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دعني أحبك
Free to love...
When Strome Galbraith appeared at Nairne's cozy bed-and-breakfast, Nairne couldn't miss the aura of unhappiness surrounding him. But as a widow trying to manage a group of troubled teenage boys, she simply didn't have the time to deal with the dark, seductive man and his angry cynicism toward the female population. But she couldn't ignore Strome's presence - after all, his son was living under her roof. Nor could she ignore the honeyed warmth of Strome's demanding embrace...
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
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May 30, 2018
Re Snowdrops for a Bride - Grace Green's last HP outing is a sequel of sorts to her first HP Tender Betrayal.
The fragile lil' sis that the h of TB betrayed in that story is now the widowed social worker h of this one. (As we all recall, the h of TB had to run off with the lil' sis's fiancee because their mum, Kate, in an act of Blessed Mercy, slept with the local distillery owner and he, not Kate's husband was lil' sis's father. The fiance was in fact lil' sis's seekrit half brother and lives would be ruined if that came to light.)
Fortunately there is no hint of incest here and even the h's family circumstances are not reminisced over, this one is all about an orphaned young man and his seekrit baby status fifteen years earlier.
The story starts with the h, now all grown up and much calmer and sensible than in the last book, placing the first snowdrops of spring on her husband's grave. The h's husband was a social worker, like herself, and they married after the h broke her engagement to the H of TB. The h's husband always brought her the first snowdrops of the year and they were the flowers in her wedding day bouquet.
The h's hubby was the h's boss at the time they married and older than she was, so sadly he passed away a year earlier and the h has been trying to cope with his loss and keep their young men in trouble program running too.
It is very hard tho, because the h lives in a big house she runs as a B & B in the Scottish summer months and her husband ran a big market garden. They gave first time offenders jobs and a second chance. So the boys are still needing jobs, but the h doesn't think she can run the whole operation on her own and she can't find another social worker to help out who had all the skills her dead hubby had.
The H is at the graveyard too, but his visit is based on deep inner pain and hatred for one of the women buried there. The h sees him in his obvious distress and asks him if he needs any help. The H blows the h off and asks where the nearest hotel is, the h gives him directions and heads home.
She has just sent her entire troop of young men off for an Outward Bound adventure. For three weeks they will challenge themselves as crew on an old time sailing vessel. The h is alone, but she worries over the latest addition to her troop. He is not a juvenile offender, but an orphan from both his parents dying and only an extremely elderly aunt to look after him.
Things take a surprising turn when the H shows up at the h's door, thinking the B & B portion is open and looking for a room. The h explains that she isn't open in the winter, but then she has a change of heart as she realizes that the hotel she directed the H to is full and there is nothing else for miles around.
In spite of her sister's teasing, the h runs after the H to offer him a room. We learn that the H has a seekrit mission regarding a young man in the area, but it is forgotten in the mutual attraction Lurve Force Mojo that starts to simmer between the H and h.
That night the h hears a crash and she thinks the H might have fallen and can't get up. She goes to check on him and a roofie kissing moment almost happens. The h is unwilling to go there, it has only been a year since her husband died and she really loved him. He just did not generate the waves of heat that seem to start up when she is in proximity of the H. Still, the h delivers a sharp reprimand to the H and his wandering lips and goes back to bed.
The next morning the H is ready to leave and claims his wallet is stolen. The h goes to look for herself and finds it sitting on the dresser. Thinking the H is a con artist, she pretty much feeds him and then kicks him out. She then goes up to the attic, thinking that may have been where the late night crash came from and finds that someone must have been sleeping up there. The h finds the bed disturbed and several cigarette butts.
We know for sure there was an intruder, cause the H storms back in, dragging a young man in a Black Watch kilt and purple faux-hawk in behind him. The young man's nickname is Kilty, but later we find out that his real name is the H's middle name and it soon is apparent that the young man is the H's son.
The H is very angry at Kilty's mother tho and doesn't want to acknowledge any parental responsibility for Kilty. The local doctor asks the h to adopt Kilty, as his 90 year old aunt has to go into a care home and can't manage. Kilty and the h decide that adoption is the way to go, but then the H realizes that Kilty has a very strong talent for photography and has recently sold his extremely expensive camera for some unknown reason.
The H ends up buying back the camera, after seeing Kilty's pictures, and when he asks why Kilty sold it, Kilty claims he needed the money and the H accuses him of needing to buy drugs. This sends Kilty off up the snow covered mountain in a teenage angst fit and the H and h have to go out in a blizzard to find him.
They do find him, in a little shelter croft, but the blizzard has turned into a white out and the H and h have to spend the night with Kilty. There is another almost roofie kiss moment, the H and h are really generating the Lurve Force Mojo vibes between them, but everyone calms down with Kilty asleep in the same room.
The h asks what went on between the H and Kilty's mother - the H has explained that a lawyer contacted him about a possible son and the H came himself to investigate when the lawyer wouldn't say who was searching for him.
The H also explains that as soon as he heard Kilty's real name, he knew Kilty was his son, but that he was summarily dumped by Kilty's mum when her absent fiance returned after a three week fishing trip almost sixteen years earlier. The H was a former mountain climber and award winning photographer. He was one of the first people to climb Mt. Everest and then there was an accident where the H rescued one of the other climbers and tore up his knee.
He couldn't climb mountains and take pictures anymore, so he turned to building climbing resort lodges instead. When he met Kilty's mother, he had just bought the property next door to the h's place, with the intent of building a climbing resort there that would be in keeping with the landscape and provide jobs for locals and allow true climbers a great experience.
He fell in love with Kilty's mum and she claimed she was going to break up with her local boy intended when he got back from his fishing trip. Three weeks after the H left Kilty's mum to go take care of some business before moving to the land he had bought, he got a letter from Kilty's mum claiming he was just a fling and she wasn't interested anymore.
This was a huge blow to the H, he had no great opinion of women to begin with, after his own mother abandoned him as a child and sent his father into a permanent depression and now his first big love had dumped him by the curb like yesterday's trash to boot.
Both the H and h get a huge surprise when Kilty bolts up and explains that he was the one that hired the lawyer to track the H down, his other father had told him when he was in hospital and dying that Kilty wasn't his son. He kept the seekrit all these years to protect his wife, Kilty's mum.
Then the h's brother in law shows up to rescue everybody from the blizzard and Kilty reveals that he knows all about the H's past mountaineering and photography experience, which was one of the reasons that he looked the H up.
There is another surprise when the H explains that his mountaineering and photography days are gone forever, the accident on Everest not only messed up his knee, but left him blind in one eye, so that is why he builds climbing resorts now instead.
We all get off the mountain and the H gives Kilty his camera back and sets him up with a darkroom. He still doesn't want to take over parenting for Kilty tho, he feels Kilty will be better off with the h instead.
The h realizes that she hasn't thought of her dead husband for a while now and she realizes that she is falling love with the H. He refuses her advances, he is still really, really bitter about being denied his child and he can't let go of his rage at Kilty's mother. He is sure the h wouldn't be putting the moves on him unless she was falling in love and he feels that she deserves a better man than he is, so he is going away.
The H also tells the h to adopt Kilty and he will provide for him financially. The h tries hard to get the H to stay, but he goes the next day and Kilty finally gets to read the letter his mum sent to the H. When Kilty reads the letter both he and the h understand why Kilty's mum dumped the H. The h feels sure that if the H knew the whole story, his bitterness would be over and they could all be happy together.
The h has Kilty write a letter explaining things to the H, but we still don't know what Kilty's mum's reasons were. Three weeks go by, and the h's troop of young men return, along with a helicopter carrying the H. The h goes out to meet the H and there is a big roofie kissing moment with a marriage proposal by the H.
The H goes off to find Kilty and the h figures that even if it took a big explanatory letter to bring the H back, at least he there and no one is perfect - tho her heart hurts a little that love for her and Kilty wasn't enough to bring the H back to them.
The H returns alone with Kilty's letter in hand. Kilty never sent it cause he figured the H had to value them enough to return and get over his bitterness by his own self, or he wouldn't be worth having around.
We find out that Kilty's mum really did love the H, but when the man she married came back paralyzed after falling into an open hold on his fishing trip, she couldn't abandon the man she promised to marry before meeting the H.
So everyone had to make a big sacrifice and the H had the hardest one of all, because he just got dumped and no one bothered to ask him what he thought. The H is okay with that now tho, because he came to the conclusion that the h was his forever love and Kilty's mum was his first love. The h and her winsome ways and kindness healed his broken heart and now he is so full of love, there is no more room for bitterness in his heart.
He is going to build the climbing lodge and make jobs available for the h's troubled youths and he and the h will marry and have a beautiful life together with Kilty and any other kids they might have. We get a really nice little epilogue where the H and h are marrying a year later.
The H gives the h a bouquet that has snowdrops and roses in it, the same kind of snowdrops the h's first husband gave her, so the h knows that the H is okay with her having a first love, but also knows that he is her forever love too. The h is also expecting a little stork visit in about seven months or so, she plans to delight the H with that news as a wedding night present.
We leave the H and h making their vows with a delighted Kilty looking on and GG leaves HPlandia for HRtopia, on a rosy glow rainbow of love for a really good non-HP HP outing with a couple who turned out to only be visiting HPlandia, but they are well worth the time spent voyaging there.
The fragile lil' sis that the h of TB betrayed in that story is now the widowed social worker h of this one. (As we all recall, the h of TB had to run off with the lil' sis's fiancee because their mum, Kate, in an act of Blessed Mercy, slept with the local distillery owner and he, not Kate's husband was lil' sis's father. The fiance was in fact lil' sis's seekrit half brother and lives would be ruined if that came to light.)
Fortunately there is no hint of incest here and even the h's family circumstances are not reminisced over, this one is all about an orphaned young man and his seekrit baby status fifteen years earlier.
The story starts with the h, now all grown up and much calmer and sensible than in the last book, placing the first snowdrops of spring on her husband's grave. The h's husband was a social worker, like herself, and they married after the h broke her engagement to the H of TB. The h's husband always brought her the first snowdrops of the year and they were the flowers in her wedding day bouquet.
The h's hubby was the h's boss at the time they married and older than she was, so sadly he passed away a year earlier and the h has been trying to cope with his loss and keep their young men in trouble program running too.
It is very hard tho, because the h lives in a big house she runs as a B & B in the Scottish summer months and her husband ran a big market garden. They gave first time offenders jobs and a second chance. So the boys are still needing jobs, but the h doesn't think she can run the whole operation on her own and she can't find another social worker to help out who had all the skills her dead hubby had.
The H is at the graveyard too, but his visit is based on deep inner pain and hatred for one of the women buried there. The h sees him in his obvious distress and asks him if he needs any help. The H blows the h off and asks where the nearest hotel is, the h gives him directions and heads home.
She has just sent her entire troop of young men off for an Outward Bound adventure. For three weeks they will challenge themselves as crew on an old time sailing vessel. The h is alone, but she worries over the latest addition to her troop. He is not a juvenile offender, but an orphan from both his parents dying and only an extremely elderly aunt to look after him.
Things take a surprising turn when the H shows up at the h's door, thinking the B & B portion is open and looking for a room. The h explains that she isn't open in the winter, but then she has a change of heart as she realizes that the hotel she directed the H to is full and there is nothing else for miles around.
In spite of her sister's teasing, the h runs after the H to offer him a room. We learn that the H has a seekrit mission regarding a young man in the area, but it is forgotten in the mutual attraction Lurve Force Mojo that starts to simmer between the H and h.
That night the h hears a crash and she thinks the H might have fallen and can't get up. She goes to check on him and a roofie kissing moment almost happens. The h is unwilling to go there, it has only been a year since her husband died and she really loved him. He just did not generate the waves of heat that seem to start up when she is in proximity of the H. Still, the h delivers a sharp reprimand to the H and his wandering lips and goes back to bed.
The next morning the H is ready to leave and claims his wallet is stolen. The h goes to look for herself and finds it sitting on the dresser. Thinking the H is a con artist, she pretty much feeds him and then kicks him out. She then goes up to the attic, thinking that may have been where the late night crash came from and finds that someone must have been sleeping up there. The h finds the bed disturbed and several cigarette butts.
We know for sure there was an intruder, cause the H storms back in, dragging a young man in a Black Watch kilt and purple faux-hawk in behind him. The young man's nickname is Kilty, but later we find out that his real name is the H's middle name and it soon is apparent that the young man is the H's son.
The H is very angry at Kilty's mother tho and doesn't want to acknowledge any parental responsibility for Kilty. The local doctor asks the h to adopt Kilty, as his 90 year old aunt has to go into a care home and can't manage. Kilty and the h decide that adoption is the way to go, but then the H realizes that Kilty has a very strong talent for photography and has recently sold his extremely expensive camera for some unknown reason.
The H ends up buying back the camera, after seeing Kilty's pictures, and when he asks why Kilty sold it, Kilty claims he needed the money and the H accuses him of needing to buy drugs. This sends Kilty off up the snow covered mountain in a teenage angst fit and the H and h have to go out in a blizzard to find him.
They do find him, in a little shelter croft, but the blizzard has turned into a white out and the H and h have to spend the night with Kilty. There is another almost roofie kiss moment, the H and h are really generating the Lurve Force Mojo vibes between them, but everyone calms down with Kilty asleep in the same room.
The h asks what went on between the H and Kilty's mother - the H has explained that a lawyer contacted him about a possible son and the H came himself to investigate when the lawyer wouldn't say who was searching for him.
The H also explains that as soon as he heard Kilty's real name, he knew Kilty was his son, but that he was summarily dumped by Kilty's mum when her absent fiance returned after a three week fishing trip almost sixteen years earlier. The H was a former mountain climber and award winning photographer. He was one of the first people to climb Mt. Everest and then there was an accident where the H rescued one of the other climbers and tore up his knee.
He couldn't climb mountains and take pictures anymore, so he turned to building climbing resort lodges instead. When he met Kilty's mother, he had just bought the property next door to the h's place, with the intent of building a climbing resort there that would be in keeping with the landscape and provide jobs for locals and allow true climbers a great experience.
He fell in love with Kilty's mum and she claimed she was going to break up with her local boy intended when he got back from his fishing trip. Three weeks after the H left Kilty's mum to go take care of some business before moving to the land he had bought, he got a letter from Kilty's mum claiming he was just a fling and she wasn't interested anymore.
This was a huge blow to the H, he had no great opinion of women to begin with, after his own mother abandoned him as a child and sent his father into a permanent depression and now his first big love had dumped him by the curb like yesterday's trash to boot.
Both the H and h get a huge surprise when Kilty bolts up and explains that he was the one that hired the lawyer to track the H down, his other father had told him when he was in hospital and dying that Kilty wasn't his son. He kept the seekrit all these years to protect his wife, Kilty's mum.
Then the h's brother in law shows up to rescue everybody from the blizzard and Kilty reveals that he knows all about the H's past mountaineering and photography experience, which was one of the reasons that he looked the H up.
There is another surprise when the H explains that his mountaineering and photography days are gone forever, the accident on Everest not only messed up his knee, but left him blind in one eye, so that is why he builds climbing resorts now instead.
We all get off the mountain and the H gives Kilty his camera back and sets him up with a darkroom. He still doesn't want to take over parenting for Kilty tho, he feels Kilty will be better off with the h instead.
The h realizes that she hasn't thought of her dead husband for a while now and she realizes that she is falling love with the H. He refuses her advances, he is still really, really bitter about being denied his child and he can't let go of his rage at Kilty's mother. He is sure the h wouldn't be putting the moves on him unless she was falling in love and he feels that she deserves a better man than he is, so he is going away.
The H also tells the h to adopt Kilty and he will provide for him financially. The h tries hard to get the H to stay, but he goes the next day and Kilty finally gets to read the letter his mum sent to the H. When Kilty reads the letter both he and the h understand why Kilty's mum dumped the H. The h feels sure that if the H knew the whole story, his bitterness would be over and they could all be happy together.
The h has Kilty write a letter explaining things to the H, but we still don't know what Kilty's mum's reasons were. Three weeks go by, and the h's troop of young men return, along with a helicopter carrying the H. The h goes out to meet the H and there is a big roofie kissing moment with a marriage proposal by the H.
The H goes off to find Kilty and the h figures that even if it took a big explanatory letter to bring the H back, at least he there and no one is perfect - tho her heart hurts a little that love for her and Kilty wasn't enough to bring the H back to them.
The H returns alone with Kilty's letter in hand. Kilty never sent it cause he figured the H had to value them enough to return and get over his bitterness by his own self, or he wouldn't be worth having around.
We find out that Kilty's mum really did love the H, but when the man she married came back paralyzed after falling into an open hold on his fishing trip, she couldn't abandon the man she promised to marry before meeting the H.
So everyone had to make a big sacrifice and the H had the hardest one of all, because he just got dumped and no one bothered to ask him what he thought. The H is okay with that now tho, because he came to the conclusion that the h was his forever love and Kilty's mum was his first love. The h and her winsome ways and kindness healed his broken heart and now he is so full of love, there is no more room for bitterness in his heart.
He is going to build the climbing lodge and make jobs available for the h's troubled youths and he and the h will marry and have a beautiful life together with Kilty and any other kids they might have. We get a really nice little epilogue where the H and h are marrying a year later.
The H gives the h a bouquet that has snowdrops and roses in it, the same kind of snowdrops the h's first husband gave her, so the h knows that the H is okay with her having a first love, but also knows that he is her forever love too. The h is also expecting a little stork visit in about seven months or so, she plans to delight the H with that news as a wedding night present.
We leave the H and h making their vows with a delighted Kilty looking on and GG leaves HPlandia for HRtopia, on a rosy glow rainbow of love for a really good non-HP HP outing with a couple who turned out to only be visiting HPlandia, but they are well worth the time spent voyaging there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2015
So I picked this little baby up at a Used Book Store haul. I'm so glad I did. It's book like this that remind me why I love Harlequin. The locations are varied (no Greek isles included) and the heroes and heroines have depth.
In this case, you have a story about two people who meet at a gravesite. Nairne is there to grieve the lost of spouse and seek solace at their tomb and Stome is there seeking answers about the summer he's never been able to get over and the child they may have resulted from their relationship.
The heat factor in this book is probably about a 4/10. There's quite a bit of foreplay to assure you that these two are physically attracted to each other but it never gets beyond third base. That's actually okay because it means the main focus of the story is the two protagonists and to some extend the young boy who has brought everyone together.
This book had the added advantage of being a secret baby story that wasn't really a secret baby story. That is to say there was a baby from an illicit union and story does somewhat hinge on whether or not Strome decides to be a father.
I loved the pace of the story and how the author really drew you into the revelations about the characters. I even found myself a little teary-eyed at the end. I will definitely add this author to my "To Buy" list and hopefully I will be able to unearth some other gems by her.
In this case, you have a story about two people who meet at a gravesite. Nairne is there to grieve the lost of spouse and seek solace at their tomb and Stome is there seeking answers about the summer he's never been able to get over and the child they may have resulted from their relationship.
The heat factor in this book is probably about a 4/10. There's quite a bit of foreplay to assure you that these two are physically attracted to each other but it never gets beyond third base. That's actually okay because it means the main focus of the story is the two protagonists and to some extend the young boy who has brought everyone together.
This book had the added advantage of being a secret baby story that wasn't really a secret baby story. That is to say there was a baby from an illicit union and story does somewhat hinge on whether or not Strome decides to be a father.
I loved the pace of the story and how the author really drew you into the revelations about the characters. I even found myself a little teary-eyed at the end. I will definitely add this author to my "To Buy" list and hopefully I will be able to unearth some other gems by her.
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