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The Loving Slave
When did love turn to vengeful hate?
Young Gina hero-worshipped Quentin Hurst, but to him she was just a child, a dirty tomboy who helped in his stables with the horses. His frequent snide remarks had been cruel, but she'd always forgiven him.
Except for the cruelest cut of all—his smiling indulgence of the elegant Blanche Edgar.
But Gina was older now, with beauty and status of her own. The wounded heart she bore was a woman's heart, and now, in turn, with a woman's wiles she wanted to hurt Quentin...
Young Gina hero-worshipped Quentin Hurst, but to him she was just a child, a dirty tomboy who helped in his stables with the horses. His frequent snide remarks had been cruel, but she'd always forgiven him.
Except for the cruelest cut of all—his smiling indulgence of the elegant Blanche Edgar.
But Gina was older now, with beauty and status of her own. The wounded heart she bore was a woman's heart, and now, in turn, with a woman's wiles she wanted to hurt Quentin...
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published August 1, 1982
4 people are currently reading
138 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 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 18, 2017
I just had to go spoil my happy 'Xmas heart by reading this crapfest didn't I ? Maybe it's because I have a love-hate relationship with Margaret Pargeter and couldn't help myself when I was cleaning up my storage room which contains lots of very old harlequins I inherited from my favorite aunt. I was sure that I had read this before but I was soon proven wrong after looking at the first page. How could I have missed out on this drama filled "emotional and psychological sado-masochist" type of "romance" story ? Seriously, this novel had a hero that I hate almost as much as I hate Scott Brady from Born Of The Wind by the same author. However, Quentin even comes close to Carl from The Odds Against when it comes to the servile and demeaning way he treats poor Gina. I LOATHED Quentin ! No amount of good looks can make a despicable, uncaring snob seem sexy. Quentin will never join the ranks of my "sexy hero" book shelf. Never. That's mainly because his indifference to Gina's plight rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. Quentin clearly did not get the memo that the days of serfdom are long over - even though, at times, he tries slyly to act like the droit de seigneur with Gina.
Quentin was such a loser as an employer and I use the word "employer" carefully. He knows Gina and her dad are living on his property because of an arrangement between his father and hers but when his dad dies he fails to inspect the said "property". He is therefore stupidly unaware that Gina lives in a hovel with no running water no electricity and earns no money even she works her ass off helping to care for his horses. Even the f*cking horses are living under better conditions than Gina. My dogs sleep in better beds than poor Gina and they have shampoo too. Gina doesn't even have money for shampoo. Wtf is wrong with this picture? The downtrodden heroine even has to bathe in the freaking cold lake. Is this guy really Margaret Pargeter's idea of a hero? Or did she write this after going on an all girls vacation with Lilian Peake and Anne Mather ? Quentin makes Charlotte Lamb's heroes seem like angels and cherubs.
I hated Quentin so much I wished he would die. Seriously. He was cruel to a sweet, beautiful, selfless and kind young girl like Gina. I hated how he mocked her lack of refinement and her tattered clothing and treated her abominably while his pretentious diva bitch of a girlfriend looked on and laughed mockingly. Even when Gina's dad died and Quentin discovered how abominable her living conditions were, he still treated her as a slave. He brought her into his house and gave her a job as a maid while his mother looked at her disparagingly. Then things suddenly improved for Gina when her long lost maternal grandfather came into her life and saved her from the cruelty and drudgery. Quentin wasn't pleased because he loved having his little slave/maid running around and mooning after him adoringly. I hated how Gina worshipped this bastard while he treated her like shit. He would often kiss and fondle her but still treat her as a servant - all the while dating his ice bitch girlfriend.
It was only when Quentin saw that he was losing Gina that he realized his true feelings for her. It was too late by then because her grandfather took her away to spoil and pamper her. The next part of the novel deals with Gina being taught to be a refined young lady and she also, unfortunately, becomes a bit cynical about life. Her new exposure to all that life has to offer also teaches her that Quentin had merely been amusing himself with her. Gina is out for revenge. Kudos for Gina. This was well done on the part of the author. It was fine time that a bastard hero was made to pay for the way he had made the heroine suffer.
The reunion between Gina and Quentin was a bit anti-climactic because Gina deliberately acts like a jaded and bored socialite. One would think that would be the type of woman he was used to but these new changes in Gina are upsetting to Quentin. The emotional sadist misses the sweet little innocent who would have licked his boots for free. What follows is another journey into angst, emotional torture, a sexless marriage of revenge, lies, crossed lines of communication, a lot of hurt pride and unnecessary fighting. Gina even thinks, at one point, that Quentin is trying to defraud her grandfather. At this point I was glad the novel was coming to an end. It was not my idea of a romance novel but I was slightly appeased by the fact that Gina got to get her little bit of revenge against Quentin. That was only fair for the way he had treated her in the first part of the novel. That's the only reason this gets 2 stars instead of one.
Quentin was such a loser as an employer and I use the word "employer" carefully. He knows Gina and her dad are living on his property because of an arrangement between his father and hers but when his dad dies he fails to inspect the said "property". He is therefore stupidly unaware that Gina lives in a hovel with no running water no electricity and earns no money even she works her ass off helping to care for his horses. Even the f*cking horses are living under better conditions than Gina. My dogs sleep in better beds than poor Gina and they have shampoo too. Gina doesn't even have money for shampoo. Wtf is wrong with this picture? The downtrodden heroine even has to bathe in the freaking cold lake. Is this guy really Margaret Pargeter's idea of a hero? Or did she write this after going on an all girls vacation with Lilian Peake and Anne Mather ? Quentin makes Charlotte Lamb's heroes seem like angels and cherubs.
I hated Quentin so much I wished he would die. Seriously. He was cruel to a sweet, beautiful, selfless and kind young girl like Gina. I hated how he mocked her lack of refinement and her tattered clothing and treated her abominably while his pretentious diva bitch of a girlfriend looked on and laughed mockingly. Even when Gina's dad died and Quentin discovered how abominable her living conditions were, he still treated her as a slave. He brought her into his house and gave her a job as a maid while his mother looked at her disparagingly. Then things suddenly improved for Gina when her long lost maternal grandfather came into her life and saved her from the cruelty and drudgery. Quentin wasn't pleased because he loved having his little slave/maid running around and mooning after him adoringly. I hated how Gina worshipped this bastard while he treated her like shit. He would often kiss and fondle her but still treat her as a servant - all the while dating his ice bitch girlfriend.
It was only when Quentin saw that he was losing Gina that he realized his true feelings for her. It was too late by then because her grandfather took her away to spoil and pamper her. The next part of the novel deals with Gina being taught to be a refined young lady and she also, unfortunately, becomes a bit cynical about life. Her new exposure to all that life has to offer also teaches her that Quentin had merely been amusing himself with her. Gina is out for revenge. Kudos for Gina. This was well done on the part of the author. It was fine time that a bastard hero was made to pay for the way he had made the heroine suffer.
The reunion between Gina and Quentin was a bit anti-climactic because Gina deliberately acts like a jaded and bored socialite. One would think that would be the type of woman he was used to but these new changes in Gina are upsetting to Quentin. The emotional sadist misses the sweet little innocent who would have licked his boots for free. What follows is another journey into angst, emotional torture, a sexless marriage of revenge, lies, crossed lines of communication, a lot of hurt pride and unnecessary fighting. Gina even thinks, at one point, that Quentin is trying to defraud her grandfather. At this point I was glad the novel was coming to an end. It was not my idea of a romance novel but I was slightly appeased by the fact that Gina got to get her little bit of revenge against Quentin. That was only fair for the way he had treated her in the first part of the novel. That's the only reason this gets 2 stars instead of one.
February 3, 2016
DNF - I just couldn't with this book. I totally got that the hero was wildly (and inappropriately) attracted to the heroine in the beginning. He was cruel to be kind- how could he, a snob and old enough to know better, hook up with a dirty stable girl? The hero, I could understand, but the heroine - good lord. If you look up TSL in the romance reader's dictionary her (dirt-covered) face would be next to it. From swimming naked in the lake to learning nothing except for how to wash her hair as she romps through Europe with her grandpa, I had some hopes for her. But then - her stupid, stupid revenge plan. Our TSL heroine needs to take notes from Anne Hampson's A Man to be Feared - now that is heroine revenge done right (even though it backfires).
I'll try this again when I'm feeling more patient. Sometimes it's not the book, it's me.
I'll try this again when I'm feeling more patient. Sometimes it's not the book, it's me.
October 27, 2021
And I cannot say I wasn't warned.
All my friends were very clear about it but I, attracted to this mess like a fly to a s**t, had to read it.
This was like a bad soap opera.
No, sorry, some soap operas in the 80s were really good compared to this one.
The heroine was really unpleasant and the hero was a nasty snob.
He treated her like dirt under his shoes when she was his stable girl.
He wanted her when she found out she was the granddaughter of a gentleman and she was polished and refined.
This books reminds me in some of its parts of another one, Whitney my love, from Judith McNaught, but more shallow and not so well written.
I don't really think there's much to save because she was a doormat without a backbone and he was a cheating snobby bastard and I really don't know what she could find in him.
I don't believe for one moment he loved her, and they can't have any hea in my opinion, she's too strupid and he's a bastard and they haven't changed in the end of the book, so... divorce or murder are the only possible options for this couple.
(I hope the second option...)
All my friends were very clear about it but I, attracted to this mess like a fly to a s**t, had to read it.
This was like a bad soap opera.
No, sorry, some soap operas in the 80s were really good compared to this one.
The heroine was really unpleasant and the hero was a nasty snob.
He treated her like dirt under his shoes when she was his stable girl.
He wanted her when she found out she was the granddaughter of a gentleman and she was polished and refined.
This books reminds me in some of its parts of another one, Whitney my love, from Judith McNaught, but more shallow and not so well written.
I don't really think there's much to save because she was a doormat without a backbone and he was a cheating snobby bastard and I really don't know what she could find in him.
I don't believe for one moment he loved her, and they can't have any hea in my opinion, she's too strupid and he's a bastard and they haven't changed in the end of the book, so... divorce or murder are the only possible options for this couple.
(I hope the second option...)
July 11, 2020
"The Loving Slave" is the story of Gina and Quentin.
What? No. How this went from being a delicious, angsty revenge drama to a soppy doormat cleaning service baffles me.
Our heroine is a young 18 year old, who works as a horse groomer for the much richer hero. He treats her like dirt, poverty shaming and ridiculing her "dirty" appearance. His mother and staff are also dismissive her. When her alcoholic father dies, the hero attempts to throw her out of the estate, while simultaneously kissing her and being "ashamed" of himself. She somehow ends up as his mother's maid, and soon finds her rescuer in a long lost rich grandfather. He comes and whisks her away to a life of effluence, but in her heart the heroine has vowed vengeance against the man who treated her so callously..
Basically, until this point the book was great. The hero was a piece of shit, treating the much younger heroine like garbage yet not hesitating in using his influence to try to seduce her. I was hoping that when she returns into his life, she would make him eat dirt. But does that happen? Nope. She immediately gives in, and even when she finds multiple upsetting facts, she cannot deny her wild love for him. He continues to date/kiss OW while apparently being in love with her. I wish she had ended up with the kind vet.
I'm not a fan of this book- the second half was boring and underwhelming. Very abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
Unsafe
2/5 (all the stars for the angst)
What? No. How this went from being a delicious, angsty revenge drama to a soppy doormat cleaning service baffles me.
Our heroine is a young 18 year old, who works as a horse groomer for the much richer hero. He treats her like dirt, poverty shaming and ridiculing her "dirty" appearance. His mother and staff are also dismissive her. When her alcoholic father dies, the hero attempts to throw her out of the estate, while simultaneously kissing her and being "ashamed" of himself. She somehow ends up as his mother's maid, and soon finds her rescuer in a long lost rich grandfather. He comes and whisks her away to a life of effluence, but in her heart the heroine has vowed vengeance against the man who treated her so callously..
Basically, until this point the book was great. The hero was a piece of shit, treating the much younger heroine like garbage yet not hesitating in using his influence to try to seduce her. I was hoping that when she returns into his life, she would make him eat dirt. But does that happen? Nope. She immediately gives in, and even when she finds multiple upsetting facts, she cannot deny her wild love for him. He continues to date/kiss OW while apparently being in love with her. I wish she had ended up with the kind vet.
I'm not a fan of this book- the second half was boring and underwhelming. Very abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
Unsafe
2/5 (all the stars for the angst)
January 20, 2011
Sorry, just did not like this one. I usually like the older man/younger woman theme in my HPs, but this one fell short. I found Gina to be beyond pathetic during the first third of the book while her hero Quentin was being callous and seemingly cruel.
Her "revenge" was appropriate for her age of 19 years: ill-informed and poorly planned and executed.
Her "revenge" was appropriate for her age of 19 years: ill-informed and poorly planned and executed.
November 16, 2021
This is a zero-star romance, 5-star preposterous drama book in the vein of Substitute Bride. Normally that would average out to 3, but this book gets an extra point because of the unintentional humor.
The h is so downtrodden at first that it is gasp-worthy, but she is so blithely unaware of just how bad it is that it quickly becomes ludicrous.The only suffering she is concerned with is that the H doesn't love her and is cruel to her.
He is a piece of work,too.The H lets the teenaged h live in a disgusting hovel that he owns in exchange for working as a stable girl. He is constantly berating her for being dirty and poorly dressed (she bathes in a pond). Even though she is gaunt and exhausted from caring for her alcoholic father, he somehow assumes that she is having sex with any man who is interested in her. (As a side note, it does seem like every man who sees the h is entranced by her, something that she doesn't notice, so the H has good reason to be threatened by her interactions with other men.) He ultimately evicts her after her father dies and refuses to even let her see the horses she has cared for.
Later the H "explains" his rationale, but at that point, it's only fodder for one last laugh from the reader.
Extremely memorable in that way that only MP's most extreme books can be.
The h is so downtrodden at first that it is gasp-worthy, but she is so blithely unaware of just how bad it is that it quickly becomes ludicrous.The only suffering she is concerned with is that the H doesn't love her and is cruel to her.
He is a piece of work,too.The H lets the teenaged h live in a disgusting hovel that he owns in exchange for working as a stable girl. He is constantly berating her for being dirty and poorly dressed (she bathes in a pond). Even though she is gaunt and exhausted from caring for her alcoholic father, he somehow assumes that she is having sex with any man who is interested in her. (As a side note, it does seem like every man who sees the h is entranced by her, something that she doesn't notice, so the H has good reason to be threatened by her interactions with other men.) He ultimately evicts her after her father dies and refuses to even let her see the horses she has cared for.
Later the H "explains" his rationale, but at that point, it's only fodder for one last laugh from the reader.
Extremely memorable in that way that only MP's most extreme books can be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2020
Very vintage-feeling May/Dec tale of a young and extremely sheltered h who works as an unpaid stable girl for the lord-of-the-manor H. This would have worked better as a Regency. She is in love with him; he acts mostly like an exasperated and arrogant-older-brother to her until our 18 year old dirty faced urchin starts to bloom (and all the boys around start to notice). Then he is struck, as is she, by the irresistible forces of purple passion.
The h lives in a hovel on his grounds with her alcoholic father. Despite the fact that she has grown up at the manor, no one seems to realize that she is working unpaid and living in a falling-down shack with no electricity or running water? And the staff are pretty mean to her when she's the scruffy, hungry stable girl. Who are these heartless people?
The H tells her she and her father need to go (from a legal perspective, he's probably liable for their living conditions). He doesn't tell her (until the HEA speeches) that he was planning on finding them a place in the village. He blows hot and cold with her (mostly cold, except for occasional lapses when he is overcome by hormones and can't help kissing her). He comes across her swimming naked in a pond one night and they almost have sex (very ambiguous if there was actual penetration or not but MP def gives the impression it went that far but he pulled back at the very last second). Her father dies, and his mother offers her a place as her fetch-and-carry girl, so she becomes a servant at the house. Wth?
But it comes to pass that she has a wealthy grandfather who lives nearby who discovers her existence, so she goes to live with him and his sister for a year. She travels and grows up a bit, becoming more polished and presentable. Back from a year abroad, she and the H reconnect, and he rushes her into marriage. She has some vague ideas about revenge for how he treated her and also because she thinks he is marrying her because she is an heiress, so she refuses to have sex with him. Unlike many an MP H before him, he doesn't force her, and she suffers from heartache and he from blue balls for a few chapters. In the end though, truth comes out, and HEA.
Dated and fairly clean read with an arrogant and insulting H and a sometimes tstl h (whom I excused a bit because she was so young and had grown up in a pretty rough situation). It was obvious that the H was as smitten as she was quite early on, but snobbery and some degree of conscience on his part kept them apart. I actually enjoyed this one for old-skool wtfery but it was pretty mild for MP and just OK.
The h lives in a hovel on his grounds with her alcoholic father. Despite the fact that she has grown up at the manor, no one seems to realize that she is working unpaid and living in a falling-down shack with no electricity or running water? And the staff are pretty mean to her when she's the scruffy, hungry stable girl. Who are these heartless people?
The H tells her she and her father need to go (from a legal perspective, he's probably liable for their living conditions). He doesn't tell her (until the HEA speeches) that he was planning on finding them a place in the village. He blows hot and cold with her (mostly cold, except for occasional lapses when he is overcome by hormones and can't help kissing her). He comes across her swimming naked in a pond one night and they almost have sex (very ambiguous if there was actual penetration or not but MP def gives the impression it went that far but he pulled back at the very last second). Her father dies, and his mother offers her a place as her fetch-and-carry girl, so she becomes a servant at the house. Wth?
But it comes to pass that she has a wealthy grandfather who lives nearby who discovers her existence, so she goes to live with him and his sister for a year. She travels and grows up a bit, becoming more polished and presentable. Back from a year abroad, she and the H reconnect, and he rushes her into marriage. She has some vague ideas about revenge for how he treated her and also because she thinks he is marrying her because she is an heiress, so she refuses to have sex with him. Unlike many an MP H before him, he doesn't force her, and she suffers from heartache and he from blue balls for a few chapters. In the end though, truth comes out, and HEA.
Dated and fairly clean read with an arrogant and insulting H and a sometimes tstl h (whom I excused a bit because she was so young and had grown up in a pretty rough situation). It was obvious that the H was as smitten as she was quite early on, but snobbery and some degree of conscience on his part kept them apart. I actually enjoyed this one for old-skool wtfery but it was pretty mild for MP and just OK.
May 30, 2015
I liked both hero and heroine. They were insecure and clueless but the angst kept me entertained!
June 25, 2019
When did love turn to vengeful hate?
Young Gina hero-worshipped Quentin Hurst, but to him she was just a child, a dirty tomboy who helped in his stables with the horses. His frequent snide remarks had been cruel, but she'd always forgiven him.
Except for the cruelest cut of all--his smiling indulgence of the elegant Blanche Edgar.
But Gina was older now, with beauty and status of her own. The wounded heart she bore was a woman's heart, and now, in turn, with a woman's wiles she wanted to hurt Quentin
Young Gina hero-worshipped Quentin Hurst, but to him she was just a child, a dirty tomboy who helped in his stables with the horses. His frequent snide remarks had been cruel, but she'd always forgiven him.
Except for the cruelest cut of all--his smiling indulgence of the elegant Blanche Edgar.
But Gina was older now, with beauty and status of her own. The wounded heart she bore was a woman's heart, and now, in turn, with a woman's wiles she wanted to hurt Quentin
February 1, 2012
Ah. My first HP read in quite awhile and luckily it wasnt half bad :) I have had this on my TBR for quite awhile and I dont even remember why (nothing new with most of my TBR though) I liked both the H/h even though the H was a true a-hole and the h was a witch midway through the book not to mention an idiot (I also came to the realization Im not a fan of revenge stories. well not where the heroine is trying to get revenge on the H- even though hers fell flat before it even got started)
I love the May/December unrequited love angle. He was very cruel to her but I actually liked that, well not liked that but it definitely drew me into the story more. There was some angsty goodness in this book as well but I think it could have probably been played out a bit more
As much as I liked it I think it probably could have been just a little longer, I wasnt completely satisfied with Quentin's turnaround and explanation of his past behavior. Sure she could have stood up to him more but all in all this was a good way to spend my evening. :)
I love the May/December unrequited love angle. He was very cruel to her but I actually liked that, well not liked that but it definitely drew me into the story more. There was some angsty goodness in this book as well but I think it could have probably been played out a bit more
As much as I liked it I think it probably could have been just a little longer, I wasnt completely satisfied with Quentin's turnaround and explanation of his past behavior. Sure she could have stood up to him more but all in all this was a good way to spend my evening. :)
December 3, 2013
3.5 stars
May-dec/guardian-ward-ish type story where the hero treats the much younger and dirty heroine like an disgusting underling but then goes for her hot and heavy when she comes into an inheritance and gets cleaned up. Juicy OW stuff and some get-even. The heroine totally pee'od me at the end with her gullibility. Totally thought she got what was coming to her. Decent enough read. Medium on the wtfery.
May-dec/guardian-ward-ish type story where the hero treats the much younger and dirty heroine like an disgusting underling but then goes for her hot and heavy when she comes into an inheritance and gets cleaned up. Juicy OW stuff and some get-even. The heroine totally pee'od me at the end with her gullibility. Totally thought she got what was coming to her. Decent enough read. Medium on the wtfery.
February 2, 2016
Such a tstl heroine!
May 27, 2023
"Πικρή εκδίκηση"- Μάργκαρετ Πάρτζετερ, Συλλογή 359, έτος έκδοσης: 1981.
Η κρυφή αγάπη της Τζίνα Φόστερ για τον Κουέντιν Χέρστ είχε γίνει μίσος. Και να τώρα που της δίνεται η ευκαιρία, να τον εκδικηθεί. Τόσα χρόνια την αντιμετώπιζε περιφρονητικά, εξευτελίζοντάς την. Είχε έρθει λοιπόν η σειρά του να την εκλιπαρήσει για να του δείξει λίγο ενδιαφέρον, να του πετάξει λίγα ψίχουλα τρυφερότητας. Αλλά όταν έρχεται η στιγμή να χαρεί τη νίκη της, διαπιστώνει με τρόμο ότι είναι πάλι παγιδευμένη στα δίχτυα της γοητείας του. Καταλαβαίνει ότι ο έρωτάς της για τον Κουέντιν έχει θεριέψει ξανά. Πώς, όμως, να του το ομολογήσει μετά από την ταπείνωση που τον υπέβαλλε;
Πολύ καλή ιστορία!!!
Η κρυφή αγάπη της Τζίνα Φόστερ για τον Κουέντιν Χέρστ είχε γίνει μίσος. Και να τώρα που της δίνεται η ευκαιρία, να τον εκδικηθεί. Τόσα χρόνια την αντιμετώπιζε περιφρονητικά, εξευτελίζοντάς την. Είχε έρθει λοιπόν η σειρά του να την εκλιπαρήσει για να του δείξει λίγο ενδιαφέρον, να του πετάξει λίγα ψίχουλα τρυφερότητας. Αλλά όταν έρχεται η στιγμή να χαρεί τη νίκη της, διαπιστώνει με τρόμο ότι είναι πάλι παγιδευμένη στα δίχτυα της γοητείας του. Καταλαβαίνει ότι ο έρωτάς της για τον Κουέντιν έχει θεριέψει ξανά. Πώς, όμως, να του το ομολογήσει μετά από την ταπείνωση που τον υπέβαλλε;
Πολύ καλή ιστορία!!!
November 16, 2021
DNF. I am nearly certain I have read this book when I was super young but I couldn't go past 4% this time.
The H was a snob and incredibly cruel with his words. The first time we see him and the h interact, he internally cringes at how her muddy hands have ruined his super expensive suit. He calls her plain, smelly, and asks her why she is always dirty. Oh, so lover like Oh, so hidden-lust-ey. Yeah, right.
It was a May-December romance too, the h is 18 and the H is 35. Double her age is something I can no longer digest at this phase of my life. Man, younger me had it good. Ignorance was bliss while I was vacuuming these old romances back in the day.
The H was a snob and incredibly cruel with his words. The first time we see him and the h interact, he internally cringes at how her muddy hands have ruined his super expensive suit. He calls her plain, smelly, and asks her why she is always dirty. Oh, so lover like Oh, so hidden-lust-ey. Yeah, right.
It was a May-December romance too, the h is 18 and the H is 35. Double her age is something I can no longer digest at this phase of my life. Man, younger me had it good. Ignorance was bliss while I was vacuuming these old romances back in the day.
April 2, 2013
amazingly i liked the book. yes, amazingly because the hero was such an asshole. my he behaved abominably. how could gina go on loving him !? if i were in gina's place, any love i had had felt for quentin would have died and left only a profound disgust. i don't understand the harlequin books somtimes. is love based on lust only !? because she was greatly attracted to him, they had lust between them so she goes on loving him ?? personality count for nothing !?
November 28, 2023
I'm giving this an extra star for the parts with the horses and how much the h, Gina cared for them. I would have liked more about that, because the relationship - such as it was - between her and the H, Quentin, sure left a lot to be desired!
Too many books have the H and h hiding their true feelings by being way too cold, unfeeling, snarky, bitchy, sarcastic, etc., and this one went over the top, with the way Quentin talked to Gina, who lived in a cottage on his family's estate with her alcoholic father. (He was a former doctor, whose heartbreak over his wife's death affected his work and caused a child's death, hence his drinking, not to mention his license to practice medicine.) Gina helps out in the stables, and later as a maid for Quentin's mother, and both these facts earn her caustic remarks from Quentin, as well as nasty comments on how thin she looks, how unkempt, and does she ever wash??? Quite a charmer! (Quite a jerk!!) He keeps up the insults as well as appearing annoyed whenever she's around, but for some reason, Gina's fallen for him, and wishes he'd see her as a young woman, rather than an annoying child. (She's 18 to his 35.)
It goes on like this, with Quentin getting angry at the terrible condition the cottage is in, then admits that, as the owner, he should have checked on it before. (YOU THINK?????) The reason Gina can't wash properly, is because there's no sink indoors, only an outdoor pump! She has to bathe in the lake, when it's dark and no one's around! She gets caught in a sudden storm one night, is rescued by Quentin, he blames her (naturally), then nearly seduces her! This happens more than once, as he goes from ignoring her (and giving his attention to the OW, Blanche), and then almost making love to her, firing the young veterinarian who's become a good friend to Gina (the old "I don't want you but no one else can have you") and then stating that she and her father will have to leave the cottage ASAP!
Apparently, all this behavior was to hide the fact that he was falling for her, and felt she was too young to tie herself down to anyone. She needed to know more of the world, meet more people, etc. (Well, Richard the vet was people, wasn't he? So, for that matter, was Blanche's brother Felix, who made no secret of his interest in Gina. Yet, Quentin insisted she have nothing to do with them. Would you say he contradicts himself???)
Could any woman resist him??? I SURE COULD!!!
Soon, the story takes an unexpected turn, right out of a fairy tale, as Cinderella becomes a Princess, the Ugly Duckling blossoms into a Swan, the Poor Girl becomes an Heiress, etc. etc. Very far-fetched, but still entertaining! There's a long-lost grandfather (more like hide in plain sight), a great-aunt who'll transform Plain Gina into Princess Gina, a trip around the world, handsome guys to flirt with, a charming French cousin to show her around Paris, and....did I mention a dead father??? Well, no great loss there, as he deliberately kept Gina from her grandfather out of spite, because he was not the model son-in-law the man wanted for Gina's mom. (I agree with Gramps!)
The silliness continues when, after a year abroad, Gina, Grandpa and Great-Aunt Liza return, with Gina determined to get revenge on Quentin for his crummy treatment, by showing off her new look and style, hopefully get him interested, then tell him to get lost, the way he used to tell her! Naturally, she was just kidding herself, as one look at him and she knows she still cares! (Apparently, she didn't even kiss any of those guys she met, none could compare to Quentin!) They end up exchanging cutting remarks and keep up an air of indifference, until passion nearly gets the better of them, and the next thing you know, they're getting married!
However, wedded bliss is a long time coming, as a jealous Blanche does damage by telling a TSTL Gina that Quentin's in financial trouble, and is marrying her for Grandpa's millions! Naturally, Gina believes this and naturally, she wants revenge! The perfect way would have been to leave him at the altar, but no! Gina decides she'll marry him, then find a way to get back at him!
Makes perfect sense! (?????????)
As you'd guess, this really backfires!
Another thing I don't like is the way both Quentin and Gina aren't above using other people to take shots at each other. Blanche may not be so terrific, but Quentin shouldn't have been leading her on and spending so much time with her, just to try and forget Gina, and Gina shouldn't have encouraged Felix's interest in her, by accepting invitations to tea and to go riding, when she knew he had strong feelings for her. True, she never encouraged him to think they could be more than friends, but when he actually tells her how much he cares, (even though she was married at the time), she should have realized this wasn't fair to him. But with a story this ridiculous, what can one expect?
There's too many stop-and-start love scenes, enough to send anyone to the ice-cold shower stalls, so that when something finally happens, it's like, "why bother, stick to the shower nozzle!"
Why bother, stick to another book!
Too many books have the H and h hiding their true feelings by being way too cold, unfeeling, snarky, bitchy, sarcastic, etc., and this one went over the top, with the way Quentin talked to Gina, who lived in a cottage on his family's estate with her alcoholic father. (He was a former doctor, whose heartbreak over his wife's death affected his work and caused a child's death, hence his drinking, not to mention his license to practice medicine.) Gina helps out in the stables, and later as a maid for Quentin's mother, and both these facts earn her caustic remarks from Quentin, as well as nasty comments on how thin she looks, how unkempt, and does she ever wash??? Quite a charmer! (Quite a jerk!!) He keeps up the insults as well as appearing annoyed whenever she's around, but for some reason, Gina's fallen for him, and wishes he'd see her as a young woman, rather than an annoying child. (She's 18 to his 35.)
It goes on like this, with Quentin getting angry at the terrible condition the cottage is in, then admits that, as the owner, he should have checked on it before. (YOU THINK?????) The reason Gina can't wash properly, is because there's no sink indoors, only an outdoor pump! She has to bathe in the lake, when it's dark and no one's around! She gets caught in a sudden storm one night, is rescued by Quentin, he blames her (naturally), then nearly seduces her! This happens more than once, as he goes from ignoring her (and giving his attention to the OW, Blanche), and then almost making love to her, firing the young veterinarian who's become a good friend to Gina (the old "I don't want you but no one else can have you") and then stating that she and her father will have to leave the cottage ASAP!
Apparently, all this behavior was to hide the fact that he was falling for her, and felt she was too young to tie herself down to anyone. She needed to know more of the world, meet more people, etc. (Well, Richard the vet was people, wasn't he? So, for that matter, was Blanche's brother Felix, who made no secret of his interest in Gina. Yet, Quentin insisted she have nothing to do with them. Would you say he contradicts himself???)
Could any woman resist him??? I SURE COULD!!!
Soon, the story takes an unexpected turn, right out of a fairy tale, as Cinderella becomes a Princess, the Ugly Duckling blossoms into a Swan, the Poor Girl becomes an Heiress, etc. etc. Very far-fetched, but still entertaining! There's a long-lost grandfather (more like hide in plain sight), a great-aunt who'll transform Plain Gina into Princess Gina, a trip around the world, handsome guys to flirt with, a charming French cousin to show her around Paris, and....did I mention a dead father??? Well, no great loss there, as he deliberately kept Gina from her grandfather out of spite, because he was not the model son-in-law the man wanted for Gina's mom. (I agree with Gramps!)
The silliness continues when, after a year abroad, Gina, Grandpa and Great-Aunt Liza return, with Gina determined to get revenge on Quentin for his crummy treatment, by showing off her new look and style, hopefully get him interested, then tell him to get lost, the way he used to tell her! Naturally, she was just kidding herself, as one look at him and she knows she still cares! (Apparently, she didn't even kiss any of those guys she met, none could compare to Quentin!) They end up exchanging cutting remarks and keep up an air of indifference, until passion nearly gets the better of them, and the next thing you know, they're getting married!
However, wedded bliss is a long time coming, as a jealous Blanche does damage by telling a TSTL Gina that Quentin's in financial trouble, and is marrying her for Grandpa's millions! Naturally, Gina believes this and naturally, she wants revenge! The perfect way would have been to leave him at the altar, but no! Gina decides she'll marry him, then find a way to get back at him!
Makes perfect sense! (?????????)
As you'd guess, this really backfires!
Another thing I don't like is the way both Quentin and Gina aren't above using other people to take shots at each other. Blanche may not be so terrific, but Quentin shouldn't have been leading her on and spending so much time with her, just to try and forget Gina, and Gina shouldn't have encouraged Felix's interest in her, by accepting invitations to tea and to go riding, when she knew he had strong feelings for her. True, she never encouraged him to think they could be more than friends, but when he actually tells her how much he cares, (even though she was married at the time), she should have realized this wasn't fair to him. But with a story this ridiculous, what can one expect?
There's too many stop-and-start love scenes, enough to send anyone to the ice-cold shower stalls, so that when something finally happens, it's like, "why bother, stick to the shower nozzle!"
Why bother, stick to another book!
January 26, 2018
With all that blurb, I was expecting a Diana Palmer kind of asshat hero but I've got to mention that he wasn't half as awful as them, even at his worst. Besides, it was quite clear from his behaviour that he luuurved the heroine even when she was a plain jane. It's hilarious how these old school books give no hero POV, but show the heroes' luuurve through their white/grey/pale face, and the funniest of all, that white ring around their mouths (reminds me of sports players sporting the white moisturizer around their mouth).
So when he fights his luuurve for the heroine, his most commonly uttered insult to her is that she's untidy. This is where he pales in comparison to Diana Palmer's asshat heroes. When the heroine's newly discovered upperclass grandpa shows up, she still begs to the hero to let her stay on with him and confesses her luuurve for him. Despite several rejections from him. Well, he rejects her yet again without any explanation, but it's quite clear if you read between the lines that he's letting her go for her own good. For "growing up" as he puts it later. He wasn't even as bad as the other Pargeter heroes; he didn't even slap the heroine like her other male leads usually do.
As for the heroine, she's TSTL. After she returns from the year long trip all groomed & sophisticated, the way she sets up a party to rub it in the hero's face is so childish that it actually made me cringe for her. Not to mention, how she falls for the usual bullshit from the OW and amps up her revenge on the hero. Which ultimately backfires. This book could have ended with an HEA right on their wedding night with a simple confession, but no, the hero plays the stupid martyr here, unnecessarily drags the story on to have his own itsy bitsy revenge in the end, which backfires. And voila, HEA.
Plot: 2/5
Writing style: 4/5
Hero: 3/5
Heroine: 1/5
So when he fights his luuurve for the heroine, his most commonly uttered insult to her is that she's untidy. This is where he pales in comparison to Diana Palmer's asshat heroes. When the heroine's newly discovered upperclass grandpa shows up, she still begs to the hero to let her stay on with him and confesses her luuurve for him. Despite several rejections from him. Well, he rejects her yet again without any explanation, but it's quite clear if you read between the lines that he's letting her go for her own good. For "growing up" as he puts it later. He wasn't even as bad as the other Pargeter heroes; he didn't even slap the heroine like her other male leads usually do.
As for the heroine, she's TSTL. After she returns from the year long trip all groomed & sophisticated, the way she sets up a party to rub it in the hero's face is so childish that it actually made me cringe for her. Not to mention, how she falls for the usual bullshit from the OW and amps up her revenge on the hero. Which ultimately backfires. This book could have ended with an HEA right on their wedding night with a simple confession, but no, the hero plays the stupid martyr here, unnecessarily drags the story on to have his own itsy bitsy revenge in the end, which backfires. And voila, HEA.
Plot: 2/5
Writing style: 4/5
Hero: 3/5
Heroine: 1/5
March 27, 2020
She was just a tomboy who worked in his stables. He was always cutting down the way she looked. Until one day she came back and had changed. Her looks and attitude had evolved from what she has been to a vivacious beauty. But with their past would she ever believe that he desires her now? And what about the one woman who had been there for him in the past? Is he ready to let her go? Which one will he choose?
February 8, 2021
The H was cruel to her in the beginning, saying mean things about her looks. The h is the typical HP doormat.
She wants to take revenge for what he did to her in the past by marrying him. But that ‘revenge’ never was a revenge. She should have let him suffer more.
She wants to take revenge for what he did to her in the past by marrying him. But that ‘revenge’ never was a revenge. She should have let him suffer more.
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August 10, 2025Caramba, mais um livro de quando eu era adolescente... Sempre me impressionou ela ser taooo pobre e explorada pelo H. Não é romântico, é deplorável. O tal H é horrível ( merecia morrer pobre , nu e falido), ela merecia um dos OM que surgiram em sua vida ou qualquer milionário que MP pudesse criar.
July 28, 2019
I realized why Pargeter made her Hs super a-holes because when she doesn't as in this case, the story just falls flat and is an ordeal to read.
April 22, 2024
H was worse than average for an MP. And the age gap, always gross in MPs was compounded by the guardian vibe.
August 13, 2024
The heroine was tstl. The hero was smitten and really carried the book, the heroine not so much.
May 21, 2021
A frustrating heroine who is young and stupid. The H is nearly twice her age.
The author put in a perfectly nice vet smitten with heroine but she of course has eyes only for the H. There was even another potential OM Felix who also was nice and attentive. Alas they only served as tools to increase the heroine’s self esteem and to make the H jealous . It was a minus for me. I wished one of them would end up with the girl. The H was dreadful and I wish the heroine stood up to him once in the beginning. She was rather pathetic. Then the whole revenge trope and misunderstanding wasn’t that interesting. It was too predictable to me and I’m not sure the H redeemed himself even if he helped with the money. It wasn’t before she became more refined that he took his interest seriously. I couldn’t forget how he treated her to breakfast at his home when she was hungry. He didn’t want to dwell much on the past and his horrible behavior. He hoped the heroine would soon forget. Well I didn’t.
The author put in a perfectly nice vet smitten with heroine but she of course has eyes only for the H. There was even another potential OM Felix who also was nice and attentive. Alas they only served as tools to increase the heroine’s self esteem and to make the H jealous . It was a minus for me. I wished one of them would end up with the girl. The H was dreadful and I wish the heroine stood up to him once in the beginning. She was rather pathetic. Then the whole revenge trope and misunderstanding wasn’t that interesting. It was too predictable to me and I’m not sure the H redeemed himself even if he helped with the money. It wasn’t before she became more refined that he took his interest seriously. I couldn’t forget how he treated her to breakfast at his home when she was hungry. He didn’t want to dwell much on the past and his horrible behavior. He hoped the heroine would soon forget. Well I didn’t.
October 12, 2010
There was entirely too much yelling in this book and a whole lot of confusing dialogue and scenes I could have done without.
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November 26, 2015Horrible book. Don't waste your time ugh
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