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Edge of Temptation
The Valley's fate was in Rafe's hands! Everyone wanted to know whether Rafe Glyndower would turn over his father's centuries-old estate to modern lead mining. Catherine's uncle was a farmer-tenant whose livelihood would be ruined; he convinced Catherine that she must confront Rafe. She had known Rafe from childhood. But now he was man: powerful, handsome--and married. Which shouldn't have mattered, except that suddenly much more was at stake for Catherine than the fate of her uncle's farm!
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
4 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Anne Mather
799 books360 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.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 4, 2020
I loooooved reading "Edge of Temptation".Where the child-hood friends Catherine Tempest and Rafe Glyndower reunites many years later as adults,Rafe this time unhappily married land-owner with a son,and Catherine as a sophisticated designer of clothes. Their meeting was a explosion and i just loooooved every minute of it!!!Rafe is at the very bottom in his life,where his beloved valley is threatened to be sold.Catherine`s uncle is one of his employees,and Catherine in his place drives to negotiate about the fate of Penwyth with Rafe.
I loved that they had played together in child-hood,Rafe had even kissed her when she was 11 and he was 16-a innocent kiss.I love that they fall in love when they reunite against their wills-and therefore comes the sensual abandon of passion and jealousy.Rafe`s wife is a selfish bitch that treated her own husband and son as they were useless toys.I could see how she was trying to break their spirits,but all she got from it was their hate.And Rafe tried very hard not to hate her,and it was heartbreaking watching him drown into a hole in which he could not escape.Being with Catherine was the only times he ever felt alive...and i loved how he couldn`t stay away from her.
The guilty pleasure of forbidden love,Anne Mather knows indeed how to make her readers toes curl with the excitement of it.The chemistry is off the page between Rafe and Catherine,deeply carnal and forbidden!Yeah,me like this!!!
***
Re-read in 2020-04-04
I loved that they had played together in child-hood,Rafe had even kissed her when she was 11 and he was 16-a innocent kiss.I love that they fall in love when they reunite against their wills-and therefore comes the sensual abandon of passion and jealousy.Rafe`s wife is a selfish bitch that treated her own husband and son as they were useless toys.I could see how she was trying to break their spirits,but all she got from it was their hate.And Rafe tried very hard not to hate her,and it was heartbreaking watching him drown into a hole in which he could not escape.Being with Catherine was the only times he ever felt alive...and i loved how he couldn`t stay away from her.
The guilty pleasure of forbidden love,Anne Mather knows indeed how to make her readers toes curl with the excitement of it.The chemistry is off the page between Rafe and Catherine,deeply carnal and forbidden!Yeah,me like this!!!
***
Re-read in 2020-04-04
March 12, 2022
This is another AM with a cheating spouse.
It seems to be one of her favorite plots.
The heroine and the hero have known for years, he was the landlord and she lived with her family in his land, but they never really interacted because she was younger and he married at 22.
When the story begins she’s 25 and a successful businesswoman while he’s a penniless lord with a rich wife who’s also the queen of evil britches of hp world.
They don’t have a real marriage.
They never have sex together, he has affairs with ow.
They have a son who is sent to boarding school because his mother hates him.
The hero doesn’t want divorce because he doesn’t want to lose his manor and is afraid the wife would take their son.
Then he meets the heroine, and they fall in love, but he says he won’t marry her because he won’t leave his wife.
The heroine at first tries to resist but then she would accept to be the hero’s mistress.
Eventually she decides to leave the town and to go to London where she has a part of her business but at the end a big drama will allow her and the hero to get married.
Basically the manor is destroyed in a fire, grandpa dies and the heroine is sorry her son is alive, so since everyone saw her reaction she would never have her sons custody and the hero goes for divorce.
Not my favorite book but not so bad too.
The hero’s wife was a real psycho and I couldn’t forgive the hero for being more worried for his manor than for his child wellbeing. She told him she hated him, she slapped him, she sent him to boarding school and she even hoped he died in the fire.
He’s no man enough if he stays with a woman like that.
And my opinion of him is bad enough without what he tried to do with the heroine. He tried to do the heroine telling her there could never be anything serious between them.
Where did I he left his balls? If he ever had any.
The heroine should never have even thought about having a soulless affair with that coward.
The psycho wife should have been punched hard.
Only nice character is the hero’s son. The poor, abused and unwanted son with a father too weak and selfish to care for him.
It seems to be one of her favorite plots.
The heroine and the hero have known for years, he was the landlord and she lived with her family in his land, but they never really interacted because she was younger and he married at 22.
When the story begins she’s 25 and a successful businesswoman while he’s a penniless lord with a rich wife who’s also the queen of evil britches of hp world.
They don’t have a real marriage.
They never have sex together, he has affairs with ow.
They have a son who is sent to boarding school because his mother hates him.
The hero doesn’t want divorce because he doesn’t want to lose his manor and is afraid the wife would take their son.
Then he meets the heroine, and they fall in love, but he says he won’t marry her because he won’t leave his wife.
The heroine at first tries to resist but then she would accept to be the hero’s mistress.
Eventually she decides to leave the town and to go to London where she has a part of her business but at the end a big drama will allow her and the hero to get married.
Basically the manor is destroyed in a fire, grandpa dies and the heroine is sorry her son is alive, so since everyone saw her reaction she would never have her sons custody and the hero goes for divorce.
Not my favorite book but not so bad too.
The hero’s wife was a real psycho and I couldn’t forgive the hero for being more worried for his manor than for his child wellbeing. She told him she hated him, she slapped him, she sent him to boarding school and she even hoped he died in the fire.
He’s no man enough if he stays with a woman like that.
And my opinion of him is bad enough without what he tried to do with the heroine. He tried to do the heroine telling her there could never be anything serious between them.
Where did I he left his balls? If he ever had any.
The heroine should never have even thought about having a soulless affair with that coward.
The psycho wife should have been punched hard.
Only nice character is the hero’s son. The poor, abused and unwanted son with a father too weak and selfish to care for him.
May 8, 2020
"Edge of Temptation" is the story of Catherine and Rafe.
A bittersweet story with a heroine who runs her own little clothing store, and who meets the hero again when she goes to plead the case for her uncle, a tenant on the hero's land whom he is about to evict. The hero is unhappily married and estranged from his shrew of a wife, and has a young son the wife cares nothing for. The book explores the forbidden yet blooming romance between them, and how they tread these unholy waters, with the society frowning at them. There is loads of drama, heartbreak and oh so sweet yearning. Ends in a HEA.
Good one time read.
Unsafe
3/5
A bittersweet story with a heroine who runs her own little clothing store, and who meets the hero again when she goes to plead the case for her uncle, a tenant on the hero's land whom he is about to evict. The hero is unhappily married and estranged from his shrew of a wife, and has a young son the wife cares nothing for. The book explores the forbidden yet blooming romance between them, and how they tread these unholy waters, with the society frowning at them. There is loads of drama, heartbreak and oh so sweet yearning. Ends in a HEA.
Good one time read.
Unsafe
3/5
July 26, 2018
I didn’t know what the hell to make of this book. I don’t usually condone cheating spouses, but the wife in this story was such an evil bitch that I rooted for the OW/h in the story.
The H and h used to play together as children. He was older, but still took the time to play games with her when she visited during summer breaks. He was the Lord of the manor’s son. She was the niece of one of the peon farmers.
Years went by and they hadn’t seen each other until she moved permanently into the area and opened a boutique. With the H struggling financially, the opportunity to allow mining for lead on his property was offered to him.
His wife, the witch, was all for it. The H’s family had held that land and home for generations and wanted nothing to do with the mining. With his wife pushing, he allowed them do exploratory digging. His father, now believed to be senile, Things getting to hot for the GOP that they have to fall back on this? not want to lose the only home he’d ever had.
The H was attempting to satisfy everyone in his family and tearing himself apart. His wife sent their eight year old son to a boarding school where he was miserable so he kept running away. He found the h and became fast friends.
The witch has no compassion or love for her son. I want to strangle her when the fire happened at the end of the book. So many instances of the abuse of her son is noted. Why did her husband allow this to continue?
This was a perplexing story. I don’t know how I felt about the obvious attraction of the h since the H was a married man. I did love how she loved the son and was willing to help him every time he ran away and showed up on her doorstep. Smart kid.
Overall, it was a well written story. It kept me engaged and eager for the ending. I disliked so many of the characters; cousin Owen, the H’s wife, the h’s mother, her aunt, her cousin. However, I still enjoyed it.
The H and h used to play together as children. He was older, but still took the time to play games with her when she visited during summer breaks. He was the Lord of the manor’s son. She was the niece of one of the peon farmers.
Years went by and they hadn’t seen each other until she moved permanently into the area and opened a boutique. With the H struggling financially, the opportunity to allow mining for lead on his property was offered to him.
His wife, the witch, was all for it. The H’s family had held that land and home for generations and wanted nothing to do with the mining. With his wife pushing, he allowed them do exploratory digging. His father, now believed to be senile, Things getting to hot for the GOP that they have to fall back on this? not want to lose the only home he’d ever had.
The H was attempting to satisfy everyone in his family and tearing himself apart. His wife sent their eight year old son to a boarding school where he was miserable so he kept running away. He found the h and became fast friends.
The witch has no compassion or love for her son. I want to strangle her when the fire happened at the end of the book. So many instances of the abuse of her son is noted. Why did her husband allow this to continue?
This was a perplexing story. I don’t know how I felt about the obvious attraction of the h since the H was a married man. I did love how she loved the son and was willing to help him every time he ran away and showed up on her doorstep. Smart kid.
Overall, it was a well written story. It kept me engaged and eager for the ending. I disliked so many of the characters; cousin Owen, the H’s wife, the h’s mother, her aunt, her cousin. However, I still enjoyed it.
September 27, 2020
3.5 stars
Whilst reading, I realized it is probably the first HP I read where the h is the OW.
I had doubts I could love the plot but I did: very emotional and the theme of cheating is treated in such a way that could be acceptable at the time of writing: H's wife is a really cruel-mean character so it is quite simple to sympathize for our h, that in turns tries her best to deny her feelings and cause any family drama.
The attraction between H/h is sizzling and plot is filled with dramatic details/events.
Good....
Whilst reading, I realized it is probably the first HP I read where the h is the OW.
I had doubts I could love the plot but I did: very emotional and the theme of cheating is treated in such a way that could be acceptable at the time of writing: H's wife is a really cruel-mean character so it is quite simple to sympathize for our h, that in turns tries her best to deny her feelings and cause any family drama.
The attraction between H/h is sizzling and plot is filled with dramatic details/events.
Good....
January 6, 2018
It was okay. I don't prefer books with actively married Heroes and teenage children. Also I REALLY don't like heroines knowingly sleeping with married men, but in this book at least she showed some compunction about it. Kind of. A token effort. More than some other heroines though, so I'll give her that. And at least this heroine had a job and was independent. I kind of appreciated that the Hero had lots of real worries and financial problems, and was well and truly stuck.
I liked that the ending wrapped up all the loose ends neatly. Very HEA.
I liked that the ending wrapped up all the loose ends neatly. Very HEA.
January 7, 2015
I enjoyed this classic HP featuring a savvy young London business woman and the lord of a Welsh manor. Catherine has returned to a small village in Wales where she spent her childhood summers with a beloved uncle and aunt. When she finds out that her childhood friend, now poised to become Lord of the manor, is considering turning his estate over to a lead mining group, she goes to make a case for her uncle and the other tenant farmers. Even though Rafe, the owner of Glydower is married, with a son, the spark between them is still very evident and both are forced to try and fight their attraction.
There was a lot of depth to this story, much more so than you often find in HPs. I like both of the main characters, both tried to be honorable in spite of their attraction, and both were decent people. Be warned, the hero in this book is very much married to someone other than the heroine, so if that pushed your buttons, you might want to pass on this one. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances in terms of his marriage and his love for his father, his son and his land provide his wife's only real hold on him. The wife is a bit of a stereotypical evil women, and this is a weakness in the book, but it is an HP and there is only so much time to make things happen, so I was willing to overlook it.
There was a lot of depth to this story, much more so than you often find in HPs. I like both of the main characters, both tried to be honorable in spite of their attraction, and both were decent people. Be warned, the hero in this book is very much married to someone other than the heroine, so if that pushed your buttons, you might want to pass on this one. Obviously there are extenuating circumstances in terms of his marriage and his love for his father, his son and his land provide his wife's only real hold on him. The wife is a bit of a stereotypical evil women, and this is a weakness in the book, but it is an HP and there is only so much time to make things happen, so I was willing to overlook it.
December 1, 2016
I am not a big fan of Anne Mather. I find her stories rather perverse and shallow.
Her books talk about an all pervading physical attraction between the leads.
Who are mostly in a forbidden relationship - one of them is already married, or they are half brother/sister, or the hero is old enough to be her father !
Now this book is no different. The hero is already married for over a decade and has a son!
Ordinarily I would rate such tales by the author between 1-2.
But this one was better, it was more genuine. Their forbidden attraction more believable.
Of course, to make the girl look like an angel, the OW has to be portrayed as an A class bitch !
How I wish female authors stop making demons out of OW characters, just to glorify the hero/heroine !
Having said all this, I liked the story. Its premise of mining and displacement was real and relatable. The kid was cute.
3 stars, passable fare.
Her books talk about an all pervading physical attraction between the leads.
Who are mostly in a forbidden relationship - one of them is already married, or they are half brother/sister, or the hero is old enough to be her father !
Now this book is no different. The hero is already married for over a decade and has a son!
Ordinarily I would rate such tales by the author between 1-2.
But this one was better, it was more genuine. Their forbidden attraction more believable.
Of course, to make the girl look like an angel, the OW has to be portrayed as an A class bitch !
How I wish female authors stop making demons out of OW characters, just to glorify the hero/heroine !
Having said all this, I liked the story. Its premise of mining and displacement was real and relatable. The kid was cute.
3 stars, passable fare.
April 27, 2020
Came close to the Edge, but kept her Balance!
Another one of Anne Mather’s simple, but complicated dilemmas where Hero in marriage with spoiled rich girl who wanted a Title, but probably not really in love with the Title holder. Attractive Heroine comes into his life again and he chases the breath of new life she brings. But, his life has been twisted and complicated by current Waspish Wife, so it seems things cannot begin anew with Heroine until he unravels all the twists he is tangled in with the spoiled rich girl.
Another one of Anne Mather’s simple, but complicated dilemmas where Hero in marriage with spoiled rich girl who wanted a Title, but probably not really in love with the Title holder. Attractive Heroine comes into his life again and he chases the breath of new life she brings. But, his life has been twisted and complicated by current Waspish Wife, so it seems things cannot begin anew with Heroine until he unravels all the twists he is tangled in with the spoiled rich girl.
August 8, 2018
Forbidden love
I liked the realationship between the heroine and hero. Did not like the way Rafe and his wife treated their son. A hero/father would care enough, to find out the reason to why his son is running away from boarding school. But all in all a good romance novel. There was technically no cheating, since the sex didn`t happen until after the devorce.
I liked the realationship between the heroine and hero. Did not like the way Rafe and his wife treated their son. A hero/father would care enough, to find out the reason to why his son is running away from boarding school. But all in all a good romance novel. There was technically no cheating, since the sex didn`t happen until after the devorce.
October 5, 2025
I have to admire Anne Mather’s ability to create a believable romance when the hero is already married and cheating with the heroine. She makes the wife so vile that you have no choice but to root for the heroine to get her man. This was a decent vintage read.
September 9, 2023
This book was SO bad, truly. I wouldn't have given it any stars if it were possible.
The hero Rafe Glyndower smokes both cigars and cigarettes, smelling of both so that was a turn off right at the start. He is also rude, weak-natured, selfish and unfaithful.
We're told pretty much on the onset that the heroine Catherine Tempest is a virgin and has been in love with Rafe for years. She's being led by the nose by him, first this way, then that, but she's very eager to do everything he asks, even sleeping with him - a married man - at the loss of her reputation and becoming the talk of the town.
The end comes quickly, with everything tied up nicely and no actual concrete decisions being made by anyone but with fate putting its hand in. All so that they can get their happy ending, even if it is at the expense of others.
The forty plus years since it was written is palpable.
The hero Rafe Glyndower smokes both cigars and cigarettes, smelling of both so that was a turn off right at the start. He is also rude, weak-natured, selfish and unfaithful.
We're told pretty much on the onset that the heroine Catherine Tempest is a virgin and has been in love with Rafe for years. She's being led by the nose by him, first this way, then that, but she's very eager to do everything he asks, even sleeping with him - a married man - at the loss of her reputation and becoming the talk of the town.
The end comes quickly, with everything tied up nicely and no actual concrete decisions being made by anyone but with fate putting its hand in. All so that they can get their happy ending, even if it is at the expense of others.
The forty plus years since it was written is palpable.
August 15, 2012
Read in February 2009.
Can't remember much of the book but my ratings have always been based on fairness and likability for me, so the book must have been fairly amazing for four stars to occur.
Can't remember much of the book but my ratings have always been based on fairness and likability for me, so the book must have been fairly amazing for four stars to occur.
March 26, 2015
A horrible mother and a dad that allowed him to be sent away to a boarding school, Rowan kept running away.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews