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Deal of a Lifetime
Big business or motherhood? Emma Rainer was a tough corporate lawyer. But outside the office, her almost magical attraction for children dictated that she ought to be an earth mother. Currently a major contender for promotion, she'd been pleased to be among those invited to Sir Clive Conway's holiday island-until she discovered that his whole family, including children and babies, were there, too!
Emma didn't know if she'd be able to maintain her corporate image-and that meant she could kiss the promotion goodbye. But then she met Frazer Conway, Sir Clive's half brother and father of an adorable little boy. Frazer quickly made it clear he wanted Emma in both her roles!
Emma didn't know if she'd be able to maintain her corporate image-and that meant she could kiss the promotion goodbye. But then she met Frazer Conway, Sir Clive's half brother and father of an adorable little boy. Frazer quickly made it clear he wanted Emma in both her roles!
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
3 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Susan Napier
141 books153 followersPerhaps being born on Valentine’s Day was an omen that Susan Napier would become a romance writer. This New Zealand author has written over 30 Mills & Boon category romances since 1984. Napier and her husband Tony Potter met when they both worked at the Auckland Star newspaper. After they married, she left the newspaper to work for a film company where she learned the art of dialogue. After the birth of her sons, Simon and Ben, she was a freelance scriptwriter for documentaries. It was soon after that she decided to try her hand at writing the romance fiction she dearly loved.
She and her husband still live in the home they bought in Auckland shortly after their marriage.
She and her husband still live in the home they bought in Auckland shortly after their marriage.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 21, 2012
I love you, Susan Napier. This is why you're my favorite Harlequin Presents author. What's wrong with being a career-oriented woman? What's wrong with being highly educated and working in the business world? What does that do for your dating chances and what sacrifices will you have to make?
Emma faces this situation and I cheered her along. I could understand what she was going through. Just because she liked children, could cook, and had an earth mother vibe didn't mean that was all she wanted in her life. I could understand the armor she used in a world where men are so comfortable calling the shots and forcing women to jump through hoops or prove they belong there. You have to be very careful about every word you say, every step you take. And yes, you do become paranoid. And better yet, Emma didn't have to give up anything to get her happy ending. She could be a career woman and she could love kids and want a family. Yes, you can do both.
I liked Frazer a lot. He had that teasing, arrogant in a good way vibe that Napier handles so well with her heroes. He only made me mad one time in this book for what he says to Emma about when Tom (his son) got sick. But I sure did cheer when Emma got him told. And he knew he was wrong for it and apologized and owned up to his vulnerabilities. He loved that Emma was a fierce woman who stood up for herself and knew how to handle herself. His courtship is a bit sneaky, but I didn't find him manipulative or undermining of Emma because of what he wanted with her or wanted her to be. He wanted her to be with him and be happy with who she was. The power plays don't have to dictate this relationship and I appreciate that they don't. Parity is so desirable in a man/woman relationship, and I love seeing this dynamic in a romance novel. Yes, yes, more HP books like this. Please write more, Ms. Napier.
I like the message here. Womanhood is not one thing. Womanhood is many things. A woman who handles her business doesn't have to be a Sex and the City heroine to be modern. If that shoe doesn't fit, then not every woman has to buy a pair and force herself into it. If her values don't fit that model, she is doing herself harm to force it onto herself. On the other hand, a woman can't suppress who she is deep inside because others want her to. In the office, be a professional, but be your own woman all the time. That's what I liked in this book, Emma coming to embrace who she was and not worry about what she wasn't. To me, that is the message behind feminism. Women having the ability to decide for themselves what they want in their individual lives, even if that doesn't look like the woman standing next to her, and especially not what men tell them they should want.
This was a very good book. Fun, enlightening, sexy, inspiring. I had read this before years earlier, and I appreciate it more as a woman in my 30s who has experienced some of those challenges in the career world that Emma deals with. This will definitely go on my faves list by this author and as a Harlequin Presents reader overall.
Emma faces this situation and I cheered her along. I could understand what she was going through. Just because she liked children, could cook, and had an earth mother vibe didn't mean that was all she wanted in her life. I could understand the armor she used in a world where men are so comfortable calling the shots and forcing women to jump through hoops or prove they belong there. You have to be very careful about every word you say, every step you take. And yes, you do become paranoid. And better yet, Emma didn't have to give up anything to get her happy ending. She could be a career woman and she could love kids and want a family. Yes, you can do both.
I liked Frazer a lot. He had that teasing, arrogant in a good way vibe that Napier handles so well with her heroes. He only made me mad one time in this book for what he says to Emma about when Tom (his son) got sick. But I sure did cheer when Emma got him told. And he knew he was wrong for it and apologized and owned up to his vulnerabilities. He loved that Emma was a fierce woman who stood up for herself and knew how to handle herself. His courtship is a bit sneaky, but I didn't find him manipulative or undermining of Emma because of what he wanted with her or wanted her to be. He wanted her to be with him and be happy with who she was. The power plays don't have to dictate this relationship and I appreciate that they don't. Parity is so desirable in a man/woman relationship, and I love seeing this dynamic in a romance novel. Yes, yes, more HP books like this. Please write more, Ms. Napier.
I like the message here. Womanhood is not one thing. Womanhood is many things. A woman who handles her business doesn't have to be a Sex and the City heroine to be modern. If that shoe doesn't fit, then not every woman has to buy a pair and force herself into it. If her values don't fit that model, she is doing herself harm to force it onto herself. On the other hand, a woman can't suppress who she is deep inside because others want her to. In the office, be a professional, but be your own woman all the time. That's what I liked in this book, Emma coming to embrace who she was and not worry about what she wasn't. To me, that is the message behind feminism. Women having the ability to decide for themselves what they want in their individual lives, even if that doesn't look like the woman standing next to her, and especially not what men tell them they should want.
This was a very good book. Fun, enlightening, sexy, inspiring. I had read this before years earlier, and I appreciate it more as a woman in my 30s who has experienced some of those challenges in the career world that Emma deals with. This will definitely go on my faves list by this author and as a Harlequin Presents reader overall.
October 5, 2017
Re Deal of a Lifetime - Susan Napier has an interesting one here. The h is 26 and runs the legal department for a huge family conglomerate. She wants the upcoming open CEO position and she is good enough to get it.
Starting out as the middle child of a big farming family, the h was raised to be the perfect farm wife. She is magically gifted with a huge affinity for children and they for her, is an excellent cook and I had no problems imagining her out on the farm and running it like a dream. That wasn't where her ambition took her tho.
This h is smart and she went to law school and now she is working her way up the corporate ladder. The big office with the corner window and a lot of power is her goal and that goal is in reach - if she survives a weekend get together at the big boss's family get away where the big boss wants to put the contenders through their paces. It will be corporate infighting at it's worst and the sharks are out for chum.
This h is probably one of SN's most developed. She has a very well rounded personality and while her corporate side and her farm wife side might seem to be a confliction of opposites, they work well together for her. She can fire up the minions, sort out numerous business headaches and then go home and veg out on Miami Vice and homemade crackers in bed. She is great with kids and has a nice lifestyle and her life is humming along nicely, this h is pretty happy.
The big bugaboo for her is that her all of her family her whole adult life has wondered when she was going to give up the big city and go back to what they think should make her happy, being the helpmeet of some burly farmer. The h knows she has more to her than that and she is living out her dream.
But the disappointed family subtle disapproval stings a bit. It is implied later on that the h is reading things that aren't there, but this h was very perceptive and I trusted her judgement more than any of the other character's - the other characters only said supportive things when they had something to gain.
So the h and her non ambitious but highly intelligent male secretary get to the Big Boss's family island. There is a scrum at the door and numerous little kids are wandering about. The h and secretary take the back way to avoid the front door interrogation and the kids and run into a guy they think might be a security guard when he asks them if they are casing the place for a break in. Words are exchanged and the h thinks the man is very attractive, but has a horrible personality.
This is our introduction to the H of course and it turns out he is the brother of the Big Boss and the Big Boss's heir apparent is leaving the company. The H is a widower engineer in his 30's and he has a four year old son. He takes one look at the h and is like a dog drooling over a bone and his intentions to get his hands on the lusciousness of the h is soon very apparent.
The h recognizes the interest, but she has a failed relationship in the past where she was expected to put her ambitions aside for her partner and she doesn't do affairs. When the family kids sense her magical kid ability, they hunt the h down on their trikes and owies are kissed, daddies for the H are inquired about, ( cause all mom types should have 'daddies' but they mean husbands to the little plot moppets, ) and storytelling midnight feasts ensue.
The drunken H makes a foray over to the h's room where she is hiding the plot moppets from parental detection for the midnight story time feast, and his intentions to tie her to his bed are made abundantly clear, tho he drunkenly suspects the h is having it off with her secretary.
The H, when he becomes sober again, becomes obsessed with the h and to facilitate his pursuit, he decides to step into his Big Boss brother's shoes when the heir apparent leaves the company. He becomes the h's boss and office sexual harassment is soon the code of the day. The H is practically pathological in keeping the h's focus on him. He goes overboard on the minutiae of the corporation that the h has to fully research and when he finds out about the h's magical affinity for children, he even uses his four year old to coerce the h into spending her limited free time house hunting for him.
When the h refuses to submit to his blandishments and roofie kisses, he belittles her femininity and mocks her seriousness towards her job and rhapsodizes about what a lovely homemaker and wonder helpmeet his late wife was. The rest of the H's family, which includes the Big Boss, are all to wiling to participate in the pimping out of the h and the misogyny disguised as female liberation of doing it all gets higher every chapter. The h is honest about what her goals are to the H and she is also fighting the usual HP lurve mojo attraction.
Eventually, when his manipulation and bombardment tactics don't work, the H flaunts another woman in front of the h and tho the girl is really his relative, the H gives the h the impression that she is a bit more than that. The H and a drunken h wind up having a forced making out in the closet he drags her into and the h gets an additional humiliation of being caught by the former Big Boss and two of her job competitors when they come out. Naturally the rumors start flying, but the h soldiers on and rises above it and ponders what to do about this unfortunate lust for the H.
The h is torn, because on one hand the H seems like a nice supportive person, he even helps her put her past destroyed relationship into perspective by claiming that the guy she was engaged to was to intimidated by her obvious talent and therefore had to dump her or turn her into a stay at home wife to assuage his own inadequacy and ego. But on the other, the H has no problem manipulating and using his position to damage her career unless she gives into him.
The H doesn't use the old gropey hands and chasing around the office bit to do this. Instead he belittles her and mocks her and taunts her and tells her that she needs to loosen up and he doesn't care that SHE is the one who is getting sliced and diced by everyone else for his pursuit. The H goes as far as to say that the former Big Boss would cheerfully demand she sleep with the H if that was what he wanted, as long as the H runs the company.
The h quite rightly tells the H off and then she quits, but the H talks her into staying as he really doesn't want to and probably can't run the corporation. What the H really wants to do is go off and build engineering things and to do that he needs a wife, preferably one that his son will get along with great as the new wife and his son will be spending lots of time alone together.
The H manages to smooth things over and guilts the h into spending time with him again, tho when he buys the first house they ever looked at without any further dragging the h out every weekend, we realize the h is being royally played by the H.
Eventually the h winds up taking care of the H's son while he is off on an engineering expedition and the OW nanny has to leave for a family emergency. The little boy has a cold and can't go to school and since the entire family feels free to impose on the h, including the plot moppet who wanted to go the h's house, she agrees to help out in a crisis and watch him. The only problem is that she has a huge contract meeting that she absolutely cannot miss, so she calls her secretary to come over and keep an eye on the child while she takes care of business.
The little boy is okay with her going, even tho he tried his best to guilt trip her into staying with him and the h does have some guilt about it. She manages to explain about responsibilities and how people need to do their best to meet them and set some firm boundaries on the bad behavior while she is at it. The h is in her big meeting when the H shows up and has an absolute nasty fit about how she is irresponsible and not fit to be a woman cause she left his son with her secretary and when the H got there the little boy started sobbing his heart out when he saw his dad.
The H makes a lot of nasty accusations about how the h abused his child's trust and thinks kids are playthings and that she isn't worthy and she dumped her responsibility to the child when it was inconvenient for her and the h lets him have it.
She tells him it is fine if HE goes off and dumps the care of his child on someone else, it was not HER family that was all too busy to take over care of HIS son and the child had to go to someone who is not family or a parent. But because she actually put priorities in order and wasn't available to nursemaid a minor cold she is the bad person for a child that isn't even her responsibility in any way shape or form? She calls the H a hypocrite and he totally is.
Then she has an awesome smackdown where she explains that she told him multiple times where her interests were, that she is not his wife and has no desire to be his maid and he did not listen. He only was interested in her because he has some lust going on, but mainly cause he wants a mother for his son and that isn't her. Then the H replies that she should just get a sex change operation and maybe the company will pay for it, since she is such an inadequate woman, she might be better off as a man. The h slaps him and the H storms out.
The h goes back to her meeting and kicks some corporate butt and then goes home to have a mopey moment cause she loves the H. The H shows up at her home later that night, having stolen the h's keys from her secretary, and does a half hearted apology because he was jealous and thought that the h had abandoned him and he felt like he had to either yell at her or cry. The h is softened up by that little pity play and the H follows it with a full seduction of the h.
After a big night of bliss, the h goes to withdraw from the CEO short list at the former Big Boss's house, she has to explain her and the H's relationship in front of him and his cronies. Then she goes to find the H. She wants to explain that she loves the H and is a bit tipsy again from the brandy the former Big Boss insisted she drink.
The H has set up another OW to torture the h with when the h gets to his house. This one isn't a relative and the h is jealous again, cause the H has an unending supply of lovely lady friends to watch his son while he goes off. Then the H shows up and laughs at her jealousy and tells her that she will marry him, have some kids with him, raise his son and become the big boss of the company, cause the H really doesn't want to run it and as his wife she will be family, and he can go back to his beloved engineering.
The h is still kinda buzzed from the brandy, so she allows the H to lurve her up, declares her deep devotion and love for him and avows she will have it all, (and probably a nervous breakdown) for the big HEA.
I liked the h and the plot moppets had some cute moments. But overall I was appalled by the H in this book. I didn't believe he loved her at all, even when we get his POV, it is about his wants and his lust and he really does need a mother for his son and a minion to run the family corporation so he can gallivant around and engineer things.
I see nothing but misery and trauma for the h ahead and totally did not buy the HEA. No matter how charming the H appears to be, he is a manipulative egotist and this h is gong to wear herself ragged trying to manage the corporation, manage the H and his lust and the kids the H has no time to care for himself.
This H was just a slime swiller passive aggressive closet misogynist in the guise of a laid back, semi charming guy. He really does want a mother and domestic engineer who is all about him and his ego and he will berate and bully and guilt this h until he uses her up and then cast her aside for a new, younger, more "fun" model.
If he can't manipulate the h, he will guilt trip her and gaslight her and if that doesn't work to bend her to his will, he will turn around and cheat on her. I got NO sincerity from him and his family was truly horrible in their obvious misogynistic antics. I greatly fear that the H's supposed Deal of a Lifetime in his marriage proposal is a total sucker bet, with the h being in front of the wrecking ball. I really wished this one had ended with the h being headhunted for a competing corporation and falling in love with her secretary, who was a much better man in my pov.
It is all to easy to imagine this h working herself to death to make sure both her job and the H's home life is easy and accommodating for everyone BUT her and I really think that this book is a very subtle mocking of the women in the 1990's who wanted a successful career more than they wanted to build up a family household.
This book is so subversively undermining in so many ways that it just isn't funny. We finally get an accomplished h in HPlandia and she still has to deal with the 1950's hidebound mentality that says a woman isn't a real woman unless she is willing to be sexually patronized in the office and a devoted wife and mother and running a comforting home for the H and a slave to his boudoir antics as well.
For a book that supposedly is a proponent of women finding their own niche, be it running a business or domestic engineering, the characters who interact with the h in this story are just appalling. The underlying implied rebuke for the h's actions by her subsequent public humiliation in every chapter is pretty hard to stomach when you realize that the h's choices are a big farce, as the author has no respect for them and SN still forces the h into the acceptable traditional feminine role because the H decides that is what she needs, and worse makes the h believe that is what she needs too.
My opinion is decidedly in the minority tho, so give this one a go. SN is a very good writer. There is a lot of funny scenes and the plot moppets are adorable and the h has a lot of well developed character and integrity and there is a truly awesome H smackdown that is one of the better ones for an HPlandia outing.
Starting out as the middle child of a big farming family, the h was raised to be the perfect farm wife. She is magically gifted with a huge affinity for children and they for her, is an excellent cook and I had no problems imagining her out on the farm and running it like a dream. That wasn't where her ambition took her tho.
This h is smart and she went to law school and now she is working her way up the corporate ladder. The big office with the corner window and a lot of power is her goal and that goal is in reach - if she survives a weekend get together at the big boss's family get away where the big boss wants to put the contenders through their paces. It will be corporate infighting at it's worst and the sharks are out for chum.
This h is probably one of SN's most developed. She has a very well rounded personality and while her corporate side and her farm wife side might seem to be a confliction of opposites, they work well together for her. She can fire up the minions, sort out numerous business headaches and then go home and veg out on Miami Vice and homemade crackers in bed. She is great with kids and has a nice lifestyle and her life is humming along nicely, this h is pretty happy.
The big bugaboo for her is that her all of her family her whole adult life has wondered when she was going to give up the big city and go back to what they think should make her happy, being the helpmeet of some burly farmer. The h knows she has more to her than that and she is living out her dream.
But the disappointed family subtle disapproval stings a bit. It is implied later on that the h is reading things that aren't there, but this h was very perceptive and I trusted her judgement more than any of the other character's - the other characters only said supportive things when they had something to gain.
So the h and her non ambitious but highly intelligent male secretary get to the Big Boss's family island. There is a scrum at the door and numerous little kids are wandering about. The h and secretary take the back way to avoid the front door interrogation and the kids and run into a guy they think might be a security guard when he asks them if they are casing the place for a break in. Words are exchanged and the h thinks the man is very attractive, but has a horrible personality.
This is our introduction to the H of course and it turns out he is the brother of the Big Boss and the Big Boss's heir apparent is leaving the company. The H is a widower engineer in his 30's and he has a four year old son. He takes one look at the h and is like a dog drooling over a bone and his intentions to get his hands on the lusciousness of the h is soon very apparent.
The h recognizes the interest, but she has a failed relationship in the past where she was expected to put her ambitions aside for her partner and she doesn't do affairs. When the family kids sense her magical kid ability, they hunt the h down on their trikes and owies are kissed, daddies for the H are inquired about, ( cause all mom types should have 'daddies' but they mean husbands to the little plot moppets, ) and storytelling midnight feasts ensue.
The drunken H makes a foray over to the h's room where she is hiding the plot moppets from parental detection for the midnight story time feast, and his intentions to tie her to his bed are made abundantly clear, tho he drunkenly suspects the h is having it off with her secretary.
The H, when he becomes sober again, becomes obsessed with the h and to facilitate his pursuit, he decides to step into his Big Boss brother's shoes when the heir apparent leaves the company. He becomes the h's boss and office sexual harassment is soon the code of the day. The H is practically pathological in keeping the h's focus on him. He goes overboard on the minutiae of the corporation that the h has to fully research and when he finds out about the h's magical affinity for children, he even uses his four year old to coerce the h into spending her limited free time house hunting for him.
When the h refuses to submit to his blandishments and roofie kisses, he belittles her femininity and mocks her seriousness towards her job and rhapsodizes about what a lovely homemaker and wonder helpmeet his late wife was. The rest of the H's family, which includes the Big Boss, are all to wiling to participate in the pimping out of the h and the misogyny disguised as female liberation of doing it all gets higher every chapter. The h is honest about what her goals are to the H and she is also fighting the usual HP lurve mojo attraction.
Eventually, when his manipulation and bombardment tactics don't work, the H flaunts another woman in front of the h and tho the girl is really his relative, the H gives the h the impression that she is a bit more than that. The H and a drunken h wind up having a forced making out in the closet he drags her into and the h gets an additional humiliation of being caught by the former Big Boss and two of her job competitors when they come out. Naturally the rumors start flying, but the h soldiers on and rises above it and ponders what to do about this unfortunate lust for the H.
The h is torn, because on one hand the H seems like a nice supportive person, he even helps her put her past destroyed relationship into perspective by claiming that the guy she was engaged to was to intimidated by her obvious talent and therefore had to dump her or turn her into a stay at home wife to assuage his own inadequacy and ego. But on the other, the H has no problem manipulating and using his position to damage her career unless she gives into him.
The H doesn't use the old gropey hands and chasing around the office bit to do this. Instead he belittles her and mocks her and taunts her and tells her that she needs to loosen up and he doesn't care that SHE is the one who is getting sliced and diced by everyone else for his pursuit. The H goes as far as to say that the former Big Boss would cheerfully demand she sleep with the H if that was what he wanted, as long as the H runs the company.
The h quite rightly tells the H off and then she quits, but the H talks her into staying as he really doesn't want to and probably can't run the corporation. What the H really wants to do is go off and build engineering things and to do that he needs a wife, preferably one that his son will get along with great as the new wife and his son will be spending lots of time alone together.
The H manages to smooth things over and guilts the h into spending time with him again, tho when he buys the first house they ever looked at without any further dragging the h out every weekend, we realize the h is being royally played by the H.
Eventually the h winds up taking care of the H's son while he is off on an engineering expedition and the OW nanny has to leave for a family emergency. The little boy has a cold and can't go to school and since the entire family feels free to impose on the h, including the plot moppet who wanted to go the h's house, she agrees to help out in a crisis and watch him. The only problem is that she has a huge contract meeting that she absolutely cannot miss, so she calls her secretary to come over and keep an eye on the child while she takes care of business.
The little boy is okay with her going, even tho he tried his best to guilt trip her into staying with him and the h does have some guilt about it. She manages to explain about responsibilities and how people need to do their best to meet them and set some firm boundaries on the bad behavior while she is at it. The h is in her big meeting when the H shows up and has an absolute nasty fit about how she is irresponsible and not fit to be a woman cause she left his son with her secretary and when the H got there the little boy started sobbing his heart out when he saw his dad.
The H makes a lot of nasty accusations about how the h abused his child's trust and thinks kids are playthings and that she isn't worthy and she dumped her responsibility to the child when it was inconvenient for her and the h lets him have it.
She tells him it is fine if HE goes off and dumps the care of his child on someone else, it was not HER family that was all too busy to take over care of HIS son and the child had to go to someone who is not family or a parent. But because she actually put priorities in order and wasn't available to nursemaid a minor cold she is the bad person for a child that isn't even her responsibility in any way shape or form? She calls the H a hypocrite and he totally is.
Then she has an awesome smackdown where she explains that she told him multiple times where her interests were, that she is not his wife and has no desire to be his maid and he did not listen. He only was interested in her because he has some lust going on, but mainly cause he wants a mother for his son and that isn't her. Then the H replies that she should just get a sex change operation and maybe the company will pay for it, since she is such an inadequate woman, she might be better off as a man. The h slaps him and the H storms out.
The h goes back to her meeting and kicks some corporate butt and then goes home to have a mopey moment cause she loves the H. The H shows up at her home later that night, having stolen the h's keys from her secretary, and does a half hearted apology because he was jealous and thought that the h had abandoned him and he felt like he had to either yell at her or cry. The h is softened up by that little pity play and the H follows it with a full seduction of the h.
After a big night of bliss, the h goes to withdraw from the CEO short list at the former Big Boss's house, she has to explain her and the H's relationship in front of him and his cronies. Then she goes to find the H. She wants to explain that she loves the H and is a bit tipsy again from the brandy the former Big Boss insisted she drink.
The H has set up another OW to torture the h with when the h gets to his house. This one isn't a relative and the h is jealous again, cause the H has an unending supply of lovely lady friends to watch his son while he goes off. Then the H shows up and laughs at her jealousy and tells her that she will marry him, have some kids with him, raise his son and become the big boss of the company, cause the H really doesn't want to run it and as his wife she will be family, and he can go back to his beloved engineering.
The h is still kinda buzzed from the brandy, so she allows the H to lurve her up, declares her deep devotion and love for him and avows she will have it all, (and probably a nervous breakdown) for the big HEA.
I liked the h and the plot moppets had some cute moments. But overall I was appalled by the H in this book. I didn't believe he loved her at all, even when we get his POV, it is about his wants and his lust and he really does need a mother for his son and a minion to run the family corporation so he can gallivant around and engineer things.
I see nothing but misery and trauma for the h ahead and totally did not buy the HEA. No matter how charming the H appears to be, he is a manipulative egotist and this h is gong to wear herself ragged trying to manage the corporation, manage the H and his lust and the kids the H has no time to care for himself.
This H was just a slime swiller passive aggressive closet misogynist in the guise of a laid back, semi charming guy. He really does want a mother and domestic engineer who is all about him and his ego and he will berate and bully and guilt this h until he uses her up and then cast her aside for a new, younger, more "fun" model.
If he can't manipulate the h, he will guilt trip her and gaslight her and if that doesn't work to bend her to his will, he will turn around and cheat on her. I got NO sincerity from him and his family was truly horrible in their obvious misogynistic antics. I greatly fear that the H's supposed Deal of a Lifetime in his marriage proposal is a total sucker bet, with the h being in front of the wrecking ball. I really wished this one had ended with the h being headhunted for a competing corporation and falling in love with her secretary, who was a much better man in my pov.
It is all to easy to imagine this h working herself to death to make sure both her job and the H's home life is easy and accommodating for everyone BUT her and I really think that this book is a very subtle mocking of the women in the 1990's who wanted a successful career more than they wanted to build up a family household.
This book is so subversively undermining in so many ways that it just isn't funny. We finally get an accomplished h in HPlandia and she still has to deal with the 1950's hidebound mentality that says a woman isn't a real woman unless she is willing to be sexually patronized in the office and a devoted wife and mother and running a comforting home for the H and a slave to his boudoir antics as well.
For a book that supposedly is a proponent of women finding their own niche, be it running a business or domestic engineering, the characters who interact with the h in this story are just appalling. The underlying implied rebuke for the h's actions by her subsequent public humiliation in every chapter is pretty hard to stomach when you realize that the h's choices are a big farce, as the author has no respect for them and SN still forces the h into the acceptable traditional feminine role because the H decides that is what she needs, and worse makes the h believe that is what she needs too.
My opinion is decidedly in the minority tho, so give this one a go. SN is a very good writer. There is a lot of funny scenes and the plot moppets are adorable and the h has a lot of well developed character and integrity and there is a truly awesome H smackdown that is one of the better ones for an HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2017
I hate that I hated this as I had such high expectations.
For any younger readers that wonder what it was like to be a woman in the workplace when women were fighting for the same position and power as men, this is for you.
For the heroine to play the male game she has to be bigger and better than the men, the Ginger Rogers syndrome: Ginger did everything that Fred did expect backwards and in stilettos.
On one hand I sympathized with the heroine for wanting to be her own powerful I-am-woman-here-me-roar self rather than the feminine, earth mother her family and society expect her to be. It's okay to play around with a career for a while, but the real deal is you will settle down, have babies and be a wife. On the other hand, I despised her strident reaction to every play by the H as well asher unwillingness to take responsibility for her own actions. Oh, who cares. This book is such a reflection of its time.
Despite some hysterical scenes with the numerous plot moppets this whole story left me with a bad taste in my mouth. At one point I wanted to yell, "Who cares if they think you slept your way to the top, just prove them wrong you over-emotional idiot," at the h who is worrying what people will think despite so obviously being the best person for the job. Okay, I would care, but ugh. Corporate life sucks.
For any younger readers that wonder what it was like to be a woman in the workplace when women were fighting for the same position and power as men, this is for you.
For the heroine to play the male game she has to be bigger and better than the men, the Ginger Rogers syndrome: Ginger did everything that Fred did expect backwards and in stilettos.
On one hand I sympathized with the heroine for wanting to be her own powerful I-am-woman-here-me-roar self rather than the feminine, earth mother her family and society expect her to be. It's okay to play around with a career for a while, but the real deal is you will settle down, have babies and be a wife. On the other hand, I despised her strident reaction to every play by the H as well asher unwillingness to take responsibility for her own actions. Oh, who cares. This book is such a reflection of its time.
Despite some hysterical scenes with the numerous plot moppets this whole story left me with a bad taste in my mouth. At one point I wanted to yell, "Who cares if they think you slept your way to the top, just prove them wrong you over-emotional idiot," at the h who is worrying what people will think despite so obviously being the best person for the job. Okay, I would care, but ugh. Corporate life sucks.
August 3, 2020
After reading Margaret Way's Rise of an Eagle about a heroine who is encouraged to give up her dreams of a man's job - it was fascinating to read this story of a lawyer heroine who is fighting for a promotion against a bunch of men.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review, so I won't go into the plot. Suffice it to say that SN solves the marriage/mother or career conundrum by having the heroine sign up for "all of the above." Heroine is going to run the company, take care of hero's sexual needs, take care of hero's son and have a few of her own for her HEA.
While the heroine of Margaret Way's book is probably going to have regrets and resentment later in life - the heroine of this story is going to have constant regrets and resentments and guilt. How do I know? Because this story was full of the hero putting her down for her choices and wants. She could do no right.
He was truly awful.
Heroine needs to start her own company and find a new hero.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review, so I won't go into the plot. Suffice it to say that SN solves the marriage/mother or career conundrum by having the heroine sign up for "all of the above." Heroine is going to run the company, take care of hero's sexual needs, take care of hero's son and have a few of her own for her HEA.
While the heroine of Margaret Way's book is probably going to have regrets and resentment later in life - the heroine of this story is going to have constant regrets and resentments and guilt. How do I know? Because this story was full of the hero putting her down for her choices and wants. She could do no right.
He was truly awful.
Heroine needs to start her own company and find a new hero.
June 9, 2019
"Deal Of A Lifetime" is the story of Emma and Frazer.
Oh this was an utter bickerfest.
The h is a successful businesswoman who
-is a through and through feminist
-has been burnt by love so avoids men
-wants to stand like a male in this man's world
-is strong and independent
-is a pied piper for kids around her, whom she runs away from as they love her
The hero enters her world and disrupts everything. He makes her experience passion, her femininity, her love for children while she continually makes him understand she is her own person and would NEVER be the Stepford wife he wanted. They argue 90% of the book, manipulate each other, reach a sort of peace treaty with compromises, and ultimately end up with her each.
There were parts of this book that were utterly heartwarming, others which just made me want to pull my hair out. It felt like two disjointed books that were shoved into one read.
Safe
2/5
Oh this was an utter bickerfest.
The h is a successful businesswoman who
-is a through and through feminist
-has been burnt by love so avoids men
-wants to stand like a male in this man's world
-is strong and independent
-is a pied piper for kids around her, whom she runs away from as they love her
The hero enters her world and disrupts everything. He makes her experience passion, her femininity, her love for children while she continually makes him understand she is her own person and would NEVER be the Stepford wife he wanted. They argue 90% of the book, manipulate each other, reach a sort of peace treaty with compromises, and ultimately end up with her each.
There were parts of this book that were utterly heartwarming, others which just made me want to pull my hair out. It felt like two disjointed books that were shoved into one read.
Safe
2/5
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November 20, 2020
I wanted to like this one SO BADLY.
It had some of my favourite tropes, including a blond hero, a boss hero, and a hero who basically pursues the heroine the minute he sees her.
Unfortunately it balances itself out with some of my least favourite tropes, including a single dad hero, a widowed hero who loved his wife, and an arseholeish hero who did not grovel enough at the end.
I did vaguely get the impression that he kind of wanted the heroine as a built-in nanny and executive, so he didn't have to do ANY of the work anywhere. Ugh.
[Blog]
It had some of my favourite tropes, including a blond hero, a boss hero, and a hero who basically pursues the heroine the minute he sees her.
Unfortunately it balances itself out with some of my least favourite tropes, including a single dad hero, a widowed hero who loved his wife, and an arseholeish hero who did not grovel enough at the end.
I did vaguely get the impression that he kind of wanted the heroine as a built-in nanny and executive, so he didn't have to do ANY of the work anywhere. Ugh.
[Blog]
December 23, 2018
In Deal of a Lifetime, Susan Napier explores and navigates the world of a woman who wants to succeed in the business world. To not let herself get lost in what everyone else believes would bring her happiness; getting married and popping the 2.5 kids who would adore her till the end of times. Emmaline Rainer (Emma) has her work cut out for her when it comes to maneuvering the cutthroat world of ConCorp, the company she works at. Dealing with male chauvinism is something Emma has pretty much perfected, and alongside with her assistant Marc, Emma is ready to show the bosses that she is the woman for the executive position that is soon to be up for grabs.
Emma’s plan for making the perfect pitch gets derailed when a weekend away from the corporate headquarters is planned, especially one which includes an invite for the kids of contenders to join. Emma’s avoidance of kids comes from the fact that she looks like the motherly sort, which draws children to her, an image that she wants to dissuade at any cost.
It is by chance that Emma happens across Frazer Conway, the sibling who would be taking over the reins of the company soon. From the start, Emma’s senses are rubbed raw from the onslaught that Frazer delivers. He is everything she has avoided successfully thus far. But there is something about Frazer that calls out to everything that is feminine inside of her, which makes it extremely difficult to put up the front that usually works for her. Even her scathing sarcasm does not seem to work on discouraging Frazer, in fact, it seems to draw him closer to her.
Amidst a lot of back and forth between Emma and Frazer, the story continues, delivering the trademark Napier heat that she is famous for in her stories. However, Deal of a Lifetime fell short for me in many ways, mainly due to none other than Emma’s character.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for women’s rights, which I view as equal rights as that afforded to men and the opportunity to do compete in an even field. Almost 27 years has gone by since the publication of this novel, and we are still battling with the issue of male chauvinism and at worse, harassment in various forms coupled with the lack of equal opportunities to compete against men on an even setting. Part of it is related to biology, the other part related to circumstances and societal perceptions of what women are supposed to be.
I have noticed (from having read a lot of novels by Napier), that her works tend to focus on creating strong women who defy the time periods within which the stories were written. Of course, it is owing to women like Napier writes them that we have made the minute progress we have achieved even today when it comes to equality of the sexes.
Emma is the type of character cut from the same cloth, i.e. trademark Napier heroine. She is determined to make her way in the world. None of it had been easy, given that her big family had wanted her happily settled down by the time she was of age. Emma had wanted more, and that had been the sole reason behind her seeking a university education, to become a lawyer nonetheless, and that is where she had gotten burnt enough to be twice shy when it comes to men and their pursuit of her.
However, because Frazer is made from sterner stuff, he does not give up as easily. In Frazer, Emma finds that she has met her match in stubborn. Furthermore, knowing that he is a single father, a domesticated male makes him more dangerous to her ambitions. So push she does, to keep him away from her, but alas, along the way, her emotions do get involved from which there is no hiding.
While I liked the overall premise of the story and of course Frazer, I couldn’t bring myself to like Emma all that much. There was this edge to her that I at times nearly found annoying. I am all for standing your ground and not letting a man walk all over you. At the same time, I would also appreciate that same strength to make an appearance when the woman is in the wrong, and has wronged the male. But that is often a problem in Napier’s books, as it is usually the male who has to do the chasing, the groveling, and the winning. If we are to talk about equality, the female should also do her fair share of work, especially when it comes to making up for what she puts the male through.
Frazer deserves awards for how patient she is with Emma. A widowed hero who is a single father, wanting the woman who has practiced to perfection what it means to not give into societal demands by getting married and starting a family.
While the story did have its moments when it comes to debates on patriarchal societies and societal expectations, I just didn’t feel that Emma met the hero halfway or did enough on her part to convince the readers that for her as well, the feelings were of the same intensity and ferocity.
Loved the sexual tension and the thick and heady web of desire between Emma and Frazer. The lack of an epilogue was sorely felt. After putting readers through that much of a wrangler, this book definitely needed the epilogue. But Harlequin novels rarely deliver epilogues, but this should have had one in my opinion.
Final Verdict: The battle for equal rights versus the battle for love. It does not always have to be one or the other, and Frazer is determined a male if ever there was one, to show his woman that he is in for it all.
Rating = 3.25/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit www.maldivianbookreviewer.com
Emma’s plan for making the perfect pitch gets derailed when a weekend away from the corporate headquarters is planned, especially one which includes an invite for the kids of contenders to join. Emma’s avoidance of kids comes from the fact that she looks like the motherly sort, which draws children to her, an image that she wants to dissuade at any cost.
It is by chance that Emma happens across Frazer Conway, the sibling who would be taking over the reins of the company soon. From the start, Emma’s senses are rubbed raw from the onslaught that Frazer delivers. He is everything she has avoided successfully thus far. But there is something about Frazer that calls out to everything that is feminine inside of her, which makes it extremely difficult to put up the front that usually works for her. Even her scathing sarcasm does not seem to work on discouraging Frazer, in fact, it seems to draw him closer to her.
Amidst a lot of back and forth between Emma and Frazer, the story continues, delivering the trademark Napier heat that she is famous for in her stories. However, Deal of a Lifetime fell short for me in many ways, mainly due to none other than Emma’s character.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for women’s rights, which I view as equal rights as that afforded to men and the opportunity to do compete in an even field. Almost 27 years has gone by since the publication of this novel, and we are still battling with the issue of male chauvinism and at worse, harassment in various forms coupled with the lack of equal opportunities to compete against men on an even setting. Part of it is related to biology, the other part related to circumstances and societal perceptions of what women are supposed to be.
I have noticed (from having read a lot of novels by Napier), that her works tend to focus on creating strong women who defy the time periods within which the stories were written. Of course, it is owing to women like Napier writes them that we have made the minute progress we have achieved even today when it comes to equality of the sexes.
Emma is the type of character cut from the same cloth, i.e. trademark Napier heroine. She is determined to make her way in the world. None of it had been easy, given that her big family had wanted her happily settled down by the time she was of age. Emma had wanted more, and that had been the sole reason behind her seeking a university education, to become a lawyer nonetheless, and that is where she had gotten burnt enough to be twice shy when it comes to men and their pursuit of her.
However, because Frazer is made from sterner stuff, he does not give up as easily. In Frazer, Emma finds that she has met her match in stubborn. Furthermore, knowing that he is a single father, a domesticated male makes him more dangerous to her ambitions. So push she does, to keep him away from her, but alas, along the way, her emotions do get involved from which there is no hiding.
While I liked the overall premise of the story and of course Frazer, I couldn’t bring myself to like Emma all that much. There was this edge to her that I at times nearly found annoying. I am all for standing your ground and not letting a man walk all over you. At the same time, I would also appreciate that same strength to make an appearance when the woman is in the wrong, and has wronged the male. But that is often a problem in Napier’s books, as it is usually the male who has to do the chasing, the groveling, and the winning. If we are to talk about equality, the female should also do her fair share of work, especially when it comes to making up for what she puts the male through.
Frazer deserves awards for how patient she is with Emma. A widowed hero who is a single father, wanting the woman who has practiced to perfection what it means to not give into societal demands by getting married and starting a family.
While the story did have its moments when it comes to debates on patriarchal societies and societal expectations, I just didn’t feel that Emma met the hero halfway or did enough on her part to convince the readers that for her as well, the feelings were of the same intensity and ferocity.
Loved the sexual tension and the thick and heady web of desire between Emma and Frazer. The lack of an epilogue was sorely felt. After putting readers through that much of a wrangler, this book definitely needed the epilogue. But Harlequin novels rarely deliver epilogues, but this should have had one in my opinion.
Final Verdict: The battle for equal rights versus the battle for love. It does not always have to be one or the other, and Frazer is determined a male if ever there was one, to show his woman that he is in for it all.
Rating = 3.25/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit www.maldivianbookreviewer.com
April 30, 2012
There was certainly some laughs in the book and that's why it received four stars. I couldn't believe some of this novel to be honest. I sat here with eyes wide open going.. "say what?" The ending is pretty darling and there was a lot of struggle throughout the book but overall pretty damn good!
March 26, 2021
I wanted to like this book. But I didn’t.
I wanted to like this because the heroine is - according to the description on the cover - a career woman. She’s a lawyer.
But then I started reading. The H is of medium length, which was a little bit off putting. I like a H to be tall.
Then I read further and the H was drunk. Ughh.. I hate drunk men.
And then he has a son too. I don’t like it when the H and/or h already have a child by someone else.
But I thought I should persist in reading.
The ‘career woman’ turns out to do everything why some people think that a woman in high functions is a bad idea.
She is hysterical. In a moment of anger she yells through the office (yes, in the presence of other employees) that she quits her job. Later on the H calls her, they make up and she gets to work again.
I mean, could you imagine a man screaming (across the office room and in front of everyone there) to his boss that he quits?
At an office party, she is making out with the H in the linen closet. And after that she solely blames the H that they were caught by her colleagues when they left that linen closet. But girlfriend, take responsibility for your own actions. As the H rightly points out to her, they were both doing it.
And yeah, I know the H is guilty of it too. But the H is the boss and owner of the company. He has nothing to lose. He is there already. But she on the other hand isn’t there yet. She, as a supposedly ‘career woman’, is not on the same level as her boss and she puts her whole career on the line for some sex.
Anyway, there was so much wrong in this book.
But the two erotic scenes were hot, so I give it two stars instead of one.
I wanted to like this because the heroine is - according to the description on the cover - a career woman. She’s a lawyer.
But then I started reading. The H is of medium length, which was a little bit off putting. I like a H to be tall.
Then I read further and the H was drunk. Ughh.. I hate drunk men.
And then he has a son too. I don’t like it when the H and/or h already have a child by someone else.
But I thought I should persist in reading.
The ‘career woman’ turns out to do everything why some people think that a woman in high functions is a bad idea.
She is hysterical. In a moment of anger she yells through the office (yes, in the presence of other employees) that she quits her job. Later on the H calls her, they make up and she gets to work again.
I mean, could you imagine a man screaming (across the office room and in front of everyone there) to his boss that he quits?
At an office party, she is making out with the H in the linen closet. And after that she solely blames the H that they were caught by her colleagues when they left that linen closet. But girlfriend, take responsibility for your own actions. As the H rightly points out to her, they were both doing it.
And yeah, I know the H is guilty of it too. But the H is the boss and owner of the company. He has nothing to lose. He is there already. But she on the other hand isn’t there yet. She, as a supposedly ‘career woman’, is not on the same level as her boss and she puts her whole career on the line for some sex.
Anyway, there was so much wrong in this book.
But the two erotic scenes were hot, so I give it two stars instead of one.
March 23, 2015
Emma always wanted to be a professional woman so when her boss decided invite her to the family island in order to make her a work offer she felt very pleased. The only problem was that she is a magnet for the children and she is afraid that fact made her boss change his mind.
But she never expected that another problem start: the atraction she felt for the brother of his boss, Frazer, who was taking care of the company: the sexiest man alive will be working with her!!!
Add a lovely young boy of 5 years old to the mix, Thomas, and you have a really good plot. Emma had to decide if she keep with her old dreams or if she take the risk of create a new one with no only a successful career and a loving family...
But she never expected that another problem start: the atraction she felt for the brother of his boss, Frazer, who was taking care of the company: the sexiest man alive will be working with her!!!
Add a lovely young boy of 5 years old to the mix, Thomas, and you have a really good plot. Emma had to decide if she keep with her old dreams or if she take the risk of create a new one with no only a successful career and a loving family...
August 4, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this. So much more depth, dialogue and character than a typical Harlequin/Mills & Boon. The secondary characters were delightful.
March 10, 2012
There were a couple laugh out loud scenes involving a pied pipered menagerie of children. Very enjoyable
November 29, 2016
I've never seen a man chasing a woman that hard.
He was hilarious! but sometimes he seemed so... wise? Idk was he a psycologist?
He read her so well, I would be scared!
He was hilarious! but sometimes he seemed so... wise? Idk was he a psycologist?
He read her so well, I would be scared!
September 22, 2021
This was mostly an enjoyable read for me.
I really liked that the heroine was smart and ambitious, had a career and that she was great at job (nothing more annoying for me than a dumb heroine who is incompetent in her job). Loved that she had enough drive and vision to overcome her family's narrow expectations of her to be something she wanted to be. So three cheers for her.
Other things I loved - humorous moments and witty dialogue (SN specialities) and an absolutely adorable little boy - Tom. Also the hero was clearly smitten from the start and pursued her endlessly.
On the other hand I hated how both the heroine and the hero carried on in such a compromising way in the workplace, undermining everything she had achieved. At various point they were caught kissing while other people could see them, caught emerging from a cupboard, she had a screeching fit at him in front of other staff, hit him, they had arguments about personal issues while at work.
If you want to be taken seriously don't do that in public. Over the years I have seen various people have affairs at work, and while they might think it is the affair of the century, all of their colleagues think it is icky and unprofessional. Everyone looks down on them and they are treated as a joke. It's even worse when one of them is the boss and could promote the other - it just breeds justifiable resentment. So I was mad at this heroine for putting herself in this position.
I don't know why the author felt the need to ramp everything up to the nth degree. The heroine didn't just like children but she and any and every child were obsessed with each other as if she were a pied piper. She didn't just have a high-powered job - she was angling for CEO (at 26!). The rest of us muddle through our lives, having it all (marriage, children, career), knowing we make compromises along the way, but still leading happy fulfilled lives. This heroine put so much pressure on herself she would be heading for a nervous breakdown or some kind of addiction to keep her going.
Another thing that was off, was the story was stuffed to the gills with characters. SN should have pared down the numbers of characters by at least half for an HP length book. It got tedious trying to remember who all these people were as they appeared now and then. There was Jaspar and Edward, and Steven and Sheena and Philip and Marc and Stuart and Trudy and Trixie and Jen and... it just went on. On top of that the hero had a large complicated family covering three generations and including a large number of small children. (his son was cutest thing ever though).
All those things aside, it was an entertaining book and worth reading.
I really liked that the heroine was smart and ambitious, had a career and that she was great at job (nothing more annoying for me than a dumb heroine who is incompetent in her job). Loved that she had enough drive and vision to overcome her family's narrow expectations of her to be something she wanted to be. So three cheers for her.
Other things I loved - humorous moments and witty dialogue (SN specialities) and an absolutely adorable little boy - Tom. Also the hero was clearly smitten from the start and pursued her endlessly.
On the other hand I hated how both the heroine and the hero carried on in such a compromising way in the workplace, undermining everything she had achieved. At various point they were caught kissing while other people could see them, caught emerging from a cupboard, she had a screeching fit at him in front of other staff, hit him, they had arguments about personal issues while at work.
If you want to be taken seriously don't do that in public. Over the years I have seen various people have affairs at work, and while they might think it is the affair of the century, all of their colleagues think it is icky and unprofessional. Everyone looks down on them and they are treated as a joke. It's even worse when one of them is the boss and could promote the other - it just breeds justifiable resentment. So I was mad at this heroine for putting herself in this position.
I don't know why the author felt the need to ramp everything up to the nth degree. The heroine didn't just like children but she and any and every child were obsessed with each other as if she were a pied piper. She didn't just have a high-powered job - she was angling for CEO (at 26!). The rest of us muddle through our lives, having it all (marriage, children, career), knowing we make compromises along the way, but still leading happy fulfilled lives. This heroine put so much pressure on herself she would be heading for a nervous breakdown or some kind of addiction to keep her going.
Another thing that was off, was the story was stuffed to the gills with characters. SN should have pared down the numbers of characters by at least half for an HP length book. It got tedious trying to remember who all these people were as they appeared now and then. There was Jaspar and Edward, and Steven and Sheena and Philip and Marc and Stuart and Trudy and Trixie and Jen and... it just went on. On top of that the hero had a large complicated family covering three generations and including a large number of small children. (his son was cutest thing ever though).
All those things aside, it was an entertaining book and worth reading.
April 29, 2025
I have to laugh at the way so many of these novels make it seem so easy for the h to have it all, when the only way she can do that is with a lot of $$$ to back her up, as in this case. Sure, she has her career, and wants children, wants it all, and can have it with all that $$$ making it easy (not to mention a nanny to take care of the kids, so she doesn't have to.) And anytime she wants to chuck it all, no problem, when you and hubby own the company.
In the real world, it's not so easy. A working woman with children has to sacrifice time with them and a stay-at-home mother has to sacrifice the money that will make life easier for her and the family (and maybe something she really enjoys, as well.) Unless she's lucky enough to work from home (hopefully a more viable option now) something has to be sacrificed. But of course, that's never a problem in HP land.
If only real life were the same!
In the real world, it's not so easy. A working woman with children has to sacrifice time with them and a stay-at-home mother has to sacrifice the money that will make life easier for her and the family (and maybe something she really enjoys, as well.) Unless she's lucky enough to work from home (hopefully a more viable option now) something has to be sacrificed. But of course, that's never a problem in HP land.
If only real life were the same!
November 21, 2023
Probably the most misogynistic book I've read. The poor woman wants to pursue a corporate career but gets saddled with children by her employer at every turn, all because she has childbearing hips and breasts... and every time her referred to her as "honey", I cringed. I get this book is 30+ years old but none of it has aged well.
April 15, 2023
3.5 some fun twists, kid not too cute at first.
February 20, 2015
The story of a woman who is deeply passionate about her career life and setting it as her prioritized occupation. A ride through all the confusing and mixed-up thoughts she gets through while struggling against her emotional needs and inclinations. Getting drifted away and regretting it later and trying to fix things up. I admired her tough character,her strength while standing for what she believes in and the way she's being cautious about trusting people and is actually hard to get. I'm inspired by the fictional 'Emma Raider' and I'm seeing in her a part of my future self, hopefully =]
September 23, 2014
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
January 20, 2025
I enjoyed this one!! After reading 3 HP's beforehand and disliking them intensely, this one what FUN! She was a bit of a pill at times but it was enjoyable!
September 4, 2017
I really enjoyed this. The hero is to die for 😂. But minus 1star as the heroine did not say "I love you".
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