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Mavrakis #1
The Child of Judas
"I would never have chosen you!"
Heraklion spoke with contemptuous cruelty. "However, the fates have worked it so that I find myself your husband. And as you are a fairly presentable female I might as well make the most of you. I must demand yur total submission, awe and respect. It is my right to expect this from you - my wife!"
Wife...the word sent a shock through Fenny. The strange dream shattered and the reality swept over her. As impossible as it seemed, she was indeed the wife of Heraklion Mavrakis.
Heraklion spoke with contemptuous cruelty. "However, the fates have worked it so that I find myself your husband. And as you are a fairly presentable female I might as well make the most of you. I must demand yur total submission, awe and respect. It is my right to expect this from you - my wife!"
Wife...the word sent a shock through Fenny. The strange dream shattered and the reality swept over her. As impossible as it seemed, she was indeed the wife of Heraklion Mavrakis.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1976
12 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Violet Winspear
176 books142 followersViolet Winspear was a British author renowned for her prolific output of romance novels, publishing seventy titles with Mills & Boon between 1961 and 1987. In 1973, she became a launch author for the Mills & Boon-Harlequin Presents line, known for its more sexually explicit content, alongside Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, two of the most popular and prolific British romance writers of the time. Winspear began writing while working in a factory and became a full-time novelist in 1963, producing her works from her home in South East England, researching exotic settings at her local library. She famously described her heroes as lean, strong, and captivating, “in need of love but capable of breathtaking passion and potency,” a characterization that provoked controversy in 1970 when she stated that her male protagonists were “capable of rape,” leading to considerable public backlash. Her novels are celebrated for their vivid, globe-spanning settings and dramatic tension, often employing sexual antagonism to heighten conflict between the alpha male hero and the heroine, who is frequently portrayed as naïve or overwhelmed by his dominance. Winspear never married or had children, and she passed away in January 1989 after a long battle with cancer, leaving a lasting influence on the romance genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 12, 2013
Oh. My. God. I never thought that a day would come where I'd find myself bitching about the hero instead of the heroine. I never thought it was possible. I mean ME, the HEROINE hater, HATING A HERO.
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But there you go. I fuckin' HATED this guy. Hated him in a I'ma-draw-and-quarter-him-chop-his-d-into-tiny-little-pieces-and-feed-em-to-the-eagles-and-his-balls-to-the-ducks. I don't think I've ever read a hero more of an asshole than this one, other then Carl in 'The Odds Against'. NOW THAT ONE TOOK THE CAKE HE EVEN SLAPPED THE HEROINE TWICE!!!
Okay, here goes the review. Brace yo'selves, y'all.
OH MY GOD. OH DEAR GOD. OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK. I CANNOT BELIEVE THE CRUELTY OF THIS HERO!!!! OH DEAR GOD. I HAD TO TAKE THREE BREAKS TO CALM MYSELF DOWN, AND THAT WAS ONLY DURING THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES.
The book started off with hero insulting, verbally abusing and taunting the heroine at every turn, blaming her, trying to put her down and just basically acting so damned cruelly. I was repulsed my him right from the start, and I LIKE cruel, asshole heroes! So we're well into about 70 pages AND HE'S STILL INSULTING HER AND THREATENING TO KILL, BEAT AND RAPE HER AND EVERY AWFUL THING IMAGINABLE.
About 40% of the book. All. About. The hero mocking and degrading the heroine. The first half of the book, practically. What infuriated me even more was that the stupid heroine JUST SAT THERE AND TOOK IT ALL, BELIEVING THAT SHE DESERVED IT. Another non-Aayesha thing. I love the quiet heroines who don't throw temper tantrums. I LOVE THEM. But this one, OH GOD. OH GOD THIS ONE. She defines the phrase 'too stupid to live'. She had so little self-confidence that she believed that she deserved all that he was throwing at her. In a way I kind of feel sorry for her. BUT NOT ENOUGH TO ABATE MY HATRED FOR HER STUPIDITY.
Back to hero. As I said (*cough cough* many times, I believe), the hero was just plain awful. I can't imagine these two ever living happily ever after together if the hero is this abusive every time something doesn't go his way. And for God's sake, HE DIDN'T EVEN LOVE THE OW!!! He just wanted to have sex with her!!! When that was taken away from him and he turns that abusive, I seriously don't want to imagine the poor girl's future with him.
And as if that wasn't enough, Winspear had to go and make him all abusive. He actually shoves the heroine into the balcony railing so hard that she bruises. Oh right, and there was also the beginning where he was pulling the heroine's hair like all hell had broken lose. And bruising her arms. Same old, same old.
When they were in the villa or wherever that place was, he kept going off to work, leaving her to herself. And telling her that after she'd give him a son, she was supposed to give up her baby to him and divorce him was DESPICABLE.
How can someone even love a man like that is beyond me.
There are a countless other details that maddened me, but I won't go into them now for the sake of my sanity.
Now I'll come to the heroine. Dumbest chick I've ever read, with the sole exception of Gail (once again from 'Against the Odds'). I don't even know what she saw in him. She must have had some serious issues, putting up with all that. ESPECIALLY the Greek macho-ism shit.
But I do give her credit for bearing all that abuse, and not cheating on him while she had the chance. Even though I think she'd have been much better off with the brother, I still didn't want her to be with anyone else but said asshole hero, because I am, in the end, a hopeless romantic at heart. But meh, they deserved each other.
Now for the Greek-male-dominance thing. Seriously, that was over the top. I mean, I know that it's scientifically proven that males are the better species in physical strength and blah blah, but all that shit about females staying at home looking after their husbands and bearing them 'sons' (note: NOT daughters)?
This book wasn't just a trainwreck, it was the King of all trainwrecks. With a capital K.
Now I'll come onto the writing. I must say, I was too caught up raging over the asshole-ness of the hero to notice the writing. But the impression that I got was that Winspear can pull off stories very well. The dialogue was great, the flow was good. It was just the PLOT that sucked. But I'm not completely put off by her, though. I might decide to read her again in the future. Here's to hoping that the next book I read by her won't be this awful.
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But there you go. I fuckin' HATED this guy. Hated him in a I'ma-draw-and-quarter-him-chop-his-d-into-tiny-little-pieces-and-feed-em-to-the-eagles-and-his-balls-to-the-ducks. I don't think I've ever read a hero more of an asshole than this one, other then Carl in 'The Odds Against'. NOW THAT ONE TOOK THE CAKE HE EVEN SLAPPED THE HEROINE TWICE!!!
Okay, here goes the review. Brace yo'selves, y'all.
OH MY GOD. OH DEAR GOD. OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK. I CANNOT BELIEVE THE CRUELTY OF THIS HERO!!!! OH DEAR GOD. I HAD TO TAKE THREE BREAKS TO CALM MYSELF DOWN, AND THAT WAS ONLY DURING THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES.
The book started off with hero insulting, verbally abusing and taunting the heroine at every turn, blaming her, trying to put her down and just basically acting so damned cruelly. I was repulsed my him right from the start, and I LIKE cruel, asshole heroes! So we're well into about 70 pages AND HE'S STILL INSULTING HER AND THREATENING TO KILL, BEAT AND RAPE HER AND EVERY AWFUL THING IMAGINABLE.
About 40% of the book. All. About. The hero mocking and degrading the heroine. The first half of the book, practically. What infuriated me even more was that the stupid heroine JUST SAT THERE AND TOOK IT ALL, BELIEVING THAT SHE DESERVED IT. Another non-Aayesha thing. I love the quiet heroines who don't throw temper tantrums. I LOVE THEM. But this one, OH GOD. OH GOD THIS ONE. She defines the phrase 'too stupid to live'. She had so little self-confidence that she believed that she deserved all that he was throwing at her. In a way I kind of feel sorry for her. BUT NOT ENOUGH TO ABATE MY HATRED FOR HER STUPIDITY.
Back to hero. As I said (*cough cough* many times, I believe), the hero was just plain awful. I can't imagine these two ever living happily ever after together if the hero is this abusive every time something doesn't go his way. And for God's sake, HE DIDN'T EVEN LOVE THE OW!!! He just wanted to have sex with her!!! When that was taken away from him and he turns that abusive, I seriously don't want to imagine the poor girl's future with him.
And as if that wasn't enough, Winspear had to go and make him all abusive. He actually shoves the heroine into the balcony railing so hard that she bruises. Oh right, and there was also the beginning where he was pulling the heroine's hair like all hell had broken lose. And bruising her arms. Same old, same old.
When they were in the villa or wherever that place was, he kept going off to work, leaving her to herself. And telling her that after she'd give him a son, she was supposed to give up her baby to him and divorce him was DESPICABLE.
How can someone even love a man like that is beyond me.
There are a countless other details that maddened me, but I won't go into them now for the sake of my sanity.
Now I'll come to the heroine. Dumbest chick I've ever read, with the sole exception of Gail (once again from 'Against the Odds'). I don't even know what she saw in him. She must have had some serious issues, putting up with all that. ESPECIALLY the Greek macho-ism shit.
But I do give her credit for bearing all that abuse, and not cheating on him while she had the chance. Even though I think she'd have been much better off with the brother, I still didn't want her to be with anyone else but said asshole hero, because I am, in the end, a hopeless romantic at heart. But meh, they deserved each other.
Now for the Greek-male-dominance thing. Seriously, that was over the top. I mean, I know that it's scientifically proven that males are the better species in physical strength and blah blah, but all that shit about females staying at home looking after their husbands and bearing them 'sons' (note: NOT daughters)?
This book wasn't just a trainwreck, it was the King of all trainwrecks. With a capital K.
Now I'll come onto the writing. I must say, I was too caught up raging over the asshole-ness of the hero to notice the writing. But the impression that I got was that Winspear can pull off stories very well. The dialogue was great, the flow was good. It was just the PLOT that sucked. But I'm not completely put off by her, though. I might decide to read her again in the future. Here's to hoping that the next book I read by her won't be this awful.
August 15, 2016
Okay, I find it ironic that Violet W never married, a fact that I found Googling her after this book.
Anyhoo, Fenny takes the place of her trampy cousin in the marriage to uber-alpha Lion, the Spartan hero. Nope, he's not just a Greek, he's Spartan. Oy vey. Thank goodness for heinous 70s wedding styles as no one knows the wrong bride shows up. At all. She conveniently faints so she never makes it to the reception.
Let's just say that Lion is not pleased with this substitution. Poor Fenny never registered for him although she is blonde like her cousin. Cousin, by the way, scampered off to New York partially to escape explaining why she wasn't a virgin to rampant Greek/Spartan male, Lion.
Sturm and drang. Sex abounds but Lion is emotionally distant. Fortunately, he has younger twin brothers: one of who latches on to Fenny. Younger bro lost his wife, is adrift and attracted to his older brother's wife. Hey, this is a 70s romance; convulated plots are expected.
Long story short, Fenny miscarries and rather than the dramatic reunion we expect with Lion, she runs off to Athens with Zonar the younger brother since her husband is off on a cruise.
Yes, HEA, but you'll have to read it to find out how.
Let me just say that what stopped me from a possible 3 1/2 to 4 stars was the abrupt ending and not knowing what happened to Zonar. Honestly, I wanted to know if he was going to get a happy ending.
Oops, wait for it. He has his own book, Love is the Honey. Hurray.
Anyhoo, Fenny takes the place of her trampy cousin in the marriage to uber-alpha Lion, the Spartan hero. Nope, he's not just a Greek, he's Spartan. Oy vey. Thank goodness for heinous 70s wedding styles as no one knows the wrong bride shows up. At all. She conveniently faints so she never makes it to the reception.
Let's just say that Lion is not pleased with this substitution. Poor Fenny never registered for him although she is blonde like her cousin. Cousin, by the way, scampered off to New York partially to escape explaining why she wasn't a virgin to rampant Greek/Spartan male, Lion.
Sturm and drang. Sex abounds but Lion is emotionally distant. Fortunately, he has younger twin brothers: one of who latches on to Fenny. Younger bro lost his wife, is adrift and attracted to his older brother's wife. Hey, this is a 70s romance; convulated plots are expected.
Long story short, Fenny miscarries and rather than the dramatic reunion we expect with Lion, she runs off to Athens with Zonar the younger brother since her husband is off on a cruise.
Yes, HEA, but you'll have to read it to find out how.
Let me just say that what stopped me from a possible 3 1/2 to 4 stars was the abrupt ending and not knowing what happened to Zonar. Honestly, I wanted to know if he was going to get a happy ending.
Oops, wait for it. He has his own book, Love is the Honey. Hurray.
December 19, 2020
One of my all-time favorite Harleys, for its D/s-ness, OTT old-skool crazy, and that vintage Violet Winspear sense of everyone being completely out of time and space/thrown-back to another era. The h is so nuts but has a certain valor and weird integrity--she knows what she has done is terrible but it's damn the torpedos, full steam ahead, because LOVE. She accepts her punishment with a certain dignity that I found appealing, although she does despair in the face of his continued cruelty and lack of feeling for her (she did steamroll her way into his life, and he is known to be a hard badass, so she kinda went in knowing how it was going to go). Winspear's hs are often willingly submissive to their lords and masters to a point but they usually have their own, special whacked kind of backbone. While her work can seem very dated (and probably did so even when they were published--they always seem like they're set in the 20s/30s but with shadows of a deeper, more violent past) her heroes are usually the kind of dark alphas I still enjoy without being slappy, rapey aholes like some of her contemporaries (looking at you, Anne Mather!), and her waifish hs are so completely bowled over that it makes for a good angsty read.
June 30, 2014
5 crazy old skool stars. As far as I can tell it was first published in 1976 but I think it must have at least been written a few years before that since the author kept referencing the hero being a boy just after "the War" which I think must have been WWII.
Okay talk about crazy. The heroine sneaks and marries the hero when her cousin leaves him at the altar. Because of a super heavy veil all unbeknownst to the hero. When he finds out he is livid. There are lots of threats, insults and what not. This all culminates in some forced seduction.
This hero is over the top alpha greek misogynist but he has a few redeeming moments but you can't blink or you'll miss them.
This baby's got everything. Private Greek islands, forced seduction, forced pregnancy, car accidents etc.
Okay talk about crazy. The heroine sneaks and marries the hero when her cousin leaves him at the altar. Because of a super heavy veil all unbeknownst to the hero. When he finds out he is livid. There are lots of threats, insults and what not. This all culminates in some forced seduction.
This hero is over the top alpha greek misogynist but he has a few redeeming moments but you can't blink or you'll miss them.
This baby's got everything. Private Greek islands, forced seduction, forced pregnancy, car accidents etc.
March 24, 2024
За първи път хвърлям Арлекин в (електронния) кош за боклук, при високата ми търпимост към любовните романи (то там изискванията не могат да са много…). Ако някои вземе да напише изследване за тенденциите в любовните романи, ще открои как и този несериозен жанр във времето крещящо ясно откроява капаните на епохата (когато е писан). През 70-те явно няколко тенденции са били типични и официални за издателството (Милс и Бун) и сериозно ме ядосват:
☑️ Силна мизогиния и сексизъм - романтичната героиня винаги е по-долу от героя (с поглед към света, с професия, с образование) - и на всичкото отгоре упорства да се вмести в наложените и гадни ограничения. Сама действа в посока “кухня, деца, църква”. Против абортите е (дори след изнасилване и при опасност за живота), а секс - само след като размени обети пред католически свещеник. Ако я бият, страда каро католическа мъченица и смята, че си го заслужава. Ако вземе да протестира - не казва нищо смислено, а разиграва истерии. Героите от мъжки пол са още по-зле, те направо са за 19 век и на тях всичко им е позволено, но на жената до тях - не.
☑️ Върл расизъм - набива се до втръсване как южняците са темпераментни мачовци от пещерните векове, или от зрелия патриархат, героични изроди… Всяко странно действие и черта на характера се обясняват с принадлежността към съответната народност. Смесването е позволено само в границите на Европа и САЩ. Ако цъфне герой/героиня от друга част на света - оказва се скрит англичанин/англичанка под прикритие.
☑️ Буквално проституция - героинята романтично се жертва за…пари, платени от героя. За да спаси закъсал трети братовчед или нещо от сорта…
Всички тези тези тропи в тук са доведени до крайност. Каква романтика, бе сестро, си написала, пълна с всички тези гадости накуп и на квадрат! И да, тези ужасии си присъстват и в новите “мафиотски” романси, които са си “прогрес” - там вече са романизирани освен горните неща и организираната престъпност!
Връщам се на по-нови заглавия, тия от 70-те са били луди!
☑️ Силна мизогиния и сексизъм - романтичната героиня винаги е по-долу от героя (с поглед към света, с професия, с образование) - и на всичкото отгоре упорства да се вмести в наложените и гадни ограничения. Сама действа в посока “кухня, деца, църква”. Против абортите е (дори след изнасилване и при опасност за живота), а секс - само след като размени обети пред католически свещеник. Ако я бият, страда каро католическа мъченица и смята, че си го заслужава. Ако вземе да протестира - не казва нищо смислено, а разиграва истерии. Героите от мъжки пол са още по-зле, те направо са за 19 век и на тях всичко им е позволено, но на жената до тях - не.
☑️ Върл расизъм - набива се до втръсване как южняците са темпераментни мачовци от пещерните векове, или от зрелия патриархат, героични изроди… Всяко странно действие и черта на характера се обясняват с принадлежността към съответната народност. Смесването е позволено само в границите на Европа и САЩ. Ако цъфне герой/героиня от друга част на света - оказва се скрит англичанин/англичанка под прикритие.
☑️ Буквално проституция - героинята романтично се жертва за…пари, платени от героя. За да спаси закъсал трети братовчед или нещо от сорта…
Всички тези тези тропи в тук са доведени до крайност. Каква романтика, бе сестро, си написала, пълна с всички тези гадости накуп и на квадрат! И да, тези ужасии си присъстват и в новите “мафиотски” романси, които са си “прогрес” - там вече са романизирани освен горните неща и организираната престъпност!
Връщам се на по-нови заглавия, тия от 70-те са били луди!
October 11, 2015
I have nothing good to say about this book but that it ended. I did not feel he loved her at all and the whole baby thing was crazy. He just wants to sleep with her for a while cause all he really wants is a baby!!! That's the whole truth he will leave her after he has had his full cause she can't have babies because of him. I did not like her either I am sorry but she was not a heroine she was a whipped dog that I hated!
October 11, 2019
He was definitely psychopath and I didn't buy his love at the end of the book. 🙄
August 21, 2014
I love cruel heroes but this one was a psychopath!
August 28, 2014
3 stars because of all the emotions I felt while reading this book, mostly anger and few times a lump in my throat. Lion needed at minimum another full chapter to get me behind his character. I picked up this book because the main characters were the secondary characters in Love is the Honey, Zonar's story and the little reference about how Fenny tricked me intrigued me. I expected certain level of cruelty but he was poison. The only reason I could not hate him was because of all he did for his brothers after they lost their parents and even Kassandra, the old gypsy housekeeper.
June 28, 2025
No matter what, this novel will always be one of my favorite. First time I read it I was maybe sixteen or seventeen, and until this day it still bring back happy memories. love it.
July 8, 2017
I started this series with the second book first so I think it gave me a different perspective of the hero in this book
When Fenella's cousin ran off to New York on her wedding day telling only Fenella, she did what she thought was right and she married Greek tycoon Lion in her cousin's stead.
Upon learning of the deception, Lion was cruel and brutal to Fenella. He was such as asshole he threatened to break her neck numerous times. I got so sick of his bullying that I wanted to break his damned neck.
Fenella believed to some extent that she deserved his treatment for tricking him into marrying her. She was in love with him from the moment she first saw him and tried to hide it.
She begged for his forgiveness, hoping to build a relationship of friendship at least. But Lion would not be swayed. He treated her abysmally and because she loved him, she just dealt with it.
The turning point didn't come until the very end of the book and without having a peek into their future by reading the next book first, you will find it hard to believe Lion's claims at the end.
Even with all of this, I still loved this book. Lion is an hard and vicious as his namesake. Fenella is a stronger woman than I would have been. I would have poisoned him! I can still easily recommend this book. The level of drama and angst is astonishing but it makes for an excellent read.
When Fenella's cousin ran off to New York on her wedding day telling only Fenella, she did what she thought was right and she married Greek tycoon Lion in her cousin's stead.
Upon learning of the deception, Lion was cruel and brutal to Fenella. He was such as asshole he threatened to break her neck numerous times. I got so sick of his bullying that I wanted to break his damned neck.
Fenella believed to some extent that she deserved his treatment for tricking him into marrying her. She was in love with him from the moment she first saw him and tried to hide it.
She begged for his forgiveness, hoping to build a relationship of friendship at least. But Lion would not be swayed. He treated her abysmally and because she loved him, she just dealt with it.
The turning point didn't come until the very end of the book and without having a peek into their future by reading the next book first, you will find it hard to believe Lion's claims at the end.
Even with all of this, I still loved this book. Lion is an hard and vicious as his namesake. Fenella is a stronger woman than I would have been. I would have poisoned him! I can still easily recommend this book. The level of drama and angst is astonishing but it makes for an excellent read.
July 2, 2015
4.5 stars -- totally old school and over the top! The end was super abrupt though -- I almost felt like it was missing pages or something? They should have resolved more, and I feel like Kassandra could have seen something else in the heroine's palm that could have had the story ending on a slightly happier note. Still, a fun, silly read.
August 10, 2012
Something about this book just pulled at my heartstrings! Was the hero cruel? YES! Was the heroine stupid? YES! Oh well, maybe it was the mood I was in, but it brought tears to my eyes.
March 5, 2020
I note that some reviewers thought the leading man quite the nasty piece of work, and who could blame him that’s my opinion. His fiancée runs away before the wedding for the bright lights of the theatre, she leaves him a note explaining.
The penniless cousin who lives with the fiancées family finds the note and decides that she wants the groom for herself and hides her identity from him and dresses up in the brides dress and heavy veil, and marries him instead of her cousin, she has kept the note so he hasn’t seen it. When he discovers the truth he is quite rightly incandescent with rage. Let’s remember the runaway fiancée did not ask her cousin to stand in for her. So for me if he was less than pleasant she deserved all she got. It was just as the old saying goes, what we do in haste we repent at leisure.
The penniless cousin who lives with the fiancées family finds the note and decides that she wants the groom for herself and hides her identity from him and dresses up in the brides dress and heavy veil, and marries him instead of her cousin, she has kept the note so he hasn’t seen it. When he discovers the truth he is quite rightly incandescent with rage. Let’s remember the runaway fiancée did not ask her cousin to stand in for her. So for me if he was less than pleasant she deserved all she got. It was just as the old saying goes, what we do in haste we repent at leisure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2012
Heroine's cousin ditches Hero, unbeknownst to him at the altar, leaving a note and engagement ring behind as she flees to NYC with another man who she has had an affair with. The Heroine dresses in the wedding finery, walks down the aisle and marries Hero in her cousins place ... unbeknownst to her family or friends. She is in love with the Hero and doesnt want to see him humilated in the press or in front of his friends. He believes he's wedding his fiance because her face is completely hidden behind the veil and their names are similar Fenella (Heroine) and Penella (cousin). He finds out when they reach the hotel suite, insists that they stay married informing her that after she gives him a son in the first year he will toss her out of his life and keep the child.
Hero cuts her down, berates her, calls her names, reminding her often of the 'bargain' they made for a child. Eventually she does become pregnant but doesn't inform him. During an argument he thrusts her violently across the balcony causing her to injure her ribs which leaves her frightened and scared. He taunted her telling her she wasn't the only woman in his life and if she didn't want to go on a cruise with him he would take someone else who would. She comes to the decision to escape the island as he is taking his newly built ship out for a voyage, taking her child with her and keeping the baby for herself. Later that day a dog rushes out in front of her car causing her to loose control and wreck it, losing the baby and being knocked out for a few days. Hero's brothers attempt to locate him and notify him but he can't be found so Zonar (Hero's brother) who is in love w/her nurses her back to health, standing beside her the entire time.
Zonar and Fenny go to Athens for a trip to uplift her spirits and get her away from the villa. After a few days spent there they attend a masked ball and during a dance low and behold our Hero shows up and whisks her out to the balcony confessing his love for her and his sorrow over her losing the child. This is our HEA. The only downside to these older HP's I have seen is that these HEA's happen quicker than the flip of a coin. There is no discussions about the problems they had beforehand, no discussion about where he was and who he was with, just nothing but "I love you!". It leaves an unfinished business feeling to the book after reading it and makes the HEA a little shaky and unbelieveable. But that aside, it might be why I find them fascinating and enjoy reading them so much.
Hero cuts her down, berates her, calls her names, reminding her often of the 'bargain' they made for a child. Eventually she does become pregnant but doesn't inform him. During an argument he thrusts her violently across the balcony causing her to injure her ribs which leaves her frightened and scared. He taunted her telling her she wasn't the only woman in his life and if she didn't want to go on a cruise with him he would take someone else who would. She comes to the decision to escape the island as he is taking his newly built ship out for a voyage, taking her child with her and keeping the baby for herself. Later that day a dog rushes out in front of her car causing her to loose control and wreck it, losing the baby and being knocked out for a few days. Hero's brothers attempt to locate him and notify him but he can't be found so Zonar (Hero's brother) who is in love w/her nurses her back to health, standing beside her the entire time.
Zonar and Fenny go to Athens for a trip to uplift her spirits and get her away from the villa. After a few days spent there they attend a masked ball and during a dance low and behold our Hero shows up and whisks her out to the balcony confessing his love for her and his sorrow over her losing the child. This is our HEA. The only downside to these older HP's I have seen is that these HEA's happen quicker than the flip of a coin. There is no discussions about the problems they had beforehand, no discussion about where he was and who he was with, just nothing but "I love you!". It leaves an unfinished business feeling to the book after reading it and makes the HEA a little shaky and unbelieveable. But that aside, it might be why I find them fascinating and enjoy reading them so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2014
1 star..
Welp! This is a warning I'm about to commence ranting, so here it is..
I'm thinking this is actually a 1-star story that could be considered as a 5-star guide to painting a doormat-heroine!
I mean, don't get me wrong, this had a HUGE potential to be something beautiful!! But... oh well.
And by the way, this star was only earned because I used to adore this book when I was in my teens, which was a LONG time ago!! And now that I've read it again; here's what I have noticed..
1- The hero is a cruel, heartless and an idiot and he's absent half of the story (believe me, I've checked)
2- You'd wish that she had fallen in love with the brother of the actual hero, who was kind, funny, lighthearted and actually held a very enjoyable conversation with the heroine at one point.
3- I really don't know how they end up together in the end, even though there's no leading events for him to actually show remorse or even tried to earn her forgiveness for being an a**hat!
4- She showed him all the love and she could have told him off so many times!! To be quite honest, and maybe it's because of the lack of details, I think her first time had been some kind of and she didn't even react to that!!
What the HECK?!! I'm so glad literature has changed!
So, what brought me here was that this story was mentioned somewhere, and I was curious to know if I'd still find it as good as I remembered from long ago, and the answer is...
HELL NO!
Ranting done!
Over and out.
Welp! This is a warning I'm about to commence ranting, so here it is..
I'm thinking this is actually a 1-star story that could be considered as a 5-star guide to painting a doormat-heroine!
I mean, don't get me wrong, this had a HUGE potential to be something beautiful!! But... oh well.
And by the way, this star was only earned because I used to adore this book when I was in my teens, which was a LONG time ago!! And now that I've read it again; here's what I have noticed..
1- The hero is a cruel, heartless and an idiot and he's absent half of the story (believe me, I've checked)
2- You'd wish that she had fallen in love with the brother of the actual hero, who was kind, funny, lighthearted and actually held a very enjoyable conversation with the heroine at one point.
3- I really don't know how they end up together in the end, even though there's no leading events for him to actually show remorse or even tried to earn her forgiveness for being an a**hat!
4- She showed him all the love and she could have told him off so many times!! To be quite honest, and maybe it's because of the lack of details, I think her first time had been some kind of and she didn't even react to that!!
What the HECK?!! I'm so glad literature has changed!
So, what brought me here was that this story was mentioned somewhere, and I was curious to know if I'd still find it as good as I remembered from long ago, and the answer is...
HELL NO!
Ranting done!
Over and out.
April 22, 2020
What the Dickens? I liked the bride-swap annnnnnnnnd nothing else about this book. The hero didn't change, he was just an ass the entire time. Good for his brother trying to steal the heroine! Then the heroine is pushed and hurt by the hero, tries to leave gets in a car crash(her breaks were cut...who did that? who is trying to kill the damn hero? don't know, not answered), miscarries and probably can't have kids, all without the hero being any freaking place near her. Then 'hey, was brooding over on a boat but I love you now....we cool?'....NO! You are awful and I hope the next bomb takes off your head cause you aren't using it. SKIP.
August 1, 2021
Old skool romance (hot mess) at its finest! According to Goodreads I have not read any of Violet Winspear’s books. However, I am pretty sure that is not true and it is more of the case that I read them a very long time ago, or I read a few before I joined Goodreads. Anyway, this book comes up a lot on different forums. I finally decided to hunt it down and give it a whirl. It was worth the search. Grrrrace gives a great non spoiler review of the book here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This story opens right after the hero has married the wrong woman(h), and he is pissed. The hero Lion was duped by the cousin(h)of his intended bride. This doesn’t make our heroine Fenny look good, until it is revealed that she married the H to help him save face(because she loves him), as her flighty cousin Penella took off at the last minute to become an actress in America. Penella(ow)knew that her very traditional Greek husband to be would not go in for a career woman, and she also didn’t want him to realize she was not the white rose of innocence that she pretended to be.(this tells me she knew our Hero had a little bit of a temper!)
Heroine: Fenella, 22, She is of quiet temperament who blends into the woodwork. It is revealed that she is just as lovely as her cousin in looks, yet she doesn’t have the vivacious personality of the cousin so she doesn’t get the attention the cousin gets. She was orphaned, and like a Harry Potter was taken in by the nearest relative. (There isn’t much about her life with her uncle and cousin, one just needs to come to the conclusion based on a few things said.) Over the years she has had to listen to the cousin and all of her “conquests” while she herself hasn’t been so inclined for male affection. Then one day the cousin brings the hero home, and our little h is bowled over with love. When the cousin left the H at the altar, our little in love h donned the wedding dress and heavily shielded veil to marry the H herself not understanding the ramifications of what she was doing. The H lets her know about the ramifications very quickly and insultingly.
Hero: Herak(Lion), late 30’s is an extremely traditional Greek male. The h offers an annulment and he is very clear that they took vows in a church and marriage is for life. (I’m pretty sure he would have been given a pass on this, so honestly this doesn’t fly with me) He believes that she took the role of his bride to secure herself financially(not realizing she is an innocent and in love with him). He angrily tells her that the embarrassment of being jilted at the altar was nothing and now he can’t run after the cousin because he is married to her.
Our hero is very cruel with the lines:
“I could throw you from the window, and who would blame me? Who would care?”
“No one,” she admitted. “You’d be justified.”
“I am still astounded that I could have been fooled into believing that I was marrying Penela. Where she sparkles, you are reserved. Your eyes are smoky blue, while hers are sapphire. Your hair is gold and not platinum, and you have not the seductive curve to the mouth. Do you know exactly how I feel about you?
“I can guess,” Fenny said quietly.
“I doubt if any girl, even you, has the imagination to plumb the depths of what I feel when I look at you.” His voice seemed to crackle with shards of frozen ice. “It’s as if I purchased a diamond and arrived home to find myself with a piece of paste. I feel robbed, Kryria, and that is an emotion that no Greek can tolerate.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “At least you’re honest.”(I am not sure what sort of mojo this guy put out there for her to fall in love with him from afar, but it should be bottled.) .
Moving along the H proposes that he will let her go….after she has given him a son. Not only will he let her go, but he will not allow her contact with the son, so essentially banishing her. This doesn’t sit well with her, but she feels trapped. There continues to be lots and lots of dialogue, Then they have their fade to black wedding night, where the H is pleasantly surprised that she was indeed a virgin. The next morning they are to fly back to Greece with his two brothers Demetre and Jonar. And this is where my heart does a little pitter patter.
Demetre, the reserved brother looks at the bride and says: “You look different,” ….”A little less-or is it more?”
“It’s a different girl.’ Jonar swept his eyes over her shining hair like a bell of corn. “The quiet, beautiful one!”(and my heart just melted!)
He kisses the h’s hand and tells her how beautiful she is.
“Lion, you are a lucky man,” he said.
“Am I?”
“But of course brother. How many men drop a silver piece and pick up a charm of gold?” (Damn, I think I swooned at this part)
We aren’t even at chapter 3 yet. So in the essence of time let me try to do a very quick recap of what continues for the remaining chapters:
***The hero continues to be cruel and smokes cheroots(it’s the 70’s everyone smokes except the h)
***She does become pregnant unbeknownst to the hero
***The hero has a brush with death, upon which we get a very huge interlude between the h and the brother Jonar. Jonar puts everything out there and the h keeps trying to put him off. At one point he confesses that at his brother’s original wedding to the cousin he had full intention of scoring with the h. He has always seen her worth.
***The hero asks the h to go on a yacht trip with him(we can assume here that he has fallen in love with her, but she is unaware and any falling in love he has done has been off page) She refuses because she doesn’t want the torture of being with the man she loves. Our hero in his asshattery ways tells her no problem, she isn’t the only girl in his life.
***While he takes off on his trip, she decides to flee. Something happens to delay her departure. The H is still gone on his yacht, and the h and brother Jonar go to Athens to take in the sights(and possibly more) Eventually the H tracks her down for their very abrupt HEA.(the story kind of ends which was typical of these early romances)
I profess my love for Jonar, however, seen in a different light he is a little big of a rake for hitting on his brother’s wife. Jonar even admits he wasn’t the best husband to his first wife, and he has a son that he has to be reminded to see by the very jealous nursemaid of the son. Therefore, not a great dad.
I felt a little sad that this story ended so abruptly. Then I read reviews. Thank’s to Vintage’s review, there is a book 2 involving Jonar and we get to see our couple from this book. It is called Love is the Honey So guess what I will be reading next!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This story opens right after the hero has married the wrong woman(h), and he is pissed. The hero Lion was duped by the cousin(h)of his intended bride. This doesn’t make our heroine Fenny look good, until it is revealed that she married the H to help him save face(because she loves him), as her flighty cousin Penella took off at the last minute to become an actress in America. Penella(ow)knew that her very traditional Greek husband to be would not go in for a career woman, and she also didn’t want him to realize she was not the white rose of innocence that she pretended to be.(this tells me she knew our Hero had a little bit of a temper!)
Heroine: Fenella, 22, She is of quiet temperament who blends into the woodwork. It is revealed that she is just as lovely as her cousin in looks, yet she doesn’t have the vivacious personality of the cousin so she doesn’t get the attention the cousin gets. She was orphaned, and like a Harry Potter was taken in by the nearest relative. (There isn’t much about her life with her uncle and cousin, one just needs to come to the conclusion based on a few things said.) Over the years she has had to listen to the cousin and all of her “conquests” while she herself hasn’t been so inclined for male affection. Then one day the cousin brings the hero home, and our little h is bowled over with love. When the cousin left the H at the altar, our little in love h donned the wedding dress and heavily shielded veil to marry the H herself not understanding the ramifications of what she was doing. The H lets her know about the ramifications very quickly and insultingly.
Hero: Herak(Lion), late 30’s is an extremely traditional Greek male. The h offers an annulment and he is very clear that they took vows in a church and marriage is for life. (I’m pretty sure he would have been given a pass on this, so honestly this doesn’t fly with me) He believes that she took the role of his bride to secure herself financially(not realizing she is an innocent and in love with him). He angrily tells her that the embarrassment of being jilted at the altar was nothing and now he can’t run after the cousin because he is married to her.
Our hero is very cruel with the lines:
“I could throw you from the window, and who would blame me? Who would care?”
“No one,” she admitted. “You’d be justified.”
“I am still astounded that I could have been fooled into believing that I was marrying Penela. Where she sparkles, you are reserved. Your eyes are smoky blue, while hers are sapphire. Your hair is gold and not platinum, and you have not the seductive curve to the mouth. Do you know exactly how I feel about you?
“I can guess,” Fenny said quietly.
“I doubt if any girl, even you, has the imagination to plumb the depths of what I feel when I look at you.” His voice seemed to crackle with shards of frozen ice. “It’s as if I purchased a diamond and arrived home to find myself with a piece of paste. I feel robbed, Kryria, and that is an emotion that no Greek can tolerate.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “At least you’re honest.”(I am not sure what sort of mojo this guy put out there for her to fall in love with him from afar, but it should be bottled.) .
Moving along the H proposes that he will let her go….after she has given him a son. Not only will he let her go, but he will not allow her contact with the son, so essentially banishing her. This doesn’t sit well with her, but she feels trapped. There continues to be lots and lots of dialogue, Then they have their fade to black wedding night, where the H is pleasantly surprised that she was indeed a virgin. The next morning they are to fly back to Greece with his two brothers Demetre and Jonar. And this is where my heart does a little pitter patter.
Demetre, the reserved brother looks at the bride and says: “You look different,” ….”A little less-or is it more?”
“It’s a different girl.’ Jonar swept his eyes over her shining hair like a bell of corn. “The quiet, beautiful one!”(and my heart just melted!)
He kisses the h’s hand and tells her how beautiful she is.
“Lion, you are a lucky man,” he said.
“Am I?”
“But of course brother. How many men drop a silver piece and pick up a charm of gold?” (Damn, I think I swooned at this part)
We aren’t even at chapter 3 yet. So in the essence of time let me try to do a very quick recap of what continues for the remaining chapters:
***The hero continues to be cruel and smokes cheroots(it’s the 70’s everyone smokes except the h)
***She does become pregnant unbeknownst to the hero
***The hero has a brush with death, upon which we get a very huge interlude between the h and the brother Jonar. Jonar puts everything out there and the h keeps trying to put him off. At one point he confesses that at his brother’s original wedding to the cousin he had full intention of scoring with the h. He has always seen her worth.
***The hero asks the h to go on a yacht trip with him(we can assume here that he has fallen in love with her, but she is unaware and any falling in love he has done has been off page) She refuses because she doesn’t want the torture of being with the man she loves. Our hero in his asshattery ways tells her no problem, she isn’t the only girl in his life.
***While he takes off on his trip, she decides to flee. Something happens to delay her departure. The H is still gone on his yacht, and the h and brother Jonar go to Athens to take in the sights(and possibly more) Eventually the H tracks her down for their very abrupt HEA.(the story kind of ends which was typical of these early romances)
I profess my love for Jonar, however, seen in a different light he is a little big of a rake for hitting on his brother’s wife. Jonar even admits he wasn’t the best husband to his first wife, and he has a son that he has to be reminded to see by the very jealous nursemaid of the son. Therefore, not a great dad.
I felt a little sad that this story ended so abruptly. Then I read reviews. Thank’s to Vintage’s review, there is a book 2 involving Jonar and we get to see our couple from this book. It is called Love is the Honey So guess what I will be reading next!
February 3, 2022
Fenny is in love with her cousin’s fiancé, but he’s barely ever noticed her. Yet when Penela leaves him at the altar, Fenny steps in, tricking him by pretending to be her cousin at the wedding- and Lion is quite unhappy when he finds out, after they are already wed.
This was a pretty crazysauce premise. Fenny has a bad case of coup de foudre and seizes the chance to become Lion’s wife, even though she knows how bad it is to trick him like that. As such, we get a lot of the hero, who is already a bit of an alphahole, being quite awful to the heroine and the heroine taking nearly all of it without much complaint but with a fair amount of backbone. Interesting relationship dynamics galore!
As this book is told only from Fenny’s point of view, we don’t get to see Lion really softening but it’s clear that he is fascinated by her. The writing was also quite lush and lyrical, creating clear scenes on the page.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but the story loses steam in the second half as Lion vanishes off the page and his brother takes center stage. I just wanted to shoo Zonar away the whole time! Also the ending was way too abrupt – we get our happily ever after, but it comes a bit out of nowhere and I wished Lion had been more present in the lead up to it. Since he’s off page, we have to speculate what precisely went on in his head while he was gone – and I don’t want to have to do that work for myself!
Overall, this was a decent read let down by a weak second half. The characters’ dynamics might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed them.
This was a pretty crazysauce premise. Fenny has a bad case of coup de foudre and seizes the chance to become Lion’s wife, even though she knows how bad it is to trick him like that. As such, we get a lot of the hero, who is already a bit of an alphahole, being quite awful to the heroine and the heroine taking nearly all of it without much complaint but with a fair amount of backbone. Interesting relationship dynamics galore!
As this book is told only from Fenny’s point of view, we don’t get to see Lion really softening but it’s clear that he is fascinated by her. The writing was also quite lush and lyrical, creating clear scenes on the page.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but the story loses steam in the second half as Lion vanishes off the page and his brother takes center stage. I just wanted to shoo Zonar away the whole time! Also the ending was way too abrupt – we get our happily ever after, but it comes a bit out of nowhere and I wished Lion had been more present in the lead up to it. Since he’s off page, we have to speculate what precisely went on in his head while he was gone – and I don’t want to have to do that work for myself!
Overall, this was a decent read let down by a weak second half. The characters’ dynamics might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed them.
May 23, 2018
El protagonista es muy malo, muy cruel, muy todo... la protagonista no tiene nada de carácter y se deja pisotear por el, que cuando le pide perdón le dice si al instante como si no hubiese pasado nada cuando se nota desde el principio el desprecio de él y que nunca se le nota ni gramo de cariño. Suelen gustarme los protagonistas masculinos rudos, pero este es muy demasiado cruel para que me guste.
October 13, 2014
Love the Mills and Boon cover lol! I actually liked this crazy hero but wished the heroine ended up with his brother, they were actually more suited.
No chemistry, waste of a wicked Hero.
No chemistry, waste of a wicked Hero.
Read
April 17, 2017Can't resist these angsty stories
August 30, 2013
There is something in this book that I like, though I cannot put my fingers onto it. I know that the other readers will disagree if I say that, it would have been better if she ended up with Zonar instead? Can't help it though. Aside from the fact that she loved Lion before they got married, there is nothing in the story that mentioned any moment to indicate that he developed any feelings for our heroine; Whereas there are more scene between Fenella and Zonar. I find it weird that after the bombing incident, Lion suddenly wanted to show that he love our heroine (which I didn't even notice until he said it himself -because the author didn't show any scene to indicate that he started to fall for her! Ofcourse, aside from the common knowledge that he enjoys her body! However, physical intimacy is not equal to emotional development.) Alright, to wrap it up, this story could have been a lot better -so full of potential, there are certain characters that could have been explored more; Metre and Adel for example. Zonar's child and his maid could have been given more exposure. Our heroine's cousin could have showed up again too -just to stir everything up. Elaborate scenes (romantic ones that would have showed us that our H cared for our h) could have been constructed to strengthen the bond between the main characters before Violet Winspear dragged us all to an abrupt and lacking HEA. I wouldn't mind it to be longer as long as it is more satisfying.
September 3, 2021
"I would never have chosen you!"
Heraklion spoke with contemptuous cruelty. "However, the fates have worked it so that I find myself your husband. And as you are a fairly presentable female I might as well make the most of you. I must demand yur total submission, awe and respect. It is my right to expect this from you - my wife!"
Wife...the word sent a shock through Fenny. The strange dream shattered and the reality swept over her. As impossible as it seemed, she was indeed the wife of Heraklion Mavraki
Heraklion spoke with contemptuous cruelty. "However, the fates have worked it so that I find myself your husband. And as you are a fairly presentable female I might as well make the most of you. I must demand yur total submission, awe and respect. It is my right to expect this from you - my wife!"
Wife...the word sent a shock through Fenny. The strange dream shattered and the reality swept over her. As impossible as it seemed, she was indeed the wife of Heraklion Mavraki
September 30, 2015
this is one of my favorite harlequin ever
i love it so much
i love it so much
July 14, 2014
قرأتها بعنوان دمية وراء القضبان من روايات عبير القديمة
April 2, 2019
The H was not that hero-worthy and the grovel ending was a bit abrupt.
September 11, 2023
Really? The heroine’s cousin dumps the hero the day before their marriage and the heroine marries him disguised as her cousin.
Of course the hero is furious for the double deception. He is married to a woman he barely knows instead of her more beautiful and glamorous cousin.
Actually the cousin is a slut and a bitch who is screwing an older man who’s also an alcoholic and now she wants to try her luck in broadway as an actress. Classy.
So the hero who is portrayed as a cold, hard and fierce man, is a goon and an idiot who didn’t understand that he was marrying a slut. I always so regret that these stupid idiots never marry the woman who would soon and happily make them the most cuckolded husbands of the year. And maybe she would also have a son who’s not the hero’s son of course. Ah the karma of it. He really deserved it.
Instead he marries the innocent idiot heroine who’s also so in love with him and wants to spare him a humiliation. By the way, he deserved it.
And so now he wants retribution and he plans to use her to have a son, male please, then he would dump her and take her son with him. Sweet.
And the heroine instead of running as fast as she can, wants to stay with him because she’s so in love with him.
But please.
So they have hot and good sex while during the days he keeps abusing and insulting her and of course comparing her unfavorably with her cousin.
He has two brothers, twins, who are quite cringy. One doesn’t like her, the other seems to have all the the brain of the family and understands that her cousin was a nasty bitch and she’s the real deal, so he basically falls in love with her.
I found these three guys quite bizarre, I honestly didn’t like the heroine at all, first of all she was a liar and a cheat to marry the hero who thought he was marrying her cousin, then she was a stupid woman without an ounce of self respect since she allowed that psychopath idiot to abuse her for months.
He was rude, crude and unpleasant. And I’m sorry since it seems so racist to view all greek men like him. We Greek men are not pleasant, he says. Really? Thank the fuck.
The brother was the only one with some spark of intelligence and I hoped he and the heroine fell in love.
Wishful thinking.
She gets pregnant and because of her idiot behavior she has an accident and loses the child.
The hero, in all this, is somewhere, who knows where nobody can trace him. And eventually there are two lines of a pathetic declaration of love where he tells her he wants her and not children. Seems she’s not able to have children without risking her life. Thank god this bloodline of idiots won’t be reproduced. Awful plot, beautiful writing style but too emphatic, no one nowadays speaks like that.
Most disagreeable characters ever.
He deserved her cousin, she deserved to be treated that way. Oh, I was forgetting that the hero at some point physically abuses her, throwing forcefully against an iron balaustre so she’s severely bruised. Not at all.
Very nice that he didn’t fuck her cousin and the heroine is so relieved, seems he was the only man around who couldn’t shag her. What a jinx.
The cousin is often named but never seen. Didn’t miss another awful character.
Of course the hero is furious for the double deception. He is married to a woman he barely knows instead of her more beautiful and glamorous cousin.
Actually the cousin is a slut and a bitch who is screwing an older man who’s also an alcoholic and now she wants to try her luck in broadway as an actress. Classy.
So the hero who is portrayed as a cold, hard and fierce man, is a goon and an idiot who didn’t understand that he was marrying a slut. I always so regret that these stupid idiots never marry the woman who would soon and happily make them the most cuckolded husbands of the year. And maybe she would also have a son who’s not the hero’s son of course. Ah the karma of it. He really deserved it.
Instead he marries the innocent idiot heroine who’s also so in love with him and wants to spare him a humiliation. By the way, he deserved it.
And so now he wants retribution and he plans to use her to have a son, male please, then he would dump her and take her son with him. Sweet.
And the heroine instead of running as fast as she can, wants to stay with him because she’s so in love with him.
But please.
So they have hot and good sex while during the days he keeps abusing and insulting her and of course comparing her unfavorably with her cousin.
He has two brothers, twins, who are quite cringy. One doesn’t like her, the other seems to have all the the brain of the family and understands that her cousin was a nasty bitch and she’s the real deal, so he basically falls in love with her.
I found these three guys quite bizarre, I honestly didn’t like the heroine at all, first of all she was a liar and a cheat to marry the hero who thought he was marrying her cousin, then she was a stupid woman without an ounce of self respect since she allowed that psychopath idiot to abuse her for months.
He was rude, crude and unpleasant. And I’m sorry since it seems so racist to view all greek men like him. We Greek men are not pleasant, he says. Really? Thank the fuck.
The brother was the only one with some spark of intelligence and I hoped he and the heroine fell in love.
Wishful thinking.
She gets pregnant and because of her idiot behavior she has an accident and loses the child.
The hero, in all this, is somewhere, who knows where nobody can trace him. And eventually there are two lines of a pathetic declaration of love where he tells her he wants her and not children. Seems she’s not able to have children without risking her life. Thank god this bloodline of idiots won’t be reproduced. Awful plot, beautiful writing style but too emphatic, no one nowadays speaks like that.
Most disagreeable characters ever.
He deserved her cousin, she deserved to be treated that way. Oh, I was forgetting that the hero at some point physically abuses her, throwing forcefully against an iron balaustre so she’s severely bruised. Not at all.
Very nice that he didn’t fuck her cousin and the heroine is so relieved, seems he was the only man around who couldn’t shag her. What a jinx.
The cousin is often named but never seen. Didn’t miss another awful character.
November 16, 2020
Wow just wow!!!
That book was so bad: a prime case of so bad it is good lol, with a darkly dark manly man and his creamy white angelic woman -_-
Seriously I don't even know where to start... Let'see, the male MC, Lion, is greek.
150 times!! This is how many times the word GREEK was used in that shitty book.
The author would not let us readers forget that Lion was greek, absolutely not!
And the stereotypes? My God look at this:
"Women can be so emotional, and Greek women at least like to be dominated and taken care of. Any Grecian girl will tell you that she lives to bear a son and to see him grow into a hard, proud man."
Or "The wife of a Greek doesn't look at other men unless she wants a beating. We have a saying, beat your woman as you beat your sheepskin rug."
I don't know a lot of greek men, but that book was painting them as brutes and it was not making me swoon.
Lion was just stupid! He was just fantasizing about rape all the time
"'Resistance only adds to the sport,' he taunted her. 'I never did like the cold, passive type, and it matters not all to me that this excess of emotion is not that of a woman passionately in love. Your struggles only add to the attractive disorder of your person, and inevitably you will tire before I do."
Or "You will pay me back with a son, and I don't much care if you are willing or not. The brides of Sparta were usually taken by force.'"
I couldn't even be mad because I was laughing at how stupid and extreme the book was. Look at the author describing how he took care of his brothers after their parents died:
"You will do as I tell you with regard to my brothers, for they are closer to my heart than any woman could ever be. I cared for them when they were infants, after our parents were killed by bombs. I raked in the very soil for half-rotten turnips so they wouldn't go completely hungry, and when they grew up I was able to give them the kind of education I couldn't have myself."
How dramatic and ridiculous!
The man was not a prize. But the woman was even worse!! Fennella aka Fenny was such a doormat. She took her cousin Pennella's place when she jilted Lion before the wedding, with a note left behind. I can understand why he was mad because it was not Fenny's choice to decide his fate, she didn't have to masquerade as Pennella to shield him from the shame.
But once the guy tells you he will make your life hell (reasonably so!!) just move out!! She asked for an annulment he refused, but she still stuck around, taking his abuse and feeling it deserved.
At one point he was threatening to break her neck, and she was looking at his arms thinking how firm and strong they looked so that it would have been heaven to lean her tired head against them.
She also thought that she was "his to kiss or beat, to hold or discard"
An absolute doormat you can't even feel sorry for...
0 stars for real! Just read it if you want a good laugh while shaking your head lol
That book was so bad: a prime case of so bad it is good lol, with a darkly dark manly man and his creamy white angelic woman -_-
Seriously I don't even know where to start... Let'see, the male MC, Lion, is greek.
150 times!! This is how many times the word GREEK was used in that shitty book.
The author would not let us readers forget that Lion was greek, absolutely not!
And the stereotypes? My God look at this:
"Women can be so emotional, and Greek women at least like to be dominated and taken care of. Any Grecian girl will tell you that she lives to bear a son and to see him grow into a hard, proud man."
Or "The wife of a Greek doesn't look at other men unless she wants a beating. We have a saying, beat your woman as you beat your sheepskin rug."
I don't know a lot of greek men, but that book was painting them as brutes and it was not making me swoon.
Lion was just stupid! He was just fantasizing about rape all the time
"'Resistance only adds to the sport,' he taunted her. 'I never did like the cold, passive type, and it matters not all to me that this excess of emotion is not that of a woman passionately in love. Your struggles only add to the attractive disorder of your person, and inevitably you will tire before I do."
Or "You will pay me back with a son, and I don't much care if you are willing or not. The brides of Sparta were usually taken by force.'"
I couldn't even be mad because I was laughing at how stupid and extreme the book was. Look at the author describing how he took care of his brothers after their parents died:
"You will do as I tell you with regard to my brothers, for they are closer to my heart than any woman could ever be. I cared for them when they were infants, after our parents were killed by bombs. I raked in the very soil for half-rotten turnips so they wouldn't go completely hungry, and when they grew up I was able to give them the kind of education I couldn't have myself."
How dramatic and ridiculous!
The man was not a prize. But the woman was even worse!! Fennella aka Fenny was such a doormat. She took her cousin Pennella's place when she jilted Lion before the wedding, with a note left behind. I can understand why he was mad because it was not Fenny's choice to decide his fate, she didn't have to masquerade as Pennella to shield him from the shame.
But once the guy tells you he will make your life hell (reasonably so!!) just move out!! She asked for an annulment he refused, but she still stuck around, taking his abuse and feeling it deserved.
At one point he was threatening to break her neck, and she was looking at his arms thinking how firm and strong they looked so that it would have been heaven to lean her tired head against them.
She also thought that she was "his to kiss or beat, to hold or discard"
An absolute doormat you can't even feel sorry for...
0 stars for real! Just read it if you want a good laugh while shaking your head lol
May 19, 2022
This was written during the middle of the 1970s so the general mindset for women's roles was not as equal as now... as was could be found in this book. Cloistered as a nun, Fenella or Fenny, was the poor relation in her Uncle's household while her sluttish cousin, Penela was her much indulged cousin and daughter of the house. One day, Penny brought home her latest conquest, the Greek tycoon Heraklion Mavrakis or Lion and unwittingly embroiled Fenny into an innocent forbidden love. Penela and Lion were soon engaged yet she left him on her wedding day for a Hollywood role arranged by her producer~lover. To save Lion from embarrassment and out of her secret affections for her cousin's fiancé, Fenny took the runaway bride's place and married Lion. His anger was naturally inevitable... Fenny was to produce a son and then leave Lion's Greek island of butterflies and her son behind... that was the wrathful bargain Lion made with her. I read this in high school and I did appreciate this author's poetic play with words and as a re~read, it took me back to those carefree and happy days in a girl's life* with Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Emily Loring, Barbara Cartland and the various Mills & Boon books... later came Mario Puzo, Erwin Shaw, Robert Ludlum, Irving Wallace, Taylor Caldwell, James Clavell, Arthur Hailey and others during that timeline. Georgette Heyer made me dwell and wallow in the Georgian and the Regency period combining history, wit and mordant humor in her romances... after that, historical romances and mysteries, mostly in retro~settings, were my go~to reads.
* It must be mentioned here that English is just my second language... so one could just imagine the happy times I devoured the words and vicariously absorbed the atmosphere of every virtual world those books took me.
* It must be mentioned here that English is just my second language... so one could just imagine the happy times I devoured the words and vicariously absorbed the atmosphere of every virtual world those books took me.
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