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Lisa Farrel was at her wits' end, wondering how she could possibly raise the money to get her beloved brother out of serious trouble, when Brad Norton appeared on the scene, like an answer to a prayer.
Within a few days of their meeting, he had proposed to her--and Lisa agreed, on condition that he provide the money her brother so desperately needed. She had been honest with Brad about her reasons for marrying him, and thought she could expect the same honesty from him. He had implied that she attracted him, and that he was willing to wait for something deeper to develop between them.
How could the marriage work out once Lisa discovered that his motives for marrying her had actually been as calculating as her own?
Within a few days of their meeting, he had proposed to her--and Lisa agreed, on condition that he provide the money her brother so desperately needed. She had been honest with Brad about her reasons for marrying him, and thought she could expect the same honesty from him. He had implied that she attracted him, and that he was willing to wait for something deeper to develop between them.
How could the marriage work out once Lisa discovered that his motives for marrying her had actually been as calculating as her own?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Kay Thorpe
181 books65 followersKay Thorpe was born on 1935 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. An avid reader from the time when words on paper began to make sense, she developed a lively imagination of her own, making up stories for the entertainment of her young friends. After leaving school, she tried a variety of jobs, including dental nursing, and a spell in the Women's Royal Airforce from which she emerged knowing a whole lot more about life - if only as an observer.
In 1960, she married with Tony, but didn't begin thinking about trying her hand at writing for a living until she gave up work some four years later to have a baby, John. Having read Mills & Boon novels herself, and done some market research in the local library asking readers what it was they particularly liked about the books, she decided to aim for a particular market, and was fortunate to have her very first, completed manuscript accepted - The Last of the Mallorys, published in 1968. Since then she has written over seventy five books, which doesn't begin to compare with the output of some Mills & Boon authors, but still leaves her wondering where all those words came from.
Sometimes, she finds she has become two different people: the writer at her happiest when involved in the world of books and authors; and the housewife, turning her hands to the everyday needs of husband and son. Once in a while, she finds it difficult to step from one role to the other. She likes cooking, for instance, but she finds that it can be an irritating interruption when she's preoccupied with work on a novel, so the quality of her efforts in the kitchen tend to be a little erratic. She says, "As my husband once remarked, my writing gives life a fascinating element of uncertainly: one day a perfect coq au vin, the next day a couple of burned chops!"
Luckily Kay has daily professional help with her housework, and that leaves her time to indulge in her hobbies. Like many other Mills & Boon authors, she admits to being a voracious consumer of books, a quality she shares with her readers. She likes music and horseback riding, which she does in the countryside near her home. But her favorite hobby is travel - especially to places that will make good settings for her books.
Kay now lives on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, along with husband, Tony, and a huge tabby cat called Mad Max, her one son having flown the coop. Some day she'll think about retiring, but not yet awhile.
In 1960, she married with Tony, but didn't begin thinking about trying her hand at writing for a living until she gave up work some four years later to have a baby, John. Having read Mills & Boon novels herself, and done some market research in the local library asking readers what it was they particularly liked about the books, she decided to aim for a particular market, and was fortunate to have her very first, completed manuscript accepted - The Last of the Mallorys, published in 1968. Since then she has written over seventy five books, which doesn't begin to compare with the output of some Mills & Boon authors, but still leaves her wondering where all those words came from.
Sometimes, she finds she has become two different people: the writer at her happiest when involved in the world of books and authors; and the housewife, turning her hands to the everyday needs of husband and son. Once in a while, she finds it difficult to step from one role to the other. She likes cooking, for instance, but she finds that it can be an irritating interruption when she's preoccupied with work on a novel, so the quality of her efforts in the kitchen tend to be a little erratic. She says, "As my husband once remarked, my writing gives life a fascinating element of uncertainly: one day a perfect coq au vin, the next day a couple of burned chops!"
Luckily Kay has daily professional help with her housework, and that leaves her time to indulge in her hobbies. Like many other Mills & Boon authors, she admits to being a voracious consumer of books, a quality she shares with her readers. She likes music and horseback riding, which she does in the countryside near her home. But her favorite hobby is travel - especially to places that will make good settings for her books.
Kay now lives on the outskirts of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, along with husband, Tony, and a huge tabby cat called Mad Max, her one son having flown the coop. Some day she'll think about retiring, but not yet awhile.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 5, 2018
This was an okay book. I read it years ago and forgot about it until I started reading it again. The H married the heroine so he could inherit some money. She thought he loved her even though she didn't love him. Their was another incestuous cousin named Felicia who spilled it to her on her wedding night and she withheld sex from the hero for it. I thought she was stupid really. She didn't love him either and they were going to have a wedding night before she found out. It was just a dumb plot device in my opinion. And then his mother has terminal illness and so they can't get an annulment or it would kill her and there are so many more misunderstandings throughout the novel and I honestly got bored with it. They did eventually have Fade to Black sex and she falls in love/lust with him. All is revealed at the end. However, he never really explained his prior relationship with the evil cousin but she certainly acted like a lover scorned. Who knows what went on but he did say he had nothing but contempt for her and how she used her beauty to get what she wanted. It was very vague. But of course there is the Harlequin Happy Ever at the end after they admit their love for each other. Definitely glad I didn't pay over 6 dollars for it. They wanted like 15 us dollars and up on Amazon for some reason. I found it on Ebay cheaper. It will go in my library to gather dust on it. It is not a re-read type of book.
December 31, 2016
هي الصراحه القصه هبله بس حلوه اي حاجه غير المذاكره حلوه
May 17, 2022
I like Kay Thorpe. She manages to put a ton of emotion and character in her books, even the short ones like this (156 pages). Opportune Marriage is not one of her best but I liked it. She has quite a lot of action, from rescuing embezzling brother to posing for a portrait to fending off OW to finding secret priest hole to getting pregnant.
There is less character development in this than some other KT romances.
I didn’t understand why it was so important to h that H didn’t tell her he had to marry to inherit; of course no new bride wants to have the OW dump a secret like that on her wedding night, but in fact who cares why H needed a wife? The h didn’t love him, although she knew it was a matter of time, so why expect H to be in love when you are not?
The other strange thing is why H didn’t find a nice girl years earlier.
There is less character development in this than some other KT romances.
I didn’t understand why it was so important to h that H didn’t tell her he had to marry to inherit; of course no new bride wants to have the OW dump a secret like that on her wedding night, but in fact who cares why H needed a wife? The h didn’t love him, although she knew it was a matter of time, so why expect H to be in love when you are not?
The other strange thing is why H didn’t find a nice girl years earlier.
February 3, 2018
The h is 23 year old Lisa Ferrel. She works as a draughtswoman (don’t really know what that is) for an architects firm and as a freelance journalist. She trained to be an architect but had to quit when the aunt she and her younger brother lived with died. When the book starts, her brother has just told her he needs 500 pounds. He’s embezzled (and gambled away) that amount from his employers account and now theres going to be an auditing.
The h is looking at an old house she’s writing an article about when she meets the H (he’s a friend to the owners). He asks her out that same evening. He sees that there is something troubling her and slowly coaxes out the story about her brothers need for money.
They go out the next evening. He offers to lend her the money but he wants something in return (que dramatic music!) He wants her to marry him. He never makes it clear why he wants to marry her. She asks if he will still give her the loan if she refuses and he says no.
They marry a week later, but on the wedding night the H cousin (AKA the OW) lets slip that the H must marry to have the inheritance from his uncle (I think it was)
She feels betrayed. She, for some reason, thought that he married her out of love (which is weird when he never said he did). She doesn't understand why he wasn't honest about why he married her when she, her self, was.
At this point the book becomes boring. Needless to say the marriage is never consummated and the H start sleeping in the dressing room. They can’t get an annulment since that will kill the H mother, who has a weak heart. The rest of the book consists of the h taking long walks and lots of talk about the restoration of the house. The h/H goes out with another couple and the h provokes the H and they end up having angry sex(I assume since it’s fade to black)
I have forgotten the rest. They get a boring HEA. The end.
I had hope for this book when I started but, as I said, it got boring. There wasn't any heat, steam or sexual tension that I could feel. I don’t necessarily need sex scenes in my romances, but the tension and the feelings have to be there!
One boring star.
The h is looking at an old house she’s writing an article about when she meets the H (he’s a friend to the owners). He asks her out that same evening. He sees that there is something troubling her and slowly coaxes out the story about her brothers need for money.
They go out the next evening. He offers to lend her the money but he wants something in return (que dramatic music!) He wants her to marry him. He never makes it clear why he wants to marry her. She asks if he will still give her the loan if she refuses and he says no.
They marry a week later, but on the wedding night the H cousin (AKA the OW) lets slip that the H must marry to have the inheritance from his uncle (I think it was)
She feels betrayed. She, for some reason, thought that he married her out of love (which is weird when he never said he did). She doesn't understand why he wasn't honest about why he married her when she, her self, was.
At this point the book becomes boring. Needless to say the marriage is never consummated and the H start sleeping in the dressing room. They can’t get an annulment since that will kill the H mother, who has a weak heart. The rest of the book consists of the h taking long walks and lots of talk about the restoration of the house. The h/H goes out with another couple and the h provokes the H and they end up having angry sex(I assume since it’s fade to black)
I have forgotten the rest. They get a boring HEA. The end.
I had hope for this book when I started but, as I said, it got boring. There wasn't any heat, steam or sexual tension that I could feel. I don’t necessarily need sex scenes in my romances, but the tension and the feelings have to be there!
One boring star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2022
كل ما احس اني عايزة أقرأ حاجه تفصلني عن الواقع، ألجأ لروايات عبير القديمة... الغريبة انها بتقدر تفصلني فعلا وبخلصها ف ساعة ولا اتنين وانا سعيدة... برجع لنفسي الل سبتها من عشرين سنة... جميل❤️
April 12, 2024
إن كانت روايات عبير كلها بهذا المستوى، لا رغبة لي بقراءة البقية.
ميلودراما على أصولها.
ميلودراما على أصولها.
December 31, 2024
Being a lover of old houses and having an avid interest in architecture, the old house restoration is what really kept me interested. Other than that, everything fell flat.
The story could have been written a bit differently and it could have worked a lot better. Instead of the silliness of having the supposed OW reveal the "truth" (or her version of it) to the h, the H should have told the h everything from the start. After all, she was marrying him for his money, so to speak (she needed it to pay off her compulsive gambler brother's debts, or he could wind up in prison for embezzlement), it was hardly a love match, so her getting all bothered about the H needing a wife by a certain deadline or he'd lose an inheritance worth millions seemed a little childish. The trouble was, she was starting to have romantic feelings towards her new husband (to go along with the sexual ones), and hoped for the same from him, so hearing him admit he didn't love her when he proposed put a reality damper on her romantic notions. It was silly since she didn't love him when he proposed, so they were even.
As for the H, he didn't have to be so abrupt. He could have said more than just "No". What about adding that there was something between them (other than physical attraction) that was worth giving their marriage a shot so it could be more than just an arrangement? But he didn't say anything like that, which made it worse, and you have one of those platonic/separate bedroom situations when you know they both really want to make passionate love.
The author could have set it up so that they both decide to see where the marriage goes, have them both trying and then throw a few obstacles in their way but have them overcome them, while the house is being transformed in the background into their dream home. It was developing alongside their marriage, or something along those lines. They had their love for and knowledge of architecture to bring them closer together, as well.
Of course, that doesn't happen.
Each accuses the other of not having any real feelings, the exception for him being his invalid mother (whom the h develops a real fondness for and agrees to stay married to the H for her sake, as she isn't expected to live very long). For her, it's her selfish, conniving brother who's been manipulating her for far too long. Luckily, she comes to her senses and finally sees her brother for who he really is, not for the person she wanted him to be.
They live in an armed truce atmosphere, amidst all the renovations going on in the ancestral home (which his inheritance gave him the money to restore), the h's suspicions that the H is still involved with the OW (a distant cousin, as they so often are), and the OM (of sorts) who appears on the scene while she's walking and exploring the grounds, discovering his cottage (she actually has the gall to just walk right in) and that he's a tenant of the H's. He's an artist who (naturally) wants to paint her and she develops an instant rapport with him, visiting him as often as she can, without - of course - telling the H. In this case (very unusual) the OM had no romantic interest in the h, just saw her as both a model and a friend. (A good thing, as it would have been pretty crummy for him to hit on his landlord's wife.) Naturally, jealousy figures in later (both on the H's part and for the h, when she thinks he worked late as an excuse to see the OW), but that too falls flat, like so much else here.
An evening out with some friends of the H's leads to the h being jealous of their happy marriage/expectant parenthood, drinking a bit too much and acting a bit too silly, and at home the angry H decides it's time to consummate their marriage, and after that it's one of those "all we have going for us is sex" laments from the h.
All of a sudden, it all comes together, way too fast. The H's mom can have a life-saving operation after all, the h discovers a secret hiding place used during the English Civil War, the H discovers her visits to the OM, they both accuse the other of infidelity, they both argue, they both FINALLY admit their love (after he convinces her he had lost interest in the OW a long time ago and she convinced him there was never anything but friendship between her and the OM), and she tells him she's pretty sure she's pregnant! HEA!
But it all fell flat. You don't even get to hear about the finished portrait, the finished house, his mother getting the surgery and how it turned out, if her brother really did start to turn his life around with a new job, etc.
This could have been a lot better.
The story could have been written a bit differently and it could have worked a lot better. Instead of the silliness of having the supposed OW reveal the "truth" (or her version of it) to the h, the H should have told the h everything from the start. After all, she was marrying him for his money, so to speak (she needed it to pay off her compulsive gambler brother's debts, or he could wind up in prison for embezzlement), it was hardly a love match, so her getting all bothered about the H needing a wife by a certain deadline or he'd lose an inheritance worth millions seemed a little childish. The trouble was, she was starting to have romantic feelings towards her new husband (to go along with the sexual ones), and hoped for the same from him, so hearing him admit he didn't love her when he proposed put a reality damper on her romantic notions. It was silly since she didn't love him when he proposed, so they were even.
As for the H, he didn't have to be so abrupt. He could have said more than just "No". What about adding that there was something between them (other than physical attraction) that was worth giving their marriage a shot so it could be more than just an arrangement? But he didn't say anything like that, which made it worse, and you have one of those platonic/separate bedroom situations when you know they both really want to make passionate love.
The author could have set it up so that they both decide to see where the marriage goes, have them both trying and then throw a few obstacles in their way but have them overcome them, while the house is being transformed in the background into their dream home. It was developing alongside their marriage, or something along those lines. They had their love for and knowledge of architecture to bring them closer together, as well.
Of course, that doesn't happen.
Each accuses the other of not having any real feelings, the exception for him being his invalid mother (whom the h develops a real fondness for and agrees to stay married to the H for her sake, as she isn't expected to live very long). For her, it's her selfish, conniving brother who's been manipulating her for far too long. Luckily, she comes to her senses and finally sees her brother for who he really is, not for the person she wanted him to be.
They live in an armed truce atmosphere, amidst all the renovations going on in the ancestral home (which his inheritance gave him the money to restore), the h's suspicions that the H is still involved with the OW (a distant cousin, as they so often are), and the OM (of sorts) who appears on the scene while she's walking and exploring the grounds, discovering his cottage (she actually has the gall to just walk right in) and that he's a tenant of the H's. He's an artist who (naturally) wants to paint her and she develops an instant rapport with him, visiting him as often as she can, without - of course - telling the H. In this case (very unusual) the OM had no romantic interest in the h, just saw her as both a model and a friend. (A good thing, as it would have been pretty crummy for him to hit on his landlord's wife.) Naturally, jealousy figures in later (both on the H's part and for the h, when she thinks he worked late as an excuse to see the OW), but that too falls flat, like so much else here.
An evening out with some friends of the H's leads to the h being jealous of their happy marriage/expectant parenthood, drinking a bit too much and acting a bit too silly, and at home the angry H decides it's time to consummate their marriage, and after that it's one of those "all we have going for us is sex" laments from the h.
All of a sudden, it all comes together, way too fast. The H's mom can have a life-saving operation after all, the h discovers a secret hiding place used during the English Civil War, the H discovers her visits to the OM, they both accuse the other of infidelity, they both argue, they both FINALLY admit their love (after he convinces her he had lost interest in the OW a long time ago and she convinced him there was never anything but friendship between her and the OM), and she tells him she's pretty sure she's pregnant! HEA!
But it all fell flat. You don't even get to hear about the finished portrait, the finished house, his mother getting the surgery and how it turned out, if her brother really did start to turn his life around with a new job, etc.
This could have been a lot better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
pback-to-read
February 9, 2021Lisa Farrel was at her wits' end, wondering how she could possibly raise the money to get her beloved brother out of serious trouble, when Brad Norton appeared on the scene, like an answer to a prayer.
Within a few days of their meeting, he had proposed to her--and Lisa agreed, on condition that he provide the money her brother so desperately needed. She had been honest with Brad about her reasons for marrying him, and thought she could expect the same honesty from him. He had implied that she attracted him, and that he was willing to wait for something deeper to develop between them.
How could the marriage work out once Lisa discovered that his motives for marrying her had actually been as calculating as her own?
Within a few days of their meeting, he had proposed to her--and Lisa agreed, on condition that he provide the money her brother so desperately needed. She had been honest with Brad about her reasons for marrying him, and thought she could expect the same honesty from him. He had implied that she attracted him, and that he was willing to wait for something deeper to develop between them.
How could the marriage work out once Lisa discovered that his motives for marrying her had actually been as calculating as her own?
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews