Mills & Boon Sexy series delivers what you love in contemporary romance - glamour and scandal in exotic locations…The terms of engagement...Candy Grey was wary when Quinn Ellington suggested it would be mutually beneficial for them to marry. She knew her uncle had asked Quinn to look after her while she recovered from an accident. But wasn't marriage taking it a bit far? Quinn claimed he needed a wife, but he didn't strike Candy as a man who needed anyone! Many women had tried to get him to the altar...so what really lay behind his proposal?
Rita Bradshaw was born on 1949 in Northampton, England, where she was educated as a good Christian. She met Clive, her husband, at the age of 16 andnow the magic is still there. They have three lovely children, Cara, Faye, and Benjamin, and have always had a menagerie of animals in the house, which at the present is confined to two endearing and very comical dogs who would make a great double act on TV! The children, friends, and pets all keep the house buzzing and the food cupboards empty but Helen wouldn't have it any other way. She still lives today in Northampton with her family. Although having enjoyed some wonderful holidays abroad she has never been tempted to live anywhere else, although she rather likes the idea of a holiday home close to the sea one day.
Being a committed Christian and fervent animal lover she finds spare time is always at a premium, but long walks in the countryside with her husband and dogs, meals out followed by the cinema or theatre, reading, swimming, and having friends over for dinner are all fitted in somehow. She also enjoys sitting in her wonderfully therapeutic, rambling old garden in the sun with a glass of red wine, (under the guise of resting while thinking of course!)
For years, she was a secretary. She began writing in 1990 as she approached that milestone of a birthday 40! She realized her two teenage ambitions (writing a novel and learning to drive) had been lost amid babies and hectic family life, so set about resurrecting them.
Her first novel was for Mills and Boon and was accepted after one rewrite in 1992 as Helen Brooks, and she passed her driving test (the former was a joy and the latter an unmitigated nightmare!) She has written 50 novels as well as several sagas as Rita Bradshaw.
Since becoming a full-time writer she has found her occupation one of pure joy and often surprised when her characters develop a mind of their own but she loves exploring what makes people tick and finds the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction" to be absolutely true. She would love to hear from any readers care of Mills & Boon.
3 Stars ~ In Ms. Brooks, A Suspicious Proposal, we met Xavier's niece, Candy and Essie's veterinarian partner, Quinn. That book had ended with Candy beginning her recovery from a horrible car accident that had taken her fiance and had left her temporarily in a wheel chair. Quinn was the gorgeous new vet whose mere presence attracted all the single women and their pets to their practice. This story begins with Candy recovered physically from her accident but still feeling wobbly emotionally, so she decides to take over Essie's tiny country cottage and dedicate her time to her career as an artist. Essie and Xavier, of course, have asked Quinn now the sole owner of the vet practice, to keep an eye on Candy.
After a grueling transatlantic flight, and then the drive from London, Candy is exhausted. Stopping at Quinn's to pick up the key to the cottage, she's forced to wait as Quinn is dealing with an emergency, so she closes her eyes for just a moment. Quinn's reluctant to wake her, she's so beautiful and she looks so fragile, and he can understand Essie's worry. He'll keep an eye, and he'll be a friend, but he'll keep his heart detached. After the loss of his wife and infant son three years ago, he'd cut himself off from emotional involvements. Candy flat out refuses to be watched, and set the ground rules of, "leave me alone", and Quinn can respect that. But with Christmas approaching and the area's social functions revving up, Quinn dreads all the female attention he's about to receive. So he approaches Candy to be his pretend girlfriend; a perfect solution to both wanting to avoid attachments and yet be a part of the community. Candy knows she's nuts to agree, but a few parties and dinners out sound appealing. At a Christmas party one particular female predator puts her clutches on Quinn after she lies to the host that Candy has the hots for him. With Quinn seeing red at Candy fending off the creep's unwanted attentions, he announces that they're engaged. Quinn's proposing a marriage of convenience, one based on their friendship without all that love stuff.
This was a lovely sequel to Ms. Brooks, A Suspicious Proposal. The pacing in this story is steady and the tone is sweet. There's a lovely scene stealing cat and her kittens that gave me a few smiles and showed the more human side to Quinn. I laughed out loud when he asked her to be his pretend girlfriend based solely on friendship and then couldn't keep his hands to himself. I really enjoyed reading Candy and Quinn's journey to HEA.
I might even 3.5 this one as there was a satisfying maturity to the writing. It was kind of sweet (as in, low angsty) but not at all saccharine. So much contemporary erotic romance seems to veer between absolute filth (which I'm fine about) and utterly babyish, teeth de-enamelling sentimentality (which I am not). Anyway, the h, Candy, describes independently wealthy vet Quinn as a Pierce Brosnan lookalike so I'm well in from the off. He's gentle with animals, controlled and masterful with women, has several dogs, comes rushing to hers when she finds a poorly cat with new kittens. Drives an Aston Martin for best and a Discovery for work. He's pretty much perfect. They both have painful back stories which is the source of them not rushing their powerful physical attraction into a relationship. It feels very 'normal' and grounded and is all the better for it. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and it's a possible re-read.
I LIVED this book. I also loved this book. The first glance, the slow burn, the coffees by the fireplace together, the cozy cottage, the secret wishes in both their hearts. The courtship was subtle, and we knew what was up, but the MCs were busy denying what was in their hearts. The animals in the story were all winners, but Alfie was the best. I felt the pain of the H, even more than the pain of the h, and I am so glad they met each other. The HEA with kids and dogs and cats was beautiful and made me tear up.
Candy was wary when Quinn Ellington suggested it would be mutually beneficial for them to marry. She knew her uncle had asked Quinn to look after her while she recovered from an accident. But wasn't marriage taking it a bit far?
Quinn claimed he needed a wife, but he didn't strike Candy as a man who needed anyone! Many women had tried to get him to the altar…so what really lay behind his proposal?
História fofinha com uma mulher com um passado difícil e traumatizada e um homem a braços com os fantasmas do passado recente, no fim e depois de um casamento de conveniência lá percebem que estão apaixonados um pelo outro…
It was a story about two people afraid of falling in love again because of previous failed relationships. So, they refused to name the feelings that they felt for one another and instead called it friendship, although they both knew it's more than friendship. What's funny about this relationship was that they couldn't stand the thought of each other with another person, so they pretend to be dating each other. They made themselves believe that it's much more convenient than having to regularly fend off unwanted attentions from their lives.
But nothing has prepared them from a sudden turn of events... or that thing called "love" could actually happen.
Was just ok. The heroine goes to England to recuperate from an accident where her fiancé died and she was badly injured. She will stay at her aunt's cottage. Her aunt was the heroine in a previous book (a suspicious proposal) but not necessary to read in order. The hero is the friend of the aunt and she has asked him to look out for her niece. Both are wary of relationships because of bad experiences. The hero is quite handsome and has trouble fending women off. Since the heroine is a 'safe' prospect, the told him she has no time for relationships, he proposes they go to social occasions together so to protect each of them from unwanted attention.