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Chains of Regret
His love had turned to blistering hate!
Helen was sure her father's new partner, Stein Maddison, was nothing but a fortune hunter, out for what he could get from the old man.
Stein had even pursued Helen, and she could see why--if he married her, he'd inherit the whole business someday.
She finally ran away, so great was her disgust. But a combination of homesickness and something else she couldn't quite explain drove her back a year later--to find the situation quite changed.
And Stein seemed determined to punish her for her past behavior.
Helen was sure her father's new partner, Stein Maddison, was nothing but a fortune hunter, out for what he could get from the old man.
Stein had even pursued Helen, and she could see why--if he married her, he'd inherit the whole business someday.
She finally ran away, so great was her disgust. But a combination of homesickness and something else she couldn't quite explain drove her back a year later--to find the situation quite changed.
And Stein seemed determined to punish her for her past behavior.
Paperback
First published November 1, 1983
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 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 21, 2017
Sins of the heroine - at 18 rebuffs hero because she doesn't trust her own feelings, and thinks hero is a fortune hunter. Goes to a lot of parties and flirts with men.
Flees country and gives a bunch of money to a school friend's family and then lives with a widow helping her without pay for a year.
Now she's come home because she wants to make up with her father. Hero is still smarting from her rejection and this is where the books opens.
Shall we cover the sins of the hero once the heroine returns home?
Yes, this is Margaret Pargeter. The hero is alpha, the heroine is ridiculous and I can't stop reading.
Flees country and gives a bunch of money to a school friend's family and then lives with a widow helping her without pay for a year.
Now she's come home because she wants to make up with her father. Hero is still smarting from her rejection and this is where the books opens.
Shall we cover the sins of the hero once the heroine returns home?
Yes, this is Margaret Pargeter. The hero is alpha, the heroine is ridiculous and I can't stop reading.
December 14, 2022
**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Almost-DNFed @ 3% coz 20yo h sounded like a spoiled brat as she related why she left home 1.5 years ago. But by 5% showed that she’d changed & was regretful and embarrassed with how she behaved before.
Much more character/emotional/romantic depth than Pargeter's Substitute Bride. The contrast between H&h’s characters & relationship 1.5 years before and the present time were intriguing and understandable. h’s POV was full of regret and humility but still had moments of determination and impulsiveness but more seasoned than how she used to be. Still, h showed her naivete and immaturity. So, her character change in 1.5 years based on experiencing life outside her rich father’s pampering (i.e., she worked as a nanny & housekeeper for free to help a struggling widow, she asked for and gave all the money she got from her father in order to help another lady) was believable and consistent. H's change from being open/vulnerable/patient about his interest in h into a cynical/mistrusting/and guarded one was understandable.
Loved when 35yo H’s OTT obsession and jealous-possessiveness would come out despite him trying to hide it from now-20yo h through his cruel and frank words and actions. Loved how H took then-18yo h’s rudeness and insulting misjudgments of him as a social climber and unwelcome replacement in her father’s business with patience and kindness. H wasn’t a total bully as he also showed moments of tenderness and care for h especially when she got sick. And his bullying her was about him believing she was promiscuous with other men but won’t give him the time of day. So, his bullying showed his hurt re: his unreciprocated feelings/desire for her.
Really liked the combo of humor/angst/frustrations from H&h. Good sexual tension as H&h both tried to resist their desire for each other as they dealt with their emotional 1-upmanship. Sex scenes were good and had good enough detail to crank up the heat for a 1983 Harlequin book.
Sexual History:
20yo h was a virgin with 35yo H, her dad's new business partner. She's beautiful and popular with men so dated a lot, especially during her rebellious few months of partying after her father let H live in their estate with before she suddenly left home. Aside from some kisses from only select few since she couldn’t stand being touched by most, there was 1 incident when she let a date do more than kiss since she was in some early state of undress when H rescued her from her amorous date. During her 1.5-year away from home, she didn’t date and was busy helping with her landlady’s household. When she was forcibly engaged to H around 70%, she allowed an old date who came by to declare his intentions kiss her a brief goodbye. She allowed the kiss and kissed him back too as a form of rebellion against H. When H devirginized her, it started out as somewhat forced (based on his anger towards her seeing that old date and another man that he forbid her to see again) but she wanted H and willingly participated in her devirginizing. But the pain from H’s first thrust and his shock that he totally misjudged her as promiscuous caused H to stop their smexxing and she sorta fainted.
H was popular with women and had lovers before but no one significant. He became celibate since he insta-loved h @ 1st sight 1.5 years ago. He tried to date other women when h left home but no one could stop his obsession with h.
Almost-DNFed @ 3% coz 20yo h sounded like a spoiled brat as she related why she left home 1.5 years ago. But by 5% showed that she’d changed & was regretful and embarrassed with how she behaved before.
Much more character/emotional/romantic depth than Pargeter's Substitute Bride. The contrast between H&h’s characters & relationship 1.5 years before and the present time were intriguing and understandable. h’s POV was full of regret and humility but still had moments of determination and impulsiveness but more seasoned than how she used to be. Still, h showed her naivete and immaturity. So, her character change in 1.5 years based on experiencing life outside her rich father’s pampering (i.e., she worked as a nanny & housekeeper for free to help a struggling widow, she asked for and gave all the money she got from her father in order to help another lady) was believable and consistent. H's change from being open/vulnerable/patient about his interest in h into a cynical/mistrusting/and guarded one was understandable.
Loved when 35yo H’s OTT obsession and jealous-possessiveness would come out despite him trying to hide it from now-20yo h through his cruel and frank words and actions. Loved how H took then-18yo h’s rudeness and insulting misjudgments of him as a social climber and unwelcome replacement in her father’s business with patience and kindness. H wasn’t a total bully as he also showed moments of tenderness and care for h especially when she got sick. And his bullying her was about him believing she was promiscuous with other men but won’t give him the time of day. So, his bullying showed his hurt re: his unreciprocated feelings/desire for her.
Really liked the combo of humor/angst/frustrations from H&h. Good sexual tension as H&h both tried to resist their desire for each other as they dealt with their emotional 1-upmanship. Sex scenes were good and had good enough detail to crank up the heat for a 1983 Harlequin book.
Sexual History:
20yo h was a virgin with 35yo H, her dad's new business partner. She's beautiful and popular with men so dated a lot, especially during her rebellious few months of partying after her father let H live in their estate with before she suddenly left home. Aside from some kisses from only select few since she couldn’t stand being touched by most, there was 1 incident when she let a date do more than kiss since she was in some early state of undress when H rescued her from her amorous date. During her 1.5-year away from home, she didn’t date and was busy helping with her landlady’s household. When she was forcibly engaged to H around 70%, she allowed an old date who came by to declare his intentions kiss her a brief goodbye. She allowed the kiss and kissed him back too as a form of rebellion against H. When H devirginized her, it started out as somewhat forced (based on his anger towards her seeing that old date and another man that he forbid her to see again) but she wanted H and willingly participated in her devirginizing. But the pain from H’s first thrust and his shock that he totally misjudged her as promiscuous caused H to stop their smexxing and she sorta fainted.
H was popular with women and had lovers before but no one significant. He became celibate since he insta-loved h @ 1st sight 1.5 years ago. He tried to date other women when h left home but no one could stop his obsession with h.
December 31, 2021
I started reading "Chains of Regret" by Margaret Pargeter because i expected total angsty crazyness and i absolutely got that, alright.I couldn`t decide whether the vengeance-thirsty tycoon Stein Maddison was more vicious than the young heroine Helen was more bitchy. I mean these two absolutely deserved each other since all they did was either insult or slut shame each other in fits of misunderstandings ALL THE TIME! I thought these two were so crazy that even i almost got crazy myself. Because while they infuriated me...they got me so excited that i turned over the next page after the other. One more thing that got me going was how undenyably stupid Helen was. I mean come on!How the hell could she not even suspect that Stein was going crazy over her. Despite all his claims of hatred and revenge he could never keep his hands and eyes away from her! Call me shocked in knowing that he never could bring himself to touch another woman after he sets his eyes on Helen for the first time. Wow, how obsessed he was over Helen. This girl had no clue and that freaking irritated me since it was soooo obvious from the start that this guy in no way had gotten over her.
