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Never Call It Loving
Betrothed to Cameron Buchanan sight unseen, royal ward Marisa Fitzgerald meets her future husband for the first time at the altar and finds him horribly scarred, the victim of his enemies' savage torture. Original.
438 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1993
4 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Gail Link
18 books9 followers Gail Link is an award-winning author of both historical and contemporary romances. She’s also a part-time bookseller (what better place for a writer to work?) who loves musical theatre (especially Phantom of the Opera) and the movies.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 27, 2018
I hated this book. The so called hero went to a whore on his wedding night. I threw this book in the trash. I will never read another book by this author.
August 4, 2020
very disappointed.
i ordered this book from amazon used bks because i adore reading about tortured heroes who find love & happiness from a brave smart loving heroine. i couldnt feel for either of these characters. they were both one dimensional & unlikable. hes got a big chip on his shoulder. he was once handsome & adored by women which he in turn enjoyed. he was a spy caught & tortured by an enemy woman. he was horribly disfigured & left partially lame & in pain. his mother screamed upon seeing him & hid away. i get it. but then he gets a beautiful rich virgin wife as a thank you from his service to king charles. but he treats his wife with rudeness, snarky comments, & changing mood swings from hot & cold that made me want to slap him & tell him to grow up & stop playing games. ie. he plays cat & mouse games w/her. its just annoying & tiresome. he kisses her deeply, fondles her, gets her all hot then just leaves with a off hand comment??!!! why? because of his disfigurement? shes already seen him & accepted him. because he doesnt trust her? he already accepted her as his wife so he could have at least been cordial...he wasnt at all. from the first moment, he was an ogre. then on their wedding night, she comes to him naked & welcoming & he walks out. he says "i'll take her, but on my own terms, when im ready." wt?! who does that?! esp in that period of history. it was all about consummation to make a marriage binding & had nothing to do with love or feelings. so it made no sense. & if it makes no sense, its unbelievable & you already lost me.
she in turn is very pragmatic. so much so, that she comes off as a cardboard figure without any vulnerabilities or feelings herself.
the story was too long & boring, i found myself skimming thru pages; whereas in a really good book, i will reread pages to let the passion, angst & drama sink in my romantic soul. ahhh...i dont want it to end. but nope, not in this one. no passion, no angst, no thrilling moments of that realization that they would die w/o each other. oh, the words are there but as a reader i felt nothing. i couldnt wait to get it over with. i have to read to the end. even bad books. i have to KNOW.
anyway, this book was for the donation bin. maybe someone else will enjoy it. * let me just add a book from my keepers if youre looking for a great hist romance bk with tortured hero(ptsd) with beautiful savvy heroine, angst,loving,intrigue, aahh sigh moments & a hero&heroine you'll adore....gaelen foley's lord of ice. theres more in my library if youre interested...
i ordered this book from amazon used bks because i adore reading about tortured heroes who find love & happiness from a brave smart loving heroine. i couldnt feel for either of these characters. they were both one dimensional & unlikable. hes got a big chip on his shoulder. he was once handsome & adored by women which he in turn enjoyed. he was a spy caught & tortured by an enemy woman. he was horribly disfigured & left partially lame & in pain. his mother screamed upon seeing him & hid away. i get it. but then he gets a beautiful rich virgin wife as a thank you from his service to king charles. but he treats his wife with rudeness, snarky comments, & changing mood swings from hot & cold that made me want to slap him & tell him to grow up & stop playing games. ie. he plays cat & mouse games w/her. its just annoying & tiresome. he kisses her deeply, fondles her, gets her all hot then just leaves with a off hand comment??!!! why? because of his disfigurement? shes already seen him & accepted him. because he doesnt trust her? he already accepted her as his wife so he could have at least been cordial...he wasnt at all. from the first moment, he was an ogre. then on their wedding night, she comes to him naked & welcoming & he walks out. he says "i'll take her, but on my own terms, when im ready." wt?! who does that?! esp in that period of history. it was all about consummation to make a marriage binding & had nothing to do with love or feelings. so it made no sense. & if it makes no sense, its unbelievable & you already lost me.
she in turn is very pragmatic. so much so, that she comes off as a cardboard figure without any vulnerabilities or feelings herself.
the story was too long & boring, i found myself skimming thru pages; whereas in a really good book, i will reread pages to let the passion, angst & drama sink in my romantic soul. ahhh...i dont want it to end. but nope, not in this one. no passion, no angst, no thrilling moments of that realization that they would die w/o each other. oh, the words are there but as a reader i felt nothing. i couldnt wait to get it over with. i have to read to the end. even bad books. i have to KNOW.
anyway, this book was for the donation bin. maybe someone else will enjoy it. * let me just add a book from my keepers if youre looking for a great hist romance bk with tortured hero(ptsd) with beautiful savvy heroine, angst,loving,intrigue, aahh sigh moments & a hero&heroine you'll adore....gaelen foley's lord of ice. theres more in my library if youre interested...
August 5, 2025
Entertaining and then it got boring she found a way to bring your interest back.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews