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Bride of Diamonds
This was a contest of power
Man against woman--woman against man. The most primitive duel of all.
When Laura left her glittering life in Boston to learn more about her father's past in Australia, she didn't realize she'd be confronting her own destiny in the arrogant, yet attractive, form of Jared Eastern.
The sizzling awareness that flowed between them could not be denied, yet Jared was highly suspicious of Laura's motives. "Right at this moment," he declared, "I'm not sure whether to hate you ... or kiss you senseless!"
Man against woman--woman against man. The most primitive duel of all.
When Laura left her glittering life in Boston to learn more about her father's past in Australia, she didn't realize she'd be confronting her own destiny in the arrogant, yet attractive, form of Jared Eastern.
The sizzling awareness that flowed between them could not be denied, yet Jared was highly suspicious of Laura's motives. "Right at this moment," he declared, "I'm not sure whether to hate you ... or kiss you senseless!"
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
2 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Emma Darcy
640 books327 followersEmma Darcy is the pseudonym created by the married writing team of Wendy (1940-2020) and Frank Brennan (1936-1995). Their life journey has taken as many twists and turns as the characters in their stories, whose international popularity has resulted in over sixty-million book sales. With more than a hundred titles, Emma Darcy appeared regularly on the Waldenbooks bestseller lists in the U.S.A. and in the Nielson BookScan Top 100 chart in the U.K.
Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.
As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.
Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.
Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.
As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.
Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 6, 2017
Re Bride of Diamonds - Emma Darcy's June 1991 HP outing is a unique trope twist that is as big as the Australian Outback and has a diamond tycoon warrior H who is so HP Alpha H'y that it takes a savage pagan witch h to tame him.
This one is epic fellow HP voyagers, consider it a modern meeting of Genghis Khan and Boudicca - cause this h not only got her calcium as a child, she takes super extra boost daily calcium and not only has a backbone, she developed a whole skeleton. Which as we all know is very rare in HPlandia.
The story starts with the 28 yr old world-traveler-on-a-shoe-string h finding out her missing bio dad has recently passed in Australia. He was a painter of some note, and the h is going to Australia to do a little digging on her mysterious father's past and take a gander at his artwork.
This h is determined to find the missing pieces of herself that hopefully reside in her father's legacy. Much to the distress of her very proper, very polished, very beautiful Boston Brahmin Socialite mother. The h is aware of her mum's antagonism, but since she has lived with her mother's disappointment her whole life, it doesn't deter her.
The h had a very harsh childhood, she had severe acne and it left serious scars. Living in a society where the thing valued most was appearance and looks, the h learned from an early age that she would have to set her own standards and path in life after suffering a ton of rejection. Seven years before the story starts, the h was able to have laser treatment to remove the scaring from her skin. Now that she is beautiful, her mother is determined to see the h climb the ranks of Boston society, with an appropriate status male at her side.
The h is not interested, she isn't much for looks and figures the person behind the appearance is what really counts. So it is off to Sydney we go, where the h has arranged for a gallery showing of her father's paintings.
Her mother remarried right after she divorced the h's father, this time to the suitably upper class status male that she really was aiming for before she got sidetracked by the h's dad. So the step father adopted the h, she has his last name and the h's mother never discusses the h's father at all.
There was one painting that the h's father insisted never be sold. The h can destroy it, but he definitely did not want it sold to anyone and since the painting is the only one of her dad's that has a recognizable woman's face, the h is intent on showcasing it in the exhibition.
The h wants to know what her father was doing for the last twenty odd years, she wants to know why he never contacted her and she wonders if he ever thought about her. Since the h doesn't fit in with her mother's world at all, she is hoping to find a place for herself in her father's.
Her little gallery showing brings results. A man walks in that captures the h's attention, she is very reminded of Conan the Barbarian, but Australian style. The man notices her too, but then he sees the painting and that captures his full attention. The h feels the niggle on the line and as she retires for the evening, she is sure she has hooked a winner with her bait.
Her niggle detector is correct, an offer for $5 million for the painting has been made and this h is cagey. She knows no one offers that kind of money on a whim, she wants to know who is trying so hard to get that painting off the exhibit. A meeting is set for the next morning and it is a no brainer that the potential buyer is the warrior king from the night before.
There is lots of verbal fencing and both players are bluffing - tho neither of them realize it. They have a bit of a detente while the h wanders around the Sydney Zoo, the H refuses to say why he wants the painting so much and the h isn't selling.
Our battling barbarians meet again at the H's penthouse for dinner. The H is making some nasty insinuations and the h has no clue about anything, but she is a world champion poker player and she never lets him see her sweat. The upshot of all the verbal negotiating is the H believes he has to marry the h to make restitution for a major debt his family owes her father,l tho he is calling it blackmail.
Then the h finds out that the H owns a diamond mine - when De Beers needs a quality colored diamond gem haul, they make a deal with the H. Since the h's dad was a geologist, she quickly figures out that her father must have discovered the claim but for some reason walked away from it.
Inadvertent blackmail aside, (and that scene really was funny to read, the h had literally no clue what the H was insinuating, but she was totally playing her bluff,) the h finds herself REALLY interested in the H. Something about him appeals on the most elemental of levels and she is quite prepared to marry the man to figure it out.
After a mutual roofie kiss that proves neither one of them are frigid, the h finds herself on her way to getting married. She lets her mum know about the wedding and for once the woman seems to be concerned for the h's happiness and almost supportive if the h needs her. The h thinks she has made a breakthrough in the distance between herself and her mother, but she is still getting married. She REALLY wants the H - and not because diamonds are a girl's best friend either.
The H shows up with a lovely diamond set and then drops the bombshell that she needs to pretend to be in love with him in front of his unexpectedly arriving mother. The h counters that HER mother wants pictures, so it is with a underlying heat and overt adoring looks that we all go off to meet the H's mother. The H warns the h not to mention her father, but the H's narcissistic and blobfish mother takes one look at the h and has hysterics. The h is surprised too, the mother's face is the face in her father's painting.
The h is shocked at such suffering and misery and the H's mother is in full fragile flower decline, so the h and H hasten to reassure her that the past is gone and they were just two kids who saw each other across a crowded room and fell in love. The H's stepfather's unstinting adoration seems to calm the H's mother down a bit and the wedding commences after a last ditch effort on the H's part to make the h reconsider.
So the H and h are married and the bedroom battle is on. The h has to smack the H around a bit when he gets a little disrespectful and with a tearing of clothes and shouts of Pagan Witch and Warrior King, the h and H manage to consummate the marriage and the building is still standing after the massive quakes of their kamikaze passion.
The next morning, barbarian treaty of partnership in place, we prepare to take off for the H's true home - a huge cattle station in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. The H then drops the bombshell that the h better get all hope of getting his empire all to herself right out of her head, he won't be as easy to kill as his father was and his stepfather will ensure that there will be no further escaping the consequences of another killing between their respective families.
That little challenge practically stops the h's heart. She does some probing and we find out that the H's mother, father and the h's father were all involved in a love triangle. There was a big fight and when it was all over the h's father was holding the gun and the H's dad was dead. The H's mother, who instigated the whole thing, was dithering around about how there had been a struggle and the gun went off. Later on we find out that it was the H's mother who went for the gun and more than likely used it on her husband, but the h's dad took the blame and disappeared into the wilds of Australia. Nobody went looking for him, but the H felt that he should have gotten a share of the diamond mine, so he married the h to repay that debt.
This shocks the h to no end, but she is not her mother OR the H's mother. She has trekked through the wilds of Africa and the rest of the world and she fully intends to be an equal partner with the H. So we all go to his cattle station and the H has a cattle muster which the h isn't really ready to participate in on such sort notice.
So the h makes her own contributions instead. She makes arrangemenst for African drought resistant cattle to be brought to the station and she asks the H to teach her to fly the helicopter. She makes friends with all the staff and tells the station kids about her own traveling adventures. It takes the h about a week to settle in and one hour on the H's Lear jet joining the mile high club to mostly win the H over, followed up by a lot boudoir bouncing in his bed at the station.
The big breakthrough with the H finally happens when the h gets some of the station kids to take her to the place where her father painted the woman's face in the scenery. She is having a personal mourning moment when the H shows up and it finally hits him that the h really only wanted to know about her dad, cause she never got to meet him. The H shares what he can about the man and this is where he shares that it may have been his mother who actually killed him, which would account for a lot of her behavior.
The H also explains that her dad could't contact her, he was a wanted man and the authorities would have arrested him if he tried to leave the country. The h is able to put the past aside when the H assures her that their cattle station will always be there for her and the two of them are lurving it up in mutual accord and domestic bliss.
The h's mum shows up for a visit and she is really impressed and happy for the h. The African cattle get delivered and in a dramatic moment, one of the bulls breaks loose and is going after the h. The H throws himself in front of the bull to protect the h and his face is badly cut on the horns and the H is horribly gored. The h is panicked and tells the H to hold on until they get to the hospital because she is preggers and he will want to meet his son. There is a mad dash on the H's Lear jet to get to the hospital, but the H is saved and won't be paralyzed and the h's mum is very supportive and she and the h reconcile.
The H's mother shows up and causes a big scene and the h has to do a really harsh smackdown about narcissistic cows and then tells the H's mother to get out. The h's mum backs her up and the H's stepfather tells the woman to either be helpful or be gone. The mother stops being a drama queen and the h goes to sit with the H. He will be physically okay and able to get around and things, but his face is really badly torn up.
The h got a good plastic surgeon in, but she is determined not to let the H think she doesn't want him cause he isn't attractive anymore. (Which kinda wasn't a problem in my POV. ED describes the H as arresting in looks but not handsome, so now I figured he will have enough H'yness to just be more arresting and the h thinks so too.)
The H wakes up from surgery and the h is right there holding his hand and talking to him and telling him about his impending fatherhood. The H is worried she is going to turn away from him in revulsion and the h explains about her childhood and her disfigurement and practically stands on her head avowing she will never reject him.
The only H pov we get in the book is where the H realizes that this h really loves him, doesn't care about his looks or his money and will always want him. The h declares her love in words of one syllable and the H is overjoyed, cause he really loves her back. The epilogue is the H is fully recovered, the H's mother has stopped being a wet rag and the h's mum and stepfather are coming to see the baby when it is born. The H finally tells the h he loves her, even tho he knows she doesn't need to hear it and a big romantic HEA with the h having a permanent hook into the H's heart and the feeling that all the barriers between them are gone, as they ride off into the Outback sunset in true love forevermore.
This was an excellent dramafest of a book. I liked the twist on the h being the blackmailer and this is probably the only HP where rule #1 is completely turned upside. Cause the whole thing was the H's fault really. If he hadn't been so domineeringly Alpha H'y, the h would have found out about her dad and done a little sight-seeing tour and then gone on. But he really isn't complaining about it, cause meeting the h was the best thing that ever happened to him and that makes this book required reading for HPlandia.
This one is epic fellow HP voyagers, consider it a modern meeting of Genghis Khan and Boudicca - cause this h not only got her calcium as a child, she takes super extra boost daily calcium and not only has a backbone, she developed a whole skeleton. Which as we all know is very rare in HPlandia.
The story starts with the 28 yr old world-traveler-on-a-shoe-string h finding out her missing bio dad has recently passed in Australia. He was a painter of some note, and the h is going to Australia to do a little digging on her mysterious father's past and take a gander at his artwork.
This h is determined to find the missing pieces of herself that hopefully reside in her father's legacy. Much to the distress of her very proper, very polished, very beautiful Boston Brahmin Socialite mother. The h is aware of her mum's antagonism, but since she has lived with her mother's disappointment her whole life, it doesn't deter her.
The h had a very harsh childhood, she had severe acne and it left serious scars. Living in a society where the thing valued most was appearance and looks, the h learned from an early age that she would have to set her own standards and path in life after suffering a ton of rejection. Seven years before the story starts, the h was able to have laser treatment to remove the scaring from her skin. Now that she is beautiful, her mother is determined to see the h climb the ranks of Boston society, with an appropriate status male at her side.
The h is not interested, she isn't much for looks and figures the person behind the appearance is what really counts. So it is off to Sydney we go, where the h has arranged for a gallery showing of her father's paintings.
Her mother remarried right after she divorced the h's father, this time to the suitably upper class status male that she really was aiming for before she got sidetracked by the h's dad. So the step father adopted the h, she has his last name and the h's mother never discusses the h's father at all.
There was one painting that the h's father insisted never be sold. The h can destroy it, but he definitely did not want it sold to anyone and since the painting is the only one of her dad's that has a recognizable woman's face, the h is intent on showcasing it in the exhibition.
The h wants to know what her father was doing for the last twenty odd years, she wants to know why he never contacted her and she wonders if he ever thought about her. Since the h doesn't fit in with her mother's world at all, she is hoping to find a place for herself in her father's.
Her little gallery showing brings results. A man walks in that captures the h's attention, she is very reminded of Conan the Barbarian, but Australian style. The man notices her too, but then he sees the painting and that captures his full attention. The h feels the niggle on the line and as she retires for the evening, she is sure she has hooked a winner with her bait.
Her niggle detector is correct, an offer for $5 million for the painting has been made and this h is cagey. She knows no one offers that kind of money on a whim, she wants to know who is trying so hard to get that painting off the exhibit. A meeting is set for the next morning and it is a no brainer that the potential buyer is the warrior king from the night before.
There is lots of verbal fencing and both players are bluffing - tho neither of them realize it. They have a bit of a detente while the h wanders around the Sydney Zoo, the H refuses to say why he wants the painting so much and the h isn't selling.
Our battling barbarians meet again at the H's penthouse for dinner. The H is making some nasty insinuations and the h has no clue about anything, but she is a world champion poker player and she never lets him see her sweat. The upshot of all the verbal negotiating is the H believes he has to marry the h to make restitution for a major debt his family owes her father,l tho he is calling it blackmail.
Then the h finds out that the H owns a diamond mine - when De Beers needs a quality colored diamond gem haul, they make a deal with the H. Since the h's dad was a geologist, she quickly figures out that her father must have discovered the claim but for some reason walked away from it.
Inadvertent blackmail aside, (and that scene really was funny to read, the h had literally no clue what the H was insinuating, but she was totally playing her bluff,) the h finds herself REALLY interested in the H. Something about him appeals on the most elemental of levels and she is quite prepared to marry the man to figure it out.
After a mutual roofie kiss that proves neither one of them are frigid, the h finds herself on her way to getting married. She lets her mum know about the wedding and for once the woman seems to be concerned for the h's happiness and almost supportive if the h needs her. The h thinks she has made a breakthrough in the distance between herself and her mother, but she is still getting married. She REALLY wants the H - and not because diamonds are a girl's best friend either.
