What do you think?
Rate this book
I'll Take Forever
When Jenny Warwick is asked to provide cover for a DEA agent so he can infiltrate the small town where she lives, she protests none of her neighbors would be involved with drugs. Reluctantly agreeing to provide a cover story for the agent, she soon finds the man expects more than a mere place to stay. Before long everyone in town thinks there's a romance blooming between them.
Only Jenny knows it's part of Kyle's cover. Or is it?
Only Jenny knows it's part of Kyle's cover. Or is it?
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1987
67 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Barbara McMahon
410 books175 followersBestselling, award winning author Barbara McMahon has written more than 80 novels which have sold more than 16 million copies world wide in more than fifty countries in twenty-eight languages.
Known for her heartwarming, emotional stories, she excels in capturing those feelings when first falling in love. She has won or been nominated for every major award in the romance genre from a double nomination in the RITA to winning the Bookseller's Best, National Readers Choice Award and the prestigious HOLT Medallion, among others.
Barbara lives in West Michigan with her husband and two fur babies. Her favorite passtimes are genealogy research and taking her dogs on walks in the wood behind their home.
Known for her heartwarming, emotional stories, she excels in capturing those feelings when first falling in love. She has won or been nominated for every major award in the romance genre from a double nomination in the RITA to winning the Bookseller's Best, National Readers Choice Award and the prestigious HOLT Medallion, among others.
Barbara lives in West Michigan with her husband and two fur babies. Her favorite passtimes are genealogy research and taking her dogs on walks in the wood behind their home.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 3, 2019
Le sigh.
Government agent needs a cover, so he goes to live with the small town widow he met the night he broke into her house when seeking shelter from a snowstorm. And was all kinds of arrogant and cocky in a way that I assume is meant to be charming. (It might have been charming if it had been dialed back a bit, because he clearly is a nice guy, but it's also just a type of charm I don't find charming. You broke into her house, moron.)
The rest of this is Jenny introducing Kyle to people in the town as he makes progress on his case. They have chemistry. He has a "need to know policy" about his job, so tells her very little. She is curious. He meets someone else who he cozies up to for case-related reasons. He flirts with said other woman, while assuring Jenny it is only for case-related reasons. Jenny is jealous and vaguely heartsick, because even though she likes him, she's not a one-night stand type of girl, and he won't stay/share anything of his life with her for need-to-know related reasons. He is jealous of an old friend of hers. They almost sleep together. Lather, rinse, repeat the cycle of the last four sentences Every. Blinking. Chapter.
I mean, I get wanting to go slow and not jumping into bed with whomever. That's fine. That's more than fine. But don't revisit the same ground six times in the same novel.
Also, this does not have nearly enough tension/adventure for its plotline.
Lastly, it contains sentences like the following:
"Jenny was astonished!" (Never before has the addition of an innocent exclamation point to a sentence so successfully provoked an eye-roll.)
"My darling Jenny, I know that. Your obtuseness has alternated in causing me great amusement and great frustration." (I literally cannot even. #1. The prose, #2. Perhaps this means you should have, I don't know, enlightened her. Or whatever.)
Pretty sure this one is also getting removed from my kobo library...
Government agent needs a cover, so he goes to live with the small town widow he met the night he broke into her house when seeking shelter from a snowstorm. And was all kinds of arrogant and cocky in a way that I assume is meant to be charming. (It might have been charming if it had been dialed back a bit, because he clearly is a nice guy, but it's also just a type of charm I don't find charming. You broke into her house, moron.)
The rest of this is Jenny introducing Kyle to people in the town as he makes progress on his case. They have chemistry. He has a "need to know policy" about his job, so tells her very little. She is curious. He meets someone else who he cozies up to for case-related reasons. He flirts with said other woman, while assuring Jenny it is only for case-related reasons. Jenny is jealous and vaguely heartsick, because even though she likes him, she's not a one-night stand type of girl, and he won't stay/share anything of his life with her for need-to-know related reasons. He is jealous of an old friend of hers. They almost sleep together. Lather, rinse, repeat the cycle of the last four sentences Every. Blinking. Chapter.
I mean, I get wanting to go slow and not jumping into bed with whomever. That's fine. That's more than fine. But don't revisit the same ground six times in the same novel.
Also, this does not have nearly enough tension/adventure for its plotline.
Lastly, it contains sentences like the following:
"Jenny was astonished!" (Never before has the addition of an innocent exclamation point to a sentence so successfully provoked an eye-roll.)
"My darling Jenny, I know that. Your obtuseness has alternated in causing me great amusement and great frustration." (I literally cannot even. #1. The prose, #2. Perhaps this means you should have, I don't know, enlightened her. Or whatever.)
Pretty sure this one is also getting removed from my kobo library...
January 9, 2016
I accidentally downloaded this freebie, mistakenly thinking of another Barbara (Bretton, Freethy, or Delinsky, Cartland.) I found that I'll Take Forever is another prematurely published novel. The story is good, even though it is pretty simplistic and predictable; but the book is badly in need of editing. It is filled with simple typos (such as: "she could barely breath" "still he didn't returned" and "would make sure them came out in his favor") and glaring grammatical errors (such as: "whomever it was...", "Jenny felt badly...").
June 17, 2013
I've read and enjoyed a couple of McMahon's other books, but this one was full of adverbs and run-on sentences, which weren't improved by a rather tstl heroine and a hero who wasn't sufficiently well characterised to actually make him likeable.
August 27, 2021
I found this book for free via Freebooksy; this is my honest review
-Mystery, suspense, romance, action, adventure - all mixed in one. A bit tedious.
-Jenny thought she was entitled because she was providing something the spy needed, went into danger thinking she could save him, leaving without the dog to protect her; at long last she was desperate and a loser while letting the man have his way unprotected.
-The story contains some obvious errors that should not have been there, like going to bed with her bathrobe but it's already taken off. One star off for errors, ill-constructed sentences, missing words, etc.
-Mystery, suspense, romance, action, adventure - all mixed in one. A bit tedious.
-Jenny thought she was entitled because she was providing something the spy needed, went into danger thinking she could save him, leaving without the dog to protect her; at long last she was desperate and a loser while letting the man have his way unprotected.
-The story contains some obvious errors that should not have been there, like going to bed with her bathrobe but it's already taken off. One star off for errors, ill-constructed sentences, missing words, etc.
August 1, 2022
It had a good beginning, a kind of cliche ending. If you like short romantic stories, to read fast and have a nice time you might like this book. The downside of it was the main charactr lost strength around the middle of the story, being so insecure, making jelousy scenes knowing the situaton her and the male lead were in... whilr she went out with his "friend".. so I read it... spend good time.. but it did not bloe me again since Jenny became a little annoying at some point...
July 23, 2018
I really liked this book it had a little bit of everything, romance,mystery. The characters were very believable. Another plus it didn't go too deep into the secondary characters. And it just revealed enough of the primary characters to keep it interesting and make you want more in case there is another book waiting in the wings.
December 10, 2025
A lovely escape
A sweet easy story to follow without too muc
h turmoil and tension. The characters are likeable, the language is quite good and the plot is not too bland. Skipped over the quite detailed spicy scenes that I could personally do without. Other than that it's a fine light read.
A sweet easy story to follow without too muc
h turmoil and tension. The characters are likeable, the language is quite good and the plot is not too bland. Skipped over the quite detailed spicy scenes that I could personally do without. Other than that it's a fine light read.
June 25, 2017
A quick and delicious read
I loved the unlikely relationship of the two main characters. The suspense was perfectly sprinkled throughout the book. I would read more from this author. One criticism- a few typos but not enough for me to stop reading it.
I loved the unlikely relationship of the two main characters. The suspense was perfectly sprinkled throughout the book. I would read more from this author. One criticism- a few typos but not enough for me to stop reading it.
December 12, 2016
Good story
This was a a good story. Kyle and Jenny's story was charming and very interesting. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.
This was a a good story. Kyle and Jenny's story was charming and very interesting. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.
July 6, 2019
I loved the story
The book was great but someone really needs to proof read next time. I would have given it 5 stars but there were so many mistakes.
The book was great but someone really needs to proof read next time. I would have given it 5 stars but there were so many mistakes.
September 5, 2023
Pretty dated, pot is the big bad drug and overall the conclusion is pretty weak. Not a lot of build up for the romance and the drug storyline just abruptly ends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2016
A good story line
January 22, 2012
Winter Stranger, Summer Lover by Barbara McMahon (started 12/23/11; finished 12/25/11)
Even if I hadn’t looked at the copyright page I would know that this book was written around the Say No to Drugs campaign of the 1980s and 90s. The really bad drug: marijuana! Did you laugh? So did I. This novel was annoying in so many ways. Initially I was into the whole mysterious man breaks into your home thing and doesn’t attack you, but then it just got ridiculous. The stupid guy breaks in but doesn’t understand that he’s scaring her. That was mistake number one. The next mistake was that he acts like he’s playing her because that’s the nature of his job, but he’s not. Can we say it together: Don't be creepy, Communication is important! If someone doesn’t know what you’re thinking then they are going to be paranoid. So I know that I’m using 2011 standards in judging this 1988 book, but it’s sooo bad!
Even if I hadn’t looked at the copyright page I would know that this book was written around the Say No to Drugs campaign of the 1980s and 90s. The really bad drug: marijuana! Did you laugh? So did I. This novel was annoying in so many ways. Initially I was into the whole mysterious man breaks into your home thing and doesn’t attack you, but then it just got ridiculous. The stupid guy breaks in but doesn’t understand that he’s scaring her. That was mistake number one. The next mistake was that he acts like he’s playing her because that’s the nature of his job, but he’s not. Can we say it together: Don't be creepy, Communication is important! If someone doesn’t know what you’re thinking then they are going to be paranoid. So I know that I’m using 2011 standards in judging this 1988 book, but it’s sooo bad!
April 15, 2016
Wasn’t a fan of the characters – hero wasn’t gentleman, besides it stating he was a DEA agent, you wouldn’t know it by his actions. The heroine declares after a year she’s over her dead husband, unbelievable that a single woman would react the way she did when hero broke into her house. The cover story was ridiculous and normally wouldn’t fly in a small town. I thought the ending was abrupt. The dialogue was dull. A lot of typo’s which normally doesn’t bother me, but this was excessive. The plot led me to believe it was a romantic suspense but it was lacking on both. Maybe if the characters were more developed I would have enjoyed the book more.
May 30, 2016
Liked the first half of the story. I thought Jenny and Kyle looked a cute couple bantering from dawn til evening. Loved that part. Then it became annoying as I realize the hero is a manipulative bastard. The kind of cop you'd want to be killed in duty! He's rarely shown a soft side, always intimidating the heroine with a few 'trying to woo scenes'. I decided to stop reading when the crime story became a love and lust story. Jenny is a widow, for only a year, yet she's acting as if she never had a dead husband!
Read
July 4, 2018He was an intruder who stole her heart
He gave her the shock of her life, this dark and dangerous-looking intruder who had broken into Jenny Warwick's isolated home in the Sierra Nevada during a raging blizzard.
Kyle Martin claimed to be not villain but hero and he'd stolen nothing . . . except possibly her heart.
It seemed to be her duty to help maintain his masquerade even if it involved seeing her friends and neighbors under suspicion. But, having been widowed once, how could Jenny allow herself to love this mysterious man whose work placed him in such mortal danger?
He gave her the shock of her life, this dark and dangerous-looking intruder who had broken into Jenny Warwick's isolated home in the Sierra Nevada during a raging blizzard.
Kyle Martin claimed to be not villain but hero and he'd stolen nothing . . . except possibly her heart.
It seemed to be her duty to help maintain his masquerade even if it involved seeing her friends and neighbors under suspicion. But, having been widowed once, how could Jenny allow herself to love this mysterious man whose work placed him in such mortal danger?
November 30, 2016
Surprise in all
This is the first book I have read from this author and I can honestly say I loved it .. Jenny was the type of girl that basically stayed to herself after her husband died in a car wreck . In a blizzard someone had broken in to her house to get out of the storm to one day disappear .. She had wondered about Kyle after he left . But later for him to show up and need her help again ... You need to read the story to find out what happens
This is the first book I have read from this author and I can honestly say I loved it .. Jenny was the type of girl that basically stayed to herself after her husband died in a car wreck . In a blizzard someone had broken in to her house to get out of the storm to one day disappear .. She had wondered about Kyle after he left . But later for him to show up and need her help again ... You need to read the story to find out what happens
January 23, 2016
Good storyline
I was disappointed that there were so many grammatical mistakes - words used in the wrong tense, lots of partial words, and lots of incomplete sentences. Whether this is her first (or 50th) book, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Maybe she needs a better proofreader ... time will tell.
I was disappointed that there were so many grammatical mistakes - words used in the wrong tense, lots of partial words, and lots of incomplete sentences. Whether this is her first (or 50th) book, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Maybe she needs a better proofreader ... time will tell.
August 4, 2016
Cute but a bit farfetched
The premise of an intruder being a good guy and not reveling who he is, but the heroine accepting his presence was a stretch. The rest of the story was well written and the plot believable. The proof reading was very poor, the missing words and misused words were distracting.
The premise of an intruder being a good guy and not reveling who he is, but the heroine accepting his presence was a stretch. The rest of the story was well written and the plot believable. The proof reading was very poor, the missing words and misused words were distracting.
October 6, 2014
Thanks
I never wanted to be the heroine more than I wanted it this time. I have been in love like this only once in .my 71years and he died 6 years ago and the love I felt then is a beautiful ember reignited by this wonderful book AND STORY. THANKS.
I never wanted to be the heroine more than I wanted it this time. I have been in love like this only once in .my 71years and he died 6 years ago and the love I felt then is a beautiful ember reignited by this wonderful book AND STORY. THANKS.
June 2, 2015
It was a lovely blushingly sweet character driven romance, with traditional values and conservative perspectives that reflect a conservative upbringing of some small towns. Quite honestly, it made me search for the publication date...2011, just in case you wondered. ;)
December 14, 2015
A beautifully written story.
I got this book I'll Take Forever free. This was a romance story with some suspense in it as well. The story is about Jenny and Kyle. It tells of where Jenny was living and her life. She met Kyle and how she was asked to create a cover for Kyle. This was a good read.
I got this book I'll Take Forever free. This was a romance story with some suspense in it as well. The story is about Jenny and Kyle. It tells of where Jenny was living and her life. She met Kyle and how she was asked to create a cover for Kyle. This was a good read.
January 26, 2016
A good read
I chose 4 stars because of the many spelling errors along with a few sentence's where words were left out.
All in all a good book although I would have liked more suspense.
Would probably recommend to a friend and will definitely read more of Barbara McMahon's books.
I chose 4 stars because of the many spelling errors along with a few sentence's where words were left out.
All in all a good book although I would have liked more suspense.
Would probably recommend to a friend and will definitely read more of Barbara McMahon's books.
January 28, 2016
Sweet romance
I liked this novel. Any problems are cleaned and cleared up very quickly. There is no deep danger that keeps you in suspense and the love affair feels a tiny bit rushed towards the end but it kept me reading and I enjoyed it
I liked this novel. Any problems are cleaned and cleared up very quickly. There is no deep danger that keeps you in suspense and the love affair feels a tiny bit rushed towards the end but it kept me reading and I enjoyed it
February 5, 2016
Very good. book!
This is a quick read as it captures your attention. The two main characters meet when Kyle breaks into a home during a blizzard. He has to have shelter to survive.
This is a quick read as it captures your attention. The two main characters meet when Kyle breaks into a home during a blizzard. He has to have shelter to survive.
March 14, 2016
I'll Take Forever!
A new author to me and I enjoyed reading this book. A romance with a light suspense, along with two fun characters, kept me following along to find their hea. I will be following this Author and catching up with her previous books as I can.
A new author to me and I enjoyed reading this book. A romance with a light suspense, along with two fun characters, kept me following along to find their hea. I will be following this Author and catching up with her previous books as I can.
March 25, 2016
From page one to the last page I could not put the book down til I finished it. The story had just the right amount of suspense and romance. Loved the main characters and the path they took to get where they did at the end. Can't wait to read more from barbara McMahon
November 8, 2016
A very sweet and endearing story. Was a little unusual when the book starts off when a man breaks into your home and the main character Jenny has nerves of steel it seems.
But a very cute and interesting love story.
But a very cute and interesting love story.
Want to read
March 26, 2013Kobo free download 3/26/13.
April 21, 2013
Another quick, easy read, predictable love story. There were a lot of grammatical errors in the kindle version which is a distraction for me; however, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews