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Strange Adventure
Young Lacey Vernon was horrified when she was whisked out of her convent school, taken home and groomed for what she realised was marriage—a forced marriage to the Greek tycoon Troy Andreakis. to save her father from ruin. But Troy was not without his attractions, and once the first shock was over Lacey began to realise that perhaps she wasn't dreading what lay ahead of her as much as she had thought she had. She might indeed have had a very happy marriage—until she learned that Troy was, to put it mildly, not going to be a one-woman man...
188 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1977
1 person is currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Sara Craven
493 books266 followersAnne Bushell was born on October 1938 in South Devon, England, just before World War II and grew up in a house crammed with books. She was always a voracious reader, some of her all-time favorites books are: "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë, "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "The Code of the Woosters" by P. G. Wodehouse.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 14, 2022
8/2022
Edited to add cover Info: artist Muriel Wood whose work I've seen in women's magazines of the 70s. This is one of the very few covers in the HP line that's a "one-off" by the artist and the only one by a female artist until Sharon Spiak in the 80s. Wood's faces all have a solemnity which is really lovely though perhaps not in keeping with the mood of the story where Lacey is forced to wear an embarrassingly skimpy dress to impress Troy—and bikinis. Whereas this looks like it's illustrating a Leonard Cohen song.
Sara Craven's 2nd book and her first MOC and it's a fairly standard Davida and Goliath story: 30 something Troy Andreakis has all the power, money, charisma, education, and life experience, teenage Lacey has long silvery blonde hair anda slingshot nice breasts.
Troy is Greek, so it's appropriate that Lacey's father channels Egeus from A Midsummer Night's Dream and begs the ancient privilege of Athens to dispose of what is his as he wishes, and he wishes to give his daughter toDemetrius Troy so Troy will help save his business. But Hermia Lacey prefers to live in a nunnery ere she yields her virgin patent up to Troy, who's actually quite exciting but scary. She figures out that without the virginity there's no deal, so she heads to the woods a motel with Lysander Alan to give it to him instead. Alas because Lacey is young and has zero experience to draw upon her schemes are generally pretty daft so eventually Troy wins by punching Alan and the MOC begins
As common as it is I hate hate this plot; I've no respect for men who want to rush teenagers into marriage while being overly interested in their hymen. But once past this unpleasantness I enjoyed the menage dynamic between Troy, Lacey, and Troy's pride.
I actually like Lacey a lot, she's frequently silly but at least she's thinking, trying for work-arounds. Like maybe she and Troy should get to know each other first, or he could hire her to just be a companion for his teenage sister. But her awful dad, who she mistakenly takes for a loving dad, and Troy are both like ahem! no man can resist that virginity and no girl can resist falling in love with the man who makes her a woman so of course there's no need to get to know each other first. And lo the men are correct! Lacey discovers that though she still thinks sex is sort of shameful it's also awesome because Troy despite mild threats and menace has no stomach for forced seductions, in fact he's not into submissive women in bed at all. He uses the bedroom skills which HP heroes are all purported to have but so rarely utilize on the wedding night and he gives her a good time! Weird but kind of brilliant too.
But the day after the wedding things begin to go wrong. Lacey's father dies and Troy sends her away to his Greek Island alone without contacting her for weeks and she becomes convinced he's having an affair with her vile stepmother. The simple expediency of an explanation and a few fond words would have sufficed to clear everything up but that isn't how Troy rolls. He was so sure his prowess would conquer all doubts, and the nerve of her to question his integrity! In fact he'll just be sulking in his office while a friend of his rebukes her and sets her straight about how Troy would never sully himself with the likes of skank stepmother and urges her to go beg Troy's forgiveness right now! And when she does? Troy is like nope no can do! because we still have an earthquake to get through and there are these nude photos of you that your new lover must have taken...at some point Troy claims to have wanted her since the first moment he saw her and HEA I guess.
So a mix of dumb things and funny things here but it's great to discover that SC's evil mother/stepmother characters, who I think she was secretly very fond of, were present and fully realized from the very beginning.
Edited to add cover Info: artist Muriel Wood whose work I've seen in women's magazines of the 70s. This is one of the very few covers in the HP line that's a "one-off" by the artist and the only one by a female artist until Sharon Spiak in the 80s. Wood's faces all have a solemnity which is really lovely though perhaps not in keeping with the mood of the story where Lacey is forced to wear an embarrassingly skimpy dress to impress Troy—and bikinis. Whereas this looks like it's illustrating a Leonard Cohen song.
Sara Craven's 2nd book and her first MOC and it's a fairly standard Davida and Goliath story: 30 something Troy Andreakis has all the power, money, charisma, education, and life experience, teenage Lacey has long silvery blonde hair and
Troy is Greek, so it's appropriate that Lacey's father channels Egeus from A Midsummer Night's Dream and begs the ancient privilege of Athens to dispose of what is his as he wishes, and he wishes to give his daughter to
As common as it is I hate hate this plot; I've no respect for men who want to rush teenagers into marriage while being overly interested in their hymen. But once past this unpleasantness I enjoyed the menage dynamic between Troy, Lacey, and Troy's pride.
I actually like Lacey a lot, she's frequently silly but at least she's thinking, trying for work-arounds. Like maybe she and Troy should get to know each other first, or he could hire her to just be a companion for his teenage sister. But her awful dad, who she mistakenly takes for a loving dad, and Troy are both like ahem! no man can resist that virginity and no girl can resist falling in love with the man who makes her a woman so of course there's no need to get to know each other first. And lo the men are correct! Lacey discovers that though she still thinks sex is sort of shameful it's also awesome because Troy despite mild threats and menace has no stomach for forced seductions, in fact he's not into submissive women in bed at all. He uses the bedroom skills which HP heroes are all purported to have but so rarely utilize on the wedding night and he gives her a good time! Weird but kind of brilliant too.
But the day after the wedding things begin to go wrong. Lacey's father dies and Troy sends her away to his Greek Island alone without contacting her for weeks and she becomes convinced he's having an affair with her vile stepmother. The simple expediency of an explanation and a few fond words would have sufficed to clear everything up but that isn't how Troy rolls. He was so sure his prowess would conquer all doubts, and the nerve of her to question his integrity! In fact he'll just be sulking in his office while a friend of his rebukes her and sets her straight about how Troy would never sully himself with the likes of skank stepmother and urges her to go beg Troy's forgiveness right now! And when she does? Troy is like nope no can do! because we still have an earthquake to get through and there are these nude photos of you that your new lover must have taken...at some point Troy claims to have wanted her since the first moment he saw her and HEA I guess.
So a mix of dumb things and funny things here but it's great to discover that SC's evil mother/stepmother characters, who I think she was secretly very fond of, were present and fully realized from the very beginning.
October 11, 2009
This is the third time I've tried to write this review. I don't know if it's because my brain is fried after this week, or because I want to say good things about this book and just had trouble saying the right way.
I love the old school Harlequin Presents, and this book reminds me why. What has became cliched about my favorite (other than the Harlequin Historicals) Harlequin/Silhouette series, was authentic and fulfilling in the older books. I happens that this was the first book that Sara Craven (who is one of my favorite authors in this series) wrote for Harlequin Presents, and it's from 1977. It was her second book (her first is a Harlequin Romance that I have put on my to buy list), and it's very well-written.
The narrative is such that you don't lose interest. In fact, I put this book down last night because I was tired, not out of boredom. I picked it up first thing when I woke this morning and quickly finished it.
The heroine is very young, seventeen, when this story begins. She's convent-educated, and innocent, but she's not too stupid to live. In fact, she seems more mature than some of the newer, older and experienced heroines that are written about in this series nowadays. I don't mean to put down the newer Harlequin Presents so much. They just disappoint me because I know how good this line used to be. So, I am sorry if I sound so disparaging of the current Harlequin Presents. She makes some choices that are not ideal, but her reasons are justified by her innocence and by the information she has to work with. The hero is also a character that you can visualize as a credible, three-dimensional person, and not a caricature of a virile, Mediterrean hero that is seen so much in the current Harlequin Presents books. He's not over-sexed, with a bevy of past and current mistresses, and he's not a jerk, but he is a hero that you hope the heroine chooses. Yes, he does the kissing to punish the heroine, but he leaves it at that. In fact, he turns out to be a very good, decent person, even if Lacey believes the worse of him from the beginning.
There are the classic elements of this series: the evil stepmother (which can be interchanged with an ex-mistress, sister, scorned suitor, etc), and the arranged marriage. But these elements are utilized beautifully to tell an interesting story that is not built around semi-meaningless sexual encounters set in a upscale, jet-setting environment. This is a fully-realized romance in which the sensual moments are implied rather than detailed. Yet there is a current of attraction that I felt was intense enough to make this book exciting to read. The English countryside and the Greek island where this book is set are secondary characters that are beautifully-described (probably a large reason why I enjoy the Harlequin Presents, armchair traveler that I am). And Troy (the hero)'s young half-sister has a pivotal role in this story that I feel compliments the narrative, instead of detracting from the romance.
You have to dig these kinds of books to enjoy Strange Adventure. But if you do indeed enjoy stories about the growing love between a young woman and an exciting man of the world, and the intrigue related to the secrets between them threatening to tear them apart, I think you'll like this story too.
I love the old school Harlequin Presents, and this book reminds me why. What has became cliched about my favorite (other than the Harlequin Historicals) Harlequin/Silhouette series, was authentic and fulfilling in the older books. I happens that this was the first book that Sara Craven (who is one of my favorite authors in this series) wrote for Harlequin Presents, and it's from 1977. It was her second book (her first is a Harlequin Romance that I have put on my to buy list), and it's very well-written.
The narrative is such that you don't lose interest. In fact, I put this book down last night because I was tired, not out of boredom. I picked it up first thing when I woke this morning and quickly finished it.
The heroine is very young, seventeen, when this story begins. She's convent-educated, and innocent, but she's not too stupid to live. In fact, she seems more mature than some of the newer, older and experienced heroines that are written about in this series nowadays. I don't mean to put down the newer Harlequin Presents so much. They just disappoint me because I know how good this line used to be. So, I am sorry if I sound so disparaging of the current Harlequin Presents. She makes some choices that are not ideal, but her reasons are justified by her innocence and by the information she has to work with. The hero is also a character that you can visualize as a credible, three-dimensional person, and not a caricature of a virile, Mediterrean hero that is seen so much in the current Harlequin Presents books. He's not over-sexed, with a bevy of past and current mistresses, and he's not a jerk, but he is a hero that you hope the heroine chooses. Yes, he does the kissing to punish the heroine, but he leaves it at that. In fact, he turns out to be a very good, decent person, even if Lacey believes the worse of him from the beginning.
There are the classic elements of this series: the evil stepmother (which can be interchanged with an ex-mistress, sister, scorned suitor, etc), and the arranged marriage. But these elements are utilized beautifully to tell an interesting story that is not built around semi-meaningless sexual encounters set in a upscale, jet-setting environment. This is a fully-realized romance in which the sensual moments are implied rather than detailed. Yet there is a current of attraction that I felt was intense enough to make this book exciting to read. The English countryside and the Greek island where this book is set are secondary characters that are beautifully-described (probably a large reason why I enjoy the Harlequin Presents, armchair traveler that I am). And Troy (the hero)'s young half-sister has a pivotal role in this story that I feel compliments the narrative, instead of detracting from the romance.
You have to dig these kinds of books to enjoy Strange Adventure. But if you do indeed enjoy stories about the growing love between a young woman and an exciting man of the world, and the intrigue related to the secrets between them threatening to tear them apart, I think you'll like this story too.
January 6, 2017
Review Strange Adventure by Sara Craven
Convent schooled Lacey has just had some devastating news. Some trumped up French expert has told her she’ll never be a professional concert pianist, and at 17 her life is over. Lacey immediately proves that expert correct – she has no fight. She doesn’t kick over a chair and vow she’ll make it big on the piano no matter what!
Anyway, daddy refuses to have her switch her schooling to learn some useful typing skills, and then stepmother Michelle turns up to remove Lacey from the convent. But Lacey doesn’t want to go, what if she’s being Called? Pfft, no you’re not, says Mother Superior. Go climb every mountain, or whatever. Mother Superior is no fool. She’s banking on Lacey marrying some millions and doing her Old Girl duty and donating an aquatic centre. Nuns need a heated Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, and a couple of spas. Swimming is good exercise before prayer!
Lacey doesn’t like Michelle and it’s mutual. Michelle stuck Lacey in a convent school pretty soon after she married Lacey’s daddy. Lacey’s friend Van got just about the same treatment from her own stepmother, so the girls agree that this is clearly a thing you do to spare female teenagers when you get married.
Michelle, who is French, explains to Lacey that her daddy is getting even more unhealthy and that his bank is in trouble. Lacey will get a job! No, Michelle says, you idiot. I have a better idea. In Paris, they go shopping for clothes to make Lacey look less like she’s 17 and has spent the past few years in a convent. One of the dresses they buy is a skirt with braces that almost cover the boobs.
This is what Lacey is to wear at the dinner party at her posh country house where she first officially meets Troy. He, and a lot of posh neighbours who have known Lacey since she was a toddler, get a good long look at Lacey’s boobs. No one’s particularly happy about it. Presumably all the neighbours get over how uncomfortable they are spending the evening looking at teenage boobs by getting super drunk and then complaining about it on the car ride home. ‘Can we wait a few years, until she’s got it out of her system, before accepting another dinner invitation?’ they ask each other.
Lacey had already unofficially met Troy that afternoon, when she was putting flowers in his room but it turned out he was there and not wearing a shirt. She got overwhelmed by his sexy shirtless state, until he started sneering at her and her annoyance got in the way of desire.
Troy’s dad was Greek and his mother was American. Troy is very rich about ships or something, and is maybe going to rescue Lacey’s daddy’s bank. Troy is boring. One time, Lacey sees him looking out to sea and it strikes her that he’s lonely. It’s no wonder he’s lonely, he can’t talk to anyone without being biting. The only people willing to ignore biting are those tolerating it for the money.
This is only SC’s second published book, and she’s doing a fun ‘miserable teenager is coerced into marrying sex rich guy who she wants to bang but doesn’t want him to know that’ plot. The problem is, Troy barely shows up. When he does, it’s to be all angry and hot about how he would have sex with Lacey because he can see she totally wants it, but she must stop being such a teenager about it all first. Troy, buddy. Lacey is a teenager. If you want her to stop being a teenager, maybe wait a couple of years?
