She was playing with fire--dared she risk getting burned
Life with the jet set was fine for some, but Cassie Elliot yearned for a sense of purpose. Inheriting a British publishing house was a gift from heaven . . . until she discovered that the firm's brilliant managing director, Miles Gilmour, vowed to walk out the minute she walked in.
Cassie did walk in-but as Miles's new secretary. Her subterfuge was risky business at best, but she had much to learn--about the publishing industry and about her gorgeous and enigmatic "boss." She hadn't planned on falling in love... or on discovering that deception could be a double-edged sword.
Roberta Leigh was the most frequently used pen name of an author who also published novels as Rachel Lindsay, Rozella Lake, and Janey Scott. Her birth name was Rita Shulman.
Leigh was one of the first romance writers to introduce strong, career-minded heroines who wouldn't be bossed around by the hero.
Leigh had her own film company and wrote and produced 7 TV series for children. She would also "write" the music for her series, although this usually involved her humming or singing the tune into a tape recorder, after which someone else would arrange and write a score.
She studied oil and watercolor painting with Diana Raphael and Michael Chaitow, who her interest in abstract art. Her work has been exhibited at the Podbury Gallery and Finnegan's Gallery in London.
In 1948, she married Michael Lewin and they had a son, Jeremy. Her husband passed away in 1981.
Re Two Faced Woman - Roberta Leigh does her favorite h in disguise trope again and wins the 1994 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for HP's in the process. This time we go to London when the h inherits a large share of her unknown father's publishing company.
The h is looking for a purpose in life and also looking for a connection to her bio dad, who divorced her mother when the h wasn't born a son and then never contacted the h again. For some really strange reason, the man used private detectives to keep an eye on the h instead of just sending a letter or calling, but anyhows he did leave his controlling shares to the h. There is mention that he had intended to split his shares between the h and the man currently running things, but died before he could sign that addendum to his will.
When the book opens, the 24 yr old h is waiting to meet with the H, the publishing company director. She overhears him claiming that if she shows up he will quit straight away and go somewhere else. The H is distinctly NON conciliatory - in fact he calls the h, whom he has never met, an utter spoiled witch. Mainly cause he felt he got done out of his fair share. That is the overriding characteristic of this H tho, he sees no one's side but his own and the only opinion that counts is his.
The h knows the H also needs a new secretary as his old one had to retire after an injury. The h is interested in the publishing firm but she needs to learn how to run it, or at least evaluate who is capable of running it, and she is hoping she and the H can create a shared partnership and run the place together if she has a knack for it. Since she goes by her stepfather's last name and not her bio dad's, she decides to pretend to be a secretary and try for a job with the H.
After some intense fabrications and a reference from her lawyer, who is in on the deception, the h manages to spend a whole lot of money to hire a typist/transcription firm and fake her way through the technical aspects of the job. (It was a very good thing she was already rich.) She learns to use a word processor and she really learns to shadow the H as makes the big decisions. When she causes their biggest author to threaten to take his new book to another publisher, the h flies over to New York on the Concorde to convince him otherwise. (She had to do it, the H fired her after the author blew up and took off, but he rehired her when she brought the new manuscript back.)
Of course the h falls in love with the H while all this is going on and she is having to get more and more elaborate in her efforts to hide who she really is. The H is a wide sampler of the lady buffet too, and the h is told this is because the H was dumped by sister of the h's first OM ,whom she casually dates when she first moves to London, and the H is still very bitter about it. Tho the h sees the woman's car outside the H's house late at night and thinks they might still be carrying on- even tho the woman is married. The H really doesn't like women all that much, he was originally an Oxford Don until he got dumped and moved into publishing, but he does like to appreciate their various bodily assets.
The h meets the OW and sister of her casual date at one of the couple's parties and the OW does her best to warn the h off, for some reason she wants the h to believe that the H is still in love with her. Then an over-amorous married Frenchman tries to put the moves on the h and while she is fending him off, the H offers to take her home. There is an almost seduction on the couch moment, but the h holds the H off, reminding him about not mixing business and pleasure. The H and h start to spend more time together, including a nice dinner that the h imported from an exclusive London restaurant and claimed as her own and the lurve mojo tension is steadily building, even as the h continues to date OM and the H goes with OW.
As these things go, after the h and H go to San Diego for a book conference and the h almost gets exposed multiple times in her little deception, the mojo force becomes overwhelming. They become lovers after the H proposes marriage and unicorns are sad that the h will no longer be consorting with them. Right after the big moment, the H announces he knows who she really is and he is vicious and cruel in his put downs and calling her out. Tart shaming and verbal beratement is the order of the day and as the H quits his job and storms off, naturally there will be no marriage, as he only proposed to get her into bed and then humiliate her.
The h has a mopey moment. But really it was the H's intransigence, his blind judgement of an unknown woman and his inability to tolerate anything out of his own personal world view that got them all into this mess. So when the H refuses the h's offer of partnership, the h thinks she can make a go of the publishing company on her own. She does hire a man who has more knowledge of the financial side of things and a lot of the big time authors leave the h's firm, but she also gets more women's fiction in, expands her book selling empire and has huge chart busting blockbusters that the H was too hide bound to accept.
The h misses the H for a bit too, but she gets really involved in her publishing firm and the H sets up his own publishing house. The h hears that he is still involved with his ex on occasion and she wonders if he is actually the father of the ex's expected child - instead of the woman's husband. The h and H meet up again at another bookseller convention, this time the h takes her advertising exec along with her and the H, after some verbal warfare, asks the h to marry him again.
The h is pretty much done with the H at this point and figures this is just a ploy by the H to get his firm linked back to the H's so he can have access to mid level books that pay the daily expenses, as his firm doesn't have a solid backlist of books yet. He tries to tell her he is sorry and that he loves her and that he could slit his throat for hurting her and the h tells him to go ahead and do it and make the world a better place. Then she claims she is intimately involved with her advertising guy, so the H has to leave when the h throws him out.
Several months go by and then the h is in Spain with some friends when the brakes fail on the car she is driving. There is a big accident and the h ends up in hospital. In a blatant HP author ex machina move, RL has the h's friend call the H for some reason and tell him about the accident. He comes over to the hospital with the h's parents and he lies and claims he is her fiance.
The h won't see him for a while, until her parents and her friends nag her about it a lot and claim the H was just trying to be financially equal with her, then the h relents and there is a big heartfelt mutual HEA. We find out that the H isn't love with ex, he was actually relieved when she dumped him and the h explains that she never slept with anyone but the H. The h and H agree to marry and the two publishing houses will pair up, the h is interested in part time book selection and full time H adoration and motherhood for another RL HPlandia HEA.
This one was okay, the HEA was believable and the h was really tough on taking the H back. Overall not a bad day's work at the HP office, so give this one a go if you don't mind deceptions of identity and want a more humorous jaunt into HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3 1/2 Stars ~ When Cassie's biological father dies and leaves her his 58% share control of a publishing company, she sees this as the purpose in life she's been looking for. She learns from her father's attorney that he had been in the process of changing his will to split the shares with his managing director, Miles, when he'd suffered the fatal heart attack. Arriving at Barlow's Publishing early for her meeting with Miles and the lawyer, the receptionist, not recognizing her name, assumes she's there for a job interview; seems Miles secretary has broken her hip. While waiting, Cassie over hears Miles' booming voice declaring that if Catherine Barlow is in, he's out. So she quickly does some plotting and using a telephone she gets an urgent call switched to Miles office to the lawyer, whom she tells she's cancelling the meeting, and confirms that Miles does not know she goes by Cassie Elliot, her adopted father's name. Now all she has to do is convince Miles to hire her as his new secretary, with the aim of learning the business first hand before Miles can walk away. Only thing is Cassie has led the life of an heiress and is used to giving the orders, not receiving them.
I was wondering how Ms. Leigh was going to pull off Cassie's hidden identity without Miles figuring out she's a fraud. All I can say, it's wonderful that Cassie had a limitless bank account and could hire others to actually do her work! We all know these hidden identities are always found out before they can be confessed to, and always after they fall in love. Cassie is beautiful and intelligent and she constantly surprises Miles with her "I take no guff" attitude. She's a challenge for him, and he pursues her with Cassie setting some definite boundaries. When her lies and cover-ups become more elaborate, I was hoping she'd be caught already. I was rather shocked by the way Miles lets her know the cats out of the bag. Rather ruthless of him, even if his feelings of betrayal are justified, though he does grovel quite nicely. I enjoyed this one.
I guess her stepfather was a man first father second: 'Miles isn't the first man to feign love in order to get a woman into bed! It's an age-old trick.' 'That doesn't excuse it!' 'I agree. It's despicable. Any man who does it is a bastard!' 'Then there's nothing more for us to say,' Cassie said huskily. 'Except that it doesn't apply to Miles,' her father stated.
And her BFF is POS leaky jellyblob doesn’t even understand what she did wrong! Even her husband was uneasy and she had the guts to be mad at the heroine for being angry at her actions!
I also absolutely don’t see the reconciliation, heroine ACTUALLY moved on. She felt NOTHING for the hero and if it was the hero dying, she’d have spitted on his grove.if the OM gave it a little time she’d actually have moved on with him physically as well.
We have an HEA because some people doesn’t know how to let people live there own life and feel how THEY feel should dictate other people’s love life and also the author didn’t have enough page time left to turn the OM into a hero.
Με την ψυχή στο στόμα ως την τελευταία σελίδα! Παλιά, καλή γραφή που στέκεται πολύ πιο πάνω από πολλά σημερινά - σύγχρονα! Ευχαριστώ πολύ Λένα Παπανικολάου για την πρόταση ...
I liked this one pretty well for an older HP. I kind of like stories where the heroine starts out deceiving the hero, for the fun of anticipating the hero's discovery and reaction to her deception. This one dragged on a little too long with too much plot and not enough romantic action, but still, this was a fun, basic read.
A magyarra fordított Harlequin-történeteknél sokszor azt szoktam érezni, hogy hátrányukra válik, amiért érezhetően meg vannak vágva, kihagynak belőlük részleteket.
Ezt a művet már olvastam magyarul, és mivel a jobbfajta történetek közé tartozik, ezért kíváncsi voltam rá angolul is, hogy összehasonlítgatva ad-e valamilyen pluszt.
Azt kell, hogy mondjam, ez esetben jól sikerült a fordítás, sok esetben szóról-szóra visszaadták az eredeti cselekményt, sőt összességében magyarul még egy kicsit jobban is tetszett, mert amit kivágtak az eredetiből, az nem adott hozzá túl sokat a cselekményhez. Kivéve egyetlenegy jelenetet
Azt még nem sikerült megtudnom, hogy magyarul miért kell ezeket a történeteket mindig 90 oldalnyira korlátozni, de szerencsére ebben az esetben ez egyáltalán nem volt hátrány. ;)
Ez az egyik olyan Harlequin-történet, ami szerintem többszöri olvasásra érdemes.
Van egy hősnő, aki a cél érdekében hazugságba keveredik, és mint tudjuk, a hazugság még több hazugságot szül. Így sejthető, hogy nem lesz jó vége a dolognak, ha hősünk számára mindez kiderül.
Nem vagyok ugyan a hazugság híve, mégis úgy éreztem .
Így vagy úgy, de a kedvenc Harlequin-ek közé sorolnám ezt a történetet. Egy percig sem unalmas, fordulatos, érezhető kémiával a főhősök között.
… és most kivételesen nem változtattak a neveken az eredeti könyvhöz képest. ;)
She was playing with fire--dared she risk getting burned
Life with the jet set was fine for some, but Cassie Elliot yearned for a sense of purpose. Inheriting a British publishing house was a gift from heaven . . . until she discovered that the firm's brilliant managing director, Miles Gilmour, vowed to walk out the minute she walked in.
Cassie did walk in-but as Miles's new secretary. Her subterfuge was risky business at best, but she had much to learn--about the publishing industry and about her gorgeous and enigmatic "boss." She hadn't planned on falling in love... or on discovering that deception could be a double-edged sword.
Not sure why this one didn't appeal to me more. The main characters didn't quite jell and the story felt a bit forced until the last 40 pages or so. It was slow and took me several tries to finish. I kept after it because Roberta Leigh/Rachel Lindsay is a favorite of mine.
The plot is set up really well, and the initial characterisation of the h is well done, the fact that she doesn’t think twice about using her existing wealth as a reason to fly herself to London and see what it might be like to be a publisher. The “why be sensible when you have the money to play at the alternative” reasoning extends to carrying on a charade longer than is sensible, while making several expensive mistakes on the way, digging herself in a deeper hole.
Then, when the H reacts the way he does, which honestly, the author sets it up as a reasonable reaction, she has gall to be wounded?? Where is her grovel? Knowing how he felt about the will, she continues to deceive him, even after she falls in love with him. So many opportunities to tell him who she was, but she doesn’t because she’s a coward, wanting to present him with the changed decision re. the firm’s ownership and reveal herself on the same day – because how can he be mad at her when she’s giving him what he wants right?
She could have told him when he proposes. But she didn’t. Definite case of a warped, wealthy upbringing. I wish Charlotte Lamb had been asked to pick it up after the H tells her he knew who she was. She deserved some savaging.
Instead, we have a sweet H returning to her, begging her to take him back. So upset with this h, I logged in only to vent. Aaarrghh.
Spunky girl, rich , confident, smart. I loved her. She has her bouts of female vanity, worrying about her looks while in hospital and so on. But as a full package, she is a keeper !!!
The guy Miles, is ok. Nothing wrong with him. But if the girl can hoodwink him about her true identity for months on end, he must be some sort of a dimwit don't you think !?!?!
The quirky , light note that lasts throughout the story is immensely entertaining. The author has a produced a good romance meshed with lots of fun, fashion, and food ! Whats not to like !?!?