The H shows up with a lovely diamond set and then drops the bombshell that she needs to pretend to be in love with him in front of his unexpectedly arriving mother. The h counters that HER mother wants pictures, so it is with a underlying heat and overt adoring looks that we all go off to meet the H's mother. The H warns the h not to mention her father, but the H's narcissistic and blobfish mother takes one look at the h and has hysterics. The h is surprised too, the mother's face is the face in her father's painting.
The h is shocked at such suffering and misery and the H's mother is in full fragile flower decline, so the h and H hasten to reassure her that the past is gone and they were just two kids who saw each other across a crowded room and fell in love. The H's stepfather's unstinting adoration seems to calm the H's mother down a bit and the wedding commences after a last ditch effort on the H's part to make the h reconsider.
So the H and h are married and the bedroom battle is on. The h has to smack the H around a bit when he gets a little disrespectful and with a tearing of clothes and shouts of Pagan Witch and Warrior King, the h and H manage to consummate the marriage and the building is still standing after the massive quakes of their kamikaze passion.
The next morning, barbarian treaty of partnership in place, we prepare to take off for the H's true home - a huge cattle station in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. The H then drops the bombshell that the h better get all hope of getting his empire all to herself right out of her head, he won't be as easy to kill as his father was and his stepfather will ensure that there will be no further escaping the consequences of another killing between their respective families.
That little challenge practically stops the h's heart. She does some probing and we find out that the H's mother, father and the h's father were all involved in a love triangle. There was a big fight and when it was all over the h's father was holding the gun and the H's dad was dead. The H's mother, who instigated the whole thing, was dithering around about how there had been a struggle and the gun went off. Later on we find out that it was the H's mother who went for the gun and more than likely used it on her husband, but the h's dad took the blame and disappeared into the wilds of Australia. Nobody went looking for him, but the H felt that he should have gotten a share of the diamond mine, so he married the h to repay that debt.
This shocks the h to no end, but she is not her mother OR the H's mother. She has trekked through the wilds of Africa and the rest of the world and she fully intends to be an equal partner with the H. So we all go to his cattle station and the H has a cattle muster which the h isn't really ready to participate in on such sort notice.
So the h makes her own contributions instead. She makes arrangemenst for African drought resistant cattle to be brought to the station and she asks the H to teach her to fly the helicopter. She makes friends with all the staff and tells the station kids about her own traveling adventures. It takes the h about a week to settle in and one hour on the H's Lear jet joining the mile high club to mostly win the H over, followed up by a lot boudoir bouncing in his bed at the station.
The big breakthrough with the H finally happens when the h gets some of the station kids to take her to the place where her father painted the woman's face in the scenery. She is having a personal mourning moment when the H shows up and it finally hits him that the h really only wanted to know about her dad, cause she never got to meet him. The H shares what he can about the man and this is where he shares that it may have been his mother who actually killed him, which would account for a lot of her behavior.
The H also explains that her dad could't contact her, he was a wanted man and the authorities would have arrested him if he tried to leave the country. The h is able to put the past aside when the H assures her that their cattle station will always be there for her and the two of them are lurving it up in mutual accord and domestic bliss.
The h's mum shows up for a visit and she is really impressed and happy for the h. The African cattle get delivered and in a dramatic moment, one of the bulls breaks loose and is going after the h. The H throws himself in front of the bull to protect the h and his face is badly cut on the horns and the H is horribly gored. The h is panicked and tells the H to hold on until they get to the hospital because she is preggers and he will want to meet his son. There is a mad dash on the H's Lear jet to get to the hospital, but the H is saved and won't be paralyzed and the h's mum is very supportive and she and the h reconcile.
The H's mother shows up and causes a big scene and the h has to do a really harsh smackdown about narcissistic cows and then tells the H's mother to get out. The h's mum backs her up and the H's stepfather tells the woman to either be helpful or be gone. The mother stops being a drama queen and the h goes to sit with the H. He will be physically okay and able to get around and things, but his face is really badly torn up.
The h got a good plastic surgeon in, but she is determined not to let the H think she doesn't want him cause he isn't attractive anymore. (Which kinda wasn't a problem in my POV. ED describes the H as arresting in looks but not handsome, so now I figured he will have enough H'yness to just be more arresting and the h thinks so too.)
The H wakes up from surgery and the h is right there holding his hand and talking to him and telling him about his impending fatherhood. The H is worried she is going to turn away from him in revulsion and the h explains about her childhood and her disfigurement and practically stands on her head avowing she will never reject him.
The only H pov we get in the book is where the H realizes that this h really loves him, doesn't care about his looks or his money and will always want him. The h declares her love in words of one syllable and the H is overjoyed, cause he really loves her back. The epilogue is the H is fully recovered, the H's mother has stopped being a wet rag and the h's mum and stepfather are coming to see the baby when it is born. The H finally tells the h he loves her, even tho he knows she doesn't need to hear it and a big romantic HEA with the h having a permanent hook into the H's heart and the feeling that all the barriers between them are gone, as they ride off into the Outback sunset in true love forevermore.
This was an excellent dramafest of a book. I liked the twist on the h being the blackmailer and this is probably the only HP where rule #1 is completely turned upside. Cause the whole thing was the H's fault really. If he hadn't been so domineeringly Alpha H'y, the h would have found out about her dad and done a little sight-seeing tour and then gone on. But he really isn't complaining about it, cause meeting the h was the best thing that ever happened to him and that makes this book required reading for HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2017
This one was as good as everyone has said. I really enjoyed it. Boogenhagen and Willaful have written comprehensive reviews, so I'll just squee a little.
Loved the heroine - she was bold and brave when she needed to be, but never forgot her soft side or her compassion. She had a zest for life that wasn't reckless or destructive. She's someone you would want to have around in a small outback community.
The hero was all alpha, but never unkind, no matter how hard he tried to be the tough guy. They were yin and yang in the bedroom and always made each other happy. Loved his life-saving gesture at the end - he needed to prove himself to the reader. (Heroine was sold - but I needed showing and not telling).
Love that the hero's mother got told off.
Love that the heroine's mother came around and it started when the heroine got married within 24 hours of meeting the hero. The line about how her mother's nagging and disapproval masked a real fear for her daughter's happiness rang true. A friend of mine just found peace with her mother (after 46 years) when she realized the root of the criticisms her mother leveled at her.
I enjoyed the backstory and how these characters were all intertwined a generation before. ED did a magnificent job weaving in that info without interrupting the forward motion of the plot.
Love how the hero was the one who had the (literal) champagne tastes.
Love how the hero thought the heroine wanted a half million dollars to decorate when she was really buying drought-resistant cattle.
Not a word was wasted in this one - a top tier HP.
Loved the heroine - she was bold and brave when she needed to be, but never forgot her soft side or her compassion. She had a zest for life that wasn't reckless or destructive. She's someone you would want to have around in a small outback community.
The hero was all alpha, but never unkind, no matter how hard he tried to be the tough guy. They were yin and yang in the bedroom and always made each other happy. Loved his life-saving gesture at the end - he needed to prove himself to the reader. (Heroine was sold - but I needed showing and not telling).
Love that the hero's mother got told off.
Love that the heroine's mother came around and it started when the heroine got married within 24 hours of meeting the hero. The line about how her mother's nagging and disapproval masked a real fear for her daughter's happiness rang true. A friend of mine just found peace with her mother (after 46 years) when she realized the root of the criticisms her mother leveled at her.
I enjoyed the backstory and how these characters were all intertwined a generation before. ED did a magnificent job weaving in that info without interrupting the forward motion of the plot.
Love how the hero was the one who had the (literal) champagne tastes.
Love how the hero thought the heroine wanted a half million dollars to decorate when she was really buying drought-resistant cattle.
Not a word was wasted in this one - a top tier HP.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2020
"Bride of Diamonds" is the story of Laura and Jared.
When our heroine travels to Australia to find the legacy her estranged father left behind, she does not expect it to be really expensive artwork. The hero then tries to buy a painting she's not ready to sell on her late father's behest, they end up challenging each other- something that surprisingly leads to heated kisses, an unexpected proposal and a shocking acceptance. As the heroine realizes the true motive might have been revenge- instead of crying or breaking down, she decides to stay on, face the challenges, fight for her marriage and make the hero fall for her.
Cynical hero, strong heroine, loads of family drama, a kickass takedown and a HEA.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
3/5
When our heroine travels to Australia to find the legacy her estranged father left behind, she does not expect it to be really expensive artwork. The hero then tries to buy a painting she's not ready to sell on her late father's behest, they end up challenging each other- something that surprisingly leads to heated kisses, an unexpected proposal and a shocking acceptance. As the heroine realizes the true motive might have been revenge- instead of crying or breaking down, she decides to stay on, face the challenges, fight for her marriage and make the hero fall for her.
Cynical hero, strong heroine, loads of family drama, a kickass takedown and a HEA.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
3/5
October 25, 2015
I've read a number of old romances with obsessed heroes who force the heroines into marriage, but I think this is the first time I've run into a heroine who does it! Which is an especially interesting turnaround because we actually get the obsessed person's POV.
Laura is trying to found out more information about a mysterious painting created by the father she never met, when she finds herself inadvertently blackmailing diamond billionaire Jared. (Now there's a tycoon type that's gone out of style! He's also a cattle baron. Just for fun!) When she realizes that he believes he has to marry her, she decides to go with it and work out the kinks later. Heh. Of course Jared thinks it's all some greedy scheme, and her continued attention to him throws him for a loop.
I'm not usually a fan of "battle of the sexes" stories unless they're witty, but this one is so wacky, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Jared thinks he's in a classic romance and keeps trying to do the punishing kisses/sexual domination thing, never getting that Laura loves it and is deliberately goading him. And she's really tough -- instead of being hurt by his misjudging her, she just persists, sure she'll break him down eventually. She even decides to learn to fly a helicopter, in her efforts to become an equal partner in his life.
There's some melodrama at the end, redeemed by Jared's total drama queen of a mom finally getting told off. A fun, genre-bending read.
Laura is trying to found out more information about a mysterious painting created by the father she never met, when she finds herself inadvertently blackmailing diamond billionaire Jared. (Now there's a tycoon type that's gone out of style! He's also a cattle baron. Just for fun!) When she realizes that he believes he has to marry her, she decides to go with it and work out the kinks later. Heh. Of course Jared thinks it's all some greedy scheme, and her continued attention to him throws him for a loop.
I'm not usually a fan of "battle of the sexes" stories unless they're witty, but this one is so wacky, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Jared thinks he's in a classic romance and keeps trying to do the punishing kisses/sexual domination thing, never getting that Laura loves it and is deliberately goading him. And she's really tough -- instead of being hurt by his misjudging her, she just persists, sure she'll break him down eventually. She even decides to learn to fly a helicopter, in her efforts to become an equal partner in his life.
There's some melodrama at the end, redeemed by Jared's total drama queen of a mom finally getting told off. A fun, genre-bending read.
December 14, 2021
Steel-cored h!
December 31, 2012
Rating 3.25 stars
I had a WTH expression on my face while reading this book but have to give credit it was different. I didn't understand why the heroine agreed to marry the hero, when she didn't know him at all but nooooooo she knew she wanted him, which was creepy. Even when he wanted to let her off the hook she didn't and then she insinuated herself into his life after marriage which was creepy again but whatever, the heroine had spine though she was stalkerish towards the hero IMO.
I had a WTH expression on my face while reading this book but have to give credit it was different. I didn't understand why the heroine agreed to marry the hero, when she didn't know him at all but nooooooo she knew she wanted him, which was creepy. Even when he wanted to let her off the hook she didn't and then she insinuated herself into his life after marriage which was creepy again but whatever, the heroine had spine though she was stalkerish towards the hero IMO.
October 17, 2015
One thing about the heroine, she definitely knew what she wanted and went after it at all costs. To the point where I was actually creeped out by her actions.
Heroine meets Hero and decides to marry him within 24 hours knowing nothing about him, except that their intense chemistry should result in great sex. Which did actually prove to be the case. Though, the love scenes were pretty intense, they unfortunately also felt a bit sleazy. (IMHO)
This was definitely a very different HP. If you like a strong heroine and a "take no prisoners" attitude, look no further you have found the book. Enjoy!
Heroine meets Hero and decides to marry him within 24 hours knowing nothing about him, except that their intense chemistry should result in great sex. Which did actually prove to be the case. Though, the love scenes were pretty intense, they unfortunately also felt a bit sleazy. (IMHO)
This was definitely a very different HP. If you like a strong heroine and a "take no prisoners" attitude, look no further you have found the book. Enjoy!
Read
December 15, 2021DNF at 58%, but I did then read boogenhagen’s review to learn of the ending. Complete and utter dramafest. I loved the h’s calcium levels, but the blackmailing had put me off.
November 17, 2020
This was a contest of power
Man against woman--woman against man. The most primitive duel of all.
When Laura left her glittering life in Boston to learn more about her father's past in Australia, she didn't realize she'd be confronting her own destiny in the arrogant, yet attractive, form of Jared Eastern.
The sizzling awareness that flowed between them could not be denied, yet Jared was highly suspicious of Laura's motives. "Right at this moment," he declared, "I'm not sure whether to hate you ... or kiss you senseless!
Man against woman--woman against man. The most primitive duel of all.
When Laura left her glittering life in Boston to learn more about her father's past in Australia, she didn't realize she'd be confronting her own destiny in the arrogant, yet attractive, form of Jared Eastern.
The sizzling awareness that flowed between them could not be denied, yet Jared was highly suspicious of Laura's motives. "Right at this moment," he declared, "I'm not sure whether to hate you ... or kiss you senseless!
July 16, 2019
Bride of Diamonds by Emma Darcy
الماس لو بكى لأيما دارسي
الماس لو بكى لأيما دارسي
November 24, 2018
Debo de admitir que al principio no me gustó, no entendía que estaba sucediendo y sigo sin comprender el porqué se casaron tho.
Laura y Jared al principio tenían una rivalidad por mal entendidos y me alegro muchísimo que Laura le pusiera fin. Desde un principio sabía que su cariño hacia Jared iba más allá y me alegro que se propusiera una meta para llegar a él.
Los últimos capítulos fueron mis favoritos, ya se podía ver lo que eran capaces de hacer el uno por el otro y también se pudo notar la paciencia y el amor que se tenían. Me encantó.
Pude comprender ya un poco sobre la vida del padre de Laura y comprendí entonces el porqué del escepticismo de Jared, al principio de verdad que no entendía nada, estaba igual que Laura con sus dudas y el signo de interrogación pegado en la frente.
Amé muchísimo el como Laura le comentó por lo que tuvo que pasar en su infancia y adolescencia y amé el como hizo que él confiara en ella y en que no solo lo veía como un cuerpo y rostro bonito.
Me hubiera gustado leer un epílogo pero supongo que no todo se puede obtener en esta vida🤷🏽♀️.
“—Sin importar cómo estés, eres mi mujer, Laura. La esposa de mi mente, mi corazón y mi alma. Y nadie tomará tu lugar porque es profundamente tu lugar. Nunca me desprendería de ti, aún si quisiera, y no quiero.”
Laura y Jared al principio tenían una rivalidad por mal entendidos y me alegro muchísimo que Laura le pusiera fin. Desde un principio sabía que su cariño hacia Jared iba más allá y me alegro que se propusiera una meta para llegar a él.
Los últimos capítulos fueron mis favoritos, ya se podía ver lo que eran capaces de hacer el uno por el otro y también se pudo notar la paciencia y el amor que se tenían. Me encantó.
Pude comprender ya un poco sobre la vida del padre de Laura y comprendí entonces el porqué del escepticismo de Jared, al principio de verdad que no entendía nada, estaba igual que Laura con sus dudas y el signo de interrogación pegado en la frente.
Amé muchísimo el como Laura le comentó por lo que tuvo que pasar en su infancia y adolescencia y amé el como hizo que él confiara en ella y en que no solo lo veía como un cuerpo y rostro bonito.
Me hubiera gustado leer un epílogo pero supongo que no todo se puede obtener en esta vida🤷🏽♀️.
“—Sin importar cómo estés, eres mi mujer, Laura. La esposa de mi mente, mi corazón y mi alma. Y nadie tomará tu lugar porque es profundamente tu lugar. Nunca me desprendería de ti, aún si quisiera, y no quiero.”
July 24, 2022
OOOOOF this was a good one. Kept me glued till the end, and I was too scared to skip ahead cause the book reveals the story in layers, and nearly all of it was unpredicted. This was more of a sidney sheldon-HP hybrid - the H and h have INSANE chemistry, both of them are super intelligent and keeping poker faces as protection, plus both of them have secrets and traumas that made them who they are. I loved the h's repartees, they were sizzling and the H admits time and again that she's won the round. The scene where they end up agreeing to a marriage was almost comical, and it's interesting that we don't see the H find out how it was all due to a misunderstanding lol. The penultimate scene was absolutely SHOCKING and I held my breath . I liked that the author had told us about the h's trauma from her acne scars. HEA with a baby on the way, although I will never truly get how the h had such a unique, revolutionary idea for breeding cattle, on day 1 of her arrival on the station. The love scenes were plenty but not detailed (the H literally flew back twice in a helicopter from his planned muster cz he couldn't get enough of her XD XD), and the h had a previous partner years ago so non-virgin. Recommend this!
March 24, 2021
This book was certainly unique because of the heroine. Her mind and will were like steel traps. She is smart and strategic (oddly so for an HP heroine) and a little crazy too. Laura leaves her cushy high class life in Boston to go to Australia. Her father, who she never knew, passed away and left a painting to her. She plans to use the painting to draw out the mystery of who her father was and what he spent his life doing. She's searching for a connection to him because she always felt out of place in Boston with her mother and stepfather. She meets Jared at the gallery and after 24 hours of repartee full of innuendos and evasions, these two find themselves agreeing to marriage as a form of recompense. Laura doesn't quite understand why Jared feels he has to marry her but she wants to marry him and jump his bones so she enters the marriage for non-mercenary reasons. The mystery remained quite mysterious until about 75% of the book. I was certainly just as much in the dark as Laura. I appreciated how this couple came through for each other at the end.
July 13, 2024
Written in 1990 a love story about a young woman who has just inherited a painting from her natural father. She was raised by her mother and stepfather in Boston, never feeling quite enough, ugly, and unhappy due to a terrible acne problem.
She has become a travel advisor and was always drawn to the Australian countryside. The painting is being exhibited in a gallery in hopes of finding out more information about her father.
A wealthy, handsome man catches her eye and they feel a mutual physical attraction. He offers $5 million dollars for the painting in a secret negotiation. She doesn’t want to sell for any amount.
The art dealer sets up a meeting & mutual surprise when they actually meet in person is shared. He wants the painting removed. She wants information.
The back and forth games make for an interesting proposal. Emotions are passionate with a surprise ending.
She has become a travel advisor and was always drawn to the Australian countryside. The painting is being exhibited in a gallery in hopes of finding out more information about her father.
A wealthy, handsome man catches her eye and they feel a mutual physical attraction. He offers $5 million dollars for the painting in a secret negotiation. She doesn’t want to sell for any amount.
The art dealer sets up a meeting & mutual surprise when they actually meet in person is shared. He wants the painting removed. She wants information.
The back and forth games make for an interesting proposal. Emotions are passionate with a surprise ending.
January 1, 2019
Truly the best book written by Emma Darcy. If you are looking for a love story, this would truly be one as it explores the depth of passion, conviction two humans can have for each other. The story begins with the cliched meeting of eyes across a crowded room, an instinctive awareness and the goes into a marriage that begins like a partnership. From partners and lovers they become attuned to the potential of what they could be together. No angsts, no long drawn out battles back and forth though it could easily have become one due to the fact that in a misunderstanding the H's dad is killed either by h's dad or H's mom whom h's dad also loved? The name of love shouldn't seek to diminish either the person or the loved and this is an example of how they balance out each other and strengthen each other.
October 30, 2025
القصة عن هولي فتاة أمريكية تعيش مع الدتها وزوج والدتها حين يتوفئ والدها حقيقي في أستراليا تعرف ان ابيها قد توفي في أستراليا وحيد منعزل عن عالم هجر الناس وطبع رسومات تحت اسم مستعار وترك خلفه رسومات عديدة ولكن اوصئ ان احدئ هذة لوحات لا تباع لوحة بها وجه مراة غريبة لم تعرفها هولي تقرر ان تذهب الئ أستراليا
و تذهب الئ أستراليا وتعرض لوحة علئ امل ان ياتي من يفهم هذه الرسمة او يعرف هذة المراة في اللوحة حتئ يضهر فيلكس شاب مليئ با اسرار ومستعد لدفع أي مبلغ حتى ياخذ لوحة
كل منهما يحمل اسرار فليكس يريد اللوحة بأي ثمن وهولي تريد ان تعرف قصة اللوحة
ما سر اللوحة
وما علاقة فيلكس با الرسمة
وماهو سر هولي
من هيه المرأة في اللوحة
أستمتعوا با القراءة ❤️قصة جميلة و تستحق القراءة
و تذهب الئ أستراليا وتعرض لوحة علئ امل ان ياتي من يفهم هذه الرسمة او يعرف هذة المراة في اللوحة حتئ يضهر فيلكس شاب مليئ با اسرار ومستعد لدفع أي مبلغ حتى ياخذ لوحة
كل منهما يحمل اسرار فليكس يريد اللوحة بأي ثمن وهولي تريد ان تعرف قصة اللوحة
ما سر اللوحة
وما علاقة فيلكس با الرسمة
وماهو سر هولي
من هيه المرأة في اللوحة
أستمتعوا با القراءة ❤️قصة جميلة و تستحق القراءة
September 6, 2019
This was pretty good. I won’t bother summarizing since many others have done a fabulous job of this already.
I liked the heroine, she had a spine of steel, no doormat here. She figured out the Hero, got under his skin and twisted him around her little finger all without him realizing it and protesting all the way.
👍🏻😁
I liked the heroine, she had a spine of steel, no doormat here. She figured out the Hero, got under his skin and twisted him around her little finger all without him realizing it and protesting all the way.
👍🏻😁
April 25, 2020
Laden with 80s evening soap opera-level dialogue and intensity. There are other reviews that will provide excellent detail, so I'll leave it with a recommendation that you be prepared for the OTT-ness.
January 18, 2018
Not too sure about this story. The ending was good but there were a few things that were left up in the air.
May 20, 2022
Wow - amazing h with nerves of steel and strong H too. Loved the book!
January 7, 2024
The emotion between the h and her mother at the end was well done.
September 26, 2019
This is a great Harlequin Presents. Might be the options of the genre for me.
February 19, 2022
nancy drew but make it an 80s romance book set in the Australian outback.
Criticism: the epilogue has the couple climbing Uluru on their honeymoon, which is just a big NO. Ik that uluru only recently became closed to tourists/hikers but it has always been a sacred spot for indigenous peoples so it’s just a big fat NO from me. Go dive in the coral reef instead.
Criticism: the epilogue has the couple climbing Uluru on their honeymoon, which is just a big NO. Ik that uluru only recently became closed to tourists/hikers but it has always been a sacred spot for indigenous peoples so it’s just a big fat NO from me. Go dive in the coral reef instead.
October 8, 2020
Everything before the couple gets married makes zero to no sense what so ever. Everything after that feels FINALLY like a normal story. The plot is very convoluted and not much was explained. What the painting of the hero's mom? Why did they get married, wasn't very fun back and forth. Glad the heroine really dug in and started doing some good which shocked the hero...for no reason, he didn't know her in the first place. Glad heroine's mom got to chill a bit and understand her kid more. Why the diamond mine? Didn't add much. I say skip. Pretty forgettable.
September 30, 2015
من افضل روايات احلام التي لا تمل قراءتها
احببت شخصية هولي كثيرا وتحديها لفينكس وعدم خوفها منه....
احببت شخصية هولي كثيرا وتحديها لفينكس وعدم خوفها منه....
May 18, 2016
Re-read May 2016
الماس لو بكى إيما دارسي
الماس لو بكى إيما دارسي
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