After seeing Lacey’s boobs and then seeing Lacey play piano, Troy heads off to propose to Lacey’s sick daddy. Daddy explains to an astonished and reluctant Lacey that she is to marry Troy and not be so selfish, because otherwise all the bank employees will be out of jobs! And not only that, when they are married, Lacey is to take Troy’s 15-year-old sister in hand, and live with her on Troy’s island. The sister, Helen, was living with an aunt in the US, but then started trying to join a commune, and probably did drugs or lots of sex or gun smuggling (it’s all a bit vague), so Troy had her shipped off to Greece. When Troy and Lacey get married, Helen will Lacey’s responsibility! Won’t that be fun!!
No. Lacey comes up with a plan. See, Troy has let slip that he wants her hymen. Lacey figures that once she has that removed, Troy won’t want her and everything can go back to normal. Lacey turns to nice neighbour boy for her deflowerment. Poor neighbour is the only decent male in the story, and agrees to go through with it. Apart from the fact that Lacey is hot and he’d wanted to have sex with her eventually, it was obvious he wasn’t going to enjoy doing his thing while she sobbed her little heart out beneath him.
Fortunately, Troy shows up and punches him in the face. Lacey’s more than a little relieved since she’d got to the point where she really didn’t want to have sex with neighbour boy, and Lacey now agrees that she’ll marry Troy and sacrifice herself for Daddy’s bank.
So there’s also Michelle lurking in the background being all weird and unhappy about Lacey getting to marry Troy, and Lacey, who isn’t all that bright, can at least work out that Lacey’s marriage to Troy is not going at all to Michelle’s plan.
Lacey marries Troy, but before she can really commit to their night of sex before they jet off on their honeymoon, Lacey’s daddy dies. Good riddance, and rot in hell, old man! You packed your kid off to boarding school because your crap gold digger wife insisted, and then you wouldn’t let your kid learn typing, and then finally, you thought it was a good idea for her to get married at 17 to bail out your failing company. I enjoyed despising you.
Lacey is of course heart-broken, and Troy must now do Business Things, so Lacey is packed off to the Greek Island in the company of Troy’s henchman. She’s annoyed, and gets a lecture about not spitting out her annoyance in front of the henchman.
The Greek island is pretty, and Helen is a brat. She’s fine some of the time, but then she’ll decide to do ‘shocking’ things, like get into a boy’s fishing boat, or swim naked in the sea. Lacey does some snooping in Troy’s stuff, and discovers that he’d had a past association with Michelle, and jumps to the conclusion that Michelle and Troy were lovers. She’s bummed about that because she’s now in love with Troy.
He did buy her a baby grand piano, and there was that time when he looked lonely, and she did like his chest, so MAYBE it makes sense that he’s the love of her life, but I’m not convinced.
I liked that Lacey came up with her deflowerment plan, even if she didn’t go through with it. She’d already let me down by not fighting for her piano dream, but she’s a Sara Craven heroine and they never get to follow their passions. I also loved that, once she and Troy declared their love and were all flushed and happy, Lacey had Helen shipped off to the convent. Sure, she did it very sweetly, but it was just such a perfect call back to Lacey’s own origin story. I think Sara Craven likes pointing out that, even when the villain is not just villainous but also crazy, she’s not that much different from the heroine.
Convent schooled Lacey has just had some devastating news. Some trumped up French expert has told her she’ll never be a professional concert pianist, and at 17 her life is over. Lacey immediately proves that expert correct – she has no fight. She doesn’t kick over a chair and vow she’ll make it big on the piano no matter what!
Anyway, daddy refuses to have her switch her schooling to learn some useful typing skills, and then stepmother Michelle turns up to remove Lacey from the convent. But Lacey doesn’t want to go, what if she’s being Called? Pfft, no you’re not, says Mother Superior. Go climb every mountain, or whatever. Mother Superior is no fool. She’s banking on Lacey marrying some millions and doing her Old Girl duty and donating an aquatic centre. Nuns need a heated Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, and a couple of spas. Swimming is good exercise before prayer!
Lacey doesn’t like Michelle and it’s mutual. Michelle stuck Lacey in a convent school pretty soon after she married Lacey’s daddy. Lacey’s friend Van got just about the same treatment from her own stepmother, so the girls agree that this is clearly a thing you do to spare female teenagers when you get married.
Michelle, who is French, explains to Lacey that her daddy is getting even more unhealthy and that his bank is in trouble. Lacey will get a job! No, Michelle says, you idiot. I have a better idea. In Paris, they go shopping for clothes to make Lacey look less like she’s 17 and has spent the past few years in a convent. One of the dresses they buy is a skirt with braces that almost cover the boobs.
This is what Lacey is to wear at the dinner party at her posh country house where she first officially meets Troy. He, and a lot of posh neighbours who have known Lacey since she was a toddler, get a good long look at Lacey’s boobs. No one’s particularly happy about it. Presumably all the neighbours get over how uncomfortable they are spending the evening looking at teenage boobs by getting super drunk and then complaining about it on the car ride home. ‘Can we wait a few years, until she’s got it out of her system, before accepting another dinner invitation?’ they ask each other.
Lacey had already unofficially met Troy that afternoon, when she was putting flowers in his room but it turned out he was there and not wearing a shirt. She got overwhelmed by his sexy shirtless state, until he started sneering at her and her annoyance got in the way of desire.
Troy’s dad was Greek and his mother was American. Troy is very rich about ships or something, and is maybe going to rescue Lacey’s daddy’s bank. Troy is boring. One time, Lacey sees him looking out to sea and it strikes her that he’s lonely. It’s no wonder he’s lonely, he can’t talk to anyone without being biting. The only people willing to ignore biting are those tolerating it for the money.
This is only SC’s second published book, and she’s doing a fun ‘miserable teenager is coerced into marrying sex rich guy who she wants to bang but doesn’t want him to know that’ plot. The problem is, Troy barely shows up. When he does, it’s to be all angry and hot about how he would have sex with Lacey because he can see she totally wants it, but she must stop being such a teenager about it all first. Troy, buddy. Lacey is a teenager. If you want her to stop being a teenager, maybe wait a couple of years?
After seeing Lacey’s boobs and then seeing Lacey play piano, Troy heads off to propose to Lacey’s sick daddy. Daddy explains to an astonished and reluctant Lacey that she is to marry Troy and not be so selfish, because otherwise all the bank employees will be out of jobs! And not only that, when they are married, Lacey is to take Troy’s 15-year-old sister in hand, and live with her on Troy’s island. The sister, Helen, was living with an aunt in the US, but then started trying to join a commune, and probably did drugs or lots of sex or gun smuggling (it’s all a bit vague), so Troy had her shipped off to Greece. When Troy and Lacey get married, Helen will Lacey’s responsibility! Won’t that be fun!!
No. Lacey comes up with a plan. See, Troy has let slip that he wants her hymen. Lacey figures that once she has that removed, Troy won’t want her and everything can go back to normal. Lacey turns to nice neighbour boy for her deflowerment. Poor neighbour is the only decent male in the story, and agrees to go through with it. Apart from the fact that Lacey is hot and he’d wanted to have sex with her eventually, it was obvious he wasn’t going to enjoy doing his thing while she sobbed her little heart out beneath him.
Fortunately, Troy shows up and punches him in the face. Lacey’s more than a little relieved since she’d got to the point where she really didn’t want to have sex with neighbour boy, and Lacey now agrees that she’ll marry Troy and sacrifice herself for Daddy’s bank.
So there’s also Michelle lurking in the background being all weird and unhappy about Lacey getting to marry Troy, and Lacey, who isn’t all that bright, can at least work out that Lacey’s marriage to Troy is not going at all to Michelle’s plan.
Lacey marries Troy, but before she can really commit to their night of sex before they jet off on their honeymoon, Lacey’s daddy dies. Good riddance, and rot in hell, old man! You packed your kid off to boarding school because your crap gold digger wife insisted, and then you wouldn’t let your kid learn typing, and then finally, you thought it was a good idea for her to get married at 17 to bail out your failing company. I enjoyed despising you.
Lacey is of course heart-broken, and Troy must now do Business Things, so Lacey is packed off to the Greek Island in the company of Troy’s henchman. She’s annoyed, and gets a lecture about not spitting out her annoyance in front of the henchman.
The Greek island is pretty, and Helen is a brat. She’s fine some of the time, but then she’ll decide to do ‘shocking’ things, like get into a boy’s fishing boat, or swim naked in the sea. Lacey does some snooping in Troy’s stuff, and discovers that he’d had a past association with Michelle, and jumps to the conclusion that Michelle and Troy were lovers. She’s bummed about that because she’s now in love with Troy.
He did buy her a baby grand piano, and there was that time when he looked lonely, and she did like his chest, so MAYBE it makes sense that he’s the love of her life, but I’m not convinced.
I liked that Lacey came up with her deflowerment plan, even if she didn’t go through with it. She’d already let me down by not fighting for her piano dream, but she’s a Sara Craven heroine and they never get to follow their passions. I also loved that, once she and Troy declared their love and were all flushed and happy, Lacey had Helen shipped off to the convent. Sure, she did it very sweetly, but it was just such a perfect call back to Lacey’s own origin story. I think Sara Craven likes pointing out that, even when the villain is not just villainous but also crazy, she’s not that much different from the heroine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2017
Such a fun vintage!
Cast of characters
17 – turning 18 - convent raised heroine.
Evil stepmother who has always hated the h
Dying father who is willing to pimp out his daughter to save his bank.
Wealthy Greek hero who falls for the h on sight, yet only shows flashes of his love because he is offended that the h isn’t happy about this arranged marriage.
Blackmailing half sister who is the same age as the h and wants more freedom
Charming American photographer with a telephoto lens and an agenda against the H
The Plot has two major parts:
The time before the wedding and first-time sex for our freaked out virgin h – takes place in England.
*Will include the stepmother picking out sexy clothes for the modest heroine
*Heroine trying to get rid of her virginity and thus making her unappealing to the scary hero
Post wedding and the misunderstandings - takes place in Greece.
*Will include the heroine being left on the H’s island.
*An Earthquake that makes the H/h wake up to their true feelings.
The heroine is a pianist and the title of this story comes from this passage:
It was the quartet from The Yeomen of the Guard, and she added the words softly `Strange adventure, Maiden wedded to a groom she's never seen ...'
Hero is both a man of action and does a lovely declaration at the end. Heroine grows up a lot in the story. Not enough karma for the stepmother and sister, but I can live with it.
Cast of characters
17 – turning 18 - convent raised heroine.
Evil stepmother who has always hated the h
Dying father who is willing to pimp out his daughter to save his bank.
Wealthy Greek hero who falls for the h on sight, yet only shows flashes of his love because he is offended that the h isn’t happy about this arranged marriage.
Blackmailing half sister who is the same age as the h and wants more freedom
Charming American photographer with a telephoto lens and an agenda against the H
The Plot has two major parts:
The time before the wedding and first-time sex for our freaked out virgin h – takes place in England.
*Will include the stepmother picking out sexy clothes for the modest heroine
*Heroine trying to get rid of her virginity and thus making her unappealing to the scary hero
Post wedding and the misunderstandings - takes place in Greece.
*Will include the heroine being left on the H’s island.
*An Earthquake that makes the H/h wake up to their true feelings.
The heroine is a pianist and the title of this story comes from this passage:
It was the quartet from The Yeomen of the Guard, and she added the words softly `Strange adventure, Maiden wedded to a groom she's never seen ...'
Hero is both a man of action and does a lovely declaration at the end. Heroine grows up a lot in the story. Not enough karma for the stepmother and sister, but I can live with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2020
good tropes boring execution
March 9, 2014
I was certainly entertained!
March 27, 2017
I might be being generous with 2 stars. This was an oldie so of course it was going to be different and maybe I just wasn't in the mood but... These two spend virtually no time together and the man, whose age I never managed to catch but I assume was about 30, expected this 17 year old girl to behave and respond like an adult. In these old HPs I'm never sure if the authors are purposely writing their teenaged heroines as teenagers and that is the reason for their silly reactions to stuff or if they would have them respond that way regardless of age. They never come right out and say these are naïve teenage reactions rather than silly female reactions so I don't know. But anyway, the hero knew she was 17 and kept expecting her to act like an adult. And for all his 'I loved you from the beginning' he never really treated her that way or really made any effort to win her over other than being rough and nasty to her. Surely he knew he could have had this impressionable teenager eating out of his hand with a little seduction. Oh well.
September 11, 2024
H’s friend said there was no relationship with her stepmother and H was too proud to defend himself but even if it was true, when she had time to know her husband when he was away, in vicinity of the OW and not calling h? 🤦🏻♀️
March 24, 2024
To be honest, I hated « Strange Adventure »'s first half. A *seemingly* insufferable hero, a father and stepmother ready to give him the taken-out-of-the-covent-for-the-occasion heroine... The atmosphere is heavy, the girl trapped... It's not romantic at all. BUT, this time, our first impression isn't reliable.
As soon as Lacey arrive at Troy's (renamed Nikos in the french translation... maybe « Troy » wasn't a greek enough name for the french audience ?) home, the tone brutally changes. The (newly legal) young bride meets her almost-same-age sister-in-law, they wander on the island, chit-chat... the plot takes a new direction and its pace gets faster. If some elements are easy to guess from the start, others won't be revealed before the very end. One sure thing ; it gets better at every chapter and we finally close the book on a positive feeling, which really wasn't given at first.
Without spoilers, know that it isn't as toxic as it seemed, Troy isn't the a**hole we could take him for, his family is more caring to Lacey than her own... Yeah, like Lacey with Troy, first impressions aren't always right. Of course, the beginning IS very problematic ; it's on purpose. Still, the book shows its age, like Lacey, who behaves... well, like you could expect a 18yo girl who grew up with nuns to. Logic.
5/10, very generously rounded up to three stars.
As soon as Lacey arrive at Troy's (renamed Nikos in the french translation... maybe « Troy » wasn't a greek enough name for the french audience ?) home, the tone brutally changes. The (newly legal) young bride meets her almost-same-age sister-in-law, they wander on the island, chit-chat... the plot takes a new direction and its pace gets faster. If some elements are easy to guess from the start, others won't be revealed before the very end. One sure thing ; it gets better at every chapter and we finally close the book on a positive feeling, which really wasn't given at first.
Without spoilers, know that it isn't as toxic as it seemed, Troy isn't the a**hole we could take him for, his family is more caring to Lacey than her own... Yeah, like Lacey with Troy, first impressions aren't always right. Of course, the beginning IS very problematic ; it's on purpose. Still, the book shows its age, like Lacey, who behaves... well, like you could expect a 18yo girl who grew up with nuns to. Logic.
5/10, very generously rounded up to three stars.
April 30, 2012
The heroines father was in a lot of trouble with his bank, so he asked the hero to help him. In order for his help, the hero wanted the heroine as his bride, especially once he met her and recognized her fire and passion. After they were married the heroine thought the hero was having an affair with her stepmother because of the drama the stepmother was causing. After a couple big drama scenes the hero and heroine lived happily ever after.
The book was pretty good. I tried but couldn't hate the hero, although he had a lot of arrogance, he seemed to have this "cute" cockiness about him that made me smile. Not much to say about the heroine, she wasn't a very strong character despite her pleas and annoying behavior sometimes.
The book was pretty good. I tried but couldn't hate the hero, although he had a lot of arrogance, he seemed to have this "cute" cockiness about him that made me smile. Not much to say about the heroine, she wasn't a very strong character despite her pleas and annoying behavior sometimes.
January 17, 2016
What a sweet little book and I felt that she was thrown into the situation ill equipped to handle it. She was being sold to the Greek because she was a virgin and he was totally in love with her. I thought we had too much of her thoughts and feelings and not enough action! I wanted so drama something more. Just a cute sweet little read with some mad behavior. I want more drama which is why 3 and half stars.
December 24, 2013
Heroine is a hateful immature bitch and also a cheater. She ruined the book for me.
August 3, 2022
I probably went generous on the stars out of a joyful nostalgia. One of the first I ever read. Saw the names Troy Andreakis and Lacey Vernon and heart skipped a beat. Found it! One whose title and author had disappeared into the mists of time but whose plot, character names and whole chunks of dialogue have survived more than 40 years in my grey matter. Is there a better discovery?! Now, if I can just find the one where she's a spoilt brat and he meets her at a tennis party and she wakes to him, red across the cheekbones, kissing her in bed wanting " some of what everyone else has had " (! Ah the vintage HP. Never knowingly PC). Can't remember any names so not much chance finding this one.
Anyway, convent educated, piano playing virgin is dynastic-marriaged to US/Greek tycoon and shipped to his island to be a companion to his wayward teen niece Eleni. Not really enough together time but gorgeous setting, lots of lovely plot (stepmother, photographer)and a protective, smitten H who is very busy tycooning. This is well paced and even though he's a bit of a cypher (no male POV in these old style HPs to help round them out) he still used to make my heart beat faster. A lovely story and a real trip down memory lane for me!
Anyway, convent educated, piano playing virgin is dynastic-marriaged to US/Greek tycoon and shipped to his island to be a companion to his wayward teen niece Eleni. Not really enough together time but gorgeous setting, lots of lovely plot (stepmother, photographer)and a protective, smitten H who is very busy tycooning. This is well paced and even though he's a bit of a cypher (no male POV in these old style HPs to help round them out) he still used to make my heart beat faster. A lovely story and a real trip down memory lane for me!
September 21, 2022
Reread two years later and still like this intense, subtle story. I like that the h and H interaction is more than physical, something I wish modern HP writers would do, it means we need thoughts and feelings. Distasteful point is h is just 18, an easy target for an older, experienced man.
Original: I love Sara Craven and this book is one of her more subtle ones. My first read was a little blah but the more I thought about it and re-read, beginning to end, the more I liked it.
On the negative, she's 17 and turns 18 a week or two before marrying the hero who is in his early 30s. He's pretty dynamic and she falls hard. Given she just got out the convent school, has never had a job and her dad has protected her from the school of hard knocks, it's no wonder that she finds him physically irrestible even though intimidating.
The biggest positive are the three excellent side characters, her new sister-in-law, her step mother and Evan the malicious photographer. All three add a lot to the story and to the characterization.
Original: I love Sara Craven and this book is one of her more subtle ones. My first read was a little blah but the more I thought about it and re-read, beginning to end, the more I liked it.
On the negative, she's 17 and turns 18 a week or two before marrying the hero who is in his early 30s. He's pretty dynamic and she falls hard. Given she just got out the convent school, has never had a job and her dad has protected her from the school of hard knocks, it's no wonder that she finds him physically irrestible even though intimidating.
The biggest positive are the three excellent side characters, her new sister-in-law, her step mother and Evan the malicious photographer. All three add a lot to the story and to the characterization.
June 9, 2021
Lacey couldn't understand her mixed feelings. She should be glad that Troy wasn't behaving as her lover. Bad enough that in a few short days she would have to accept him as her husband.
"Does it disturb you when I remind you what our relationship will be?" Troy's eyes assessed her coolly. "Perhaps I do it because I hope one day to get a reaction. I want to prove there really is a woman beneath that polite schoolgirl exterior!"
"Does it disturb you when I remind you what our relationship will be?" Troy's eyes assessed her coolly. "Perhaps I do it because I hope one day to get a reaction. I want to prove there really is a woman beneath that polite schoolgirl exterior!"
August 16, 2023
This is, like most Sara Craven novels, a very Sara Craven novel; that is to say, over-the-top Harlequin Presents drama, overwrought hysterics, lots of Big Feelings, and gender essentialism as far as the eye can see.
Lacey is the seventeen-year-old daughter of a very rich businessman; she is suddenly pulled out of the convent by her sexy and probably evil French stepmother and brought home, where she discovers her father is extremely ill and his business is failing. Lacey is popped into an extremely sexy dress and paraded in front of a thirty-something Greek businessman, and told that she needs to do whatever it takes to get him to invest. He mauls her a little bit but goes no further, and shortly thereafter asks her father for her hand in marriage. Lacey is shocked and appalled, as is her stepmother; Daddy Dearest is totally fine with it.
Because Lacey basically entirely lacks a spine, she more or less goes along with this. There is an abortive attempt to elope with a male friend which is thwarted by Troy. (Yes, the Greek businessman's name is Troy.) Her sassy, practical BFF from the convent shows up, and frankly would have made a much more interesting heroine than Lacey, who just kind of drifts along letting things happen to her. A lot of things happen to her. I didn't particularly care about any of them because Lacey was so obnoxiously passive (again, Sara Craven novel).
This is one of those 70s novels that is very Gothic and truly horrifying in a lot of respects; around the time of Lacey's marriage her stepmother bluntly tells her that Troy was basically supposed to amuse himself with her for the night (and given how innocent she was, for that read: rape her) and then move on. Her father was totally okay with this plan, insofar as we're ever allowed to blame a Romance Novel Dad for anything when we could just pin it on an evil mommy figure instead. Lacey is supposed to befriend Troy's fifteen-year-old sister, who is upsetting everyone because she is not virginal and innocent (yet she's two years younger than Lacey who's supposed to have made an instant transition from innocent virgin to sexy, sex-loving wife and hostess). It's sad when you read it in a historical but it's A Lot when you read it in a contemporary, even an old one. Lacey doesn't even pretend to have anything like a backbone or a past - she's a completely blank slate, and that's how Troy wants it. It's just too icky for me.
Lacey is the seventeen-year-old daughter of a very rich businessman; she is suddenly pulled out of the convent by her sexy and probably evil French stepmother and brought home, where she discovers her father is extremely ill and his business is failing. Lacey is popped into an extremely sexy dress and paraded in front of a thirty-something Greek businessman, and told that she needs to do whatever it takes to get him to invest. He mauls her a little bit but goes no further, and shortly thereafter asks her father for her hand in marriage. Lacey is shocked and appalled, as is her stepmother; Daddy Dearest is totally fine with it.
Because Lacey basically entirely lacks a spine, she more or less goes along with this. There is an abortive attempt to elope with a male friend which is thwarted by Troy. (Yes, the Greek businessman's name is Troy.) Her sassy, practical BFF from the convent shows up, and frankly would have made a much more interesting heroine than Lacey, who just kind of drifts along letting things happen to her. A lot of things happen to her. I didn't particularly care about any of them because Lacey was so obnoxiously passive (again, Sara Craven novel).
This is one of those 70s novels that is very Gothic and truly horrifying in a lot of respects; around the time of Lacey's marriage her stepmother bluntly tells her that Troy was basically supposed to amuse himself with her for the night (and given how innocent she was, for that read: rape her) and then move on. Her father was totally okay with this plan, insofar as we're ever allowed to blame a Romance Novel Dad for anything when we could just pin it on an evil mommy figure instead. Lacey is supposed to befriend Troy's fifteen-year-old sister, who is upsetting everyone because she is not virginal and innocent (yet she's two years younger than Lacey who's supposed to have made an instant transition from innocent virgin to sexy, sex-loving wife and hostess). It's sad when you read it in a historical but it's A Lot when you read it in a contemporary, even an old one. Lacey doesn't even pretend to have anything like a backbone or a past - she's a completely blank slate, and that's how Troy wants it. It's just too icky for me.
December 11, 2022
𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆? ❦
i loved how the story began and progressed up until they got married. after the marriage, it fizzled and only picked up in the last two chapters. all the right ingredients were present and i especially loved the characterization of the H but i just wish the couple had spent a lot more time together after the marriage. all in all it was a good read since i haven’t read one of these in a while.
i loved how the story began and progressed up until they got married. after the marriage, it fizzled and only picked up in the last two chapters. all the right ingredients were present and i especially loved the characterization of the H but i just wish the couple had spent a lot more time together after the marriage. all in all it was a good read since i haven’t read one of these in a while.
November 24, 2020
Beautiful and enjoyable. Very well written and perfectly formed story.
November 12, 2022
A typical 1977 Harlequin romance.
Boy Meets Girl they fight, think they hate each other but really have fallen in love and love. After many misunderstandings they profess their feelings and live happily ever after.
A nice read to get caught up in for an hour or two.
Boy Meets Girl they fight, think they hate each other but really have fallen in love and love. After many misunderstandings they profess their feelings and live happily ever after.
A nice read to get caught up in for an hour or two.
June 16, 2022
Titolo in lingua italiana Cuoremoto
September 7, 2023
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ pretty good angst! Wish the H had been a little more forthcoming and attentive.
August 15, 2011
From the romance period of my reading life.
April 16, 2016
1.25 stars
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