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Patterson-Cannon Family #2
Amando a una mujer
Aquello no era sólo un caso de robo o espionaje empresarial; ¡era una traición! Y todas las pistas conducían a Evangeline Shaw. Pero cuando Robert Cannon la encontró, empezó a tener sus dudas; o se trataba de una profesional del engaño o no era más que un instrumento inocente en manos de alguien muy cruel. Había algo que estaba claro, Robert estaba poniendo en peligro la investigación por implicarse demasiado, y estaba a punto de dejarse llevar por una pasión arrolladora con una mujer que podía ser culpable.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 25, 1994
252 people are currently reading
1342 people want to read
About the author
Linda Howard
223 books7,169 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.
Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.
Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 246 reviews
May 20, 2019
Robert Cannon (wealthy CEO and President of Cannon Group) discovers that there is a conspiracy threatening his company. He acquires info about some people who could be involved in this, including innocent Evie (Evangeline) Shaw, the owner-operator of a marina. (The bad guy, Landon Mercer, is using one of her boats at the marina and selling info to the enemy.) Robert suspects that Evie is part of this conspiracy and he visits the marina to spy on her...
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The hero totally ruined it for me. Conceited, selfish, stupidly believing Evie is committing treason with all signs pointing to her innocence. I never saw any love from this hero, only lust. The story was slow and boring with too many sex scenes. I really liked Evie, though, she was a sweet heroine. She deserved a better hero.
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The hero totally ruined it for me. Conceited, selfish, stupidly believing Evie is committing treason with all signs pointing to her innocence. I never saw any love from this hero, only lust. The story was slow and boring with too many sex scenes. I really liked Evie, though, she was a sweet heroine. She deserved a better hero.
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October 24, 2022
Loving Evangeline is book two in the Patterson-Cannon Family series by Linda Howard. I have had this paperback sitting on my shelf for years and it was a reading challenge to read a book with water on the cover that finally had me digging it out.
Robert Cannon is our hero. He is thirty six years old and is CEO and President of his own company, Cannon Group, a computer software company. Robert keeps himself strictly controlled, never letting anyone really see the man he truly is. His company has some highly classified contracts with the government and some of his programs have been turning up in places they shouldn’t have been. They had a traitor. They traced it back to a man working in one of his companies in Huntsville, Alabama. So Robert took the summer off to leave New York and take up residence in a small nearby town to Huntsville. Because according to their surveillance, the man responsible for the breech had an accomplice.
Evie Shaw is thirty years old and is the owner of a small marina. Evie has seen more tragedy in her life than most people would be able to withstand. But through years of closing herself off to feeling anything except for those closest to her, she has weathered the storm. Under her steady hand, the marina is doing better than ever. But then, a stranger walks into her office and for the first time in twelve years, she feels something, attraction! She doesn’t want to feel it. She can’t risk it. But it’s there, growing stronger.
Robert’s evidence points to Evie as his traitor’s accomplice. So with a plan in place, he sets things in motion. But he never anticipated how Evie Shaw would affect him. She’s not like any woman he’s ever been attracted to. But he can’t seem to resist her. So a slight change of his plan. He will continue to move forward with his plan to force the guilty parties to feel pressure to move faster but he will also pursue Evie, even though he is convinced she is guilty. Because whatever this is he is feeling, he can’t ignore it.
“Robert was an inferno, and the heat between them could leave her in ashes.”
First, I struggled with Robert a bit. He was just too cold and calculating. But Evie saw right through his facade. She fell for him even though she knew he wasn’t capable of love. This woman was so strong. As her life disintegrated around her, she never once let on to anyone what was happening and handled it all herself. I hated what Robert was doing, even though I understand why. I just couldn’t justify the things he was doing, especially since, as the reader, I was seeing the impact it had on Evie. Or maybe it was just because I loved Evie so much that I couldn’t stand to see her hurt. But I suppose this means the author did her job well in making me feel all of these things for her characters.
This was a good book. It is definitely a bit dated but the story had me coming back as often as I could to see what happened next. I have not read the first book in the series, Duncan’s Bride, which is Robert’s sister Madelyn’s book. Robert and Madelyn are close and she does make a couple of quick appearances in this book.
For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
Robert Cannon is our hero. He is thirty six years old and is CEO and President of his own company, Cannon Group, a computer software company. Robert keeps himself strictly controlled, never letting anyone really see the man he truly is. His company has some highly classified contracts with the government and some of his programs have been turning up in places they shouldn’t have been. They had a traitor. They traced it back to a man working in one of his companies in Huntsville, Alabama. So Robert took the summer off to leave New York and take up residence in a small nearby town to Huntsville. Because according to their surveillance, the man responsible for the breech had an accomplice.
Evie Shaw is thirty years old and is the owner of a small marina. Evie has seen more tragedy in her life than most people would be able to withstand. But through years of closing herself off to feeling anything except for those closest to her, she has weathered the storm. Under her steady hand, the marina is doing better than ever. But then, a stranger walks into her office and for the first time in twelve years, she feels something, attraction! She doesn’t want to feel it. She can’t risk it. But it’s there, growing stronger.
Robert’s evidence points to Evie as his traitor’s accomplice. So with a plan in place, he sets things in motion. But he never anticipated how Evie Shaw would affect him. She’s not like any woman he’s ever been attracted to. But he can’t seem to resist her. So a slight change of his plan. He will continue to move forward with his plan to force the guilty parties to feel pressure to move faster but he will also pursue Evie, even though he is convinced she is guilty. Because whatever this is he is feeling, he can’t ignore it.
“Robert was an inferno, and the heat between them could leave her in ashes.”
First, I struggled with Robert a bit. He was just too cold and calculating. But Evie saw right through his facade. She fell for him even though she knew he wasn’t capable of love. This woman was so strong. As her life disintegrated around her, she never once let on to anyone what was happening and handled it all herself. I hated what Robert was doing, even though I understand why. I just couldn’t justify the things he was doing, especially since, as the reader, I was seeing the impact it had on Evie. Or maybe it was just because I loved Evie so much that I couldn’t stand to see her hurt. But I suppose this means the author did her job well in making me feel all of these things for her characters.
This was a good book. It is definitely a bit dated but the story had me coming back as often as I could to see what happened next. I have not read the first book in the series, Duncan’s Bride, which is Robert’s sister Madelyn’s book. Robert and Madelyn are close and she does make a couple of quick appearances in this book.
For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
September 29, 2020
A generous *0.5 stars*
April 12, 2017
I needed something sappy and lite, this hit the mark and surpassed my expectations. 'Twas lovely, this was written back in 1994, I got a kick out of the "fax machine, dial up tone" and "having to pull over to use a pay phone" or "mailing out a check for payment". Ahh, memories. Lol.
November 14, 2020
Evie's story was so, so tragic. I wish I cared. 😴
October 2, 2016
Sadly, the H is a complete and utter jerk. The h has a marina and one of the H's employees is using her boats to sell top secret info. The H is trying to catch the guy and manipulates the h into near foreclosure, thinking she is helping him.
He also starts an affair with her and she winds up selling her beloved house to save her business. Then she finds out the H set all this up but it was catching a traitor so it is all okay. I was like WTF? The H did serious damage and was arrogant about it to boot, the man needs to apologize for using her at the very least and never does.
This was not a man I want as an H, he sucked. If you love domineering, arrogant ass hat's this is a book to read. The h was great but the H needed to die and sadly that never happened, nor was he ever sorry and he did not even get the h her house back, she had to move to the big city which she never wanted to do. This has one of the saddest devolutions of an h in a LH ever, and I was just sorry I ever read it.
He also starts an affair with her and she winds up selling her beloved house to save her business. Then she finds out the H set all this up but it was catching a traitor so it is all okay. I was like WTF? The H did serious damage and was arrogant about it to boot, the man needs to apologize for using her at the very least and never does.
This was not a man I want as an H, he sucked. If you love domineering, arrogant ass hat's this is a book to read. The h was great but the H needed to die and sadly that never happened, nor was he ever sorry and he did not even get the h her house back, she had to move to the big city which she never wanted to do. This has one of the saddest devolutions of an h in a LH ever, and I was just sorry I ever read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2016
I love the old school Linda Howard books. Another where the hero suspects the innocent heroine of evil doing, but also wants to have sex with her, and this hero is a real doozy. Wow, the things he does to ruin her life while sleeping with her! You'll want to gleefully smash his face :) The sex scenes were also pretty hot/intense in that caveman way LH heroes have.
If you're familiar with her work, you'll know that LH heroes almost never grovel enough. In fact they very rarely grovel at all. They are more: "Ok - so this happened - I'm an asshole, get over it. You're going to marry me and like it!" However, in this one, the h does make him suffer a bit before he gets his way. I really liked the heroine too. Howard has a way with writing good southern lady heroines.
In most cases the lack of a good grovel automatically tanks a book for me, but I keep coming back to LH. It's not that I don't want more grovel, but her writing is usually so enjoyable and I find her heroes sexy (what is wrong with me?). Besides, I always get the feeling these guys will make it up to the heroine in their own uber-possessive, obsessed way.
I saw there was a tv movie for this book - has anyone seen it? Is it worth looking up? I'm thinking not, but still kinda tempted.
If you're familiar with her work, you'll know that LH heroes almost never grovel enough. In fact they very rarely grovel at all. They are more: "Ok - so this happened - I'm an asshole, get over it. You're going to marry me and like it!" However, in this one, the h does make him suffer a bit before he gets his way. I really liked the heroine too. Howard has a way with writing good southern lady heroines.
In most cases the lack of a good grovel automatically tanks a book for me, but I keep coming back to LH. It's not that I don't want more grovel, but her writing is usually so enjoyable and I find her heroes sexy (what is wrong with me?). Besides, I always get the feeling these guys will make it up to the heroine in their own uber-possessive, obsessed way.
I saw there was a tv movie for this book - has anyone seen it? Is it worth looking up? I'm thinking not, but still kinda tempted.
June 28, 2011
★★★★½ I really wondered how Ms. Howard was going to pull this one off; I thought for sure she had painted herself into a corner with our hero, Robert Canners, step-brother to Madelyn Patterson of Duncan's Bride fame. Robert is nothing if he’s not arrogant, especially with his self-confidence in his ability to seduce women.
Indeed, he’s not above sleeping with the enemy, even if they are suspected of treason. Rich, powerful, coolly decisive, and presuming too much, he has our Southern Belle heroine, Evangeline “Evie” Shaw, pegged all wrong. It was delicious watching this Yankee’s surrender.
LH has plopped her characters down in the middle of the Tennessee Valley, overlooking the majestic 69,000-acre Guntersville Reservoir, within Lake Guntersville Resort State Park, Alabama; its awesome beauty makes me wish romance books were pictorials.
Spiderwort and Mountain Laurel
are flowers found in the summer around Lake Guntersville State Park.
Evie owns a marina there and Robert, in the guise of needing a stress-induced vacation, arrives looking for evidence to put this little Mata Hari’s ass in jail and throw away the key for selling highly classified software developed for NASA by his PowerNet Company. However, where he thought he’d find a dumpy old turncoat, he’s pleased to find a provocative widow, and he’s not above anticipating the planned enjoyment of his sexual possession. That is the part that kind of threw me off. Not a very endearing character trait, that. I’m all for patriotism, and maybe I would have thought better of him if he was determined to just grit his teeth and bear it, but his actually looking forward to it was a little off-putting at first.
Delving deeper, what Robert finds is a vulnerable widow, devastated by the loss of her childhood sweetheart and still wearing her wedding ring twelve years later, not one of his sophisticated New York socialites. Nevertheless, she’s perceptive enough to realize that, beneath their sexual chemistry, there is subtle manipulation on his part. Good for her! Now she just has to figure out his motives while trying to avoid a summer fling she feels will leave her with a broken heart.
Bereft of length, by its very nature, this Silhouette Romantic Suspense in the skillful hands of LH, is charming and chalk full of colorful and endearing characters; but then, LH never did need many words to get her ideas across.
”Have you hired a guide?”Yes, that was a public display of affection, and not Robert’s modus operandi. His sexual pursuit of Evie is deliciously sluggish and contrastingly fast, revealing an underlying emotion that is irresistible. I realized LH hadn’t painted herself into a corner, Robert had. What he does next really pushed my button; but then, it just made that much more he needed to apologize for in the end.
“No, but the river channel’s marked, isn’t it?”
“Yes, there shouldn’t be any problem, unless you want to explore out of the channel. I’ll give you a map.”
“Okay.” Thoughtfully Robert looked at Virgil. “Would you like to show me around the lake, Mr. Dodd? This is, if you don’t have plans for the afternoon.”
Virgil cackled, his faded eyes suddenly gleaming with enthusiasm. “Plans?” he snorted. “I’m ninety-three years old! Who in tarnation makes plans at my age? I could stop breathin’ any minute now.”
Amusement danced in Robert’s eyes, making them look like pale green diamonds. “I’m willing to take the chance if you are, but I warn you, a corpse in the boat would be a real inconvenience.”
Virgil hauled himself out of the rocking chair. “Tell you what, son. For the chance to park myself in a boat again, I’ll try real hard not to put you to the trouble of havin’ to call the coroner.”
“It’s a deal.” Robert winked at Evie as he turned away.
Evie shook her head as she smiled at Virgil. She knew better than to try talking him out of going. Besides, he deserved to enjoy an hour or so on the river he loved, and she had faith that Robert would be as skillful at handling a boat as he was at everything else he did. How had he guessed, on such short acquaintance, that Virgil would dearly love getting out on the water again?
“Both of you be careful,” she admonished. “Virgil, don’t forget your cap.”
“I won’t, I won’t,” he said testily. “Think I’m fool enough to go out without somethin’ on my head?”
“I’ll bring the boat around to the dock,” Robert said, and she was grateful to him for sparing Virgil the longer walk to the boat slip. He reached the door, stopped and came back to her. “I forgot something.”
“What?”
He cupped her chin in one hand, leaned down and calmly kissed her. It wasn’t a passionate kiss; it was almost leisurely. Still, when he lifted his head, her heart was pounding and her thoughts scattered.
“That,” he murmured.
Plus, most of the story takes place on a lake with a palpable sense of suspense, a few boat chases following twisting paths around the small islands of the river. In between there are some slow deep kisses, all while they track those who are really guilty of espionage. If you like an alpha hero in pursuit of a frustrating female, for good reasons and bad, this is your book. A great sultry summer-fun read.
May 27, 2016
Oh good grief. For supposedly being an ultra-intelligent business man/former covert operative, Robert Cannon is one big, fat, DUMBASS. Bitch, get a C-L-U-E, will ya? Despite all the blinking, neon, gigantic signs pointing to the fact that the woman he is setting up is NOT A GODDAMN SPY, our hapless hero continues to display the kind of tunnel vision/group think that would make JFK's advisers on the Bay of Pigs fiasco look like reasonable, objective people.
Heroine was stellar, which is a rare feat for Linda Howard, although her 12 year mourning for her late husband was just a wee bit much on the martyr scale. However, she was so smart, no bullshit, real, non-whiner, and just kick-ass that it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance and indeed, it was not hard to fall in love with Evangeline.
Too bad that after the epic fail by hero, I did not get a satisfying grovel at the end. Pfffffffttttt. This undercooked souffle deflated in a gooey mess by the last couple of chapters, making it a very frustrating read.
Heroine was stellar, which is a rare feat for Linda Howard, although her 12 year mourning for her late husband was just a wee bit much on the martyr scale. However, she was so smart, no bullshit, real, non-whiner, and just kick-ass that it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance and indeed, it was not hard to fall in love with Evangeline.
Too bad that after the epic fail by hero, I did not get a satisfying grovel at the end. Pfffffffttttt. This undercooked souffle deflated in a gooey mess by the last couple of chapters, making it a very frustrating read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2022
Again wonderful reread. Loved it!!!!
Evie, a strong and tenacious heroine. One who suffered a lot of loss and pain in her past. She's surrounded herself with her family and friends only. She's totally closed herself off to any romantic involvement.
Then comes Robert, he is CEO of his software company and someone in his company has been stealing as well as committing treason. He heads to a small town in Alabama to get to the bottom of who this person is and make sure they are put aways for a long time.
The suspect uses a marina for the crime, they believe/think, and Evie is owner of a boat dock/marina where this is taking place. And she might be involved as well, possibly.
Evie and Robert meet at Evie's place of business and sparks fly immediately. She senses danger emanating from him and she's sure it's directed at her. And Robert is blindsided by his instant attraction to Evie. He's determined to get to know her and see if she's involved, and if so then make sure she pays. Evie will not, absolutely not open up her heart to be devastated again. But these two are destined to have their HEA. But boy is it tough, with a lot of angst, struggle, pain and sexual tension ever present. But it's so worth it and loved their relationship. Be prepared Robert comes across as total Alpha (can be a bit of a jerk too), but he's got a tender and loyal heart to those he lets in and loves. And nothing gets me more then a hero that turn to mush with children and kids. And Evie, she is so guarded but when she opens her heart she is pure and open and honest. She is true to herself, strong and willing to stand up for what she deserves. Great communications. Great character development. A good storyline with mystery, suspense, sexual tension, chemistry and a beautiful romance.
Loved the epilogue.
On my keeper shelf and highly recommended.
_____________________________________________________________
These two
Loved this the second time around too. But Duncan's Bride was hard to beat so didn't love it as much as that one.
The hero is swoon worthy for sure. Strong heroine and sad past.
Nothing gets to me more than a hero who adores children.
Wonderful read.
Evie, a strong and tenacious heroine. One who suffered a lot of loss and pain in her past. She's surrounded herself with her family and friends only. She's totally closed herself off to any romantic involvement.
Then comes Robert, he is CEO of his software company and someone in his company has been stealing as well as committing treason. He heads to a small town in Alabama to get to the bottom of who this person is and make sure they are put aways for a long time.
The suspect uses a marina for the crime, they believe/think, and Evie is owner of a boat dock/marina where this is taking place. And she might be involved as well, possibly.
Evie and Robert meet at Evie's place of business and sparks fly immediately. She senses danger emanating from him and she's sure it's directed at her. And Robert is blindsided by his instant attraction to Evie. He's determined to get to know her and see if she's involved, and if so then make sure she pays. Evie will not, absolutely not open up her heart to be devastated again. But these two are destined to have their HEA. But boy is it tough, with a lot of angst, struggle, pain and sexual tension ever present. But it's so worth it and loved their relationship. Be prepared Robert comes across as total Alpha (can be a bit of a jerk too), but he's got a tender and loyal heart to those he lets in and loves. And nothing gets me more then a hero that turn to mush with children and kids. And Evie, she is so guarded but when she opens her heart she is pure and open and honest. She is true to herself, strong and willing to stand up for what she deserves. Great communications. Great character development. A good storyline with mystery, suspense, sexual tension, chemistry and a beautiful romance.
Loved the epilogue.
On my keeper shelf and highly recommended.
_____________________________________________________________
These two
Loved this the second time around too. But Duncan's Bride was hard to beat so didn't love it as much as that one.
The hero is swoon worthy for sure. Strong heroine and sad past.
Nothing gets to me more than a hero who adores children.
Wonderful read.
September 3, 2021
You know what I love?
A calm, cool, and collected ruthless asshole. Like I love them so much, it's really the only kind of Hero I want. Why? Is it because I like the abuse? Not really. No. What I like, what I SAVOR, is knowing that the bigger the asshole, the bigger the fall. So, bring on the insults. Give me the intentional scenes with OW. Pile on the manhandling and cruel looks. The cold heartless rejections. I love every second because I know the asshat is either gonna *lose his sh*t* and/or grovel like a b*tch, and I am sooooooo here for every second of that.
And this book? It's set it up so perfectly. At first you kinda want to punch him in the balls as he waxes poetic about how he is with OW. How in control he is. How much he loves sex and their scent and their skin and alway being in complete control. No real emotion. Always the gentleman. He likes a commitment. He wants it all clean and tidy. .... Muwahahahahahahahaha
And all I'm imagining, with a sly grin on my face, is the scene where he loses all that precious control.
So, I yadayadayada'd through all the action and intrigue and suspense... and yeah, I saw where he was cracking, but we weren't quite there yet...
....and then.... BOOM! I got my reward. 😏
He's got an Evangaline kink, and I'm so here for it. 🤩
I almost lost hope. I thought maybe I'd lost my instincts, but LH did not let me down. 😅
Bottom line? Great book. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- no OW drama
- h is virgin widow
- H has been celibate for the last year-ish
- no dubcon
A calm, cool, and collected ruthless asshole. Like I love them so much, it's really the only kind of Hero I want. Why? Is it because I like the abuse? Not really. No. What I like, what I SAVOR, is knowing that the bigger the asshole, the bigger the fall. So, bring on the insults. Give me the intentional scenes with OW. Pile on the manhandling and cruel looks. The cold heartless rejections. I love every second because I know the asshat is either gonna *lose his sh*t* and/or grovel like a b*tch, and I am sooooooo here for every second of that.
And this book? It's set it up so perfectly. At first you kinda want to punch him in the balls as he waxes poetic about how he is with OW. How in control he is. How much he loves sex and their scent and their skin and alway being in complete control. No real emotion. Always the gentleman. He likes a commitment. He wants it all clean and tidy. .... Muwahahahahahahahaha
And all I'm imagining, with a sly grin on my face, is the scene where he loses all that precious control.
So, I yadayadayada'd through all the action and intrigue and suspense... and yeah, I saw where he was cracking, but we weren't quite there yet...
....and then.... BOOM! I got my reward. 😏
He's got an Evangaline kink, and I'm so here for it. 🤩
I almost lost hope. I thought maybe I'd lost my instincts, but LH did not let me down. 😅
Bottom line? Great book. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- no OW drama
- h is virgin widow
- H has been celibate for the last year-ish
- no dubcon
December 31, 2021
Normally, I'm not a fan of storylines where one of the mc's is hiding something from the other, however I really like how this one was handled. It's the fact that I don't agree with the actions taken in this kind of storyline. This was an exception because in Loving Evangeline you can't fault Robert for what he was doing. He was wrong about her, but you can't fault him for the information he was given. This actually had me wanting to devour the book faster to see how this was all going to play out. This is the kind of angst I enjoy. If I had anything to complain about, it was that Robert was a pretty cold character. I just felt he needed a bit more emotion. I loved Evangeline. She's a respectable heroine.
June 8, 2016
Wow! I have no words! I am speechless! To quote another reader "the passion of the hero was so intense and literally palpable. This was ultimately the greatest passion I have witnessed by far in any romance books and the hero simply bitten all the heroes I have read to this moment."
The man was sex on legs and the love scenes so sensual so steamy, erotic and passionate I was actually blushing! Robert Cannon is the ultimate dominant alpha male. Confident, possessive, arrogant. Christian Grey who?!
Heroine was great too. A virgin widow with strength and integrity. She was lonely and miserable after the death of her husband but I was glad she fell in love with Robert so soon after meeting him.
Epilogue was super adorable and cute with their baby daughter Angel and heroine pregnant again and Robert so in love with them. I was puking rainbows! This book is a keeper!!!
The man was sex on legs and the love scenes so sensual so steamy, erotic and passionate I was actually blushing! Robert Cannon is the ultimate dominant alpha male. Confident, possessive, arrogant. Christian Grey who?!
Heroine was great too. A virgin widow with strength and integrity. She was lonely and miserable after the death of her husband but I was glad she fell in love with Robert so soon after meeting him.
Epilogue was super adorable and cute with their baby daughter Angel and heroine pregnant again and Robert so in love with them. I was puking rainbows! This book is a keeper!!!
March 5, 2018
meh..I wanted to take the hero out back and shoot him.
April 6, 2017
Evangeline and the Douchebag aka Robert.
I love Linda Howard but this one was almost as disappointing as An Independent Wife.
Robert was a selfish bully who thought his sh*t didn't stink.
Robert runs a software company that sells programs to the government. He also has some clandestine training and so when it turns out there is a traitor working for him, he is determined to catch the culprit himself. Evangeline runs the marina where the traitor rents boats to do his illegal rendezvous. Through purely coincidental actions, Robert believes she is in cahoots with the traitor and decides to seduce her to find out more. This is despicable in itself, but it gets worse. Two thirds in he still firmly believes she is a villain but perhaps a partially unwitting one. (Oh so now she's not just evil, but stupid as well). All evidence to contrary of course. i begin to doubt Robert's intelligence.
He starts to create events that will make her desperate for money and there is no end to how low he will stoop.
I think the author was trying to make out that because he, a man of ruthless self control, loses his sh*t around Evie, that it's a sign of devotion. But he actually just comes across as a selfish pr*ck. He spent the entire book manipulating her and thinking she was a traitor. There was nothing romantic about their interactions, nothing AT ALL.
OW stuff
oh yeah, and I should also mention that very little actually happens and too much time is spent in Robert's head going on and on about how sensuous she is and he just has to have her even though she is nothing like his usual tall skinny blonds. On and on about Evie's first love and how jealous he is of him. I hate repetition.
I love Linda Howard but this one was almost as disappointing as An Independent Wife.
Robert was a selfish bully who thought his sh*t didn't stink.
Robert runs a software company that sells programs to the government. He also has some clandestine training and so when it turns out there is a traitor working for him, he is determined to catch the culprit himself. Evangeline runs the marina where the traitor rents boats to do his illegal rendezvous. Through purely coincidental actions, Robert believes she is in cahoots with the traitor and decides to seduce her to find out more. This is despicable in itself, but it gets worse. Two thirds in he still firmly believes she is a villain but perhaps a partially unwitting one. (Oh so now she's not just evil, but stupid as well). All evidence to contrary of course. i begin to doubt Robert's intelligence.
He starts to create events that will make her desperate for money and there is no end to how low he will stoop.
I think the author was trying to make out that because he, a man of ruthless self control, loses his sh*t around Evie, that it's a sign of devotion. But he actually just comes across as a selfish pr*ck. He spent the entire book manipulating her and thinking she was a traitor. There was nothing romantic about their interactions, nothing AT ALL.
OW stuff
oh yeah, and I should also mention that very little actually happens and too much time is spent in Robert's head going on and on about how sensuous she is and he just has to have her even though she is nothing like his usual tall skinny blonds. On and on about Evie's first love and how jealous he is of him. I hate repetition.
March 31, 2017
4 ½ stars. Good story. Intense emotions. "He done her wrong" and she found out.
I enjoyed reading about the characters and their conflicts. Robert's passion at the end was mesmerizing. I loved it.
But it dragged in the middle. When I read the paperback several years ago I didn’t notice the slow middle, but I felt it recently when listening to the audiobook.
STORY BRIEF:
Robert suspected Evangeline was selling classified information to enemies of the U.S. So he spied on her and caused financial difficulties for her as a way to get her to sell more documents sooner so he could catch her doing it. But he was falling in love with her while suspecting her. She reacted in unexpected ways.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Lesa Lockford was wonderful as narrator. Some actors overdo a fake southern accent, but Lesa’s southern accent for Evangeline was mild. It was pleasant and not exaggerated. I was also pleased that her breaths were removed - good sound editing.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 243 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: about ten but some were referred to no details. Setting: current day small town in Alabama. Copyright: 1994. Genre: romantic suspense.
I enjoyed reading about the characters and their conflicts. Robert's passion at the end was mesmerizing. I loved it.
But it dragged in the middle. When I read the paperback several years ago I didn’t notice the slow middle, but I felt it recently when listening to the audiobook.
STORY BRIEF:
Robert suspected Evangeline was selling classified information to enemies of the U.S. So he spied on her and caused financial difficulties for her as a way to get her to sell more documents sooner so he could catch her doing it. But he was falling in love with her while suspecting her. She reacted in unexpected ways.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Lesa Lockford was wonderful as narrator. Some actors overdo a fake southern accent, but Lesa’s southern accent for Evangeline was mild. It was pleasant and not exaggerated. I was also pleased that her breaths were removed - good sound editing.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 243 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: about ten but some were referred to no details. Setting: current day small town in Alabama. Copyright: 1994. Genre: romantic suspense.
August 18, 2017
This is one of those books where you absolutely adore one mc and dislike (if not hate) the other.
The h was amazing-strong, quiet, loyal, loving, proud and wary of emotional attachments and hurt.
The H was a certifiable assh*le, no doubt. Cold, manipulative, detached, callous, supercilious and what have you.
His betrayal hurts her abominably and almost destroys her. But still, I felt the angst/conflict was not build as well as it could be. The much expected confrontation doesn’t happen and she simply sends him away.
And then she forgives him so easily. I would have liked to see him sweat a bit more for his actions and manipulations. So all that was needed were those 3 little words from him and all was forgiven-no other accounting was required which was a let down for me as a reader. When you have witnessed the appalling way he manipulated and used her, you prepare yourself (rubbing your hands in glee!) for a mother of a showdown and grovel but then get neither. She remains the picture of quiet grace and calm resilience till the very end and my liking for her slipped few notches!
Hell, why cant she rant and rave like a normal person?
And then, even with an epilogue, the author does not clarify where do they end up living- NYC or Alabama (as she is a total small-town river girl)? He comes up an elevator at the end so.. I hope they divided their time between the two, but still.. :/
Bottom-line(s) - This book required a mega-grovel and it did not deliver.
And it’s not a patch on the prequel-not even a teeny weeny one!
Still 3.5 stars!
The h was amazing-strong, quiet, loyal, loving, proud and wary of emotional attachments and hurt.
The H was a certifiable assh*le, no doubt. Cold, manipulative, detached, callous, supercilious and what have you.
His betrayal hurts her abominably and almost destroys her. But still, I felt the angst/conflict was not build as well as it could be. The much expected confrontation doesn’t happen and she simply sends him away.
And then she forgives him so easily. I would have liked to see him sweat a bit more for his actions and manipulations. So all that was needed were those 3 little words from him and all was forgiven-no other accounting was required which was a let down for me as a reader. When you have witnessed the appalling way he manipulated and used her, you prepare yourself (rubbing your hands in glee!) for a mother of a showdown and grovel but then get neither. She remains the picture of quiet grace and calm resilience till the very end and my liking for her slipped few notches!
Hell, why cant she rant and rave like a normal person?
And then, even with an epilogue, the author does not clarify where do they end up living- NYC or Alabama (as she is a total small-town river girl)? He comes up an elevator at the end so.. I hope they divided their time between the two, but still.. :/
Bottom-line(s) - This book required a mega-grovel and it did not deliver.
And it’s not a patch on the prequel-not even a teeny weeny one!
Still 3.5 stars!
February 12, 2019
“Don’t try to decide how you’re going to manipulate me into doing what you want. You’re too intelligent for your own good, and too damn subtle. Nothing really reaches you, does it?” She spread her hands far apart and gestured. “You’re over here, and everyone else is way over here, and never the twain shall meet. Nobody and nothing gets close to you. You’re willing to marry me, but nothing would change. You’d still keep yourself closed off, watching from the distance and pulling strings to make all the puppets do what you want. What I had with Matt was real, a relationship with a person instead of a facade! What makes you think I’d settle for what you’re offering?”
I’d almost wished her not to forgive him after this chastisement.
“Love? He’d never even thought the word. He wanted Evie, wanted to marry her, wanted to have children with her. God, he wanted all of that with a fierce passion that threatened to destory him if he didn’t get it. But everything in him rebelled at the thought of being in love. “It would mean a terrible helplessness; he wouldn’t be able to hold himself apart from her, to keep uncompromised the basic invulnerability that was at the core of him.”
He was sooo dense like almost every other H of romance books but I’d really wished her not to forgive him. 🙄
“I’ll want you at my beck and call. I can’t ignore the business, so I’ll expect you to fit your schedule around mine, to be available whenever I’m home”
Besides no groveling, these caveman demands? Oh girl, you should have kicked the his manipulative ass!
But because I loved the angst and his ultimate jerkness 4 stars!
I’d almost wished her not to forgive him after this chastisement.
“Love? He’d never even thought the word. He wanted Evie, wanted to marry her, wanted to have children with her. God, he wanted all of that with a fierce passion that threatened to destory him if he didn’t get it. But everything in him rebelled at the thought of being in love. “It would mean a terrible helplessness; he wouldn’t be able to hold himself apart from her, to keep uncompromised the basic invulnerability that was at the core of him.”
He was sooo dense like almost every other H of romance books but I’d really wished her not to forgive him. 🙄
“I’ll want you at my beck and call. I can’t ignore the business, so I’ll expect you to fit your schedule around mine, to be available whenever I’m home”
Besides no groveling, these caveman demands? Oh girl, you should have kicked the his manipulative ass!
But because I loved the angst and his ultimate jerkness 4 stars!
June 18, 2021
With a different ending, I might have liked it more. But I needed some heavy groveling to forgive and forget. The i love u was meaningless for me. Not fake, simply if you destroy someone's life so callously, there no coming back. And here she forgot everything, the betrayal, the lies, the loss of her life. The simple declaration was enough.
Sorry, I understand national security, I don't condone everything in the name of it.
Sorry, I understand national security, I don't condone everything in the name of it.
September 27, 2023
⭐️ one star -
One lone star for this 1994 Harlequin Silhouette (original publication). Was it worth the updated cover and present $6 Kindle fee? Not even a tiny bit for this reader.
What’s with the sad, lonely star for one of my favorite authors, Linda Howard? Not even her skill as a romantic suspense author could save this story in the end. What’s the reason, you ask? How about the fact that this book houses one of the worst Heroes I’ve come across in some time. All of the one and two star reviews that you’re reading here are TRUE!! To loosely quote a fellow reviewer, this inappropriately named “Hero” needs to be bludgeoned with a frying pan. I would personally use my cast iron one, but that’s me 💁♀️🍳
Was this book a typically well-written Howard? Meh. Not really. Lots of loosely developed characters, and lots of threads left hanging here. LH is definitely one of my favorite authors, and one of the Queens of Romantic Suspense, in my own humble opinion. As mentioned above, this was originally published as a Harlequin Silhouette, and it reads like it. This book is why there’s people out there who turn their noses up at Harley’s. Yes, we know you’re out there; it’s not like it’s a big secret; and unfortunately, this book just feeds that deserved publishing house’s unfortunate stereotype.
All that being said, here’s what I hated about the Hero - oops, I mean this story:
* My “Hero” (interpretation: anti-Hero) rant is the reason why this review is hidden. Spoilers are to be found if you choose to carry on……….
…………………………….
Here are my thoughts on this most unfortunate “romance” (quotes are me speaking sarcastically 😂):
1. Even though I didn’t entirely enjoy Book I of this two-part series (Patterson-Cannon Family series), I was intrigued by the brother of that heroine’s story enough (“Duncan’s Bride” - review here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) to seek out this second installment in the series. Again, I’m a LH fan, so I thought, “why not?” I was ready to settle into one of Howard’s trademark romantic suspenses with a nice, hot Hero.
* note: he has quite a few cameos in “Bride”; enough to set him up for his own story in Book II. He came across as strong and forceful, and was just waiting for love to come by and smack him in the head. Too bad he ends up with readers wanting to violently smack him, instead 👋
2. This was a slow read. Even with the premise of mild suspense, there still wasn’t enough meat to compel this reader, and I ended up speed-reading through it. I mostly wanted to get to the final chapters to see what the big reveal was. Truth be told, I was highly motivated to read what exactly made my fellow reviewers hate this Hero so much. A reviewer here I follow even created a Hated Hero shelf in Robert’s honor. I already have my “do not like the hero here” shelf in place, and Robert will get shelved accordingly 📚.
3. Robert begins this story manipulating our poor, unsuspecting heroine. Unfortunately she’s a naive thirty-year-old virgin (yes, you read that right 🤦♀️) who is in no way prepared to fend off this smooth operator. In fact, she’s so out of his league, she’s not even aware that he’s playing a game. She’s that pathetic. He’s got her number right out of the starting gate, while she’s in the stands cluelessly holding a $6 ticket the cashier sold her (probably a trifecta box, in this fantasy of mine).
4. The story morphs into Robert taking over her previously virgin lady parts, whilst conducting behind-the-scenes sleuthing. He’s trying to determine (on his own, mind you - he’s a private citizen, not in law enforcement) if she’s guilty of stealing from his company and a second more serious crime of treason. Roberts whole involvement in this was ludicrous, even with him being the owner of the company. Of course he continues to give her the goods all the while thinking she’s a crook. Romantic? No. It was just icky.
5. His whole plot of exposing her as a thief involves hitting her financially. Our heroine is described as someone who has pulled herself out of a bad situation, and has succeeded in life by the own force of her will. You root for her, so our Hero and his shady machinations were simply distasteful. I was really put off with her carrying on sleeping with him (unsuspectingly) while he knew what he was doing. It came off as him using her, and that’s not romance to me. That’s just sex.
6. Once Robert is involved with Evie losing her house, and she finds out, I wanted her to do more than simply shrug and walk out on him. Do you think that hurt him? He had your home taken away. I wanted her to take an axe to his shiny, new speedboat and then set in on fire with one of those red gasoline tanks. That would have been wholly satisfying to this reader. That’s not romantic either, but I wanted revenge at that point. He was just such a complete a#%. He deserved pain.
7. Their big reconciliation is him showing back up (after he leaves town to go cry like a baby to his sister, Madelyn from “Bride”) and with him telling Evie he loves her. Big whoop. She should’ve laughed in his face and told him to go take a long walk off a short pier. Missed opportunity right there for Howard 😂.
………………………………..
* end spoilers
And the rest of this review is just me offering my two cents, and has nothing to do with this story….
🤷♀️
………………………………
Guess what else I think was a huge missed opportunity for Howard here?
How about this? Major plot twist potential:
Howard writes a NEW story, Book III of this series, titled, “Black Widow”.
Evie and Robert’s oldest daughter Angel (who is now twenty eight years old in 2023) is the heroine.
Robert and Evie are the secondary couple (with this backstory) and the plot twist is this: Evie killed her first husband, high school sweetheart Matt 😱.
She’s suffered through an unsuccessful marriage for the past 29 years with Robert, and has been quietly bitter, and has been just biding her time.
Robert has been far from the perfect husband. He’s been mia a lot; he’s been off thinking he’s 007, and Evie is tired of his bs; and she never got over his financial betrayal of her from before they were married. It’s time for her true character arc - the scorned woman strikes back.
She’s been holding a grudge against him for the sale of Matt’s childhood home. She kills both herself and Robert in a suspect “boating accident”.
Angel must piece back her life and come to terms with her whole existence.
Howard could spin it like only she can - with an involved FBI agent and a question of the insurance money and trust/will.
That’s a book I would read, and I bet that Howard would do a bang-up job with that ✍️
…………………………………….
“Loving Evangeline” you can skip. Boring until you reach the Hatred of Robert threshold.
Avoid this one star read.
One lone star for this 1994 Harlequin Silhouette (original publication). Was it worth the updated cover and present $6 Kindle fee? Not even a tiny bit for this reader.
What’s with the sad, lonely star for one of my favorite authors, Linda Howard? Not even her skill as a romantic suspense author could save this story in the end. What’s the reason, you ask? How about the fact that this book houses one of the worst Heroes I’ve come across in some time. All of the one and two star reviews that you’re reading here are TRUE!! To loosely quote a fellow reviewer, this inappropriately named “Hero” needs to be bludgeoned with a frying pan. I would personally use my cast iron one, but that’s me 💁♀️🍳
Was this book a typically well-written Howard? Meh. Not really. Lots of loosely developed characters, and lots of threads left hanging here. LH is definitely one of my favorite authors, and one of the Queens of Romantic Suspense, in my own humble opinion. As mentioned above, this was originally published as a Harlequin Silhouette, and it reads like it. This book is why there’s people out there who turn their noses up at Harley’s. Yes, we know you’re out there; it’s not like it’s a big secret; and unfortunately, this book just feeds that deserved publishing house’s unfortunate stereotype.
All that being said, here’s what I hated about the Hero - oops, I mean this story:
* My “Hero” (interpretation: anti-Hero) rant is the reason why this review is hidden. Spoilers are to be found if you choose to carry on……….
…………………………….
Here are my thoughts on this most unfortunate “romance” (quotes are me speaking sarcastically 😂):
1. Even though I didn’t entirely enjoy Book I of this two-part series (Patterson-Cannon Family series), I was intrigued by the brother of that heroine’s story enough (“Duncan’s Bride” - review here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) to seek out this second installment in the series. Again, I’m a LH fan, so I thought, “why not?” I was ready to settle into one of Howard’s trademark romantic suspenses with a nice, hot Hero.
* note: he has quite a few cameos in “Bride”; enough to set him up for his own story in Book II. He came across as strong and forceful, and was just waiting for love to come by and smack him in the head. Too bad he ends up with readers wanting to violently smack him, instead 👋
2. This was a slow read. Even with the premise of mild suspense, there still wasn’t enough meat to compel this reader, and I ended up speed-reading through it. I mostly wanted to get to the final chapters to see what the big reveal was. Truth be told, I was highly motivated to read what exactly made my fellow reviewers hate this Hero so much. A reviewer here I follow even created a Hated Hero shelf in Robert’s honor. I already have my “do not like the hero here” shelf in place, and Robert will get shelved accordingly 📚.
3. Robert begins this story manipulating our poor, unsuspecting heroine. Unfortunately she’s a naive thirty-year-old virgin (yes, you read that right 🤦♀️) who is in no way prepared to fend off this smooth operator. In fact, she’s so out of his league, she’s not even aware that he’s playing a game. She’s that pathetic. He’s got her number right out of the starting gate, while she’s in the stands cluelessly holding a $6 ticket the cashier sold her (probably a trifecta box, in this fantasy of mine).
4. The story morphs into Robert taking over her previously virgin lady parts, whilst conducting behind-the-scenes sleuthing. He’s trying to determine (on his own, mind you - he’s a private citizen, not in law enforcement) if she’s guilty of stealing from his company and a second more serious crime of treason. Roberts whole involvement in this was ludicrous, even with him being the owner of the company. Of course he continues to give her the goods all the while thinking she’s a crook. Romantic? No. It was just icky.
5. His whole plot of exposing her as a thief involves hitting her financially. Our heroine is described as someone who has pulled herself out of a bad situation, and has succeeded in life by the own force of her will. You root for her, so our Hero and his shady machinations were simply distasteful. I was really put off with her carrying on sleeping with him (unsuspectingly) while he knew what he was doing. It came off as him using her, and that’s not romance to me. That’s just sex.
6. Once Robert is involved with Evie losing her house, and she finds out, I wanted her to do more than simply shrug and walk out on him. Do you think that hurt him? He had your home taken away. I wanted her to take an axe to his shiny, new speedboat and then set in on fire with one of those red gasoline tanks. That would have been wholly satisfying to this reader. That’s not romantic either, but I wanted revenge at that point. He was just such a complete a#%. He deserved pain.
7. Their big reconciliation is him showing back up (after he leaves town to go cry like a baby to his sister, Madelyn from “Bride”) and with him telling Evie he loves her. Big whoop. She should’ve laughed in his face and told him to go take a long walk off a short pier. Missed opportunity right there for Howard 😂.
………………………………..
* end spoilers
And the rest of this review is just me offering my two cents, and has nothing to do with this story….
🤷♀️
………………………………
Guess what else I think was a huge missed opportunity for Howard here?
How about this? Major plot twist potential:
Howard writes a NEW story, Book III of this series, titled, “Black Widow”.
Evie and Robert’s oldest daughter Angel (who is now twenty eight years old in 2023) is the heroine.
Robert and Evie are the secondary couple (with this backstory) and the plot twist is this: Evie killed her first husband, high school sweetheart Matt 😱.
She’s suffered through an unsuccessful marriage for the past 29 years with Robert, and has been quietly bitter, and has been just biding her time.
Robert has been far from the perfect husband. He’s been mia a lot; he’s been off thinking he’s 007, and Evie is tired of his bs; and she never got over his financial betrayal of her from before they were married. It’s time for her true character arc - the scorned woman strikes back.
She’s been holding a grudge against him for the sale of Matt’s childhood home. She kills both herself and Robert in a suspect “boating accident”.
Angel must piece back her life and come to terms with her whole existence.
Howard could spin it like only she can - with an involved FBI agent and a question of the insurance money and trust/will.
That’s a book I would read, and I bet that Howard would do a bang-up job with that ✍️
…………………………………….
“Loving Evangeline” you can skip. Boring until you reach the Hatred of Robert threshold.
Avoid this one star read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2022
I usually really like Linda Howard, but this one was so-so for me. There were a few things that put me off… the 30-ish year old virgin… the slow, repetitive pace… the stagnant plot until 80%. The last 20% is great, but we drive around the block quite a while before getting there.
Bottom Line- Just ok for me. This was a loaner, and I procrastinated too long and the library has reclaimed the book, so this is short…and kind of shitty, but there’re are ton of reviews out there. It’s basically a mystery romance where Robert makes assumptions about Evie for most of the book. Quick epilogue 16-ish months later.
** This is connected to Duncan's Bride. There’s a small bit (a phone call and quick visit) with Reese, Madelyn and the boys, but that’s really it. Robert wasn’t around a ton during their book, but I definitely felt like he got a new alpha personality.
Bottom Line- Just ok for me. This was a loaner, and I procrastinated too long and the library has reclaimed the book, so this is short…and kind of shitty, but there’re are ton of reviews out there. It’s basically a mystery romance where Robert makes assumptions about Evie for most of the book. Quick epilogue 16-ish months later.
** This is connected to Duncan's Bride. There’s a small bit (a phone call and quick visit) with Reese, Madelyn and the boys, but that’s really it. Robert wasn’t around a ton during their book, but I definitely felt like he got a new alpha personality.
July 6, 2016
More of a companion piece than a sequel to Duncan's Bride, Loving Evangeline has another great heroine. I mean awesome, sweet, loving and yet a spine of steel. No compromising her principles for any hero. She can admit she loves a rat without sacrificing her pride to be with one. Evangeline and Madelyn, in addition to having great names, could give life lessons in how to be strong women without announcing the fact every five minutes. Seriously, I want to have cocktails with these women.
Anyhoo, Robert is Madelyn's step-brother from DW, and is an evil genius business man with closed down emotions regarding women. Why? Who cares. He just does.
He learns of a fraud attempt at a federal level on his company and he has reason to suspect that Evangeline is part of the attempt. He is out for information and revenge. He is determined to bring her down and starts the long con to financially ruin her. Along the way he makes every attempt to seduce her. She is a widow, in fact widowed the day after her wedding, and although emotionally shutdown is not cold. She is a sweetheart. Along the way he falls in love with her, but that doesn't stop his long con.
The tension, excuse me, the sexual tension between the two is hot, and Linda Howard does an excellent job showing it especially with a scene where Evangeline knows that Robert is pulling out the stops to seduce her but can't resist him. Some very poignant moments occur when you see the lengths that Evangeline takes to stay afloat from all the havoc that Robert's behind the scenes manipulation creates.
The kicker is once Evangeline finds out about Robert's machinations, she takes the Romance Heroine Rulebook and throws it out. Despite being a cool businessman and an awesome seducer, Robert has the EQ of a squirrel. He can't imagine why E gives him the stink eye over his proposal or his offer to make amends. Shut down, he turns to his sister to figure out why. Her reaction is quote appropriate for any woman faced with male stupidity. She yells at him for being an idiot.
Robert finally wises up to what he needs to do to get E back. He admits that is an unadulterated, arrogant jackass and he is, but he also makes it clear that he can not live without her.
Anyhoo, Robert is Madelyn's step-brother from DW, and is an evil genius business man with closed down emotions regarding women. Why? Who cares. He just does.
He learns of a fraud attempt at a federal level on his company and he has reason to suspect that Evangeline is part of the attempt. He is out for information and revenge. He is determined to bring her down and starts the long con to financially ruin her. Along the way he makes every attempt to seduce her. She is a widow, in fact widowed the day after her wedding, and although emotionally shutdown is not cold. She is a sweetheart. Along the way he falls in love with her, but that doesn't stop his long con.
The tension, excuse me, the sexual tension between the two is hot, and Linda Howard does an excellent job showing it especially with a scene where Evangeline knows that Robert is pulling out the stops to seduce her but can't resist him. Some very poignant moments occur when you see the lengths that Evangeline takes to stay afloat from all the havoc that Robert's behind the scenes manipulation creates.
The kicker is once Evangeline finds out about Robert's machinations, she takes the Romance Heroine Rulebook and throws it out. Despite being a cool businessman and an awesome seducer, Robert has the EQ of a squirrel. He can't imagine why E gives him the stink eye over his proposal or his offer to make amends. Shut down, he turns to his sister to figure out why. Her reaction is quote appropriate for any woman faced with male stupidity. She yells at him for being an idiot.
Robert finally wises up to what he needs to do to get E back. He admits that is an unadulterated, arrogant jackass and he is, but he also makes it clear that he can not live without her.
July 25, 2016
SPOILERS AHEAD AND MODERN WOMEN MAY WANT TO READ
This book for me did not stand the test of time. He was an asshole who took and took and just made all the decision in their relationship. I don't like or admire a man that is sleeping with someone he thinks is evil just cause hey she's hot and I want to tap that!
What kind of asshole does that?
On top of that she was a virgin! I am so over these older books now!
I can't stand the whole attitude he had about women either. Like controlling your emotions and sex made to order. Yuck, nothing kill a mood more than him explaining how he always give pleasure to his many women and he would do the same to her.
Whatever!
Maybe this was hot back in the day but I can't say it is now for me.
Well I think I will go thru all my to read list and remove all my older books.
They are just not my thing.
Please note he is not a Dom at all here he is just male chauvinist big. You are there when I get home and ready to service me when I want....yes let me think here....NO! And he just did not even say he was sorry. He did not grovel after he cost her to lose her home! Her only security after everyone died and she was left with nothing. WHAT?
Just nope not my thing.
I am deleting my copy and I do not recommend this book.
This book for me did not stand the test of time. He was an asshole who took and took and just made all the decision in their relationship. I don't like or admire a man that is sleeping with someone he thinks is evil just cause hey she's hot and I want to tap that!
What kind of asshole does that?
On top of that she was a virgin! I am so over these older books now!
I can't stand the whole attitude he had about women either. Like controlling your emotions and sex made to order. Yuck, nothing kill a mood more than him explaining how he always give pleasure to his many women and he would do the same to her.
Whatever!
Maybe this was hot back in the day but I can't say it is now for me.
Well I think I will go thru all my to read list and remove all my older books.
They are just not my thing.
Please note he is not a Dom at all here he is just male chauvinist big. You are there when I get home and ready to service me when I want....yes let me think here....NO! And he just did not even say he was sorry. He did not grovel after he cost her to lose her home! Her only security after everyone died and she was left with nothing. WHAT?
Just nope not my thing.
I am deleting my copy and I do not recommend this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2011
I love this book. It's a favorite reread. The heroine is very strong and resourceful and has the extremely alpha hero tied up in knots. This book has a lot of high powered emotion throughout the entire thing. The writing is strong and fast moving. So much so that even on a reread, I can't bear to put it down but devour it as quickly as possible.
December 31, 2019
I have no words. I read this book as a teen and actually liked it the first time. My mind is spinning at how that could be possible. Loving Evangeline? It should have been Controlling Evangeline. Manipulating Evangeline. Or better yet, Lying To Evangeline. That’s what he did through the whole book with no second thought. What a pig!! Then after everything he did he has the nerve to propose like he’s bestowing a gift upon her? I didn’t know whether to laugh or pound something. This book did not age well.
February 12, 2022
3 Stars!
No long review since this is a much older book and there are plenty of reviews here. So just my thoughts…..
I really liked Robert in Duncan's Bride but I couldn’t stand him in his book! He’s arrogant, controlling, deceitful, and egotistical. He has the power to ruin lives and wields his power ruthlessly.
I really, really liked Evie. She’s strong, independent, loyal, and just plain nice. Her back story is heartbreaking and it broke my heart. She deserved so much better from Robert, what he did to her was just wrong. Yes, he made amends but it wasn’t enough….he needed to grovel A LOT more!!!!!
Lastly, I loved that we got to catch up with Reece and Maddie from Duncan's Bride.
* Audiobook narrated 🎧 by Lesa Lockford who did a great job!!
June 9, 2019
This is one of those old-fashioned Linda Howard books that you end up enjoying even if the hero acts in despicable ways. I really don't know how Ms. Howard does it!
Robert believes Evie is in cahoots with one of employees in selling secrets to a foreign power. Even though this is a serious business, the FBI lets him investigate on his own instead of doing their job. As soon as he meets Evie, he's attracted to her immediately and decides to do his investigating from her bed.
Evie's husband died 12 years ago and she still hasn't moved on. But as soon as she meets Robert, her heart goes pitty patter. She knows there's something going on with him but she can't pinpoint what exactly.
As soon as he meets Evie, Robert should have realized she had nothing to do with the spying but he still goes forward with his plans, sabotaging her life to force her to make a rash move with the bad guys. But after every piece of bad news, Evie reacts like any honest human being. The worst part is that he kept going with his sabotaging, while planning to marry her when everything was over. I wanted to kick him on the shins.
Robert believes Evie is in cahoots with one of employees in selling secrets to a foreign power. Even though this is a serious business, the FBI lets him investigate on his own instead of doing their job. As soon as he meets Evie, he's attracted to her immediately and decides to do his investigating from her bed.
Evie's husband died 12 years ago and she still hasn't moved on. But as soon as she meets Robert, her heart goes pitty patter. She knows there's something going on with him but she can't pinpoint what exactly.
As soon as he meets Evie, Robert should have realized she had nothing to do with the spying but he still goes forward with his plans, sabotaging her life to force her to make a rash move with the bad guys. But after every piece of bad news, Evie reacts like any honest human being. The worst part is that he kept going with his sabotaging, while planning to marry her when everything was over. I wanted to kick him on the shins.
October 2, 2018
3,5
#RitaHoward Más vale tarde que nunca.
Me encantan estas novelas, no lo puedo remediar y paso unos ratos Robert tiene unas cosas....
Me pasó igual con Un lugar en el corazón, me las releo y quizá no disfruto tanto como la primera vez pero paso muy buen rato.
#RitaHoward Más vale tarde que nunca.
Me encantan estas novelas, no lo puedo remediar y paso unos ratos Robert tiene unas cosas....
Me pasó igual con Un lugar en el corazón, me las releo y quizá no disfruto tanto como la primera vez pero paso muy buen rato.
January 26, 2019
This is a "5 for OTT, 1 for romance" special.
THere is absolutely no way you can judge the H in this book using any normal standards of behavior and find him anything other than loathsome. He's immediately caveman-possessive of the h from the first moment he sees her, and is wildly jealous of any man she looks at,
He still assumes with nearly no evidence that she is a dangerous, deceptive woman, even though a few minutes of observing her would have been enough for almost anyone. He takes drastic action to make sure he can trap her in her treachery, not anticipating what the h's very logical response would be.
And the h?
Ultimately, this H reminds me of one of Jane Corrie's alpha H's -- he's a brutal cartoon, and as such, he's strangely fascinating and often hilarious. As an actual romantic hero, he's a nightmare.
THere is absolutely no way you can judge the H in this book using any normal standards of behavior and find him anything other than loathsome. He's immediately caveman-possessive of the h from the first moment he sees her, and is wildly jealous of any man she looks at,
He still assumes with nearly no evidence that she is a dangerous, deceptive woman, even though a few minutes of observing her would have been enough for almost anyone. He takes drastic action to make sure he can trap her in her treachery, not anticipating what the h's very logical response would be.
And the h?
Ultimately, this H reminds me of one of Jane Corrie's alpha H's -- he's a brutal cartoon, and as such, he's strangely fascinating and often hilarious. As an actual romantic hero, he's a nightmare.
December 24, 2016
Robert Cannon is the CEO of a software company that has a contract with the government. When he finds out that someone is selling his software to a foreign government, he vows to get to the bottom of it. Robert's security team leads him to Evie Shaw, a young widow who lives in Alabama and owns a marina. What drove this woman to commit treason? Robert decides to "vacation" in Alabama and get to know Evie.
I read this book a few years ago. Though I liked Evie and thought she was a strong heroine, I didn't care for Robert and his alpha personality. This time I listened to the audiobook. My thoughts haven't changed too much. I still like Evie. Robert is an overbearing jerk who uses his money to ruin her business while falling in love with her. Ugh! I couldn't stand him. My rating: 2 Stars.
I read this book a few years ago. Though I liked Evie and thought she was a strong heroine, I didn't care for Robert and his alpha personality. This time I listened to the audiobook. My thoughts haven't changed too much. I still like Evie. Robert is an overbearing jerk who uses his money to ruin her business while falling in love with her. Ugh! I couldn't stand him. My rating: 2 Stars.
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