July 23, 2013
I like the vengeful hero trope, but usually it's something like he thinks she hurt his family. This time, he was just upset that she rejected him and determined to make her pay. I kept reading so, I have to give it 2 stars at least for keeping me engaged. But wow! Dude was a psycho.
Here's a rather endearing quote:
"You little bitch! I'm going to have you whether you enjoy it or not. Fight me and I promise I'll hurt you!"
Here's a rather endearing quote:
"You little bitch! I'm going to have you whether you enjoy it or not. Fight me and I promise I'll hurt you!"
December 23, 2023
‘I’d never marry you!’ she had interrupted furiously.
‘Wait until you’re asked,’ he had retorted less gently.
Read it! It has the worst, dumbest heroine ever. I read this right before the Devil's Gateway so I had back to back women with the brains of a chicken. Now I'm insulting chicken. That said this heroine is not only stupid she is also a bitch. There is no other word for it. When she thinks the hero has no money she assumes he's there to get daddy's money. Why? Who knows. Her behaviour is plain evil-rich-bitch that should not get the hero. But fine... she's 18 at the start of the book. Then she comes back a few years later and still calls the hero a leech, a thief, a whatever.
No bonus point for guessing he's filthy rich but hasn't mentioned it. And when he mentions it... she's loved him all along. OH GIMME A BRAKE SISTER! YOU NEVER LOVED THE MAN!
Yeah, he needs therapy btw. But she's the worst person I have read made into a heroine.
Read it just for her awfulness. You'll want to throttle her yourself.
PS. And oh lord her stupidity! He sits over her bed nursing her and washing her forehead and feeding her for days when she's sick. Takes time off work to sit by her bedside and she thinks 'He wants me to get well so I can pay him the money I owe him' The money which he makes in a month or less. Yes, that's why he's sitting there day and night.
*Goes off to cry*
‘Wait until you’re asked,’ he had retorted less gently.
Read it! It has the worst, dumbest heroine ever. I read this right before the Devil's Gateway so I had back to back women with the brains of a chicken. Now I'm insulting chicken. That said this heroine is not only stupid she is also a bitch. There is no other word for it. When she thinks the hero has no money she assumes he's there to get daddy's money. Why? Who knows. Her behaviour is plain evil-rich-bitch that should not get the hero. But fine... she's 18 at the start of the book. Then she comes back a few years later and still calls the hero a leech, a thief, a whatever.
No bonus point for guessing he's filthy rich but hasn't mentioned it. And when he mentions it... she's loved him all along. OH GIMME A BRAKE SISTER! YOU NEVER LOVED THE MAN!
Yeah, he needs therapy btw. But she's the worst person I have read made into a heroine.
Read it just for her awfulness. You'll want to throttle her yourself.
PS. And oh lord her stupidity! He sits over her bed nursing her and washing her forehead and feeding her for days when she's sick. Takes time off work to sit by her bedside and she thinks 'He wants me to get well so I can pay him the money I owe him' The money which he makes in a month or less. Yes, that's why he's sitting there day and night.
*Goes off to cry*
July 20, 2021
Whoa -- this H is way up in the pantheon of category Alpha males. He is constantly furious, slut-shaming and roughing up the h during every encounter. He is perma-enraged, yelling at the h for an array of sins she didn't commit. He is apoplectic with jealousy over imaginary men and hypothetical situations.
He calms down when she admits she loves him and he learns the truth about her, but I predict he'll be dead of a massive heart attack within 5 years.
He calms down when she admits she loves him and he learns the truth about her, but I predict he'll be dead of a massive heart attack within 5 years.
August 10, 2016
absolutely mind-blowing one ! they had a very passionate n volatile relationship. stein loved helen the kind of love where he cud not live without her, he was obsessed yet also arrogant enough not 2 pursue her 2 france. i read some reviews where it was said dat stein wanted revenge becoz helen had rejected him. sorry but dat was not the root of it. she's quite the spoilt lil bitch the lil madam n she insulted him so many times, did not miss an opportunity 2 degrade him n flaunt her supposed wealth 2 his face ! even after 1 year, when she returned she was clearly throwing her weight around, showing him who's the boss !!lol:p stein's desperate love, craving 4 her turned him into a sadist. der was no tenderness, he was very bitter n it even went as far as rape. theirs was a hate/love relationship n the HEA came not too soon lol. it was actually funny at the end when helen came back after disappearing 4 a week n stein was very very angry, savage infact n he told her he was so worried she had been raped or smthng like dat. my !!did he 4get y she ran away !? becoz he had himself raped her dat fateful night!? LOL. dats y the book lost 1 star 4 me, he was bloody savage n also, it was so obvious he wanted helen 4 himself. how come she did not realise the extent of his madness !? i mean he was mad wid love 4 her
September 4, 2023
One of the crazy psycho old school heroes that nowadays would be in jail for stalking and sexual harassment.
He meets the heroine when she’s 18 just out of school and he’s 34. Just this made me cringe.
He pretends to work for her father while he’s a billionaire tycoon instead. The heroine’s father is severely indebted and the hero buys him out.
The heroine thinks he’s a gold digger and that he wants to marry her because he wants her father’s company ( which is actually ruined).
She treats him awfully and he’s very patient.
She insults him repeatedly and I have to say she’s rude and unnecessarily cruel.
I am not fond of heroines without an ounce of feminine sweetness. You can reject a man with some amount of class without being a nasty brat, after all he didn’t do anything wrong to her.
She gets a lil crazy and has her moment of teenage rebellion that I didn’t begrudge her because it’s a part of growing up without a mother and with a father who always neglected her and told her he wanted a son.
She parties and drink and dates but nothing serious, and the hero is there to protect her.
What he found in her I don’t know.
Then she disappears and goes to Paris where she works as a nanny for a family with three children.
She comes back home one year and a half later and finds out her father is dead and she’s destitute. The hero now owns everything and she’s indebted to him ( I don’t know according to what kind of law, whatever).
He’s now cruel and nasty and treats her with contempt thinking she’s the ultimate hoe and that she had her fun in Paris while her father was worried for her.
The heroine feels guilty because she wasn’t there when her father died and let’s the hero treats her abominably.
He bullies her and keeps mauling her all the time, having some regrets when she gets sick for a severe cold.
He threatens her and expects her to pay her debt on her back.
Eyeroll.
There’s a lot of punishing kisses as it’s customary in the 80s ( I never received a punishing kiss in all my life, and I’m so curious about it. And I’ve met my quote of assholes in my times…)
There’s a lot of would be ow and om who salivate after the heroine while the hero is crazy with jealousy.
It was quite entertaining because he’s so scared that someone would take her away from him.
Eventually there’s the Big Scene of forced seduction or ravishing and the heroine faints losing her vCard. This is something that MP often has in her books and I find it a very trauma experience both for the heroine and for the hero.
I think that after the heroine fainted on him after he put his lil one in her lil flower and didn’t recover until the day after, he might suffer from performance issues whenever he’s gets near her.
Poor sod.
The heroine decides she will disappear because she thinks the hero despises her and doesn’t want her anymore and honestly who could blame him.
After one week she goes back to him because she loves him and is ready to suffer his scorn and insults to be with him.
This is where I gave up my hopes. I hopes he would have the one to grovel but she actually tells him she’s sorry. Ok she treated him beastly one year before but he was a grown up man and she was a teenager, and he should have been able to cope and to accept a bit of rejection.
A lot of emotional scenes in the end where both declares their reciprocal love. The hero hasn’t looked at another woman since he first saw her.
He was actually pussy whipped and completely besotted and I don’t know who I pity more, her, because she forgave his abuses and didn’t even require an apology, or him because he is in love with such a volatile brat.
Anyway. It was quite entertaining in a cringy old style kind of way.
He meets the heroine when she’s 18 just out of school and he’s 34. Just this made me cringe.
He pretends to work for her father while he’s a billionaire tycoon instead. The heroine’s father is severely indebted and the hero buys him out.
The heroine thinks he’s a gold digger and that he wants to marry her because he wants her father’s company ( which is actually ruined).
She treats him awfully and he’s very patient.
She insults him repeatedly and I have to say she’s rude and unnecessarily cruel.
I am not fond of heroines without an ounce of feminine sweetness. You can reject a man with some amount of class without being a nasty brat, after all he didn’t do anything wrong to her.
She gets a lil crazy and has her moment of teenage rebellion that I didn’t begrudge her because it’s a part of growing up without a mother and with a father who always neglected her and told her he wanted a son.
She parties and drink and dates but nothing serious, and the hero is there to protect her.
What he found in her I don’t know.
Then she disappears and goes to Paris where she works as a nanny for a family with three children.
She comes back home one year and a half later and finds out her father is dead and she’s destitute. The hero now owns everything and she’s indebted to him ( I don’t know according to what kind of law, whatever).
He’s now cruel and nasty and treats her with contempt thinking she’s the ultimate hoe and that she had her fun in Paris while her father was worried for her.
The heroine feels guilty because she wasn’t there when her father died and let’s the hero treats her abominably.
He bullies her and keeps mauling her all the time, having some regrets when she gets sick for a severe cold.
He threatens her and expects her to pay her debt on her back.
Eyeroll.
There’s a lot of punishing kisses as it’s customary in the 80s ( I never received a punishing kiss in all my life, and I’m so curious about it. And I’ve met my quote of assholes in my times…)
There’s a lot of would be ow and om who salivate after the heroine while the hero is crazy with jealousy.
It was quite entertaining because he’s so scared that someone would take her away from him.
Eventually there’s the Big Scene of forced seduction or ravishing and the heroine faints losing her vCard. This is something that MP often has in her books and I find it a very trauma experience both for the heroine and for the hero.
I think that after the heroine fainted on him after he put his lil one in her lil flower and didn’t recover until the day after, he might suffer from performance issues whenever he’s gets near her.
Poor sod.
The heroine decides she will disappear because she thinks the hero despises her and doesn’t want her anymore and honestly who could blame him.
After one week she goes back to him because she loves him and is ready to suffer his scorn and insults to be with him.
This is where I gave up my hopes. I hopes he would have the one to grovel but she actually tells him she’s sorry. Ok she treated him beastly one year before but he was a grown up man and she was a teenager, and he should have been able to cope and to accept a bit of rejection.
A lot of emotional scenes in the end where both declares their reciprocal love. The hero hasn’t looked at another woman since he first saw her.
He was actually pussy whipped and completely besotted and I don’t know who I pity more, her, because she forgave his abuses and didn’t even require an apology, or him because he is in love with such a volatile brat.
Anyway. It was quite entertaining in a cringy old style kind of way.
August 26, 2018
Hero was great. He was hurt and afraid for heroine while she was hiding from his contempt so when she had returned to him, he had threatened to hurt her. I love MP heroes.
March 26, 2014
What The Effing Hell Was That ?!! yikes that was disturbing !! Helen was a spoiled b*tch most of the time and Stein was a psycho .. that man was out of his friggin mind .. he's completely nuts !! I'm not sure what was scarier .. Stein's cruelty and abusive ways or the last scene where he tells Helen he loves her "oh darling I've loved you ever since forever don't let me calling you a bitch .. a whore .. wrapping my hands around your throat and squeezing .. telling you how much I want to kill you .. raping you .. ever make you doubt my love for you" oh and Helen loves him too *shiver* this is not romance .. this is a Horror Book.
July 20, 2014
Bordered on being horribly abusive, but a compelling read nonetheless.
December 8, 2015
I'm a great fan of MP. When she writes a great book it will be a really great book. This is one of my favorites. It's involved. I know it's not such an original besotted hero plot but it's meatier. it's gripping.
February 20, 2016
I did not really understand why she did not like him however being young and her father never seemed to care to explain or do nice things for her. I think it was a normal teen rejection. He just took things too far with his idea of revenge and how to get her on her knees. It was a good read but very frustrating that he expected her to act his age when he was acting like a two year old throwing a tantrum. Not the best way to get the girl you love to love you back. Just saying!
March 29, 2013
Bored me to tears. Didn't get the reason for his revenge. Heroine was just a silly chicken.
October 28, 2016
How could he not tell her about her dad? He was lost to me right there.
April 11, 2016
High in train wreck value. Had to look over pet peeves such as melting with lust when the hero does any or all such as pulling hair or punishing kisses. There were lots of those.
Maybe more later.
Maybe more later.
April 23, 2024
Jee-zus, I've never read any MP before...are they all like this??! This H, Stein, was an absolute psycho. Admittedly the h, Helen, was a total ding dingbat as well but please god let no one read this sort of viciousness and sick possessiveness and take it for a love blueprint. The strap line "his love had turned to blistering hate" pretty much says it all. Uber cruel, uber whacko. It's certainly a good example of unreformed, unconstrained vintage. Bit too ripe for me though. I wonder if any of her others are less violent.
March 23, 2016
well he was truly awful to her the whole time....not once did they have a bonding moment ...he took her swimming to boost her morale after her father died and threw her in the pool .....and I was constantly annoyed by her feeling that she owed him because she had rejected him ....I'm like .....for what ? one straight forward conversation would have been nice; instead the whole book was just his threats to her ...."you will pay"....and her shaken in her boots (literally). He calls her a tramp so many times I found myself cringing and thinking yuck.
when he threatens to make her pregnant and leave her in the lurch.....I wrote him off
...wow what a romantic guy ....like ...Really ?
but I did read it right to the HEA grovelling end.....I admit it
when he threatens to make her pregnant and leave her in the lurch.....I wrote him off
...wow what a romantic guy ....like ...Really ?
but I did read it right to the HEA grovelling end.....I admit it
May 16, 2016
3.5
I didn't like a couple of things about the story but I guess it's just a personal preference.
Regarding to the writing, I felt there were moments of too much telling but overall, I'd say It was an okay reading.
I didn't like a couple of things about the story but I guess it's just a personal preference.
Regarding to the writing, I felt there were moments of too much telling but overall, I'd say It was an okay reading.
April 9, 2024
This is an oldie from 1983.
It kept me engaged from the beginning until the end. And that says a lot because I’m not a patient reader and I’m bored quite easily. That’s the reason I give it 4 stars: I kept reading and reading.
He is cruel. Very cruel. Too cruel. I usually don’t mind a cruel H, but his cruelty was over the top. She had rejected him in a demeaning way when she was 18 and he was 34. Her rejection of a man almost twice her age didn’t justify his brutal revenge on her.
She fell in love with him despite [or maybe: because of] him hurting her in every way possible. Physically, mentally, spiritually, he took her down. Over and over again he deliberately hurt her. This is more like a thriller than a romance.
It kept me engaged from the beginning until the end. And that says a lot because I’m not a patient reader and I’m bored quite easily. That’s the reason I give it 4 stars: I kept reading and reading.
He is cruel. Very cruel. Too cruel. I usually don’t mind a cruel H, but his cruelty was over the top. She had rejected him in a demeaning way when she was 18 and he was 34. Her rejection of a man almost twice her age didn’t justify his brutal revenge on her.
She fell in love with him despite [or maybe: because of] him hurting her in every way possible. Physically, mentally, spiritually, he took her down. Over and over again he deliberately hurt her. This is more like a thriller than a romance.
December 7, 2017
رواية مترجمة للغة العربية من مجموعة عبير الجديدة بعنوان /قيود الندم/
لان هيلين كرهت شريك ابيها ستاين ماديسون كثيرا هربت من البيت ظانة بين عدة اشياء انه صائد ثروات الان في ظروف مختلفة.
عادت الى البيت ثانية ,فقط لتجد ان كل شيء تغير .
فقد مات اباها وكل شيء اصبح في يد غريب الان هي مفلسة وستاين مسؤول عنها وقد دار الدفة لمصلحته بارتيابه فيها انها منقبة ذهب!
لكن لماذا يبدو انه يكرهها الى هذا الحد؟.
لان هيلين كرهت شريك ابيها ستاين ماديسون كثيرا هربت من البيت ظانة بين عدة اشياء انه صائد ثروات الان في ظروف مختلفة.
عادت الى البيت ثانية ,فقط لتجد ان كل شيء تغير .
فقد مات اباها وكل شيء اصبح في يد غريب الان هي مفلسة وستاين مسؤول عنها وقد دار الدفة لمصلحته بارتيابه فيها انها منقبة ذهب!
لكن لماذا يبدو انه يكرهها الى هذا الحد؟.
September 19, 2019
قيود الغباء
في الحكاية أن البطلة تعبت شوية راح البطل جابلها ممرضة وخلى الكل يهتم بيها ويتخانق مع الممرضة بس كل شوية يجي يطمن على البطلة فحست إنه معجب بالممرضة !!
غير إنه واخد فكرة غلط عن البطلة وهي ساكتة عشان حاسة بالذنب من اللي عملته فيه زمان، حاجة كدا زي "اضرب كمان عايز اتوب"
بس هما الاتنين بيحبوا بعض، بس اللي ظاهر إن في إهانة بينهم على طول
في الحكاية أن البطلة تعبت شوية راح البطل جابلها ممرضة وخلى الكل يهتم بيها ويتخانق مع الممرضة بس كل شوية يجي يطمن على البطلة فحست إنه معجب بالممرضة !!
غير إنه واخد فكرة غلط عن البطلة وهي ساكتة عشان حاسة بالذنب من اللي عملته فيه زمان، حاجة كدا زي "اضرب كمان عايز اتوب"
بس هما الاتنين بيحبوا بعض، بس اللي ظاهر إن في إهانة بينهم على طول
September 1, 2021
I was able to finish this book in 3 hours or even less, which is a new record for me. I chose to pick up this book because I liked forced love stories. However, this book is such a train wreck!
It is all about a heroine named Helen who fled to France after she fought with her father's associate because she thought he was a opportunist. When she came back, she found out that Stein, the associate was actually very rich and he in fact bought her father's entire company and assets. Helen's father was bankrupt and because he was ashamed, he kept this information from Helen, letting her believe that Stein was just a partner when in fact he was the reason they still have a roof over their heads.
Of course, in typical villainous fashion, Stein staryed to bully and make sexual advances towards Helen, because she owed him yadda yadda. Helen alternates between trying to befriend him while fending him off.
What infuriates me is that Helen couldn't make up her mind. Does she want Stein? Does she hate him? She can't decide. I also hate that Stein hurl insults at Helen at a drop of a hat and for the most part, Helen lets him because she felt it was her way of making penance for the past and because she owed him money.
I disliked that Helen didn't try very hard to run away. Where is the forced seduction? She practically allowed him access to her body. She should have slapped him, scratched him, punched him, to show that she doesn't want him. But the next thing we knew, she was saying that she was his and effectively giving up her virginity.
I was so appaled when Helen told him him first that she loved him. This was a deal breaker for me, the woman should have the man grovelling at her feet saying that he loves her, that he is desperate for her like a dying man is desperate for life, that the world is a worthless piece of trash without her, FIRST! It was the final nail on the coffin for me, I was so disgusted.
Plus, she should have let him chase her. She shouldn't have returned to the house, let him surprise herat her new dwelling saying that he will find her till the ends of the world. I don't know why this was included in a list of books with force love, it seems that the heroine didn't need to be forced.
It is all about a heroine named Helen who fled to France after she fought with her father's associate because she thought he was a opportunist. When she came back, she found out that Stein, the associate was actually very rich and he in fact bought her father's entire company and assets. Helen's father was bankrupt and because he was ashamed, he kept this information from Helen, letting her believe that Stein was just a partner when in fact he was the reason they still have a roof over their heads.
Of course, in typical villainous fashion, Stein staryed to bully and make sexual advances towards Helen, because she owed him yadda yadda. Helen alternates between trying to befriend him while fending him off.
What infuriates me is that Helen couldn't make up her mind. Does she want Stein? Does she hate him? She can't decide. I also hate that Stein hurl insults at Helen at a drop of a hat and for the most part, Helen lets him because she felt it was her way of making penance for the past and because she owed him money.
I disliked that Helen didn't try very hard to run away. Where is the forced seduction? She practically allowed him access to her body. She should have slapped him, scratched him, punched him, to show that she doesn't want him. But the next thing we knew, she was saying that she was his and effectively giving up her virginity.
I was so appaled when Helen told him him first that she loved him. This was a deal breaker for me, the woman should have the man grovelling at her feet saying that he loves her, that he is desperate for her like a dying man is desperate for life, that the world is a worthless piece of trash without her, FIRST! It was the final nail on the coffin for me, I was so disgusted.
Plus, she should have let him chase her. She shouldn't have returned to the house, let him surprise herat her new dwelling saying that he will find her till the ends of the world. I don't know why this was included in a list of books with force love, it seems that the heroine didn't need to be forced.
May 15, 2024
The heroine is SO annoying - I don't know what he sees in her that obsesses him so! At 18 she was rude and silly and at 20, pretty much the same! He seems to think every man wants her (they must be dumb too), and is driven over the edge with his jealousies.
Even after she realises she is in love with him, and makes a positive change, it is hard to engage with her.
The storyline is vapid as well. As if a spoiled, rude, tantrum of a girl would demand her dad send a huge lump of cash to give the equally rude mother of a schoolfriend and then spend a year as an unpaid home help in a strangers house. Rolling my eyes.
Three stars for the hot hero who'll have an ulcer before he is much older.
Even after she realises she is in love with him, and makes a positive change, it is hard to engage with her.
The storyline is vapid as well. As if a spoiled, rude, tantrum of a girl would demand her dad send a huge lump of cash to give the equally rude mother of a schoolfriend and then spend a year as an unpaid home help in a strangers house. Rolling my eyes.
Three stars for the hot hero who'll have an ulcer before he is much older.
August 15, 2024
I gave the extra star because it isn’t the book’s fault that the genre is an angst fest royal and it was to be expected. It’s me who’s morphed into Mrs Bennet with her palpitations and nerves and who picks up the angsiest writer and then can’t bring herself to read the whole thing. However it must be said that our so called hero held on for the entirety of the book to his mania for revenge and was more than a few times acting completely bat shit crazy. If one didn’t know better one would suspect him of being secretly very high strung. And the heroine is a masochistic idiot.
April 12, 2025
"Chains of Regret" is the story of Helen and Stein.
Well, here is a toxic couple. Shrew, judgemental, snooty heroine- angry, vengeful, insanely jealous hero, non con sex, him persistently having fits of jealousy- calling heroine a tramp and taking revenge on her for her imagined affairs, her making rash decisions and just.. a dysfunctional relationship.
Did the hero love her? Yes.
Will they end up happy together? No.
SWE
1/5
Well, here is a toxic couple. Shrew, judgemental, snooty heroine- angry, vengeful, insanely jealous hero, non con sex, him persistently having fits of jealousy- calling heroine a tramp and taking revenge on her for her imagined affairs, her making rash decisions and just.. a dysfunctional relationship.
Did the hero love her? Yes.
Will they end up happy together? No.
SWE
1/5
January 26, 2020
The way the resolution was handled is kind of lame and disappointing.
Want to Read
June 7, 2022yes
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