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Bride For Strathallane
A Bride For Strathallane by Stephanie Howard released on Feb 21, 1992 is available now for purchase.
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 2, 2017
What a stupid story.
These people shared a Great, Big, Undying, Once-In-A-Lifetime Love, but as soon as life gave them some lemons, they both ran off in opposite directions. His dad and brother died and left him in charge of the family business and in the midst of all this grieving and frantic adjustment, she leaves town ? He tells her good luck with your new job and implies "don't let the door hit you in the rear on your way out"?
For eight years, she dates a ton of frogs while he marries someone that he "loved a little bit" for at least two-three years of the marriage, before divorcing. How exactly do you love someone a little bit? It's like being a little bit pregnant. All or nothing!
It actually sounded as though he and his wife were VERY together until the stress of not having a child despite their efforts eventually drove them apart. He had a real affection for her, letting her stay in his house even after she committed adultery and became pregnant by her boyfriend thus precipitating their divorce. If he and his wife had been able to conceive, I believe they would have never divorced and the hero would not give a hoot about the heroine. Every time the heroine asked him his reasons for marrying another woman, and for continuing to be so accommodating to her, even going so far as to maintain their pretence of marriage, he hemmed and hawed and gave the supposed real love of his life some purposefully vague answers like blaming it on his wife chasing him or his family pressuring him til they wore him down. Rofl, if that is true, what a spineless little weasel!
They were both so unlikable and wishy-washy, and also a little bit gross, with all their in-car coupling. Yuck.
These people shared a Great, Big, Undying, Once-In-A-Lifetime Love, but as soon as life gave them some lemons, they both ran off in opposite directions. His dad and brother died and left him in charge of the family business and in the midst of all this grieving and frantic adjustment, she leaves town ? He tells her good luck with your new job and implies "don't let the door hit you in the rear on your way out"?
For eight years, she dates a ton of frogs while he marries someone that he "loved a little bit" for at least two-three years of the marriage, before divorcing. How exactly do you love someone a little bit? It's like being a little bit pregnant. All or nothing!
It actually sounded as though he and his wife were VERY together until the stress of not having a child despite their efforts eventually drove them apart. He had a real affection for her, letting her stay in his house even after she committed adultery and became pregnant by her boyfriend thus precipitating their divorce. If he and his wife had been able to conceive, I believe they would have never divorced and the hero would not give a hoot about the heroine. Every time the heroine asked him his reasons for marrying another woman, and for continuing to be so accommodating to her, even going so far as to maintain their pretence of marriage, he hemmed and hawed and gave the supposed real love of his life some purposefully vague answers like blaming it on his wife chasing him or his family pressuring him til they wore him down. Rofl, if that is true, what a spineless little weasel!
They were both so unlikable and wishy-washy, and also a little bit gross, with all their in-car coupling. Yuck.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2017
Re Bride for Strathallane - Stephanie Howard's final HPlandia outing is a second chance story. The h and H used to be a thing eight years earlier. The H's family are the local aristocratic land owners and the h was 17 when she fell in love with the younger son, the H.
They were just two happy kids in love when the H's father died and then his older brother had a fatal accident as well, so the H had to take over the family firm and the estate and he starts building a huge financial empire. The h felt like he was pushing her away and she got the opportunity to go to London and start working for a magazine, so she goes.
The H doesn't really seem to care all that much, his mother never liked her and the h realizes that the only hope for her is to get out of their tiny country town. She is also preggers and doesn't think the H will want to know, unfortunately she has a miscarriage a few weeks later after she gets to London. The H does visit her in passing one time while he is down to London on business, but the h is grieving and he isn't very forthcoming, so they essentially blow each other off. Then the H gets married to another woman a few years later and the h figures he never loved her anyways.
The h does manage to become a big time magazine editor and she dates, but she doesn't have much luck in finding another man. She is in the middle of changing jobs and she has a few good offers, but her parents need her help back in her hometown. It seems the H has purchased the field across from their house and the h's parents are afraid that he is going to build something on it, ruining their view. The h is supposed to go fix this for her parents, even tho it is the H's land and there was planning permission to build on it long before he bought it.
So the h goes to yell at the H in his business empire office and the two of them manage to insult each other all over the place. He accuses her of being selfish and egocentric and she accuses him of the same. Then the h's mother decides that the h should be finding a man to marry and get cracking on the kids. The H and h have a few more confrontations in the town's High Street, where the h throws a huge fit and at church, where the H tells the h he wants to meet to talk with her.
( These two were continually nasty to each other and the whole premise of the h being able to stop the H was fairly ludicrous. It was his property, he could do what he wanted to with it and the property had been available to be built on way before the H purchased it. I don't understand why the h thought she could scream at the H that he couldn't build things and that was going to solve anything, nor could I understand what her parent's expected her to be able to do about it besides find them another cottage somewhere.)
So anyhows, the H and h start meeting and the H claims that he and his wife are separated, that they only married cause family pressured them into it and the wife had an affair so they aren't together anymore and the h feels the underlying attraction for the H all over again. The H says he wants the h to help him revamp one of his own magazines and the h agrees to look things over if he will put a halt on any field building plans. Their subsequent meetings are more cordial and the attraction between them is flaring up into roofie kisses and passion in cars when the h finds out that his pregnant wife is still living in his home and H had lied to her.
She and the H have another fight after he chases her down in his Jaguar and he explains that he and his wife are divorced and she is preggers by another man who is waiting on his divorce to come through and the ex wife had no place else to go, so he gave her house space until she can hook up with her new guy.
The h is okay with that and then figures that she has to tell the H about the baby she miscarried. They both claim they love each other again by this point, so the h is hoping to share this one last secret and then move forward. She tells the H about the miscarriage and they both fight some more, then the H drags her back to his house and his mother is there, stirring the pot cause she doesn't like the h.
The h storms off and decides she is going back to London, but she feels guilty over the way things went with the H, so she stops at his office to apologize and tell him she loves him. He apologizes too and shows her the plane ticket where he was going to meet her at the train station when she got to London and bring her back. They declare mutual love again and the H was never going to build on the field by her parent's house, he was going to let the pony club use it cause they needed more space. There is a little epilogue where it is the h's birthday and everybody is all lurved up and happy and the h is expecting the next heir to Strathallane for the HEA.
SH's last HP expedition is not very inspiring and I was very tired of the h and her bickering. I just wasn't feeling the love on this one, but I was very happy that this is the last SH outing in HPlandia and she will now only be found in HR subscriptiontopia.
They were just two happy kids in love when the H's father died and then his older brother had a fatal accident as well, so the H had to take over the family firm and the estate and he starts building a huge financial empire. The h felt like he was pushing her away and she got the opportunity to go to London and start working for a magazine, so she goes.
The H doesn't really seem to care all that much, his mother never liked her and the h realizes that the only hope for her is to get out of their tiny country town. She is also preggers and doesn't think the H will want to know, unfortunately she has a miscarriage a few weeks later after she gets to London. The H does visit her in passing one time while he is down to London on business, but the h is grieving and he isn't very forthcoming, so they essentially blow each other off. Then the H gets married to another woman a few years later and the h figures he never loved her anyways.
The h does manage to become a big time magazine editor and she dates, but she doesn't have much luck in finding another man. She is in the middle of changing jobs and she has a few good offers, but her parents need her help back in her hometown. It seems the H has purchased the field across from their house and the h's parents are afraid that he is going to build something on it, ruining their view. The h is supposed to go fix this for her parents, even tho it is the H's land and there was planning permission to build on it long before he bought it.
So the h goes to yell at the H in his business empire office and the two of them manage to insult each other all over the place. He accuses her of being selfish and egocentric and she accuses him of the same. Then the h's mother decides that the h should be finding a man to marry and get cracking on the kids. The H and h have a few more confrontations in the town's High Street, where the h throws a huge fit and at church, where the H tells the h he wants to meet to talk with her.
( These two were continually nasty to each other and the whole premise of the h being able to stop the H was fairly ludicrous. It was his property, he could do what he wanted to with it and the property had been available to be built on way before the H purchased it. I don't understand why the h thought she could scream at the H that he couldn't build things and that was going to solve anything, nor could I understand what her parent's expected her to be able to do about it besides find them another cottage somewhere.)
So anyhows, the H and h start meeting and the H claims that he and his wife are separated, that they only married cause family pressured them into it and the wife had an affair so they aren't together anymore and the h feels the underlying attraction for the H all over again. The H says he wants the h to help him revamp one of his own magazines and the h agrees to look things over if he will put a halt on any field building plans. Their subsequent meetings are more cordial and the attraction between them is flaring up into roofie kisses and passion in cars when the h finds out that his pregnant wife is still living in his home and H had lied to her.
She and the H have another fight after he chases her down in his Jaguar and he explains that he and his wife are divorced and she is preggers by another man who is waiting on his divorce to come through and the ex wife had no place else to go, so he gave her house space until she can hook up with her new guy.
The h is okay with that and then figures that she has to tell the H about the baby she miscarried. They both claim they love each other again by this point, so the h is hoping to share this one last secret and then move forward. She tells the H about the miscarriage and they both fight some more, then the H drags her back to his house and his mother is there, stirring the pot cause she doesn't like the h.
The h storms off and decides she is going back to London, but she feels guilty over the way things went with the H, so she stops at his office to apologize and tell him she loves him. He apologizes too and shows her the plane ticket where he was going to meet her at the train station when she got to London and bring her back. They declare mutual love again and the H was never going to build on the field by her parent's house, he was going to let the pony club use it cause they needed more space. There is a little epilogue where it is the h's birthday and everybody is all lurved up and happy and the h is expecting the next heir to Strathallane for the HEA.
SH's last HP expedition is not very inspiring and I was very tired of the h and her bickering. I just wasn't feeling the love on this one, but I was very happy that this is the last SH outing in HPlandia and she will now only be found in HR subscriptiontopia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2016
This nearly put me to sleep! No connection between them at all.
January 26, 2021
Ειλικρινά απορώ με τις τόσο χαμηλές βαθμολογίες!Αλλο βιβλίο διάβασα;
Έντονο και γεμάτο συναίσθημα, με μια ηρωίδα πολύ δυναμική....
Το απόλαυσα στο έπακρο!
Έντονο και γεμάτο συναίσθημα, με μια ηρωίδα πολύ δυναμική....
Το απόλαυσα στο έπακρο!
April 8, 2021
Μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία!!!!! Είναι η πρώτη φορά που διαβάζω μια ιστορία δική της . Πολύ καλή και "δεμένη" γραφή, γεμάτη έντονα συναισθήματα! Οργή, μίσος, αλλά και πόθος και τρυφερότητα "διαποτίζουν" όλες τις σελίδες της ιστορίας! Μια ηρωίδα γεμάτη πυγμή και τσαγανό, αλλά ταυτόχρονα και μια "βασανισμένη ψυχή". Όσο για τον ήρωα, είναι γεμάτος δυναμισμό και γοητεία αξεπέραστη!!!! Μπράβο κυρία Χάουαρντ, για την ιστορία σας! Δηλώνω μαγεμένη!!!!
June 4, 2020
There'd never been anyone for her but Rory
Deep inside, Isla MacDonald acknowledged that. But she was no longer the wide-eyed teenager who'd been brokenhearted when Rory Buchanan cast her out of his life.
Oh, she'd survived. Isla had gone to London and become a sophisticated, successful career woman. She was now impervious to hurt.
But when she went home to help her parents and had to see the ruthless, ambitious empire builder that Rory had become, she discovered things about herself--and Rory--she had never known before....
Deep inside, Isla MacDonald acknowledged that. But she was no longer the wide-eyed teenager who'd been brokenhearted when Rory Buchanan cast her out of his life.
Oh, she'd survived. Isla had gone to London and become a sophisticated, successful career woman. She was now impervious to hurt.
But when she went home to help her parents and had to see the ruthless, ambitious empire builder that Rory had become, she discovered things about herself--and Rory--she had never known before....
August 20, 2019
Welllll okay. Most of the story’s conflict happened before the book. The heroine is a bit impulsive with everything “hey don’t do that! Hey I hate you! Hey sure I’ll work for you! Hey I’m moving to London. Hey didn’t tell you I was pregnant! Hey why are you mad I didn’t tell you I was pregnant! Hey I love you!” The hero is more sneaky but could have saved a lot of headaches if he was just up front and honest. Didn’t really care if they ended up together or not in the end. Not a sign of a good book. Skip.
January 18, 2023
Not sure why I ended up reading this. On the returns shelf at Open Library perhaps. Anyway, she returns from being a magazine editor in that London to her Scottish home because her 8yr ago ex has bought the land next to her parents' cottage and they are afraid some eyesore will be built. Unconvincing plot with holes you could drive a bus through. Neither Rory, the H, nor Isla the h are three dimensional. It jerks about allover the place and the final reversal is so poorly rendered it's ridiculous. Oh dear. Waste of an evening.
April 16, 2012
It boggles my mind how the female protagonist thought that yelling and demanding the male main character do something would have him agreeing to do it. She was supposed to be 26, but she was a shrewish teen in her behavior. I shouldn't have bothered to finish the book. All I really did was read the dialogue, of which there were maybe one or two lines each page, except where they were yelling the same nastiness to one another. Yes, it's an older book ('92) so male-female relationship were different then I guess, but it wasn't romantic or sexy. Just annoying.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews