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A Question of Pride
She was much more than his secretary
Theirs seemed the perfect boss-secretary relationship. He was all hard-nosed business; she was efficient and anticipated his every need.
But the roles Max and Clea played so well in the office underwent a radical change after hours. Then they were passionate lovers--a situation Clea found both fulfilling and agonizing.
For while Max was capable of turning his passion on and off at will, Clea, with her youth and idealism, had fallen inescapably in love. She either had to hide her feelings--or get out.
Suddenly, unexpected circumstances gave her no choice.
Theirs seemed the perfect boss-secretary relationship. He was all hard-nosed business; she was efficient and anticipated his every need.
But the roles Max and Clea played so well in the office underwent a radical change after hours. Then they were passionate lovers--a situation Clea found both fulfilling and agonizing.
For while Max was capable of turning his passion on and off at will, Clea, with her youth and idealism, had fallen inescapably in love. She either had to hide her feelings--or get out.
Suddenly, unexpected circumstances gave her no choice.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
13 people are currently reading
512 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Reid
389 books639 followersHi, my name is Michelle Reid and I’ve been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
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November 23, 2016
Re A Question of Pride - January of 1989 was a big moment in the continuing development of HPlandia. In the Real World, traditional conservative governments around the world were swinging towards a more liberal outlook, Communism was in decline and would culminate in the fall of the Berlin Wall in eleven short months. Madonna was getting ready to outrage Catholic mums everywhere with her Like a Prayer video, Tim Berners-Lee would soon be submitting the proposal that leads to the rise of the World Wide Web and lovely cat videos, and the world was gearing up towards a new decade that would culminate in the start of a new millennium. HPlandia was not immune from the repercussions of the real world either.
January 1989 brings the debut of one of HPlandia's best known and most loved authors - Michelle Reid whose HP freshman offering was the equivalent of unleashing a tidal wave upon the familiar shores of the HP universe. Between MR's debut and Lynne Graham's debut five months later in May, HPLandia would never be the same again and we are still feeling the ripples even 27 years later.
The ratings for a Question of Pride are all over the place, which seems to be about right for such and epic and trope twisting novel. For the first time in HPlandia an h actually acts in her own agency. The 20 yr old h has an affair with her boss, KNOWING it probably won't lead to marriage. When she gets preggers from forgetting the bc pill one time too often, she TURNS DOWN the H's grudging marriage proposal for the sake of the baby. The h doesn't want to be married cause she is preggers, she has a home and is self supporting and employable, she would rather do this on her own. FINALLY an HP h says what many readers have longed to say to the typical Lothario lurvely lady sampler HP H for YEARS in this line of stories - This h tells her H that he is simply not husband material and she will be fine on her own, thank you. Of course in HPlandia, just as in real life, such an action is not without it's consequences.
However I will point out that for 1989, the h's actions in this book are nothing short of amazing and heroic. 27 years ago the world was a vastly different place. Outside of Hollywood, unwed pregnancy - even in self supporting women - was considered to be a societal ill and a symbol of social moral decay. If you got yourself preggers and the father offered to marry you, you gratefully accepted and submitted with a smile, no matter how unsuited the two people actually were.
Some people who read this book also take issue with the fact that the h blames herself for the birth control failure and is adamant that the H not be held responsible. They are outraged that two people contributed to the making of the baby but only the h holds herself to blame and the H initially also thinks the h set him up - he is so outraged he almost hits the h. Fortunately MR has the h faint in classic HP h tradition before his hand can fall, but the threat of serious violence was there and it does not endear this H to most readers.
(In MR's and the H's defense, the advent of the oral contraceptive and it's subsequent wide spread use did lead many to the assumption that women engaging in the joys of the lurve club should also be solely responsible for the slip ups that may occur. This idea actually came from a cross section of ideological and societal view points - it wasn't just liberals or conservatives engaging in this thought, it was a multitude of people in a variety of positions all thinking the same thing - if a woman plays, she needs to pay as she chose to engage in such behavior. It really is only relatively recently that the idea of both partners being equally responsible has come into common social mores and accepted general thinking. )
The h in this story does start out the virginal HP innocent whose exotic good looks quickly captivate the 34 yr old womanizing H. As the story opens, the h realizes that her love affair has an expiration date, the H really only sees her as an efficient secretary by day and his object of desire by night. The h sadly realizes that if her suspicions prove correct, her life will be greatly changed and her heart is going to suffer. The h is a bit naive really, but she does have the pragmatism to realize that the man she is in love with doesn't love her.
She knows that the H doesn't even really see her as a unique person, she is either an office machine or a lust pacifier and tho she may have blindly fallen for a good lookin', smooth seducer, she doesn't have to remain so. She has her own self owned, paid for flat and more importantly, she is economically independent. She doesn't have to depend on anyone else for financial security and even less so when her mum presents her with an endowment that matures on the h's 21st first birthday, it is a gift from her now sadly deceased father and her mother has since remarried.
After the h confirms her preggerness, she also finds out that the H is seeing another woman. When the woman calls the H's office to cancel on a dinner engagement, the h fobs the woman off by telling her to call the H's home and leave a message. The h then realizes that when she used the excuse of being indisposed to avoid the H in a lustful mood after what he claims was an interrupted business dinner, he was really trying out the OW and she did not deliver the goods, so the H thought he would give the h a go.
The H also took the OW to a theatrical show the h had picked out to go see because the h's body wasn't available to use at his convenience, so the h knows that the time has come to move on to a new job and end the relationship. She gets released from her contract and gets a new job with the help of the H's personnel manager. The man tries to convince the h to explain her situation to the H, but the h lets him know that the H has moved on, so she needs to leave with some dignity and avoid gossip.
The h bitterly resents being put in this position by the H, so when he eventually does come around and after the threatened violence and fainting episode, the h bluntly throws his two timing slime slurping ways into his face and insists that she and her baby can do better than an unfaithful and uncommitted cheater
. The H vehemently denies swinging the lurve club, but the h doesn't care - it is obvious he was looking for her replacement and she wants none of him. The H is finally starting to realize that this h is so far from wanting to trap him into marriage that she doesn't even want him in her life anymore - she makes no bones about what she thinks of him and she ends the relationship. But teh h does allow that he can be involved as a father, if he so desires, but she isn't holding her breath. The H leaves the h in a very gobsmacked and befuddled state and is starting to understand that everyone doesn't share his viewpoint of what a wonderful and upstanding guy he is. The h also starts a new rule in HPlandia that most unwed pregger h's will spend the majority of their preggerness alone.
(A lot of HP voyagers are highly offended by the H's involvement with another woman, but I actually felt that OW inclusion added to the h's uniqueness and was another fantastic twist in the Canon of HP Tropes. For YEARS the threat of HP H infidelity has been used as a hammer to force h's to kowtow in submission to an H. In this one the h basically grabs that hammer and swings right back. To this h, a man who can't be faithful IS NOT H material. This H is going to have to prove himself.)
Which he does, gradually, as the h rejects his overtures for several months, noting that the H is seen with at least four OW and verbally skewering him every chance she gets. When events culminate in the h collapsing after she has been admitted to the sacred space of the H's home for the first time and they have a night of passion, the H quite rightly points out that she broke things off with him and has no say in his private affairs anymore.
The h has a riposte tho, and asks the H how he would feel if she was out with other men. Since the H is madly jealous of her current boss and continually wants to force the h to quit working, the H has to concede the point.
This all becomes moot tho, when the h's blood pressure spikes due to heat, temper and general anxiety and she is put on bed rest - (the h doesn't escape inner guilt over getting herself into her situation, MR ably shows the h's inner conflict between her ingrained morals and the reality of her predicament. ) The h offers to live with the H in order to continue the liaison, as they can't seem to keep apart. The H leaps at the opportunity, especially as the h really does need some help. The h moves in with the H and the h is forced to reprimand the H's very judgmental housekeeper, who disparages the h because the H isn't marrying her.
Assertive h and defending life choices aside, this is a romance after all, so MR brings in the h's new stepfather as the catalyst to force the H and h to admit that they love each other. The stepfather accuses the h of being spiteful and mean by denying her child legitimacy to punish the H for not loving her and the H leaps to her defense with some really harsh words.
The h vows she is acting out of love for the H, as she cares too much to see him unhappy. This spurs the H to admit that he is only unhappy when he isn't with the h and he has loved her for a long time, his dates with OW were non phyisical events cause just like a fish fighting the hook, the H did not want to be landed so he was testing the waters but couldn't really make a connection. (I believed him when he denied sleeping with anyone since the h. MR actually does a really great job via small does of H pov to show his change of mind and his acceptance of his feelings for the h which builds H redemption over the course of the story.)
But now the h has overwhelmed his resistance and being shackled to her and adoring her is the only place he wants to be. The h and H marry after a scene that echos the book's beginning and the H's mum drops the news that the H had intended to propose several months before, prior to the baby bombshell. The HEA ending is the happy event of both the h and her mum having baby boys on the same day and their respective father's denying any resemblance to rakes for a lighthearted ending to a very intense and realistic book.
For a first time effort, this book is outstanding and probably one of the best debuts in HPlandia ever. For traditional HP trope bending, twisting and complete reinterpretation, this one is EPIC and required HP reading.
Whether you love this or you hate it, you will be engrossed from the beginning and you will never forget MR's debut , which is definitely one of the most original ever and maybe the very best harbinger of the golden age of HPlandia that is to come.
January 1989 brings the debut of one of HPlandia's best known and most loved authors - Michelle Reid whose HP freshman offering was the equivalent of unleashing a tidal wave upon the familiar shores of the HP universe. Between MR's debut and Lynne Graham's debut five months later in May, HPLandia would never be the same again and we are still feeling the ripples even 27 years later.
The ratings for a Question of Pride are all over the place, which seems to be about right for such and epic and trope twisting novel. For the first time in HPlandia an h actually acts in her own agency. The 20 yr old h has an affair with her boss, KNOWING it probably won't lead to marriage. When she gets preggers from forgetting the bc pill one time too often, she TURNS DOWN the H's grudging marriage proposal for the sake of the baby. The h doesn't want to be married cause she is preggers, she has a home and is self supporting and employable, she would rather do this on her own. FINALLY an HP h says what many readers have longed to say to the typical Lothario lurvely lady sampler HP H for YEARS in this line of stories - This h tells her H that he is simply not husband material and she will be fine on her own, thank you. Of course in HPlandia, just as in real life, such an action is not without it's consequences.
However I will point out that for 1989, the h's actions in this book are nothing short of amazing and heroic. 27 years ago the world was a vastly different place. Outside of Hollywood, unwed pregnancy - even in self supporting women - was considered to be a societal ill and a symbol of social moral decay. If you got yourself preggers and the father offered to marry you, you gratefully accepted and submitted with a smile, no matter how unsuited the two people actually were.
Some people who read this book also take issue with the fact that the h blames herself for the birth control failure and is adamant that the H not be held responsible. They are outraged that two people contributed to the making of the baby but only the h holds herself to blame and the H initially also thinks the h set him up - he is so outraged he almost hits the h. Fortunately MR has the h faint in classic HP h tradition before his hand can fall, but the threat of serious violence was there and it does not endear this H to most readers.
(In MR's and the H's defense, the advent of the oral contraceptive and it's subsequent wide spread use did lead many to the assumption that women engaging in the joys of the lurve club should also be solely responsible for the slip ups that may occur. This idea actually came from a cross section of ideological and societal view points - it wasn't just liberals or conservatives engaging in this thought, it was a multitude of people in a variety of positions all thinking the same thing - if a woman plays, she needs to pay as she chose to engage in such behavior. It really is only relatively recently that the idea of both partners being equally responsible has come into common social mores and accepted general thinking. )
The h in this story does start out the virginal HP innocent whose exotic good looks quickly captivate the 34 yr old womanizing H. As the story opens, the h realizes that her love affair has an expiration date, the H really only sees her as an efficient secretary by day and his object of desire by night. The h sadly realizes that if her suspicions prove correct, her life will be greatly changed and her heart is going to suffer. The h is a bit naive really, but she does have the pragmatism to realize that the man she is in love with doesn't love her.
She knows that the H doesn't even really see her as a unique person, she is either an office machine or a lust pacifier and tho she may have blindly fallen for a good lookin', smooth seducer, she doesn't have to remain so. She has her own self owned, paid for flat and more importantly, she is economically independent. She doesn't have to depend on anyone else for financial security and even less so when her mum presents her with an endowment that matures on the h's 21st first birthday, it is a gift from her now sadly deceased father and her mother has since remarried.
After the h confirms her preggerness, she also finds out that the H is seeing another woman. When the woman calls the H's office to cancel on a dinner engagement, the h fobs the woman off by telling her to call the H's home and leave a message. The h then realizes that when she used the excuse of being indisposed to avoid the H in a lustful mood after what he claims was an interrupted business dinner, he was really trying out the OW and she did not deliver the goods, so the H thought he would give the h a go.
The H also took the OW to a theatrical show the h had picked out to go see because the h's body wasn't available to use at his convenience, so the h knows that the time has come to move on to a new job and end the relationship. She gets released from her contract and gets a new job with the help of the H's personnel manager. The man tries to convince the h to explain her situation to the H, but the h lets him know that the H has moved on, so she needs to leave with some dignity and avoid gossip.
The h bitterly resents being put in this position by the H, so when he eventually does come around and after the threatened violence and fainting episode, the h bluntly throws his two timing slime slurping ways into his face and insists that she and her baby can do better than an unfaithful and uncommitted cheater
. The H vehemently denies swinging the lurve club, but the h doesn't care - it is obvious he was looking for her replacement and she wants none of him. The H is finally starting to realize that this h is so far from wanting to trap him into marriage that she doesn't even want him in her life anymore - she makes no bones about what she thinks of him and she ends the relationship. But teh h does allow that he can be involved as a father, if he so desires, but she isn't holding her breath. The H leaves the h in a very gobsmacked and befuddled state and is starting to understand that everyone doesn't share his viewpoint of what a wonderful and upstanding guy he is. The h also starts a new rule in HPlandia that most unwed pregger h's will spend the majority of their preggerness alone.
(A lot of HP voyagers are highly offended by the H's involvement with another woman, but I actually felt that OW inclusion added to the h's uniqueness and was another fantastic twist in the Canon of HP Tropes. For YEARS the threat of HP H infidelity has been used as a hammer to force h's to kowtow in submission to an H. In this one the h basically grabs that hammer and swings right back. To this h, a man who can't be faithful IS NOT H material. This H is going to have to prove himself.)
Which he does, gradually, as the h rejects his overtures for several months, noting that the H is seen with at least four OW and verbally skewering him every chance she gets. When events culminate in the h collapsing after she has been admitted to the sacred space of the H's home for the first time and they have a night of passion, the H quite rightly points out that she broke things off with him and has no say in his private affairs anymore.
The h has a riposte tho, and asks the H how he would feel if she was out with other men. Since the H is madly jealous of her current boss and continually wants to force the h to quit working, the H has to concede the point.
This all becomes moot tho, when the h's blood pressure spikes due to heat, temper and general anxiety and she is put on bed rest - (the h doesn't escape inner guilt over getting herself into her situation, MR ably shows the h's inner conflict between her ingrained morals and the reality of her predicament. ) The h offers to live with the H in order to continue the liaison, as they can't seem to keep apart. The H leaps at the opportunity, especially as the h really does need some help. The h moves in with the H and the h is forced to reprimand the H's very judgmental housekeeper, who disparages the h because the H isn't marrying her.
Assertive h and defending life choices aside, this is a romance after all, so MR brings in the h's new stepfather as the catalyst to force the H and h to admit that they love each other. The stepfather accuses the h of being spiteful and mean by denying her child legitimacy to punish the H for not loving her and the H leaps to her defense with some really harsh words.
The h vows she is acting out of love for the H, as she cares too much to see him unhappy. This spurs the H to admit that he is only unhappy when he isn't with the h and he has loved her for a long time, his dates with OW were non phyisical events cause just like a fish fighting the hook, the H did not want to be landed so he was testing the waters but couldn't really make a connection. (I believed him when he denied sleeping with anyone since the h. MR actually does a really great job via small does of H pov to show his change of mind and his acceptance of his feelings for the h which builds H redemption over the course of the story.)
But now the h has overwhelmed his resistance and being shackled to her and adoring her is the only place he wants to be. The h and H marry after a scene that echos the book's beginning and the H's mum drops the news that the H had intended to propose several months before, prior to the baby bombshell. The HEA ending is the happy event of both the h and her mum having baby boys on the same day and their respective father's denying any resemblance to rakes for a lighthearted ending to a very intense and realistic book.
For a first time effort, this book is outstanding and probably one of the best debuts in HPlandia ever. For traditional HP trope bending, twisting and complete reinterpretation, this one is EPIC and required HP reading.
Whether you love this or you hate it, you will be engrossed from the beginning and you will never forget MR's debut , which is definitely one of the most original ever and maybe the very best harbinger of the golden age of HPlandia that is to come.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2013
1.5 stars
I had a lot of problems with this story on many different levels. I am going to basically tell the story. You can be your own judge.
I had a lot of problems with this story on many different levels. I am going to basically tell the story. You can be your own judge.
June 22, 2021
I really liked this better the second time around. I think because I knew what was going on with the suspected cheating that so devastated our heroine at the beginning of the book. (FYI, there was no cheating - not even emotional cheating - but the hero *was* trying to distance himself from the heroine by taking out another woman because he was in too deep.)
This is a really intense story of an unplanned pregnancy and the heroine fighting for the right to have a marriage based on love rather than giving the baby legitimacy. The hero has to fight to regain the heroine's trust and to prove himself husband material. The secondary characters are well-drawn. There are a lot of twists and turns and MR does a great job keeping up the angst until the last minute. Hard to believe this was Michelle Reid's debut story and that it was 29 years ago! (Those two boys born to mother and daughter are just the age to be heroes in their own stories - hard to believe.)
Possible triggers: questions of cheating, the hero raises his hand as if he's going to hit the heroine but he doesn't.
This is a really intense story of an unplanned pregnancy and the heroine fighting for the right to have a marriage based on love rather than giving the baby legitimacy. The hero has to fight to regain the heroine's trust and to prove himself husband material. The secondary characters are well-drawn. There are a lot of twists and turns and MR does a great job keeping up the angst until the last minute. Hard to believe this was Michelle Reid's debut story and that it was 29 years ago! (Those two boys born to mother and daughter are just the age to be heroes in their own stories - hard to believe.)
Possible triggers: questions of cheating, the hero raises his hand as if he's going to hit the heroine but he doesn't.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2019
Okay I read this again for the second time and I was wrong about a few things. I thought he cheated but he swears he didn't intimately touch those other women. I want to believe him. She did. But he did search for a new mistress and he dated while she was pregnant and for that I have to hate him. When he almost hit her when she told him about the Baby, I cried for her. It was awful. But I did raise my review somewhat.
The heroine and hero work together and sleep together and they have for five months. But she senses him withdrawing and unfortunately she thinks she is pregnant. He takes another woman out to Dinner and then shows up at the h's house for sex. Then he tells her to stay home and rest for the weekend and he takes the OW out to the play they were supposed to go too. And he makes another date with her for Dinner on that Monday. The woman called up and said he was so forceful and he told her to never call him at work, blah blah blah, but she had to cancel their dinner date that night. When the heroine realized what he had done and was doing, it was heartbreaking. However, what I loved about the h is she had a spine and she was not going to put up with it. She went in gave notice to the other partner, and went away. He of course is upset and screaming at her and she is like I know about Dianne Stone, the model. He says she meant nothing and that is why I thought he cheated. But later in the story he says, I never bloody touched her, and then even later, he says there's been one else for him. He just couldn't even get interested. I must have missed that the first time. But he did go out with at least four other women while they were apart. You could tell he loved her but I just didn't like him. I would never trust him
The epilogue was cute and of course I love Michelle Reid stories but they do make me cry. He became a doting Father and Husband and they ride off into the HarleyLand Sunset. The End. I upped my review to three stars but I couldn't give it more due to the scene where he almost hit her and the other woman he was dating at the same time. To me that is cheating honestly but I did remove the tag because there was no intimacy. but he's still an ASS! And he made me cry.
The heroine and hero work together and sleep together and they have for five months. But she senses him withdrawing and unfortunately she thinks she is pregnant. He takes another woman out to Dinner and then shows up at the h's house for sex. Then he tells her to stay home and rest for the weekend and he takes the OW out to the play they were supposed to go too. And he makes another date with her for Dinner on that Monday. The woman called up and said he was so forceful and he told her to never call him at work, blah blah blah, but she had to cancel their dinner date that night. When the heroine realized what he had done and was doing, it was heartbreaking. However, what I loved about the h is she had a spine and she was not going to put up with it. She went in gave notice to the other partner, and went away. He of course is upset and screaming at her and she is like I know about Dianne Stone, the model. He says she meant nothing and that is why I thought he cheated. But later in the story he says, I never bloody touched her, and then even later, he says there's been one else for him. He just couldn't even get interested. I must have missed that the first time. But he did go out with at least four other women while they were apart. You could tell he loved her but I just didn't like him. I would never trust him
The epilogue was cute and of course I love Michelle Reid stories but they do make me cry. He became a doting Father and Husband and they ride off into the HarleyLand Sunset. The End. I upped my review to three stars but I couldn't give it more due to the scene where he almost hit her and the other woman he was dating at the same time. To me that is cheating honestly but I did remove the tag because there was no intimacy. but he's still an ASS! And he made me cry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2011
The more I think about this book, the more I hate it.
Clea is having a non-emotional affair with her boss. She's his secretary and she's also in love with him. She finds out she's pregnant and decides to leave him so she doesn't tie him down. She loves him too much for that. She gets pissed at him when he does a booty call on her and tells him it's that time of the month. He cancels their date for the next night. Later that week his new girlfriend calls the office to cancel the date he'd arrange for later that night, and confesses that he'd taken her to the show, using the tickets that the heroine had bought. New girlfriend is going to be out of the country for a while so can't make the next date, but didn't know how to contact hero and he'd warned her to never call him at the office, especially since his current girlfriend was his secretary. The heroine is upset that he was already replacing her without even giving her walking papers first, but still manages to have sex with him later that night because she just loves him so much.
Hero finds out she's pregnant and flies into a rage, almost hitting her. Heroine passes out before he can land the blow. When she comes around she refuses to marry him because she's just not going to tie him down.
Hero agrees to her terms and promptly goes out on dates with other women. Heroine goes through her pregnancy.
Eventually hero confesses that he never had sex with the girl he'd been seeing while he was still with her because he just couldn't.
Though from the phone conversation with other woman and knowledge that the heroine had of the hero's methods of getting sex out of a woman, it's more likely that he couldn't because the other woman just wouldn't put out that quick. Also, if he'd already found he couldn't have sex with the other woman, why did he keep arranging dates with her? Why was the other woman the one that broke the date? Why did he take the tickets the heroine bought and take another woman out using them? Why did he arrange that date on the last night he was going to be in town for a week?
Nothing adds up to the hero being believable or likeable but then again.. The heroine loved the hero so much she would do anything to make sure he had everything he wanted. The woman slept with him after finding out he was cheating on her. Everything she did she did for him. Yuck. A question of pride is right. Where is the pride of any of the characters?
Clea is having a non-emotional affair with her boss. She's his secretary and she's also in love with him. She finds out she's pregnant and decides to leave him so she doesn't tie him down. She loves him too much for that. She gets pissed at him when he does a booty call on her and tells him it's that time of the month. He cancels their date for the next night. Later that week his new girlfriend calls the office to cancel the date he'd arrange for later that night, and confesses that he'd taken her to the show, using the tickets that the heroine had bought. New girlfriend is going to be out of the country for a while so can't make the next date, but didn't know how to contact hero and he'd warned her to never call him at the office, especially since his current girlfriend was his secretary. The heroine is upset that he was already replacing her without even giving her walking papers first, but still manages to have sex with him later that night because she just loves him so much.
Hero finds out she's pregnant and flies into a rage, almost hitting her. Heroine passes out before he can land the blow. When she comes around she refuses to marry him because she's just not going to tie him down.
Hero agrees to her terms and promptly goes out on dates with other women. Heroine goes through her pregnancy.
Eventually hero confesses that he never had sex with the girl he'd been seeing while he was still with her because he just couldn't.
Though from the phone conversation with other woman and knowledge that the heroine had of the hero's methods of getting sex out of a woman, it's more likely that he couldn't because the other woman just wouldn't put out that quick. Also, if he'd already found he couldn't have sex with the other woman, why did he keep arranging dates with her? Why was the other woman the one that broke the date? Why did he take the tickets the heroine bought and take another woman out using them? Why did he arrange that date on the last night he was going to be in town for a week?
Nothing adds up to the hero being believable or likeable but then again.. The heroine loved the hero so much she would do anything to make sure he had everything he wanted. The woman slept with him after finding out he was cheating on her. Everything she did she did for him. Yuck. A question of pride is right. Where is the pride of any of the characters?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2026
I see a 34 year old man who uses his position at work to turn his 20 year old virgin secretary-by-day into his mistress-by-night. I see a man who casually takes out another woman when his mistress has to break the date because she’s feeling ill. I see a man who is so terrifyingly cold and emotionally abusive that his pregnant mistress would rather quit her job and cut ties with him than letting him know about the pregnancy. I see a monster who calls his pregnant mistress a bitch trying to trap him into marriage, shaking her like a rag doll, and raising his hand in the air to strike her, which she only escaped by fainting from sheer terror (As a mere reader to this scene, I was about to faint myself). I see a man who won’t stand up for his woman, not even to his damn housekeeper who feels entitled to treat his pregnant mistress like a diseased whore he’s fished out of the gutter. I see a man who is too cowardly to share his so-called feelings for his pregnant mistress and instead lets her believe he would marry her on sufferance only due to the baby. I see a man who is continuing to date other women even as he is supposedly trying to make amends to his horribly mistreated pregnant mistress, get her to trust him and accept his proposal [“I must have counted at least four different women you've found comfort in over the past months.'-'Are you back to character assassinating, Clea?' he drawled. 'Since you refused any kind of relationship with me—legal or otherwise—I don't see that you have the right to comment on my private life.”]
What I don’t see is conscience, integrity, loyalty, steadfastness, warmth, strength, or true remorse, basically the stuff of romantic heroes.
What I don’t see is conscience, integrity, loyalty, steadfastness, warmth, strength, or true remorse, basically the stuff of romantic heroes.
February 22, 2025
h was amazing and H was mostly redeemed himself.
March 24, 2014
Michelle Reid delivers again. I loved the heroine, Clea. She was strong, smart, and HAD PRIDE. The H, Max, was likeable too. He was an arrogant jerk, but never crossed that line into OTT unbelievable, as some of the HP heroes do. Don't get me wrong, I love some of those HPs. I find it highly entertaining to see how far some of the HP tycoons will go to get their way. Some of their plots are well worthy of my favorite soap villain, Stefano DiMera, and his 'master plans' from Days of Lives (although I haven't watched since the 90s).
Michelle's books tend to have more of a sense of realism and true emotion. I could completely relate to Clea and feel her hurt, confusion, and anger. She went into an affair with an older, more sophisticated man and he told her up front he didn't want a "relationship". He kept her neatly in a box labeled "mistress" at night and another neat, cool, professional box labeled "secretary" during the day. He was her first love, she was naive, and got in WAY over her head.
When she turned up pregnant (accidentally) she was determined to go it alone and refused his offer of marriage. She was fortunate enough to have an inheritance that would allow her to live comfortably if not extravagantly. She wasn't going to marry someone whom she desperately loved who she truly believed did not love her. And this was not a case of her being willfully blind. I wouldn't think he loved me either. I'd think he liked me and really wanted my body, but nothing more. He told her he was "fond" of her! He'd never even taken her to his apartment for heaven's sake. He cancelled their weekend together because he thought she had her period and couldn't perform her role as mistress. I'd be damn suspicious of anything he did to show his care of her after the fact. She may have gone a bit far in her venom and bitterness at times and may have been a bit stubborn toward the end, but she was human and she was hurt and angry at both of Max and herself. In her mind, she wasn't "good enough" for him when she was his mistress and she wasn't going to play along with a charade for this sake of his sense of guilt and/or honor.
Max, for his part, had taken Clea very much for granted and by the time he was starting to realize things weren't running as smoothly as he'd hoped, it was too late. He was a guy who had money, could have any woman he wanted, and he didn't want to change. He was a pig and a womanizer in many ways. In his mind, he was set - He had an unbelievable gorgeous younger woman who he'd initiated into sex and trained to please him. Plus, she played along with all his rules without complaint (of course, she was feeling a lot of growing resentment he didn't realize). Although there were clues before the pregnancy came out that pointed to the fact that things were changing whether he wanted them to or not. Clea got under his skin and he didn't like it and didn't know how to deal with it.
Anyway, I won't spoil anything. But, I highly recommend it as a great, angsty read with a believable and not rushed HEA.
Michelle's books tend to have more of a sense of realism and true emotion. I could completely relate to Clea and feel her hurt, confusion, and anger. She went into an affair with an older, more sophisticated man and he told her up front he didn't want a "relationship". He kept her neatly in a box labeled "mistress" at night and another neat, cool, professional box labeled "secretary" during the day. He was her first love, she was naive, and got in WAY over her head.
When she turned up pregnant (accidentally) she was determined to go it alone and refused his offer of marriage. She was fortunate enough to have an inheritance that would allow her to live comfortably if not extravagantly. She wasn't going to marry someone whom she desperately loved who she truly believed did not love her. And this was not a case of her being willfully blind. I wouldn't think he loved me either. I'd think he liked me and really wanted my body, but nothing more. He told her he was "fond" of her! He'd never even taken her to his apartment for heaven's sake. He cancelled their weekend together because he thought she had her period and couldn't perform her role as mistress. I'd be damn suspicious of anything he did to show his care of her after the fact. She may have gone a bit far in her venom and bitterness at times and may have been a bit stubborn toward the end, but she was human and she was hurt and angry at both of Max and herself. In her mind, she wasn't "good enough" for him when she was his mistress and she wasn't going to play along with a charade for this sake of his sense of guilt and/or honor.
Max, for his part, had taken Clea very much for granted and by the time he was starting to realize things weren't running as smoothly as he'd hoped, it was too late. He was a guy who had money, could have any woman he wanted, and he didn't want to change. He was a pig and a womanizer in many ways. In his mind, he was set - He had an unbelievable gorgeous younger woman who he'd initiated into sex and trained to please him. Plus, she played along with all his rules without complaint (of course, she was feeling a lot of growing resentment he didn't realize). Although there were clues before the pregnancy came out that pointed to the fact that things were changing whether he wanted them to or not. Clea got under his skin and he didn't like it and didn't know how to deal with it.
Anyway, I won't spoil anything. But, I highly recommend it as a great, angsty read with a believable and not rushed HEA.
March 12, 2023
**Major SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emotion, sexual tension, and secrets.
The book starts right away with h breaking up her secret affair with her boss H, who's both clueless and upset about it. The whole book felt dramatic and messy, as reflected by H and h's emotional mess. Definitely not a boring read.
#2. Both characters were not the most likable but weren’t totally horrible either.
h was understandably bitter and resentful over her unrequited love for H. Yet accepted responsibility for her choices (including messing up on her birth control pills) since H was clear about keeping their affair limited to after-work and a secret.
Interesting character progression for h to start out as a shy quiet virgin to becoming more passive-aggressive about being a secret mistress to her boss H. Then, to progress even more to her being frank and cutting to H about being his dirty little secret/his lack of interest in her aside from sex/and his emotional cheating on her by dating another woman the weekend h couldn’t make their date.
H was harder to get to know for most of the book, aside from his obvious clueless-ness when it came to h and romance in general. He was a player who was frank re: his sex-only interest in women he dated. So, his keeping h for 5 months and even him hiring her knowing he was very attracted to her made h different than other women. But this wasn’t obvious until his ending confession. As a result, H just appeared cold, controlling, and even potentially abusive when he got mad enough (I.e., he almost slapped/hit h after she told him about her accidental pregnancy but she was saved by fainting). Wished that H showed his vulnerable side much earlier than his confession @ the end.
#3. H's cheating on h was ambiguous.
His dating another woman before their breakup made H look worse, despite him saying he never touched her. Wished his reasons for dating OW was made apparent or hinted at way before the ending.
#4. Romance progression was iffy.
Their romance was iffy until H finally opened up @ the end. Liked that h didn’t pursue him and made him work for their relationship and confronted him on his lack of care for her/interest in getting to know her/cheating on her by taking out another woman for dinner/wanting to marry her only for their baby’s sake.
Sexual History:
20yo h was de-virginized by her boss H, when she agreed to have an affair with him a few weeks after he upgraded her to be his secretary. Their affair occurred in her apartment since H kept firm boundaries about their workplace and his apartment. In their 5-month affair, he never invited her to his apartment nor offered to drive her to work with him since both came from her apartment or date her publicly.
]34yo H was known as a workaholic womanizer who liked to keep things in order. He’s known to never mix business with pleasure. So, him hiring h as his secretary with the intention of having an affair with her was a 1st for him. As well as his maintaining an exclusive relationship with her for 5 months until his dinner date with another woman. He told h that he dated OW to keep himself back under control since he began realizing that h meant a lot to him than just a usual sexual affair. Very possible that during the 6-7 months after he’d been trying to get resistant h back that he went out with 4 other women per h’s casual mention of it to try to move on from h. But H said that he “(hasn't) touched any other woman with any intimacy since (h). (He didn't) even want them—which was a shock to (his) system”:
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emotion, sexual tension, and secrets.
The book starts right away with h breaking up her secret affair with her boss H, who's both clueless and upset about it. The whole book felt dramatic and messy, as reflected by H and h's emotional mess. Definitely not a boring read.
#2. Both characters were not the most likable but weren’t totally horrible either.
h was understandably bitter and resentful over her unrequited love for H. Yet accepted responsibility for her choices (including messing up on her birth control pills) since H was clear about keeping their affair limited to after-work and a secret.
Interesting character progression for h to start out as a shy quiet virgin to becoming more passive-aggressive about being a secret mistress to her boss H. Then, to progress even more to her being frank and cutting to H about being his dirty little secret/his lack of interest in her aside from sex/and his emotional cheating on her by dating another woman the weekend h couldn’t make their date.
H was harder to get to know for most of the book, aside from his obvious clueless-ness when it came to h and romance in general. He was a player who was frank re: his sex-only interest in women he dated. So, his keeping h for 5 months and even him hiring her knowing he was very attracted to her made h different than other women. But this wasn’t obvious until his ending confession. As a result, H just appeared cold, controlling, and even potentially abusive when he got mad enough (I.e., he almost slapped/hit h after she told him about her accidental pregnancy but she was saved by fainting). Wished that H showed his vulnerable side much earlier than his confession @ the end.
#3. H's cheating on h was ambiguous.
His dating another woman before their breakup made H look worse, despite him saying he never touched her. Wished his reasons for dating OW was made apparent or hinted at way before the ending.
#4. Romance progression was iffy.
Their romance was iffy until H finally opened up @ the end. Liked that h didn’t pursue him and made him work for their relationship and confronted him on his lack of care for her/interest in getting to know her/cheating on her by taking out another woman for dinner/wanting to marry her only for their baby’s sake.
Sexual History:
20yo h was de-virginized by her boss H, when she agreed to have an affair with him a few weeks after he upgraded her to be his secretary. Their affair occurred in her apartment since H kept firm boundaries about their workplace and his apartment. In their 5-month affair, he never invited her to his apartment nor offered to drive her to work with him since both came from her apartment or date her publicly.
]34yo H was known as a workaholic womanizer who liked to keep things in order. He’s known to never mix business with pleasure. So, him hiring h as his secretary with the intention of having an affair with her was a 1st for him. As well as his maintaining an exclusive relationship with her for 5 months until his dinner date with another woman. He told h that he dated OW to keep himself back under control since he began realizing that h meant a lot to him than just a usual sexual affair. Very possible that during the 6-7 months after he’d been trying to get resistant h back that he went out with 4 other women per h’s casual mention of it to try to move on from h. But H said that he “(hasn't) touched any other woman with any intimacy since (h). (He didn't) even want them—which was a shock to (his) system”:
August 11, 2011
Clea met Max when she was appointed as secretary,Clea is young and naive and is attracted to Max,when he asks her out she is really happy but she is not fooled she knows that Max has choosen her for her exotic looks. He took her and molded her into an outwardly sophisticated woman. Then Clea becomes pregnant and discovers Max is looking around for a replacement lover. Clea quits her job and tries to release Max from responsibility, but he insists on being part of the baby's life. He even proposes marriage, telling Clea he is "fond" of her. Clea refuses, unable to accept anything but love.
Clea's bitterness is understandable,but even after she knows how Max had been using her all along,was tow-timing her going on dates with other women and when he finds she is pregnant,his reaction is very angry, violent n abusive even tells Clea she deceived him and trying to trap him in marriage but Clea gives it back,our heroine has a backbone and says in no uncertain terms screw you, I'm not pregnant because I wanted to trap you and besides you're not husband material and then after his anger is cooled down he proposes marriage,God how undigestable i would have preferred Clea not forgiving Max but he has all his rights as a father to his child and nothing else but She made him suffer a bit cause he totally deserved it. But the hero does redeem himself. He really showed how much he cared after the heroine refused to marry him. He was very protective and caring with her throughout her pregnancy.
A reviewer"michigirl" who pointed these things and copied is cause she has written it really well and its exactly what i was left thinking and annoyed me after reading
here's what annoyed me.
At the beginning of the book, the hero leaves the heroine's bed, goes to work, and then later that night goes on a date with another woman. When that doesn't pan out because "They didn't seem to know what they wanted" as he explains to her about his failed 'business dinner', he attempts to get back into the heroine's bed. She uses the excuse of it being that time of the month and so he cancels their date for the next night. He takes the tickets that she bought and takes his new girlfriend. Enter two days later and our heroine finds out about this because the girlfriend calls the office to cancel the date they were supposed to go on that night, since she's going to be out of the country, and lets drop about the theatre too. Now knowing what her wonderful love has been doing...some hours later she winds up having sex with him again. Goodbye sex of course, but would you really want to sleep with a guy after you found out he was seeing someone else? And it wasn't goodbye sex because he had someone else, it was goodbye sex because she'd already decided to break it off so she didn't tie him down.
At the end of the book he claims that he just used the other girl because he was afraid of his emotions with the heroine and that he didn't actually have sex with her and found that he couldn't..but when I flipped back to the beginning of the book and saw all the excuses, the neat way he was keeping the two girls separate by telling the new girl absolutely not to call his office and convincing the old one it was business dinners that he was attending I couldn't quite believe it. When I also thought of the fact that he had not one but two dates with the new girl..and a third one lined up, then it really made me question. When I thought of the fact that the new girl was the one that canceled the date because she was going to be out of the country it went even further. And when I really thought of the fact that the last date he was having with the new girl was also the last day he was going to be around for a week because he was going to visit his mother I realized that the author however unintentionally made me completely hate and disbelieve the hero.
He used the heroine, he was seeing someone else, which in my book is cheating, he almost hits the heroine, stopped because she fainted before we could find out if he'd really do it. He's scum, but the heroine was no better because she just took it all because of her great love for him. How about some self respect to not be willing to lay down while you're treated like garbage. Even while the heroine was standing up, she was still doing it only because she loved him so much therefore...I'm sorry but..three dates and you're out.
Anyway, this book definitely is a keeper,giving 4 stars cause Clea made Max suffer and i enjoyed it
Recommend it
Clea's bitterness is understandable,but even after she knows how Max had been using her all along,was tow-timing her going on dates with other women and when he finds she is pregnant,his reaction is very angry, violent n abusive even tells Clea she deceived him and trying to trap him in marriage but Clea gives it back,our heroine has a backbone and says in no uncertain terms screw you, I'm not pregnant because I wanted to trap you and besides you're not husband material and then after his anger is cooled down he proposes marriage,God how undigestable i would have preferred Clea not forgiving Max but he has all his rights as a father to his child and nothing else but She made him suffer a bit cause he totally deserved it. But the hero does redeem himself. He really showed how much he cared after the heroine refused to marry him. He was very protective and caring with her throughout her pregnancy.
A reviewer"michigirl" who pointed these things and copied is cause she has written it really well and its exactly what i was left thinking and annoyed me after reading
here's what annoyed me.
At the beginning of the book, the hero leaves the heroine's bed, goes to work, and then later that night goes on a date with another woman. When that doesn't pan out because "They didn't seem to know what they wanted" as he explains to her about his failed 'business dinner', he attempts to get back into the heroine's bed. She uses the excuse of it being that time of the month and so he cancels their date for the next night. He takes the tickets that she bought and takes his new girlfriend. Enter two days later and our heroine finds out about this because the girlfriend calls the office to cancel the date they were supposed to go on that night, since she's going to be out of the country, and lets drop about the theatre too. Now knowing what her wonderful love has been doing...some hours later she winds up having sex with him again. Goodbye sex of course, but would you really want to sleep with a guy after you found out he was seeing someone else? And it wasn't goodbye sex because he had someone else, it was goodbye sex because she'd already decided to break it off so she didn't tie him down.
