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طال إنتظاري
"Don't be deceived, Emma," Damon said violently. "I'm not letting you go because I feel sorry for you. I'm letting you go because I have no intention of losing my self-respect over a little cheat like you."
It didn't seem to matter any more what his reasons were. Emma knew only that she needed him now—more than at any other time of her life. The love she had felt for him when she was seventeen had not died. It had deepened. And today her love for him was that of a woman. Could she ever make him realize how she really felt about him?
It didn't seem to matter any more what his reasons were. Emma knew only that she needed him now—more than at any other time of her life. The love she had felt for him when she was seventeen had not died. It had deepened. And today her love for him was that of a woman. Could she ever make him realize how she really felt about him?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
About the author
Anne Mather
821 books369 followersAnne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson, a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 22, 2018
So dull. So dated.
July 17, 2018
Worst written mills and boon I have ever read... and I have read a lot.
We got the hero he is a millionaire but none of his houses have alarm systems.... he gets burgled twice.
And he is annoying.. blackmailing a girl who refused to marry him years ago into nursing his blind daughter... and I'm like why?? As revenge... ? This person is going to care for his child, and he has to blackmail her...? And as for his daughter, she's in Bermuda being looked after by staff while he's travelling the world.. he only goes there to see his ex... father of the year I do not think
And as for the heroine.. her brother leaches off her, puts her at the mercy of her ex by stealing money from him. and she's just accepting it. She sacrifices her career to go nurse her exes daughter so her brother isn't imprisoned.
As for the hero's daughter she is 7 and yet talks like a grown up "i thought Daddy had a soft spot for you really, Emma. I mean, he never welcomed your company when I asked for you to come with us, but when you came he always wanted to be with you. I could tell."
What seven year old talks like that?
And then the love scenes are so cliche
"'Of course I love you, I always have. Damon, I want to give you your life, not to destroy it!' 'Then love me,' he muttered harshly, 'just love me!' He bent his head, putting his mouth to the palms of her hands. 'Because, God help me, I can't live without you any longer!' "
Oh and my favourite patronising line in the book...
"But gradually he had taught her how to please him and in so doing had opened up a whole new exciting world for herself."
Oh what a fortunate woman she is 😋
And then every other page they light a cigar..and ok it was written in 1969.. but still every other page?!
And the thing that really really annoyed me.. his house, on his private island is broken into by 2 men, one of which drags the child and the heroine, by gunpoint, into the heros office.. and this intruder is violent, threatening the little girl, the woman.. he insists the hero takes off his clothes cause the intruder thinks hes hiding something.. intruder says he's gonna search 'everywhere' in front of the little girl.. the heroine gets knived and they are saved in the end.. and after all that trauma how does the child respond? Well she's very happy cause she got her sight back.. no ptsd, no tears... just her dancing cause she can see.
And I know it's mills and boon, it's supposed to be trashy.. but it was just so cliche.. I've read fan fiction that's better written than this!
We got the hero he is a millionaire but none of his houses have alarm systems.... he gets burgled twice.
And he is annoying.. blackmailing a girl who refused to marry him years ago into nursing his blind daughter... and I'm like why?? As revenge... ? This person is going to care for his child, and he has to blackmail her...? And as for his daughter, she's in Bermuda being looked after by staff while he's travelling the world.. he only goes there to see his ex... father of the year I do not think
And as for the heroine.. her brother leaches off her, puts her at the mercy of her ex by stealing money from him. and she's just accepting it. She sacrifices her career to go nurse her exes daughter so her brother isn't imprisoned.
As for the hero's daughter she is 7 and yet talks like a grown up "i thought Daddy had a soft spot for you really, Emma. I mean, he never welcomed your company when I asked for you to come with us, but when you came he always wanted to be with you. I could tell."
What seven year old talks like that?
And then the love scenes are so cliche
"'Of course I love you, I always have. Damon, I want to give you your life, not to destroy it!' 'Then love me,' he muttered harshly, 'just love me!' He bent his head, putting his mouth to the palms of her hands. 'Because, God help me, I can't live without you any longer!' "
Oh and my favourite patronising line in the book...
"But gradually he had taught her how to please him and in so doing had opened up a whole new exciting world for herself."
Oh what a fortunate woman she is 😋
And then every other page they light a cigar..and ok it was written in 1969.. but still every other page?!
And the thing that really really annoyed me.. his house, on his private island is broken into by 2 men, one of which drags the child and the heroine, by gunpoint, into the heros office.. and this intruder is violent, threatening the little girl, the woman.. he insists the hero takes off his clothes cause the intruder thinks hes hiding something.. intruder says he's gonna search 'everywhere' in front of the little girl.. the heroine gets knived and they are saved in the end.. and after all that trauma how does the child respond? Well she's very happy cause she got her sight back.. no ptsd, no tears... just her dancing cause she can see.
And I know it's mills and boon, it's supposed to be trashy.. but it was just so cliche.. I've read fan fiction that's better written than this!
January 27, 2025
Love pervades
This was a great story! Somehow missed it in my younger years. Definitely on the reread list.
This is second chance, age-gap romance, though not much is made of the difference though it is nineteen years. In many ways the two main characters were there own protagonists and add on a bit of suspensful mystery and you have a fast paced story taking you in an adventure. Of course it all ends with a happy HEA when true love wins above all else!
This was a great story! Somehow missed it in my younger years. Definitely on the reread list.
This is second chance, age-gap romance, though not much is made of the difference though it is nineteen years. In many ways the two main characters were there own protagonists and add on a bit of suspensful mystery and you have a fast paced story taking you in an adventure. Of course it all ends with a happy HEA when true love wins above all else!
August 3, 2020
I've been rereading old Harlequins. Anne Mather was one of my favorite Harlequin authors. Dangerous Rhapsody was originally published in 1969. I first read it in the mid to late 1970s, I think. A romance today would never be written like this today (for example: the heroine spends way too much time with other people and not enough time with the hero), but it offered a pleasant walk down memory lane. For nostalgia, I give it 4 stars.
May 21, 2011
Read July 2009.
I remember this novel or at least parts of it. The hero treats her as a fragile piece of glass until she proves to him that she is a woman, with womanly needs.
I remember this novel or at least parts of it. The hero treats her as a fragile piece of glass until she proves to him that she is a woman, with womanly needs.
April 30, 2013
Dang that was a strange book. The hero and the heroine spent most of the book apart. The conflict between the hero and heroine was pretty lame and there was a mystery that ran through it. The mystery added an interesting element but didn't really live up to it's potential.
Not really recommended.
Not really recommended.
December 19, 2018
Sadly this book shows it's age
The book is very dated, cigarettes being smoked at a rate of sixty a day! And very dated english and even the story line. Shame as I love Anne's books and possibly would have enjoyed this book in i had read it when it was first written in the 60/70's.!
The book is very dated, cigarettes being smoked at a rate of sixty a day! And very dated english and even the story line. Shame as I love Anne's books and possibly would have enjoyed this book in i had read it when it was first written in the 60/70's.!
September 15, 2014
Emma is a nurse, she knew Damon eight years ago, and had turned down his proposal of marriage, he never forgave her. Now her brother Johnny had embezzled money from Damon's company and was pleading her to speak to Damon on his behalf, she couldn't refuse she had to help him.
June 21, 2017
This was a new experience read from Mrs. Mather. The story was very well done and I really loved it. The main characters were very lovely. I hope to read more read like this.
July 15, 2026
I have to start my review by stating something that should have been obvious to these authors who wrote in the 60's/70's: NOT EVERYONE WAS A NICOTINE FIEND!!! I like a lot of these older books because the stories are more detailed and there's a lot more going on besides the H and h giving each other orgasms, but does everybody have to smoke almost nonstop??? And that goes for the drinking, too. The minute someone walks into a room it's like, "Care for a drink? I realize we just had breakfast a half hour ago, but what the heck???"
SO DAMNED RIDICULOUS!!!!
Okay, I've vented enough! The story itself was pretty good, and though you get one of those "noble idiot" h's who dumps the H for what she thinks is a good reason after listening to a nosey snarky bitch (not the OW but probably a wannabee), since she was barely 18 at the time I can excuse her for that. But it keeps her from getting on with her life, since she never stopped loving him, so seven years later she has a good career going as a nurse, but not much of a social life, and is what today would be called an enabler of her brother's irresponsible behavior. He, in turn, is a selfish, self-centered, immature jerk, who gets into one mess after another due to his gambling addiction and always expects his sister to clean up his messes, which unfortunately she does. No wonder he never grew up, he needed a butt kick rather than coddling!
Meanwhile, the H had married on the rebound (and repented at leisure), he and his wife (dead when the story starts, as their history, like his with the h, is told in retrospect) both cheated, and only one of them (him) loved the daughter that came from this crap marriage. The little girl (one of those miniature adults who talks more like she's 40 than 6) is suffering from psychosomatic blindness, after being in the car accident that killed her mother (details revealed later in the story) and the H uses this as a means of getting the h back in his life: he'll see that her brother stays out of jail for embezzlement (from the H's company, which is where both he and the h worked when she met the H) if she moves to his island home to help care for his daughter.
And so, it begins!
Ms. Mather packed a lot into this story. There's the conflict between the H and h as he's still resentful over her dumping him and never believed her story about falling for another man. He thinks their age difference (almost 20 years) was the problem. Meanwhile, she can't help thinking that his marrying so soon after they broke up (just a few months) meant his feelings were never as strong as he claimed. But what is significant is that the book shows the separate POV for them both, so you know what's going on in the H's head as well as the h, which gives you a more balanced story. Usually, you get just the h's perspective, which really isn't fair, and I think makes too many readers biased in their opinions.
Also, the truth comes out somewhere around the middle of the book, and they find their way back to each other, as it's obvious the love was always there. You don't get too much melodrama, with the forced kisses or "I HATE you!!!" stuff, it's more lowkey, which is a lot better, at least to me.
There's also a bunch of other characters, like two OM. One is the H's cousin, a married man and also a player, but considering who he married, it's understandable. He makes a play for the h (which of course, angers the H) but she puts him in his place, and they end up on friendly terms, with him knowing not to overstep the boundaries. It's never explained why he married someone who was not only unsuitable but was unlikeable, and had a knitting obsession, strange as that sounds. The guy was wealthy, good looking and charming, and he married her??? And it wasn't a case of doing the right thing, as she was infertile, to boot. So, he stays in an unhappy marriage, without the kids he wants, and cheats??? Ridiculous!
The other OM is the H's PA, who's young, good looking, and obviously interested in the h, but of course, he's friend zoned and doesn't push it.
There's also a whole mystery/intrigue plot thrown in, involving a lovely young Asian woman who seems to have the hots for the H but there's more to it than that, and later involves a whole lot of melodrama where the H, h and the little girl are all in danger and since this wasn't a novel of romantic suspense, it was all unnecessary, especially as a means for the daughter's sight to come back!
And BTW: if you were six years old, you and your nurse/companion (who at this point was also your future stepmom) were being threatened by a thug with a knife and a gun, who had also started hitting your father and threatening his life as well, (she couldn't see but could hear everything), and (despite one of those last-minute rescues before anything terrible really happens) you go through all this trauma, would you really be jumping for joy because your sight was coming back and not be the least bit traumatized by all that had happened, which included the h being cut with the knife during a struggle between the H and the creep, as well as police, doctors, and commotion everywhere??? Just "I'm starting to see again; all is right in my wonderful world, despite me, my daddy and my new mommy-to-be almost getting killed! HURRAY!!!"
OH, COME ON!!!!
I'll have to tell you, sometimes that kid really annoyed me!
As for the h's brother, did he learn his lesson? Of course not! He got himself into another huge mess and had the nerve to get in touch with the h to ask for another bailout! And of course, bail him out she did, more's the pity! But that wasn't the end of it, and I'll be honest, when fate caught up with this loser, it was good riddance, as far as I was concerned!
The story should have been more focused on the H and h without all the side stuff, but it was still entertaining.
And how come no one got the H's daughter a cane???
SO DAMNED RIDICULOUS!!!!
Okay, I've vented enough! The story itself was pretty good, and though you get one of those "noble idiot" h's who dumps the H for what she thinks is a good reason after listening to a nosey snarky bitch (not the OW but probably a wannabee), since she was barely 18 at the time I can excuse her for that. But it keeps her from getting on with her life, since she never stopped loving him, so seven years later she has a good career going as a nurse, but not much of a social life, and is what today would be called an enabler of her brother's irresponsible behavior. He, in turn, is a selfish, self-centered, immature jerk, who gets into one mess after another due to his gambling addiction and always expects his sister to clean up his messes, which unfortunately she does. No wonder he never grew up, he needed a butt kick rather than coddling!
Meanwhile, the H had married on the rebound (and repented at leisure), he and his wife (dead when the story starts, as their history, like his with the h, is told in retrospect) both cheated, and only one of them (him) loved the daughter that came from this crap marriage. The little girl (one of those miniature adults who talks more like she's 40 than 6) is suffering from psychosomatic blindness, after being in the car accident that killed her mother (details revealed later in the story) and the H uses this as a means of getting the h back in his life: he'll see that her brother stays out of jail for embezzlement (from the H's company, which is where both he and the h worked when she met the H) if she moves to his island home to help care for his daughter.
And so, it begins!
Ms. Mather packed a lot into this story. There's the conflict between the H and h as he's still resentful over her dumping him and never believed her story about falling for another man. He thinks their age difference (almost 20 years) was the problem. Meanwhile, she can't help thinking that his marrying so soon after they broke up (just a few months) meant his feelings were never as strong as he claimed. But what is significant is that the book shows the separate POV for them both, so you know what's going on in the H's head as well as the h, which gives you a more balanced story. Usually, you get just the h's perspective, which really isn't fair, and I think makes too many readers biased in their opinions.
Also, the truth comes out somewhere around the middle of the book, and they find their way back to each other, as it's obvious the love was always there. You don't get too much melodrama, with the forced kisses or "I HATE you!!!" stuff, it's more lowkey, which is a lot better, at least to me.
There's also a bunch of other characters, like two OM. One is the H's cousin, a married man and also a player, but considering who he married, it's understandable. He makes a play for the h (which of course, angers the H) but she puts him in his place, and they end up on friendly terms, with him knowing not to overstep the boundaries. It's never explained why he married someone who was not only unsuitable but was unlikeable, and had a knitting obsession, strange as that sounds. The guy was wealthy, good looking and charming, and he married her??? And it wasn't a case of doing the right thing, as she was infertile, to boot. So, he stays in an unhappy marriage, without the kids he wants, and cheats??? Ridiculous!
The other OM is the H's PA, who's young, good looking, and obviously interested in the h, but of course, he's friend zoned and doesn't push it.
There's also a whole mystery/intrigue plot thrown in, involving a lovely young Asian woman who seems to have the hots for the H but there's more to it than that, and later involves a whole lot of melodrama where the H, h and the little girl are all in danger and since this wasn't a novel of romantic suspense, it was all unnecessary, especially as a means for the daughter's sight to come back!
And BTW: if you were six years old, you and your nurse/companion (who at this point was also your future stepmom) were being threatened by a thug with a knife and a gun, who had also started hitting your father and threatening his life as well, (she couldn't see but could hear everything), and (despite one of those last-minute rescues before anything terrible really happens) you go through all this trauma, would you really be jumping for joy because your sight was coming back and not be the least bit traumatized by all that had happened, which included the h being cut with the knife during a struggle between the H and the creep, as well as police, doctors, and commotion everywhere??? Just "I'm starting to see again; all is right in my wonderful world, despite me, my daddy and my new mommy-to-be almost getting killed! HURRAY!!!"
OH, COME ON!!!!
I'll have to tell you, sometimes that kid really annoyed me!
As for the h's brother, did he learn his lesson? Of course not! He got himself into another huge mess and had the nerve to get in touch with the h to ask for another bailout! And of course, bail him out she did, more's the pity! But that wasn't the end of it, and I'll be honest, when fate caught up with this loser, it was good riddance, as far as I was concerned!
The story should have been more focused on the H and h without all the side stuff, but it was still entertaining.
And how come no one got the H's daughter a cane???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 9, 2021I've been meaning to read more in Arabic so this vintage Harlequin Presents was perfect. I actually enjoyed it despite how dated it was and will probably end up reading any of these books that I can find.
August 27, 2017
it's wonderful 💙❣
March 29, 2026
Coof coof coofff ... Se eu sobrevivi a esse livro, vc também sobreviverá .... Antigo, estranhamente bom. Eu gosto.
January 7, 2015
رواية جميلة جدا
October 6, 2015
تقريبالرواية كانت مقبولة،لكنها لا ترتقي إلي مستوي الجيد ،تقريبا مفيهاش اي تشويق، لغة بسيطة،سهلةوده تقريبا لانها رواية مترجمة ،قضيت فيهاوقت لطيف شوية
January 19, 2016
an oldie but a goodie! Re-read from my teens
April 27, 2020
Published in 1969
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews