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Master of Passion
She had some explaining to do
In a show of true friendship, Parisa Belmont had agreed to help retrieve a folder of incriminating photographs. But when she found herself dressed like a cat burglar, ransacking an elegant Mayfair apartment, she suddenly had second thoughts. But by then it was too late.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
In a show of true friendship, Parisa Belmont had agreed to help retrieve a folder of incriminating photographs. But when she found herself dressed like a cat burglar, ransacking an elegant Mayfair apartment, she suddenly had second thoughts. But by then it was too late.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
6 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Baird
276 books258 followersJacqueline Baird was born on the 1st of April at home in a small village Northumbria, England, UK, where she raised. She went to the local village school, and later an all-girls' grammar school where she passed the University of Oxford General Certificate of Education in various subjects. On leaving school she joined the civil service in the then Post Office department.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 19, 2018
Re Master of Passion - Jacqueline Baird refines her favorite trope, BLACKMAIL, with a teensy side of revenge, cause JB likes to spice things up that way.
Our story starts with our girl Parisa, 24 yrs old and wearing a black balaclava, (to match her sleek black leggings and form enhancing black t-shirt,) breaking into a ritzy Mayfair apartment. She is hoping to steal some suggestive photos of her BFF, taken the summer before by a sub sewer slime pustule, as the evil pustule wants the BFF to either pay in cash or in kind to prevent him from sending them to the newspaper.
Since the BFF comes from a very conservative high social register mucky muck family and is engaged to the scion of another equally mucky muck high social register and even more conservative family, the poor mite is in a terror of fright. If those pictures get out and about, the engagement is doomed, true love will lost forever and the heat death of universe will be at hand.
Fortunately Parisa comes from a long line of adventurous people, so it is bred into her DNA to go ahead and have fun storming the castle. Parisa don's her best cat-burglar fashion statement and climbs into the flat where the photo's are being held via a fire escape and an open window. Except Parisa is not alone, there is a lurvely lady and a man Parisa assumes to be the blackmailer having an almost moment.
The blackmailing slime pustule must be on a tight schedule, cause he refuses a sample of the lady buffet and asks for a rain check. Then Parisa believes the two of them leave the flat. Only to be Rugby tackled as she is carefully breaking into the desk to steal back the photos.
There is an almost roofie kissing moment and the evening's big shock as the light flips on. The Rugby Tackle Man is a guy Parisa recognizes and the light was flipped on by one of her old boarding school acquaintances, Tina.
Tina is very affable as she drops off a file and assumes she was interrupting a lover's tryst. Parisa says 'Hi' to her old chum and then she has to face her old friend's cousin. We get a little back flash here and understand some of Parisa's cause for angst.
When Parisa was 14 and at boarding school, she met Tina,who was there for a brief spell. On visiting day, the 18 yr old Tina expected her current beau and her cousin Luc to show up. Tina wanted some time alone with her beau, so she asked Parisa to distract Luc and lock him in the boathouse.
Parisa was a very active and developed young lady, she is also the schools championship rower, so when she dresses up a bit, she looks closer to 18 than 14 and Parisa likes Luc on sight. So she flirts and when the inevitable lock up in the boat house occurs and Luc gets REALLY handsy and gropey, Parisa kinda freaks. Her rowing mistress saves the day and Parisa's unicorn grooming status is preserved.
Tina swears later that Luc was furious and had vowed revenge for the supposed insult interruptus, and now Parisa is worried cause Luc is not only a sex maniac blackmailing young ladies, he is probably double dipping at the lurvely lady buffet too. Parisa gets even more worried when she realizes that Luc has a way to revenge himself on her now, but Parisa is bold and has a spine of steel, so she waits to see what Luc will do.
What Luc does is demand that Parisa accompany him to Italy for two days. He wants her to pretend to be his fiance for his ill mum's birthday party. If she goes with him and acts the part, he won't publish the photos and will return the negatives too. Parisa pretends to ask where the ladies room is located and then she escapes out the window and runs off to her BFF's place.
Parisa decides the photo steal is a bust and tells her BFF it is a no go situation. The BFF tries to cajole Parisa into meeting Luc's demands, (cause really it is every HP BFF's duty to pimp the h out, even if it means sacrificing her to a fate worse than death, as long as the BFF saves herself.)
Parisa says NO, but after listening to her BFF bewail and cry over her sorry fate all night, Parisa caves and it is off to Italy we go - once Luc has spent a great deal of cash on what Parisa thinks is a costume jewelry ring and is in fact a blue diamond.
On Luc's private jet for the hop over to his Italian Villa, Parisa realizes that Luc is seriously rich and then frets that he is in the Mob, after all rumors abounded about Tina and her family's "connections" in school. Still, Parisa isn't one to back down, even tho she considers herself to be fairly straitlaced and conservative in comparison to the rest of her deceased family - after all she is still alive and they aren't, isn't she?
Luc's mum is actually really nice and after a few fits and starts over criminal connections that don't really exist, Luc and Parisa have a great time. Parisa has an even better time dancing at Luc's mum's party and Luc gets jealous - but he has another lady buffet sample hanging all over him and flashing a pretty pricey diamond bracelet.
Eventually the party ends and Parisa is a wee bit toasted and Luc seduces her in his very own observatory, complete with telescope. Parisa is still a bit peeved over the blackmail and that Luc is probably a criminal mobster, but she flings prudence aside. Mainly cause Luc is totally rockin' in the cradle of love and Parisa knows she is feeling the big True Love Force Mojo connection.
Then Luc gets a phone call about an emergency and has to leave. Parisa decides to go back home, she has to get home to her elderly house and caretaking staff, but Luc promises faithfully to call. Parisa gives Luc the number to her BFF's flat, the BFF and Paris are sorting out wedding stuff and Parisa is little hesitant to give out her home phone number, but alas, she waits for five days and Luc never calls.
Parisa is hurt and then she is really pissed off, Luc used her as a one and done, probably in revenge for that incident at 14 - cause Parisa related that she never got in trouble for it, as the school rowing championships were being held that week and her rowing mistress wanted to win and Parisa was the star rower.
(We also learn that Parisa went to the Olympics for rowing too, but she fancied a try at pole vaulting and then landed wrong and broke her leg. She broke the guy's pole that she borrowed too, and JB gets in some pretty funny H interpretations on that. )
In the midst of being heartbroken and dumped, Parisa figures out a way to raise the money to fix the roof and give her elderly caretakers a bit of a retirement fund too. There is a title that goes with Parisa's inherited house that can't be altered or sold, and Parisa decides to sell the title for a good price.
A few months go by and Parisa comes home from work, (she is a games mistress and scout leader,) and finds Luc in her drawing room. Luc bought Parisa's title and now he is mad at Parisa for some reason and Parisa is really mad at him, but he has another proposition. Luc has also announced his and Parisa's engagement in the London Times.
Luc's mum is in hospital for heart surgery, if Parisa will marry Luc for two weeks, he will give her a big alimony allowance and pay to fix all the things that are wrong with her house. Parisa doesn't want to and tells Luc off. Nut he persuades her in the end by telling her it is the 'sensible' thing to do, and since Parisa tries hard to live down the family reputation for adventurous impulsiveness, Parisa winds up marrying Luc.
Two weeks go by and Luc and Parisa are loving it up. Parisa knows she is in love and she thinks Luc might love her back. But she also thinks she messed up a bit by not giving Luc her home number, cause Luc got into a bad accident and he actually did call seven days later, but Parisa wasn't at her BFF's apartment anymore to get the message - her BFF is off on her honeymoon. But things are going so well with Luc that she thinks everything might work out and she and Luc will stay married.
Until Luc goes out of town on business for the day and his first OW from the beginning of the book shows up, wearing a big, gaudy diamond bracelet, claiming that Luc arranged for her to meet him at his apartment, but his work conflict must have messed the timing up.
Parisa takes off in a huff, convinced that Luc really is a sex maniac and arranged to have his mistress pop in when he thought she would already be back in her country home. Parisa leaves a big "Deal Concluded" message in the mistress's lipstick on Luc's drawing room mirror and Parisa goes home to lead scouts on whitewater rafting trips with her ex-casual boyfriend she dumped.
Luc shows up again and is mad this time cause Parisa left and Parisa lets him have it about his other woman. Then Luc, who has obviously been in love with Parisa and kinda obsessed this whole time, has to do a grovel. He explains that he hasn't been with anyone since he and Parisa met again and he did not set up a meet with the OW, the only contact he had with her was to send her a diamond bracelet as a payoff to their very prior relationship.
(This diamond jewelry pay off by the H is a huge JB staple, more than one H will have to grovel because of it.)
Luc loves Parisa and probably has since she was 14, but of course she was too young then and he was pretty shocked at himself, but now they are married and he wants to earn her love, cause he knows he was totally tacky about the blackmail pics - he never intended to blackmail her and it was in fact an embezzling employee who was blackmailing her BFF- but an obsessed JB HP H has to do what he has to do and he wanted Parisa so badly he just couldn't help himself.
With a big declaration like that, Parisa totally caves, cause Luc is rich, smokin' hot and she loves him too. The two of them decide to practice their lovin' it up and Luc promises Parisa she can do whatever she wants to do, as long as she won't adventure off without him, for a big pink sparkly HEA, wildly hilarious and entertaining HP outing.
Our story starts with our girl Parisa, 24 yrs old and wearing a black balaclava, (to match her sleek black leggings and form enhancing black t-shirt,) breaking into a ritzy Mayfair apartment. She is hoping to steal some suggestive photos of her BFF, taken the summer before by a sub sewer slime pustule, as the evil pustule wants the BFF to either pay in cash or in kind to prevent him from sending them to the newspaper.
Since the BFF comes from a very conservative high social register mucky muck family and is engaged to the scion of another equally mucky muck high social register and even more conservative family, the poor mite is in a terror of fright. If those pictures get out and about, the engagement is doomed, true love will lost forever and the heat death of universe will be at hand.
Fortunately Parisa comes from a long line of adventurous people, so it is bred into her DNA to go ahead and have fun storming the castle. Parisa don's her best cat-burglar fashion statement and climbs into the flat where the photo's are being held via a fire escape and an open window. Except Parisa is not alone, there is a lurvely lady and a man Parisa assumes to be the blackmailer having an almost moment.
The blackmailing slime pustule must be on a tight schedule, cause he refuses a sample of the lady buffet and asks for a rain check. Then Parisa believes the two of them leave the flat. Only to be Rugby tackled as she is carefully breaking into the desk to steal back the photos.
There is an almost roofie kissing moment and the evening's big shock as the light flips on. The Rugby Tackle Man is a guy Parisa recognizes and the light was flipped on by one of her old boarding school acquaintances, Tina.
Tina is very affable as she drops off a file and assumes she was interrupting a lover's tryst. Parisa says 'Hi' to her old chum and then she has to face her old friend's cousin. We get a little back flash here and understand some of Parisa's cause for angst.
When Parisa was 14 and at boarding school, she met Tina,who was there for a brief spell. On visiting day, the 18 yr old Tina expected her current beau and her cousin Luc to show up. Tina wanted some time alone with her beau, so she asked Parisa to distract Luc and lock him in the boathouse.
Parisa was a very active and developed young lady, she is also the schools championship rower, so when she dresses up a bit, she looks closer to 18 than 14 and Parisa likes Luc on sight. So she flirts and when the inevitable lock up in the boat house occurs and Luc gets REALLY handsy and gropey, Parisa kinda freaks. Her rowing mistress saves the day and Parisa's unicorn grooming status is preserved.
Tina swears later that Luc was furious and had vowed revenge for the supposed insult interruptus, and now Parisa is worried cause Luc is not only a sex maniac blackmailing young ladies, he is probably double dipping at the lurvely lady buffet too. Parisa gets even more worried when she realizes that Luc has a way to revenge himself on her now, but Parisa is bold and has a spine of steel, so she waits to see what Luc will do.
What Luc does is demand that Parisa accompany him to Italy for two days. He wants her to pretend to be his fiance for his ill mum's birthday party. If she goes with him and acts the part, he won't publish the photos and will return the negatives too. Parisa pretends to ask where the ladies room is located and then she escapes out the window and runs off to her BFF's place.
Parisa decides the photo steal is a bust and tells her BFF it is a no go situation. The BFF tries to cajole Parisa into meeting Luc's demands, (cause really it is every HP BFF's duty to pimp the h out, even if it means sacrificing her to a fate worse than death, as long as the BFF saves herself.)
Parisa says NO, but after listening to her BFF bewail and cry over her sorry fate all night, Parisa caves and it is off to Italy we go - once Luc has spent a great deal of cash on what Parisa thinks is a costume jewelry ring and is in fact a blue diamond.
On Luc's private jet for the hop over to his Italian Villa, Parisa realizes that Luc is seriously rich and then frets that he is in the Mob, after all rumors abounded about Tina and her family's "connections" in school. Still, Parisa isn't one to back down, even tho she considers herself to be fairly straitlaced and conservative in comparison to the rest of her deceased family - after all she is still alive and they aren't, isn't she?
Luc's mum is actually really nice and after a few fits and starts over criminal connections that don't really exist, Luc and Parisa have a great time. Parisa has an even better time dancing at Luc's mum's party and Luc gets jealous - but he has another lady buffet sample hanging all over him and flashing a pretty pricey diamond bracelet.
Eventually the party ends and Parisa is a wee bit toasted and Luc seduces her in his very own observatory, complete with telescope. Parisa is still a bit peeved over the blackmail and that Luc is probably a criminal mobster, but she flings prudence aside. Mainly cause Luc is totally rockin' in the cradle of love and Parisa knows she is feeling the big True Love Force Mojo connection.
Then Luc gets a phone call about an emergency and has to leave. Parisa decides to go back home, she has to get home to her elderly house and caretaking staff, but Luc promises faithfully to call. Parisa gives Luc the number to her BFF's flat, the BFF and Paris are sorting out wedding stuff and Parisa is little hesitant to give out her home phone number, but alas, she waits for five days and Luc never calls.
Parisa is hurt and then she is really pissed off, Luc used her as a one and done, probably in revenge for that incident at 14 - cause Parisa related that she never got in trouble for it, as the school rowing championships were being held that week and her rowing mistress wanted to win and Parisa was the star rower.
(We also learn that Parisa went to the Olympics for rowing too, but she fancied a try at pole vaulting and then landed wrong and broke her leg. She broke the guy's pole that she borrowed too, and JB gets in some pretty funny H interpretations on that. )
In the midst of being heartbroken and dumped, Parisa figures out a way to raise the money to fix the roof and give her elderly caretakers a bit of a retirement fund too. There is a title that goes with Parisa's inherited house that can't be altered or sold, and Parisa decides to sell the title for a good price.
A few months go by and Parisa comes home from work, (she is a games mistress and scout leader,) and finds Luc in her drawing room. Luc bought Parisa's title and now he is mad at Parisa for some reason and Parisa is really mad at him, but he has another proposition. Luc has also announced his and Parisa's engagement in the London Times.
Luc's mum is in hospital for heart surgery, if Parisa will marry Luc for two weeks, he will give her a big alimony allowance and pay to fix all the things that are wrong with her house. Parisa doesn't want to and tells Luc off. Nut he persuades her in the end by telling her it is the 'sensible' thing to do, and since Parisa tries hard to live down the family reputation for adventurous impulsiveness, Parisa winds up marrying Luc.
Two weeks go by and Luc and Parisa are loving it up. Parisa knows she is in love and she thinks Luc might love her back. But she also thinks she messed up a bit by not giving Luc her home number, cause Luc got into a bad accident and he actually did call seven days later, but Parisa wasn't at her BFF's apartment anymore to get the message - her BFF is off on her honeymoon. But things are going so well with Luc that she thinks everything might work out and she and Luc will stay married.
Until Luc goes out of town on business for the day and his first OW from the beginning of the book shows up, wearing a big, gaudy diamond bracelet, claiming that Luc arranged for her to meet him at his apartment, but his work conflict must have messed the timing up.
Parisa takes off in a huff, convinced that Luc really is a sex maniac and arranged to have his mistress pop in when he thought she would already be back in her country home. Parisa leaves a big "Deal Concluded" message in the mistress's lipstick on Luc's drawing room mirror and Parisa goes home to lead scouts on whitewater rafting trips with her ex-casual boyfriend she dumped.
Luc shows up again and is mad this time cause Parisa left and Parisa lets him have it about his other woman. Then Luc, who has obviously been in love with Parisa and kinda obsessed this whole time, has to do a grovel. He explains that he hasn't been with anyone since he and Parisa met again and he did not set up a meet with the OW, the only contact he had with her was to send her a diamond bracelet as a payoff to their very prior relationship.
(This diamond jewelry pay off by the H is a huge JB staple, more than one H will have to grovel because of it.)
Luc loves Parisa and probably has since she was 14, but of course she was too young then and he was pretty shocked at himself, but now they are married and he wants to earn her love, cause he knows he was totally tacky about the blackmail pics - he never intended to blackmail her and it was in fact an embezzling employee who was blackmailing her BFF- but an obsessed JB HP H has to do what he has to do and he wanted Parisa so badly he just couldn't help himself.
With a big declaration like that, Parisa totally caves, cause Luc is rich, smokin' hot and she loves him too. The two of them decide to practice their lovin' it up and Luc promises Parisa she can do whatever she wants to do, as long as she won't adventure off without him, for a big pink sparkly HEA, wildly hilarious and entertaining HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2019
Starts out as a fun-filled romp with the heroine breaking into the company apartment of the hero and trying to steal back incriminating photos of her bff. Hero catches her and pretends to be the blackmailer in order to secure a weekend in Italy with the heroine.
Heroine, for her part, had met the hero when she was 14. He was her first kiss and she hasn’t quite forgotten him. She is determined not to succumb to blackmail go to Italy for the H’s mother’s birthday party but her bff talks her into it.
H/h get along famously but there are a few more misunderstandings for the author can give them an HEA. The story sagged in the last third with the H/h apart and covering the same old ground.
Still, this was a cute story with a lively heroine and besotted hero who didn’t know whether he was coming or going. Boogenhagen has all the details in her spoiler review.
Heroine, for her part, had met the hero when she was 14. He was her first kiss and she hasn’t quite forgotten him. She is determined not to succumb to blackmail go to Italy for the H’s mother’s birthday party but her bff talks her into it.
H/h get along famously but there are a few more misunderstandings for the author can give them an HEA. The story sagged in the last third with the H/h apart and covering the same old ground.
Still, this was a cute story with a lively heroine and besotted hero who didn’t know whether he was coming or going. Boogenhagen has all the details in her spoiler review.
June 13, 2020
"Master of Passion" is the story of Perisa and Luc.
Effing good~!
A great story filled with LOADS of passion, angst, misunderstanding and a smitten hero. The couple meets when the heroine goes to burgle the hero's suite for some pictures, and gets caught red handed. She then is blackmailed to be his pretend fiance, but their mutual lust is too strong to deny, and they end up in bed. Ofcourse, since this is a HQN novel, we have some baseless OW/ OM jealousy and drama, an impulsive heroine who acts before she thinks, a crazy obsessed hero, hot lovemaking, confessions, regrets and HEA.
Loved the hero!
Safe
4.25/5
Effing good~!
A great story filled with LOADS of passion, angst, misunderstanding and a smitten hero. The couple meets when the heroine goes to burgle the hero's suite for some pictures, and gets caught red handed. She then is blackmailed to be his pretend fiance, but their mutual lust is too strong to deny, and they end up in bed. Ofcourse, since this is a HQN novel, we have some baseless OW/ OM jealousy and drama, an impulsive heroine who acts before she thinks, a crazy obsessed hero, hot lovemaking, confessions, regrets and HEA.
Loved the hero!
Safe
4.25/5
November 14, 2016
liked this book; the angst and the H. however, the h kept running away from the H and was determined to believe the worst about him without any real reason or evidence - something I didnt appreciate at all. Other than that this is a good read with all the sexy sizzle of your average JB romance. 3.5 stars!
May 7, 2020
H was sweeter than Ms. Bird's usual heroes. I am disappointed. Lol
April 2, 2011
No lessons learned except may be to not take my clothes off and let people take photos (which is one I already know, thank you very much!)
-14 year old messing around with a 26 year old (ICKY!) - granted he didn't know she was 14 (she'd told him she was 18) - but.....ew! I know, in some areas in Asia that sometimes girls get married off when they're quite young but they're usually mentally prepared to go in that relationship (due to parental pressure or whatever).
-I was sort of rooting for the heroine when she said 'no' to her friend when her friend asked to burglarize the H's apartment - I mean the friend posed nude for a photograph willingly. Now she has a problem cuz someone is blackmailing her? WTF? she should have had more sense...
and then the heroine lets herself get emotionally blackmailed by that friend and the hero? UGH! (although with regard to her friend, the way the author wrote it made it a little easier to swallow - and the h did say no initially - it's just after she heard friend sobbing through the night that she changed her mind)
- Typical typical TYPICAL blackmailing by the H to get his way...(come meet my ailing mother to Italy or else these photos get published - oh also so I can boink you along the way)
-typical h running away and H coming to get her 2 months later...yeah he had an accident but by this time, I'm just waiting to get to the end...
-14 year old messing around with a 26 year old (ICKY!) - granted he didn't know she was 14 (she'd told him she was 18) - but.....ew! I know, in some areas in Asia that sometimes girls get married off when they're quite young but they're usually mentally prepared to go in that relationship (due to parental pressure or whatever).
-I was sort of rooting for the heroine when she said 'no' to her friend when her friend asked to burglarize the H's apartment - I mean the friend posed nude for a photograph willingly. Now she has a problem cuz someone is blackmailing her? WTF? she should have had more sense...
and then the heroine lets herself get emotionally blackmailed by that friend and the hero? UGH! (although with regard to her friend, the way the author wrote it made it a little easier to swallow - and the h did say no initially - it's just after she heard friend sobbing through the night that she changed her mind)
- Typical typical TYPICAL blackmailing by the H to get his way...(come meet my ailing mother to Italy or else these photos get published - oh also so I can boink you along the way)
-typical h running away and H coming to get her 2 months later...yeah he had an accident but by this time, I'm just waiting to get to the end...
July 12, 2014
Quite enjoyable. A very different female lead, I could actually see this book turning into a movie. The lead male was once again perfect, a good-looking, blackmailing rich Italian guy who is not too arrogant, sadistic or masochistic. There are couple of OW but they don't steal the scenes or become the main attraction as we see in some other books. There are some groveling and everything is discussed and cleared. There is no thread hanging loose.
May 18, 2016
3 1/2 stars - It was an entertaining read and different, June 11, 2011
My thoughts: Story was engrossing, entertaining and different. I'm used to reading those "old" Harlequin's, the 80's, so sometimes its nice to read the its nice to read some of the newer ones (90's) where it is a little fast paced and more back and forth dialogue, etc. I like the hero and heroine. The hero was arrogant, rich, and totally into the heroine which is what I like LOL, and the heroine was a spunky, adventurous girl. She gave as good as she got to the hero and didn't let him walk over her. I like that she has a backbone.
My thoughts: Story was engrossing, entertaining and different. I'm used to reading those "old" Harlequin's, the 80's, so sometimes its nice to read the its nice to read some of the newer ones (90's) where it is a little fast paced and more back and forth dialogue, etc. I like the hero and heroine. The hero was arrogant, rich, and totally into the heroine which is what I like LOL, and the heroine was a spunky, adventurous girl. She gave as good as she got to the hero and didn't let him walk over her. I like that she has a backbone.
May 2, 2020
She had some explaining to do. In a show of true friendship, Parisa Belmont had agreed to help retrieve a folder of incriminating photographs. But when she found herself dressed like a cat burglar, ransacking an elegant Mayfair apartment, she suddenly had second thoughts. But by then it was too late.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
April 20, 2015
Awful heroine I felt sorry for her poor boyfriend :(
February 27, 2016
4 Misguided Stars
“You’re a blackmailer, a crook, and probably a member of the mafia.
The things we do for our friends!
Parisa’s best friend is being blackmailed and to help her she sneaks into the blackmailer’s hotel suite to retrieve the damning photos. Instead, she finds herself face to face with Luc, her childhood crush and possible mob boss. Now Parisa is the one being blackmailed to do what he wants, or he releases the photos to the press.
A fun read with a spunky heroine who makes a huge sacrifice to help her best friend. It’s a Fun Read !
“You’re a blackmailer, a crook, and probably a member of the mafia.
The things we do for our friends!
Parisa’s best friend is being blackmailed and to help her she sneaks into the blackmailer’s hotel suite to retrieve the damning photos. Instead, she finds herself face to face with Luc, her childhood crush and possible mob boss. Now Parisa is the one being blackmailed to do what he wants, or he releases the photos to the press.
A fun read with a spunky heroine who makes a huge sacrifice to help her best friend. It’s a Fun Read !
December 1, 2010
She had some explaining to do
In a show of true friendship, Parisa had agreed to help retrieve a folder of incriminating photographs. But when she found herself dressed like a cat burglar, ransacking an elegant Mayfair apartment, she suddenly had second thoughts. But by then it was too late.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
In a show of true friendship, Parisa had agreed to help retrieve a folder of incriminating photographs. But when she found herself dressed like a cat burglar, ransacking an elegant Mayfair apartment, she suddenly had second thoughts. But by then it was too late.
Caught in the act, Parisa found herself facing the glittering eyes of the man blackmailing her best friend. Luc di Maggi was actually willing to bargain for the photos, for now he was in a position to demand what he'd been denied ten years ago. Luc wanted Parisa at his mercy--and in his bed.
June 20, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
JB likes to get moments of humor into her stories. This one had a little bit more than some of her others. We also get some cruel hero moments(but light compared to JB’s usual) and some angst. Now normally I tend to support the heroines more than the heroes, in this case, I think both of them could equally share the blame for their separations.
Heroine, Parisa, (24, virgin) Fights and loses her battle on being less impulsive. She comes from a long line of impulsive ancestors. Her own parents died/disappeared when flying a hot air balloon. The story starts with the h doing her best mission impossible impression by climbing 3 flights on a fire escape and going through a bathroom window(foot in toilet). She is there to get back some unsavory pictures of her bff, as her bff is being blackmailed. She hears the blackmailer in question refusing the amorous advances of his previous lover. When she hears them leave the apartment she springs into action. Photos in hand she is ready to make her escape when she is accosted by the hero/blackmailer.
Hero, Luc (37, experienced) He unmasks the intruder to only discover that she is the girl who 10 years earlier made a fool of him. (She was 14 pretending to be 18 at the request of the H’s 18 year old cousin) The cousin wanted alone time with her boyfriend so she paired the 26 year old Hero with the mature looking heroine. The hero and heroine had chemistry and things were getting out of hand in the school boathouse until the school marm walked in and announced the heroine’s age. The hero, rightfully so, was pretty upset. Anyhoo, it is now 10 years later and the chemistry is still there. The hero then tries to blackmail the h into attending his moms birthday party as his fake fiance. She sneaks out the bathroom window instead. However, her friend is desperate to get the photos back, so the h goes back to the hero and agrees to pose as his fiancé.
First off, I don’t think I am spoiling anything by telling you that the hero is not the blackmailer. That isn’t to say HP heroes do not use blackmail, but when they do it always has something to do with getting the heroine in their life so they can have their way with them or because they have fallen in love with them. So, basically although our hero wasn’t blackmailing her friend, he is blackmailing the heroine.
Funny moments come up with the heroine’s perception that the hero and his family are mobsters. It is obvious early on that the H has fallen in love with the h. They end up succumbing to their passion at the 1/2 way mark, and the H has to leave for an emergency the morning after. He tells her he will call her, and she being cautious gives him the wrong number and he already has the wrong address.
She goes back to England after getting unsettled by an ow from years ago who is now married to someone else. The h continues to stay with her friend Moya and when the H fails to call after 5 days, she figures she was a ONS.
A couple of months go by, and the H shows up at her house angry. He then tells her his mom is sick in the hospital and guilts into marrying him. (She likes his mom, and like most JB heroines, they often have a heart of gold and will do things to lessen the pain of others!) They get married and actually start spending time together. He is paying to renovate her house(as a marriage inducement) and they are engaging in a healthy passionate sex life. The deal is they play the happy couple until the mom is released from hospital.(about 2 weeks) then they will remain married but live separate lives. (Of course neither one of them really wants that but how dare they be honest with their feelings!!!) They have been staying in his apartment in the city, and when he is at the hospital attending to his mom on their last day of the 2 week agreement it looks like they are content to remain together. Of course the first ow from chapter 1 shows up at the apartment.(she was the one that was there the night the h broke into it) She shows off her goodbye bracelet(this is the 2nd woman sporting a goodbye bracelet that the h has met) and makes it seem as though their affair is not totally over(it was over before the h arrived breaking into his apartment). So the h, instead of confronting the H, leaves with a message scrawled on the mirror using the ow’s lipstick. The H cannot go to her right away because he needs to get his mom settled in Italy once she is released. Once the mom is settled, the H comes knocking at the h’s family estate to claim his wife.
They share their truths(each believe they probably fell in love 10 years ago). They make their avowals of love. Our H knows that the h’s home is important to her and that she enjoys her job, so he tells her he can relocate her as long as her job will allow her to travel with him when he need to go to other countries. ♥️Like a true besotted H, he doesn’t want to be away from his wife for stretches of time!!
Overall this was an enjoyable read. If you aren’t a big fan of ow drama, then this should be fine. The ows are more for window dressing then anything else. They really do not play a big part in the story. I probably wouldn’t reread it again only because I really like my angst served with a side of angst and a dessert of cruel hero thrown in for good measure.
JB likes to get moments of humor into her stories. This one had a little bit more than some of her others. We also get some cruel hero moments(but light compared to JB’s usual) and some angst. Now normally I tend to support the heroines more than the heroes, in this case, I think both of them could equally share the blame for their separations.
Heroine, Parisa, (24, virgin) Fights and loses her battle on being less impulsive. She comes from a long line of impulsive ancestors. Her own parents died/disappeared when flying a hot air balloon. The story starts with the h doing her best mission impossible impression by climbing 3 flights on a fire escape and going through a bathroom window(foot in toilet). She is there to get back some unsavory pictures of her bff, as her bff is being blackmailed. She hears the blackmailer in question refusing the amorous advances of his previous lover. When she hears them leave the apartment she springs into action. Photos in hand she is ready to make her escape when she is accosted by the hero/blackmailer.
Hero, Luc (37, experienced) He unmasks the intruder to only discover that she is the girl who 10 years earlier made a fool of him. (She was 14 pretending to be 18 at the request of the H’s 18 year old cousin) The cousin wanted alone time with her boyfriend so she paired the 26 year old Hero with the mature looking heroine. The hero and heroine had chemistry and things were getting out of hand in the school boathouse until the school marm walked in and announced the heroine’s age. The hero, rightfully so, was pretty upset. Anyhoo, it is now 10 years later and the chemistry is still there. The hero then tries to blackmail the h into attending his moms birthday party as his fake fiance. She sneaks out the bathroom window instead. However, her friend is desperate to get the photos back, so the h goes back to the hero and agrees to pose as his fiancé.
First off, I don’t think I am spoiling anything by telling you that the hero is not the blackmailer. That isn’t to say HP heroes do not use blackmail, but when they do it always has something to do with getting the heroine in their life so they can have their way with them or because they have fallen in love with them. So, basically although our hero wasn’t blackmailing her friend, he is blackmailing the heroine.
Funny moments come up with the heroine’s perception that the hero and his family are mobsters. It is obvious early on that the H has fallen in love with the h. They end up succumbing to their passion at the 1/2 way mark, and the H has to leave for an emergency the morning after. He tells her he will call her, and she being cautious gives him the wrong number and he already has the wrong address.
She goes back to England after getting unsettled by an ow from years ago who is now married to someone else. The h continues to stay with her friend Moya and when the H fails to call after 5 days, she figures she was a ONS.
A couple of months go by, and the H shows up at her house angry. He then tells her his mom is sick in the hospital and guilts into marrying him. (She likes his mom, and like most JB heroines, they often have a heart of gold and will do things to lessen the pain of others!) They get married and actually start spending time together. He is paying to renovate her house(as a marriage inducement) and they are engaging in a healthy passionate sex life. The deal is they play the happy couple until the mom is released from hospital.(about 2 weeks) then they will remain married but live separate lives. (Of course neither one of them really wants that but how dare they be honest with their feelings!!!) They have been staying in his apartment in the city, and when he is at the hospital attending to his mom on their last day of the 2 week agreement it looks like they are content to remain together. Of course the first ow from chapter 1 shows up at the apartment.(she was the one that was there the night the h broke into it) She shows off her goodbye bracelet(this is the 2nd woman sporting a goodbye bracelet that the h has met) and makes it seem as though their affair is not totally over(it was over before the h arrived breaking into his apartment). So the h, instead of confronting the H, leaves with a message scrawled on the mirror using the ow’s lipstick. The H cannot go to her right away because he needs to get his mom settled in Italy once she is released. Once the mom is settled, the H comes knocking at the h’s family estate to claim his wife.
They share their truths(each believe they probably fell in love 10 years ago). They make their avowals of love. Our H knows that the h’s home is important to her and that she enjoys her job, so he tells her he can relocate her as long as her job will allow her to travel with him when he need to go to other countries. ♥️Like a true besotted H, he doesn’t want to be away from his wife for stretches of time!!
Overall this was an enjoyable read. If you aren’t a big fan of ow drama, then this should be fine. The ows are more for window dressing then anything else. They really do not play a big part in the story. I probably wouldn’t reread it again only because I really like my angst served with a side of angst and a dessert of cruel hero thrown in for good measure.
December 16, 2019
He is not a master of passion, he is a master of blackmail. When he comes across h stealing a packet of incriminating photographs of her friend instead of helping a woman out he blackmails her into acting his fiancee for a party. Even more cruelly, he actually refused his current mistress/girl friend because she had had previous relationships that were publicized.
November 20, 2014
Entertaining but nothing new.
I did think the heroine was pretty cool for breaking into the apartment in her Catherine Zeta Jones Entrapment outfit. The past encounter between the H and h was weird. Other than that, it was good, but not great.
I did think the heroine was pretty cool for breaking into the apartment in her Catherine Zeta Jones Entrapment outfit. The past encounter between the H and h was weird. Other than that, it was good, but not great.
March 21, 2017
I'm still wondering if all the misunderstandings got cleared up.
March 4, 2021
Buckle in for nonsense and weird plot lines.
14 year old Parisa meets 26 year old Luc when an older cool girl classmate asks her to keep Luc, her chaperone cousin, occupied while she sneaks off with her bf. Part of the plan is to lock Luc in a boathouse which Parisa does willingly (at the behest of the classmate who is not a friend). Luc and Parisa start making out and when Luc tries to have sex with her, 14 year old Parisa panics and cries while Luc calls her a no-good tease. A school staff member comes upon the scene and reveals to Luc that Parisa is a tween.
Ten years later, Parisa is busted breaking into Luc's home office. She's there to steal back revealing photos of her recently engaged friend. Luc tells her he'll only give the photos back if Parisa accompanies him to his mother's birthday party in Italy as his pretend fiancee. If she won't, he threatens to send the nude photos to the newspapers. Swoon, he is such a gentleman. (During this encounter, she overhears Luc's convo with his year long mistress and how he's not taking her to meet his mom because separation of good girls vs sluts, y'know). A day later, Parisa agrees to go because her friend threatens that she will exchange her virginity to Luc for the photos. (Didn't I say buckle in for nonsense? Her friend would rather cheat/have sex with her blackmailer than have her fiance find out she took nude photos before she met him.)
Parisa also thinks Luc is part of the mafia without any proof but gets on a plane with him anyway, destination unknown. She still thinks he's a criminal and a blackmailer when she sleeps with him. SMH. "My darling, scatty, impulsive Parisa."
14 year old Parisa meets 26 year old Luc when an older cool girl classmate asks her to keep Luc, her chaperone cousin, occupied while she sneaks off with her bf. Part of the plan is to lock Luc in a boathouse which Parisa does willingly (at the behest of the classmate who is not a friend). Luc and Parisa start making out and when Luc tries to have sex with her, 14 year old Parisa panics and cries while Luc calls her a no-good tease. A school staff member comes upon the scene and reveals to Luc that Parisa is a tween.
Ten years later, Parisa is busted breaking into Luc's home office. She's there to steal back revealing photos of her recently engaged friend. Luc tells her he'll only give the photos back if Parisa accompanies him to his mother's birthday party in Italy as his pretend fiancee. If she won't, he threatens to send the nude photos to the newspapers. Swoon, he is such a gentleman. (During this encounter, she overhears Luc's convo with his year long mistress and how he's not taking her to meet his mom because separation of good girls vs sluts, y'know). A day later, Parisa agrees to go because her friend threatens that she will exchange her virginity to Luc for the photos. (Didn't I say buckle in for nonsense? Her friend would rather cheat/have sex with her blackmailer than have her fiance find out she took nude photos before she met him.)
Parisa also thinks Luc is part of the mafia without any proof but gets on a plane with him anyway, destination unknown. She still thinks he's a criminal and a blackmailer when she sleeps with him. SMH. "My darling, scatty, impulsive Parisa."
March 16, 2020
I must have already read this book before and I really enjoyed the angst between the H & h. The chemistry is so strong. However, I just didn't like how the 'love' developed that quickly within few days. It's not realistic although it's a fiction.
One thing I noticed also were the places mentioned like London, Mayfair & Norfolk. It feels more vivid now that I've been around London so many times.
One thing I noticed also were the places mentioned like London, Mayfair & Norfolk. It feels more vivid now that I've been around London so many times.
September 22, 2017
It was breathtaking. Romance in its purest form
August 4, 2019
This novel was one of the best and exciting novel I have ever read. It's was very entertaining.
December 30, 2020
It's clearly amazing and the experience the author gives me is breathtaking cause it's filled with alot of drama
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2024
This romance just missed. Most Harlequins have emotional connections between her and him, and with the readers and this comes close but not quite.
Reread based on good reviews, like much better. H was an idiot. He promised to call h the next day, couldn’t for almost 2 weeks due to accident and injury, called once, left message on machine, h didn’t reply so he immediately assumed she wasn’t interested. Huh??? You are in love, call after long delay, don’t connect and rely on answering machine??
Anyone with a brain and more common sense than ego would try again, especially once he found it was not her apartment or phone.
Reread based on good reviews, like much better. H was an idiot. He promised to call h the next day, couldn’t for almost 2 weeks due to accident and injury, called once, left message on machine, h didn’t reply so he immediately assumed she wasn’t interested. Huh??? You are in love, call after long delay, don’t connect and rely on answering machine??
Anyone with a brain and more common sense than ego would try again, especially once he found it was not her apartment or phone.
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