At the end of the book he claims that he just used the other girl because he was afraid of his emotions with the heroine and that he didn't actually have sex with her and found that he couldn't..but when I flipped back to the beginning of the book and saw all the excuses, the neat way he was keeping the two girls separate by telling the new girl absolutely not to call his office and convincing the old one it was business dinners that he was attending I couldn't quite believe it. When I also thought of the fact that he had not one but two dates with the new girl..and a third one lined up, then it really made me question. When I thought of the fact that the new girl was the one that canceled the date because she was going to be out of the country it went even further. And when I really thought of the fact that the last date he was having with the new girl was also the last day he was going to be around for a week because he was going to visit his mother I realized that the author however unintentionally made me completely hate and disbelieve the hero.
He used the heroine, he was seeing someone else, which in my book is cheating, he almost hits the heroine, stopped because she fainted before we could find out if he'd really do it. He's scum, but the heroine was no better because she just took it all because of her great love for him. How about some self respect to not be willing to lay down while you're treated like garbage. Even while the heroine was standing up, she was still doing it only because she loved him so much therefore...I'm sorry but..three dates and you're out.
Anyway, this book definitely is a keeper,giving 4 stars cause Clea made Max suffer and i enjoyed it
Recommend it
February 2, 2018
"A Question of Pride" is the story of Clea and Matt.
The plot is simple.
Horny, amorous, brooding boss seduces sweet, virgin secretary who responds and they embark on a no strings attached relationship.
Things are garden and roses until..well..there's a seed and there's water and sapling starts to grow.
To escape the "non loving sexing", the h decides to resign BUT..
Anyways.
Lemme get the good out to soften the blow
-May December romance
-Very passionate lovemaking
-The heroine having a spine, aka backbone against BS
HOWEVER, the rest of the book was drama. And now, I am going to elaborate on some stray observations that creeped me out
-Heroine taking strong alcohol during her early pregnancy- Can argue that the book was written 1989 but FAS came to knowledge around in 1973
-Heroine's stepdad finding her sexually attractive and confessing it while he impregnated her mother
-Heroine joking about humor causing abortion
-Hero attempting to getting violent on a PREGNANT heroine
Then another thread of his control snapped, and Clea had to watch in horror as his arm went back, hand hovering above her while his blanched face told her what he meant to do.
'Don't—' she tremored. Fear sent her own arm up to protect her face, and she cowered in his grip.
-So much of verbal abuse and "BITCH" calling
-Almost cheats on the h- and does so emotionally by running away from her to OW
Now, by the time the book ended I was frustrated and skimming pages as the heroine was acting like a lovestruck fool and H like an ass with a single minded obsession.
The negatives heavily overrode the positives for me, making this an impulsive but regrettable read.
1/5
The plot is simple.
Horny, amorous, brooding boss seduces sweet, virgin secretary who responds and they embark on a no strings attached relationship.
Things are garden and roses until..well..there's a seed and there's water and sapling starts to grow.
To escape the "non loving sexing", the h decides to resign BUT..
Anyways.
Lemme get the good out to soften the blow
-May December romance
-Very passionate lovemaking
-The heroine having a spine, aka backbone against BS
HOWEVER, the rest of the book was drama. And now, I am going to elaborate on some stray observations that creeped me out
-Heroine taking strong alcohol during her early pregnancy- Can argue that the book was written 1989 but FAS came to knowledge around in 1973
-Heroine's stepdad finding her sexually attractive and confessing it while he impregnated her mother
-Heroine joking about humor causing abortion
-Hero attempting to getting violent on a PREGNANT heroine
Then another thread of his control snapped, and Clea had to watch in horror as his arm went back, hand hovering above her while his blanched face told her what he meant to do.
'Don't—' she tremored. Fear sent her own arm up to protect her face, and she cowered in his grip.
-So much of verbal abuse and "BITCH" calling
-Almost cheats on the h- and does so emotionally by running away from her to OW
Now, by the time the book ended I was frustrated and skimming pages as the heroine was acting like a lovestruck fool and H like an ass with a single minded obsession.
The negatives heavily overrode the positives for me, making this an impulsive but regrettable read.
1/5
September 13, 2016
This book was distressing, more so because the H's treatment of the h is indicative of what was acceptable behaviour in the 70's and 80's (this was published on '88).
The H is a 34yr old CEO (who should have known better) who was sleeping with his 20yr old secretary (clearly there were no sexual harassment laws back then). The h gets pregnant, quits her job and invariably tells him she's expecting and to my horror, the H calls her a bitch (2ce), grabs her and raises his hand to hit her. At this point, I couldn't take anymore as this was not love. The H was a bully, a cheat and I got the feeling he would eventually hit her. Really, It was all too distressing. DNF.
The H is a 34yr old CEO (who should have known better) who was sleeping with his 20yr old secretary (clearly there were no sexual harassment laws back then). The h gets pregnant, quits her job and invariably tells him she's expecting and to my horror, the H calls her a bitch (2ce), grabs her and raises his hand to hit her. At this point, I couldn't take anymore as this was not love. The H was a bully, a cheat and I got the feeling he would eventually hit her. Really, It was all too distressing. DNF.
August 12, 2012
3.5 stars
This was a good read about the growth and development of a relationship. At the beginning of the story, the H is seen as the sophisticated manwhore boss/lover of h, whose infatuation with the H allows her to be taken advantage of and taken for granted.
She then finds out that she's pregnant and feels that she needs to save herself some pain by leaving the relationship and raising the baby on her own because she knows the H doesn't love her. During this time, she finds that the H has been scouting for some strange, which just cements her decision that she has to get out or risk undo hurt.
There is then a scene when the H finds out about the baby and his violent reaction to the news. He offers to marry her but the h outright refuses. The dynamics switch to the h letting the H know just what scum she feels he is and tries to get in her digs as often as she can. There is a fast forward where we find out that the H has remained in her life by way of visits and taking her to dinner but no sex as the h won't have anything to do with him. We also discover that he had been on dates with four other women during this time (which really burnt my grits when I heard that) which perpetuates the h's belief that the H doesn't really love her. On top of that, he repeatedly confesses feeling "fond" of her but never love.
Throughout the book, you're able to see the H as this conceited and arrogant ahole who feels he's god's gift to women. He's always kept women in the periphery and didn't even allow the h to come over to his apartment while they were having an affair. However, if you look real close, you can also see his slow as molasses growth as he gradually alters his life and self-concept to allow himself to love the h as he should.
At the end, the H hells the h that he supposedly discovered his love for the her just after the first date with the OW was discovered (there were three) and was going to make changes in their relationship before she bailed ship. Well, maybe. Why did he go on those dates with the other four women then? Even if the h wouldn't have anything to do with him sexually, she was having his baby and he was supposedly trying to get her to marry him. I'm more inclined to believe that being faced with the reality of fatherhood, his already growing feelings for the h broke through that wall of conceipt and self-importance he insulated himself in and allowed him to fnally care for someone else more than himself. But the change was slow coming. Nonetheless, I was left with the impression that the H truly loved the h at then end and was finally committed to the relationship.
If the idea of watching the slow and realistic progression of a relationship where all was not fair is attractive to you, then this will be a decent read. If you can't buy that people really change, then give it a pass.
This was a good read about the growth and development of a relationship. At the beginning of the story, the H is seen as the sophisticated manwhore boss/lover of h, whose infatuation with the H allows her to be taken advantage of and taken for granted.
She then finds out that she's pregnant and feels that she needs to save herself some pain by leaving the relationship and raising the baby on her own because she knows the H doesn't love her. During this time, she finds that the H has been scouting for some strange, which just cements her decision that she has to get out or risk undo hurt.
There is then a scene when the H finds out about the baby and his violent reaction to the news. He offers to marry her but the h outright refuses. The dynamics switch to the h letting the H know just what scum she feels he is and tries to get in her digs as often as she can. There is a fast forward where we find out that the H has remained in her life by way of visits and taking her to dinner but no sex as the h won't have anything to do with him. We also discover that he had been on dates with four other women during this time (which really burnt my grits when I heard that) which perpetuates the h's belief that the H doesn't really love her. On top of that, he repeatedly confesses feeling "fond" of her but never love.
Throughout the book, you're able to see the H as this conceited and arrogant ahole who feels he's god's gift to women. He's always kept women in the periphery and didn't even allow the h to come over to his apartment while they were having an affair. However, if you look real close, you can also see his slow as molasses growth as he gradually alters his life and self-concept to allow himself to love the h as he should.
At the end, the H hells the h that he supposedly discovered his love for the her just after the first date with the OW was discovered (there were three) and was going to make changes in their relationship before she bailed ship. Well, maybe. Why did he go on those dates with the other four women then? Even if the h wouldn't have anything to do with him sexually, she was having his baby and he was supposedly trying to get her to marry him. I'm more inclined to believe that being faced with the reality of fatherhood, his already growing feelings for the h broke through that wall of conceipt and self-importance he insulated himself in and allowed him to fnally care for someone else more than himself. But the change was slow coming. Nonetheless, I was left with the impression that the H truly loved the h at then end and was finally committed to the relationship.
If the idea of watching the slow and realistic progression of a relationship where all was not fair is attractive to you, then this will be a decent read. If you can't buy that people really change, then give it a pass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2016
I bought it. Yes, I bought it all.
Very well, done romance with more than a few HarleyLand tropes turned on their head.
Heroine: Has a spine and not afraid to use it
Mother of h: Supportive and loving.
Dead father: Loving and supportive and actually made financial plans to protect daughter's future.
Stepfather: Supportive and loving. Doesn't manipulate the h into a MOC, arm twist into a Cinderella position, or treat her like dirt
I know. You would think all these nice people would be boring, but nope.
Never fear, the tropes are still here: unexpected pregnancy, unrepentant manwhore, disapproving housekeeper, innocent virgin, silk shirts and even silk pants. Oh, you British.
Plot synopsis has been done by others (boogenhagen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and better than my deleted attempt, but I will emote.
I was impressed by the heroine because as young as she is, she knows what she wants. She wanted Max, knowing it was most likely going to be a short-termed affair; the first hint of another woman and that was the final nail, and she holds firm against his marriage proposal because he doesn't love her and she wants no part of a bad marriage.
In Max's corner,
Anyhoo, this is quite the rocky, tempestuous couple, and while I might buy their love my hopes of a HEA forever are in doubt. One thing though, it was beyond nice reading a heroine who can stand her own against the chemical reaction and overpowering magic p of the typical Harlequin H.
Very well, done romance with more than a few HarleyLand tropes turned on their head.
Heroine: Has a spine and not afraid to use it
Mother of h: Supportive and loving.
Dead father: Loving and supportive and actually made financial plans to protect daughter's future.
Stepfather: Supportive and loving. Doesn't manipulate the h into a MOC, arm twist into a Cinderella position, or treat her like dirt
I know. You would think all these nice people would be boring, but nope.
Never fear, the tropes are still here: unexpected pregnancy, unrepentant manwhore, disapproving housekeeper, innocent virgin, silk shirts and even silk pants. Oh, you British.
Plot synopsis has been done by others (boogenhagen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and better than my deleted attempt, but I will emote.
I was impressed by the heroine because as young as she is, she knows what she wants. She wanted Max, knowing it was most likely going to be a short-termed affair; the first hint of another woman and that was the final nail, and she holds firm against his marriage proposal because he doesn't love her and she wants no part of a bad marriage.
In Max's corner,
Anyhoo, this is quite the rocky, tempestuous couple, and while I might buy their love my hopes of a HEA forever are in doubt. One thing though, it was beyond nice reading a heroine who can stand her own against the chemical reaction and overpowering magic p of the typical Harlequin H.
January 6, 2017
Clea has been Max’s mistress for the past five or so months. They have great chemistry in bed. It’s so great that Max sometimes gets cranky about it. He’s set all the boundaries – sure, they go out, but sex is always at Clea’s place. They don’t have a relationship. They don’t talk about personal things. They keep it professional at the office, where Clea is Max’s secretary. Max has a company that does computer electronics. It’s called Computer Electronics Company.
It hurts Clea, that he keeps it all so compartmentalised. And she’s about to be more hurt. Clea wasn’t all that great about remembering to take her birth control, and now she’s pregnant. She knows Max will propose but he’ll hate her. And he’ll be unfaithful.
Clea is sitting in a café after she’s just had her pregnancy confirmed when Michelle Reid wins the book for me. A song comes on the radio. It’s ‘I Know Him So Well’ from the musical Chess. A couple of years ago I suddenly become obsessed with the musical Chess. I read about it, You-tubed it, had it on my Spotify playlist for months. I sang it going to and from work. Of course, I preferred ‘Nobody’s Side’ to ‘I Know Him So Well,’ because like all true romance aficionados I like it best when the girl gets all angry and bitter.
Then, Clea lets slip that she and Max are going to see Chess on Saturday, and could their life of no-strings no-feels sex get any more perfect?
Of course, it’s all ruined, and Clea doesn’t get to go to Chess. Clea is all traumatised over the pregnancy and she’s not behaving like herself, and she hints to Max that she has her period. He pats her on the head and tells her they can both have a quiet weekend and he’ll find someone else to use the Chess tickets.
But he doesn’t. So Clea, who first had the hurt that he really was only into her for sexy times, also later finds out that he went to Chess and he took some floosy with him. And setting aside all the fraught emotion that goes on in this plot, as Clea resists Max’s begrudging attempts to get her to marry him because she’s in love with him and he’s not and etc, Clea is NEVER going to see Chess. Or at least, not the Elaine Page / original cast version.
Ever. I checked. See, Chess finishes it’s run in April of 1989, and Clea’s baby is born in October of 1988. This is according to my arbitrary decision that, since the book was published in 1989, it was set in 1988, and in the alternate universe that is Romancelandia, Chess still ends its West End run when Wikipedia says it does. There’s no way she saw it with Max before she gave birth, because he’s already seen it. And there’s no way she’s still interested in seeing Chess in the first six months of being a mother.
For more about why this book is so wonderful and so different, do please read Boogenhagen’s review, it’s excellent. I liked this book a great deal, and I liked Clea and Max. They’re both strong, flawed characters. It’s not perfect. The writing style is a little off. There’s a fair amount of abrupt head hopping, and since it’s only so a whole lot men can observe that Clea is sexy and gorgeous even when she’s super pregnant, it all gets a bit redundant.
However: when the relationship between Clea and Max improves to the point of sexy times, she licks his neck while dancing. I am so on board for this to be Reid’s signature move, and appreciate that it was there right there in her very first book.
April 19, 2014
Hero and heroine are having a hot affair. He is the boss she is his secretary. Clea discovers she is pregnant, Max freaks out but proposes marriage anyways. She refuses to marry him cause she doesn't see him as good husband material and she thinks he doesn't really love her but Max won't be pushed to the sidelines of his baby's life.
Great read. Even though heroine was a shrew and even violent at some point I enjoyed the passionate banter and the sizzling chemistry. What I didn't like was how she wouldn't even meet him half-way when he becomes such a loving, caring man. Instead of accepting his marriage proposal she turns the tables on him and asks him to become her lover. I thought that part was hilarious.
I also didn't like how she was drinking alcohol throughout her pregnancy but this is an old book so whatever. Hero is not a cheater by the way. He says he never touched or even wanted to touch another woman since he met Clea. He is a very smitten hero who will do anything to win Clea's heart. I loved how her stepfather forced her to quit playing games with Max's heart and forgive him. They both groveled in the end and that made it a very satisfying read!
Great read. Even though heroine was a shrew and even violent at some point I enjoyed the passionate banter and the sizzling chemistry. What I didn't like was how she wouldn't even meet him half-way when he becomes such a loving, caring man. Instead of accepting his marriage proposal she turns the tables on him and asks him to become her lover. I thought that part was hilarious.
I also didn't like how she was drinking alcohol throughout her pregnancy but this is an old book so whatever. Hero is not a cheater by the way. He says he never touched or even wanted to touch another woman since he met Clea. He is a very smitten hero who will do anything to win Clea's heart. I loved how her stepfather forced her to quit playing games with Max's heart and forgive him. They both groveled in the end and that made it a very satisfying read!
December 15, 2025
Interesting characterization
Mini review bombing warning, part 3/4: I'm in a weird apathetic mood and haven't been updating my reads, I'm just going to clog everyone's feed for a bit. Sorry 🙏
The heroine wasn't the typical defenseless, bbs-plagued heroine and the hero wasn't the typical bulldozing asshole.
I mean,
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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Mini review bombing warning, part 3/4: I'm in a weird apathetic mood and haven't been updating my reads, I'm just going to clog everyone's feed for a bit. Sorry 🙏
The heroine wasn't the typical defenseless, bbs-plagued heroine and the hero wasn't the typical bulldozing asshole.
I mean,
・
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・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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April 11, 2021
Both of them did stupid things, both of them hurt each other so
I guess they are even.
Angsty read with passionate couple and a lot of positive secondary characters.
Safe and recommended.
I guess they are even.
Angsty read with passionate couple and a lot of positive secondary characters.
Safe and recommended.
June 2, 2018
So many reviewers I like rated this book highly that I had to read it to check for myself. Unfortunately I hate to say this but (1) I already read this a long time ago with a stripped cover, and (2) I really didn't like it, even upon a second and much later reading.
The entire story covers the time from when a young secretary finds out she's pregnant with her lover and boss's baby to birth, and the angst that she undergoes. Her turmoil goes like so: it's been a 5 month affair and she's only 20 and deeply in "love" with her intense boss who has a really deep fear of marriage and commitment, and so she wants to leave the premises, so to speak, before he finds out she's preggers. Unfortunately, that is also when the book goes to pieces for me, and I sat thumbing through the rest of the book with my mouth screwed up just under my nose.
Except that this book could have been entitled "The Passive-Aggressive Woman's Guide to Trapping Your Commitment-Phobe Man Into Marriage." Good grief, how this book annoyed me. Granted, there was an overload of angst. And by angst, I mean, Michelle Reid angst. She can drag out the angst through chapters, wherein the protagonist strolls from room to room, angsting over all the things she has to angst over. And, don't get me wrong, Michelle Reid is a good writer. She does angst and inner emotions and turmoils quite well. Therefore, you don't get the sense of unmoving plot until it's almost halfway in.
Rule #1: Silently retreat from his life without an explanation -- completely guaranteed to arouse his tracking mode.
Other than the angst mushroom cloud hanging over the entire book, what bothers me is the heroine, who is portrayed initially as a demure, sweet girl. She is SUBMISSIVE with ALL CAPS. That means she apologizes for so many things in the book that at one point, I really wanted to shout at her. She apologizes for making slightly "insulting" comments to the hero that might have offended him. I put "insulting" in quotes, because it really should be "accurate" rather than "insulting," but she thought it was insulting and so she apologized for that. She tells herself it is "pride" that makes her bow out gracefully from his life once she finds out she's pregnant and also that it is out of "love" for him because she doesn't want to stifle his life. I find both of these highly suspect because then it wouldn't have been necessary to tell him at all. But when she does, he explodes in a scary almighty temper, and no, it's not because he is jealous that it belongs to someone else, but because he thinks she might have done it to trap him, and he raises an almighty hand to strike her pregnant face down. He doesn't do it, of course, but quite honestly, that is an image that anyone with brains considering marriage should keep at the forefront of their list. (She later apologizes for springing her news on him.)
Rule #2: Drink a lot to loosen your inhibitions. Pregnant? Not a concern.
She can be forgiven for her lapses of judgment, because I do suspect she might be an alcoholic. Like I said, she is pregnant throughout the entire book, and she drinks alcohol on 3 separate occasions, two of which he pours for her, so you know, it's good to know that she has an enabler.
Rule #3: Faint whenever man shows signs of getting angry and apologizing hasn't worked.
I suspect the alcoholism because she also is super prone to fainting fits. I realize that she's pregnant and ordered to take iron pills, but she also faints at really opportune times, in a sort of an deux ex machina kind of way that's guaranteed to make the hero sit up and apologize, which he does. (Score!)
Rule#4: Make pointed comments, but apologize sweetly afterwards.
This is the part that makes me feel she's passive-aggressive. He is Ass Numero Uno, so she is entitled to some mean name-calling on her part. Except she doesn't carry through with it. Even though these comments are nowhere near as offensive as the book makes them out to be (with inward squirming of discomfort and narrowed eyes in tense response), they are treated as an insult for which she must and does apologize for. Perhaps I'm showing the times, but anonymous internet flames are 100% worse than what she said, with much less provocation. He knocked her up, never acknowledged her status in public, never took her to his home, made their plans for them without asking her, invite himself over without asking, and, ahem, ALMOST STRUCK HER DOWN FOR SAYING SHE WAS PREGNANT, when it takes two. But clearly, she's the one who needs to apologize. And she does. Multiple times. For saying things like, "This is just conscience money you're offering."
This was published in 1989, so before heroes started to develop really touchy-feely, over the top back stories, but I really think a little backstory would not have gone amiss for this guy's over the top aversion to commitment. I mean, a little anger is one thing, but to be so angry as to want to strike the other person down when it takes two--now that is just homicidal behavior. I know I'm dwelling on this a lot for a time when HP heroes were knocking heroines across the face left and right, but usually they were for misconstrued unfaithfulness.
The other thing that was annoying and disgusting was the heroine's stepfather, who, in a very fatherly manner, told her that she was super-duper sexy and that the first time he saw her, he wondered who he was supposed to be pursuing. GROSS! I have never heard anything grosser and pedophilic than that, because, as I've said, she was 20 for half of the book, so she would have been a good deal younger when that happened. Okay, I'm lying, I've heard grosser things, but this is HP, so I'm entitled to some outrage here.
Anyway, I'm sure that disgusting tidbit was put in there to emphasize just how gorgeous our heroine was, because this was also mentioned ad nauseum, by her later boss, by her doctor, by random people in her life, by the hero, by the narrator through Clea's own eyes, and also, as I've mentioned, by her STEPFATHER. It seemed a tad unnecessary, because it really made it seem like there was no other reason for the hero to want to be with her. However, by the end of the book, all misunderstandings are cleared to no one's relief and the two are free of their passive-aggressiveness to live together. Oh happy day.
PS to self: I had to rate this in case I forgot and read this again.
The entire story covers the time from when a young secretary finds out she's pregnant with her lover and boss's baby to birth, and the angst that she undergoes. Her turmoil goes like so: it's been a 5 month affair and she's only 20 and deeply in "love" with her intense boss who has a really deep fear of marriage and commitment, and so she wants to leave the premises, so to speak, before he finds out she's preggers. Unfortunately, that is also when the book goes to pieces for me, and I sat thumbing through the rest of the book with my mouth screwed up just under my nose.
Except that this book could have been entitled "The Passive-Aggressive Woman's Guide to Trapping Your Commitment-Phobe Man Into Marriage." Good grief, how this book annoyed me. Granted, there was an overload of angst. And by angst, I mean, Michelle Reid angst. She can drag out the angst through chapters, wherein the protagonist strolls from room to room, angsting over all the things she has to angst over. And, don't get me wrong, Michelle Reid is a good writer. She does angst and inner emotions and turmoils quite well. Therefore, you don't get the sense of unmoving plot until it's almost halfway in.
Rule #1: Silently retreat from his life without an explanation -- completely guaranteed to arouse his tracking mode.
Other than the angst mushroom cloud hanging over the entire book, what bothers me is the heroine, who is portrayed initially as a demure, sweet girl. She is SUBMISSIVE with ALL CAPS. That means she apologizes for so many things in the book that at one point, I really wanted to shout at her. She apologizes for making slightly "insulting" comments to the hero that might have offended him. I put "insulting" in quotes, because it really should be "accurate" rather than "insulting," but she thought it was insulting and so she apologized for that. She tells herself it is "pride" that makes her bow out gracefully from his life once she finds out she's pregnant and also that it is out of "love" for him because she doesn't want to stifle his life. I find both of these highly suspect because then it wouldn't have been necessary to tell him at all. But when she does, he explodes in a scary almighty temper, and no, it's not because he is jealous that it belongs to someone else, but because he thinks she might have done it to trap him, and he raises an almighty hand to strike her pregnant face down. He doesn't do it, of course, but quite honestly, that is an image that anyone with brains considering marriage should keep at the forefront of their list. (She later apologizes for springing her news on him.)
Rule #2: Drink a lot to loosen your inhibitions. Pregnant? Not a concern.
She can be forgiven for her lapses of judgment, because I do suspect she might be an alcoholic. Like I said, she is pregnant throughout the entire book, and she drinks alcohol on 3 separate occasions, two of which he pours for her, so you know, it's good to know that she has an enabler.
Rule #3: Faint whenever man shows signs of getting angry and apologizing hasn't worked.
I suspect the alcoholism because she also is super prone to fainting fits. I realize that she's pregnant and ordered to take iron pills, but she also faints at really opportune times, in a sort of an deux ex machina kind of way that's guaranteed to make the hero sit up and apologize, which he does. (Score!)
Rule#4: Make pointed comments, but apologize sweetly afterwards.
This is the part that makes me feel she's passive-aggressive. He is Ass Numero Uno, so she is entitled to some mean name-calling on her part. Except she doesn't carry through with it. Even though these comments are nowhere near as offensive as the book makes them out to be (with inward squirming of discomfort and narrowed eyes in tense response), they are treated as an insult for which she must and does apologize for. Perhaps I'm showing the times, but anonymous internet flames are 100% worse than what she said, with much less provocation. He knocked her up, never acknowledged her status in public, never took her to his home, made their plans for them without asking her, invite himself over without asking, and, ahem, ALMOST STRUCK HER DOWN FOR SAYING SHE WAS PREGNANT, when it takes two. But clearly, she's the one who needs to apologize. And she does. Multiple times. For saying things like, "This is just conscience money you're offering."
This was published in 1989, so before heroes started to develop really touchy-feely, over the top back stories, but I really think a little backstory would not have gone amiss for this guy's over the top aversion to commitment. I mean, a little anger is one thing, but to be so angry as to want to strike the other person down when it takes two--now that is just homicidal behavior. I know I'm dwelling on this a lot for a time when HP heroes were knocking heroines across the face left and right, but usually they were for misconstrued unfaithfulness.
The other thing that was annoying and disgusting was the heroine's stepfather, who, in a very fatherly manner, told her that she was super-duper sexy and that the first time he saw her, he wondered who he was supposed to be pursuing. GROSS! I have never heard anything grosser and pedophilic than that, because, as I've said, she was 20 for half of the book, so she would have been a good deal younger when that happened. Okay, I'm lying, I've heard grosser things, but this is HP, so I'm entitled to some outrage here.
Anyway, I'm sure that disgusting tidbit was put in there to emphasize just how gorgeous our heroine was, because this was also mentioned ad nauseum, by her later boss, by her doctor, by random people in her life, by the hero, by the narrator through Clea's own eyes, and also, as I've mentioned, by her STEPFATHER. It seemed a tad unnecessary, because it really made it seem like there was no other reason for the hero to want to be with her. However, by the end of the book, all misunderstandings are cleared to no one's relief and the two are free of their passive-aggressiveness to live together. Oh happy day.
PS to self: I had to rate this in case I forgot and read this again.
April 20, 2014
I was hesitated to read this at first but when I knew that the heroine was a bit of shrew, this piqued my interest. Yep, like I confessed many times, I'm a sadist who loved my alpha hero whimpered. It turned out like what I expected at some parts.
Clea and Max had a double relationship, one was boss-secretary and the other was man-his mistress. I had to say Clea posed as a perfect mistress. In the bedroom she seduced him like a hot seductress but in the boardroom she was a perfect cool secretary. After months into an affair, Clea found out that she's pregnant because she hadn't taken her pills regularly. She took it as her responsibility and tried to back off gradually from their relationship.
Well, unfortunately, she didn't know that she's fallen behind a step from Max. Max already had Dianne standing for a replacement. You see, he had the intention but not quite able to do it (bless you) and well of course, he didn't, Dianne cancelled it. So do I pity him? Nope. I was a bit confused, did he date four other women or not? If I read it right, it's a yes. So I don't care if he didn't touch the other women or not, you had the intention to wander away when you're in relationship, I'd called it cheating in this case. Sorry. You wanted to run scared from your intense feeling? Okay, dated some women then, but only after you broke up with your current mistress. It seemed Max wanted to test his feeling but he still wanted to have a spare if it didn't work. How convenient. Anyway, this wasn't my main concern...well, partly yes.
Before I read this book I was ready to feel pity for the hero. As it happened, at some parts it indeed had a bitchy heroine, but a pitiful hero? Nope. Nada. Like I explained, Max was a jerk him self. He dated other women, he lost control, accused her and almost hit her. Didn't believe it either he wouldn't have done it. Bet if she didn't conveniently fainted he'd already lost control with his hand. Tsk.
Clea was, yes, a shrew. A bitchy shrew. Some time I believed her indeed a cold woman. She blow hot and cold and threw tantrums. Damn you hormones. She loved him so much but afraid to trap him in loveless marriage. She became bitter and lashed out at every chance she got. At this time, Max had tried a little bit to be a caring man. He took her dinner and cared for her. While Clea still fed up with her own complicated feeling and threat him cold. She's still on her decision to not marrying him. Instead, she made a proposition to move in with him and became his lover.
The thing is, because I didn't like Max first, so it's easier to justice her bitchy behavior. He deserved it all right. Both characters had flaws so I'd say it's an equal relationship.
Anyhoo, Max grovelled quite enough and Clea finally confessed that she wouldn't marry him because she just loved him too much to trap him. Then they had HEA. Frankly, I think their love was unbelievable.
Clea and Max had a double relationship, one was boss-secretary and the other was man-his mistress. I had to say Clea posed as a perfect mistress. In the bedroom she seduced him like a hot seductress but in the boardroom she was a perfect cool secretary. After months into an affair, Clea found out that she's pregnant because she hadn't taken her pills regularly. She took it as her responsibility and tried to back off gradually from their relationship.
Well, unfortunately, she didn't know that she's fallen behind a step from Max. Max already had Dianne standing for a replacement. You see, he had the intention but not quite able to do it (bless you) and well of course, he didn't, Dianne cancelled it. So do I pity him? Nope. I was a bit confused, did he date four other women or not? If I read it right, it's a yes. So I don't care if he didn't touch the other women or not, you had the intention to wander away when you're in relationship, I'd called it cheating in this case. Sorry. You wanted to run scared from your intense feeling? Okay, dated some women then, but only after you broke up with your current mistress. It seemed Max wanted to test his feeling but he still wanted to have a spare if it didn't work. How convenient. Anyway, this wasn't my main concern...well, partly yes.
Before I read this book I was ready to feel pity for the hero. As it happened, at some parts it indeed had a bitchy heroine, but a pitiful hero? Nope. Nada. Like I explained, Max was a jerk him self. He dated other women, he lost control, accused her and almost hit her. Didn't believe it either he wouldn't have done it. Bet if she didn't conveniently fainted he'd already lost control with his hand. Tsk.
Clea was, yes, a shrew. A bitchy shrew. Some time I believed her indeed a cold woman. She blow hot and cold and threw tantrums. Damn you hormones. She loved him so much but afraid to trap him in loveless marriage. She became bitter and lashed out at every chance she got. At this time, Max had tried a little bit to be a caring man. He took her dinner and cared for her. While Clea still fed up with her own complicated feeling and threat him cold. She's still on her decision to not marrying him. Instead, she made a proposition to move in with him and became his lover.
The thing is, because I didn't like Max first, so it's easier to justice her bitchy behavior. He deserved it all right. Both characters had flaws so I'd say it's an equal relationship.
Anyhoo, Max grovelled quite enough and Clea finally confessed that she wouldn't marry him because she just loved him too much to trap him. Then they had HEA. Frankly, I think their love was unbelievable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2022
I despised the hero. It’s not been stated clearly in other reviews, but the hero had started taking other women out before the pregnancy, and did continue to take other women out afterwards when she refused to marry him. Also there’s the question of that night at the theatre right before they broke up, when, after being told she was on “that time of the month” and couldn’t service him properly! he took another woman to the play for which she’d booked tickets herself.
Talk about tasteless and crass.
And she refused to marry him because she was in “love” with him and didn’t wish to trap him! Arrrrrgh! I couldn’t believe their hea because I’m certain he’d keep on cheating on her till his dotage.
Talk about tasteless and crass.
And she refused to marry him because she was in “love” with him and didn’t wish to trap him! Arrrrrgh! I couldn’t believe their hea because I’m certain he’d keep on cheating on her till his dotage.
March 12, 2021
4.5 stars
October 7, 2023
5 Stars
Forget the cover, all the goods are inside. A little gem of a read.
Workplace Romance (boss/secretary)
Age-Gap (20/34)
Unplanned Pregnancy
I'll keep it short. I loved it. Clea and Max were both engaging characters. But Clea, she's why this worked amazingly well for me. She was no weakling, quite the opposite, in fact. The girl had gumption; a rarity in romance novels, especially in the Harlequin world. Max redeemed himself, surpassing my expectations. The HEA was perfect, a sigh-worthy conclusion. I kid you not, I sighed breathlessly...like the romantic fool I am. Was I completely convinced of it all? Hell yes.
Read the following reviews by (goodreads friends):
boogenhagen (Harlequin Romance guru)
StMargarets
Vintage
Not too angsty, but maybe because the spoilers prepared me. Still, the characters kept me glued to the pages.
Forget the cover, all the goods are inside. A little gem of a read.
Workplace Romance (boss/secretary)
Age-Gap (20/34)
Unplanned Pregnancy
I'll keep it short. I loved it. Clea and Max were both engaging characters. But Clea, she's why this worked amazingly well for me. She was no weakling, quite the opposite, in fact. The girl had gumption; a rarity in romance novels, especially in the Harlequin world. Max redeemed himself, surpassing my expectations. The HEA was perfect, a sigh-worthy conclusion. I kid you not, I sighed breathlessly...like the romantic fool I am. Was I completely convinced of it all? Hell yes.
Read the following reviews by (goodreads friends):
boogenhagen (Harlequin Romance guru)
StMargarets
Vintage
Not too angsty, but maybe because the spoilers prepared me. Still, the characters kept me glued to the pages.
March 6, 2025
This was entertaining! I would have rated it higher if we’d gotten some evil OW drama and I’d liked the hero a little more. He seemed too passive for me, and not nearly remorseful enough concerning his “dating” OW to award that last star. Overall though, this was a solid read!
May 7, 2020
.
I did like that it wasn't predictable. But somehow the middle bits got kinda slow. Clea was pretty stubborn and I confess it grated on me a bit, even though she freely admits it herself. But I LOVED the ending. More than enough groveling without making Max appear weak.
The fourth star is for the ending.
Clea is Max's assistant during the day and his bed buddy at night. She's cool with this, until she isn't. Partly because she finds out she is pregnant, but mostly because she finds out Max took out another woman when she was home worrying about her condition.
It looked BAD, but by the end I was firmly in Max's corner.
So Clea is the opposite of a doormat. She is obstinate and Max realizes he has an uphill battle to win her back.
I loved the MCs and the side characters were interesting too.
Safety is actually pretty good
I did like that it wasn't predictable. But somehow the middle bits got kinda slow. Clea was pretty stubborn and I confess it grated on me a bit, even though she freely admits it herself. But I LOVED the ending. More than enough groveling without making Max appear weak.
The fourth star is for the ending.
Clea is Max's assistant during the day and his bed buddy at night. She's cool with this, until she isn't. Partly because she finds out she is pregnant, but mostly because she finds out Max took out another woman when she was home worrying about her condition.
It looked BAD, but by the end I was firmly in Max's corner.
So Clea is the opposite of a doormat. She is obstinate and Max realizes he has an uphill battle to win her back.
I loved the MCs and the side characters were interesting too.
Safety is actually pretty good
October 14, 2020
I read this book few years ago, It's NOT ONE MY FAVORITE by Michelle Reid. I CAN'T remember some of the detailed scenes other readers described in their reviews. If I don't remember them in 2015, I am not going to reread it either. There are better books to reread than this one. I also deleted the file from my laptop :)
February 18, 2022
3.5 stars Wildly problematic (does he really have to be on the verge of hitting her when he finds out she’s pregnant?!) in many ways, but kept my interest all the same. Resolves in a fairly satisfactory way, though imo he deserved to suffer much more.
And wow, vintage Harlequin women seem to drink quite a lot during their pregnancies.
And wow, vintage Harlequin women seem to drink quite a lot during their pregnancies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2025
Michelle Reid’s A Question of Pride is one of those quintessential Harlequin romances that packs both sensuality and emotional punch into a short, intense tale. The story brings together Max Latham, a 34-year-old tycoon in the world of computer electronics, and Clea Maddon, his much younger secretary, who finds herself caught between her deepening love for him and his reluctance to commit. What starts as a straightforward boss-secretary dynamic soon evolves into a passionate but fraught relationship that neither can easily walk away from.
Max is every inch the powerful alpha hero, commanding, successful, and determined to keep his freedom at all costs. He thrives on control and discipline, both in business and in his personal life, but his attraction to Clea breaks all his carefully imposed rules. Clea, on the other hand, is just twenty when she first becomes his secretary, with a kind of innocence that does not quite prepare her for a man like Max. She loves him wholly, even when it hurts, and her devotion to him is tested time and again as she navigates the precarious territory of being both his lover and his employee.
The turning point comes when Clea realizes she is pregnant, and with it all the insecurities and fears about where she stands in Max’s life. She knows Max well enough to understand that his response will be driven by duty rather than love, and that terrifies her. Max’s struggle with his own emotions, his inability to acknowledge love, his fear of entrapment, his anger at being vulnerable, creates the heart of the conflict. Watching these two collide, retreat, and collide again makes for the kind of drama Michelle Reid is so good at delivering.
What I loved most about this story was the raw connection between Max and Clea. Their chemistry leaps off the page, with moments of tenderness woven seamlessly into scenes of near-explosive tension. Max, for all his high-handedness, is obsessed with Clea, and it is in those unguarded moments when he loses control that his true feelings shine through. Clea, though painfully young at times, has a core of strength that carries her through even when she doubts herself. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, Max’s mother, as well as James and Amy, who add warmth, humor, and grounding to the story.
Loved this sensual tale of two people who needed that push to clinch the deal. Max is the kind of alpha male that writers have forgotten to formulate and Clea the kind of heroine that goes so well with the type of hero that is Max. I did not dislike that fact, because this is quintessential Harlequin and I grew up loving the kind of angst that generates from this combination. As long as the hero redeems himself proper, I revel in these stories.
Recommended for: fans of vintage Harlequin romances, readers who enjoy boss-secretary tropes, and anyone looking for an intense, emotional May-December romance.
Final Verdict: A Question of Pride is exactly the kind of angsty and sensual Harlequin romance I live for; passionate, dramatic, and unforgettable.
Rating = 4.5/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
Max is every inch the powerful alpha hero, commanding, successful, and determined to keep his freedom at all costs. He thrives on control and discipline, both in business and in his personal life, but his attraction to Clea breaks all his carefully imposed rules. Clea, on the other hand, is just twenty when she first becomes his secretary, with a kind of innocence that does not quite prepare her for a man like Max. She loves him wholly, even when it hurts, and her devotion to him is tested time and again as she navigates the precarious territory of being both his lover and his employee.
The turning point comes when Clea realizes she is pregnant, and with it all the insecurities and fears about where she stands in Max’s life. She knows Max well enough to understand that his response will be driven by duty rather than love, and that terrifies her. Max’s struggle with his own emotions, his inability to acknowledge love, his fear of entrapment, his anger at being vulnerable, creates the heart of the conflict. Watching these two collide, retreat, and collide again makes for the kind of drama Michelle Reid is so good at delivering.
What I loved most about this story was the raw connection between Max and Clea. Their chemistry leaps off the page, with moments of tenderness woven seamlessly into scenes of near-explosive tension. Max, for all his high-handedness, is obsessed with Clea, and it is in those unguarded moments when he loses control that his true feelings shine through. Clea, though painfully young at times, has a core of strength that carries her through even when she doubts herself. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, Max’s mother, as well as James and Amy, who add warmth, humor, and grounding to the story.
Loved this sensual tale of two people who needed that push to clinch the deal. Max is the kind of alpha male that writers have forgotten to formulate and Clea the kind of heroine that goes so well with the type of hero that is Max. I did not dislike that fact, because this is quintessential Harlequin and I grew up loving the kind of angst that generates from this combination. As long as the hero redeems himself proper, I revel in these stories.
Recommended for: fans of vintage Harlequin romances, readers who enjoy boss-secretary tropes, and anyone looking for an intense, emotional May-December romance.
Final Verdict: A Question of Pride is exactly the kind of angsty and sensual Harlequin romance I live for; passionate, dramatic, and unforgettable.
Rating = 4.5/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
January 17, 2020
This was a good story. She’s smart independent and isn’t settling just because she’s pregnant. She’s in love and his behavior indicates he’s not.
March 23, 2019
قرأتها بترجمة منتدى روايتي
بعنوان ثمن الكبرياء
احببت الروايه رومانسية ومسليه
لا يوجد بها مفاجآة فقط رومانسية
بعنوان ثمن الكبرياء
احببت الروايه رومانسية ومسليه
لا يوجد بها مفاجآة فقط رومانسية
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