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The Blaines and the McCalls of Crockett, Texas #2
Where Angels Fear
Waking up in bed with virile Sam Lawford was hardly Elise Holman's typically angelic behavior. Lately she'd been fighting an attraction to her workaholic and oh-so-sexy boss, yet never for a moment did she think those amorous fantasies could possibly run away with her resistance.And what about Sam's "honorable" intentions! He abruptly proposed -- then stipulated that, to him, matrimony meant little more than "marital relations." Though Elise feared treading into such a cold bargain, she prayed warm affection would soften Sam's heart. But was she simply a fool rushing into marriage with a man who refused to love?
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Ginna Gray
89 books46 followersGinna sold her first novel in 1983, after winning the Golden Heart Award, given by Romance Writers of America for the best unpublished novel in a category. She has been working as a full-time writer ever since. When she finishes her current contracts, Ginna will have written 33 books. She has also given many lectures and writing workshops, and judged in writing contests.
A native Texan, Ginna lived in Houston all her life — until 1993, when she and her husband Brad built their "dream home" and moved to the mountains of Colorado. Ginna also enjoys other creative activities such as oil painting, sewing, sketching, knitting, and needlepoint. "But my first love will always be writing. It is simply part of who I am."
A native Texan, Ginna lived in Houston all her life — until 1993, when she and her husband Brad built their "dream home" and moved to the mountains of Colorado. Ginna also enjoys other creative activities such as oil painting, sewing, sketching, knitting, and needlepoint. "But my first love will always be writing. It is simply part of who I am."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 28, 2019
3.5 stars
This one was the story of the gentle twin and her other boss the cool and aloof Sam. We of course learnt in the previous book that the hero was changed by being taken a POW for 4 years during the Vietnam war and coming back to dead parents and a fiancee who threw him over six weeks after he left. The hero's experience has left him changed but he has a tendre for the heroine as he likes how gentle and calm she is. The heroine of course is terrified of the chemistry between them and basically does everything to forget it, she goes on a husband hunt, stupid blind dates, parties and then even a singles bar where the hero has to save her. The hero is the silent type and doesn't really chase the heroine, just offers to be her husband. And the heroine after a while accepts, finally realising she loves him. She tries to break down his barriers and has mixed results, with the hero trying his best to fight his feelings. This was a decent oldie.
This one was the story of the gentle twin and her other boss the cool and aloof Sam. We of course learnt in the previous book that the hero was changed by being taken a POW for 4 years during the Vietnam war and coming back to dead parents and a fiancee who threw him over six weeks after he left. The hero's experience has left him changed but he has a tendre for the heroine as he likes how gentle and calm she is. The heroine of course is terrified of the chemistry between them and basically does everything to forget it, she goes on a husband hunt, stupid blind dates, parties and then even a singles bar where the hero has to save her. The hero is the silent type and doesn't really chase the heroine, just offers to be her husband. And the heroine after a while accepts, finally realising she loves him. She tries to break down his barriers and has mixed results, with the hero trying his best to fight his feelings. This was a decent oldie.
March 7, 2021
A favorite author
A bona fide tortured unemotional H who is super-hawwt
A sweet loving h (or at least she got there even as I was thinking of strangling her)
A simply smoldering chemistry
A cracker of a start when she wakes up almost naked in bed with him and a memory lapse.
So a lot of potential here… that almost dies on you before resurfacing after 5-6 seriously frustrating chapters.
What I loved
The Hero *some serious swooning*
The chemistry *sizzle crackle*
It was there right from the beginning – with the H sending out some seriously hot vibes. The h, whose heart starts pounding every time he gets close, puts it down to fear. Yeah, she was that tstl and worse.
The 2nd kissing scene in the office was just so hawwt especially the way he keeps on kissing her even when an office worker walks in. My knees insisted on wobbling even though I was lying down.
The story suddenly shifts into top gear with the ow/former fiancée’s entry (I am so grateful, lady!) and the moc that follows. The h’s total capitulation to love was sudden but gratifying. She so needed to do that after all her earlier obtuseness.
What I hated
Thankfully all the bad stuff happens in those early chapters before we settle in for the ‘actual’ story.
The silly h, refuses to acknowledge the attraction she feels for the H and goes on a serial blind dating spree that almost made me abandon the book. I truly hated her there for a while.
A dead grieved spouse is bad enough but a second crush/love who also happens to be her twin’s husband is gag-worthy. Although the author and the h manage to make us believe she is well and truly over him but still.. And then, of course those blind dates on top of that!
A sequel/series is not always a good thing imo. I never like mcs from previous book-s calmly cavorting in and out with their oh-we-so-happy-tudes. No, truly I don’t mind reading about couples from a previous book and seeing-is-believing their heas. But a balance is important. So it’s not really about this book in particular, but you know it happens and the author at times loses some perspective and get well… step-motherly.
What was meh
The slow build-up and the long timespan. Time didn't pass in days here, rather in weeks, weekends and months.
How come all these months post marriage, the h never once wondered as to what the ow was up to at the office, let loose on the H, whom she clearly hinted she wanted! When it's the ow's covetous mood that made the h say yes to the H in the first place. She never even called up any of friends at the office as any normally curious wife would do.
Why was the ow not used more and why more conflict was not created for the ending? It was a bit of a let down.
But still, those few but totally sigh-worthy intimate moments more than make up for the flaws. And that's why I love GG in spite of her hit and miss books.
A bona fide tortured unemotional H who is super-hawwt
A sweet loving h (or at least she got there even as I was thinking of strangling her)
A simply smoldering chemistry
A cracker of a start when she wakes up almost naked in bed with him and a memory lapse.
So a lot of potential here… that almost dies on you before resurfacing after 5-6 seriously frustrating chapters.
What I loved
The Hero *some serious swooning*
The chemistry *sizzle crackle*
It was there right from the beginning – with the H sending out some seriously hot vibes. The h, whose heart starts pounding every time he gets close, puts it down to fear. Yeah, she was that tstl and worse.
The 2nd kissing scene in the office was just so hawwt especially the way he keeps on kissing her even when an office worker walks in. My knees insisted on wobbling even though I was lying down.
The story suddenly shifts into top gear with the ow/former fiancée’s entry (I am so grateful, lady!) and the moc that follows. The h’s total capitulation to love was sudden but gratifying. She so needed to do that after all her earlier obtuseness.
What I hated
Thankfully all the bad stuff happens in those early chapters before we settle in for the ‘actual’ story.
The silly h, refuses to acknowledge the attraction she feels for the H and goes on a serial blind dating spree that almost made me abandon the book. I truly hated her there for a while.
A dead grieved spouse is bad enough but a second crush/love who also happens to be her twin’s husband is gag-worthy. Although the author and the h manage to make us believe she is well and truly over him but still.. And then, of course those blind dates on top of that!
A sequel/series is not always a good thing imo. I never like mcs from previous book-s calmly cavorting in and out with their oh-we-so-happy-tudes. No, truly I don’t mind reading about couples from a previous book and seeing-is-believing their heas. But a balance is important. So it’s not really about this book in particular, but you know it happens and the author at times loses some perspective and get well… step-motherly.
What was meh
The slow build-up and the long timespan. Time didn't pass in days here, rather in weeks, weekends and months.
How come all these months post marriage, the h never once wondered as to what the ow was up to at the office, let loose on the H, whom she clearly hinted she wanted! When it's the ow's covetous mood that made the h say yes to the H in the first place. She never even called up any of friends at the office as any normally curious wife would do.
Why was the ow not used more and why more conflict was not created for the ending? It was a bit of a let down.
But still, those few but totally sigh-worthy intimate moments more than make up for the flaws. And that's why I love GG in spite of her hit and miss books.
December 16, 2024
Rating 2 stars
***MINOR SPOILERS ***
This book is a part of the Hitched in Haste series. As far as I can tell, the series are loosely interconnected by an idea only. It is also the second book in the Western Lovers duology featuring the twin sister of the main character in the first book. It can be read as a standalone as events of the prior books that are referenced are explained. I have read several books by the author in the past, but it had been several years, so I thought I would see what I thought now.
Elise had been attracted to her boss, Max, in the previous book Fools Rush In. This book begins just after Max has married her sister, Erin. She gets drunk at the wedding reception and Max’s best friend and partner, Sam, takes her back to a hotel. They share a bed, but do not have s*x. In the morning, everything comes crashing back and Elise is embarrassed by her behavior. When Sam tells her that he knows she had a crush on Max, she is even more embarrassed but truthfully tells him that she no longer feels that way.
When she was drunk the night before, she turned amorous with Sam, kissing him and beginning to undress him. Sam decides to marry her and gives her a very off hand proposal the next morning. It was an odd thing to do. Months later, when he proposes again, he tells her he will give her respect and care but not love and that he does not want children. It is not a dream proposal. They both know it.
I read it more than 30 years after it was written. It shows the mores of the romance books of the time. Elise’s hesitant, nervous behavior is not a good sign for their future. Also, she seems fearful of Sam throughout a good percentage of the book which does not seem like a good basis for marriage. Surely you want to be comfortable with the person you will spend the rest of your life with. Sam tells Max that he plans to “have” Elise but that he will marry her. When they do get married, later in the book, Elise quits her job at Sam’s request and does not work.
Erin tells Elise that she assumes that Elise will get married too since they often did things in parallel. Elise had been married before, but Erin had not, so the idea did not make a lot of sense. However, Elise is almost superstitious about it, worrying that it will happen and that she will end up married to Sam. On a side note, the impact of her first husband’s death was not explored much.
She begins trying to meet other men and Sam feels like he has the right to ask her about her personal business at work and to chastise her for some of her choices like going to a singles bar. I did not like the underlying chauvinism that he had in feeling like he could direct Elise’s behavior.
Sam was a prisoner of war and held in a small cage for 4 years. When he comes home, he finds out his parents are dead, and his fiancé married someone else. As a result, his behavior tends to be remote and emotionless. However, in contrast, he is open with Max’s family who he knows well. In addition, he is outgoing and supportive when he volunteers with some youth at a youth center. It felt a little like whiplash to have him go back and forth. I think this was supposed to tease that he was actually a good guy and had potential to overcome his emotional distance, but it just felt like we were on a roller coaster ride.
I should have left the memories in the past as I did not care for this book and do not plan to (re)read more books by the author. The book moved slowly for me, and I did not care for it.
May 30, 2025
Ginna Gray could tell a romance like no one else. I’ve loved her books since my young adulthood!
This book, written in 1988, is dated. Readers should understand that yes, back in 1988 Texas, women still wanted to be housewives. Not all but it wasn’t uncommon. Also, being called Mrs. Husband’s first and last name. Although that was almost completely out of favor by 1990.
That said, this is an incredible story! It’s not only filled with push and pull, sexy scenes, when will they…it’s filled with love!! A lot of romance books focus so hard on passion and sex they miss the love feeling!
Ginna Gray nailed it!!!
Awesome vintage read!
This book, written in 1988, is dated. Readers should understand that yes, back in 1988 Texas, women still wanted to be housewives. Not all but it wasn’t uncommon. Also, being called Mrs. Husband’s first and last name. Although that was almost completely out of favor by 1990.
That said, this is an incredible story! It’s not only filled with push and pull, sexy scenes, when will they…it’s filled with love!! A lot of romance books focus so hard on passion and sex they miss the love feeling!
Ginna Gray nailed it!!!
Awesome vintage read!
May 25, 2018
It was a solid 4 to 4 1/2 stars for me. I would've gave it a five star but in a few places it lost my interest. Elise was in love with her Boss Sam and Sam wanted Elise but he has too many demons to be in "love" with anyone. He wanted to marry Elise and have her in every way except being in love. When Sam's ex fiancé comes to the office and gets a job Elise wasn't going to let her take Sam away from her so she asks Sam if his proposal was for real and if so her answer was .........
October 20, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The language sometimes doesn't feel "natural" to me--almost more like a dramatic movie--and yet, in spite of that, I feel myself relating to and empathizing with the characters. I find the situations believable and I was rooting for Sam and Elise from the start. Once begun, I didn't want to put the book down for wanting to see what would happen next!
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April 26, 2018Waking up in bed with virile Sam Lawford was hardly Elise Holman's typically angelic behavior. Lately she'd been fighting an attraction to her workaholic and oh-so-sexy boss, yet never for a moment did she think those amorous fantasies could possibly run away with her resistance.
And what about Sam's "honorable" intentions! He abruptly proposed -- then stipulated that, to him, matrimony meant little more than "marital relations." Though Elise feared treading into such a cold bargain, she prayed warm affection would soften Sam's heart. But was she simply a fool rushing into marriage with a man who refused to love?
And what about Sam's "honorable" intentions! He abruptly proposed -- then stipulated that, to him, matrimony meant little more than "marital relations." Though Elise feared treading into such a cold bargain, she prayed warm affection would soften Sam's heart. But was she simply a fool rushing into marriage with a man who refused to love?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews