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Dark Fate
'It's fate — even when we're miles apart the link between us holds!'
Domenico Alessandros didn't need to remind Saskia of the powerful ties between them. Saskia had always believed they were destined to be together, but she had found there was a limit even to their love. Or, at least, a limit to what Saskia could endure for the sake of it. And yet the same dark fate that had cast a shadow over their marriage had brought Saskia back to Venice — back to Domenico!
Domenico Alessandros didn't need to remind Saskia of the powerful ties between them. Saskia had always believed they were destined to be together, but she had found there was a limit even to their love. Or, at least, a limit to what Saskia could endure for the sake of it. And yet the same dark fate that had cast a shadow over their marriage had brought Saskia back to Venice — back to Domenico!
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
21 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Lamb
261 books313 followersSheila Ann Mary Coates Holland
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
aka Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates, Charlotte Lamb, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf, Laura Hardy
Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter. A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
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April 21, 2021
I don't know what you're gonna do with all this information or why you even need to know any of this, but the book features the telepathic sex (the best part of the story) and the telepathic communication (the worst part of the story) between the main characters. While reading the book, I couldn't help imagining what would have happened if Stephanie Mayer had taken a less traditional boring ass path and had created a pairing Jasper & Edward... Lmaooo
Basically the heroine is a light version of Jasper with her ability to pick up emotions and the hero is a mind-reader Edward rip-off (I'm willing to bet all my yachts, mansions and jewellery I've never possessed that he enjoys watching her in her sleep too 👀💀).
All in all, my sense of ridiculousness was immensely satisfied. 😌
Basically the heroine is a light version of Jasper with her ability to pick up emotions and the hero is a mind-reader Edward rip-off (I'm willing to bet all my yachts, mansions and jewellery I've never possessed that he enjoys watching her in her sleep too 👀💀).
All in all, my sense of ridiculousness was immensely satisfied. 😌
August 7, 2018
Re Dark Fate - Charlotte Lamb continues on in her quest for the Ultimate Mystical HPlandia experience. She totally succeeds in this one and it is so whacktastic, it is Fantastic.
Saskia is a total revert to CL's old skool fragile flower heroines. She has no spine, no calcium and never intends to even think about such a toxic subject, even in her subconscious mind.
She does have pretty, dark colored hair that bells out around her Madonna-like face, accenting her big blue eyes and she loves to garden. Saskia can also read people's minds.
Not all the time, mind you. More like she gets flashes of what they are thinking and feeling at random moments. Particularly when the people around her are in the grip of a big emotion. She doesn't understand why some people freak out about it, for her it is just like channel surfing on the TV, but Saskia doesn't worry about it too much, she likes her own company anyways and growing things.
Saskia and her bossy boots boss, Jamie, are doing the garden tour route of Italy. When the story opens we are in Venice and going to the Baroque Palladian Gran Teatro Fenice (a famous opera house) to see Verdi's tragic story of a fallen women who gives up happiness for the sake of her true love's family - La Traviata.
But Saskia is very agitated and it isn't cause she had to go get a cavity filled at the dentist earlier. Nope, Saskia knows that she is being hunted, she can FEEL it and she also knows who is doing the hunting - her estranged husband she ran away from two years earlier, Domenico.
When the theater darkens and the opera goers are happily singing the first act drinking song along with the opera cast, Saskia opens her mind and does some hunting of her own. She soon locates Domenico, glaring at her from a box in the pricier regions of the theater.
Saskia makes an excuse and leaves after the first act, totally missing Violetta's dramatic death scene, as she rushes to escape the pursuing Domenico. Jamie, who is a bossy boots, but also a decent English bloke, escorts her back to their group tour hotel and tells her to have a nice cup of chocolate before going to sleep.
(CL goes ALL out on the food porn on this. There is dish after dish of delicious Italian cuisine and I had to go hunt up some truffles in white sauce with bits of Parma ham before I was finished with this one.)
Saskia can't sleep for fretting about Domenico's startling appearance in a town she never thought he went to, and we learn that Saskia fled her husband two years earlier after a bad miscarriage and Domenico's father trying to kill her.
The next day, while touring the Gallerie dell'Accademia to view the Bellini paintings and studiously avoiding looking at The Madonna and Child, Domencio arrives. Suddenly Saskia KNOWS that he can read her mind back - and he is BETTER at it than she is - even tho he always laughed at her before.
Saskia tries to escape, but Domenico is a full fledged CL Alpha Male Italian HP H and resistance is futile.
He soon has both Saskia and Jamie whisked off to his original Palladio designed home on the Brenta Canal, when he corners Jamie in the salon of the hotel the tour group is staying at and invites him to come look at his overgrown, in need of restoration gardens.
Since Jamie owns a garden centre in England and Saskia is his rose specialist, Domenico lures Jamie with the promise of a big rose order for a garden he wants to put in. Saskia is resistant to the idea, she is wanting to go with the tour group to Murano and she has told nobody about her life before going back to England two years earlier.
Jamie is adamant they go, business and mucking in gardens are his favorite things. While Jamie is indulging in discovering rare Renaissance plants in Domenico's garden jungles, Saskia is reunited with her guard dog, Suki, and Domenico is demanding an explanation for her running off on him.
He has been frantically searching for her for two years, when he wasn't working, and he wants to know what could possibly have happened to make her put him through so much torment and anguish. So much anguish that it even put his mind on the same psychic connection wave as Saskia's.
We learn that Saskia was a regular, middle class girl who lucked into a garden job and liked it. She and Domenico had a bit of whirlwind courtship and then she found out Domenico was seriously rich when he took her home to meet the family.
Domenico's family were all very Aristocratic Northern Italians and Domenico's father was appalled that D had brought such a nobody with nothing into their midst.
The faithful family servants, except for the head gardener, were rude and abusive to Saskia - following the lead of D's father, sisters, friends and the rest of the people that Saskia was forced to live and socialize with.
Domenico worked 10 to 12 hour days and Saskia wasn't allowed to work. She also couldn't leave the heavily fortified estate without an army of bodyguards, because the entire family was at risk for kidnapping.
(Which was a real issue in Italy back in the 70's and 90's, wealthy and powerful people were kidnapped for ransom and then executed.)
Saskia isn't a social person at the best of times, so in the misery of a life that stiffled and smothered and frightened her, Saskia took refuge in the gardens.
Domenico wouldn't even take time off for a vacation and when Saskia got pregnant, she had a fall and suffered what sounded like a very late term miscarriage or still birth.
Domenico was so angry when he came to the hospital, that both the nurses and Saskia were convinced he was going to beat her. A major depression followed for Saskia, especially when her doctor told her she would probably never be able to carry a child to term.
Knowing that children were the main reason that Domenico's family even marginally tolerated her, Saskia felt even more isolated and alone and then there was the final, unrevealed altercation with Domenico's father that sent Saskia fleeing.
Domenico then reveals that he knows about the misery his family put her through and also that his father had a major heart attack the day she left and has been seriously ill ever since, he doesn't have too long to live and Domenico has taken over as head of the family.
Jamie makes his reappearance from the garden roaming at this point. After finding out that Saskia is Domenico's wife and having a delicious food porny lunch with lashes of truffles in white sauce amidst the decadence, Domenico demands that Saskia accompany him in his helicopter to Padua, his father wishes to see her.
Saskia does NOT want to go, she is terribly frightened. But bossy boots Jamie is adamant that Saskia HAS to go visit a dying man and he and Domenico bully her until she agrees to go. Then Jamie goes with one of D's bodyguards and disappears into the HP mists, never to be seen again.
Domenico and Saskia have a huge reuniting Purple Passion Lurve Mojo moment and Saskia knows that there will never be another man for her, but she also knows she just can't live Domenico's lifestyle and so she also can't stay, she just isn't good enough to be with Domenico and she KNOWS it.
Domenico assures her that she never has to see his family, except for maybe his youngest sister, Anna, whom Saskia really liked.
He has this fabulous house he inherited and restored for her. All new staff, except for the head gardener that was Saskia's friend, who will cater and bow to her and many, many minions who will make sure EVERYONE treats Saskia with the respect her fragile flowerness is due.
So she will never have to entertain business clients or do social things, cause Domenico is all about keeping delicate rose Saskia happy now and he can mostly work from home.
Saskia knows she has to go see D's father, so we all go to get into the helicopter when DRAMA strikes. The heli pilot is a kidnapper and he and the co-pilot have guns. They shoot Domenico's body guards, (they live btw,) and shoot at Saskia, even tho D tells him she is his secretary and put a black bag over Domenico's head and spirit him away on the helicopter.
The police are called and Anna and her husband show up. Saskia tells the police about her psychic network connection with Domenico and they don't believe her.
Even when she tells them that Domenico is in the mountains in a hut somewhere and that his former femme fatale wanna be OW secretary had something to do with the kidnapping. Saskia explains that she knows all this cause the Domenico/Saskia mind meld is on full broadcast mode.
The police are very doubting of ESP, however they discover that the wanna be OW secretary has a Sardinian husband of dubious business practices and a brother who is a helicopter pilot. After a night of worry and waiting, Domenico is rescued, the OW and co are in jail, and Domenico is joyously reunited with Saskia.
After the lovely reunion, duty calls and Saskia and D are off to Padua, to see D's father. Saskia gives us the scary details of the day she ran away in flashback, as we make the journey by car this time.
Saskia had been moping around the family estate and wandered into her just finished decorated for the baby nursery. She is overwhelmed with horror at all the things her precious child will never get to use and so she starts dismantling it in her grief.
Domenico's father comes in at this point and makes hideous accusations that losing her baby was all her fault. He hits her and he shakes her and then he tries to strangle her. Saskia is so out of it she doesn't even fight, until D's father has his hands around her neck.
This snaps her out of her funky fugue state and when D's father storms off, Saskia grabs her wallet and her passport, gets a lot of money out the bank and sneaks of to England to hide.
She knows she can't bear to have another child and she also feels she just isn't worthy enough to be Domenico's wife. She believes that Domenico will be able to get an annulment in the finest feudal Italian traditions, as soon as her barrenness becomes public.
Saskia returns to the present as the gates of Domenico's father's hospital open. Saskia is terrified, but Domenico holds her hand thru the big confrontation and Saskia is torn apart by pity as she sees D's father is a shrunken, fragile old man.
Domenico's father makes his big confession, in front of Domenico, and then Saskia forgives him. The old man wants her to come back later, he still has more to say and apologize for, but Saskia is very non-committal. She just doesn't fit into this world, she and Domenico met when he stepped on her foot at the Chelsea Garden Show for pity's sake.
We get a cute little flash back of how Domenico nearly trampled Saskia at the Chelsea show and then he fell in love in a heartbeat and wooed her and won her sweet little unicorn petting self in two weeks. Saskia was so lost in love, it never even occurred to her to ask what kind of life she and Domenico would lead.
Domenico is adamant that Saskia stay with him forever now, so when a big thunderstorm pops up, Domenico gets them a suite at a local hotel. After more marvelous food porn, Domenico does the big 'I love you and I am never letting you go even if we have no kids' speech - it was really, really well done.
Saskia finally gives in, cause she loves Domenico madly and Domenico has very carefully arranged the entire universe around everybody and everything Not Upsetting Saskia, Ever. Saskia knows that Domenico is a very Alpha Guy who has the money, the adamant will and the power to always get his way in everything too.
So with a sigh of relief and a huge roofie kiss that is surely leading to a massive Purple Passion True Love Sparkly Transcendent Bliss moment, we leave Saskia and Domenico to their very Mystic Lurve Connection HEA and another really entertaining dramatic CL HPlandia outing .
This book is Fabulously Whacktastic and so OTT in Trainwrecky Avalanches that is should probably be on the Cultic Whacktastic HP list. I enjoy this one enormously every time I read it and highly recommend it if you want to walk on the seriously wild side of HPlandia.
Saskia is a total revert to CL's old skool fragile flower heroines. She has no spine, no calcium and never intends to even think about such a toxic subject, even in her subconscious mind.
She does have pretty, dark colored hair that bells out around her Madonna-like face, accenting her big blue eyes and she loves to garden. Saskia can also read people's minds.
Not all the time, mind you. More like she gets flashes of what they are thinking and feeling at random moments. Particularly when the people around her are in the grip of a big emotion. She doesn't understand why some people freak out about it, for her it is just like channel surfing on the TV, but Saskia doesn't worry about it too much, she likes her own company anyways and growing things.
Saskia and her bossy boots boss, Jamie, are doing the garden tour route of Italy. When the story opens we are in Venice and going to the Baroque Palladian Gran Teatro Fenice (a famous opera house) to see Verdi's tragic story of a fallen women who gives up happiness for the sake of her true love's family - La Traviata.
But Saskia is very agitated and it isn't cause she had to go get a cavity filled at the dentist earlier. Nope, Saskia knows that she is being hunted, she can FEEL it and she also knows who is doing the hunting - her estranged husband she ran away from two years earlier, Domenico.
When the theater darkens and the opera goers are happily singing the first act drinking song along with the opera cast, Saskia opens her mind and does some hunting of her own. She soon locates Domenico, glaring at her from a box in the pricier regions of the theater.
Saskia makes an excuse and leaves after the first act, totally missing Violetta's dramatic death scene, as she rushes to escape the pursuing Domenico. Jamie, who is a bossy boots, but also a decent English bloke, escorts her back to their group tour hotel and tells her to have a nice cup of chocolate before going to sleep.
(CL goes ALL out on the food porn on this. There is dish after dish of delicious Italian cuisine and I had to go hunt up some truffles in white sauce with bits of Parma ham before I was finished with this one.)
Saskia can't sleep for fretting about Domenico's startling appearance in a town she never thought he went to, and we learn that Saskia fled her husband two years earlier after a bad miscarriage and Domenico's father trying to kill her.
The next day, while touring the Gallerie dell'Accademia to view the Bellini paintings and studiously avoiding looking at The Madonna and Child, Domencio arrives. Suddenly Saskia KNOWS that he can read her mind back - and he is BETTER at it than she is - even tho he always laughed at her before.
Saskia tries to escape, but Domenico is a full fledged CL Alpha Male Italian HP H and resistance is futile.
He soon has both Saskia and Jamie whisked off to his original Palladio designed home on the Brenta Canal, when he corners Jamie in the salon of the hotel the tour group is staying at and invites him to come look at his overgrown, in need of restoration gardens.
Since Jamie owns a garden centre in England and Saskia is his rose specialist, Domenico lures Jamie with the promise of a big rose order for a garden he wants to put in. Saskia is resistant to the idea, she is wanting to go with the tour group to Murano and she has told nobody about her life before going back to England two years earlier.
Jamie is adamant they go, business and mucking in gardens are his favorite things. While Jamie is indulging in discovering rare Renaissance plants in Domenico's garden jungles, Saskia is reunited with her guard dog, Suki, and Domenico is demanding an explanation for her running off on him.
He has been frantically searching for her for two years, when he wasn't working, and he wants to know what could possibly have happened to make her put him through so much torment and anguish. So much anguish that it even put his mind on the same psychic connection wave as Saskia's.
We learn that Saskia was a regular, middle class girl who lucked into a garden job and liked it. She and Domenico had a bit of whirlwind courtship and then she found out Domenico was seriously rich when he took her home to meet the family.
Domenico's family were all very Aristocratic Northern Italians and Domenico's father was appalled that D had brought such a nobody with nothing into their midst.
The faithful family servants, except for the head gardener, were rude and abusive to Saskia - following the lead of D's father, sisters, friends and the rest of the people that Saskia was forced to live and socialize with.
Domenico worked 10 to 12 hour days and Saskia wasn't allowed to work. She also couldn't leave the heavily fortified estate without an army of bodyguards, because the entire family was at risk for kidnapping.
(Which was a real issue in Italy back in the 70's and 90's, wealthy and powerful people were kidnapped for ransom and then executed.)
Saskia isn't a social person at the best of times, so in the misery of a life that stiffled and smothered and frightened her, Saskia took refuge in the gardens.
Domenico wouldn't even take time off for a vacation and when Saskia got pregnant, she had a fall and suffered what sounded like a very late term miscarriage or still birth.
Domenico was so angry when he came to the hospital, that both the nurses and Saskia were convinced he was going to beat her. A major depression followed for Saskia, especially when her doctor told her she would probably never be able to carry a child to term.
Knowing that children were the main reason that Domenico's family even marginally tolerated her, Saskia felt even more isolated and alone and then there was the final, unrevealed altercation with Domenico's father that sent Saskia fleeing.
Domenico then reveals that he knows about the misery his family put her through and also that his father had a major heart attack the day she left and has been seriously ill ever since, he doesn't have too long to live and Domenico has taken over as head of the family.
Jamie makes his reappearance from the garden roaming at this point. After finding out that Saskia is Domenico's wife and having a delicious food porny lunch with lashes of truffles in white sauce amidst the decadence, Domenico demands that Saskia accompany him in his helicopter to Padua, his father wishes to see her.
Saskia does NOT want to go, she is terribly frightened. But bossy boots Jamie is adamant that Saskia HAS to go visit a dying man and he and Domenico bully her until she agrees to go. Then Jamie goes with one of D's bodyguards and disappears into the HP mists, never to be seen again.
Domenico and Saskia have a huge reuniting Purple Passion Lurve Mojo moment and Saskia knows that there will never be another man for her, but she also knows she just can't live Domenico's lifestyle and so she also can't stay, she just isn't good enough to be with Domenico and she KNOWS it.
Domenico assures her that she never has to see his family, except for maybe his youngest sister, Anna, whom Saskia really liked.
He has this fabulous house he inherited and restored for her. All new staff, except for the head gardener that was Saskia's friend, who will cater and bow to her and many, many minions who will make sure EVERYONE treats Saskia with the respect her fragile flowerness is due.
So she will never have to entertain business clients or do social things, cause Domenico is all about keeping delicate rose Saskia happy now and he can mostly work from home.
Saskia knows she has to go see D's father, so we all go to get into the helicopter when DRAMA strikes. The heli pilot is a kidnapper and he and the co-pilot have guns. They shoot Domenico's body guards, (they live btw,) and shoot at Saskia, even tho D tells him she is his secretary and put a black bag over Domenico's head and spirit him away on the helicopter.
The police are called and Anna and her husband show up. Saskia tells the police about her psychic network connection with Domenico and they don't believe her.
Even when she tells them that Domenico is in the mountains in a hut somewhere and that his former femme fatale wanna be OW secretary had something to do with the kidnapping. Saskia explains that she knows all this cause the Domenico/Saskia mind meld is on full broadcast mode.
The police are very doubting of ESP, however they discover that the wanna be OW secretary has a Sardinian husband of dubious business practices and a brother who is a helicopter pilot. After a night of worry and waiting, Domenico is rescued, the OW and co are in jail, and Domenico is joyously reunited with Saskia.
After the lovely reunion, duty calls and Saskia and D are off to Padua, to see D's father. Saskia gives us the scary details of the day she ran away in flashback, as we make the journey by car this time.
Saskia had been moping around the family estate and wandered into her just finished decorated for the baby nursery. She is overwhelmed with horror at all the things her precious child will never get to use and so she starts dismantling it in her grief.
Domenico's father comes in at this point and makes hideous accusations that losing her baby was all her fault. He hits her and he shakes her and then he tries to strangle her. Saskia is so out of it she doesn't even fight, until D's father has his hands around her neck.
This snaps her out of her funky fugue state and when D's father storms off, Saskia grabs her wallet and her passport, gets a lot of money out the bank and sneaks of to England to hide.
She knows she can't bear to have another child and she also feels she just isn't worthy enough to be Domenico's wife. She believes that Domenico will be able to get an annulment in the finest feudal Italian traditions, as soon as her barrenness becomes public.
Saskia returns to the present as the gates of Domenico's father's hospital open. Saskia is terrified, but Domenico holds her hand thru the big confrontation and Saskia is torn apart by pity as she sees D's father is a shrunken, fragile old man.
Domenico's father makes his big confession, in front of Domenico, and then Saskia forgives him. The old man wants her to come back later, he still has more to say and apologize for, but Saskia is very non-committal. She just doesn't fit into this world, she and Domenico met when he stepped on her foot at the Chelsea Garden Show for pity's sake.
We get a cute little flash back of how Domenico nearly trampled Saskia at the Chelsea show and then he fell in love in a heartbeat and wooed her and won her sweet little unicorn petting self in two weeks. Saskia was so lost in love, it never even occurred to her to ask what kind of life she and Domenico would lead.
Domenico is adamant that Saskia stay with him forever now, so when a big thunderstorm pops up, Domenico gets them a suite at a local hotel. After more marvelous food porn, Domenico does the big 'I love you and I am never letting you go even if we have no kids' speech - it was really, really well done.
Saskia finally gives in, cause she loves Domenico madly and Domenico has very carefully arranged the entire universe around everybody and everything Not Upsetting Saskia, Ever. Saskia knows that Domenico is a very Alpha Guy who has the money, the adamant will and the power to always get his way in everything too.
So with a sigh of relief and a huge roofie kiss that is surely leading to a massive Purple Passion True Love Sparkly Transcendent Bliss moment, we leave Saskia and Domenico to their very Mystic Lurve Connection HEA and another really entertaining dramatic CL HPlandia outing .
This book is Fabulously Whacktastic and so OTT in Trainwrecky Avalanches that is should probably be on the Cultic Whacktastic HP list. I enjoy this one enormously every time I read it and highly recommend it if you want to walk on the seriously wild side of HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2018
The hero is a 4; the heroine is a 2, and barely that.
Sturm and drag story of poor pitiful heroine, not good enough for patrician Italian snobby family. She is totally justified in her feelings about the H's family.
Hero finds her after two years; their romance is drama and angst.
He is a wonderful hero. Yes, he is pissed she ran, but he does everything he can to make sure history does not repeat itself:
The ending is rather abrupt.
Sturm and drag story of poor pitiful heroine, not good enough for patrician Italian snobby family. She is totally justified in her feelings about the H's family.
Hero finds her after two years; their romance is drama and angst.
He is a wonderful hero. Yes, he is pissed she ran, but he does everything he can to make sure history does not repeat itself:
The ending is rather abrupt.
January 10, 2021
4,5 stars.
Opening up the first page of Charlotte Lamb`s "Dark Fate" made me instantly think how wonderful it feels to go through the angsty feels and swoons of romance!Ah this author never disappoints!The heroine Saskia Newlyn instantly feels her estranged dominant italian husband Domenico Alessandros in the theatre and realizes that he has found her after all these years.It makes for a astounding journey where Domenico will do everything in his power to get his wife back!
I will say it again,this book was smoldering awesome and i never wanted it to end!Author`s detailed descriptions of the Venice buildings were stunning and the tales behind them.The fierce passion between Saskia and Domenico are as intense as it always have been and i love how they could read each other`s minds and feel what the other was feeling..it made their chemsitry only more sensual!Domenico was a true alpha-male to the core and so madly in love with his wife.During their separation he understood how much Saskia had suffered at the hands of his servants and his family.I love how devoted and loyal he had been all along and how he fought for their love.The ending made me shed some tears and i really wish for a epiluge to know if they ever get children in the future,but i am 100% sure that they do since they are a very passionate couple!
***
"Saskia...my god,Saskia..i`ve dreamed of making love to you so often over the past two years,I´m afraid you will vanish the way you do in my dreams.I´m afraid i`m going to wake up and find you gone again" -Domenico
Opening up the first page of Charlotte Lamb`s "Dark Fate" made me instantly think how wonderful it feels to go through the angsty feels and swoons of romance!Ah this author never disappoints!The heroine Saskia Newlyn instantly feels her estranged dominant italian husband Domenico Alessandros in the theatre and realizes that he has found her after all these years.It makes for a astounding journey where Domenico will do everything in his power to get his wife back!
I will say it again,this book was smoldering awesome and i never wanted it to end!Author`s detailed descriptions of the Venice buildings were stunning and the tales behind them.The fierce passion between Saskia and Domenico are as intense as it always have been and i love how they could read each other`s minds and feel what the other was feeling..it made their chemsitry only more sensual!Domenico was a true alpha-male to the core and so madly in love with his wife.During their separation he understood how much Saskia had suffered at the hands of his servants and his family.I love how devoted and loyal he had been all along and how he fought for their love.The ending made me shed some tears and i really wish for a epiluge to know if they ever get children in the future,but i am 100% sure that they do since they are a very passionate couple!
***
"Saskia...my god,Saskia..i`ve dreamed of making love to you so often over the past two years,I´m afraid you will vanish the way you do in my dreams.I´m afraid i`m going to wake up and find you gone again" -Domenico
February 17, 2016
That was hilarious. The book starts like any old Harlequin romance. Alpha Italian millionaire: check. Virginal country bumpkin girl:check. Big Terrible Misunderstanding:check. And then, there's the telepathy.
Uh, what? Apparently, h has been telepathic her whole life. No explanation is really given for this except some vague musings about television airwaves. Whatevs. I thought it was hilarious that h and H can read each other's minds, dream the same dream, and even send each other sexually explicit images (the telepathic version of sexting I guess) but neither could figure out how to resolve the Big Terrible Misunderstanding that had torn them apart for two years.
But wait! Just when you think they have reconciled and headed towards finally solving that Big Terrible Misunderstanding, suddenly a kidnapping plot complete with helicopter, armed gunmen, and ransom demands abruptly disrupts the plot. And h is now solving the crime by using her telepathic powers to reach her husband. So deliciously OTT!
This was overall a very entertaining,very sweet read, if reading an old-timey, non-pc, fluffy piece of Harlequinny goodness can help you pass the time before your next heavy read.
Uh, what? Apparently, h has been telepathic her whole life. No explanation is really given for this except some vague musings about television airwaves. Whatevs. I thought it was hilarious that h and H can read each other's minds, dream the same dream, and even send each other sexually explicit images (the telepathic version of sexting I guess) but neither could figure out how to resolve the Big Terrible Misunderstanding that had torn them apart for two years.
But wait! Just when you think they have reconciled and headed towards finally solving that Big Terrible Misunderstanding, suddenly a kidnapping plot complete with helicopter, armed gunmen, and ransom demands abruptly disrupts the plot. And h is now solving the crime by using her telepathic powers to reach her husband. So deliciously OTT!
This was overall a very entertaining,very sweet read, if reading an old-timey, non-pc, fluffy piece of Harlequinny goodness can help you pass the time before your next heavy read.
August 8, 2018
So many great reviews, so I won't go into plot details. Charlotte Lamb has a genius for opening a novel. With a few words we're at the opera, we're plunged into an emotional vortex as the heroine senses her estranged husband in the same room with her. It's been two years that she's been on the run from her wealthy Italian husband - but their feelings toward each other are as strong as ever.
I enjoyed their encounters and the mystery of why the heroine left - until the kidnapping. That felt a bit intrusive to the private emotional adventures they were having. Also, the heroine forgave the hero's father a bit too quickly for my liking. She was having nightmares for two years because of him. I don't think deathbed forgiveness is a get-out-of-trauma-free card, but it seemed to work here.
I do wonder if they will try for another baby after she designs the rose garden. That kind of question would have been answered in an epilogue (which they didn't do much in the old skool).
These quibbles aside, this was a very solid story and a very enjoyable vintage. Hero is great and his love for the heroine shone through.
I enjoyed their encounters and the mystery of why the heroine left - until the kidnapping. That felt a bit intrusive to the private emotional adventures they were having. Also, the heroine forgave the hero's father a bit too quickly for my liking. She was having nightmares for two years because of him. I don't think deathbed forgiveness is a get-out-of-trauma-free card, but it seemed to work here.
I do wonder if they will try for another baby after she designs the rose garden. That kind of question would have been answered in an epilogue (which they didn't do much in the old skool).
These quibbles aside, this was a very solid story and a very enjoyable vintage. Hero is great and his love for the heroine shone through.
September 9, 2010
I enjoyed this for what it was. A pretty good older HP. It had the interesting twist of having both the heroine and hero have pyschic powers although for the hero just with her. I liked that, although the heroine had left him 2 years ago, he had spent the two years searching for her. He had tried hard to figure out what had gone wrong with their marriage and change it for when he found her again. It would actually have been interesting to be in his POV as he searched for her. That would have been some melodrama. :-) But this starts once he has finally found her.
She had had a miscarriage and had been so depressed and had felt he blamed her, which along with some in law issues, made her leave. Okay, I always kind of think that romance authors make a bigger deal of miscarriages than is realistic. If they were writing about late term ones I could see it but early ones, while disappointing and sad, don't really tear you up so bad that you never want to risk trying again. I had 2 so I'm going by my own experience. Perhaps if you'd had 5 or 6 and couldn't keep trying it would be a bigger deal.
However, those of you who don't like epilogues where the hero and heroine are shown with their lovely new baby will be happy to know that this one ended with no baby in sight.
She had had a miscarriage and had been so depressed and had felt he blamed her, which along with some in law issues, made her leave. Okay, I always kind of think that romance authors make a bigger deal of miscarriages than is realistic. If they were writing about late term ones I could see it but early ones, while disappointing and sad, don't really tear you up so bad that you never want to risk trying again. I had 2 so I'm going by my own experience. Perhaps if you'd had 5 or 6 and couldn't keep trying it would be a bigger deal.
However, those of you who don't like epilogues where the hero and heroine are shown with their lovely new baby will be happy to know that this one ended with no baby in sight.
October 29, 2017
"Dark Fate" is the story of Domenico and Saskia, and oh SO MUCH DRAMA!
This book has everything
-An estranged couple
-A runaway heroine
-A "dark" incident
-A jealous, crazy in love husband
-Telepathy????
-Kidnappings
-yes-no-yes-omg-no plot
-Evil FIL
-Lovemaking
-Angst
-HEA
Im sucker for a devoted, celibate couple- and this had it. However, I wish we had an epilogue in order to see if she ever got over her "fear".
Safe
4/5
This book has everything
-An estranged couple
-A runaway heroine
-A "dark" incident
-A jealous, crazy in love husband
-Telepathy????
-Kidnappings
-yes-no-yes-omg-no plot
-Evil FIL
-Lovemaking
-Angst
-HEA
Im sucker for a devoted, celibate couple- and this had it. However, I wish we had an epilogue in order to see if she ever got over her "fear".
Safe
4/5
August 10, 2018
Even though I have some issues with this book, I loved it SO MUCH that it's going on my favorite HP shelf.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Things I loved...
1. The crazy woo-woo factor. I love paranormal biz, and it's very rare to see that in a Harlequin Presents. The fact that the heroine could read minds/feelings, and then the husband developed the same talent that connected him to the heroine, is soooooooo weird and lovely and swoony romantic. Gothic! LOLOLOLOL. In a HP. LOVE THIS SO MUCH!
(Also, the first scene is fantastic. She is at the opera in Venice and just knows he is there, somewhere in the darkness, looking at her. Hot diggity damn. That's awesomesauce!)
2. The setting was fabulous. So many wonderful details about Venice. Just gorgeous and lush and utterly romantic. More swoony time!
3. Since I have a background in botany/horticulture, I LOVED the fact that the heroine is a horticulturist and was working as a gardener and all of the discussion of renovating the historic rose garden....MORE SWOONING! PLANT SWOONING!
4. I totally loved the hero. He is just madly in love with her and heartbroken she left him and has no clue why and is begging her over and over again to come back to him. Oh dear Lord! GO BACK!
5. 99% of this book was perfection for me. However....now onto the 1% that was a muck-up...
Bad Stuff:
I just had to laugh about this...the husband is kidnapped in a super melodramatic way...gun-men grab him, throw a bag over his head, drag him into a helicopter!--and fly away with him. After some woo-woo communication, the wife helps to find his location and he is saved.
Now, you would think that the trauma of a kidnapping and near-death experience would be a black moment for a book.
But no.
Five seconds after he's kidnapped, the plot continues on as though it never happened and the H/h are bickering again.
LOLOLOLOLOL! At one point, I read some dialogue and thought, "Seriously! This guy was just kidnapped and no one seems at all traumatized. Um...okay."
But I just let it go, because it was sort of part of the whole Gothic melodramatic feel.
However, the ending.
There was no ending!
They were working towards a resolution, having a good open discussion about their future, and then....
Nothing.
Hee hee! WHAT IS THAT?
It was sweet and a bit romantic and hinted at a resolution and happy ending. But the kid thing was left unresolved. It was just a really disappointing non-ending.
Weird.
But then again, this whole book is pretty weird. Which is probably why I like it so much!
In spite of the non-ending, I'm giving it an A.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Things I loved...
1. The crazy woo-woo factor. I love paranormal biz, and it's very rare to see that in a Harlequin Presents. The fact that the heroine could read minds/feelings, and then the husband developed the same talent that connected him to the heroine, is soooooooo weird and lovely and swoony romantic. Gothic! LOLOLOLOL. In a HP. LOVE THIS SO MUCH!
(Also, the first scene is fantastic. She is at the opera in Venice and just knows he is there, somewhere in the darkness, looking at her. Hot diggity damn. That's awesomesauce!)
2. The setting was fabulous. So many wonderful details about Venice. Just gorgeous and lush and utterly romantic. More swoony time!
3. Since I have a background in botany/horticulture, I LOVED the fact that the heroine is a horticulturist and was working as a gardener and all of the discussion of renovating the historic rose garden....MORE SWOONING! PLANT SWOONING!
4. I totally loved the hero. He is just madly in love with her and heartbroken she left him and has no clue why and is begging her over and over again to come back to him. Oh dear Lord! GO BACK!
5. 99% of this book was perfection for me. However....now onto the 1% that was a muck-up...
Bad Stuff:
I just had to laugh about this...the husband is kidnapped in a super melodramatic way...gun-men grab him, throw a bag over his head, drag him into a helicopter!--and fly away with him. After some woo-woo communication, the wife helps to find his location and he is saved.
Now, you would think that the trauma of a kidnapping and near-death experience would be a black moment for a book.
But no.
Five seconds after he's kidnapped, the plot continues on as though it never happened and the H/h are bickering again.
LOLOLOLOLOL! At one point, I read some dialogue and thought, "Seriously! This guy was just kidnapped and no one seems at all traumatized. Um...okay."
But I just let it go, because it was sort of part of the whole Gothic melodramatic feel.
However, the ending.
There was no ending!
They were working towards a resolution, having a good open discussion about their future, and then....
Nothing.
Hee hee! WHAT IS THAT?
It was sweet and a bit romantic and hinted at a resolution and happy ending. But the kid thing was left unresolved. It was just a really disappointing non-ending.
Weird.
But then again, this whole book is pretty weird. Which is probably why I like it so much!
In spite of the non-ending, I'm giving it an A.
August 10, 2021
Very entertaining, and one of the best "terrible family" books.
August 11, 2018
Kind of bland in spite of the smitten Italian hero, paranormal aspect, and a kidnapping—believe it or not. The resolution at the end fell flat too. This romance just lacked some good 'ole love and passion on the heroine's part. What's the point of giving wet-noodle Saskia a telepathic connection with Domenico if her feelings are just lukewarm? I understand she put them into storage after the trauma . However, once she and Domenico reunited I'd hoped to eventually see some tender feelings pop up within her but they never materialized.
The bright spot in all this was our man-hunk, Domenico. I liked how much he loved Saskia and how he never gave up on their marriage. It's just too bad Domenico's devotion seemed like such a waste. (Saskia did step up to the plate when Domenico needed her in one crucial point in the story but it was a case of too little, too late for me.)
The bright spot in all this was our man-hunk, Domenico. I liked how much he loved Saskia and how he never gave up on their marriage. It's just too bad Domenico's devotion seemed like such a waste. (Saskia did step up to the plate when Domenico needed her in one crucial point in the story but it was a case of too little, too late for me.)
August 1, 2012
Dark Fate--I reread this again to get a second feel of it and to my surprise, I actually liked it a lot more the second time around. Dare I say I might even love it, except I didn't love the h.
The plot line is that H and h were married two years ago. He's a rich, powerful blue-blood with a family from hell. She's a poor, young, naive girl with a special talent of telepathy. They met, fell in love and married. His family hated her, especially H's father. She was intimidated by his lifestyle, feeling out of place and bored. He was too busy to notice that she was miserable, that his family (except for his youngest sister) treated her like crap. She got pregnant and had a miscarriage. Because she's telepathic, she felt that the H blamed her and hated her. H's father almost killed her one night in rage so on the brink of a nervous breakdown, she left a note for the H and ran away. Two years later was when the story begin. She was on a business trip with her boss when she saw H again. During the past two years H never ceased to go look for her. He never gave up. He's the star of the book. Probably one of CL's best, most underrated H (I overlooked him until the second time around). Although still an arrogant, jealous alpha, he never hid his feelings from the h. He was very open about his live for her, his struggle and pain to find her, his devotion to her. After he found out how she'd suffered while married to him, he took steps to reconciling it by buying a new house in a new city, new servants, changing his lifestyle to fit hers. He was just waiting to find her again. He admitted he's been faithful to her. Seriously, heroes should take lessons from him. Heroine, on the other hand, wasn't worthy. She was constantly running from him, even towards the end. Shoot, if she doesn't want him, I know plenty of women that would. Rich, handsome, faithful and devoted. Very un-HP. I don't hate the h, just didn't like her as much. Definitely a recommendation for this book.
The plot line is that H and h were married two years ago. He's a rich, powerful blue-blood with a family from hell. She's a poor, young, naive girl with a special talent of telepathy. They met, fell in love and married. His family hated her, especially H's father. She was intimidated by his lifestyle, feeling out of place and bored. He was too busy to notice that she was miserable, that his family (except for his youngest sister) treated her like crap. She got pregnant and had a miscarriage. Because she's telepathic, she felt that the H blamed her and hated her. H's father almost killed her one night in rage so on the brink of a nervous breakdown, she left a note for the H and ran away. Two years later was when the story begin. She was on a business trip with her boss when she saw H again. During the past two years H never ceased to go look for her. He never gave up. He's the star of the book. Probably one of CL's best, most underrated H (I overlooked him until the second time around). Although still an arrogant, jealous alpha, he never hid his feelings from the h. He was very open about his live for her, his struggle and pain to find her, his devotion to her. After he found out how she'd suffered while married to him, he took steps to reconciling it by buying a new house in a new city, new servants, changing his lifestyle to fit hers. He was just waiting to find her again. He admitted he's been faithful to her. Seriously, heroes should take lessons from him. Heroine, on the other hand, wasn't worthy. She was constantly running from him, even towards the end. Shoot, if she doesn't want him, I know plenty of women that would. Rich, handsome, faithful and devoted. Very un-HP. I don't hate the h, just didn't like her as much. Definitely a recommendation for this book.
January 9, 2021
Angsty romance. His wife left him 2 years ago and ever since Domenico has been searching for her, when he comes across his wife Saskia in Venice he refuses to let her leave.
I liked the fact that the hero had been
I found the addition of the heroine being telepathic her whole life a little funny - no explanation is really given for this except some vague-ish musings about TV airwaves and then it appears the hero can do the same when it comes to her only (the two have a psychic connection). This gift didn't top the miscommunication and misunderstandings that happened past or present.
I do feel the heroine forgave the father-in-law way too easy - am I being harsh, I don't know, but come on the man
The ending felt a little abrupt.
Not going in my re-read pile. The read didn't have me sinking into my sofa as I thought it would.
Potential Triggers:
I liked the fact that the hero had been
I found the addition of the heroine being telepathic her whole life a little funny - no explanation is really given for this except some vague-ish musings about TV airwaves and then it appears the hero can do the same when it comes to her only (the two have a psychic connection). This gift didn't top the miscommunication and misunderstandings that happened past or present.
I do feel the heroine forgave the father-in-law way too easy - am I being harsh, I don't know, but come on the man
The ending felt a little abrupt.
Not going in my re-read pile. The read didn't have me sinking into my sofa as I thought it would.
Potential Triggers:
June 5, 2014
I found this book pretty mediocre. The telepathy element didn't work for me, if you can read each other's mind, there shouldn't have been mis-communications or misunderstandings, right? The kidnapping part was too outlandish, and the ending was abrupt. The main reason I give this book a 2 star is because I didn't feel any sense of loss, despair, fear, sympathy, etc.
January 11, 2021
This one missed the mark for me, maybe it was 3-5 star reviews that had me hoping for something spectacular. Maybe it’s just me 🤷♀️ but I kept waiting for it to get better. I found the history lesson about crime in Italy more interesting than the story.
August 11, 2021
There are psycho and there are psychic.
Here we have two psychics. Hero and heroine read each other mind.
Very nice.
Lots of reviews so I won’t add the plot description.
I liked:
- the mind reading
- the gothic twist of hero’s evil family, with the manic fil who tried to strangle the heroine.
- the hero’s never ending commitment to the heroine
- the mystery slowly revealed, not all at once
I didn’t like:
- the heroine cowardice: she lost her baby and she didn’t want any other children. Coward.
-the abrupt ending. Will they really stay together? Will she have any baby?
The book was good, easy to read, this is really one of the best hero ever. Committed, patient, loyal.
The heroine not so much.
Recommended, safe, with a touch of magic.
Here we have two psychics. Hero and heroine read each other mind.
Very nice.
Lots of reviews so I won’t add the plot description.
I liked:
- the mind reading
- the gothic twist of hero’s evil family, with the manic fil who tried to strangle the heroine.
- the hero’s never ending commitment to the heroine
- the mystery slowly revealed, not all at once
I didn’t like:
- the heroine cowardice: she lost her baby and she didn’t want any other children. Coward.
-the abrupt ending. Will they really stay together? Will she have any baby?
The book was good, easy to read, this is really one of the best hero ever. Committed, patient, loyal.
The heroine not so much.
Recommended, safe, with a touch of magic.
September 23, 2021
A vintage Charlotte Lamb HP and it does deliver. I liked this a lot.
This h has dark hair (yes, finally a HP h who is not a blonde, it’s amazing!).
The H is a besotted alpha male who has spent the last two years looking for her after she walked out of him and their marriage. He was celibate in those years.
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**
What I didn’t like, was the kidnapping of the H and the telepathy stuff. That all just seemed ridiculous. That’s why I don’t rate it 5 stars, but 4 stars.
But it was great to see that he wanted her as his wife even if she never wanted to get pregnant again after her miscarriage. It was all about her. And it was a relief that the book didn’t end with a miracle pregnancy like in so many other HP’s.
A man and a woman can have a happy, fulfilled marriage and life without children. Thank you, Charlotte Lamb, for making that clear by not suddenly introducing unplanned pregnancies or whatever in an epilogue.
This h will never have to doubt his feelings for her. He chooses her and he is prepared to leave everything behind to be with her: his family, his business, his house, his own wish of having children. She is all he wants. What a great, great love he has for her. What a mighty man.
This h has dark hair (yes, finally a HP h who is not a blonde, it’s amazing!).
The H is a besotted alpha male who has spent the last two years looking for her after she walked out of him and their marriage. He was celibate in those years.
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**
What I didn’t like, was the kidnapping of the H and the telepathy stuff. That all just seemed ridiculous. That’s why I don’t rate it 5 stars, but 4 stars.
But it was great to see that he wanted her as his wife even if she never wanted to get pregnant again after her miscarriage. It was all about her. And it was a relief that the book didn’t end with a miracle pregnancy like in so many other HP’s.
A man and a woman can have a happy, fulfilled marriage and life without children. Thank you, Charlotte Lamb, for making that clear by not suddenly introducing unplanned pregnancies or whatever in an epilogue.
This h will never have to doubt his feelings for her. He chooses her and he is prepared to leave everything behind to be with her: his family, his business, his house, his own wish of having children. She is all he wants. What a great, great love he has for her. What a mighty man.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2025
3.5 stars - I liked the first half better than the second half. This had a fun twist - the hero and heroine can read each other’s thoughts and feelings. I liked that their separation was just a couple years and not 10, the hero was looking for the h the whole time, and the hero’s jealousy, possessiveness, and desperation. The heroine kinda got on my nerves a little.
November 21, 2018
A fine romance by Charlotte Lamb.
September 6, 2012
I liked this one. I wasn't sure the ESP stuff added all that much to the romance (except that it was part of the plot), but it didn't detract. I always love seeing the characters' reactions when something terrible or life-threatening happens, and we did get to see that here.
I did find it odd that the book ended without resolving whether they would have children. And I thought the heroine went overboard in declaring that she would never have children again because she had one miscarriage -- a single miscarriage can be traumatic I'm sure, but it's not worth never having children just to avoid the potential for another miscarriage (after multiple miscarriages, I could understand making this choice, but not for one).
Overall though, this was very readable for an older HP.
I did find it odd that the book ended without resolving whether they would have children. And I thought the heroine went overboard in declaring that she would never have children again because she had one miscarriage -- a single miscarriage can be traumatic I'm sure, but it's not worth never having children just to avoid the potential for another miscarriage (after multiple miscarriages, I could understand making this choice, but not for one).
Overall though, this was very readable for an older HP.
August 24, 2016
I liked this one but to me, it didn't come off super good or super bad. It was kind of a meh, that was it? feeling.
February 2, 2022
Metti una notte a Venezia di Charlotte Lamb.
Sarà che avrò qualche pianeta in opposizione ma mi è capitato un altro personaggio femminile completamente detestabile. Questo libro non ha nessun elemento che lo rende degno di essere ricordato, mi dispiace davvero tanto perché è difficile ritrovare la scrittrice che conosco bene tra queste righe, ne nella storia debole e sciocca, ne nei personaggi insulsi e fastidiosi , ne nei macroscopici vuoti narrativi, punti del romanzo che non vengono spiegati né con flashback né successivamente. L’unica cosa in cui riconosco la mano della Charlotte Lamb è nella struttura narrativa , perché di solito parte da un presente nebuloso e piano piano torna indietro spiegando i vari punti del passato sviluppandoli. E soprattutto trionfa l’amore… Qui non trionfa l’amore qui trionfa il personaggio di Saskia su Domenico, che rinuncia a tutto, persino ad avere dei figli pur di stare con lei e lei non rinuncia a niente,vince su tutta la linea senza concedere nulla,senza donare nulla, in un disequilibrio mai visto prima in nessun romanzo d’amore specialmente in un Harmony. Sciocca pusillanime e senza sentimenti. Un romanzo sterile e mal raccontato…il solo lato positivo è averlo inserito in due Challenge . Da dimenticare ⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2025
In which one of my favorite HP authors grossly misjudges what I want out of a Harlequin Presents novel.
Spoiler: bizarre telepathic communications and half-hearted kidnapping plots isn’t it.
Spoiler: bizarre telepathic communications and half-hearted kidnapping plots isn’t it.
September 1, 2011
This book was stupid. Really, really, REALLY stupid.
If you look at my profile - at my to read and my read lists, you will see that I like a bit of fantasy in my reads.
Vampires? Great. Warewolves? Wonderful. Ghosts and ghouls? Yes please. Hell, even ancient myths re-written to suit the moden world - why the hell not?
I love it. I love myth and magic and legend and fable. I border on obsessed with it.
But this is a book that just had no place being supernatural. The telepathy element seemed only there to make things easier for the writer - if they could feel what the other was feeling and see what the other was thinking (which only seemed to work for Alessandros, by the way) there was no need to work out the kinks in their marriage.
And if they could speak to each other in their minds (which came out of freaking no where) Alessandros could be kidnapped and rescued - because the police actually listen to hysterical women with voices whispering other women's names into their minds.
Right.
Where I come from, it'd be put down to either shock or insanity.
Saskia was an idiot and Alessandros has quite frankly BAD TASTE in choosing her to be his wife instead of one of the other suitors. She began so afraid of him and as far as I'm aware, that didn't get rectified - it just vanished into thin air.
Then there was the whole business with Alessandros' father. Hell, call me cruel but if someone had done that to me, I'd get real satisfaction from seeing them on their death bed, to be blunt. What comes around goes around.
In the end, nothing was solved. It was a quick fix solution of 'We can't be together' .. 'We can' .. 'Oh ok then =D'. It was even more rediculous than the telepathy.
This book will be joining Alejandros Revenge in the fire pit.
And good bleeding riddance.
If you look at my profile - at my to read and my read lists, you will see that I like a bit of fantasy in my reads.
Vampires? Great. Warewolves? Wonderful. Ghosts and ghouls? Yes please. Hell, even ancient myths re-written to suit the moden world - why the hell not?
I love it. I love myth and magic and legend and fable. I border on obsessed with it.
But this is a book that just had no place being supernatural. The telepathy element seemed only there to make things easier for the writer - if they could feel what the other was feeling and see what the other was thinking (which only seemed to work for Alessandros, by the way) there was no need to work out the kinks in their marriage.
And if they could speak to each other in their minds (which came out of freaking no where) Alessandros could be kidnapped and rescued - because the police actually listen to hysterical women with voices whispering other women's names into their minds.
Right.
Where I come from, it'd be put down to either shock or insanity.
Saskia was an idiot and Alessandros has quite frankly BAD TASTE in choosing her to be his wife instead of one of the other suitors. She began so afraid of him and as far as I'm aware, that didn't get rectified - it just vanished into thin air.
Then there was the whole business with Alessandros' father. Hell, call me cruel but if someone had done that to me, I'd get real satisfaction from seeing them on their death bed, to be blunt. What comes around goes around.
In the end, nothing was solved. It was a quick fix solution of 'We can't be together' .. 'We can' .. 'Oh ok then =D'. It was even more rediculous than the telepathy.
This book will be joining Alejandros Revenge in the fire pit.
And good bleeding riddance.
August 29, 2021
We got telepathy, second chance marriage, crazy in laws, rich man, a random kidnapping, flower obsession...wow, too much going on. I did like the heroine, despite all the randomness the author tossed on to her, and the hero wasn't so bad, and glad he came to grips to why the heroine left, and his part in it. But when the hero finds out what his dad did...physically attacked the heroine, he didn't react how he should have by compeletely shutting his father out. Something similar happened in Golden Ring of Betrayal, and when the hero finds out how his father betrayed him and hurt the heroine he was done, and it didn't matter that the dad was dying, which is how the hero should have behaved. So all the elements nothing has a chance to effect the story. Skip.
April 18, 2021
"It's fate - even when we're miles apart the link between us holds!"
Saskia thought that two years was long enough to confirm that she would never be reunited with her estranged husband, Domenico. But it seemed that there was no end to the strange bond that had existed between them: Domenico was waiting for her when she arrived on vacation in Venice!
Saskia had always had the uncanny ability to read Domenico's mind, so she was unnerved to find that now he, too, knew what she was thinking. Once again, she was somehow tied to him physically and mentally, and there seemed to be no escape.
Except that, in Domenico's eyes, a happy marriage should be completed with children
Saskia thought that two years was long enough to confirm that she would never be reunited with her estranged husband, Domenico. But it seemed that there was no end to the strange bond that had existed between them: Domenico was waiting for her when she arrived on vacation in Venice!
Saskia had always had the uncanny ability to read Domenico's mind, so she was unnerved to find that now he, too, knew what she was thinking. Once again, she was somehow tied to him physically and mentally, and there seemed to be no escape.
Except that, in Domenico's eyes, a happy marriage should be completed with children
May 6, 2016
I really enjoyed the plot the story line was great. I really liked the hero he was so in love with the Herione. Herione I did not like. I tried and I kept waiting for her to quit being such a B**** but never turned the corner. I just kept thinking she did not deserve this man's love. The Herione thought only of herself. Even when the herione realizes she had been selfish, she does not change it. I also needed something a little better for the ending a happier ending. One partner can't give all it can't work.
March 24, 2015
this is not one of my favs of charlotte's. it was boring and heavy.
March 1, 2018
Did not finish.
January 10, 2022
My copy was from 1995, Harlequin Presents, and same cover as above. This one had almost too much drama for the 187 pages.
What did I like? The names in this book were brilliant! Saskia is a quiet but lovely girl who was treated despicably by her husbands family and servants. Domenico is the suitably male aggressor that is angry his wife left him and he finds her after two years out with another man. The book depicts some wu-wu with Saskia being able to sense other people’s feelings like an empath. I thought that was a bit much but when it’s romance how bad can it get. The book follows with a kidnapping and then reconciliation with Domenico’s father Giovanni.
Would I recommend or buy? I’m amazed with everything in the story how weak it really is. I would have been good with two people and a second chance but I really have no idea why the author would make the book so OTP. I’m more attracted to one story line and some depth. Two stars for this one!
I own a copy of all of Charlotte Lamb’s books and hope to finish them all in 2022!
What did I like? The names in this book were brilliant! Saskia is a quiet but lovely girl who was treated despicably by her husbands family and servants. Domenico is the suitably male aggressor that is angry his wife left him and he finds her after two years out with another man. The book depicts some wu-wu with Saskia being able to sense other people’s feelings like an empath. I thought that was a bit much but when it’s romance how bad can it get. The book follows with a kidnapping and then reconciliation with Domenico’s father Giovanni.
Would I recommend or buy? I’m amazed with everything in the story how weak it really is. I would have been good with two people and a second chance but I really have no idea why the author would make the book so OTP. I’m more attracted to one story line and some depth. Two stars for this one!
I own a copy of all of Charlotte Lamb’s books and hope to finish them all in 2022!
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