What do you think?
Dangerous Temptation
HE WAS DESPERATE TO REMEMBER...
Jake wasn't sure why he'd agreed to take his twin brother's place on the flight to London. Nor why he'd agreed to commit Nathan's crime. Maybe it was misplaced loyalty, maybe it was the memory of their mother's sacrifices.
But when Jake awakens in a hospital after the crash, he can't even remember his own name. He's told he's Nathan Wolfe. But he doesn't remember a life in London, or the beautiful woman who watches him so guardedly. Caitlin. His wife.
SHE WAS DESPERATE TO FORGET...
Her husband, seems like a stranger to Caitlin--a man who assumes there is love when none exists, intimacy where none is wanted, warm passion instead of cold resentment. He is totally different--so unbearably seductive, like the man she'd thought she had married.
Until his memory returns. And with it, a danger that threatens them all.
Jake wasn't sure why he'd agreed to take his twin brother's place on the flight to London. Nor why he'd agreed to commit Nathan's crime. Maybe it was misplaced loyalty, maybe it was the memory of their mother's sacrifices.
But when Jake awakens in a hospital after the crash, he can't even remember his own name. He's told he's Nathan Wolfe. But he doesn't remember a life in London, or the beautiful woman who watches him so guardedly. Caitlin. His wife.
SHE WAS DESPERATE TO FORGET...
Her husband, seems like a stranger to Caitlin--a man who assumes there is love when none exists, intimacy where none is wanted, warm passion instead of cold resentment. He is totally different--so unbearably seductive, like the man she'd thought she had married.
Until his memory returns. And with it, a danger that threatens them all.
378 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1997
About the author
Anne Mather
814 books369 followersAnne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson, a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 18, 2019
Spineless little rich girls and endlessly angry, rapey men don't really do it for me, but I hung on to this novel to get to The Big Reveal.
Basic plot:
1. Two identical twins, separated at birth. Evil twin Nathan grows up rich, "Good" twin Jake grows up poor. They meet later in life.
2. Evil twin Nathan marries Rich Girl Caitlin, abuses her and cheats on her, but never reveals he's a twin.
3. Evil Nathan then persuades "Good" Jake to take his place on a flight due to some drug deal gone wrong.
4. Plane crash + amnesia = "Good" Jake thinking he's married Caitlin, who in her turn has no idea he's not Evil Nathan.
So obviously what everyone is waiting for here is The Scene. The Big Reveal. Where Caitlin guesses or Jake confesses the truth.
BUT WE NEVER GET IT!
Instead, Jake finally screws Caitlin which recovers his memory. Then he skips off to the US. Caitlin has no idea why he's gone. It's left to Nathan's ex-mistress (who guessed instantly that Jake wasn't Nathan) to tell her.
What a damp squib. The one scene you read the bloody book for, and Anne Mather limped out of writing it.
There are three other really toxic themes in this book:
1. Misogynistic patriarchs
There are no less than four different fathers in this book bypassing their daughters and favouring sons, and/or using their daughters as brood mares. I assume that Anne Mather was trying to make a points, but I'm not sure what it was.
2. Weak women
Caitlin, who supposedly had a business degree, was passed over by her father for an executive job in the family firm for the dodgy Nathan. So what does she do? She gets some crappy little shop assistant job in an auction house, which she later loses to the work experience. In fairness she can't even manage a bit of pen-and-paper bookkeeping, so God only knows where she got her MBA from. Then there are various weak wives who put up with their husbands' affairs and abuse and fail to advocate for their daughters.
3. Angry rapey men
This is mainly Jake. He's supposed to be the hero, but he's vile. It's obvious he (or rather Nathan) did something terrible to Caitlin, but despite the fact he has amnesia he keeps trying to force himself on her and getting angry when she wears a more modest nightgown to bed, and then sexually assaults her in her sleep. I don't mind a bit of "ravishment" in a novel, but not with an entitled ex-junkie jerk like Jake.
Basic plot:
1. Two identical twins, separated at birth. Evil twin Nathan grows up rich, "Good" twin Jake grows up poor. They meet later in life.
2. Evil twin Nathan marries Rich Girl Caitlin, abuses her and cheats on her, but never reveals he's a twin.
3. Evil Nathan then persuades "Good" Jake to take his place on a flight due to some drug deal gone wrong.
4. Plane crash + amnesia = "Good" Jake thinking he's married Caitlin, who in her turn has no idea he's not Evil Nathan.
So obviously what everyone is waiting for here is The Scene. The Big Reveal. Where Caitlin guesses or Jake confesses the truth.
BUT WE NEVER GET IT!
Instead, Jake finally screws Caitlin which recovers his memory. Then he skips off to the US. Caitlin has no idea why he's gone. It's left to Nathan's ex-mistress (who guessed instantly that Jake wasn't Nathan) to tell her.
What a damp squib. The one scene you read the bloody book for, and Anne Mather limped out of writing it.
There are three other really toxic themes in this book:
1. Misogynistic patriarchs
There are no less than four different fathers in this book bypassing their daughters and favouring sons, and/or using their daughters as brood mares. I assume that Anne Mather was trying to make a points, but I'm not sure what it was.
2. Weak women
Caitlin, who supposedly had a business degree, was passed over by her father for an executive job in the family firm for the dodgy Nathan. So what does she do? She gets some crappy little shop assistant job in an auction house, which she later loses to the work experience. In fairness she can't even manage a bit of pen-and-paper bookkeeping, so God only knows where she got her MBA from. Then there are various weak wives who put up with their husbands' affairs and abuse and fail to advocate for their daughters.
3. Angry rapey men
This is mainly Jake. He's supposed to be the hero, but he's vile. It's obvious he (or rather Nathan) did something terrible to Caitlin, but despite the fact he has amnesia he keeps trying to force himself on her and getting angry when she wears a more modest nightgown to bed, and then sexually assaults her in her sleep. I don't mind a bit of "ravishment" in a novel, but not with an entitled ex-junkie jerk like Jake.
August 27, 2018
3,5
Porque achei que a autora se perdeu no final. Um bom enredo, envolvendo gêmeos.
Um honesto e o outro um canalha de marca maior casado com uma jovem que só queria ser feliz.
Infeliz no casamento Caitlin tenta se separar, mas a doença do pai impede que siga adiante.
E quando um acidente acontece, ela se vê atraída pelo homem que se diz seu marido e que voltou diferente depois de perder a memória.
Jake não sabe quem é, mas tem certeza de uma coisa, que sua esposa é tudo que ele quer de uma mulher. E ele sente que ela está atraída por ele. Então, porque ela o despreza? O que ele fizera para que ela o repudiasse.
Só restava recuperar a memória para descobrir o que os impedia de ser feliz.
Porque achei que a autora se perdeu no final. Um bom enredo, envolvendo gêmeos.
Um honesto e o outro um canalha de marca maior casado com uma jovem que só queria ser feliz.
Infeliz no casamento Caitlin tenta se separar, mas a doença do pai impede que siga adiante.
E quando um acidente acontece, ela se vê atraída pelo homem que se diz seu marido e que voltou diferente depois de perder a memória.
Jake não sabe quem é, mas tem certeza de uma coisa, que sua esposa é tudo que ele quer de uma mulher. E ele sente que ela está atraída por ele. Então, porque ela o despreza? O que ele fizera para que ela o repudiasse.
Só restava recuperar a memória para descobrir o que os impedia de ser feliz.
February 4, 2013
Anne Mather wrote a bunch of romance novels for the Harlequin Presents imprint back when I was first starting to notice boys. Harlequin Presents are slim novels. In my youth the girl was young and virginal and the hero always declared love and proposed in the last few pages. If he touched her boob once, I and all my friends were scandalized and thrilled. So Anne Mather's novel Dangerous Temptations, at twice the length and written later for a different imprint, looked to me like it would have a more experienced heroine who would wind up in bed with the hero at least a few times. I wondered how else this novel might differ from my old faves.
Plot: Jake's identical twin convinces him to take a suitcase with questionable contents from the US to England, but the plane crashes and he comes to with amnesia, thinking he's his twin and the husband of the heroine whom he sort of already loves. The subplot involves the twin being a white collar crook in over his head to a casino owner.
There were elements I liked and those I didn't. I liked the romantic scenes and the sex scenes (not overly clinical, more euphamistic and emotional but its still obvious they're having sex); props to Ms. Mathers on knowing her craft! I liked Jake, a hardworking and smart man who's gorgeous despite being an everyman type in other respects and who was emotionally battlescarred from Vietnam. He's different from the in-control mogul type so prevalent in 70s/80s era Harlequin Presents. The heroine, on the other hand, was the same passive type I grew up reading. Ms. Mather, could you not have given her a passion about something more than the hero? And give her a spine? She let everyone keep her in this tiny low-expectation, low-salary, delayed-gratification life. This worked in Presents as a formula because it gave the heroine no impediment to being embedded in the hero's world. I expect it in a Presents so I'm not disappointed. But here, I expected more. I can't even remember her name. It was hard to see why the hero would fall in love with her.
I don't think the author took enough advantage of opportunities to raise the tension (sexual, personal, and otherwise) in the subplot. For instance, with more communication they could have been more of a team against the bad guys.
I enjoyed reading Dangerous Temptations, though, in the same way I like watching a movie on Lifetime on a morning when I don't intend to change out of my pajamas. The novel is an easy and fun past time. I still like Anne Mathers and will read other romances she writes.
Plot: Jake's identical twin convinces him to take a suitcase with questionable contents from the US to England, but the plane crashes and he comes to with amnesia, thinking he's his twin and the husband of the heroine whom he sort of already loves. The subplot involves the twin being a white collar crook in over his head to a casino owner.
There were elements I liked and those I didn't. I liked the romantic scenes and the sex scenes (not overly clinical, more euphamistic and emotional but its still obvious they're having sex); props to Ms. Mathers on knowing her craft! I liked Jake, a hardworking and smart man who's gorgeous despite being an everyman type in other respects and who was emotionally battlescarred from Vietnam. He's different from the in-control mogul type so prevalent in 70s/80s era Harlequin Presents. The heroine, on the other hand, was the same passive type I grew up reading. Ms. Mather, could you not have given her a passion about something more than the hero? And give her a spine? She let everyone keep her in this tiny low-expectation, low-salary, delayed-gratification life. This worked in Presents as a formula because it gave the heroine no impediment to being embedded in the hero's world. I expect it in a Presents so I'm not disappointed. But here, I expected more. I can't even remember her name. It was hard to see why the hero would fall in love with her.
I don't think the author took enough advantage of opportunities to raise the tension (sexual, personal, and otherwise) in the subplot. For instance, with more communication they could have been more of a team against the bad guys.
I enjoyed reading Dangerous Temptations, though, in the same way I like watching a movie on Lifetime on a morning when I don't intend to change out of my pajamas. The novel is an easy and fun past time. I still like Anne Mathers and will read other romances she writes.
May 28, 2024
Ah, its been a while since i read this one and can`t really remember much of it except for it having a exciting plot twist.Twins mixing has always been one of my favourite tropes in the romance genre!
May 21, 2011
I read this book, loved this book and while I read this book slept with it. Unfortunately one of my now ex friends borrowed the book and never returned it. Shame on her! I was on the edge of my seat with this novel, the plot was far from simplistic, it was a sure bit of drama. BTW, if anyone ever comes in contact with a PDF form of this book, I'd love to read it again. thx!
February 12, 2022
Not a great book.
February 11, 2025
I really really enjoyed this book. I stumbled across it randomly but was very impressed. Plot was good and I really enjoyed the ending!!
January 20, 2013
Amazing plot and story. Full of passion and suspense. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Loved it!
April 20, 2022
Not my cup of tea.
August 29, 2025
The writing sucks. The MCs had no chemistry and you couldn’t really connect to the characters at all.
Read
November 3, 2014Well done, with lots of twists. A keeper to read again later on.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews