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Clouded Rapture
Sari had only herself to blame
She'd known what kind of man Brent Holding was. Hadn't he warned her that lasting relationships did not interest him?
"I dislike ties of any kind," the handsome sophisticate had told her when they first met.
But still Sari fell in love with him. She tried to exclude him from her life, but failed. Unknowingly, she presented a challenge to Brent, and she found her already weakened defenses could not withstand the onslaught of his persuasive seduction.
She'd known what kind of man Brent Holding was. Hadn't he warned her that lasting relationships did not interest him?
"I dislike ties of any kind," the handsome sophisticate had told her when they first met.
But still Sari fell in love with him. She tried to exclude him from her life, but failed. Unknowingly, she presented a challenge to Brent, and she found her already weakened defenses could not withstand the onslaught of his persuasive seduction.
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
3 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Pargeter
104 books75 followersMargaret Pargeter was a popular writer of 50 romance novels in Mills & Boon from 1975 to 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 2, 2018
Watch out. Train is coming down the tracks. Hero is 35, Heroine is 19.
Triggers: forced seduction, painful first time, hero slaps heroine in a fit of jealousy. Will this story wreck? You decide:
Heroine is living and working on one of the hero's properties, a farm in the Cotswolds that her brother manages. Hero had sent his young half-Italian cousin to spend time of the farm and cousin falls in love with the heroine and is convinced he must marry her. Upon hearing this news, the hero dispatches cousin to relatives in Italy and arrives at the farm with a glamorous OW in tow to inspect this golddigging Jezebel.
Heroine immediately falls in lust and is unable to complete sentences or tell all of a story. This leads to many, many misunderstanding. Hero sends the OW away the next morning in order to clear his head about the heroine. But he is obviously smitten after the first punishing kiss. (Reviewer's note: He accuses the heroine of using the cat to lure men into her bedroom. He obviously doesn't know that you can't *use* a cat. They do what they want). Anyhoo, he leaves and returns after a few days so the heroine has time to moon over him.
They go out a few times and the heroine declares her love. Hero is disconcerted, but that doesn't stop the ravishing kisses. Heroine just decides to own her feelings.
However, when the cousin calls and the hero completely misunderstands the heroine's side of the conversation, all bets are off. Out of a fit of jealousy, the hero forcibly seduces her and is surprised to find his 19 year-old Jezebel a virgin. Heroine was with him all the way until it hurt. Hero is ashamed of himself and pushes her away so forcefully that she hits her head on the side of the dresser and later passes out from the blow to the head and the horrible things the H said. He rips her mother's necklace off of her neck, thinking it is a family heirloom of the cousin's. He says the cousin will never want her now since she's no longer a virgin.
Heroine decides she has to leave the farm because half-Italian cousin is going to arrive shortly and she is done with men. She goes to Cornwall, to a house that her brother has inherited (she got the necklace and he got the house) with the plan of cleaning it up so it can be sold. Brother wants to marry and needs the money.
Hero finds the heroine there a week later. By now the heroine hates him and she runs over a cliff to escape him. LOL
Hero is now all pale and interesting and regretful and declaring love. Heroine does not have treacherous body syndrome (probably because she is covered in bruises) and hisses and spits at him like a scalded cat for the next few chapters. Hero does return her necklace and regrets to inform her it's not worth very much.
They marry because she might be pregnant and the hero threatens her brother's job. But he promises to divorce her in a year.
This was fun because you get two grovels from the hero. One in the middle when the heroine is in no mood to listen and another at the end when the heroine is ready to have sex again.
I had to hand it to the heroine for getting back at the hero. He suffered and she knew it. How these two will adjust to the humdrum of everyday life is anyone's guess. They are both drama addicts, but regular sex might calm both of them down. Let's hope so.
Triggers: forced seduction, painful first time, hero slaps heroine in a fit of jealousy. Will this story wreck? You decide:
Heroine is living and working on one of the hero's properties, a farm in the Cotswolds that her brother manages. Hero had sent his young half-Italian cousin to spend time of the farm and cousin falls in love with the heroine and is convinced he must marry her. Upon hearing this news, the hero dispatches cousin to relatives in Italy and arrives at the farm with a glamorous OW in tow to inspect this golddigging Jezebel.
Heroine immediately falls in lust and is unable to complete sentences or tell all of a story. This leads to many, many misunderstanding. Hero sends the OW away the next morning in order to clear his head about the heroine. But he is obviously smitten after the first punishing kiss. (Reviewer's note: He accuses the heroine of using the cat to lure men into her bedroom. He obviously doesn't know that you can't *use* a cat. They do what they want). Anyhoo, he leaves and returns after a few days so the heroine has time to moon over him.
They go out a few times and the heroine declares her love. Hero is disconcerted, but that doesn't stop the ravishing kisses. Heroine just decides to own her feelings.
However, when the cousin calls and the hero completely misunderstands the heroine's side of the conversation, all bets are off. Out of a fit of jealousy, the hero forcibly seduces her and is surprised to find his 19 year-old Jezebel a virgin. Heroine was with him all the way until it hurt. Hero is ashamed of himself and pushes her away so forcefully that she hits her head on the side of the dresser and later passes out from the blow to the head and the horrible things the H said. He rips her mother's necklace off of her neck, thinking it is a family heirloom of the cousin's. He says the cousin will never want her now since she's no longer a virgin.
Heroine decides she has to leave the farm because half-Italian cousin is going to arrive shortly and she is done with men. She goes to Cornwall, to a house that her brother has inherited (she got the necklace and he got the house) with the plan of cleaning it up so it can be sold. Brother wants to marry and needs the money.
Hero finds the heroine there a week later. By now the heroine hates him and she runs over a cliff to escape him. LOL
Hero is now all pale and interesting and regretful and declaring love. Heroine does not have treacherous body syndrome (probably because she is covered in bruises) and hisses and spits at him like a scalded cat for the next few chapters. Hero does return her necklace and regrets to inform her it's not worth very much.
They marry because she might be pregnant and the hero threatens her brother's job. But he promises to divorce her in a year.
This was fun because you get two grovels from the hero. One in the middle when the heroine is in no mood to listen and another at the end when the heroine is ready to have sex again.
I had to hand it to the heroine for getting back at the hero. He suffered and she knew it. How these two will adjust to the humdrum of everyday life is anyone's guess. They are both drama addicts, but regular sex might calm both of them down. Let's hope so.
March 31, 2018
Old Skool Craziness :~}
June 28, 2020
"Clouded Rapture" is the story of Sari and Brent.
Our heroine works in a inn, where her brother is the manager. When the owner, our hero shows up, she does not expect him to pursue her, especially because his brother had been doing the same a while ago! Ofcourse, the heroine then proceeds to become a bone of contention between two men, who do not take no for an answer. We have brutal kisses and semi-consensual lovemaking, a crazy jealous hero, blind family members, a kinda stupid and slave to love heroine, loads of drama and a happy ending. For some reason, even though the hero was obviously taken with the heroine, I found him immensely unlikable. I don't know how the heroine fell for him to be honest.
SWE
2.5/5
Our heroine works in a inn, where her brother is the manager. When the owner, our hero shows up, she does not expect him to pursue her, especially because his brother had been doing the same a while ago! Ofcourse, the heroine then proceeds to become a bone of contention between two men, who do not take no for an answer. We have brutal kisses and semi-consensual lovemaking, a crazy jealous hero, blind family members, a kinda stupid and slave to love heroine, loads of drama and a happy ending. For some reason, even though the hero was obviously taken with the heroine, I found him immensely unlikable. I don't know how the heroine fell for him to be honest.
SWE
2.5/5
February 20, 2018
He slaps her hard across the face, is overwhelmed with grief for doing so, and she says she's done equally as bad. (Hint: She has NOT.) Oops, spoiled the HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2018
Heroine was revengeful to the H as she should have been but after a while i pitied him. I don’t know why, I must have read lots of old school HP maybe. Lol.
November 23, 2021
Oh that cover!
I don’t know if I liked the story or the cover most…
The heroine is very young and naive and the hero’s much older and experienced.
When he sees a picture of her with his young nephew, he thinks she’s a gold digger.
She works in a sort of bed and breakfast with her brother.
The hero has inherited the place and doesn’t know if he will keep it or not.
He is obviously attracted to the heroine and thinks she has an affair with his nephew. Of course he’s madly jealous of him and after listening to the heroine speaking with om, he seduces her then tells her he only did it to keep her away from his nephew.
The heroine leaves the B&B and is obviously very depressed.
After some days the hero is back, he admits he was jealous but can’t stay away from her and he wants to marry her.
Hea?
Not at all.
The heroine makes him pay.
She throws in his face what he did and rejects him repeatedly.
She makes him sweat.
Even if I’m a vindictive feminist bitch and I love when heroes pay for their mistakes I must say that in the end I was almost sorry for the man.
Almost. Not quite.
Good story with a hero that for once has really what he deserves and more.
I don’t know if I liked the story or the cover most…
The heroine is very young and naive and the hero’s much older and experienced.
When he sees a picture of her with his young nephew, he thinks she’s a gold digger.
She works in a sort of bed and breakfast with her brother.
The hero has inherited the place and doesn’t know if he will keep it or not.
He is obviously attracted to the heroine and thinks she has an affair with his nephew. Of course he’s madly jealous of him and after listening to the heroine speaking with om, he seduces her then tells her he only did it to keep her away from his nephew.
The heroine leaves the B&B and is obviously very depressed.
After some days the hero is back, he admits he was jealous but can’t stay away from her and he wants to marry her.
Hea?
Not at all.
The heroine makes him pay.
She throws in his face what he did and rejects him repeatedly.
She makes him sweat.
Even if I’m a vindictive feminist bitch and I love when heroes pay for their mistakes I must say that in the end I was almost sorry for the man.
Almost. Not quite.
Good story with a hero that for once has really what he deserves and more.
April 21, 2020
Sari had only herself to blame
She'd known what kind of man Brent Holding was. Hadn't he warned her that lasting relationships did not interest him?
"I dislike ties of any kind," the handsome sophisticate had told her when they first met.
But still Sari fell in love with him. She tried to exclude him from her life, but failed. Unknowingly, she presented a challenge to Brent, and she found her already weakened defenses could not withstand the onslaught of his persuasive seduction.
She'd known what kind of man Brent Holding was. Hadn't he warned her that lasting relationships did not interest him?
"I dislike ties of any kind," the handsome sophisticate had told her when they first met.
But still Sari fell in love with him. She tried to exclude him from her life, but failed. Unknowingly, she presented a challenge to Brent, and she found her already weakened defenses could not withstand the onslaught of his persuasive seduction.
January 6, 2022
It’s an engaging read. But I don’t like it when the woman says the ‘I love you’ first.
In this HP she says ‘I love you’ first. He says he doesn’t love her. Then after a few days they have sex and she again thinks he loves her and he denies it. In the end she runs to his room and she again says she loves him.
That’s three times too many.
In this HP she says ‘I love you’ first. He says he doesn’t love her. Then after a few days they have sex and she again thinks he loves her and he denies it. In the end she runs to his room and she again says she loves him.
That’s three times too many.
June 30, 2020
Hoo boy, old skool angst with a young heroine who IS NOT GONNA GET OVER IT ANYTIME SOON. St. Margarets gives an excellent summary (and clarifies that cats will not be used to aid seduction schemes because cats *do what they want* not what you want). So there, hero.
For old skool train wrecks with a vengeful heroine and a hero pretty much at her mercy (but still with all those bossy, handsy MP alpha tendencies), it was pretty good.
For old skool train wrecks with a vengeful heroine and a hero pretty much at her mercy (but still with all those bossy, handsy MP alpha tendencies), it was pretty good.
July 30, 2025
This was the Margaret Pargeter I’ve been waiting for! Something about the intensity of her writing has always appealed to me, even when I get frustrated with her plots or characters.
This one, though, offers so many things I like:
— lovely English countryside with horses and a cat
— a mention of toasted crumpets by the fireplace
— she has a very vague, pleasant job as her brother’s assistant, haha
— great chemistry
— so. much. angst. She is innocent when they meet, he makes a monumental mistake, and he tries to make up for it during the second half of the book
— their honeymoon in Singapore sounds fabulous, with a passing mention of a rotating restaurant where they could see Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore (ETA: I just looked this up and it was around until 2020! Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, there are amazing vintage photos from the 70s, which vividly helps bring the book setting to life.)
— she wears lovely clothes, gets a nice glow-up, and enjoys her food
— a mention of a Housman poem I want to look up.
It’s not entirely unproblematic, of course, as he’s significantly older, makes a bunch of pre-judgments, etc. I thought we’d escape without any violence, but unfortunately he does slap her near the end, though he is overcome with remorse. I’ll say this, in the world of HP, he is not awful—arrogant, of course, and a product of his time. But it’s clear he feels a lot of anguish over the way he initially treated her, he’s not rapey (I know, so much praise for the bare minimum, but you know we deal with Harlequins differently than we deal with real life), and he is such a tortured smitten kitten, I don’t have any qualms about her forgiving him.
But not until the very end!
I also very much liked that once she finds out the truth of how he initially viewed her and seduced her, she hardens her heart and is occasionally stone cold ruthless in how she deals with him. She’s naive and sweet at first, but this life experience gives her backbone, one which will help her deal with her new life.
So enjoyed. Get it, girl.
This one, though, offers so many things I like:
— lovely English countryside with horses and a cat
— a mention of toasted crumpets by the fireplace
— she has a very vague, pleasant job as her brother’s assistant, haha
— great chemistry
— so. much. angst. She is innocent when they meet, he makes a monumental mistake, and he tries to make up for it during the second half of the book
— their honeymoon in Singapore sounds fabulous, with a passing mention of a rotating restaurant where they could see Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore (ETA: I just looked this up and it was around until 2020! Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, there are amazing vintage photos from the 70s, which vividly helps bring the book setting to life.)
— she wears lovely clothes, gets a nice glow-up, and enjoys her food
— a mention of a Housman poem I want to look up.
It’s not entirely unproblematic, of course, as he’s significantly older, makes a bunch of pre-judgments, etc. I thought we’d escape without any violence, but unfortunately he does slap her near the end, though he is overcome with remorse. I’ll say this, in the world of HP, he is not awful—arrogant, of course, and a product of his time. But it’s clear he feels a lot of anguish over the way he initially treated her, he’s not rapey (I know, so much praise for the bare minimum, but you know we deal with Harlequins differently than we deal with real life), and he is such a tortured smitten kitten, I don’t have any qualms about her forgiving him.
But not until the very end!
I also very much liked that once she finds out the truth of how he initially viewed her and seduced her, she hardens her heart and is occasionally stone cold ruthless in how she deals with him. She’s naive and sweet at first, but this life experience gives her backbone, one which will help her deal with her new life.
So enjoyed. Get it, girl.
September 8, 2023
I don’t like most of MP’s romances - nothing very romantic about slaps and force - but this is good. Don’t like the slapping.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews