Bogus Bride

by Elizabeth Duke

His Smile Made Her Melt

And his kisses rocked the world. It had always been like that between them, but Skye Haywood had learned the hard way that she couldn't trust Rafe Baldwin. He'd shattered any illusions of happy-ever-after, and since then she'd chosen safety over passion.

And she'd been safe until Rafe appeared at her door, asking for help with Sophie, the woman who'd raised them both. For Sophie's benefit, she agreed to spend three weeks in the Australian outback in close quarters with Rafe, but could she risk her heart again by agreeing to pose as his bride?

Genres: Harlequin Romance

Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[Annarose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skye idealized and loved Rage Baldwin ever since she went to live with his family after her parents were killed in a plane crash when she was little. However, when she became seventeen, she heard him make love to another girl so she decided to be independent and go for a nursing career, controlling her own life. Unfortunately, Rafe's parents, who brought her up affectionately, have a road accident and as a nurse she has to take care and accompany Sofie, her godmother, to Rafe's ranch for recuperation. It is there that Skye discovers she's far from being immune to Rafe's charm as she used to think.

The Story is fine if it was written in a convincing way. However, it is not! Both the main characters are silly and shallow to my liking.

[Live2Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me tell ya something about it. Have this book was written in the 60s-70s-early 80s it could be considerably within bounds and deemed acceptable for its time. But because it was written in ‘93 and with ‘minor’ wrong wordings it ended up making the hero sounded more like a pedobear than the caring hero he was. And I love me a I love you long time hero but the fault lies within the author. Indeed! Then, ridiculously, I couldn’t help but to feel awfully sorry for a nonexistent character of a hero, because it’s not very fair that he was considerably it. Truly, the author could have worded things differently for redeemable effects. Please, check out spoilers for more details.

Two different scenes and the first one is between the hero’s mom, Aunt Sophie, and the heroine. The following bits comes straight from the hero’s mouth, the necessary revelation before we can get our happily ever after. It was kind of sappy, wordier than necessary, a bit cringe. As you will see that such revelations urgently needed rewording fast because oh boy, my conclusions are not thinking legal…

[Aunt Sophie]
“Remember Rafe’s twenty-first birthday party? When he kissed you in front of the whole gathering—quite a kiss it was too, not just a brotherly peck, even though you were only about fourteen at the time. You went around with stars in your eyes for weeks afterwards. You told me you would never love anyone else but Rafe—ever.”

[Rafe]
“You were only a child when I kissed you. Fourteen. What you felt for me then, it would have been just a childish crush. I hoped that one day it would grow into something more. Because I loved you then and I’ve loved you ever since. You bewitched me, Skye, from the day you first came to us. Watching you, being with you over the years, was sweet torture. You beat in my blood, haunted my dreams, livened my days. But you were only a child. I knew I would have to wait...”

“At my twenty-first, even knowing the danger, something made me kiss you as I’d never kissed you before—I couldn’t resist it.”


Concluding, she is fourteen, him twenty-one. Yes, that makes her very much a child! He was aroused by one? And how long ago have he been ‘watching’ her? My, oh my! Perhaps, I’m missing a part here and Skye indeed showed up at fourteen so it is only then when Rafe fell in love with Skye. But it doesn’t change the fact that she was four whole years underaged, and he knew it was ‘danger’ yet he still went for it. And it was not a brotherly peck either! Perhaps, the author thought with an audience onlooking it’s all good in the hood? Oh, no. I know vintage books are not today-correct but the age gap here could have been more commonly; Skye at sixteen or seventeen to Rafe’s twenty-one or twenty-three, if the author must keep seven years between them. What a lack of insight on the author’s part!

Other than that the book flows well. Chemistry with low-angst all around. Lot of bantering but it was readable, mostly reasonable within their own minds. Minor OM drama and I’m glad the man will get his own happily ever after, too, as he wasn’t meant for the heroine. But I did think the author really glossed over the death of hero’s father. Sadness and mourning were not heavily presented. Heroine, hero and his mother and siblings all seem to have accepted and got over the death fast. With the funeral done, all was forgotten.

[Elgyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

s. 25 Pohrdavě si změřil její nový plášť z červeného šifónu – trvalo jí tři týdny, než ho z platu ošetřovatelky zaplatila.
Celé tři týdny? Tak to bylo vskutku odříkání.

s. 30 Ale už je mi přes jednadvacet... hodně přes jednadvacet (…) Toho dne, kdy jsem se přehoupla přes jedenadvacítku (…) abych jim ukázala, že umím stát na vlastních nohou...
Je jí 22 a půl. I když se chová jako osmiletá.

Ty si myslíš, že si ho nevezmu, protože bude mít praxi (a bohatství) až za pár týdnů? Já ti ale ukážu a vezmu si ho hned zítra! (s. 33)
Akorát se ho zapomněla zeptat, jestli si ji vzít chce. Ale to je detail.
A taky nevíme, jestli to bude před pohřbem strýce, nebo až po něm. 🤦‍
Ale pak se ukáže, že zítra neznamená zítra.

Sofie má zlomenou ruku a žebra, pár modřin a oděrek. (s. 8)
Takže nemůže jít na pohřeb svého milovaného manžela. (s. 34)
Ale když jí o něm Skye přišla povyprávět seděla na židli ve splývavém růžovém županu, učesaná, s jemným make-upem. (s. 40)

Hlavní „zápletkou“ je, že ho nenávidí, protože na něho věrně čekala od svých 14 do 17 let. Zatímco on se možná asi válel na seně s nějakou cuchtou.
Aby se pak ukázalo, že chtěl, ale nemohl, protože to nebyla hrdinka, takže pouze zaplatil a odešel. Že by si svůj věnec šetřil pro hrdinku až do třicítky?

s. 68 Viděla z něj jenom široký úsměv a špičku nosu; zbytek zakrýval stín špičatého klobouku staženého hluboko do čela (…) byl (…) taky docela hezký
Vzhledem k tomu, že z něho neviděla skoro nic, je to odvážné tvrzení.

s. 75 „Máma tě nebude potřebovat celý den,“ řekl pobaveně. „Nejspíš hned ráno, možná při jídle, a já jí myslím budu moci pomoct při svlékání večer a při cvičení, ale to by mělo být všechno, ne?“
Tomu říkám obětavý syn. Která matka by nechtěla, aby ji její skoro třicetiletý syn večer svlékal.
že teta Sofie říkala, že plní úlohu spoluhostitelky. Ale to určitě myslela jenom při jídle (…) zbytek dne snad ne? Během dne se bude muset držet tety Sofie...
Z toho vidíme, že nic nevidíme.

Jestli autorka chtěla ukázat, že hrdinka je úplně pitomá, zápletkou na s. 136 se jí to povedlo. Ale hrdina jí dal za vyučenou, ona všechno pochopila a bylo.

s. 74 s tak světlou pletí
Na s. 8 měla pleť „medovou“.

Teta Sophie z anotace je v knížce Sofie.

Kombinuje metry, míle, stopy...

s. 27 Michale [Michael]
s. 54 zamlká
s. 77 skákaly [skákali]