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No Mistaking Love
Hard to forget
Impossible to work for
And hell to love
It had been ten years, but Kate would have known him anywhere. Luke Hardman. The first man who had ever kissed her.
Luke didn't remember Kate, of course, which was just as well, or he'd never have hired her. And, frankly, sometimes she wished he hadn't. Rude, mercurial, demanding, Luke was an impossible man to work for.
Unfortunately, that didn't stop Kate from falling in love with him. Impossible - but oh-so-irresistible - that was Luke Hardman!
Impossible to work for
And hell to love
It had been ten years, but Kate would have known him anywhere. Luke Hardman. The first man who had ever kissed her.
Luke didn't remember Kate, of course, which was just as well, or he'd never have hired her. And, frankly, sometimes she wished he hadn't. Rude, mercurial, demanding, Luke was an impossible man to work for.
Unfortunately, that didn't stop Kate from falling in love with him. Impossible - but oh-so-irresistible - that was Luke Hardman!
- GenresRomanceHarlequin Romance
186 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Hart
485 books136 followersAfter a haphazard career spent working and travelling around the world, I stumbled into romance writing as a way to fund a PhD. My first book, A Sweeter Prejudice, came out in 1991, and since then I've written a further 59 books, some of which have won awards in the US and the UK.
I live in York, a historic city in the north of England, and waste the best part of my days planning trips away or on Facebook and Twitter, both of which mean that I end up writing late into the night. As well as romance, I write 'time slips' as Pamela Hartshorne, and am a freelance project editor and occasional writing tutor.
In May 2013 I will publishing the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection of five of my early books from the 90s.
For news of forthcoming books and exclusive offers, do sign up for my newsletter: email jessica@jessicahart.co.uk or come and find me on Facebook.
I live in York, a historic city in the north of England, and waste the best part of my days planning trips away or on Facebook and Twitter, both of which mean that I end up writing late into the night. As well as romance, I write 'time slips' as Pamela Hartshorne, and am a freelance project editor and occasional writing tutor.
In May 2013 I will publishing the Jessica Hart Vintage Collection of five of my early books from the 90s.
For news of forthcoming books and exclusive offers, do sign up for my newsletter: email jessica@jessicahart.co.uk or come and find me on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 20, 2019
Office romance with the twist being the heroine knew the hero when he was an angry adolescent on the fringes of polite society in their small English town. She, at 16, had the unhappy task of telling him the village belle had dumped him for someone more sophisticated. Hero kissed the heroine in retaliation, which turned into a hot embrace and heroine has never forgotten it.
Heroine speaks fluent French and lands the job as the now wealthy hero’s PA. She primly puts him in his place when he is rude. The sparks fly often. He pays for a make-over and new wardrobe before their contract negotiations in Paris. He is jealous when the men fawn over the h.
The H/h eventually go to bed, but they don’t get their HEA until the village belle (now a super model and dating the H) explains to the hero that the heroine has been hiding her identity. Hero is angry she kept it a secret, but the black moment lasts only as long as an elevator ride to the lobby.
This is a fairly straight-forward story. I did wonder what the hero was doing dating two different women, while professing to falling in love with the heroine. But the H/h certainly spent every waking moment together – so I don’t think those were sexual affairs. The office standards of today would not allow the personal comments from the hero or the casual kisses. This isn’t an overly emotional story and the stakes are low, so “a pleasant, light read” is all I can think to say about it.
Heroine speaks fluent French and lands the job as the now wealthy hero’s PA. She primly puts him in his place when he is rude. The sparks fly often. He pays for a make-over and new wardrobe before their contract negotiations in Paris. He is jealous when the men fawn over the h.
The H/h eventually go to bed, but they don’t get their HEA until the village belle (now a super model and dating the H) explains to the hero that the heroine has been hiding her identity. Hero is angry she kept it a secret, but the black moment lasts only as long as an elevator ride to the lobby.
This is a fairly straight-forward story. I did wonder what the hero was doing dating two different women, while professing to falling in love with the heroine. But the H/h certainly spent every waking moment together – so I don’t think those were sexual affairs. The office standards of today would not allow the personal comments from the hero or the casual kisses. This isn’t an overly emotional story and the stakes are low, so “a pleasant, light read” is all I can think to say about it.
August 24, 2021
I had high hopes for this based on the reviews of my fellow romance addicts but alas, UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT I hated it.
The gold standard of Harlequin office romances for me is Emma Darcy's Pattern of Deceit. This didn't even come close.
FIRST, I HATED that the heroine was so unmemorable that the hero didn't remember her, not even after he kissed her again, not even after they consummated their relationship, and then when he found out her true identity, he was so ready to drop her like a hot potato.
SECOND, I dislike when a heroine is SO DOWN on herself, like a Debbie Downer. How many times do I have to read about her insecurities, how scrawny she was as a teenager, how dowdy and dull she is in her adulthood, how she could never measure up to the sexy OW. She was efficient at her job and able to turn on the charm for the OM, fine. But when it comes to the hero or the OW for that matter, she was so insecure, no matter that she put up a front and had quite a good verbal smackdown for them when necessary. The hero didn't even give her a second look until he bullied her into a makeover and then when she took it to the next level and glammed herself up a bit more, he mercilessly slut-shamed her. He just didn't like her in any incarnation, it was never good enough!
THIRD, I loathe it when the hero dates not one but two OWs during the entirety of their relationship, with the extra humiliation of having the heroine making date arrangements and send flowers not to mention shut up and bear their cruel condescension whenever they show up at the office in a cloud of exotic French perfume *VOMIT*
FOURTH, last but not least, the OW has NO business being named or referred to in the last page ILY declaration. This skanky bitch humiliated the hero ten years before when he was just a "bit of rough" and she was an upper middle class snob secretly slumming it with him. And yet he still dated her after ten years and it wasn't even for revenge. No this limp lettuce-leaf hero has all the bad temper tantrums and cruel insults for the heroine, whether he is slut-shaming her or making fun of her for looking like a spinster (she can never win!) but when it comes to the OW, in his own words on the second to last paragraph of the book, she is someone he kind of sort of strung along FOR TEN YEARS because she is " very beautiful. She was good for my image.".
I think he was and continues to be obsessed with OW's beauty, no matter what mistreatment she gave him, because he secretly still wants her approval and to show her after all these years that he made himself someone worthy of her. Sorry but I don't see OW meekly sailing off into the sunset. TEN years of obsession with OW vs. TEN years where he completely forgot the heroine and when he was finally reminded (by OW no less), he had nothing but contempt for her, is not a contest that the heroine is favored to win. I honestly thinks he kept the heroine around for her expertise in dealing with his new French business partners. His other obsession, other than OW, was for his business (and the social status it gave him), so I find that very believable that he would keep the heroine around at all costs to satisfy his business aspirations, not a true love story. *DOUBLE VOMIT*
A total fail for me, sorry to all my friends who enjoyed it so much :(
The gold standard of Harlequin office romances for me is Emma Darcy's Pattern of Deceit. This didn't even come close.
FIRST, I HATED that the heroine was so unmemorable that the hero didn't remember her, not even after he kissed her again, not even after they consummated their relationship, and then when he found out her true identity, he was so ready to drop her like a hot potato.
SECOND, I dislike when a heroine is SO DOWN on herself, like a Debbie Downer. How many times do I have to read about her insecurities, how scrawny she was as a teenager, how dowdy and dull she is in her adulthood, how she could never measure up to the sexy OW. She was efficient at her job and able to turn on the charm for the OM, fine. But when it comes to the hero or the OW for that matter, she was so insecure, no matter that she put up a front and had quite a good verbal smackdown for them when necessary. The hero didn't even give her a second look until he bullied her into a makeover and then when she took it to the next level and glammed herself up a bit more, he mercilessly slut-shamed her. He just didn't like her in any incarnation, it was never good enough!
THIRD, I loathe it when the hero dates not one but two OWs during the entirety of their relationship, with the extra humiliation of having the heroine making date arrangements and send flowers not to mention shut up and bear their cruel condescension whenever they show up at the office in a cloud of exotic French perfume *VOMIT*
FOURTH, last but not least, the OW has NO business being named or referred to in the last page ILY declaration. This skanky bitch humiliated the hero ten years before when he was just a "bit of rough" and she was an upper middle class snob secretly slumming it with him. And yet he still dated her after ten years and it wasn't even for revenge. No this limp lettuce-leaf hero has all the bad temper tantrums and cruel insults for the heroine, whether he is slut-shaming her or making fun of her for looking like a spinster (she can never win!) but when it comes to the OW, in his own words on the second to last paragraph of the book, she is someone he kind of sort of strung along FOR TEN YEARS because she is " very beautiful. She was good for my image.".
I think he was and continues to be obsessed with OW's beauty, no matter what mistreatment she gave him, because he secretly still wants her approval and to show her after all these years that he made himself someone worthy of her. Sorry but I don't see OW meekly sailing off into the sunset. TEN years of obsession with OW vs. TEN years where he completely forgot the heroine and when he was finally reminded (by OW no less), he had nothing but contempt for her, is not a contest that the heroine is favored to win. I honestly thinks he kept the heroine around for her expertise in dealing with his new French business partners. His other obsession, other than OW, was for his business (and the social status it gave him), so I find that very believable that he would keep the heroine around at all costs to satisfy his business aspirations, not a true love story. *DOUBLE VOMIT*
A total fail for me, sorry to all my friends who enjoyed it so much :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2021
I'm swooning. Loved this!
February 21, 2016
Office romance with a strong h. It is very apparent that the H was really jealous and in love.
August 25, 2016
I love Jessica Hart's writing and this book (although earlier in her romance writing career) is very strong in the writing department. Also it was the early 1990s, so the heroine gets feisty and verbally spars with the hero quite a bit. She pushes back when he's a Stupid Jerk Face.
The problem is that the hero IS a Stupid Jerk Face and he's...well, he's vile. It's like some big mystery to him that his secretaries all quit on him when he basically verbally abuses them. During the interview he accuses the heroine of lying on her resume. When he tells her to be charming to a potential partner during a business trip he accuses her of "tarting yourself up like a dog's dinner."
My. Hero.
Not.
Basically what you have here is a heroine who does stand up for herself coupled with a Bodice-Ripping Throwback Hero (without any "forced seduction."). I liked her. I liked the writing. I hated him with the passion of a thousand blazing suns.
The problem is that the hero IS a Stupid Jerk Face and he's...well, he's vile. It's like some big mystery to him that his secretaries all quit on him when he basically verbally abuses them. During the interview he accuses the heroine of lying on her resume. When he tells her to be charming to a potential partner during a business trip he accuses her of "tarting yourself up like a dog's dinner."
My. Hero.
Not.
Basically what you have here is a heroine who does stand up for herself coupled with a Bodice-Ripping Throwback Hero (without any "forced seduction."). I liked her. I liked the writing. I hated him with the passion of a thousand blazing suns.
March 3, 2016
3.5 stars
An Office romance with likable characters.
An Office romance with likable characters.
December 15, 2020
This is in fact 2.5 stars. Didn't realise this Jessica Hart until I randomly found a copy of it on "you-books". It was meh, I guess. Was pretty straight forward although I didn't buy that such an intelligent man couldn't pick up the similarities between the little village's manor family and the h's story. There were enough coincidences for even an average person to put two and two together. I also didn't catch any feelings for their little shouting match across the office, ewwww nasty and skanky!
November 16, 2020
4 Stars ~ This is a real treat of a romance, perfect for a dreary cold day.
The back cover synopsis gives a good jest of the plot and the fun tone of this story. Ms. Hart has a wonderful writing voice and she crafts equally wonderful characters that are fun to get to know.
Kate and Luke each learn that the impressions from their youth often change when viewed from a more mature eye. They argue beautifully and their make-ups are delicious. I'm sure I'll be reading this one again.
The back cover synopsis gives a good jest of the plot and the fun tone of this story. Ms. Hart has a wonderful writing voice and she crafts equally wonderful characters that are fun to get to know.
Kate and Luke each learn that the impressions from their youth often change when viewed from a more mature eye. They argue beautifully and their make-ups are delicious. I'm sure I'll be reading this one again.
Read
November 15, 2019Like this story. Fun and easy to read
August 23, 2021
A good office romance...
December 5, 2021
Loved this one!
March 2, 2025
This was fine.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews