erin was irresistibly attracted to Jago. But, she told herself, emotional involvement would jeopardize her work--and her heart.
- GenresHarlequin
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 11, 1986
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 31, 2016
RE Bachelor In Paradise - EO brings us a non-HP HP. The characters are right for the line but the story turns out to be really different, as a lot of EO's work seems to be.
This one features a 30yr old widowed for 7 years English biographer h and a rich, Viking look-alike American actor - (I think EO was channeling Dolph Lundgren's body in Rex Smith's career). They both have secrets and the story revolves around them learning about each other and their hidden depths.
The h is an Oxford grad whose specialty is Edwardian Biographies - but she has a knack for biographical profiles and her second book was about four contemporary women, one of them was a famous British stage actress and the h does not look upon that memory fondly, tho we don't know why.
Her publishers want her to do another biographical profile book, this time featuring four contemporary men and to ensure the high profits on sales that her last contemp book did, they are insisting she include a famous male actor. The actor they chose is a brilliant stage performer, but chucked Broadway to appear in a really OTT daily soap opera that is set in Florida. The h isn't too keen, she kinda figures the H sold out, but she is willing to give it a go to get her book published.
When the book opens, the h has walked into the pool area of the H's home, the gates were wide open and the H is crashed out in a deck chair by the pool. She debates waking him or not, and decides not but then kicks a beer can over and the H jumps up and asks about Suzie.
The h assumes Suzie is a conquest and hesitantly explains that she is there to do his profile. The H isn't listening too well and he gives her a lot of grief before kicking her out. Before the h can go, the H's agent shows up and explains that the h is a very respected writer, and if the H agrees to let her do his bio profile, they will all make a ton of money.
The H is now suddenly interested, the h cynically assumes if there is a profit margin attached, the H is all in - probably to support his lavish lifestyle and multiple liaisons. The h is a professional though and sets up the schedule to interview the H.
Over the days that follow, the h learns the H had a very vagabond life as a child, his parents were free spirits and thought nothing of dragging four kids all over the world and occasionally forgetting where they left them or that they even had them.
This is a far cry from the h's background. Her parents are solid English middle class who have lived in the same village all their lives, she was married to her childhood sweetheart for two years before he died of leukemia and aside from her interviews and a few months in London, the h has lived in the same village in a cottage with a cat.
They seem to be complete opposites in lifestyles and manner, the h is a bit of prude and the H is an outgoing rogue, but they find that both of them have a lot in common in terms of kindness, values and how to treat people. As the interviews go on and they learn more about each other, they develop a friendship that is tinged with a mutual physical attraction.
The H has secrets that he won't tell the h about though. For one, he should be wildly wealthy and yet he isn't and two, he has it written into his contract that he always has Wednesday off and he keeps he whereabouts on Wednesdays a big secret. The h isn't as prudish as she appears either, she has had a wild fling or two and it was all about sex - so she isn't an inexperienced semi-virgin, she went wild for a bit and liked it.
Then the H gets a head injury while on set filming the soap opera. The h takes him to the hospital to make sure it isn't anything serious and the nurse assumes she is there to see the H's young lady. The h can't resist the temptation to find out a bit more, even though she has a few doubts about the H's reaction.
She meets the young lady and it turns out to be the H's sister, who is in a wheelchair permanently. She and the sister start a friendship and the sister explains that there was a bad car wreck and the H has been paying all her medical bills and things for two and a half years. The sister won't say anymore but the h asks the sister's permission to put a bit about her in the H's bio.
The H is in New York for the soap opera and when he returns, he finds out that the h has been hanging out with his sister. The h has a rough draft ready for the bio and the H refuses to let her publish it. He doesn't want his sister mentioned at all and he is furious with the h for pursuing an acquaintance she knew he did not want her to have. He accuses the h of being single-mindedly obsessed with her writing and it makes her think about her real motivations.
The h agrees she has been pursuing her writing at the cost of all else and she apologizes to the H. The h has to rewrite parts of the bio now, but she and the H continue the friendship and get closer. Then the H throws out that he doesn't know what to do about his sister. She wants to get married to a fellow paraplegic and wants the H to buy them a custom built house.
The H can't afford it because he got into serious debt when his sister was in the wreck. The soap opera he was staring in is being shut down and he doesn't know if he can get another acting job, and he doesn't have any formal education to do something else.
The h helps him figure out that he needs to let his sister know his true financial situation and then he can give them a down payment for a house, but the fiance (who works with computers and makes good money), can pay for the rest on his own. That solution works out for everyone and then the H figures out who the h had a passionate fling with.
