Lovers Not Friends

by Helen Brooks

Lovers Not Friends by Helen Brooks released on Jun 24, 2003 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Contemporary

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a highly successful American Tycoon with a black reputation for ruthlessness that bordered on the extreme falls in love first sight in the innocent secretary.She falls for him too,and it doesn`t take long til this hard Alpha confesses his undying love for her,he courts her and then swoops her off her feet with marriage-they have a three month marriage filled with blistering love,happiness and never ending passion. They are true soulmates.But his wife gets to know something horrible and runs off from him without any explanation at all. The only thing she left to this now deadly heartbroken man is a small note saying "our marriage doesn`t work out...bla bla bla".Three months later this man has found her. A man stark with jealous rage and unstoppable pain full intent on taking his beloved wife back...and what she does is destroying him into tiny pieces every time she mentions divorce,lets him thinking that she had an affair with another man (he would have killed him if it weren`t for the OM being cripple),telling him to get over their marriage with another woman-and what does he answer to that!?He could have tried to make her jealous,but he tells her instantly and clearly that he takes their marriage vows seriously and makes it clear that he never would even think about bedding another woman, and she lets him suffer...suffer...suffer!And what does this hplandia hero do?This Alpha man who in fact lives and breathes his love for her...he fights inch and every bit for her..never giving up.

Blade Forbes-what a true hero...a true worthy Alpha-man and oh so deliciously sexy!These 5-STARS are mostly for him,and the love-story between Blade and Amy...i actually cried at the end!One of my very favourites now,"Lovers Not Friends" is a highly Unforgettable Keeper!One i will never forget...

[AvidReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear god the hero... what a fantastically determined man!!! His love for heroine, his persistence and belief in their love and marriage was beautiful.
Now don’t get me wrong, he was sometimes cold, hurtful and furious but through that all I could detect his bewilderment and hurt. They were wildly happy and madly in love when heroine suddenly left him and asked for divorce.
And the heroine, she sacrificed all her happiness for him. At times I was impatient with her resistance and in turn his coldness, only because I wanted badly to read what happens next.
The revelation in final chapter was unexpected.
If you want to read a second chance romance with strong emotional scenes and mature and lovable MC’s I recommend you this.
Completely safe.

[JennyG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the hero! He is worth recommending this book. He was cruel at the beginning but with good reason. On the other hand the heroine, Amy, is TSTL. She is one of those heroines that act before they think, self-sacrificing and self-pitying. A sister who has always hated her tells Amy that Amy has a hereditary, terminal disease that will make her whither and die. Our heroine Amy never checks with the doctor whether that is true. Instead she just runs away from the hero. Why do the writers have to make heroine stupid in order to create angstyness?

[Verity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless I blinked & missed it, wot's the name of the matrimony-killing disease ? The ending kinda sucked the juices outta the story cuz it was such a cop out, but it's HP, after all. The heroine didn't consult numerous specialists or her hubby & just accepted her evil sista's word that she'd expire slowly & painfully. The same venomous viper who didn't wanna have anyfink to do w/ heroine. Hard to believe heroine could be that gullible to accept her death sentence so meekly. So the heroine alone is worth 1* for being so naive & the persistent knight in wounded armor gets 7*. He says the most swoon-worthy lines evah, so read it just for the luvsick hero who's literally the epitome of rescuer of damsel perpetually in distress.

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect dream H with an idiot goodie Mary Sue h! C'est la vie!

[Jena · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 50%. This book is extremely repetitive….
Got tired of the same 3 sentences said in different ways for half the book, I was bored out of my mind.

She left him.
She thinks she has some illness.
He kept asking why she left.
And the rest of the book is this moron not telling him the truth.

Thin plot, tstl h.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heroine was so stupid for leaving her husband. Her reasons were totally ridiculous!

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand it reminds me of old school Harlequins with the jerk male and yet he wasn't really a jerk after all. And the heroine totally, totally, totally annoyed me as in I wanted to slam her head on a hard surface repeatedly until her stupidity fell out! She was awful. She made me so frustrated and furious during the book, I finally understood how someone could end up on Snapped. Only I would get off Scot free due to justifiable homicide. She really didn't deserve him. He really did love her and yes at times I was irritated with him but he was forced into it by the totally idiotic moves of the heroine. Let him think She was having an affair instead of telling him she was sick??? Come on. That is so cruel. That will hurt him far worse and how could you do that to someone you supposedly love!!! Again I wanted to slam her head against a very hard surface. Repeatedly. She ruined the book for me because all I could think about was how could I kill her. Yes I may be a Psychopath but it was Harlequin induced. Treatable with Boogie's mind numbing Captain Morgan. I may have to have a consult.

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy and Blade marry and are living the dream of happily ever after, when her sister brutally tells her that she will succumb to a horrible disease (hereditary) that will leave her twisted and paralyzed in a wheelchair gasping for her last breath. Heroine flees the marriage not wanting to put the hero through the torture of this terrible disease. The story is about the hero refusing to accept that what they had was worth tossing aside and hunts down our heroine.

This is an incredibly intense read that grips you right from the start. The hero was a bit brutal for my taste, but I loved the way he was out of his mind in love with the heroine and I especially liked how he came to her defense when she was in a dangerous situation.

On a more serious note, the disease that was referenced appeared to me to be Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease in North America, after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939. The cause is said to be genetic so I thought the way the author wove the disease into the story and out of the story was very credible. It also led credence to why the heroine fled. It is a brutal ending and one very painful for the families to endure.

If you enjoyed this touching love story, I would also highly recommend Joy Fielding's "The First Time". It is one of my all time favorite books. Though, unlike HPs, where there is always a happy ending, it will move you with an unforgettable passion and love.

[Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intense emotional second chance story,it kept me glued from pg 1 till last,was not able to get put down i had to know what happens next.Blade was determined to find out what happened why did his wife Amy leave all of a sudden,he did not believe the craps of the reasons Amy was giving him,he kept on trying.Although it took almost all the book for the truth to come out, when he found out why she left him, Blade confronted her on not trusting him and the love he had for her

Blade's bitterness-anger-distrust is understandable,they were happy loved each other deeply and then all of a sudden Amy leaves which shook him,i liked the way he wanted to find the reason and he still respected their marriage vows

Amy she deeply loved Blade and when she found out she would have a disease that would affect her muscles and she would become ugly,she felt Blade wouldn't love her after she started showing the affects of this disease.On top of that Sandra(her sister)she has been bitter and jealous with Amy cause she was so beautiful and Sandra had the disease early and it had started affecting her muscles when Amy goes to meet her she also says now that ricj husband of your will not love you and you will be as ugly as me which made Amy think that her decision of leaving Blade is the right decision

Overall a very good read

[Bookaddict]

Could not go on after finding out the reason for leaving Husband. How STUPID can she be!

[3houd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy and Blade are a happily newly wedded couple. Upon a visit to her evil sister, Amy comes to the shocking piece of news that her elder sister is crippled by a "mysterious" hereditary disease that effects only the female line (of course it does!). So, without any warning she leaves her loving husband leaving behind no more than a pathetic note. Blade, unable to accept her departure searches for her until he finds her. Then, he starts following her around asking for answers while believing the worst about her.
Well, the hero was very very lovable. He was kind and strong, loving and very considerate. The heroine on the other hand was too stupid to be real. What kind of person would accept that they are terminally ill and on the verge of death, without even consulting with a freaking doctor!! Dragging her husband in this stupid fiesta. Seriously, why do writers make heroines this stupid only to create trouble in paradise? there must be some other way.
All in all, the book was a good read. Old is indeed gold.

[Kiki]

TSTL heroine, paired with a hero without a shred of humanity who claims to love each other! What not to love!
Thanks but no thanks, these two won't know love if it smacks them straight on the face. I love myself far too much to torture myself with this book!

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the best of this author. Normally I like her books.
This one is repetitive and boring.
The author should also have built her story of diseases on a stronger reason that could make it believable why h thought she had the incurable genetic diseases. Having a sister with a genetic diseases does not mean that all siblings will be affiliated with the same gene that causes the diseases. Eye color and height like many other physical attributes are genetic but that doesn't make all siblings to have the same eye color or all of them have the same height. I am sure author knows that. Then why does she creates an h who is basically is an idiot?

[Roub · Rating 1 out of 5]

i felt very disgusted by the way amy tortured blade! i was even more gobsmacked when i learned it had all been for nothing ! she was really terrible and a catastrophe waiting to happen !if u want my opinion ! people dunt end their marriage on a whim like SHE DID !

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The besotted, determined H is a million stars, but the h is TSTL and weak, so that’s why it’s not 5 stars.

Her sister - who hates her - tells her about the illness she has and without ever consulting a doctor, the h believes that in the future she will get the same illness as her sister. She runs from her marriage with the H because she couldn’t bear seeing him trapped with her in a marriage and see pity in his eyes when she gets sick.

In the end of the book he credits her for being strong and selfless. But I think she is actually weak for running away because she couldn’t bear to see him suffer. Weak for not taking a chance and for not telling him the truth.

Ultimately it is all about her, about what she can bear to see and what not, and her act of running away from him isn’t to protect the H but to protect herself.

Anyway, besides being stupid for not consulting a doctor, she also has a severe case of treacherous body syndrome. It was annoying how easily she gave in every time to his kisses.

She has no backbone. She was always afraid of the H. Always frightened in his presence.

On a side note. I am a big fan of Helen Brooks HP’s. I have kept a number of them for a re-read. All her h’s are beautiful blondes, have blue eyes and are ultra thin. I have noticed that, but it didn’t disturb me until reading this book.

It seems like every other page we are reminded that the h has golden hair and that she is such a heartbreaking beauty. 🙄

But what really annoyed me, was the description of the evil sister’s looks. The evil sister is a woman with brown hair and brown eyes and Brooks describes her almost as an ugly dark troll jealous of the h’s golden beauty.

Being a woman with dark hair and dark eyes I felt offended by that. After reading so many references to the h’s beautiful golden hair, I don’t feel that it is a coincidence that the evil sister has brown hair.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a heart wrenching read. At least by the way it seemed. But underneath it was about two people slightly bent (not broken). Two people who love but because of their backgrounds and never knew the unconditional love and safe home life they gave people the security to let others in and help them share the burdens. Thus handicapping them.

The main male character at least had the fortitude to not let go and fight tooth and nail for his love and their future.

Our main female character thinks by running she can alleviate the pain and sorrow that the main male character will feel.

This story is their journey, while they learn what the vows they made really mean and how taking the journey together is better than going it alone.

The HEA is sweet and the love they feel almost radiate off the page.

[Lenore Kosinski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another book I found and knew I had read but couldn't remember if I liked it or not....well, it was NOT. It's so weird too, b/c I actually tend to really enjoy Helen Brooks books, and have kept quite a few (I have a spreadsheet, b/c I'm big ballin' like that and I double checked). So I'm not sure if this is just an anomaly or what, but I seriously HATED this book. Hated the characters, hated the situation... Blade was borderline abusive!! Honestly, I could barely get through it the second time, but I wanted to remember how it ended. The ending was better, but seriously...seriously...

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que bonita historia, me gusto mucho y la disfrute.

[Elektragedia · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gusto y mucho, no lo niego es de esos libros que quieres baber que pasa adelante, me gusta la historia de que ellos estan casados y no que e van a casar

[ANGELIA · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one f----d up story!

This falls under the heading of "noble idiot", a term I heard when I watched Korean dramas, and one of the characters would break up with their true love for what they considered was a good reason and for the best and make their beloved think they no longer cared, so they'd move on and be happy. The reason usually had to do with the health of the person making the sacrifice, and them not wanting to put their loved one through the trauma of watching them die after a long and miserable illness, and not wanting them to feel obligated to stay with them out of duty or pity. It's noble, but also idiotic, and not fair to make this decision unilaterally, when you're supposed to be a team, especially if you're married and took those "sickness and health" vows.

Such is the case here, with the noble idiot h getting what she thinks is a future death sentence and not wanting her beloved husband to watch her debilitate and die over a period of years. (From what she gathers, she'll have a few more years before the disease strikes, and then it's downhill from then on, about another three or four years until then end.) Also, he wants children, and she wants him to be free to find a woman who can give them to him, so while he's away on a business trip she leaves the H a "Dear John" letter, saying that their marriage was a mistake (they'd only been married a few months), better to realize it now instead of later, etc. and she disappears!

Thank goodness, this wasn't one of those ridiculous "she's gone for years, and the multimillionaire husband with all his power and connections can't find her"; it's only a few months until he does! Then, there's a lot of her trying to deny she still loves him and is happier on her own (like anyone's going to believe she 'd rather be a waitress in a small town and live in a boarding house than be married to a millionaire, only work if she wants to and have all the perks of that lifestyle, my FOOT). Meanwhile, he waffles between puzzlement at what he considers is irrational behavior, and anger at what he believes is betrayal, as there's the OM to add both jealousy and drama.

This is where the h was being selfish, though unwittingly. When she decided to leave, she needed somewhere to go and decided to be where she knew someone, in this case the OM, who had been a friend since college, and who she had no idea had been in love with her for quite some time. He was the kind of OM I like, a nice guy without being a beta wimp, and also not the type to either force his feelings on her or pressure her to forget the H and be with him, two scenarios that happen too often. In fact, without knowing any details, he tried to convince her to give her marriage another chance, and only told her how he felt when she seemed determined to end things with the H, and he thought there might be something really wrong (like another woman or some kind of abuse) where she'd be better off divorced. He didn't back down from the H's anger (good thing the OM had a broken ankle from a climbing fall, otherwise the H might have broken all his other bones), and while he denied an affair with the h (truthfully stating they were just friends), he didn't deny he had feelings for her, either. The poor guy got sucked into this mess and he didn't deserve all the trouble. I think both the H and h owed him an apology at the end, but that didn't happen, as he disappeared from story without getting his due.

Most of what you get is the H sticking around in the small village, helping the h's elderly landlady with her landscaping, while making it clear to the h that he wasn't buying her story (despite moments of being hurt when she tries hard to convince him she no longer cares) and knows there's a lot more to her situation that he's determined to find out.

There's a scene in the restaurant where a tough bunch of guys cause trouble and the H comes to the rescue that really wasn't necessary, except to show how the H - despite his being a wealthy businessman who moves in high social circles - never forgot his tough working-class background, which helped make him who he became. There's also a sad reference to his late mother that the h should have known about earlier, as it might have made a difference in the decision she made.

What's really crummy is that when they first got married, she was able to open up to him and talk about things and feelings she had bottled up inside, and he started to do the same. They developed a profound connection that went far beyond their intense physical attraction. Yet, she was willing to toss that all aside in the name of this stupid sacrifice she felt she had to make.

The author really goofs up with the source of the h's info about her supposed death sentence. It comes from her horrible, jealous vindictive bitch of an older sister, who suffers from the same sentence (good, I might add) and enjoyed telling the h of all the misery she'll soon have to face! Why didn't she already know about this, since her mother died from it when she was a little girl????

The sisters were separated after they were orphaned, and the h lives with a warped aunt and uncle who made her feel guilty for having a pretty face (vanity, temptation of the devil, and all the other nonsense), which influenced her decision as well, as she thought part of the H's love for her was her looks and when she got sick and those looks disappeared, how would he stand it? This shows how little she really knew the H and it's kind of insulting; does she really think he's that shallow???

The h never stops to question the diagnosis, taking her miserable mess of a sister's word for it rather than got to a doctor and get it verified, a definite WTF!!!!! moment. What nincompoop just takes it for granted that they're going to die from a debilitating disease (sounds like a form of MS or Huntington's or whatever), and tanks her marriage without verification? This nincompoop h, that's who!!

And BTW: since she believed (and rightfully so) that since she walked out on the H, she had no right to ask for any $$$, just how did she expect to take care of medical bills when this disease came on full force? Also, she was thinking in the few years she had before the disease kicked in that she should try and see some of the world. How? She was waitressing to make some money to live on, so there wouldn't be much to travel with. And in private, she'd give way to her misery without the H, so how much fun would she have traveling without him even if she did have the money?

So damn DUMB!!

And then (and I'm proud to admit, without the least bit of conceit, that I guessed the truth almost immediately), after the H FINALLY gets the truth out of Ms. Stubborn/Nincompoop, he does what she should have had the sense to do: gets the story checked out, finds out the h was ADOPTED, that sister/bitch knew it all the time and didn't tell her just for spite, so she'd be miserable, thinking she'd end up the same way! (By the time the h found out, s/b would be dead, so what the heck?) Unbelievable!

Equally unbelievable is the story of her adoption! It seems her bio mom was the friend of her adoptive mom, who got the hots for another guy while her hubby was working in another country, got knocked up, chickened out of getting rid of her mistake, knew she couldn't convince hubby he put the bun in her oven, traveled to yet another country with her friend and friend's daughter (sister/bitch), had the baby, gave it to her friend, who convinced her husband to adopt her, since this little baby girl was so much prettier than the Plain Jane bio daughter they got stuck with!

UNBELIEVABLE!!! It explains why sister became a bitch, though it doesn't excuse it. Glad both moms also got what they deserved: adopted mom died from the disease and bio mom was killed in an accident shortly after giving the baby away. (I'm hoping her husband caused it.)

And there you have it: one ridiculous mess! If I were the H, I think I would have wanted to end the marriage, since who wants to be with someone who thinks so little of your character that they'd believe you took marriage vows lightly, wouldn't want them anymore if they didn't look gorgeous, and above all, made a decision a married person has no right to make on their own! All his talk of the two of them being soulmates, how they belong together forever, etc., should have been saved for a more worthy partner.

I suggest you skip this one!!

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really just a two star read, because the heroine is such an idiot. But she's young so it's a bit more forgivable.

I view this story as a couple of months in the life of the couple, where the wife listens to her hate riddled sister, doesn't even bother to check facts. Assumes she has an incurable decease without going to any doctors. In her (unfounded) depression she runs away from her husband without leaving any explanation. So hubby has to track her down and eventually pry the info from her. Like getting blood from a stone. I gave it an extra star because the poor hubby hung in there and supported her anyway. Also in the end, all that torment was for nothing, and I felt hopeful for the couple's future so that's why the additional star.

[Hemavathy DM Suppiah-Devi · Rating 1 out of 5]

A dull story that I had to force myself to finish. There was precious little romance too. Most of the book has Blake huffing and puffing and threatening to blow Amy's metaphorical house down. And Amy spends all her time looking sad and keeping silent and feeling sorry for herself because she has done disease that is never names, and being a dumb wife who ran away instead of talking to her husband because her husband insisted on the flowers being changed daily! And there wouldn't have even been a first chapter of Amy has just gotten a medical check up done on herself. This was one of the few books were the hero was clearly much better off without the heroine.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy & Blade

Wao! I love this type of stories where the plot is much more than a romance, more dramatic and believable. Amy and Blade were living their HEA in marriage bliss when her terminally ill sister drops a bombshell and destroys Amy's future dreams with her beloved husband and leaves. It takes Blade till the end of the book to finally find out the truth behain her reasons for abandon him and their marriage. And when he does he will do anything to stay with her until the end. This was a very intense rollercoaster of emotions. Highly recommended.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can’t read this offal. She’s stupid. Her sister tells her that she will get the same wasting disease that is slowly killing sis, but instead of going to doctor to confirm h leaves her husband, the H. H is creepy, overly possessive and domineering, at least verbally. She does not give H the opportunity to be with her as she (supposedly) dies which is grossly unfair.

I got about halfway then skipped to end to find out what miracle would save her.

Ugh.

[Aswathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the good books for those who crave romance stories. Nice plot ( obviously very predictable) , dashing hero and self sacrificing heroine. I enjoyed their tug of war. One of those small quick read books.

[aarya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was compelling in a "I am analyzing a 90s historical artifact" way. DO NOT read this because it is appallingly ableist (though strangely decent on consent). I wish Brooks had written less problematic plots because she's incredible at martial angst. Read via library.

[HannahTel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring!

[Luz Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entretenida.

[Jiggyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so obsessed with the love hate drama between these two. He was so intense and playful and she was so in love with him. I recommend this book. It was a good read