What do you think?
Rate this book
プロポーズは四年前
He'd never ask a second time
Sandra had known Randall Pearson forever. Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him.
Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he?
Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the proposing.
Sandra had known Randall Pearson forever. Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him.
Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he?
Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the proposing.
paperback_shinsho
First published January 1, 1987
3 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Roberta Leigh
113 books66 followersaka Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott, Rozella Lake
Roberta Leigh was the most frequently used pen name of an author who also published novels as Rachel Lindsay, Rozella Lake, and Janey Scott. Her birth name was Rita Shulman.
Leigh was one of the first romance writers to introduce strong, career-minded heroines who wouldn't be bossed around by the hero.
Leigh had her own film company and wrote and produced 7 TV series for children. She would also "write" the music for her series, although this usually involved her humming or singing the tune into a tape recorder, after which someone else would arrange and write a score.
She studied oil and watercolor painting with Diana Raphael and Michael Chaitow, who her interest in abstract art. Her work has been exhibited at the Podbury Gallery and Finnegan's Gallery in London.
In 1948, she married Michael Lewin and they had a son, Jeremy. Her husband passed away in 1981.
Roberta Leigh was the most frequently used pen name of an author who also published novels as Rachel Lindsay, Rozella Lake, and Janey Scott. Her birth name was Rita Shulman.
Leigh was one of the first romance writers to introduce strong, career-minded heroines who wouldn't be bossed around by the hero.
Leigh had her own film company and wrote and produced 7 TV series for children. She would also "write" the music for her series, although this usually involved her humming or singing the tune into a tape recorder, after which someone else would arrange and write a score.
She studied oil and watercolor painting with Diana Raphael and Michael Chaitow, who her interest in abstract art. Her work has been exhibited at the Podbury Gallery and Finnegan's Gallery in London.
In 1948, she married Michael Lewin and they had a son, Jeremy. Her husband passed away in 1981.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 27, 2016
Re Storm Cloud Marriage - RL brings us a MOC that ends in true love after a forced seduction and a literal explosion. But that isn't why HP devotees generally like this book.
We have an adorable H who is lost in unrequited love for the h and a he is a bit of nerd as he is a chemical engineer AND he wears glasses. (Which apparently means his communication skills in complimentary wooing is amoebic.) He has two pairs of eyewear, heavy tortoiseshell frames for the big business persona look and the ever stylish gold metal Foster Grants for the more casual mode. While the story itself has its uninspiring moments and the h can be a bit trying, the main thing everyone remarks on is those glasses. I think this might be the first HP H wearing glasses ever, so I suppose it is worth a mention or twenty.
Anyhows the h is the privileged only child of the head of a big pharmaceutical company. She is currently in disguise as a graphic artist in London and thinks she is in love with her boss. Her disguise as an ordinary working girl is about to be revealed tho, she has decided that since she is in love and hopes to get married, she needs to tell her boss the truth.
She is really, really rich and has been hiding it cause she doesn't want to encourage fortune hunters. Her beloved dad has been after her to marry too, he is seventy years old and the only parent she has ever known. Her mum died when she was a baby, and she has been her dad's overprotective focus ever since - outside of running his conglomerate.
Her dad is anxious to see her married and preggers too, in fact he has the perfect man all picked out for her. It is his next in command and his successor in the company - our glasses wearing H is the h's dad's number one and indeed only preference for a son-in-law. There is only one problem, the h can't stand him. He is the opposite in demeanor to our spritely, sharp tongued and flamboyant h. She has never really gotten along with him, he is much too staid and sober in her view, but after he proposed to her when she was 18 and about to leave for art school and made it sound like a business merger for her shares in her dad's company, the h has been openly antagonistic.
This does lead to several amusing exchanges of double entendres and sharp witted banter, but it isn't helping the H with his wooing any. In fact there isn't really any wooing, cause the H feels it wouldn't help him win the h's hand in marriage, so he won't make the effort.
( I kinda did not get the H's whole proposal deal either, he literally comes out of the blue with it on her 18th birthday when he gets her aside, hands her a little antique miniature and tells her he wants to pin their engagement down before he loses her to art school. When she points out that they don't know each other that well and have never even gone out together, he tells her it doesn't matter, he has been around her house for yonks and he thinks she should say yes. The h says no and then goes on to let him know that her butler has been around for yonks as well, and yet she isn't entertaining any thoughts of marrying him. )
The h's dad is disappointed, but the H can run his company and the h can try her wings and so their relationship becomes one of distant antagonism while they are both busy doing other things.
Then the h's dad has a major heart attack. The h is despondent over his illness and in a mad fit of trying to help her dad find the will to live, she announces that she and the H are engaged. She had recently found that the boss she loved, (but was fighting with over her not lurving it up with him and her money and his lack of a willingness to propose,) was sleeping with someone else when she showed up for a surprise visit.
This discovery also contributed to the h's momentary fit of madness and impromptu engagement announcements. The h tries to back out of it the next day, but the H won't let her and in a typical drama queen fashion the h thinks that she will never love again after the ex and figures she may as well go thru with it. Plus it makes her dad happy and she really loves her dad, tho she is warned he is fading fast so any wedding will be quick and really small.
They marry and the H promises he won't force any lurve club moments on her. He assumes that they will come together as a result of proximity and marriage. They go to New York right after the ceremony. The H is doing a big merger so there is business, shopping, antagonistic bantering conversations, and some surprisingly passionate kissing and the h discovers from a potential H OW that the H has a big unrequited love in his past.
The wanna be OW is an old friend of the H, she was married to an artist who was also a good friend of the H and when the hubby died, the OW thought she and the H might make a go of it. The h is vaguely jealous, but likes the lady and she does admit that the H could do worse. More importantly, the OW has the hubby's unfinished children's book that needs an artist and she thinks the h's watercolors would be marvelous in the book.
The h had given up the graphic artist job with the ex when her father first became ill, so children's books seem to be a great career path for her to try. Now back in England, the h begins her art work and then comes up with her own idear for a book involving a poorly sighted snow leopard. The H and she are still having a bit of a strain in their interpersonal communications, but the h is definitely softening in her feelings for the H.
Then the h's ex shows up and manages to finagle the h into enduring his company a few times. (I did not get this really either, this h is not a doormat at all and has no problem telling people off, so why she let the ex manipulate her in to being alone with him was just too nonsensical for word and threw huge boulders on the path of believability.)
The ex shows up when the h is out with the wife of a business client and manages to get her to leave the client's wife and go out with him, the h feels she has to go with the guy in order to maintain good manners. The H finds out and is furious, he thinks the h was canoodling with the OM and allowing a trespasser on his personal territory.
After accusing the h of infidelity, he very forcibly seduces the h and finds that the h really was a virtuous girl. (The h had been attacked by a son of one of her father's friends in Italy when she was 15 and the trauma kept her from making a physical relationship with anyone.) In a very weirdly perverse sorta way, (that has implications of emotional disturbances I don't want to think about in HPlandia,) the h winds up highly enjoying the forced lurve clubbing by the H and declares herself in love with him. That enjoyment and her love won't stop her from needing the H with accusations of rape periodically tho or making the H angry by encouraging the OM on the phone while the H is listening.
The H is ashamed of himself and really sorry, he backs away from any intimacy with the h and promises her he will end the marriage as soon as he can. This destroys the h of course, they both do a 180 on attitudes about staying married. The h was the reluctant one at the start, there is the might club of lurve clubbing to end all lurve clubbings and now the H is running for the hills. The h's father conveniently dies at this point and the H and h separate. She finally tells the ex OM nothing is on between them and the ex OM fades off into the HP mist.
The h starts on her snow leopard book, the leopard was being very mean to little kind cute creatures until his eyesight went bad. Then he was starving and the kind cute little animals fed him bits of food cause they felt sad for him. A shy doe finds a pair of glasses that she leaves for the leopard to put on. His eyesight restored, he feels bad about being mean to little fluffy kind animals and becomes a vegetarian and friends with all the little animals and vows never to chase them down ever again. The eyeglasses the H lookalike leopard wears are exactly like the tortoiseshell frames that the H prefers.
The book attracts the attention of children's television producers and the h is soon involved in the project of getting her book on film. The producer is the brother of one of the h's school friends and when he and she are out one day, she sees the H and the wanna be OW out in the same restaurant. They both ignore each other and concentrate on their respective partners.
The h knows she could take up with the producer if she wanted to, but she is steadfast in her unrequited love for the H and so they just stay friends. When she runs into the OW one day while therapy shopping, she finds out that the wanna be OW really doesn't think the H is a good match for her anymore, tho they will always be friends. The meeting gives the h some food for thought, but before she can tax her brain too much, she hears about a big explosion at the pharmaceutical company's labs.
The h rushes to the scene, terrified that the H has been killed. She finds the H alive and cleans his glasses and then sticks around to help the injured and wait for the H. He takes her back to his house for the night and while the h is snooping around in his room, she finds a picture of herself by his bed. (The wanna be OW had told her the H kept a picture of his unrequited love by his bed for many years, but no one ever saw it but him and the h never shared a bedroom with him.)
The H and h have some distant conversation and awkwardness about how neither one of them has cheated with other people, so they have no grounds for divorce, before they both retire to separate rooms. But the h's brain finally kicks into using more than two brain cells and she wraps her nude body in a robe and goes off to see the H. She asks about the picture and his unrequited love and the H confesses he loves her. She confesses she loves him back, the lurve clubbing did the trick - so he should stop feeling guilty and bad, and she tells him about the attempted assault when she was 15. They both swear to love, cherish and share frequent boudoir bounces forever and make lots of little rugrats for the HEA.
This one was pretty good and the glasses sub-trope with the eyeglass wearing leopard as a symbol of the h's eternal love was cute. Neither one of them is going to win awards as the sharpest pencil in the box. But it all worked out in the end, so we can call this a win for the HPlandia lurve club mojo that is unstoppable even in extremis and be happy with another HP excursion that has a believable HEA.
We have an adorable H who is lost in unrequited love for the h and a he is a bit of nerd as he is a chemical engineer AND he wears glasses. (Which apparently means his communication skills in complimentary wooing is amoebic.) He has two pairs of eyewear, heavy tortoiseshell frames for the big business persona look and the ever stylish gold metal Foster Grants for the more casual mode. While the story itself has its uninspiring moments and the h can be a bit trying, the main thing everyone remarks on is those glasses. I think this might be the first HP H wearing glasses ever, so I suppose it is worth a mention or twenty.
Anyhows the h is the privileged only child of the head of a big pharmaceutical company. She is currently in disguise as a graphic artist in London and thinks she is in love with her boss. Her disguise as an ordinary working girl is about to be revealed tho, she has decided that since she is in love and hopes to get married, she needs to tell her boss the truth.
She is really, really rich and has been hiding it cause she doesn't want to encourage fortune hunters. Her beloved dad has been after her to marry too, he is seventy years old and the only parent she has ever known. Her mum died when she was a baby, and she has been her dad's overprotective focus ever since - outside of running his conglomerate.
Her dad is anxious to see her married and preggers too, in fact he has the perfect man all picked out for her. It is his next in command and his successor in the company - our glasses wearing H is the h's dad's number one and indeed only preference for a son-in-law. There is only one problem, the h can't stand him. He is the opposite in demeanor to our spritely, sharp tongued and flamboyant h. She has never really gotten along with him, he is much too staid and sober in her view, but after he proposed to her when she was 18 and about to leave for art school and made it sound like a business merger for her shares in her dad's company, the h has been openly antagonistic.
This does lead to several amusing exchanges of double entendres and sharp witted banter, but it isn't helping the H with his wooing any. In fact there isn't really any wooing, cause the H feels it wouldn't help him win the h's hand in marriage, so he won't make the effort.
( I kinda did not get the H's whole proposal deal either, he literally comes out of the blue with it on her 18th birthday when he gets her aside, hands her a little antique miniature and tells her he wants to pin their engagement down before he loses her to art school. When she points out that they don't know each other that well and have never even gone out together, he tells her it doesn't matter, he has been around her house for yonks and he thinks she should say yes. The h says no and then goes on to let him know that her butler has been around for yonks as well, and yet she isn't entertaining any thoughts of marrying him. )
The h's dad is disappointed, but the H can run his company and the h can try her wings and so their relationship becomes one of distant antagonism while they are both busy doing other things.
Then the h's dad has a major heart attack. The h is despondent over his illness and in a mad fit of trying to help her dad find the will to live, she announces that she and the H are engaged. She had recently found that the boss she loved, (but was fighting with over her not lurving it up with him and her money and his lack of a willingness to propose,) was sleeping with someone else when she showed up for a surprise visit.
This discovery also contributed to the h's momentary fit of madness and impromptu engagement announcements. The h tries to back out of it the next day, but the H won't let her and in a typical drama queen fashion the h thinks that she will never love again after the ex and figures she may as well go thru with it. Plus it makes her dad happy and she really loves her dad, tho she is warned he is fading fast so any wedding will be quick and really small.
They marry and the H promises he won't force any lurve club moments on her. He assumes that they will come together as a result of proximity and marriage. They go to New York right after the ceremony. The H is doing a big merger so there is business, shopping, antagonistic bantering conversations, and some surprisingly passionate kissing and the h discovers from a potential H OW that the H has a big unrequited love in his past.
The wanna be OW is an old friend of the H, she was married to an artist who was also a good friend of the H and when the hubby died, the OW thought she and the H might make a go of it. The h is vaguely jealous, but likes the lady and she does admit that the H could do worse. More importantly, the OW has the hubby's unfinished children's book that needs an artist and she thinks the h's watercolors would be marvelous in the book.
The h had given up the graphic artist job with the ex when her father first became ill, so children's books seem to be a great career path for her to try. Now back in England, the h begins her art work and then comes up with her own idear for a book involving a poorly sighted snow leopard. The H and she are still having a bit of a strain in their interpersonal communications, but the h is definitely softening in her feelings for the H.
Then the h's ex shows up and manages to finagle the h into enduring his company a few times. (I did not get this really either, this h is not a doormat at all and has no problem telling people off, so why she let the ex manipulate her in to being alone with him was just too nonsensical for word and threw huge boulders on the path of believability.)
The ex shows up when the h is out with the wife of a business client and manages to get her to leave the client's wife and go out with him, the h feels she has to go with the guy in order to maintain good manners. The H finds out and is furious, he thinks the h was canoodling with the OM and allowing a trespasser on his personal territory.
After accusing the h of infidelity, he very forcibly seduces the h and finds that the h really was a virtuous girl. (The h had been attacked by a son of one of her father's friends in Italy when she was 15 and the trauma kept her from making a physical relationship with anyone.) In a very weirdly perverse sorta way, (that has implications of emotional disturbances I don't want to think about in HPlandia,) the h winds up highly enjoying the forced lurve clubbing by the H and declares herself in love with him. That enjoyment and her love won't stop her from needing the H with accusations of rape periodically tho or making the H angry by encouraging the OM on the phone while the H is listening.
The H is ashamed of himself and really sorry, he backs away from any intimacy with the h and promises her he will end the marriage as soon as he can. This destroys the h of course, they both do a 180 on attitudes about staying married. The h was the reluctant one at the start, there is the might club of lurve clubbing to end all lurve clubbings and now the H is running for the hills. The h's father conveniently dies at this point and the H and h separate. She finally tells the ex OM nothing is on between them and the ex OM fades off into the HP mist.
The h starts on her snow leopard book, the leopard was being very mean to little kind cute creatures until his eyesight went bad. Then he was starving and the kind cute little animals fed him bits of food cause they felt sad for him. A shy doe finds a pair of glasses that she leaves for the leopard to put on. His eyesight restored, he feels bad about being mean to little fluffy kind animals and becomes a vegetarian and friends with all the little animals and vows never to chase them down ever again. The eyeglasses the H lookalike leopard wears are exactly like the tortoiseshell frames that the H prefers.
The book attracts the attention of children's television producers and the h is soon involved in the project of getting her book on film. The producer is the brother of one of the h's school friends and when he and she are out one day, she sees the H and the wanna be OW out in the same restaurant. They both ignore each other and concentrate on their respective partners.
The h knows she could take up with the producer if she wanted to, but she is steadfast in her unrequited love for the H and so they just stay friends. When she runs into the OW one day while therapy shopping, she finds out that the wanna be OW really doesn't think the H is a good match for her anymore, tho they will always be friends. The meeting gives the h some food for thought, but before she can tax her brain too much, she hears about a big explosion at the pharmaceutical company's labs.
The h rushes to the scene, terrified that the H has been killed. She finds the H alive and cleans his glasses and then sticks around to help the injured and wait for the H. He takes her back to his house for the night and while the h is snooping around in his room, she finds a picture of herself by his bed. (The wanna be OW had told her the H kept a picture of his unrequited love by his bed for many years, but no one ever saw it but him and the h never shared a bedroom with him.)
The H and h have some distant conversation and awkwardness about how neither one of them has cheated with other people, so they have no grounds for divorce, before they both retire to separate rooms. But the h's brain finally kicks into using more than two brain cells and she wraps her nude body in a robe and goes off to see the H. She asks about the picture and his unrequited love and the H confesses he loves her. She confesses she loves him back, the lurve clubbing did the trick - so he should stop feeling guilty and bad, and she tells him about the attempted assault when she was 15. They both swear to love, cherish and share frequent boudoir bounces forever and make lots of little rugrats for the HEA.
This one was pretty good and the glasses sub-trope with the eyeglass wearing leopard as a symbol of the h's eternal love was cute. Neither one of them is going to win awards as the sharpest pencil in the box. But it all worked out in the end, so we can call this a win for the HPlandia lurve club mojo that is unstoppable even in extremis and be happy with another HP excursion that has a believable HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2018
What a complete and utter total bitch. It was a struggle getting through this as the heroine is spiteful, a pain, or condescending on every single page of the book. Once again we have the rare sighting of a hero who is worthy of a far, far better and nicer heroine. Of course, the fact that the bespectacled H is shortsighted enough to fall for her in the first place reduces him in my opinion.
When she’s about 18, the alpha cloaked as beta H gives her a present.
On a bed of black velvet lay a hand-painted miniature of an exquisite young girl with eyes and hair the colour of Sandra’s. Rubies and seed pearls encrusted the gold edge, as also the clasp of the fine gold chain. Involuntarily Sandra put a hand to the brightly coloured glass necklace at her throat. She had fallen in love with it at Kensington Market a few days ago. The contrast nearly made her laugh!
Who wants a hand selected miniature when you can have a more modern cheap glass necklace? Soooo she has bad taste on top of everything else.
He’s loads smarter than her and has better manners.
With the faintest of shrugs he sauntered to the door. ‘I’ll be in to see your father tomorrow evening.’
‘Good,’ she said automatically.
‘Who’s the consummate liar this time?’ he asked drily.
The door swung shut behind him and she backed irritably away from the fire, so hot with the impotent rage Randall always aroused in her that she had no need of extra warmth!
And no, I don’t believe for one second that her animosity is subjugated desire. SHE. IS. A. BITCH.
The h’s one redeeming feature is she loves her father. After art school, she headed to London to avoid the arranged marriage her father wanted between her and Randall. There she takes up with a roguish OM. She’s afraid of sex so OM takes up with another chick just for sex, and the h goes home because her father is sick and to lick her wounds.
In order to make Daddy happy and extend his life, she offers herself up for a MOC to Randall. Despite repeated protestations to everyone including herself that she is just a regular girl and not a snobby gold-plated heiress she cuts herself off from everyone she knew in London. Poor swabs would never understand her lifestyle. Oh, you poor little rich girl.
They go to the US for a working honeymoon where she jumps back into a life of designer dresses: Lagerfeld, Zandra Rhodes, Jean Muir, Kenzo, etc…Nothing much happens here except she meets the widow of his best friend. Widow woman, who would make a much more interesting and nicer heroine, tells this one that Randall has held a torch for a woman for years. So in love he keeps a picture of his beloved in a drawer next to his bed. The heroine is even more confirmed in her believe that the H married her for shares in her father’s company.
Back in England, she runs into the OM which infuriates the H.
‘I see a lot of things,’ Randall said thickly, ‘and I don’t like any of them!’
‘For heaven’s sake credit me with some intelligence!’ she said vehemently. ‘If I’d wanted to see Barry, I wouldn’t have done it so blatantly.’
‘Wouldn’t you? Since when have you shown any concern for my finer feelings?’
Aware of the truth of this, she tried to defend herself.
‘I know I’ve been bitchy to you in private, but never in public. We made a contract and I’ll stand by it till the end.’
Just bitchy in private. Well, that’s okay then.
She meets up with the OM again which infuriates the H and a forced seduction that results in incredibly good sex that changes everything for her.
All too easy, she saw now. Intent on being her own person, she had refused to see Randall as he was. But now that she did, she wanted to grovel at his feet, beg forgiveness for every wounding word she’d flung at him; be such a loving, caring wife that he’d—
As swiftly as joy had flooded her, it seeped away, leaving her bereft. It was hopeless. Randall loved another woman, and their marriage was merely one of expediency.
‘Great!’ she muttered. ‘The girl who wanted to be loved for herself is married to a man who wants her only for her shares!’
Good Lord, she’s stupid.
Now that they’ve had sex, he agrees to give her a divorce, and she’s so devastated and so in love she does nothing but continue to bitch, nag and bait him.
Somehow, someway they end up with a frigid, anesthetic HEA. If any book and characters ever perpetuated the stereotype that the British are frigidly polite, it is this one.
When she’s about 18, the alpha cloaked as beta H gives her a present.
On a bed of black velvet lay a hand-painted miniature of an exquisite young girl with eyes and hair the colour of Sandra’s. Rubies and seed pearls encrusted the gold edge, as also the clasp of the fine gold chain. Involuntarily Sandra put a hand to the brightly coloured glass necklace at her throat. She had fallen in love with it at Kensington Market a few days ago. The contrast nearly made her laugh!
Who wants a hand selected miniature when you can have a more modern cheap glass necklace? Soooo she has bad taste on top of everything else.
He’s loads smarter than her and has better manners.
With the faintest of shrugs he sauntered to the door. ‘I’ll be in to see your father tomorrow evening.’
‘Good,’ she said automatically.
‘Who’s the consummate liar this time?’ he asked drily.
The door swung shut behind him and she backed irritably away from the fire, so hot with the impotent rage Randall always aroused in her that she had no need of extra warmth!
And no, I don’t believe for one second that her animosity is subjugated desire. SHE. IS. A. BITCH.
The h’s one redeeming feature is she loves her father. After art school, she headed to London to avoid the arranged marriage her father wanted between her and Randall. There she takes up with a roguish OM. She’s afraid of sex so OM takes up with another chick just for sex, and the h goes home because her father is sick and to lick her wounds.
In order to make Daddy happy and extend his life, she offers herself up for a MOC to Randall. Despite repeated protestations to everyone including herself that she is just a regular girl and not a snobby gold-plated heiress she cuts herself off from everyone she knew in London. Poor swabs would never understand her lifestyle. Oh, you poor little rich girl.
They go to the US for a working honeymoon where she jumps back into a life of designer dresses: Lagerfeld, Zandra Rhodes, Jean Muir, Kenzo, etc…Nothing much happens here except she meets the widow of his best friend. Widow woman, who would make a much more interesting and nicer heroine, tells this one that Randall has held a torch for a woman for years. So in love he keeps a picture of his beloved in a drawer next to his bed. The heroine is even more confirmed in her believe that the H married her for shares in her father’s company.
Back in England, she runs into the OM which infuriates the H.
‘I see a lot of things,’ Randall said thickly, ‘and I don’t like any of them!’
‘For heaven’s sake credit me with some intelligence!’ she said vehemently. ‘If I’d wanted to see Barry, I wouldn’t have done it so blatantly.’
‘Wouldn’t you? Since when have you shown any concern for my finer feelings?’
Aware of the truth of this, she tried to defend herself.
‘I know I’ve been bitchy to you in private, but never in public. We made a contract and I’ll stand by it till the end.’
Just bitchy in private. Well, that’s okay then.
She meets up with the OM again which infuriates the H and a forced seduction that results in incredibly good sex that changes everything for her.
All too easy, she saw now. Intent on being her own person, she had refused to see Randall as he was. But now that she did, she wanted to grovel at his feet, beg forgiveness for every wounding word she’d flung at him; be such a loving, caring wife that he’d—
As swiftly as joy had flooded her, it seeped away, leaving her bereft. It was hopeless. Randall loved another woman, and their marriage was merely one of expediency.
‘Great!’ she muttered. ‘The girl who wanted to be loved for herself is married to a man who wants her only for her shares!’
Good Lord, she’s stupid.
Now that they’ve had sex, he agrees to give her a divorce, and she’s so devastated and so in love she does nothing but continue to bitch, nag and bait him.
Somehow, someway they end up with a frigid, anesthetic HEA. If any book and characters ever perpetuated the stereotype that the British are frigidly polite, it is this one.
April 17, 2022
Not sure why I liked this one so much on the first read, it did not stand up to my original four star rating. The heroine left a lot to be desired. The hero was great, though he is in for a miserable life. He deserved so much better. Downgrading to two stars. Original review below.
__________________________________
Great hero....Randall...I loved that he was atypical of HP heroes...a little bit on the geekish side with coke bottle glasses because he is blind as a bat without them....But a heart as big as a lion.
__________________________________
Great hero....Randall...I loved that he was atypical of HP heroes...a little bit on the geekish side with coke bottle glasses because he is blind as a bat without them....But a heart as big as a lion.
March 9, 2017
A hero with glasses! That's how I'll remember this story. His nearsightedness is an interesting metaphor. Heroine can't see what kind of person he is without having her vision corrected by a marriage of convenience, an old friend describing him in glowing terms, comparing him to the OM, a forced seduction, seeing him out with another woman, and finally an explosion at the lab which puts the hero's life in danger. Whew - Roberta Leigh ladles on the drama, which makes this a fun read.
I knocked off a star because I really didn't like the heroine for most of the book. She was rude and childish and her banter with the hero was not witty - just tiresome. Her meeting up with the threatening OM -several times - defied logic. Hero had infinite patience until he didn't (see forced seduction). That didn't seem to fit his character - although the guilt and self-recrimination did.
This author always manages to add some graceful details that I appreciate. In this case it was the snow leopard with glasses that the heroine included in her children's book.
I knocked off a star because I really didn't like the heroine for most of the book. She was rude and childish and her banter with the hero was not witty - just tiresome. Her meeting up with the threatening OM -several times - defied logic. Hero had infinite patience until he didn't (see forced seduction). That didn't seem to fit his character - although the guilt and self-recrimination did.
This author always manages to add some graceful details that I appreciate. In this case it was the snow leopard with glasses that the heroine included in her children's book.
March 9, 2017
Randall .... You can read this book if only to learn this not-so-common HP Hero , I loved him to bits , Geeky , blind as bat without those glasses and these are unusual characters for a HP hero but I liked him that way . Poker faced , none the less a handsome one .
October 23, 2020
A story of an irritation queen and a boring hero. I didn't find the heroine banter a least bit funny. without any reason, she was being immature and stupid. The hero and his unrequited love didn't change anything even the things get worst.
Safety Issue: It was safe. there is some forced seduction from the hero but the heroine ended up enjoying it. There were no other women but there was a lot of other man's issue here.
Safety Issue: It was safe. there is some forced seduction from the hero but the heroine ended up enjoying it. There were no other women but there was a lot of other man's issue here.
i-might-read
October 27, 2016If I can find this book, then I will read it. Sounds crazy!
August 21, 2010
Loved Randall...wonderful myopic hero.
May 22, 2017
The utterly TSTL heroine deserved to be strangled in her sleep.
The story was simply terrible.
The story was simply terrible.
July 25, 2021
2.5 stars. This was almost a DNF many times. I Just hated the h! How could the H have any feelings for her, let along for years!! Ugh 😩 🤦♀️ She had no right to be so angry of his interest. Her anger would have been understandable if there had been coercion or blackmail, but no there wasn't.
April 13, 2022
I remember reading this when I was much younger. It was an okay read. Not good, not bad.
She was a b*tch and he was not an alpha male.
She was a b*tch and he was not an alpha male.
May 8, 2014
Reallllly wish the hero hadn't forced the heroine. That was bad.
June 5, 2019
The author puts in a lot of effort to weave a long winding story. But it doesn't come across as riveting, passionate. I couldn't see myself rooting for the pair.
The girl is tiresome in her hatred for the hero in the first half of the book. Why, you may ask ? She is a super rich heiress, he is daddy's favorite employee. She simply assumes he is after her money.
How about the guy then ? He is a geeky scientist who cant see without glasses and fumbles his way through a pathetic marriage proposal in Scene 1.
After a while, daddy dear falls sick. And to please him, she agrees to a shot gun marriage. Until half the book, the girl is just painfully rude to the guy. And he is patient, biding his time.
I would have loved the guy's character for his perseverance, quiet strength and fortitude. But the author ruined his character for me by putting in a forced sex scene. Almost rape, but turns into a so called passionate coupling mid way. Sorry, this didn't wash with me.
The guys touches her and her virgin heart falls for him then and there. But of course she continues to treat him like an outcast, and to makes things worse, goes around with several other men, one of them being her ex. No wonder the guy is enraged.
Anyway, after the so called rape turned love scene, he is a bundle of guilt. Her father conks, so there is no binding reason to stay married. They part but pine for each other.
Finally, it enters the thick skull of the girl that he has been carrying a torch for her all along. An accident occurs in the company, and she comes running to see him. And a slew of confessions follow.
Could have been a real block buster read had the author handled the change of heart portion of the story better. She hates him, gets almost raped and suddenly decides she loves him. Sorry, not working.
The girl is tiresome in her hatred for the hero in the first half of the book. Why, you may ask ? She is a super rich heiress, he is daddy's favorite employee. She simply assumes he is after her money.
How about the guy then ? He is a geeky scientist who cant see without glasses and fumbles his way through a pathetic marriage proposal in Scene 1.
After a while, daddy dear falls sick. And to please him, she agrees to a shot gun marriage. Until half the book, the girl is just painfully rude to the guy. And he is patient, biding his time.
I would have loved the guy's character for his perseverance, quiet strength and fortitude. But the author ruined his character for me by putting in a forced sex scene. Almost rape, but turns into a so called passionate coupling mid way. Sorry, this didn't wash with me.
The guys touches her and her virgin heart falls for him then and there. But of course she continues to treat him like an outcast, and to makes things worse, goes around with several other men, one of them being her ex. No wonder the guy is enraged.
Anyway, after the so called rape turned love scene, he is a bundle of guilt. Her father conks, so there is no binding reason to stay married. They part but pine for each other.
Finally, it enters the thick skull of the girl that he has been carrying a torch for her all along. An accident occurs in the company, and she comes running to see him. And a slew of confessions follow.
Could have been a real block buster read had the author handled the change of heart portion of the story better. She hates him, gets almost raped and suddenly decides she loves him. Sorry, not working.
August 16, 2023
I thought this was just a normal romance book for middle-aged ladies, but huh???
This 30 year old man made her a marriage proposal on her 18th birthday cuz he was in love with her? 🤨🤨🤨🤔🧐😰😵😶😶🌫️🆘️📸⚠️🚨🚨🚨🚔🚓👮♂️👨⚖️🔒⛓️
Their relationship summed up...:
"'Your instincts may be great in business,' she said, 'but you're dealing with a woman now, Randall, not a company take-over!'
'The same tactics apply, though. Persistence, patience and knowing when it's the right time to strike!'" 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
And it just went from worse to worser!
TW rape !??!? What the fuuckkkk!!!!!!!!!!!
😭😭😭😭😭😭
I wanted to give this 2/5 stars for the entertainment value, but this gave me mental damage.
This 30 year old man made her a marriage proposal on her 18th birthday cuz he was in love with her? 🤨🤨🤨🤔🧐😰😵😶😶🌫️🆘️📸⚠️🚨🚨🚨🚔🚓👮♂️👨⚖️🔒⛓️
Their relationship summed up...:
"'Your instincts may be great in business,' she said, 'but you're dealing with a woman now, Randall, not a company take-over!'
'The same tactics apply, though. Persistence, patience and knowing when it's the right time to strike!'" 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
And it just went from worse to worser!
TW rape !??!? What the fuuckkkk!!!!!!!!!!!
😭😭😭😭😭😭
I wanted to give this 2/5 stars for the entertainment value, but this gave me mental damage.
September 20, 2020
Excellent, but not as good as the somewhat similar Wife Against Her Will by Sara Craven. The story and plot are both good but we don't quite feel as empathetic with the characters.
I particularly liked the hero.
I particularly liked the hero.
December 19, 2017
adorable hero,young fiesty heroine .I loved it!
April 12, 2021
3.5 stars
March 18, 2022
Boy was she stupid and seriously immature!! What on earth was there to fall in love with in the first place??? She is horrible! He was adorable! She didn't deserve him!
May 6, 2024
As a glasses wearer myself I say - At Last!
Our H is adorable 99% of the time. h is either a bitch or unbelievably stupid.
I liked the o.w.
Our H is adorable 99% of the time. h is either a bitch or unbelievably stupid.
I liked the o.w.
October 8, 2024
Vaya, creo que cierta escena arruino al protagonista, pero la prota tampoco fue de mi agrado.
November 3, 2024
"Storm Cloud Marriage" is the story of Sandra and Randall.
Uhh.
So hero is a hardworking, bespectacled, nerd working for the heroine's dad (basically his right hand). She dislikes him for reasons known to her. Initially rejecting his proposal at 18, she then spends years verbally harassing him and dating OM.
When her father falls sick, she ends up marrying him at a whim. The rest of the book is her dismissing his feelings, talking about OM and socializing with them, hating the hero etc etc. There's a terrible scene with , but the aftermath is even more difficult to read because of how immature she is.
If you want to read an endlessly patient hero get shitpiled on by the heroine who he has (no spoiler) always loved, only for heroine to not only body shame him but play with his emotions, this is the book for you. One of the worst shrews I have read in HQN topia.
Safe..ish
1.5/5
Uhh.
So hero is a hardworking, bespectacled, nerd working for the heroine's dad (basically his right hand). She dislikes him for reasons known to her. Initially rejecting his proposal at 18, she then spends years verbally harassing him and dating OM.
When her father falls sick, she ends up marrying him at a whim. The rest of the book is her dismissing his feelings, talking about OM and socializing with them, hating the hero etc etc. There's a terrible scene with , but the aftermath is even more difficult to read because of how immature she is.
If you want to read an endlessly patient hero get shitpiled on by the heroine who he has (no spoiler) always loved, only for heroine to not only body shame him but play with his emotions, this is the book for you. One of the worst shrews I have read in HQN topia.
Safe..ish
1.5/5
February 12, 2023
This book has been staring at me resentfully from my shelf for a long time so I finally decided to take it down and give it a try. I wasn’t expecting to love this but I was expecting a fun, train wreck OTT read. I mean it was written by Roberta Leigh, it was written in the 80s but it has a hero with glasses! How could I not read this?!
However, despite expecting a trainwreck, this was a little (lot?!) worse than I expected. The heroine really pulled this down because I spent too much time with her whiny, entitled person and not enough with the hero who was basically a saint - until he wasn’t.
Plus, we got too much time with the OM which left me even less invested in the romance than I was expecting.
The book took me too long - and I probably should have DNF’d this in hindsight but I pushed through because I really didn’t want to start another book because I was travelling and just wanted to get this done.
I was thinking of leaving this as a meh 2 stars but in reading my notes and having sat with this book for a few days I am even more annoyed. I kind of disliked this - so I am giving it 1.5 stars, which I am rounding down to 1 star for Goodreads.
-----
Dec 2020:
So I bought this - for when you need a train wreck to distract you ... in 2020 that is like every day
However, despite expecting a trainwreck, this was a little (lot?!) worse than I expected. The heroine really pulled this down because I spent too much time with her whiny, entitled person and not enough with the hero who was basically a saint - until he wasn’t.
Plus, we got too much time with the OM which left me even less invested in the romance than I was expecting.
The book took me too long - and I probably should have DNF’d this in hindsight but I pushed through because I really didn’t want to start another book because I was travelling and just wanted to get this done.
I was thinking of leaving this as a meh 2 stars but in reading my notes and having sat with this book for a few days I am even more annoyed. I kind of disliked this - so I am giving it 1.5 stars, which I am rounding down to 1 star for Goodreads.
-----
Dec 2020:
So I bought this - for when you need a train wreck to distract you ... in 2020 that is like every day
November 1, 2022
Jedna gwiazdka bo bawiłam się lepiej niż się spodziewałam, ma wątki i motywy które uwielbiam. Ale jej toksyczność w niektórych aspektach, szczególnie tych związanych z seksualnością jest porażająca. Bohaterowie głupi strasznie. Może poza Randallem. Ale ten to powinien sobie załatwić jakąś terapię. Gdy to inaczej poprowadzić, lepiej napisać, uwielbiała bym te historię. Ale teraz jedna gwiazdka. Może w porywach do półtorej.
I jeszcze jedno. Autentycznie mi przykro że ta książka była taka i podjęła niektóre wątki w tak zły sposób. Kurde historia byłaby spoko, ale no niestety nie mogę dać jej więcej.
I jeszcze jedno. Autentycznie mi przykro że ta książka była taka i podjęła niektóre wątki w tak zły sposób. Kurde historia byłaby spoko, ale no niestety nie mogę dać jej więcej.
June 9, 2021
He'd never ask a second time
Sandra had known Randall Pearson forever. Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him.
Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he?
Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the proposing.
Sandra had known Randall Pearson forever. Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him.
Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he?
Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the proposing.
July 15, 2014
the book was actually really good but i loathe dat rape scene bcoz sandra was very terrified n had already been victim of an attempted rape by mario, even barry molested her n who finally got the prize !? randall who's supposed 2be the hero is the one who succeeded in raping her !! i cud not get over dat fact n the following morning surprise surprise, sandra realised she was in love wid randall !? she shud have been repulsed, traumatised but no !?
August 29, 2016
The heroine hated the hero, but accepted his marriage proposal under drastic pressures and after some time she discovered she was falling in love! It's not every day that I love a hero instead of a heroine, but I did in this novel. Randell is a very lovable romantic hero. :)
April 2, 2012
3.5 stars, decent older read.
April 22, 2017
the H doesn't deserve the h. This was one of the few books where the h was a b**ch!
From the beginning, it's obvious that the H loves her and she kept putting him down with words.
because of that 3 stars!
From the beginning, it's obvious that the H loves her and she kept putting him down with words.
because of that 3 stars!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews