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Darker Side of Desire
He neither loved nor respected her.
A link had been forged the day Claire saved the heir to the desert kingdom of Omarah from assassins. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to masquerade as the infant's mother—and Raoul D'Albro's unwanted wife.
Raoul was prejudiced against Claire. And as long as his eyes burned with contempt for her, Claire felt shielded from his powerful masculinity
"Even if you were my type, " he assured Claire coldly, "your evident greed and the fact that yon have a lover would be sufficient to kill my desire for you. " Raoul was wrong—in this and more!
A link had been forged the day Claire saved the heir to the desert kingdom of Omarah from assassins. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to masquerade as the infant's mother—and Raoul D'Albro's unwanted wife.
Raoul was prejudiced against Claire. And as long as his eyes burned with contempt for her, Claire felt shielded from his powerful masculinity
"Even if you were my type, " he assured Claire coldly, "your evident greed and the fact that yon have a lover would be sufficient to kill my desire for you. " Raoul was wrong—in this and more!
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1984
13 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,124 books666 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 26, 2015
Re Darker Side of Desire - this is a PJ alpha drama and while not as wrecky as some of what is PJ's backlist, there is a bit of emo-angst along with a really sweet but sorta dumb h. The story is that the h is an orphan with a 12 year old brother that she is desperately trying to come up with the funds to keep him in his luxury boarding school.
She has a godmother who decides to give her a little luxury weekend at the Dorchester, (and that is a very, very nice place, I wandered through it once,) but the godmother cries off at the last minute do to an ill husband, so the h is there alone. While in the dining room, she sees a little boy being smacked by his nanny. The baby is crying and the nanny wanders off, so the h goes to comfort him. While doing so there are men with guns aiming for the baby and so she tips a table over, (and those tables could probably hold off a tank,) and hides behind it while the shooting commences.
She has just saved the heir to a newly oil rich desert kingdom and the Sheikh in charge offers her £50000 to pretend to marry his nephew and care for the little boy. They need to pretend the baby is the nephew's son to thwart further assassination attempts, as the baby's dad was the original heir and he was killed. The Sheikh's nephew is our H and he instantly and immediately is horrible to the h. She finally decides to go along with the deception as she needs the money and she likes the baby, plus there is a niggle of attraction to the H.
They go to the desert where the H and h go back and forth and the h is more in love all the time with the poor tormented H (who is tormented because his mum was Arabian but his dad was French and his mum basically bought his dad but then dumped him.) The dad claims the mum knew the dad wasn't in love with her but he has a big French legacy and needed her money for his family chateau.
The mum left the dad when he wouldn't go back to her country. The dad then turned to gambling and being a wealthy lady escort to make ends meet, but made the mum promise to raise the H as Christian as opposed to a Muslim. Apparently the H could have a much higher rank in his family and be married to his supposed first love if he converted, but he refused to do so. Instead now he is just moody and cranky and calls himself a mongrel.
The h is desperately sad for him of course, and the H keeps kissing her and taunting her about her lover who keeps trying to contact her, (in actuality it is her little brother, who wants a desert holiday). The H finally breaks down and seduces her. The first time is not good for either of them (she is a virgin and passes out from the pain), so the H has to do it again to rectify his mistake. The H drags her to Paris to really marry her this time just in case she is preggers.
There is another assassination attempt on the baby with a poisonous snake in his cot, the H saves her again and then her brother calls the country's London embassy looking for his sister. The H freaks out cause he thinks it is her boyfriend. Then the H's former lover shows up and the h is convinced that she knows the baby isn't the H's. The h finally confesses that the person calling for her is her brother and that she is preggers. The H invites lil' brothere over, but when the lil' brother is due to be picked up from the airport, the H is putting down a rebellion and the OW shows up to take the h and baby to meet her brother.
Then the OW reveals that she is in league with people who want the baby dead and so the h and baby are driven into the desert to die. The local wandering tribe of people find them and the h is rescued along with the baby. The lil' brother shows up and the H decides to let the h go as she has almost died three times now.
The h decides to make the H let her stay and so the big I love you scene commences. The H confesses he has loved her from the first and uses the excuse that the h should have been paying attention to his smoldering sex skillz as opposed to actually believing he meant what he said when he said he was using her and despised her. He then adds that if he had to change his religion to be with the h, he would do it one thousand times over -- (which is a lot of converting--but because it was PJ, I believed him - but only cause it is PJ and she knows what she is talking about with her H's.)
So big HEA, the baby heir is safe, the lil brother can finish his boarding school education and the h is preggers with a man who lurves her and wants to give her more babies cause she likes them. Not a bad little PJ snack for an afternoon.
She has a godmother who decides to give her a little luxury weekend at the Dorchester, (and that is a very, very nice place, I wandered through it once,) but the godmother cries off at the last minute do to an ill husband, so the h is there alone. While in the dining room, she sees a little boy being smacked by his nanny. The baby is crying and the nanny wanders off, so the h goes to comfort him. While doing so there are men with guns aiming for the baby and so she tips a table over, (and those tables could probably hold off a tank,) and hides behind it while the shooting commences.
She has just saved the heir to a newly oil rich desert kingdom and the Sheikh in charge offers her £50000 to pretend to marry his nephew and care for the little boy. They need to pretend the baby is the nephew's son to thwart further assassination attempts, as the baby's dad was the original heir and he was killed. The Sheikh's nephew is our H and he instantly and immediately is horrible to the h. She finally decides to go along with the deception as she needs the money and she likes the baby, plus there is a niggle of attraction to the H.
They go to the desert where the H and h go back and forth and the h is more in love all the time with the poor tormented H (who is tormented because his mum was Arabian but his dad was French and his mum basically bought his dad but then dumped him.) The dad claims the mum knew the dad wasn't in love with her but he has a big French legacy and needed her money for his family chateau.
The mum left the dad when he wouldn't go back to her country. The dad then turned to gambling and being a wealthy lady escort to make ends meet, but made the mum promise to raise the H as Christian as opposed to a Muslim. Apparently the H could have a much higher rank in his family and be married to his supposed first love if he converted, but he refused to do so. Instead now he is just moody and cranky and calls himself a mongrel.
The h is desperately sad for him of course, and the H keeps kissing her and taunting her about her lover who keeps trying to contact her, (in actuality it is her little brother, who wants a desert holiday). The H finally breaks down and seduces her. The first time is not good for either of them (she is a virgin and passes out from the pain), so the H has to do it again to rectify his mistake. The H drags her to Paris to really marry her this time just in case she is preggers.
There is another assassination attempt on the baby with a poisonous snake in his cot, the H saves her again and then her brother calls the country's London embassy looking for his sister. The H freaks out cause he thinks it is her boyfriend. Then the H's former lover shows up and the h is convinced that she knows the baby isn't the H's. The h finally confesses that the person calling for her is her brother and that she is preggers. The H invites lil' brothere over, but when the lil' brother is due to be picked up from the airport, the H is putting down a rebellion and the OW shows up to take the h and baby to meet her brother.
Then the OW reveals that she is in league with people who want the baby dead and so the h and baby are driven into the desert to die. The local wandering tribe of people find them and the h is rescued along with the baby. The lil' brother shows up and the H decides to let the h go as she has almost died three times now.
The h decides to make the H let her stay and so the big I love you scene commences. The H confesses he has loved her from the first and uses the excuse that the h should have been paying attention to his smoldering sex skillz as opposed to actually believing he meant what he said when he said he was using her and despised her. He then adds that if he had to change his religion to be with the h, he would do it one thousand times over -- (which is a lot of converting--but because it was PJ, I believed him - but only cause it is PJ and she knows what she is talking about with her H's.)
So big HEA, the baby heir is safe, the lil brother can finish his boarding school education and the h is preggers with a man who lurves her and wants to give her more babies cause she likes them. Not a bad little PJ snack for an afternoon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2020
It must be Pj's early immature book and both MCs are blind fools but it was angsty. 😎
October 3, 2016
This had a great opening scene. The heroine saves the life of an infant heir to the throne from political assassins and the ruler of that desert country decides that she should have a marriage of convenience with the hero and pretend the baby is theirs. That way the assassins will think their little plot worked and won't try to harm the baby again.
The hero is convinced the heroine is one of those loose, avaricious European woman and that her brother in boarding school is her lover. Further, this lover is being kept in style with the money they are paying her. The heroine doesn't tell him the truth because she figures if he hates her, he won't be attempted to seduce her. She is afraid of her shattering responses and needs all the help she can get.
This was a fun story. The hero is a good guy for the most part, and with the heroine's help, got over his estrangement from his father. The heroine was petrified most of the time, but she managed to keep the baby alive, so she wins points there, too. I'm not a fan of desert/sheikh books, so that probably marred my enjoyment.
The hero is convinced the heroine is one of those loose, avaricious European woman and that her brother in boarding school is her lover. Further, this lover is being kept in style with the money they are paying her. The heroine doesn't tell him the truth because she figures if he hates her, he won't be attempted to seduce her. She is afraid of her shattering responses and needs all the help she can get.
This was a fun story. The hero is a good guy for the most part, and with the heroine's help, got over his estrangement from his father. The heroine was petrified most of the time, but she managed to keep the baby alive, so she wins points there, too. I'm not a fan of desert/sheikh books, so that probably marred my enjoyment.
August 17, 2021
The heroine saves the lil heir of a sheik and the sheikh offers her a huge reward if she marries his nephew for some time and pretends the child is theirs. Sadly the hero is a sexy hunk. The poor heroine sacrifices herself because she needs money to pay her little brother’s school.
The hero slut shames her and treats her like the prostitute of Babylon, who knows why, and she falls in love with him.
Of course.
The worse they treat them, the more they are loved, that’s the logic.
The hero thinks she’s got a lover, but it’s her lil bro instead.
The heroine thinks he loves his cousin who he didn’t marry because they were of different religions.
After a kidnap, a misunderstanding, some stupid acts of both characters, eventually they confess their reciprocal love.
And we all stand up and clap our hands.
Ingredients: ass***e hero, stupid martyr heroine, poor snake murdered and turned into a fashionable purse, desert storm, bitchy ow, hot sex.
Safe reading.
The hero slut shames her and treats her like the prostitute of Babylon, who knows why, and she falls in love with him.
Of course.
The worse they treat them, the more they are loved, that’s the logic.
The hero thinks she’s got a lover, but it’s her lil bro instead.
The heroine thinks he loves his cousin who he didn’t marry because they were of different religions.
After a kidnap, a misunderstanding, some stupid acts of both characters, eventually they confess their reciprocal love.
And we all stand up and clap our hands.
Ingredients: ass***e hero, stupid martyr heroine, poor snake murdered and turned into a fashionable purse, desert storm, bitchy ow, hot sex.
Safe reading.
June 10, 2017
Penny Jordan at her best. One of the best starts to a romance novel with our lovely heroine saving a baby and an immediate attraction to the alpha male who is the usual hard, masculine, sneering, judgemental alpha male who turns to putty in her hands by the middle of the book, of course, completely against his will. Easy to love the sweetheart heroine and how she forms a real bond with a child who is not hers. She accepts the money to play the pretend mother to the child and wife to the H only so she can help her own little brother. Fast paced book, was never bored and enjoyed it till the end.
December 10, 2018
Claire's bond with poor, neglected baby Saud was really sweet and highlighted her caring nature. The tone of the book reminded me of the author's later sheikh books, a plus in my eyes.
Raoul was just a bit too hostile and distant to Claire for most of the book for me to find their love story romantic. I would have rated this higher if Raoul had groveled long and hard at the end.
Raoul was just a bit too hostile and distant to Claire for most of the book for me to find their love story romantic. I would have rated this higher if Raoul had groveled long and hard at the end.
March 16, 2021
"Darker Side of Desire" is the story of Claire and Raoul.
Oh dear lord. So heroine suffers from martyr complex. She took over the care of her brother when her parents unexpectedly died, and now works her butt off to take care of him, not accepting any help even from her godmother. While visiting the latter, she ends up saving a Sheikh's nephew from assassination, and suddenly finds herself appointed as his nanny. She then also gets coerced into becoming the hero's pretend wife, and the baby's pretend mother, moving to a new country all the while letting the hero believe her brother is her lover. Anyways, there's a lot of almost sex moments where the hero slut shames her, thinking she still has a boyfriend- until they bang, and he realizes she's a virgin. Even then, she deceives him until he finds out the truth. She then gets kidnapped, saves every baby in the book, and it ends in a HEA.
If you run out of doormats, heroine is a good candidiate.
Safe
3/5
Oh dear lord. So heroine suffers from martyr complex. She took over the care of her brother when her parents unexpectedly died, and now works her butt off to take care of him, not accepting any help even from her godmother. While visiting the latter, she ends up saving a Sheikh's nephew from assassination, and suddenly finds herself appointed as his nanny. She then also gets coerced into becoming the hero's pretend wife, and the baby's pretend mother, moving to a new country all the while letting the hero believe her brother is her lover. Anyways, there's a lot of almost sex moments where the hero slut shames her, thinking she still has a boyfriend- until they bang, and he realizes she's a virgin. Even then, she deceives him until he finds out the truth. She then gets kidnapped, saves every baby in the book, and it ends in a HEA.
If you run out of doormats, heroine is a good candidiate.
Safe
3/5
October 10, 2021
This is why I love Penny Jordan !!She never disappoints .She is my go to author when I run out of books to read.I wish any of the new age authors could recreate her spark!
August 3, 2020
Published ten years before I was born, in 1984, I had serious doubts about picking up this one. Even though the blurb intrigued me greatly. This is the tenth book that I'm reading by Penny Jordan and I have finally found my favourite book of hers!
Claire Miles is roaming around the posh areas of London only because her godmother, Susan Dupont, is in town for her birthday. It's her twenty-second birthday, and she's an adult on whom great responsibilities have been thrust upon since she was eighteen. Claire has to not only earn a living but also care for her twelve-year-old brother, Teddy. After losing their parents four years ago, she's all alone in the big bad world.
It is at The Dorchester, on a fully paid stay, that Claire meets him. Raoul D’Albro, who is Sheikh Ahmed ibn Hassan's mixed-blood nephew. Or rather she meets the Sheikh's heir first, Saud, who is another of the former's deceased nephew's toddler son. Whom she also saves from some gunmen! Quite Harlequin Intrigue-esque. Even later on throughout the book as there are murder attempts and kidnapping.
This 'saving the baby heir' endears her to the Sheikh, but Raoul has quite the hangups about his mixed-race heritage and is against employing a European nanny for the child. Raoul has had to suffer, not quite accepted entirely by his French father's side or his Omarah mother's side, even though he grew up in the desert country. In that tone, it has quite the clichèd arguments about East vs West. About Christianity vs Islam. But it's not without its defences too, which cut down some of those judgements. But what I loved about the book the most was the drama!
A book this old means you have to expect that the heroine is a total doormat, even if she was a working woman. And in typical old-fashioned writing, the title was also made sense of. There are misunderstandings, exes who bite (not literally, no), an attempt to overthrow the heir ... like I said, drama! I'm not going into any details here because this book is an experience you need for yourself. All that it missed out, in the end, was an epilogue. A nice sweet epilogue. *sniffs* An epilogue where I would have loved to see:
a) Raoul reconciled with his father.
b) Claire meeting with her brother and godmother.
c) There is a pregnancy. Where did the baby go? Girl/Boy?
d) The warm-hearted Sheikh. I wanted so many reunions and got none.
e) What about the villains and the vamps? Why is there no justice in the world? Or at least one that is shown to us. Lol.
This seems to be a problem with the old Harlequins, no closure at all. *sighs dramatically*
Claire Miles is roaming around the posh areas of London only because her godmother, Susan Dupont, is in town for her birthday. It's her twenty-second birthday, and she's an adult on whom great responsibilities have been thrust upon since she was eighteen. Claire has to not only earn a living but also care for her twelve-year-old brother, Teddy. After losing their parents four years ago, she's all alone in the big bad world.
It is at The Dorchester, on a fully paid stay, that Claire meets him. Raoul D’Albro, who is Sheikh Ahmed ibn Hassan's mixed-blood nephew. Or rather she meets the Sheikh's heir first, Saud, who is another of the former's deceased nephew's toddler son. Whom she also saves from some gunmen! Quite Harlequin Intrigue-esque. Even later on throughout the book as there are murder attempts and kidnapping.
This 'saving the baby heir' endears her to the Sheikh, but Raoul has quite the hangups about his mixed-race heritage and is against employing a European nanny for the child. Raoul has had to suffer, not quite accepted entirely by his French father's side or his Omarah mother's side, even though he grew up in the desert country. In that tone, it has quite the clichèd arguments about East vs West. About Christianity vs Islam. But it's not without its defences too, which cut down some of those judgements. But what I loved about the book the most was the drama!
A book this old means you have to expect that the heroine is a total doormat, even if she was a working woman. And in typical old-fashioned writing, the title was also made sense of. There are misunderstandings, exes who bite (not literally, no), an attempt to overthrow the heir ... like I said, drama! I'm not going into any details here because this book is an experience you need for yourself. All that it missed out, in the end, was an epilogue. A nice sweet epilogue. *sniffs* An epilogue where I would have loved to see:
a) Raoul reconciled with his father.
b) Claire meeting with her brother and godmother.
c) There is a pregnancy. Where did the baby go? Girl/Boy?
d) The warm-hearted Sheikh. I wanted so many reunions and got none.
e) What about the villains and the vamps? Why is there no justice in the world? Or at least one that is shown to us. Lol.
This seems to be a problem with the old Harlequins, no closure at all. *sighs dramatically*
June 8, 2021
A link had been forged the day Claire saved the heir to the desert kingdom of Omarah from assassins. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to masquerade as the infant's mother--and Raoul D'Albro's unwanted wife.
Raoul was prejudiced against Claire. And as long as his eyes burned with contempt for her, Claire felt shielded from his powerful masculinity
"Even if you were my type, " he assured Claire coldly, "your evident greed and the fact that yon have a lover would be sufficient to kill my desire for you. " Raoul was wrong--in this and more! (less)
Raoul was prejudiced against Claire. And as long as his eyes burned with contempt for her, Claire felt shielded from his powerful masculinity
"Even if you were my type, " he assured Claire coldly, "your evident greed and the fact that yon have a lover would be sufficient to kill my desire for you. " Raoul was wrong--in this and more! (less)
August 8, 2015
Omg It was soooo good the end I will not spoil it but it was something I will always remember. Wished my hubby had done that when I told him we were having a baby. It was epic!!!! Worth a read and reread.
April 7, 2019
3.5 stars
August 14, 2020
It could have been sooooo bad, but it really was good. Even when Raoul thought Claire (huh! second heroine by that name I've read in the past couple of days) was a greedy, grasping man-trap, he was still attracted to her.
I loved how she cherished Saud, the baby, and would even give up her life for him, despite the fact that Saud was not her baby. On the other hand, I was frustrated that she let Raoul believe that Teddy back in England was her lover, when in fact Teddy is her brother! In a twisted way, it makes sense, but not really.
I loved how she cherished Saud, the baby, and would even give up her life for him, despite the fact that Saud was not her baby. On the other hand, I was frustrated that she let Raoul believe that Teddy back in England was her lover, when in fact Teddy is her brother! In a twisted way, it makes sense, but not really.
August 19, 2012
This was decent, but not great. I much prefer Penny Jordan's English, loved-the-heroine-from-her-childhood heroes, and I tend not to like sheikh-ish stories. But for a non-reunion plot, this wasn't bad. Penny Jordan loved fragile heroines who get hurt or almost hurt, and I have to say I kind of do too -- lots of opportunities for the hero to show his concern. So overall, a decent read.
November 6, 2013
Enjoyable story. Lots of political intrigue and angst!
June 12, 2020
I would of given 5 stars but the ending lacked for me
March 30, 2021
3.75 stars
The h rescues a baby boy from an assassination attempt while staying at The Dorchester in London. She lives an impoverished lifestyle, spending all her money on her young brother's boarding school fees because they're orphans and have no other family. The baby turns out to be the heir to a Middle Eastern country and the H is the baby's cousin. The h agrees to be paid to enter into a fake MOC with the H so they can travel back to the country and pretend the baby is theirs while they investigate who is trying to kill the baby. (There are holes in the logic but hey, it's a HP.) The money's for her brother, not for herself (typical self-sacrificing HP h behavior). I liked both MCs for the most part. The H jumps to conclusions and judges the h but she encourages it by pretending her brother is her lover. That HP logic at work again. This book is low level angst with a little bit of action and political intrigue.
The h rescues a baby boy from an assassination attempt while staying at The Dorchester in London. She lives an impoverished lifestyle, spending all her money on her young brother's boarding school fees because they're orphans and have no other family. The baby turns out to be the heir to a Middle Eastern country and the H is the baby's cousin. The h agrees to be paid to enter into a fake MOC with the H so they can travel back to the country and pretend the baby is theirs while they investigate who is trying to kill the baby. (There are holes in the logic but hey, it's a HP.) The money's for her brother, not for herself (typical self-sacrificing HP h behavior). I liked both MCs for the most part. The H jumps to conclusions and judges the h but she encourages it by pretending her brother is her lover. That HP logic at work again. This book is low level angst with a little bit of action and political intrigue.
January 30, 2018
17th Read of 2018
A quick 2 hour read in an effort to clean out the bookcase to make more space :-).
Not sure how I ended up with this one (from my Mum's stash of books? as even I was too young to be reading this in the mid 80s), but it had yellowish stained picture with 50c written on the front from a second hand shop and Olivia Newton John 80s hair on the cover :-P :-P. Ah - got to love the 80s.
I am not a fan at all of the sheikh troupe, but a really cute intro when the leading lady knocks over a table to save a poor toddler from a gun-crazy maniac - yep.....total escapism in a way that only the 80s could get away with :-).
A quick 2 hour read in an effort to clean out the bookcase to make more space :-).
Not sure how I ended up with this one (from my Mum's stash of books? as even I was too young to be reading this in the mid 80s), but it had yellowish stained picture with 50c written on the front from a second hand shop and Olivia Newton John 80s hair on the cover :-P :-P. Ah - got to love the 80s.
I am not a fan at all of the sheikh troupe, but a really cute intro when the leading lady knocks over a table to save a poor toddler from a gun-crazy maniac - yep.....total escapism in a way that only the 80s could get away with :-).
September 30, 2014
The main characters are interesting - hero is more complex than usual. Loved the book!
May 4, 2019
Some of the dates remind me of how old this novel is. But the cultural sensitivity wasn't terrible as some of these novels. I liked the plotting and the setting. Enjoyable.
August 23, 2019
Danger, intrigue and romance what more could you want.
November 14, 2019
Best romance ever
Loved every word in it. Classic romance that's so forward thinking it's still relevant today.
A must read for sure
Loved every word in it. Classic romance that's so forward thinking it's still relevant today.
A must read for sure
November 5, 2020
I wish I had realized this was a "sheikh" story. I usually don't like them. The h was crazy to Agree to the deal of becoming fake wife/mother.
October 11, 2021
Whirl wind story without anything to grab onto or recognize. Hero was a jerk,'I loved you from the start' liar. Skip, too crazy, no romance, no fun.
February 1, 2020
Classico racconto rosa. Piacevole passatempo, da leggere in poco tempo o sotto il sole in estate o sotto un plaid in inverno.
La trama non smentisce il racconto dei classici Harmony, amore a prima vista, passione e denaro.
La trama non smentisce il racconto dei classici Harmony, amore a prima vista, passione e denaro.
October 25, 2024
I didn't like it. P.
July 8, 2025
One of my absolute favorite romance novels!
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