When the h's husband died, the h was in the middle of her contemporary women bio book. She went to stay with the famous stage actress and got into a very torrid affair with the actress's son, who declared the h was the love of his life.
Then the bio on the actress was finished and the son and actress dropped the h like she was a hot potato. The son and the actress had been using the h to ensure a good profile in her book, but the son married a theatrical agent's daughter two weeks after he dumped the h. The h was used pretty harshly and to top it off, it was only four months after her husband died, so the h has been dragging around a suitcase full of guilt over the whole incident and she was ashamed that she was duped by a physical passion so soon after her husband died.
The H tells her not to beat herself up about it. He tells her that with the trauma of her husband's death, she just needed some physical comfort and sometimes people wind up with people they know aren't good for them because they just work at the time. He says it isn't the end of the world and the h never cheated on her husband, so she has no need for guilt. The h feels a lot better about things and that the H understood her problems and then she seduces the H.
They have a marvelous time and the H tells her she should take all the time she needs to finish sorting herself out and then come back to him. The h goes home and thinks about things for a while and then decides to sell her home and go to Scotland as a tour guide for 6 months while she takes a break from writing.
Her mum isn't happy that the h is breaking out of her confining lifestyle, but the h gently distracts her and gets ready to move on. She has decided not to go back to the H because he has had at least one 3 year relationship and some affairs and he is 36 and never married one of those women. The h assumes he isn't the marrying kind and she isn't really capable of a long term affair.
Then the H shows up while the h is waiting for the gas man so she can finish with her (now sold) house. He complains that the h was taking too long to come back to him and his sister is happily getting ready to move into her less expensive house and planning her wedding. The h is a bit abashed, she had planned to write a Dear H letter and now she has to break it off in person. She starts to tell him she thinks they are better apart, when the H jumps in with why he has never married.
The three year relationship was not a good one, the H was already famous when his sister introduced him to one of her friends who was also an actress. She and the H were together for a bit, but the woman got really angry that the H was actually acting and she caused all kinds of drama and tantrums when she did not get the jobs he did. Her envy was out of control and the H was miserable with her.
The H had enough and tried to end the relationship, but she threatened and then attempted suicide and the H fell for the ploy cause he did not want her death on his conscience. The H wanted to take his sister to Thailand, where he was born and the girlfriend imposed herself on the trip, much against both the H's and the sister's wishes.
While in Thailand, the girlfriend was driving while the sister tried to navigate in a strange country and the H was lying down ill in the back of the car. The girlfriend took the wrong road and a truck hit them broadside. The H's sister wasn't moving and there was no one speaking English around, the H had to coax a ride from the locals to a village, and it took hours for medical help to arrive. The sister had not moved or regained consciousness the whole time and the girlfriend threw terrible fits about the H leaving her with the sister for so long. She then decided that she had to go, as she wasn't really "related or family" to the H and his sister and he has never heard from her since.
So while everyone in the world thought that the H and the actress were this big love affair, the opposite was true. He only tolerated the woman cause of her suicide threats and he did not like her at all. He did the best he could do for his sister and took the soap opera job because he needed a lot of money to pay all the bills to help his sister.
He never met a woman he wanted to marry until he met the h, she is the only one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He firmly believes that marriage should be forever and he waited until he found the woman he could trust and love and that is the h.
The h loves him back just as much and as she is wondering how to get out of her Scottish tour guide job. While she is also trying to figure out how to explain to her mum why her grandchildren are all going to wear baseball caps, the H is getting busy with the lurve attack and demanding an immediate wedding by special license and telling the h that he got a job in the movies, so they won't be poor either. The h is happily planning her lurve counterattack and deciding on a full body H search for a big HEA.
This one was good, the story is pretty nuanced between the H and h learning about each other and actually communicating about themselves and their reactions. Though they both do some hurtful things to each other, they don't go overboard and they actually talk their differences out. Which as we all know is highly unusual in HPlandia - an H and h that actually talk and build a relationship is rarer than unicorns and flying monkeys.
EO makes the story work, even without all the drama. While some parts are pretty sad, the HEA and the romance is really believable, which is why you should read this when you need a break from the wilder shores of the HP line and just want a solid romance with a satisfying HEA.
This one features a 30yr old widowed for 7 years English biographer h and a rich, Viking look-alike American actor - (I think EO was channeling Dolph Lundgren's body in Rex Smith's career). They both have secrets and the story revolves around them learning about each other and their hidden depths.
The h is an Oxford grad whose specialty is Edwardian Biographies - but she has a knack for biographical profiles and her second book was about four contemporary women, one of them was a famous British stage actress and the h does not look upon that memory fondly, tho we don't know why.
Her publishers want her to do another biographical profile book, this time featuring four contemporary men and to ensure the high profits on sales that her last contemp book did, they are insisting she include a famous male actor. The actor they chose is a brilliant stage performer, but chucked Broadway to appear in a really OTT daily soap opera that is set in Florida. The h isn't too keen, she kinda figures the H sold out, but she is willing to give it a go to get her book published.
When the book opens, the h has walked into the pool area of the H's home, the gates were wide open and the H is crashed out in a deck chair by the pool. She debates waking him or not, and decides not but then kicks a beer can over and the H jumps up and asks about Suzie.
The h assumes Suzie is a conquest and hesitantly explains that she is there to do his profile. The H isn't listening too well and he gives her a lot of grief before kicking her out. Before the h can go, the H's agent shows up and explains that the h is a very respected writer, and if the H agrees to let her do his bio profile, they will all make a ton of money.
The H is now suddenly interested, the h cynically assumes if there is a profit margin attached, the H is all in - probably to support his lavish lifestyle and multiple liaisons. The h is a professional though and sets up the schedule to interview the H.
Over the days that follow, the h learns the H had a very vagabond life as a child, his parents were free spirits and thought nothing of dragging four kids all over the world and occasionally forgetting where they left them or that they even had them.
This is a far cry from the h's background. Her parents are solid English middle class who have lived in the same village all their lives, she was married to her childhood sweetheart for two years before he died of leukemia and aside from her interviews and a few months in London, the h has lived in the same village in a cottage with a cat.
They seem to be complete opposites in lifestyles and manner, the h is a bit of prude and the H is an outgoing rogue, but they find that both of them have a lot in common in terms of kindness, values and how to treat people. As the interviews go on and they learn more about each other, they develop a friendship that is tinged with a mutual physical attraction.
The H has secrets that he won't tell the h about though. For one, he should be wildly wealthy and yet he isn't and two, he has it written into his contract that he always has Wednesday off and he keeps he whereabouts on Wednesdays a big secret. The h isn't as prudish as she appears either, she has had a wild fling or two and it was all about sex - so she isn't an inexperienced semi-virgin, she went wild for a bit and liked it.
Then the H gets a head injury while on set filming the soap opera. The h takes him to the hospital to make sure it isn't anything serious and the nurse assumes she is there to see the H's young lady. The h can't resist the temptation to find out a bit more, even though she has a few doubts about the H's reaction.
She meets the young lady and it turns out to be the H's sister, who is in a wheelchair permanently. She and the sister start a friendship and the sister explains that there was a bad car wreck and the H has been paying all her medical bills and things for two and a half years. The sister won't say anymore but the h asks the sister's permission to put a bit about her in the H's bio.
The H is in New York for the soap opera and when he returns, he finds out that the h has been hanging out with his sister. The h has a rough draft ready for the bio and the H refuses to let her publish it. He doesn't want his sister mentioned at all and he is furious with the h for pursuing an acquaintance she knew he did not want her to have. He accuses the h of being single-mindedly obsessed with her writing and it makes her think about her real motivations.
The h agrees she has been pursuing her writing at the cost of all else and she apologizes to the H. The h has to rewrite parts of the bio now, but she and the H continue the friendship and get closer. Then the H throws out that he doesn't know what to do about his sister. She wants to get married to a fellow paraplegic and wants the H to buy them a custom built house.
The H can't afford it because he got into serious debt when his sister was in the wreck. The soap opera he was staring in is being shut down and he doesn't know if he can get another acting job, and he doesn't have any formal education to do something else.
The h helps him figure out that he needs to let his sister know his true financial situation and then he can give them a down payment for a house, but the fiance (who works with computers and makes good money), can pay for the rest on his own. That solution works out for everyone and then the H figures out who the h had a passionate fling with.
When the h's husband died, the h was in the middle of her contemporary women bio book. She went to stay with the famous stage actress and got into a very torrid affair with the actress's son, who declared the h was the love of his life.
Then the bio on the actress was finished and the son and actress dropped the h like she was a hot potato. The son and the actress had been using the h to ensure a good profile in her book, but the son married a theatrical agent's daughter two weeks after he dumped the h. The h was used pretty harshly and to top it off, it was only four months after her husband died, so the h has been dragging around a suitcase full of guilt over the whole incident and she was ashamed that she was duped by a physical passion so soon after her husband died.
The H tells her not to beat herself up about it. He tells her that with the trauma of her husband's death, she just needed some physical comfort and sometimes people wind up with people they know aren't good for them because they just work at the time. He says it isn't the end of the world and the h never cheated on her husband, so she has no need for guilt. The h feels a lot better about things and that the H understood her problems and then she seduces the H.
They have a marvelous time and the H tells her she should take all the time she needs to finish sorting herself out and then come back to him. The h goes home and thinks about things for a while and then decides to sell her home and go to Scotland as a tour guide for 6 months while she takes a break from writing.
Her mum isn't happy that the h is breaking out of her confining lifestyle, but the h gently distracts her and gets ready to move on. She has decided not to go back to the H because he has had at least one 3 year relationship and some affairs and he is 36 and never married one of those women. The h assumes he isn't the marrying kind and she isn't really capable of a long term affair.
Then the H shows up while the h is waiting for the gas man so she can finish with her (now sold) house. He complains that the h was taking too long to come back to him and his sister is happily getting ready to move into her less expensive house and planning her wedding. The h is a bit abashed, she had planned to write a Dear H letter and now she has to break it off in person. She starts to tell him she thinks they are better apart, when the H jumps in with why he has never married.
The three year relationship was not a good one, the H was already famous when his sister introduced him to one of her friends who was also an actress. She and the H were together for a bit, but the woman got really angry that the H was actually acting and she caused all kinds of drama and tantrums when she did not get the jobs he did. Her envy was out of control and the H was miserable with her.
The H had enough and tried to end the relationship, but she threatened and then attempted suicide and the H fell for the ploy cause he did not want her death on his conscience. The H wanted to take his sister to Thailand, where he was born and the girlfriend imposed herself on the trip, much against both the H's and the sister's wishes.
While in Thailand, the girlfriend was driving while the sister tried to navigate in a strange country and the H was lying down ill in the back of the car. The girlfriend took the wrong road and a truck hit them broadside. The H's sister wasn't moving and there was no one speaking English around, the H had to coax a ride from the locals to a village, and it took hours for medical help to arrive. The sister had not moved or regained consciousness the whole time and the girlfriend threw terrible fits about the H leaving her with the sister for so long. She then decided that she had to go, as she wasn't really "related or family" to the H and his sister and he has never heard from her since.
So while everyone in the world thought that the H and the actress were this big love affair, the opposite was true. He only tolerated the woman cause of her suicide threats and he did not like her at all. He did the best he could do for his sister and took the soap opera job because he needed a lot of money to pay all the bills to help his sister.
He never met a woman he wanted to marry until he met the h, she is the only one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He firmly believes that marriage should be forever and he waited until he found the woman he could trust and love and that is the h.
The h loves him back just as much and as she is wondering how to get out of her Scottish tour guide job. While she is also trying to figure out how to explain to her mum why her grandchildren are all going to wear baseball caps, the H is getting busy with the lurve attack and demanding an immediate wedding by special license and telling the h that he got a job in the movies, so they won't be poor either. The h is happily planning her lurve counterattack and deciding on a full body H search for a big HEA.
This one was good, the story is pretty nuanced between the H and h learning about each other and actually communicating about themselves and their reactions. Though they both do some hurtful things to each other, they don't go overboard and they actually talk their differences out. Which as we all know is highly unusual in HPlandia - an H and h that actually talk and build a relationship is rarer than unicorns and flying monkeys.
EO makes the story work, even without all the drama. While some parts are pretty sad, the HEA and the romance is really believable, which is why you should read this when you need a break from the wilder shores of the HP line and just want a solid romance with a satisfying HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2024
Readable story about love and guilt. I like both h and H; both are ultra responsible to the point where they are shortchanging themselves and each other, obsessing about less important, career things in particular to handle guilt.
I appreciate HPs that are full novels, with plot, side characters and setting and this delivers. Too many contemporary HPs omit side characters and setting, replace with contrived angst and bed.
I appreciate HPs that are full novels, with plot, side characters and setting and this delivers. Too many contemporary HPs omit side characters and setting, replace with contrived angst and bed.
dnf
November 14, 2022Cover looks like trump…
September 29, 2023
Considering the book was written in 1980s, its ahead of its times. The h is a widow and has had affairs since then. The H is sensitive and understands the importance of family and communication. The story is well written and well paced with a lot of character growth.
December 11, 2015
Very Beta Hero - just ok
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews