The One-Night Wife

The O'Connells #5

by Sandra Marton

THE ONE-NIGHT WIFE by Sandra Marton released on Nov 24, 2004 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

I've been a writer, one way or another, all my life. Before I could read, I made up poems and my mom wrote them down for me. In elementary school, my teachers almost always let me write poems or stories instead of requiring me to do art projects. Always, I dreamed of becoming a published writer...and that dream came true! I write novels about sexy, powerful men and independent-minded women, and what happens when they find each other and fall in love. My books are sexy and romantic, and they've very often full of romantic suspense. I write the kinds of books I love to read, and I hope that makes my readers happy.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suffered from mental whiplash by the time I got to the H/h's HEA. The story opened with a scrappy female gambler being forced by her unsavory "mentor" to humiliate the professional gambler hero. There was a lot of tension, hints of sex trafficking and a build up to a forced seduction/rape on the hero's part. Thankfully, for the heroine and this reader, the hero gave up his "claim" on the heroine after he won her cooperation in a long night of poker.

Of course the "street savvy" heroine had to go back to her "mentor" with the bad news that she had failed, and that was going to be really bad and . . .

Screech.

Here's the whiplash part. The phone rings in the hero's hotel. "Mom's had a stroke." And off the H goes to NYC to stand vigil with his 3 sisters and two brothers. The reader is treated to glimpses of the picket fence lives of the characters who have already had a book written about them in this series of six. Needless to say, the subsequent engagement of convenience plot device (to make mom happy) doesn't go with the menace of the first part of the story.

The fact that the H/h marry for real without knowing each other for more than a few weeks is suspect. Same with the heroine not knowing that her mentor is up to no good in all the years she lived on his yacht untouched. And why would the heroine run off with the H and leave her vulnerable sister where the creepy mentor could get to her is beyond me. So 2 stars for last half of the book, 4 for the beginning for a compromise of 3 stars.

[Tia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had way too much going on in it. Maybe because I am a bit tired it was harder for me to follow. Also the major deceit in the book kind of turned me off of it, there was way too much lying. I'm glad it all worked out for the hero and heroine int he end but I certainly will not be going back to read this book again!

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not usually drawn to read books of this type. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one as it had much more of a plot than I expected. I went into it expecting a light, escapist book that wouldn’t really hold my attention. Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong.

[Asrina Maharani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cerita:
Pertemuan oleh "takdir", itulah tema besar buku ini. Begitu banyak 'kebetulan' menguntungkan yang terjadi di buku ini membuat jumlah halamannya terlalu tipis. Untuk penyuka cerita 'hard to get' (seperti saya) cerita ini mungkin masuk ke katagori 'not to reread' karena terus terang jalan ceritanya terlalu lurus.

Terjemahan:
Pemilihan katanya patut diacungi jempol. Cerita terasa mengalir dalam kata-kata yang boleh dibilang kaku namun mampu menyampaikan maksudnya.

[RomLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The bride-to-be...
Penniless Savannah knows that to help her sick little sister she has to win big at the casino.
The groom...
But Sean O'Connell always plays to win...
The indecent proposal...
Virgin Savannah is no match for Sean and soon she's lost everything! Sean offers her one last gamble: he'll settle her debts if she becomes his wife...for just one night!

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bit disjointed. Forced prostitution treated somewhat cavalierly...I did not like the implication that thankfully the heroine was trafficked to hero and didn't that work out well so she could give her virginity to the hero.

[Donna Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like all of Sandra's book this one was also great. I loved the story of Sean and Savannah. This was certainly another good read

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Savannah e Sean, entrambi giocatori professionisti di poker, lui bello e ricchissimo, lei neanche a dirlo bellissima da far girare la testa a tutti gli uomini che la vedono.
Sean ne è incuriosito, perché è lei che lo approccia per primo, sospetta ci si dietro qualcosa e scopre in fretta che in effetti è così, ma stiamo leggendo un Harmony quindi non serve dirvi come andrà a finire.

Volevo un libro veloce che portasse bonus, questo è l’unico punto a favore per questo libro.
La storia è fantascientifica, lei ha tutte le sfighe del mondo, e’ sotto ricatto di un uomo che l’ha presa sotto la sua l’ala protettrice e la usa perché bravissima al gioco, la ricatta perché ha una sorella disabile minacciandola di farla buttar fuori dall’istituto che se ne prende cura.
Lei che nonostante sia bellissima e che tutti la vogliono e’ ancora vergine ma appena Sean la bacia non capisce più nulla e vuole solo starci insieme, quindi ricapitoliamo, lei una dea della bellezza, abilissima a gioco, recita la parte della femme fatale ma e’ casta e pura come una suora, lui bello, ricco da schifo la ammalia col suo pisello magico (altrimenti non mi spiego sto innamoramento in un ora), sto due battibeccano per i primi capitoli ma poi magicamente stanno insieme e si scoprono innamorati nel giro di un giorno, forse due.
In mezzo ci hanno buttato un finto fidanzamento per accontentare la mamma di lui che dopo un ictus come raga lo di compleanno ha chiesto al figlio di sposarsi, il rapimento della sorella disabile da parte dell’altro uomo, l’acquisto di una casa per vivere insieme e un matrimonio lampo a Las Vegas, tutto nel giro di due settimane.
Caratterizzazione dei personaggi scarsissima e nel cliché del genere.
Savannah coi riccioli biondi e gli occhioni verdi, sfortunata, vittima di ricatti e cui deve piegarsi per salvare la sorella ovviamente senza nessuno al mondo, dall’animo puro e che non vuole ingannare le persone.
Sean bello, ricco, spietato ma che appena lei ha gli occhi lucidi sente nascere l’istinto di protezione e vuole renderla felice.
Una storia così piatta e banale che davvero chiunque potrebbe scriverla.
Ma mi e’ servita per la challenge quindi va bene cos

[Pauline Destinugrainy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sean bertemu Savannah di meja judi. Savannah ditugaskan oleh Allain untuk menjerat Sean. Namun, Savannah gagal. Sebaliknya, Savannah mempertaruhkan dirinya kepada Sean. Sean yang tahu niat Savannah membawa Savannah ke hotel. Di sana dia sempat berciuman dengan Savannah kemudian mengusirnya.

Ketika ibunya jatuh sakit dan hampir meninggal, Sean berjanji akan mengabulkan permintaan ibunya. Ibunya ingin Sean menikah. Singkat cerita, Sean kembali mendatangi Savannah, dan membuatnya membayar taruhan yang belum diambilnya. Savannah harus menjadi istri yang akan dibawanya pulang.

Sean si pria O'Connell terakhir yang lajang. Yang ngeselin dari tingkah Sean adalah suka mengambil kesimpulan sendiri. Dua kali dia membuat Savannah terlena dalam ciumannya, ketika Savannah hampir menyerahkan dirinya, malah diusir sama Sean. Savannah sendiri tidak berusaha menceritakan yang sebenarnya pada Sean. Padahal dia punya kesempatan untuk itu.

[Natha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tidak semanis kisah Cullen, bahkan beberapa kali diselingi dengan kisah-kisah lainnya, tetapi pada akhirnya aku berhasil menyelesaikan buku ini juga. Mungkin karena sedari awal, aku kurang suka dengan karakter Sean yang terlalu playful dan kurang bertanggungjawab. Lebih lagi alasan dia untuk menikah didasari dengan janji kepada ibunya, bagaimana kalau seandainya dia tidak bertemu dengan Savannah (yang memang adalah pasangan sejatinya)? Apa dia akan mencomot satu perempuan dengan asal untuk dikenalkan kepada keluarga besarnya?

Tetapi aku harus mengakui, aku suka dengan bonding antara kakak-beradik ini, mereka menggemaskan dan kompak! xD

[Helen Moulden · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 65 pages were not very interesting to me. All of the pages were set in a Casino. It was boring and overdone. Things got a bit better but even two stars is stretching it. The end was just strange. I realise there are other O'Connell stories but if they are anything like this one then I wont hurry to read them.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ceritanya cukup menarik, dengan tema perjudian. Sean dan Savannah benar-benar cocok, tapi endingnya sangat cepat berlalu, konflik akhirnya hanya sebentar.

[DarkAthena59 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une histoire qui se lit, mais dont la fin est trop précipitée. C'est dommage, il y avait du potentiel.

[RJC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite good. Some of the plot premises were over simplified.

[Ayu Wirdha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utk bertahan hidup dirinya & adiknya yg autis sejak remaja Savannah melakukan pekerjaan judi kecil2an di jalan. Suatu ketika bertemu Beamont yg mengajaknya & memodalinya utk melakukannya tdk di jalanan ttp di kasino2. Savannah mendptkan persentase dr setiap menang, tempat tinggal yg layak utknya & pendidikan adiknya. Bertahun2 kmdian Beamont meminta Savannah utk mengalahkan Sean di arena judi sbg balasan krn Sean telah mencuri uangnya dgn berbuat curang, pdhal mah memang Beamont aja yg kalah besar. Savannah tdk berhasil & Beamont menawarkan utk meminjamkan Savannah selama 2 minggu utk pembayarannya. Sean hanya ingin Savannah berpura2 menjadi istrinya utk memenuhi janji ke ibunya yg sedang sakit & mendapatkan imbalan yg besar. Tapi Savannah menolak & lebih memilih kembali ke Beamont & berusaha membayar hutangnya dgn berjudi lagi. Halooooo ini Savannah bego ato tolol, jelas2 Beamont ingin Savannah jd hooker, mengancam utk menelantarkan adiknya, pernah menampar & marah ketika gagal dgn Sean tp ttp aja merasa Beamont itu org baik. Pusing sy kalo heroine kelewat bego kalo berhadapan dgn penjahatnya tp sok jual mahal ke hero-nya. Pdhal sy sdh suka dgn Savannah yg kerja keras demi adiknya.

[Akina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok. Not good or bad. Just not something I would seek to read again. I don't like the possibility that the villain is not dead or in jail for life b/c he can possibly stir up trouble in the future. Plus, the H and the h we're not together long enough to sustain a believable relationship. It just doesn't work for me but perhaps others will enjoy this book more. Lots of dark themes present in this book like prostitution, kidnapping, homelessness, theft, mental illness, etc. Not really the things I look for in Harlequin Presents novels.

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of a minor Casino Royale subplot stretched into a full Harlequin Presents. Fun at first but gets a bit ridiculous, particularly because she is clearly traumatized by being in this position. Would have been stronger if the sister she's protecting was more than a token, the villain not quite so cartoony, the insults he hurls at her not quite so contemptuous, and their connection/coming together more satisfying.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

ex Marlborough Library. Picked up in Picton Dec 2009.

Randomly chosen from my piles and it is book 65 of 2011 - aim 133 books in 2011.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the story line! Just when you feel as though you know how the story will turn, it surprises you!

[Ceacily cici Sherly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Biasaaa ajaaa...

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was bad. Story was horrible and the plot just lukewarn.