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Ishbel's Party
Once she'd dreamed of being his wife
While Bethan was recovering from injuries she'd suffered while nursing in Beirut, her job with Mrs. Ruston in a peaceful Suffolk village seemed just what the doctor had ordered--plenty of fresh air and no stress.
Instead Bethan was strained to the limit. She met Fraser again, and was reminded of the guilt she'd carried with her since his sister Ishbel's party ten years ago. But seeing Fraser with the woman he intended to marry was what really hurt.
She'd loved Fraser as a young girl, and she loved him still--with a depth and power that was shattering.
While Bethan was recovering from injuries she'd suffered while nursing in Beirut, her job with Mrs. Ruston in a peaceful Suffolk village seemed just what the doctor had ordered--plenty of fresh air and no stress.
Instead Bethan was strained to the limit. She met Fraser again, and was reminded of the guilt she'd carried with her since his sister Ishbel's party ten years ago. But seeing Fraser with the woman he intended to marry was what really hurt.
She'd loved Fraser as a young girl, and she loved him still--with a depth and power that was shattering.
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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225 people want to read
About the author
Stacy Absalom
5 books5 followersStacy Absalom wrote four romance novels from 1983 to 1986. She lives with her husband Derek, on the fringe of a small English village overlooking the rolling Leicestershire countryside. She In her spare time, she enjoys listening to classical music, knitting very complicated patterns, and driving fast cars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 10, 2016
Re Ishbel's Party - this book brings to mind the phrase "with friends like these, you don't need any enemies" . This one is trainwreck with an avalanche wrapped in a hurricane.
The story starts with the 28 year old h checking out of a London hospital. She was in for injuries received when she was hit by a bomb blast in Beirut. This h has a bit of a martyr complex, okay she has a LOT of a martyr complex.
When she was 18, her beloved dumped her for another girl and laughed at her with the OW and she got drunk and drove, killing a child on a bike. She lost her driver's license when it was shown that the child had been riding without lights but her only family and close friends disowned her completely according to her step brother.
The family in question was the h's stepfather, her mother had abandoned her to his care when the marriage broke up. The h also had a best friend named Ishbel and was in love with Ishbel's brother - who supposedly wanted her enough to kiss her and spend time with her, she had followed him around like a puppy since she was 13 as they were neighbors and Ishbel was her best friend and he was her dearest love.
Ishbel decided to have a big party to celebrate being 18 and she fancied herself in love with the h's stepbrother. The stepbrother was abusive towards the h and the h was a bit worried about her friend, but she was blinded by the attention Ishbel's brother, the H, paid to her. When the h was told the H wanted to meet her in the summerhouse, the h was excited, thinking now they could declare their love for each other. She never thought it odd that the H had brought another woman to the party and was apparently romancing her at the same time he was romancing the h.
After a heated passionate kissing session in the summerhouse, the H's lady came to hunt him down. He thrust the h away and went off abruptly - the sound of his laughter with his current ladyfriend scalding the h's ears and breaking her heart.
The h did not remember anything after that until she woke in hospital and the police told her she was drunk driving and killed a child. The h has tortured herself ever since and spent years in third world countries and war zones caring for displaced and ill children, suffering all manner of hardships and deprivations to atone for her sin.
The agency the h works for refuses to send her back out on assignment, they send her to help an elderly woman who needs a hip replacement instead. The h is obviously traumatized and showing signs of PTSD in her reactions to loud noises etc. (Why on earth anyone thought the h should be caring for ANYONE is beyond me, but I guess SA needed a plot device to get the H and h together and this is it.)
The h meets her new patient and it turns out to be the H's beloved aunt. She never met her before and then she finds out that the newly engaged H will be present as well, he is just off on business at the moment.
The h hopes he won't recognize her, but of course he does and he makes all sorts of accusations about taking advantage of the aunt for money and running off to America for fun and games and deserting her stepfather and being just an all around rotten person, just like her gold digging tarty mother - which the h has never had any real contact with, she was always raised by housekeepers or in boarding school.
The h can't defend herself because the H doesn't believe a word she says and he seems intent on making her suffer, he is so vile in his accusations and tone that the h can't get a word in edgewise.
We also meet the H's fiancee, a nice daughter of a rich industrialist who is helping the H get some financing for exporting to Germany and it is clear that she is in love with the H.
The h is doing her best to stay out of the H's way and care for the aunt when the H decides that it is up to him to extract justice for the h's sins and so he tells her part of her duties are to be doing manual labor in his vineyard. He sends her out to hoe and the h goes along with it, until she passes out from the strain.
The aunt is highly irked with the H and the H finds out about her injuries and then demands to know why she did not explain herself. He also verifies that she is a real nurse and has been working in war zones for the last 6 years. He dumps the death of her stepfather on her after accusing her of abandoning him and the h is puzzled, her step brother told her everyone disowned her and they all refused to see her.
In fact Ishbel left the country the day after the party. She had no knowledge of the stepfather's death or that he had a stroke right before her trial and was asking for her. The H tells the h not worry about missing her stepfather's final illness and death, he left her some money so she should be comforted. (What a comforting thought for the h who just lost the only person she felt loved her. She can just put her pain aside because she has some money that she never wanted to begin with. What a prince of an H we have here.)
Then the H puts together that the step brother lied when he said the h left for America and lied to the h about her stepfather. He then goes on to postulate that the stepbrother hated the h and was always lying about things and using drugs etc, but he had forgotten.
(He must have a really short memory, cause he forgot all of this the day after the party when he took his sister to Australia to get her away from the step brother supposedly and he never mentioned the accusations against the h to his sister - the h's best friend- for 10 years, even when the letters the sister wrote were supposedly returned unopened. He also never questions the story that the h got drunk and drove, when the h had never drank or done anything remotely similar before - probably too busy hooking up with his lady friend to worry that this girl he had know for 5 years and supposedly cared about was in some big trouble and might have needed his support- but then there was his current shag, so I could see how that might be more important.)
Anyhow, now that the H knows the back story and realized he misjudged a bit, he starts making flirty grabs and kisses with the h. She wants to leave (and why she just did not pack her bag and go, I have no idear, for a woman who held it together during bombings and managed frightened staff and children through invasions, she is remarkably unable to stand up for herself or make a simple decision,) but the H tells her if she goes his aunt will blame him, (and of course we can't have the nematode parasite be responsible for any rotten actions he chooses to make,) so the h winds up staying. The H continues to flirt and kiss and sends the h shopping with his fiancee when he finds out how limited her wardrobe is.
Then the fiancee walks in on him with his tongue down the h's throat, she gets upset and runs off, and the h (irked by his grabby hands and mouth) asks him if enjoys pitting his ladies against each other. She walks off to, angry at his punishing kisses but also a bit happy 'cause she is still sooo in lurve with him.
( She herself claims it was arrested development when his fiancee asks her about her feelings, she hasn't been in contact with many eligible men over the last ten years where she was at. Sadly this scene and her arrested development declaration are the only lucid moments the h has in the entire 187 pages.)
The h, the fiancee, the H, his aunt and the fiancee's father are all having dinner later and the fiancee's father is a lech with the h. He tells the H to move up the wedding and then he propositions the h after he tries to buy her off and it doesn't work.
He tries to force the h, but finally her self-defense mechanisms kick in and she breaks his hold and runs. She locks herself in her room and the next day the H has left for parts unknown. The h gets the aunt into the hospital for her operation and the H shows up a few weeks after he left.
He drags the h to his country home by where she used to live and has some big news for her. Ishbel, now married and living in Australia, has returned and wants to see her. Ishbel's news is that she spiked the h's drinks at the party with vodka and set up the summerhouse scene.
The h's stepbrother continued spiking the h's drinks and Ishbel let him take the h home when she passed completely out, instead of just having her stay the night. Ishbel claims she knew how rotten the step brother was that night and she knew about his abuse to the h, yet she let him take an unconscious h away because she was mad her brother went off with his girlfriend instead of the h. She also tells the h that she couldn't have been driving, she was comatose from all the alcohol and she put the h into the passenger seat herself.
The H confirms all of this and states they tracked down the brother, who is now a heroin addict and he confirmed the truth. The h is relieved she did not kill anyone and is it is insta-forgivness all around. The H tells the h that he never told his sister anything of the after effects of that night, but the whole story was a bit thin and questionable. It was a small area with a tightly knit social group and surely Ishbel had other contacts (including family) in the area that kept her up to date on the goings on?
Then the H tells the h he wants to marry her, supposedly he had always loved her, but her stepfather wanted the H to wait until the h was older to propose, but now he can marry her and make up for all that she has endured.
Supposedly he was so obsessed with the 18 year old h that he had to have a multitude of women to distract him and by the way, his fiancee is now history - she doesn't want to be second best apparently (she was probably the most likable character in the book, and she has some backbone and dignity, so I felt bad for her to be used and dumped just like that - no matter how horrible her father was.)
He also tells the h that he never laughed about her with his girlfriend that night, the h was just projecting and he never did anything to help her after the accident because the stepbrother told him he was the h's lover.
So now that he has whitewashed all his past actions and those OW were only a useful distraction, he has to indulge his lust that he never got to before with the h and he is willing to marry her to do it. He is sure she will do until a better model comes along or he gets bored, they can marry cause he only always loved her really and the h still loves him. Whether they marry or not is actually debatable, but it ends with the H and h lurving it up and HEA's all around until the h gets some therapy and a backbone or the H finds a better offer.
There is not enough skillets, in my opinion, to sort out the people in this book. It is very angsty tho and the story is engrossing, I just wish the h had gotten away from these people and into some decent counseling.
Still this is HPlandia and the lurve club fixes everything. It does seem too much to hope that after the H lurve experience, the h will come to her senses, recover from her trauma and take that peaceful job in Kenya she was contemplating before the H and his sister bullied her into accepting their actions that led up to the h's emotional abandonment for ten years.
This one is highly readable if you like the angst, but have the skillets and the adult beverages handy, cause the frustration level is high and the payoff is a bit lacking. You can only be happy the h is happy and hope that lucidity returns or the h wakes up and realizes it was all a bad dream from being in a coma after the bomb blast.
The story starts with the 28 year old h checking out of a London hospital. She was in for injuries received when she was hit by a bomb blast in Beirut. This h has a bit of a martyr complex, okay she has a LOT of a martyr complex.
When she was 18, her beloved dumped her for another girl and laughed at her with the OW and she got drunk and drove, killing a child on a bike. She lost her driver's license when it was shown that the child had been riding without lights but her only family and close friends disowned her completely according to her step brother.
The family in question was the h's stepfather, her mother had abandoned her to his care when the marriage broke up. The h also had a best friend named Ishbel and was in love with Ishbel's brother - who supposedly wanted her enough to kiss her and spend time with her, she had followed him around like a puppy since she was 13 as they were neighbors and Ishbel was her best friend and he was her dearest love.
Ishbel decided to have a big party to celebrate being 18 and she fancied herself in love with the h's stepbrother. The stepbrother was abusive towards the h and the h was a bit worried about her friend, but she was blinded by the attention Ishbel's brother, the H, paid to her. When the h was told the H wanted to meet her in the summerhouse, the h was excited, thinking now they could declare their love for each other. She never thought it odd that the H had brought another woman to the party and was apparently romancing her at the same time he was romancing the h.
After a heated passionate kissing session in the summerhouse, the H's lady came to hunt him down. He thrust the h away and went off abruptly - the sound of his laughter with his current ladyfriend scalding the h's ears and breaking her heart.
The h did not remember anything after that until she woke in hospital and the police told her she was drunk driving and killed a child. The h has tortured herself ever since and spent years in third world countries and war zones caring for displaced and ill children, suffering all manner of hardships and deprivations to atone for her sin.
The agency the h works for refuses to send her back out on assignment, they send her to help an elderly woman who needs a hip replacement instead. The h is obviously traumatized and showing signs of PTSD in her reactions to loud noises etc. (Why on earth anyone thought the h should be caring for ANYONE is beyond me, but I guess SA needed a plot device to get the H and h together and this is it.)
The h meets her new patient and it turns out to be the H's beloved aunt. She never met her before and then she finds out that the newly engaged H will be present as well, he is just off on business at the moment.
The h hopes he won't recognize her, but of course he does and he makes all sorts of accusations about taking advantage of the aunt for money and running off to America for fun and games and deserting her stepfather and being just an all around rotten person, just like her gold digging tarty mother - which the h has never had any real contact with, she was always raised by housekeepers or in boarding school.
The h can't defend herself because the H doesn't believe a word she says and he seems intent on making her suffer, he is so vile in his accusations and tone that the h can't get a word in edgewise.
We also meet the H's fiancee, a nice daughter of a rich industrialist who is helping the H get some financing for exporting to Germany and it is clear that she is in love with the H.
The h is doing her best to stay out of the H's way and care for the aunt when the H decides that it is up to him to extract justice for the h's sins and so he tells her part of her duties are to be doing manual labor in his vineyard. He sends her out to hoe and the h goes along with it, until she passes out from the strain.
The aunt is highly irked with the H and the H finds out about her injuries and then demands to know why she did not explain herself. He also verifies that she is a real nurse and has been working in war zones for the last 6 years. He dumps the death of her stepfather on her after accusing her of abandoning him and the h is puzzled, her step brother told her everyone disowned her and they all refused to see her.
In fact Ishbel left the country the day after the party. She had no knowledge of the stepfather's death or that he had a stroke right before her trial and was asking for her. The H tells the h not worry about missing her stepfather's final illness and death, he left her some money so she should be comforted. (What a comforting thought for the h who just lost the only person she felt loved her. She can just put her pain aside because she has some money that she never wanted to begin with. What a prince of an H we have here.)
Then the H puts together that the step brother lied when he said the h left for America and lied to the h about her stepfather. He then goes on to postulate that the stepbrother hated the h and was always lying about things and using drugs etc, but he had forgotten.
(He must have a really short memory, cause he forgot all of this the day after the party when he took his sister to Australia to get her away from the step brother supposedly and he never mentioned the accusations against the h to his sister - the h's best friend- for 10 years, even when the letters the sister wrote were supposedly returned unopened. He also never questions the story that the h got drunk and drove, when the h had never drank or done anything remotely similar before - probably too busy hooking up with his lady friend to worry that this girl he had know for 5 years and supposedly cared about was in some big trouble and might have needed his support- but then there was his current shag, so I could see how that might be more important.)
Anyhow, now that the H knows the back story and realized he misjudged a bit, he starts making flirty grabs and kisses with the h. She wants to leave (and why she just did not pack her bag and go, I have no idear, for a woman who held it together during bombings and managed frightened staff and children through invasions, she is remarkably unable to stand up for herself or make a simple decision,) but the H tells her if she goes his aunt will blame him, (and of course we can't have the nematode parasite be responsible for any rotten actions he chooses to make,) so the h winds up staying. The H continues to flirt and kiss and sends the h shopping with his fiancee when he finds out how limited her wardrobe is.
Then the fiancee walks in on him with his tongue down the h's throat, she gets upset and runs off, and the h (irked by his grabby hands and mouth) asks him if enjoys pitting his ladies against each other. She walks off to, angry at his punishing kisses but also a bit happy 'cause she is still sooo in lurve with him.
( She herself claims it was arrested development when his fiancee asks her about her feelings, she hasn't been in contact with many eligible men over the last ten years where she was at. Sadly this scene and her arrested development declaration are the only lucid moments the h has in the entire 187 pages.)
The h, the fiancee, the H, his aunt and the fiancee's father are all having dinner later and the fiancee's father is a lech with the h. He tells the H to move up the wedding and then he propositions the h after he tries to buy her off and it doesn't work.
He tries to force the h, but finally her self-defense mechanisms kick in and she breaks his hold and runs. She locks herself in her room and the next day the H has left for parts unknown. The h gets the aunt into the hospital for her operation and the H shows up a few weeks after he left.
He drags the h to his country home by where she used to live and has some big news for her. Ishbel, now married and living in Australia, has returned and wants to see her. Ishbel's news is that she spiked the h's drinks at the party with vodka and set up the summerhouse scene.
The h's stepbrother continued spiking the h's drinks and Ishbel let him take the h home when she passed completely out, instead of just having her stay the night. Ishbel claims she knew how rotten the step brother was that night and she knew about his abuse to the h, yet she let him take an unconscious h away because she was mad her brother went off with his girlfriend instead of the h. She also tells the h that she couldn't have been driving, she was comatose from all the alcohol and she put the h into the passenger seat herself.
The H confirms all of this and states they tracked down the brother, who is now a heroin addict and he confirmed the truth. The h is relieved she did not kill anyone and is it is insta-forgivness all around. The H tells the h that he never told his sister anything of the after effects of that night, but the whole story was a bit thin and questionable. It was a small area with a tightly knit social group and surely Ishbel had other contacts (including family) in the area that kept her up to date on the goings on?
Then the H tells the h he wants to marry her, supposedly he had always loved her, but her stepfather wanted the H to wait until the h was older to propose, but now he can marry her and make up for all that she has endured.
Supposedly he was so obsessed with the 18 year old h that he had to have a multitude of women to distract him and by the way, his fiancee is now history - she doesn't want to be second best apparently (she was probably the most likable character in the book, and she has some backbone and dignity, so I felt bad for her to be used and dumped just like that - no matter how horrible her father was.)
He also tells the h that he never laughed about her with his girlfriend that night, the h was just projecting and he never did anything to help her after the accident because the stepbrother told him he was the h's lover.
So now that he has whitewashed all his past actions and those OW were only a useful distraction, he has to indulge his lust that he never got to before with the h and he is willing to marry her to do it. He is sure she will do until a better model comes along or he gets bored, they can marry cause he only always loved her really and the h still loves him. Whether they marry or not is actually debatable, but it ends with the H and h lurving it up and HEA's all around until the h gets some therapy and a backbone or the H finds a better offer.
There is not enough skillets, in my opinion, to sort out the people in this book. It is very angsty tho and the story is engrossing, I just wish the h had gotten away from these people and into some decent counseling.
Still this is HPlandia and the lurve club fixes everything. It does seem too much to hope that after the H lurve experience, the h will come to her senses, recover from her trauma and take that peaceful job in Kenya she was contemplating before the H and his sister bullied her into accepting their actions that led up to the h's emotional abandonment for ten years.
This one is highly readable if you like the angst, but have the skillets and the adult beverages handy, cause the frustration level is high and the payoff is a bit lacking. You can only be happy the h is happy and hope that lucidity returns or the h wakes up and realizes it was all a bad dream from being in a coma after the bomb blast.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2018
Re-read:
There may be bigger and better martyrs than Bethan in HPLand, but I haven't read them. She blacks out, she wrings her hands, she faints, she gets pale. It's so deliciously ridiculous.
The hero is steadfastly cruel in the face of his misunderstanding of poor Bethan's innocence, and his grovel and shame is in direct proportion.
I read this back in February and did not post a review. I had to re-read about half of it to recall what it was about. Not a good sign.
Bethany is the martyr to end all martyrs. She gives poor burned Joan of Arc a run for her money. Set up by her evil step-brother to take the fall for killing a child under the influence, she spends the next ten years in war-torn everywhere: Africa, Lebanon, etc.
After suffering injuries from a bomb that kills a comrade, she is sent back to England to handle a light-weight job and recuperate.
Coincidence abounds when lo and behold, the love of her miserable little life happens to be the nephew of the woman she's taking care of. He despises her for...well, everything: the death of the little girl, disappearing, the rotation of the sun. He's cruel, dismissive, blah, blah, blah. This one of the few times when the heroine staying silent is actually understandable. She is still beating herself up over the death of the little girl so she is in a tough situation.
In one great scene, cruel and OTT, but great,
Angst out the wazoo.
Bethany is not a heroine to set the world on fire; in fact she is quite boring, but the events that take place around her are pretty cataclysmic.
There may be bigger and better martyrs than Bethan in HPLand, but I haven't read them. She blacks out, she wrings her hands, she faints, she gets pale. It's so deliciously ridiculous.
The hero is steadfastly cruel in the face of his misunderstanding of poor Bethan's innocence, and his grovel and shame is in direct proportion.
I read this back in February and did not post a review. I had to re-read about half of it to recall what it was about. Not a good sign.
Bethany is the martyr to end all martyrs. She gives poor burned Joan of Arc a run for her money. Set up by her evil step-brother to take the fall for killing a child under the influence, she spends the next ten years in war-torn everywhere: Africa, Lebanon, etc.
After suffering injuries from a bomb that kills a comrade, she is sent back to England to handle a light-weight job and recuperate.
Coincidence abounds when lo and behold, the love of her miserable little life happens to be the nephew of the woman she's taking care of. He despises her for...well, everything: the death of the little girl, disappearing, the rotation of the sun. He's cruel, dismissive, blah, blah, blah. This one of the few times when the heroine staying silent is actually understandable. She is still beating herself up over the death of the little girl so she is in a tough situation.
In one great scene, cruel and OTT, but great,
Angst out the wazoo.
Bethany is not a heroine to set the world on fire; in fact she is quite boring, but the events that take place around her are pretty cataclysmic.
January 18, 2016
Wow, not sure how to rate. I'm going to go with a 3. It did keep me reading and was emotionally engaging in a depressing as crap sort of way. I agree with another reviewer, the heroine needed professional help for dealing with the various traumas, losses, and deceptions she was subjected to.
This one is certainly an emotional, tear-jerker. I love my angst, but admit I like it to be more of the manufactured HP sort. The pain the poor h went through was melodramatic in true HP fashion, but it was also pretty hardcore (3rd world relief work and roadside bombings just to mention a few). Unfortunately, her trials were not all something we could cheerfully blame on the H and then gleefully watch him grovel.
The was a total ass during the first half or so of the book, even forcing the heroine to work her hands to the bone and collapse in an effort to prove her a fraud. He believed a pack of lies from the heroine's step-brother, who he knew was a POS. I suppose his excuse was that he was in love with the heroine and therefore vulnerable to the manipulation.
It did bother me that the other woman was not unlikable. I personally prefer that because, in reality, when one would-be lover loses out to another it is often a very painful thing for the loser. The loser is usually not a cartoon villain and it kind of dampens my joy of the HEA when I know a perfectly decent person was hurt so that someone else could have a HEA. I know that's the breaks in the real world, but HPLandia is another dimension. I suppose I prefer the typical one-dimensional HP OW that is easy to dismiss and not sympathetic at all.
This one is certainly an emotional, tear-jerker. I love my angst, but admit I like it to be more of the manufactured HP sort. The pain the poor h went through was melodramatic in true HP fashion, but it was also pretty hardcore (3rd world relief work and roadside bombings just to mention a few). Unfortunately, her trials were not all something we could cheerfully blame on the H and then gleefully watch him grovel.
The was a total ass during the first half or so of the book, even forcing the heroine to work her hands to the bone and collapse in an effort to prove her a fraud. He believed a pack of lies from the heroine's step-brother, who he knew was a POS. I suppose his excuse was that he was in love with the heroine and therefore vulnerable to the manipulation.
It did bother me that the other woman was not unlikable. I personally prefer that because, in reality, when one would-be lover loses out to another it is often a very painful thing for the loser. The loser is usually not a cartoon villain and it kind of dampens my joy of the HEA when I know a perfectly decent person was hurt so that someone else could have a HEA. I know that's the breaks in the real world, but HPLandia is another dimension. I suppose I prefer the typical one-dimensional HP OW that is easy to dismiss and not sympathetic at all.
January 31, 2016
It's a 5 star reading experience for the quality of writing, storyline and intensity. Unfortunately, the hero got in the way of a good story, so I subtracted one star.
I'd like to skewer the hero and roast him. Worthless POS and a sorry excuse for a man.
I just couldn't forgive him for believing all the crap the stepbrother told, especially knowing how creepy and shady he really was. In his own admission, his behavior was unforgivable. He threw the heroine to the wolves, but made sure his sister was protected. How is that for priorities? Clearly, the heroine didn't matter to him. The things he and his sister did were unforgivable and I couldn't swallow the "I love you's" this time..
Nope, the romance didn't work for me but the story was riveting.
I'd like to skewer the hero and roast him. Worthless POS and a sorry excuse for a man.
I just couldn't forgive him for believing all the crap the stepbrother told, especially knowing how creepy and shady he really was. In his own admission, his behavior was unforgivable. He threw the heroine to the wolves, but made sure his sister was protected. How is that for priorities? Clearly, the heroine didn't matter to him. The things he and his sister did were unforgivable and I couldn't swallow the "I love you's" this time..
Nope, the romance didn't work for me but the story was riveting.
March 14, 2021
'You make it sound as if you wish you'd been the one to die,' he accused harshly. 'You can't mean that.'
'Why not?' She lifted haunted eyes to his face. 'There would have been a certain poetic justice about it.'
"Ishbel's Party" is the story of Bethan and Fraser.
A beautiful yet heartbreaking tale that revolves around the fateful night of book's title.
Present day heroine returns from a war zone after being critically injured. She has spent ten years nursing the needy, and atoning for the sins she once committed. Her declining health forces her boss to make her go on a sabbatical, and she is appointed as an old lady's companion. Unknown to her when she agrees, the lady is the aunt to the hero, the man who once owned her heart and broke it..
The hero is engaged to OW, but still remembers the heroine and her "wrongdoings". Hence we spend major part of the book with a silent but hurting heroine taking loads of verbal abuse and slander from the hero. Why does she take it? Because in her heart she deserves it. But truth has its way of revealing, and soon we see it unleash..
Martyr heroine, confused but smitten- sometimes cruel-hero, loads and loads of angst and tears, sacrifices, hurt and a nice happy ending. I wish the heroine got more comeuppance as she deserved some revenge from the people who wronged her, and the hero/ Ishbel's grovel lasted longer. Finally, I just wanted to hug the heroine (even with my distaste for physical contact) because she was just so pure.
Recommended as it's a great book which will clean out your tear ducts.
SWE/Unsafe
4/5
'Why not?' She lifted haunted eyes to his face. 'There would have been a certain poetic justice about it.'
"Ishbel's Party" is the story of Bethan and Fraser.
A beautiful yet heartbreaking tale that revolves around the fateful night of book's title.
Present day heroine returns from a war zone after being critically injured. She has spent ten years nursing the needy, and atoning for the sins she once committed. Her declining health forces her boss to make her go on a sabbatical, and she is appointed as an old lady's companion. Unknown to her when she agrees, the lady is the aunt to the hero, the man who once owned her heart and broke it..
The hero is engaged to OW, but still remembers the heroine and her "wrongdoings". Hence we spend major part of the book with a silent but hurting heroine taking loads of verbal abuse and slander from the hero. Why does she take it? Because in her heart she deserves it. But truth has its way of revealing, and soon we see it unleash..
Martyr heroine, confused but smitten- sometimes cruel-hero, loads and loads of angst and tears, sacrifices, hurt and a nice happy ending. I wish the heroine got more comeuppance as she deserved some revenge from the people who wronged her, and the hero/ Ishbel's grovel lasted longer. Finally, I just wanted to hug the heroine (even with my distaste for physical contact) because she was just so pure.
Recommended as it's a great book which will clean out your tear ducts.
SWE/Unsafe
4/5
December 14, 2021
Three stars for the angst.
One star for the heroine.
Zero stars for the so-called hero.
Five stars for the villain, the always mentioned but never seen junkie evil stepbrother.
When she was 18 the heroine drunk too much and was in a car accident where a child of 8 died.
She was driving.
Her stepbrother told her his father didn't want to see her any more.
She became a nurse and went to work in dangerous countries for 7 years, in order to atone her guilt.
This, in itself, was far too much.
She was in love with the hero, her friend's older brother, and the night of the party they had a hot moment but immediately after that, the hero went away with his girlfriend.
The heroine was shattered and this was the reason why she drunk too much.
Ten years later she's severely hurt in an explosion in a western country, so the doctor who works with her finds her a place with a nice lady who needs company so they both can recover.
Guess who's the lady's nephew?
But the hero, of course.
The man is a pompous idiot of 37 who is engaged to a girl barely of age, and when he sees the heroine he accuses her of every sin there is under the sun, stunning her and of course hurting her.
It seems that the junkie stepbro told the hero a bunch of lies, that she left her beloved stepfather without caring that he was ill, and went to live with her mother, a woman of dubious moral, living of men and sin. The dear stepbro also remarks he had sex with the heroine himself. More than once.
Now, the stepbro was a bad character and not a false innocent, the hero didn't want his sister to see him so he sent her to Australia the day after her party, so he knew the kind of person he was...but we don't know for what reason, the hero believes him unconditionally. How idiot is this man?
Not even a doubt about what he told him?
So the hero bullies the heroine and causes her to collapse.
The stupid heroine of course doesn't even explain that she's not the person he believed she was, so idiocy runs of both ways here.
The hero finds out the hard way the truth about the heroine, and starts lusting after her, all under the chagrained eyes of his young fiancee, that, young she may be but stupid not so much, understands that there's something between those two.
Eventually, during a dinner where his fiancee and her father are invited, the hero kisses the heroine and his fiancee see them together.
Some days later we eventually have the truth about that fated party, because Ishbel is eventually back from Australia and can explain what really happened that night.
Of course the heroine is innocent of everything, as you already have understood.
And she and the hero can be married and happy together.
The hero reveals he always loved her and he wanted to marry her when she was 18 but her stepfather wanted him to wait for some years.
Yeah, right.
So, the book is very emotional, there are parts where you actually want to cry because the heroine is a misunderstood and misjudged creature.
I didn't like both characters.
The herone has the attitude of a martyr. She tried to atone her sin, but she's only a sad and boring person. I can understand that she tried to change her lifestyle but there must be satisfaction in what you do, not the constant suffering of a penitent.
Actually she didn't learn anything from that lesson, that is that every life matters, starting from hers.
The hero.
What about him?
He was a secondary and pale character.
He said he love her but at the first problem he slope off, without even trying to find her and believing the lies of a man he clearly despised.
Then he was engaged with another woman for all the book.
Nope.
I really didn't like both of them, the ow was a poor naive child, a victim herself of those two selfish and self-absorbed people, and I don't care if they have a hea or not.
But the angst was delicious.
One star for the heroine.
Zero stars for the so-called hero.
Five stars for the villain, the always mentioned but never seen junkie evil stepbrother.
When she was 18 the heroine drunk too much and was in a car accident where a child of 8 died.
She was driving.
Her stepbrother told her his father didn't want to see her any more.
She became a nurse and went to work in dangerous countries for 7 years, in order to atone her guilt.
This, in itself, was far too much.
She was in love with the hero, her friend's older brother, and the night of the party they had a hot moment but immediately after that, the hero went away with his girlfriend.
The heroine was shattered and this was the reason why she drunk too much.
Ten years later she's severely hurt in an explosion in a western country, so the doctor who works with her finds her a place with a nice lady who needs company so they both can recover.
Guess who's the lady's nephew?
But the hero, of course.
The man is a pompous idiot of 37 who is engaged to a girl barely of age, and when he sees the heroine he accuses her of every sin there is under the sun, stunning her and of course hurting her.
It seems that the junkie stepbro told the hero a bunch of lies, that she left her beloved stepfather without caring that he was ill, and went to live with her mother, a woman of dubious moral, living of men and sin. The dear stepbro also remarks he had sex with the heroine himself. More than once.
Now, the stepbro was a bad character and not a false innocent, the hero didn't want his sister to see him so he sent her to Australia the day after her party, so he knew the kind of person he was...but we don't know for what reason, the hero believes him unconditionally. How idiot is this man?
Not even a doubt about what he told him?
So the hero bullies the heroine and causes her to collapse.
The stupid heroine of course doesn't even explain that she's not the person he believed she was, so idiocy runs of both ways here.
The hero finds out the hard way the truth about the heroine, and starts lusting after her, all under the chagrained eyes of his young fiancee, that, young she may be but stupid not so much, understands that there's something between those two.
Eventually, during a dinner where his fiancee and her father are invited, the hero kisses the heroine and his fiancee see them together.
Some days later we eventually have the truth about that fated party, because Ishbel is eventually back from Australia and can explain what really happened that night.
Of course the heroine is innocent of everything, as you already have understood.
And she and the hero can be married and happy together.
The hero reveals he always loved her and he wanted to marry her when she was 18 but her stepfather wanted him to wait for some years.
Yeah, right.
So, the book is very emotional, there are parts where you actually want to cry because the heroine is a misunderstood and misjudged creature.
I didn't like both characters.
The herone has the attitude of a martyr. She tried to atone her sin, but she's only a sad and boring person. I can understand that she tried to change her lifestyle but there must be satisfaction in what you do, not the constant suffering of a penitent.
Actually she didn't learn anything from that lesson, that is that every life matters, starting from hers.
The hero.
What about him?
He was a secondary and pale character.
He said he love her but at the first problem he slope off, without even trying to find her and believing the lies of a man he clearly despised.
Then he was engaged with another woman for all the book.
Nope.
I really didn't like both of them, the ow was a poor naive child, a victim herself of those two selfish and self-absorbed people, and I don't care if they have a hea or not.
But the angst was delicious.
January 17, 2016
Wow. I've been waiting to read this book and it did not disappoint. This is angst city. There are reviews with spoilers below, so I won't go into the plot nuances, but know that this is a heroine who has suffered a guilty conscience for ten years and tried to atone as best she can. The hero is locked into the events from ten years ago, and the story starts when they meet again. There are a lot of misunderstandings to get through and it was fascinating to see the real story come out. It takes a lot of skill to weave past and present together and it seemed effortless here. Such an absorbing read.
As far as I can tell, this author only wrote four books - why? I want more. I've read three and they're all different.
As far as I can tell, this author only wrote four books - why? I want more. I've read three and they're all different.
Read
June 10, 2012Like, HELLO? Doesn't anyone [in the story...] realise that the h needs a SHRINK? I mean, really. I can tell you this lil family's gonna be having mental problems for a couple of generations at least. The feeling of guilt and loss that *I* felt was monumental and I wasn't even the heroine!!! So you can imagine what she'd be feeling at losing her step-father, her step-brother's lies, her love betraying her, her best friend abandoning her AND to top it all off, none of it was her fault....
*sigh*
*sigh*
January 19, 2016
Not quite as angsty as Dark Night Dawningand somehow I didn't feel Bethan's emotions like I did with Abby.
September 25, 2014
5 Stars! ~ Working in war torn third world countries as a mission nurse has been Bethan's vocation and she performs her duties selflessly. When a road-side bomb takes her friend and co-worker and leaves her with terrible burns on her back and scalp, she's sent home to England to recover. As her strength begins to return her boss in charge of the mission organization tells her she must stay in England for at least six months before she will be fit again for duty aboard. He arranges for her to be a private nurse to a woman who also needs to recuperate, it's a light duty assignment, one that will suit both patient and nurse. Arriving back in Suffolk, Bethan had never imagined that her patient, Lorna, would be Fraser's aunt and that though he was presently away, when he was in England he shared her home.
Ten years before, Bethan had been 18 and head over heels in love with her best friend, Ishbel's brother. Fraser had been like a protective brother since she was 13, but as she'd grown up her hero worship had blossomed. The night of Ishbel's 18th birthday party, Bethan had thought Fraser was finally returning her love, but though it was obvious he'd come to see her as a desirable young woman, he made it clear that he didn't want her love. The events after that rejection are a complete blank for Bethan but the next morning she woke up in hospital with a police officer beside her. Learning that she'd gotten blindingly drunk, stolen her step-brother's car, and caused an accident that had taken the life of an eight year old girl, devastated Bethan. She found herself rejected by her beloved step-father, and shunned by Fraser and Ishbel. Only her step-brother, Mark, showed her compassion as he helped her with her nurses training.
Fraser's shocked to see Bethan again, and apparently firmly in his aunt's affections. He doesn't hide his contempt and makes it very clear to Bethan that he'll be watching her; not for one moment does he believe in her story of an accident, nor that she's even a nurse. When he finds her slaking her duties, he insists she labour physically, ensuring that she learn what it truly means to do a day's work. Only this back fires, as Bethan's pride keeps her working, her body begins to shut down and it's near collapse that Fraser finds her hours later. Shaken, Fraser makes the call to check out Bethan's credentials and learns some shocking truths, that set him on a mission to discover just what has happened since that night of Ishbel's party.
Ms. Absalom drew me in from the first pages with this emotionally intense story of a young girl who sets herself on a journey of atonement for a reckless action that she doesn't even remember. As all Bethan has endured is revealed, I found myself reliving her horror with her. At first I thought Fraser a total callous brute, but Ms. Absalom gives us his reflections of the events and the information he'd been given through the years since Ishbel's party which redeems his behaviour. As he unravels the truth, he faces the consequences of his own decisions in the past and he desperately seeks to give Bethan her life back. From first page to last, this compelling story kept me emotionally involved and it was with a well satisfied sigh that I read Fraser's vows and Bethan's complete belief of them.
Ten years before, Bethan had been 18 and head over heels in love with her best friend, Ishbel's brother. Fraser had been like a protective brother since she was 13, but as she'd grown up her hero worship had blossomed. The night of Ishbel's 18th birthday party, Bethan had thought Fraser was finally returning her love, but though it was obvious he'd come to see her as a desirable young woman, he made it clear that he didn't want her love. The events after that rejection are a complete blank for Bethan but the next morning she woke up in hospital with a police officer beside her. Learning that she'd gotten blindingly drunk, stolen her step-brother's car, and caused an accident that had taken the life of an eight year old girl, devastated Bethan. She found herself rejected by her beloved step-father, and shunned by Fraser and Ishbel. Only her step-brother, Mark, showed her compassion as he helped her with her nurses training.
Fraser's shocked to see Bethan again, and apparently firmly in his aunt's affections. He doesn't hide his contempt and makes it very clear to Bethan that he'll be watching her; not for one moment does he believe in her story of an accident, nor that she's even a nurse. When he finds her slaking her duties, he insists she labour physically, ensuring that she learn what it truly means to do a day's work. Only this back fires, as Bethan's pride keeps her working, her body begins to shut down and it's near collapse that Fraser finds her hours later. Shaken, Fraser makes the call to check out Bethan's credentials and learns some shocking truths, that set him on a mission to discover just what has happened since that night of Ishbel's party.
Ms. Absalom drew me in from the first pages with this emotionally intense story of a young girl who sets herself on a journey of atonement for a reckless action that she doesn't even remember. As all Bethan has endured is revealed, I found myself reliving her horror with her. At first I thought Fraser a total callous brute, but Ms. Absalom gives us his reflections of the events and the information he'd been given through the years since Ishbel's party which redeems his behaviour. As he unravels the truth, he faces the consequences of his own decisions in the past and he desperately seeks to give Bethan her life back. From first page to last, this compelling story kept me emotionally involved and it was with a well satisfied sigh that I read Fraser's vows and Bethan's complete belief of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2021
A heart touching story of sweet old fashioned love from your past. Also has one of my favourite tropes: best friend’s brother. Doesn’t get better than that!
Beth has been working as a field nurse for foreign aid agencies in war torn countries. A sort of a self expiation for a horrible crime she committed in her life before this life of service. Beth’s past life involved having a best friend in Ishbel and an irrevocable all- consuming love for her older brother.
Unfortunately Beth is fixed in to take fault for a crime she can’t recall if she committed or not. She causes a lot of grief to her family and friends when all of a sudden everyone turns face and abandons her. Beth is left with no place to go except accept a nursing job in far off countries.
The book starts off with fate giving Beth another chance at life and love. She meets Fraser (her friend’s brother again) and can’t believe her tough luck on having been thrown at him once more when he’s again set off to marry another woman.
I could really not put down this book the whole day. Beth is remorseful and lives a life of blame while Fraser is trying to hate her for her crime but can’t help feeling possessive and tender towards her. I have to try another book from this writer. Such sweet comforting romance that tugs at your heart and stays there.
Beth has been working as a field nurse for foreign aid agencies in war torn countries. A sort of a self expiation for a horrible crime she committed in her life before this life of service. Beth’s past life involved having a best friend in Ishbel and an irrevocable all- consuming love for her older brother.
Unfortunately Beth is fixed in to take fault for a crime she can’t recall if she committed or not. She causes a lot of grief to her family and friends when all of a sudden everyone turns face and abandons her. Beth is left with no place to go except accept a nursing job in far off countries.
The book starts off with fate giving Beth another chance at life and love. She meets Fraser (her friend’s brother again) and can’t believe her tough luck on having been thrown at him once more when he’s again set off to marry another woman.
I could really not put down this book the whole day. Beth is remorseful and lives a life of blame while Fraser is trying to hate her for her crime but can’t help feeling possessive and tender towards her. I have to try another book from this writer. Such sweet comforting romance that tugs at your heart and stays there.
April 12, 2012
A story of young love tragically torn apart by the machinations of a jealous step sibling. Beth had loved her best friends brother from the time she first met him at thirteen. Fraser was already a grown man and by the time she was 18 Beth was starting to hope that he would see her as a woman. On the very night it seemed that her dream might come true a combination of circumstances helped along by the selfish and vindictive actions of her stepbrother Mark sent Beth away. Rejected and humiliated by Fraser, abandoned by her family and friends because of a dreadful deed done in a moment of blind foolishness, Beth spends the next ten years attempting to atone. When disaster strikes and she has to return to England and recuperate cruel fate throws her back into the path of Fraser, nephew of her employer and newly engaged to a lovely heiress. As the events of the night of Ishbel's party ten years ago are gradually revealed it seems like it could change everything. For Beth nothing has changed about her feelings for Fraser but even if she could be forgiven for her sins he is still committed elsewhere. Stacy Absalom has done a wonderful job in bringing everything together and once the truth is revealed it is only a matter of time to bring us our HEA.
April 27, 2012
The book begins with our heroine in a hospital bed. She was flown to England after she was almost fatally injured in a bomb blast in Beirut, where she worked as a nurse as a mission worker. When her boss told her she needed time off, she was given a simple job in England to a nice older lady. Little did she know that she was the Aunt of her first and only love, our delectable hero.
When the heroine and hero meet again, there is much past between them for when the heroine was eighteen she was tried for a crime she thought she committed. She was tried for manslaughter for killing a little girl when she was in a drunken stupor. But before that the hero had called her a tramp and harlot for trying to seduce him.
When the trial was over and she was fined for killing the little girl, her family and the heroes family turned their backs on her. Little did she know it was all a devious plot by her stepbrother. He was the one who killed the little girl and set her up. He was the one who claimed her stepfather didn't want her and was disowning her. He was also the one who told the hero and the heroes sister, whom was the heroines best friend, that he had slept with the heroine numerous times and she was nothing but a whore.
Now ten years later the truth is about to come out and shit is about to hit the fan but can our heroine actually forgive and forget? Will she be able to let her guilt and grief go in order to move on with her life? Wellll.. you gotta read it to find out!
I loved this book, it is definitely one of the better ones out there. I have to say I have never heard of this author at all and was quite surprised by what talent she has. It's worth the read!
When the heroine and hero meet again, there is much past between them for when the heroine was eighteen she was tried for a crime she thought she committed. She was tried for manslaughter for killing a little girl when she was in a drunken stupor. But before that the hero had called her a tramp and harlot for trying to seduce him.
When the trial was over and she was fined for killing the little girl, her family and the heroes family turned their backs on her. Little did she know it was all a devious plot by her stepbrother. He was the one who killed the little girl and set her up. He was the one who claimed her stepfather didn't want her and was disowning her. He was also the one who told the hero and the heroes sister, whom was the heroines best friend, that he had slept with the heroine numerous times and she was nothing but a whore.
Now ten years later the truth is about to come out and shit is about to hit the fan but can our heroine actually forgive and forget? Will she be able to let her guilt and grief go in order to move on with her life? Wellll.. you gotta read it to find out!
I loved this book, it is definitely one of the better ones out there. I have to say I have never heard of this author at all and was quite surprised by what talent she has. It's worth the read!
December 18, 2013
This is one of my all time favourite Harlequin romances. I read it years ago and it's always stayed with me. It's got everything the classics of these books promise: A compelling hero, strong empathic heroine, angst galore and more chemistry than Bogart and Bacall :)
December 4, 2018
Gentle Readers, behold the biggest martyr ever to have graced the pages of a category romance. In fact, I think this should be required reading, because I am humbled and impressed by the author's achievement in making a character so tragic, so long-suffering, and so self-sacrificing. Even the H's extended grovel at the end can't remotely make up for what he put her through, and he'll have to spend the rest of his life trying to help her recover from his and life's cruelties. Even then, she'd need to be reincarnated as an extremely spoiled feline companion animal, and he as a scratching post, to finally balance the karmic scales.
March 9, 2022
I read it thirty years ago. Don’t remember the story but remember that I loved it! Tried to find it again to see if it stood the test of time. But it’s unavailable.
Found it finally. Sorry to say. It didn’t stand the test of time. I will take away the two extra stars ⭐️ ⭐️ I had given earlier. Not sorry.
The hero was terrible. He didn’t value and respect the heroine when he knew her as an eighteen year old.
He mistreated her again when he met her ten years later. He knows she is a nurse but he makes her do the work of a farm labourer.
He was engaged to another girl, when he met the heroine again, yet he kept acting as if he wanted the heroine. Not genuinely wanted. Just in a vague dog in the mangerish way. That too in front of his fiancée.
He chose his fiancée. Wanted and desired to marry her. Yet the moment the heroine turned up. He forgot about his “love”.
The way he treated the fiancée , shows he is a low down scoundrel. Zero feelings for the emotional hurt he is inflicting.
He seemed adept at triangulating women. Also at missing the point of everything. Dumb man. He watches while his fiancées father makes a play for the heroine and forcibly takes her away to the garden. I lost all respect for this man. His IQ level was pretty low frankly.
The heroine is forcibly kissed by villainish prospective father in law.
Hero then kisses her himself.
It was all so untidy. What the hell was happening.
I felt disgusted at heroine for running to hero and sobbing out that villain tried to buy her off.
Hero’s reaction? Who knows? Just not what a strong honourable man’s should have been.
The plot had too many holes according to me. Even a child would have realised what was what. But these people never understood the evil villainish step brother had played them.
The hero had got holed up with his then other woman in the study for hours. (Ten years ago) Apparently he was only making phone calls to book tickets.
The hero’s sister was spiking her own best friend’s drinks.
When the hero’s aunt is having an operation. The nurse and her own nephew instead of being by her side are off to the country to solve the unmysterious mystery of ten years ago. How callous were they? Their personal issue couldn’t wait the old woman’s operation?
For a woman on a mission saving mentally challenged children in Beirut, the heroine showed total lack of consideration for her charge at the end. Abandoning her and going away.
Author could have tied things neatly. But every plot device in the story ties up in a slip shod way.
I skimmed through the pages. It was that boring.
Very very boring. No chemistry between the lead pair.
The author keeps saying they love the other person. They are languishing for the other person. But author shows it in no way.
The heroine sleeps easily and comfortably each night. The hero just drives off somewhere most of the time so the author does not have to create interactions.
The hero and heroine, neither of them was very likeable. I found them horrible. Dishonourable people.
The heroine was downright stupid. Stupid. Why did she trust the step brother when she knew he hated her?
I repeat. The hero and heroine were totally disgusting. Pedestrian low down people with no class. Only person I felt sympathy for was the girl he rejected.
I definitely advise giving this one a miss.
I can’t believe I loved this book and remembered it fondly. Shows how little idea I had of what love is about as a twenty year old.
Sorry if review is disjointed. I write better reviews when the book is cold. Immediately after reading. Too much information.
Suffice it to say. Very third rate hero and heroine. I felt zero sympathy or liking for them.
Found it finally. Sorry to say. It didn’t stand the test of time. I will take away the two extra stars ⭐️ ⭐️ I had given earlier. Not sorry.
The hero was terrible. He didn’t value and respect the heroine when he knew her as an eighteen year old.
He mistreated her again when he met her ten years later. He knows she is a nurse but he makes her do the work of a farm labourer.
He was engaged to another girl, when he met the heroine again, yet he kept acting as if he wanted the heroine. Not genuinely wanted. Just in a vague dog in the mangerish way. That too in front of his fiancée.
He chose his fiancée. Wanted and desired to marry her. Yet the moment the heroine turned up. He forgot about his “love”.
The way he treated the fiancée , shows he is a low down scoundrel. Zero feelings for the emotional hurt he is inflicting.
He seemed adept at triangulating women. Also at missing the point of everything. Dumb man. He watches while his fiancées father makes a play for the heroine and forcibly takes her away to the garden. I lost all respect for this man. His IQ level was pretty low frankly.
The heroine is forcibly kissed by villainish prospective father in law.
Hero then kisses her himself.
It was all so untidy. What the hell was happening.
I felt disgusted at heroine for running to hero and sobbing out that villain tried to buy her off.
Hero’s reaction? Who knows? Just not what a strong honourable man’s should have been.
The plot had too many holes according to me. Even a child would have realised what was what. But these people never understood the evil villainish step brother had played them.
The hero had got holed up with his then other woman in the study for hours. (Ten years ago) Apparently he was only making phone calls to book tickets.
The hero’s sister was spiking her own best friend’s drinks.
When the hero’s aunt is having an operation. The nurse and her own nephew instead of being by her side are off to the country to solve the unmysterious mystery of ten years ago. How callous were they? Their personal issue couldn’t wait the old woman’s operation?
For a woman on a mission saving mentally challenged children in Beirut, the heroine showed total lack of consideration for her charge at the end. Abandoning her and going away.
Author could have tied things neatly. But every plot device in the story ties up in a slip shod way.
I skimmed through the pages. It was that boring.
Very very boring. No chemistry between the lead pair.
The author keeps saying they love the other person. They are languishing for the other person. But author shows it in no way.
The heroine sleeps easily and comfortably each night. The hero just drives off somewhere most of the time so the author does not have to create interactions.
The hero and heroine, neither of them was very likeable. I found them horrible. Dishonourable people.
The heroine was downright stupid. Stupid. Why did she trust the step brother when she knew he hated her?
I repeat. The hero and heroine were totally disgusting. Pedestrian low down people with no class. Only person I felt sympathy for was the girl he rejected.
I definitely advise giving this one a miss.
I can’t believe I loved this book and remembered it fondly. Shows how little idea I had of what love is about as a twenty year old.
Sorry if review is disjointed. I write better reviews when the book is cold. Immediately after reading. Too much information.
Suffice it to say. Very third rate hero and heroine. I felt zero sympathy or liking for them.
dnl-x
March 10, 2013If your idea of romance is the heroine getting kicked in the teeth throughout the entire book, then, by all means, read this thing.
March 27, 2022
Rating: 4 starts.
The hero was an absolutely a**hat at times, while the heroine was a saint and the typical vintage HP martyr.
A pleasant angsty read.
The hero was an absolutely a**hat at times, while the heroine was a saint and the typical vintage HP martyr.
A pleasant angsty read.
May 23, 2017
Truly a vintage of sweetness
October 31, 2018
I love this book. My copy of it is completely worn out from the many times I've read it. I loved the heroine so very much. Even when her actions involved her being quiet when she should have spoken up, I understood, even as they annoyed me. I wanted her to have her happy ending with the hero, somehow, even when I couldn't see how that would happen.
The hero was definitely a bit of an idiot, believing someone he shouldn't have. Well, both hero and heroine were guilty of that. He also should have told his sister, the titular Ishbel, about what happened years ago, which would have saved them all a lot of pain. (Of course, then there would have been no story, so that wouldn't have worked, lol.)
What I liked about the book was the pacing. The journey wasn't just over and done within one conversation. It took several honest, gut-wrenching conversations for the two of them to work through their relationship, until the final (admittedly melodramatic) reveal at the end.
I highly recommend this book.
The hero was definitely a bit of an idiot, believing someone he shouldn't have. Well, both hero and heroine were guilty of that. He also should have told his sister, the titular Ishbel, about what happened years ago, which would have saved them all a lot of pain. (Of course, then there would have been no story, so that wouldn't have worked, lol.)
What I liked about the book was the pacing. The journey wasn't just over and done within one conversation. It took several honest, gut-wrenching conversations for the two of them to work through their relationship, until the final (admittedly melodramatic) reveal at the end.
I highly recommend this book.
June 15, 2012
4.5 stars. Goodness gracious -- angst-city!! This one was way, way over-the-top, but delicious with anticipation of the redemption of the very maligned heroine. The heroine really couldn't have been more downtrodden and misunderstood. I would have enjoyed keeping the misunderstanding going a little longer, because I love scenes where an angry hero operating under misconceptions is nonetheless worried about the heroine's physical welfare (and this heroine was very weak and fainty, recovering from a bomb blast in Beirut). And I do wish they had tied up more loose ends in a happy way -- the stepfather should have been alive so they could be reconciled, Mark should have been publicly criminally convicted for his crimes, etc. But, overall, a fun and angsty HP.
May 4, 2019
This is one of those books where I’m sure the author thought she was writing a great love story but actually had the reader preferring the other woman to the heroine!
I liked the other woman although she had a name I can’t remember how to spell! She’s only 20 but seems more mature than the martyr heroine and a nicer person!
Lucky escape she had though as the heroine was a bitch not feeling any remorse for the hurt she caused the OW and of course it’s the typical M&B storyline of the H&H resolving their differences in the last few sentences but there wasn’t any mention from either of them or guilt for hurting a lovely young woman.
I liked the other woman although she had a name I can’t remember how to spell! She’s only 20 but seems more mature than the martyr heroine and a nicer person!
Lucky escape she had though as the heroine was a bitch not feeling any remorse for the hurt she caused the OW and of course it’s the typical M&B storyline of the H&H resolving their differences in the last few sentences but there wasn’t any mention from either of them or guilt for hurting a lovely young woman.
August 2, 2022
This book was depressing to say the least.
The has been a nurse for a disaster relief agency since she qualified 10 years ago. She is clearly traumatised by what she has seen especially since her last stint in Beirut had her caught up in shelling blast leaving her with burns and mental trauma.
The h is shipped off back to England to recover and set up with a friendly old lady to nurse each other.
The h is carrying a LOT of guilt from being in a drink driving accident as a teen which resulted in the death of a little girl. She managed to avoid a jail sentence and her step father paid the fine. Her job is her way of trying to make up for the life she took. However, it wasn't without consequences she lost her family and friends over the incident and feels all alone.
The old lady she is looking after and staying with is the aunt to the H who the h knew and crushed on as a teen but he hates her for what he sees as her disappearance 10 years ago and it turns out her awful step brother has been spreading all kinds of horrible rumours about the h which he believed.
As a result he doesn't believe she is a nurse or injured and treats her VERY awfully.
He also happens to have a very nice if slightly immature fiancee who he treats appallingly/cheats on - she is an OW/lady who deserves her own adventure and HEA and she should have given the H a swift punch in the babymakers.
Turns out the h was innocent of all charges her step brother was driving the car and she was passed our from being spiked by the H's sister and her evil step brother. She is happily married with kids in Australia and the SB is a drug addicted mess. In the meantime her step father who adopted her and loved her died and she had no idea and her life was pretty much ruined by these selfish toads who really only thought about themselves.
My main gripe though is how forgiving towards the h everyone was even thinking that she had killed a child through drink driving. Even in the 80's this carried a huge stigma as lets be honest this isn't an accident its a choice to get behind a wheel having had a drink and carried harsh penalties even back then. I know she was innocent but I just don't think peoples reactions were realistic.
This was too depressing to be given anything other than 1 star
The has been a nurse for a disaster relief agency since she qualified 10 years ago. She is clearly traumatised by what she has seen especially since her last stint in Beirut had her caught up in shelling blast leaving her with burns and mental trauma.
The h is shipped off back to England to recover and set up with a friendly old lady to nurse each other.
The h is carrying a LOT of guilt from being in a drink driving accident as a teen which resulted in the death of a little girl. She managed to avoid a jail sentence and her step father paid the fine. Her job is her way of trying to make up for the life she took. However, it wasn't without consequences she lost her family and friends over the incident and feels all alone.
The old lady she is looking after and staying with is the aunt to the H who the h knew and crushed on as a teen but he hates her for what he sees as her disappearance 10 years ago and it turns out her awful step brother has been spreading all kinds of horrible rumours about the h which he believed.
As a result he doesn't believe she is a nurse or injured and treats her VERY awfully.
He also happens to have a very nice if slightly immature fiancee who he treats appallingly/cheats on - she is an OW/lady who deserves her own adventure and HEA and she should have given the H a swift punch in the babymakers.
Turns out the h was innocent of all charges her step brother was driving the car and she was passed our from being spiked by the H's sister and her evil step brother. She is happily married with kids in Australia and the SB is a drug addicted mess. In the meantime her step father who adopted her and loved her died and she had no idea and her life was pretty much ruined by these selfish toads who really only thought about themselves.
My main gripe though is how forgiving towards the h everyone was even thinking that she had killed a child through drink driving. Even in the 80's this carried a huge stigma as lets be honest this isn't an accident its a choice to get behind a wheel having had a drink and carried harsh penalties even back then. I know she was innocent but I just don't think peoples reactions were realistic.
This was too depressing to be given anything other than 1 star
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2021
3.5 stars ⭐️ it was a very sweet story! The h was a major martyr though and that got old. The main thing that redeemed it early on was that the "big misunderstanding" was talked out early (around 50%) and not in the last few pages. I was so happy when H did some investigating and stopped jumping to the worst conclusions. The downer part was that H was engaged to a pretty nice girl for the whole book, even though he was clearly attracted to h. That made me uncomfortable, I couldn't enjoy the love vibes as much. I didn't round up to 4 stars due to that issue. I Will look into more of this author's works though!
November 2, 2021
This story did a great job invoking different emotions. There was a lot of head shaking. There are some great reviews that go into the plot of this story. I will just talk a little bit about the characters and try not to give the good stuff away.
Heroine: Bethan, 28 years old, virgin: She was pretty much abandoned by her whore of a mother, but was adopted by her stepfather who adored her. Her best friend was Ishbel, and she was in love with Ishbel’s older brother Fraser. Bethan was involved in a tragedy at the age of 18 which changed the course of her life. She was all but abandoned by those around her. Due to the tragedy, she engaged in a life full of penance. She worked as a nurse in countries where there was strife and dying all around her. What little money she did get, she would often donate to the worthy causes she was working hard to support. When the story opens, she has just survived a bomb attack which has left her scarred, weak, and with some ptss. Therefore, it has been decided that she should work as a private nurse for an older lady who has lost much of her family, and needs help recovering from a car accident.
Lorna: Takes in Bethan as her nurse, with the understanding that she is going to be as much use to the heroine as the heroine is to her. They form a close bond and friendship. Lorna’s nephew often comes to live at the house looking in on his aunt. It just so happens he is Fraser, the lost love of Bethan.
Fraser, 37, His life was blown apart 10 years before when the h was involved in the tragedy. When he sees the h again, he is very cruel to her. He believes her to be a dishonest, amoral woman who broke many hearts 10 years before. However, the book shows his turmoil of his own emotions for her. He has finally moved on with his life and is engaged to a much younger girl, Siriol.
Siriol, early 20’s- she is the ow in the story(or is the h the ow 🤔) She is young. She is lovely. She is in love with the H and welcomes the h with open arms….until she starts to get suspicious about the tension and attention the H has with the h. Understandably, she starts to show some jealous tendencies, but they are very fitting and well deserved. She is not some whack a doo ow, and it is hard to see that she will most likely be tossed aside in the end. Her father, on the other hand is a creep. His role is minor, thank goodness, but we can see he is not a nice man.
Mark,- stepbrother to the h, his story is told in flashbacks. He is the key player for all the misunderstandings, tragedies, and misconceptions that happen in the book.
Many of the conceptions that caused the issues are discussed half way through the story. This is a nice change, as the author then has the dubious job of keeping the story interesting with the angst level high for the second half. Even with most of the misconceptions(not all) discussed at this point, the h and H have much to work through. He is engaged. The h is still in love with him, but needs to hide it. The fiancée is suspicious, but the h actually does talk with her and gives her some honest truths(leaving out a few things). Usually, all of these are very cloak and dagger. It is obvious that the H has to work through his own feelings for the h and he has some guilt in how her life has played out.
Overall, a satisfying read with the h taking on far too much guilt. This continued guilty complex may put off some readers, but I felt it was within keeping of the h’s personality. It looks like the author has only written a few books, but I will seek them out after reading this.
Heroine: Bethan, 28 years old, virgin: She was pretty much abandoned by her whore of a mother, but was adopted by her stepfather who adored her. Her best friend was Ishbel, and she was in love with Ishbel’s older brother Fraser. Bethan was involved in a tragedy at the age of 18 which changed the course of her life. She was all but abandoned by those around her. Due to the tragedy, she engaged in a life full of penance. She worked as a nurse in countries where there was strife and dying all around her. What little money she did get, she would often donate to the worthy causes she was working hard to support. When the story opens, she has just survived a bomb attack which has left her scarred, weak, and with some ptss. Therefore, it has been decided that she should work as a private nurse for an older lady who has lost much of her family, and needs help recovering from a car accident.
Lorna: Takes in Bethan as her nurse, with the understanding that she is going to be as much use to the heroine as the heroine is to her. They form a close bond and friendship. Lorna’s nephew often comes to live at the house looking in on his aunt. It just so happens he is Fraser, the lost love of Bethan.
Fraser, 37, His life was blown apart 10 years before when the h was involved in the tragedy. When he sees the h again, he is very cruel to her. He believes her to be a dishonest, amoral woman who broke many hearts 10 years before. However, the book shows his turmoil of his own emotions for her. He has finally moved on with his life and is engaged to a much younger girl, Siriol.
Siriol, early 20’s- she is the ow in the story(or is the h the ow 🤔) She is young. She is lovely. She is in love with the H and welcomes the h with open arms….until she starts to get suspicious about the tension and attention the H has with the h. Understandably, she starts to show some jealous tendencies, but they are very fitting and well deserved. She is not some whack a doo ow, and it is hard to see that she will most likely be tossed aside in the end. Her father, on the other hand is a creep. His role is minor, thank goodness, but we can see he is not a nice man.
Mark,- stepbrother to the h, his story is told in flashbacks. He is the key player for all the misunderstandings, tragedies, and misconceptions that happen in the book.
Many of the conceptions that caused the issues are discussed half way through the story. This is a nice change, as the author then has the dubious job of keeping the story interesting with the angst level high for the second half. Even with most of the misconceptions(not all) discussed at this point, the h and H have much to work through. He is engaged. The h is still in love with him, but needs to hide it. The fiancée is suspicious, but the h actually does talk with her and gives her some honest truths(leaving out a few things). Usually, all of these are very cloak and dagger. It is obvious that the H has to work through his own feelings for the h and he has some guilt in how her life has played out.
Overall, a satisfying read with the h taking on far too much guilt. This continued guilty complex may put off some readers, but I felt it was within keeping of the h’s personality. It looks like the author has only written a few books, but I will seek them out after reading this.
December 27, 2022
This book was better then I hoped! The H was a bit a-holey at first, in believing the h a slut etc. But this h puts him straight pretty quick. The book is basically the H realizing how wrong he was and the h being sad since the H is engaged. (the OW is really nice tho)
Thats the one thing thats nagging a bit on me. The relationship between the H and his fiancée. We never get to know if the sleep together or not. I'm leaning towards not. The OW comes of as young and naive. Plus I felt a bit sad for the OW when the H broke of the engagement.
Side note: I really miss these old school titles on HP books! The Greeks/Italians/Spanish Blackmailed/bought virgin/wife/Mistress gets a bit repetitive...
Thats the one thing thats nagging a bit on me. The relationship between the H and his fiancée. We never get to know if the sleep together or not. I'm leaning towards not. The OW comes of as young and naive. Plus I felt a bit sad for the OW when the H broke of the engagement.
Side note: I really miss these old school titles on HP books! The Greeks/Italians/Spanish Blackmailed/bought virgin/wife/Mistress gets a bit repetitive...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2023
Ishbel and Fraser need to get the fuck away from Bethan. The fact that they still have the audacity to demand shit from the h is beyond me. Both the H and his sister knew what a low-life Bethan's step-brother is and yet they reckon it's much more believable to assume the worse with regard to the h.
Also, it's sickening to know that you're willing to contaminate someone's drink just because you don't want that heartbreaking mood to ruin your birthday party. Too much for being a BFF, right Ishbel? And the fact that it took this two moronic siblings to digest the facts surrounding what's happened that day is quite comedic. "Oh, yeah! The step-brother is drug-addicted son-of-a-bitch, therefore what the h has been saying probably is true. I'm so sorry, Bethan! Would you forgive us?" Ew.
Also, it's sickening to know that you're willing to contaminate someone's drink just because you don't want that heartbreaking mood to ruin your birthday party. Too much for being a BFF, right Ishbel? And the fact that it took this two moronic siblings to digest the facts surrounding what's happened that day is quite comedic. "Oh, yeah! The step-brother is drug-addicted son-of-a-bitch, therefore what the h has been saying probably is true. I'm so sorry, Bethan! Would you forgive us?" Ew.
March 8, 2022
A tear jerker with a real jerk for a hero. I don't believe a word he said about loving her and his sister was a piece of work. Her supposed best friend is comatose from alcohol poisoning and she not only didn't get her to a hospital or even to bed at her house but helped the stepbrother take her home? And the supposedly madly in love H didn't follow up but swallowed the lies from a man he knew was a liar, whom he didn't want anywhere near his sister?
He knew h never got his sister's letters and yet he never once tried to find out what happened?
With friends like this our poor heroine does not need enemies.
He knew h never got his sister's letters and yet he never once tried to find out what happened?
With friends like this our poor heroine does not need enemies.
June 12, 2024
This was such a great story. There are doormats and then there are women who go through horrendous things that shape their character. This was about a woman who believed she killed a child. Her guilt and shame drove her to set about a life of atonement, trying to pay the price for that sin. That was written so well. Her innocent, naïve nature and the contemptible rejection of her by her family, friends and especially the man she loved confirmed to her the gravity of her unworthiness. I never thought I would even like a story like this, but I did. How the mystery unfolded brought the suspense and endearment that made it live.
November 20, 2017
Beth should really hire a therapist. I can't believe that after what she'd been through, everything's just going to be "okay" with her. She kept the guilt for 10 years. If that doesn't eat her alive, I can't see how she lives each day.
The hero was a typical classic macho lead. This was an old read so I would understand if back then marriage and kids are what's expected for a woman.
The hero was a typical classic macho lead. This was an old read so I would understand if back then marriage and kids are what's expected for a woman.
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