Love Play

by Rosemary Rogers

They have money, power and arrogance--and the world is theirs. Beautiful and unspoiled, Sara Coleville knows she can play their game. Now her fine-bred defiance and brazen masquerades have excited Marco Marcantoni--inflaming the hot-blooded duke's most shameless passions and wildest desires. He vows he will have her, in secrecy and seclusion--to use until all his needs are satisfied. But Sara's innocence is deceptive. And it is she who must ultimately prevail in this world where wealth makes love easy...and passion makes it dangerous.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Historical Romance, Erotica

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison

Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.

At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.

In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.

Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.

In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."

Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.

Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.

Reviews

[Carol Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Sara! Golden haired and beautiful, sensitive and romantic, she is still forever overshadowed by the other women in her family. Mama Mona is the most glamorous movie star in Hollywood. Half sister Delight is the most wickedly adventurous porn star in the business. Sara is in the middle, wondering -- will any man ever find me desirable?

Enter Marco DeCavalieri, the most intense, passionate, possessive, and GORGEOUS hunk in all of Italy. Worth hundreds of millions, powerful and ruthless, Marco is still brutally protective of his family honor. When he hears that his silly younger brother Carlo has taken up with gold-digger Delight, he decides to take matters into his own hands!

What happens next is just too sexy to be described. It's sort of like mistaken identity, with a bit of kidnaping, only Sara soon finds she doesn't want to escape! Her beauty and goodness inflame the dark duke, so that soon he finds himself giving in to her instead of the other way around. And then -- oh, but I can't go on. Read it for yourself!

Magnificent, epic length, and sexy, this tale of passion between a proper English society girl and an uninhibited Italian Duke is truly the best of both worlds. It has the elegance, luxury and mystery of a great historical -- Marco is really more of a 16th century Corsair than a modern jet setter, even if he does have his own helicopter, sports car and mansion. And gentle, demure, golden-haired Sara is really a chaste, Jane Austen heroine at heart, even if she does wear string bikinis, platform heels and hot pants (this is the Seventies, after all) and even if she is the daughter of a famous -- and sexually adventurous -- movie star.

Even the minor characters are fascinating, like Carlo, the Brooklyn born stepbrother Marco protects, and Delight, the party girl with a heart of gold, and even Serafina, the stern old housekeeper who functions as a mother figure for Sara. Great story, great romance, great settings and characters!

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would never call myself a Rosemary Rogers fan, but I actually really liked this book. It was very Harlequin Presents-esque. The heroine is a very sweet, innocent woman who pretends to be her quite experienced sister who has a bad reputation (think Paris Hilton), and gets kidnapped by an Italian duke because he doesn't want her to marry his brother (he thinks she's the sister initially but finds out in the typical HP way that she isn't. You can guess what I mean if you read HPs).

I quite enjoyed this one. Hope to get a copy one day.

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lately, I've been re-reading all the trashy novels of my pre-teen years – the ones I read strictly for the sex scenes. And I just finished the final book in Rosemary Roger's trifecta of offensive contemporary romance novels: Love Play ( The Insiders and The Crowd Pleasers are the other two).

Surprisingly, this is the least offensive and the most boring of the three. This time around there isn’t any rape, but there’s lots and lots of threats of rape (rape is a thing with Rosemary Rogers in her novels to a point where I think she may need some professional help). Anyhow, the ridiculous story goes something like this:

Delight Adams is an uninhibited party girl largely known for her appearances in porn movies and raunchy skin magazines. Delight is in love with Carlos – a descendent of nobility and heir to a fortune. She’s pregnant with is child and the two want to get married. However, Carlos older brother Marco will not have it and will do anything to stop it.

Enter Delight’s virginal half-sister Sara. Sara and Delight look so much alike that they could pass for twins. Delight convinces Sara to pretend to be her to distract Marco while she and Carlos run off together to get married. Sara agrees and the next thing she knows she’s being drugged and kidnapped by Marco who thinks she’s Delight.

Marco ensconces her in his family’s secluded Italian palazzo that is (almost) only accessible by helicopter. There he keeps her prisoner in an attempt to prevent the marriage to Carlos and to seduce her to prove to Carlos she is not worthy of being his wife.

Will virginal Sara be seduced by the dark eyed brute? Will Delight’s ruse work? Will Sara escape her glamorous prison?

Yeah. That’s the story. Marco and Sara are pretty much the only characters in the novel. The first third of the novel is exposition, setting up the sexual desire masked as hatred between Sara and Marco. The second third is Sara and Marco trading pointed barbs. The final third is Sara and Marco having non-stop kinky sex as Sara realizes she may or may not have become Marco’s sex slave prisoner and begins to feel conflicted because she likes it.

The descriptions were annoying. Marco always has heavy hooded obsidian coal black dark eyes. Seriously. And geez, could Ms. Rogers use saturnine one more to time to generically describe his features? And Sara always has a mane of chestnut hair and jade green eyes. Huh? What about the rest of her?

And then there’s the dialogue, stuff like: “Look at you, you wanton gold bodied temptress with your jade eyes that show both fear and desire, would you like for me to take you here? I won’t rape you. When I have you it will be because you want me, you witch woman.” Really. I’m not making this up. Who talks like that?

In any case, this was the worst of her trifecta. The others are equally bad in a train wreck kind of way but at least there were numerous peripheral characters and subplots to keep the story moving. With Love Play, it was two characters bickering, bickering some more, screwing, bickering, and screwing some more.

So, trifecta completed. Yet even after reading this final novel I still want to know, like with the other two, what the hell is wrong with Rosemary Rogers?

[Glamdring · Rating 1 out of 5]

Toujours le même schéma: une plume cynique, "héroïne" masochiste, "héro" sadique pour qui toutes les femmes sont des putains. Viols et autres humiliations à gogo perpétrés par le "héro" et autres personnages masculins du roman - après tout elle l'a bien cherché - et l'''héroïne" subissant le tout avec un stoïcisme digne des plus grands martyres religieux.

Je ne suis jamais entrée dans l'histoire où de toute façon rien ne se passe, les "héros" sont à baffer et je passe sur le ridicule des dialogues... Y a rien à dire, heureusement que le ridicule ne tue pas car elle remporte la palme haut la main!!!!!!

C'est l'histoire de deux demi-soeurs filles d'une actrice célèbre qui se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d'eau. Sara (l'"héroine") est l'aînée des deux, son père est un aristocrate anglais et est la soeur sage et posée. Delight (la demi-soeur) est un manequin et jet-setteuse invétérée qui entre autres expériences "fun" a tourné dans deux films pornos...

Sara rejoint Delight à New-York d'où elles vont toutes les deux s'envoler pour Los Angeles où Sara s'est inscrite à UCLA et où Delight doit tourner dans un film "normal" dans lequel l'agent de leur mère lui a décroché un tout petit rôle sensé lui faire une nouvelle réputation d'artiste. Delight explique à Sara qu'elle est tombée follement amoureuse d'un italien dont le frère ainé, un duc machin chose, fait tout ce qu'il peut pour les séparer. Elle lui explique qu'elle et Carlo vont se marier en cachette et aller passer leur lune de miel dans le fin fond de l'Inde et lui demande de jouer son personnages pendant 2 semaines afin de détourner l'attention du frère ainé...

Là, je dois dire que Rosemary Rogers a fait fort: elle a étoffé le rôle de l'héroïne masochiste. Sara est une héroïne masochiste typique de Rogers qui n'arrêtes pas de se dire "Oh mon dieu qu'ai je fait?!" ou "Oh mon dieu pourquoi lui ai-je dit ça?!" mais en plus (et c'est une nouveauté) c'est une poivrote invétérée qui projete de perdre sa virginité avec l'acteur principal et producteur du film qui est un homme marié et dont elle trouve la femme adorable - oui, oui, vous avez bien compris. La seule raison pour laquelle ça ne se passe pas, c'est parce qu'elle sombre dans un sommeil éthylique et que l'acteur est appelé au milieu de la nuit par sa femme (je précise au passage que ça ne le dérangeait pas de se la faire saoule comme une barique et inconsciente et qu'il était assez frustré d'être interrompu) :/ :/ :/ Mais avant ça, dans la même journée Marco (le "héro") l'oblige a déjeuner avec lui dans le bureau d'un des producteurs où il s'est fait livrer leur lunch et du vin. Là, elle décide de lui dire ses 4 vérités. RR ne décrit pas ce qu'elle dit mais comment lui réagit à sa diatribe. Et à la fin du paragraphe il lui dit furieux de se taire que de toute façon elle est saoule (encore!) et là elle réalise que les deux bouteilles de vin sont vides. Elle les a bu pendant sa diatribe sans s'en rendre compte (véridique!!!). Elle passera l'après midi a cuver son vin avant de rejoindre l'acteur pour la soirée qui l'emmène chez un ami à lui qui se révèle être le meilleur ami de la mère de l'héroïne qui a également invité Marco et sa maitresse. Là, elle enchaîne les cocktails à base de vodka. Il faut savoir qu'elle n'a ni petit déjeuner, bu 2 bouteilles de vin blanc en guise de déjeuner, ni dîner... Héroïne masochiste, poivrote et complètement crétine :/

Mais ça ne lui a pas servi de leçon et elle remet ça avec Marco cette fois et lorsqu'elle se réveille de sa torpeur éthylique elle est en Sardaigne ou Sicile (je ne sais déjà plu - c'est dire), dans un château isolé au milieu des montagnes. Masochiste, poivrote et complétement crétine: une héroïne selon mon coeur :/

Là, Marco lui explique qu'il ne compte pas la violer. Car pourquoi prendre par la force ce qu'il peut recevoir librement, c'est à dire lorsque Sara se décidera a être honnête avec elle même, et reconnaître que sous ses dehors de femme libérée elle rêve d'une main ferme, que comme toutes les femmes elle est l'esclave de ses sens, blablaba, blablabala, blablabla...

Finalement après quelques jours d'isolement forcé, il décide de l'emmener à une soirée privée où en plus de l'alcool, il l'incite à consommer de la coke (là elle s'abstient - pas trop tôt), et la laisse entourée de jet-setteurs qui se bousculent pour lui plaire. Elle s'étonne du succès de sa soeur jusqu'à ce qu'un des gars lui propose d'aller danser dans la discothèque privée de la villa où en plus de la musique, les films pornos de Delight sont projetés en boucle sur des écrans géants. Elle décide de "donner une leçon" à Marco et lui fait croire qu'elle a passé la soirée à passer d'un lit à l'autre. Au petit matin elle le cherche pour rentrer et le surprend parlant d'elle comme étant sa putain du moment jusqu'à nouvel ordre. Un grand classic chez RR.

Le lendemain, il se saoul, la rejoint la nuit alors qu'elle dort et après s'être un peu débatue Sara cède parce qu'elle a beau le detesté, savoir qu'il s'imagine qu'elle est sa soeur, c'est plus fort qu'elle (encore une fois, typique des romans de Rogers). Marco, lui est trop crétin pour se rendre compte qu'elle était vierge (il avouera à la fin que c'est la gouvernante, une fois qu'elle s'est enfuie, qui le lui a appris ) et l'appelle sa putain, son jouet, son esclave sexuelle, blablabla... J'oubliai: en bonus, il lui donne une gifle qui la laisse marquée plusieurs jours (là aussi, rien de nouveau sous le soleil de RR)... Finalement, avec l'aide du demi frère batard de Marco elle fini par s'enfuir (au moment où le mariage de Delight et Carlo fait la une des tabloïdes). Il la rejoint et alors là je vous fait grâce des retrouvailles...

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~]

DNF pg. 73

This is kind of compelling and fun, but the hero is just such a misogynist that I can't continue. It's so off-putting.

[Circa Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Roger's less ridiculous comptemporary romances, but it is still bodice rippery enough and 70s' trashy to be fun. The banter gets a little redundant and stale towards the middle of the book, but thankfully the characters finally give in a little to how they feel and see eachother in a more intimate way. The ending love confession was a bit lackluster and didn't take into account the hidden personality of the main protagonist, but it was still a decent HEA.

[Lorelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosemarie Rodgers tends to put the reader through a lot of rigmarole, but the endings seem to make up for it. Love the happy ending!

[K.G. White · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole kidnap, rape, Delight facade carried on much longer than I thought necessary. Also, the rapid cut-away perspectives made the book feel schizophrenic at times. I didn't mind the fact that they were both passionate and obstinate and witty with their traded barbs and vicious plots to destroy and dismantle one-another. Even when he was physically abusive it was easier to dismiss because she was so obviously completely enraptured by him that she felt she deserved it for stirring his ire. Anyways, my overall opinion of this book is that it was quite fantastic in its grandiosity, but at times a little overbearing with the high-handedness. I didn't see it ending the way it did, but I must say it was a great way for both of them to culminate the story.

[Salar · Rating 1 out of 5]

So bad.
We live in the post- me too movement era where books like Rosemary Rogers just don't make you feel like you're reading a novel.
This is her second book that I've tried to read.
It's clear she has a fascination with rape, silly heroines who keep getting "swept away by force" and just the most ludicrous plot lines.
It amazes me that once upon a tome there it was acceptable for men to brush there hands against women's breast, lift their chins in the middle of conversations, force themselves into their lives and it was all written down to being a male.
Any self-respecting woman wouldn't be able to sympathize with any of the heroines plights and especially the going around in circles for the first 200 pages.
Lordy.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Word that describes this book. Amazing!! I really loved reading this story. I love the story line and the main characters in there. The romance was steamy and hot. I am so glad I stumbled upon this book in a library sale. I actually have the hard cover older version of it. After, reading this book I'm definitely going to check out other books by this author. I look forward to reading more books by Rosemary Rogers.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sara comes from a family who are famous/infamous, yet she is quite innocent compared her superstar Mama Mona and sensual porn star Delight. Sara is suppose to be masquerading as Delight, while the real Delight runs off with her lover (who happens to be Marco's brother). But, Sara is too innocent and an awful, awful actress, she barely remembers to stay in character most of the time. Suddenly, Marco shows up and whisks her away to his private island. Oh dear, how can Sara pull off being Delight when she keeps reverting to her prim and proper self in front of Marco. I found Sara to be very wishy washy for like the entire book.

Marco was very dominant, forceful and violent. The word "rape" is repeatedly mentioned and threatened, but luckily it never occurred. Marco's way of thinking is very feudal and medieval, he should not be around women at all. Sara and Marco do not have a healthy relationship at all! Him keeping her locked up, her for allowing him to treat her like an object and not an equal.

I found the ending to be very rushed. Overall, the entire book was trashy, repetitive (violence/seduction/arguments) and very one dimensional.

[Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a twisted "love" triangle I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Rogers work, and I really didn't want this novel to end. It is a love story on a major detour, and is something I certainly wouldn't have thought of, but I am glad Mrs. Rogers did. As surprising as the plot was, I was even more surprised by the ending, and would really love to hear more about how all turned out in the end. I truly wish that more of the story was still left to read.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too much fluff in a book for me... i dont think I will ever think to myself, (gee this man raped me, though I have convinced myself that I love him. This is great idea to get married to a man I fear and ran away from!)

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a alpha male Marco & Sara, this story is captivating.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got tired of the lies, misunderstandings, deception, and, yes, games between this mismatched couple.

[Cher Prazak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sure this would’ve actually been an okay book, but I’m just not into non-consensual kidnapping and rape. This book was definitely written in the 80s

[Ronald Wise · Rating 1 out of 5]

How in the hell did I end up with this book in my collection!? Other than some sexy love scenes, a waste of time. Runs fairly true to the romance novel formula. The protagonist screams her protests, gives in to the guy, and then ends up loving him.

[AlexandraB95 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear Rosemary, I have read a lot of your books ,most of these were beyond awful. well,so sad ,there will never be another Sweet Savage Love(It was such an amazing book! ).It's so hard to believe You wrote Sweet Savage Love!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the frist book i read i was transformed into another world and i just loved it.It was my introduction in to romance novels.Love this book.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 2 out of 5]

HB-B @ 1981, 2/82. Money, power, arrogance, passion and desire.

[Cj Cayabat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a long time ago. I want to read it again. Can anyone give me an ebook copy please? Pretty hard to locate this book in the local bookstores. Thanks!

[ANGELIA · Rating 1 out of 5]

YECK!!!!

[Sherily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A damsel in distress. I felt like I've read this book before. I'm not sure if it's because I indeed read it, or if it's because it was just that obvious.
Twins swap places, man kidnaps wrong twin, man is mean, cruel and seduces woman, woman hates man but allows herself to be seduced. They have a love/hate relationship. They fall in love with each other.
I didn't like that Sara had many chances to tell the truth, but she chose not too. Immaturity and denial on her part.
An obvious read with an obvious outcome. The ending was quickly wrapped up too.
I give 3 stars because I just felt like I've read this story a million times. I've read several of her other novels and liked them, but I guess reading this one made it seem like she writes the same things with just different characters and a slightly different spin.