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The Loved And The Feared
Book by Winspear, Violet
Hardcover
First published November 1, 1977
5 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Violet Winspear
175 books140 followersViolet Winspear was a British author renowned for her prolific output of romance novels, publishing seventy titles with Mills & Boon between 1961 and 1987. In 1973, she became a launch author for the Mills & Boon-Harlequin Presents line, known for its more sexually explicit content, alongside Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, two of the most popular and prolific British romance writers of the time. Winspear began writing while working in a factory and became a full-time novelist in 1963, producing her works from her home in South East England, researching exotic settings at her local library. She famously described her heroes as lean, strong, and captivating, “in need of love but capable of breathtaking passion and potency,” a characterization that provoked controversy in 1970 when she stated that her male protagonists were “capable of rape,” leading to considerable public backlash. Her novels are celebrated for their vivid, globe-spanning settings and dramatic tension, often employing sexual antagonism to heighten conflict between the alpha male hero and the heroine, who is frequently portrayed as naïve or overwhelmed by his dominance. Winspear never married or had children, and she passed away in January 1989 after a long battle with cancer, leaving a lasting influence on the romance genre.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 1, 2021
One night in Rome Donna Lovelace's life suddenly changed. That night she fell in love with a mysterious stranger.
But Rick Lordetti was a hired bodyguard, and he already belonged to her new employer, Serafina Neri, the beautiful retired actress who'd engaged Donna to help in writing her memoirs.
Convinced that Rick was more than a bodyguard to Serafina and had fathered Serafina's son, Adone, Donna resolved to forget him. But as Rick said, "When night falls and the stars take shape again, we are inclined to forget our resolutions"
But Rick Lordetti was a hired bodyguard, and he already belonged to her new employer, Serafina Neri, the beautiful retired actress who'd engaged Donna to help in writing her memoirs.
Convinced that Rick was more than a bodyguard to Serafina and had fathered Serafina's son, Adone, Donna resolved to forget him. But as Rick said, "When night falls and the stars take shape again, we are inclined to forget our resolutions"
February 13, 2019
This is a book that I read in my Grandmothers house so immersed in my first romance. The story was such a string story with amazing characters. If you like a good old fashioned awesome romance, this is the book for you. rediscover what romance was.
May 31, 2023
ما اعرف هي الروايه لطيفه مره ولا بتأثير الحنين 🩷
March 28, 2021
I read this long ago and I remember not liking it
August 25, 2012
This was better than the last couple of books I've read by Violet Winspear. I didn't expect the end result but the whole novel seems kind of stupid once you've read it. The conclusion is like okay, so why is the hero giving up his life for his sister.. I was kind of like 'Shit! I just wasted all that time reading a novel which in the end had absolutely no meaning.' It really doesn't. Kind of ticked me off.
January 24, 2016
رواية قديمة لقيتها فى علبة تحت السرير ورقها لونه بنى من كتر ما قدم مكتوب سعرها جنية ..حسيت انها اثار كان لازم اقراها...شيقة فى الاسلوب بس مش محبوكة مكنش لازم نهايه سعيده نهايه حزينه بس منطقيه كانت تبقى احسن كان ممكن تبقى اطول و فيها حكايه اكتر حسيت الكاتبه كسلت فى الاخر و قامت قافلاها فى اخر 3 صفحات مره واحده منغير ما تستغل ان كان فى ماتريال لقصه افضل الشخصيات كلها جذابه ما عدا سيريانا الشخصيه سطحيه و مش مقنعه..المهم هقرا تانى لفيوليت ونسبر :D
May 31, 2018
The premise and plot was intriguing. How Donna and Rick met that night in Rome and had that instant and soul-deep connection. ..it's almost like they were destined for each other!
Adone and Serafina were terrible...both utterly spoilt like children. Based on what people all think, that Rick was Serafina's lover and not just his bodyguard, it wasn't too far a leap to guess Rick was also Adone's father! What a horror for Donna!
Serafina's age, Adone's age and when she got married didn't add up in the beginning but major spoilers below will reveal all.
The angst when Rick told Donna he could never leave Serafina for her...yet they couldn't part just yet even after Adone's unforgivable attack. Good old Donna gave him a well placed kick!
To be honest I wosh Donna had been more firm with Adone, instead of letting her sympathies kead him on...going out with him and letting him touch her no matter how casually. She got to be firm in her NO and nean them otherwise the guys wouldn't take her seriously and think she's playing coy!
Written back in the 70s the male chauvinism came through the author's own views...yet paradoxically her female leads try to assert their independence and career mindedness.
***MAJOR SPOILERS***
Rick was Serafina's brother! Ehen the mafiaso had killed their mother they had raped the beautiful 15 year old Serafina and left her for dead! Adone was 25 and so Serafina was 41 as per Donna's dad had said. The official info was she had married at 18 to a much older nan was just false. ..a cover to give her a chance in the film industry.
The ending was rather unbelievable but it sure was convenient! I wish we had been able to attend the small town Italian wedding...life in the villa was really not the real world.
Adone and Serafina were terrible...both utterly spoilt like children. Based on what people all think, that Rick was Serafina's lover and not just his bodyguard, it wasn't too far a leap to guess Rick was also Adone's father! What a horror for Donna!
Serafina's age, Adone's age and when she got married didn't add up in the beginning but major spoilers below will reveal all.
The angst when Rick told Donna he could never leave Serafina for her...yet they couldn't part just yet even after Adone's unforgivable attack. Good old Donna gave him a well placed kick!
To be honest I wosh Donna had been more firm with Adone, instead of letting her sympathies kead him on...going out with him and letting him touch her no matter how casually. She got to be firm in her NO and nean them otherwise the guys wouldn't take her seriously and think she's playing coy!
Written back in the 70s the male chauvinism came through the author's own views...yet paradoxically her female leads try to assert their independence and career mindedness.
***MAJOR SPOILERS***
Rick was Serafina's brother! Ehen the mafiaso had killed their mother they had raped the beautiful 15 year old Serafina and left her for dead! Adone was 25 and so Serafina was 41 as per Donna's dad had said. The official info was she had married at 18 to a much older nan was just false. ..a cover to give her a chance in the film industry.
The ending was rather unbelievable but it sure was convenient! I wish we had been able to attend the small town Italian wedding...life in the villa was really not the real world.
September 3, 2017
The most likable part of this book is the poignancy and the inevitability that the leads feel when drawn towards each other. Right from their first chance meeting in Rome.
An honorable Italian hero who loves the dewy , lovely English girl. But cant have her. She loves him all the more because of his scruples towards her and his commitment to his duty.
What is this duty which prevents their union you may ask. Now that's the biggest loop hole in the story. Its just that the hero is responsible for a sister with a terrible past. So he feels obliged to care for her and live with her. But the weird thing this, why pretend to be her bodyguard / secret lover and care for her ?? Whats wrong with brothers caring for sisters !
Throw into this not very logical problem, a grown up son of the sister. And predictably he falls for the heroine too. Now, how old is the hero exactly ? His sister has a son of marriageable age, so it does make the hero a rather oldish uncle.
In spite of these glaring misses, the hero and his respect and unconditional love for the heroine does strike a cord.
M&B reading is more about die hard romance than sense and logic. So 3 stars :)
An honorable Italian hero who loves the dewy , lovely English girl. But cant have her. She loves him all the more because of his scruples towards her and his commitment to his duty.
What is this duty which prevents their union you may ask. Now that's the biggest loop hole in the story. Its just that the hero is responsible for a sister with a terrible past. So he feels obliged to care for her and live with her. But the weird thing this, why pretend to be her bodyguard / secret lover and care for her ?? Whats wrong with brothers caring for sisters !
Throw into this not very logical problem, a grown up son of the sister. And predictably he falls for the heroine too. Now, how old is the hero exactly ? His sister has a son of marriageable age, so it does make the hero a rather oldish uncle.
In spite of these glaring misses, the hero and his respect and unconditional love for the heroine does strike a cord.
M&B reading is more about die hard romance than sense and logic. So 3 stars :)
July 25, 2023
OTT melodrama and a male lead who wears a gold wedding ring in his ear lobe. Nuff said.
February 20, 2025
Intriguing plot let down by average execution.
August 7, 2025
Absurd, trite and laden with dated stereotypes.
July 25, 2011
Read this one a lot.. used to love it :)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews