Дръзка любов

Australian Trilogy #1

by Connie Mason

Сидни, Австралия, началото на XIX век…

Червенокосата Кейси О’Кейн е в затвора за убийство. Единствената й възможност да се измъкне от там е да бъде поверена на някой господар, при когото да бъде едва ли не робиня…

Кейси попада при арогантния Деър Пенрод, който още в началото й дава да разбере какво се очаква от нея.

Но най-неочаквано между двамата пламва една дръзка любов…

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Australia, Historical Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

About the author

Connie Mason or Cara Miles is the best-selling author of more than fifty historical romances and novellas. Her tales of passion and adventure are set in exotic as well as American locales. Connie was named Story Teller of the Year in 1990 by Romantic Times and was awarded Career Achievement award in the Western category by Romantic Times in 1994. Connie makes her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida with her husband Jerry.

Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker. Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams.

In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry. Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.

In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman. In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing with her husband.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sydney the year 1807

Dare Penrod arrived in Sydney from England as a settler in 1792 at the age of fifteen accompanied by his parents and younger brother.
He looked and acted as if he had been born and raised in Australia.
He was now a thirty year old very handsome and dynamic man, very popular with the ladies.

Dare's father was granted by the government 5,000 acres of land shortly after their arrival.
The land lay on the Parramatta River near the newly constructed town of Parramatta.
( This is exciting to me! I shop at Parramatta Westfield! It's like this story is unfolding in my neighbourhood, only 200 years ago! )
They grew wheat and corn and had a lot of sheep.
Many transported convicts were working on the Penrod land.

The book started with Dare and his father trying to choose a female convict to work in their house.
The newly arrived convicts were kept at the New South Wales Corps.
Dare said "You have not much to choose from, father. Felons, thieves, whores, the lot of them look half-starved as well as infested with vermin and God knows what disease".

There was a girl that the Lieutenant was abusing. Dare turned his attention to the pitiful lass struggling in Lieutenant's grip. Much of her features were obscured by mud and filth but he could see that she was young. Her clothes were no better than rags and she may as well have been barefoot for all the good her worn shoes did her. She was too slender but what there was of her was not displeasing.
Something about her disturbed him and he didn't like the feeling. Why should one glance from a hardened criminal and probably a whore, so completely unnerrve him?

His father chose her and Dare strongly objected " Father, the girl killed once, and is likely to do so again. Do you want that kind of woman in your household? According to the Lieutenant we wont be safe in our beds ".
"Look at her, Dare, Casey doesn't look as if she could hurt a fly. If she killed she must have had good reason ".
"Bring her home father, and she'll corrupt all our workers with her whoring ways "
"I am not a whore!" Casey objected "l killed a man, but it was an accident. I never meant for him to die ".
The father insisted in spite of Dare's protestations.

Dare and Casey got off on the wrong foot but once Casey was at their house to work out her seven year indentured sentence and he saw her all cleaned up wearing proper clothes, he thought that she was the most beautiful woman. He also thought that his widowed father and younger brother were vulnerable to her wiles.
He decided to feign interest in her so she might leave his father and brother alone.
Thus began their romance!

Dare soon discovered that Casey was a virgin not a whore, and there was a great passion between them. Casey loved him but she thought that for him it was only lust and there were a number of women who wanted him, including ex lovers.
There was a "snake" at the house that was plotting the heroine's downfall, there's danger, abduction, adventure, horrific events, tragedy, one of the main characters married another, the other one ran away, there's a year's long separation, one thought that the other one was dead, a whole lot of situations and obstacles that they had to face and overcome.
If anyone is interested in this book please read Chrisangel's and Nessa's reviews. They are much better than mine!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read: 11/10/25
Setting: 1807 Sydney, Australia, England
Trope: second chances, enemies to lovers, forced marriage.
4.5 stars

Wow! What a fantastic, entertaining ride! I couldn't put it down. The book covers the lives of the convicts and the harsh treatment they that had to endure. Casey's story shows the horror and the beauty of Australia in 1807.

The descriptive historical setting were captivating! I felt everything the MC felt. From the harsh terrain to the corrupted Rum Corps who tried to create a monopoly and seized other former convicts' property. The author paints such a vivid picture of life on the outback.

The romance was wonderful but not without it's problems. The couple have a bumpy beginning but once in love they stay in love! Unfortunately, several conspire to separate the pair. The couple have to endure many tragedies before getting their HEA. I swear my blood pressure spiked several times while reading this story.

Conclusion:
This enthralling adventure had all the elements I want in a good, old school romance! Hate it or love it, you won't be able to put this book down!

4 stars for plot, 1 star for surprising me

[Sandra Dagg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow....I did something I don't usually do, I read the previous reviews, and can't believe the harshness of some of the comments. I enjoyed this book, and I AM going to read the rest of the series. Yes, Casey was captured more than once and escaped rape, but that's a part of reading a fantasy romance, and true, there wasn't a great deal of Australian history, but I still learned things I had no knowledge of, previous to reading this book. I think, if you want a proper history lesson, read a history book. If you want a 'reality' romance, read something contemporary. I read for entertainment, I've said that tons of times already, and this book entertained me. I know that I am an incurable romantic, and I did get frustrated with both the main characters at times, but overall, it was a great story, and if you are into fantasy romance and love at first sight....and believe it or not that does happen from time to time....then I would recommend you read this book.

I have to add that, even had I not enjoyed this book, I would never take it upon myself to be rude or harshly critical of something an author obviously put a lot of time into writing. I'm sorry, but there are nicer ways to critique books, or movies or whatever, and I don't think it's necessary to be rude to get your point across. I love being able to review the books I read on Goodreads, think it's a great way to let people know what you feel are readable books or books to pass on, but I think it's very sad that a lot of people cannot review a book without being unkind.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}]

DNF because you are the weakest link goodbye



I think I'm done with Ms. Mason unless I get another book by chance. *shrugs*

[Simona · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge fan of Ms Mason's works, I found this book to be a bit more tedious than her other works. I wasn;t particularly keen on the Australian setting and she didn't make me fall in love with either the surroundings or the history. Then the whole premise of the plot relied on pretending that the relationship between H and h was forbidden (master/indentured servant) which is quite low on forbidden scale for me.
Our H was Ok. Despite not being the richest or sharpest tool in the box, every woman loves him. He loves to not take responsibility and act as a victim of circumstances.

h was nothing special. She has an enchanting beauty that everybody wants to bed her. Beyond that she's dumb as a rock and quick to surrender to despair. One moment she feels that only because of true love did their lovemaking resulted in a baby. Then within hours takes the lies of a criminal that H doesn't loves her and abandons the fucking continent instead of walking 2-3 miles demanding H to explain how he can abandon the mother of his child to the clutches of the criminal. Illogical, spineless and a danger to others. She literally caused the death of the OW.

I have always have a soft spot for Ms Mason's OW. They always are just a step away from marriage and then h bamboozles the H with her "unparalleled beauty". And then when they fight for their love, we are supposed to hate them and like the "mary sue" h. In this book, our OW is a barely legal sheltered woman who has weak lungs. She dies because our h makes her go without her cloak in chilly night. Yet, she's somehow the villain.


The last 3rd was quite contrived. The pushing away was exasperating.

The love scenes however were full of passion and intensity. Reading them you truly feel that the two individuals are surrendering to their primal nature, ignoring every societal barrier.

Would be a long time before I pick up this series again.

[Suzy Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bold Land, Bold Love (1989) is one of those unbelievable vintage HRs stuffed full of melodramatic scenes, vivid purple prose, and countless sex scenes. Definitely lives up to the title!!

🦘 It’s 1807 and the heroine Casey, convicted of murder has been transported to the newly settled penal colony of New South Wales (present day area of Sydney Australia). As a convict she’s selected by the Penrods to work for them as a house servant on their farm. The eldest son Dare strongly objects… can’t believe his father would pick a murderess.

🦘 The story is over 400 pages of drama as Casey and Dare suffer thru hating each other, loving each other passionately… they can’t keep their hands off each other, horrific events, tragedy, shocking betrayal by others, and difficult separations. When together Dare’s definitely into satisfying Casey with oral sex… all. the. time. 🔥

🦘 Initially I wasn’t sure what to think about this book… it’s a wild ride, and it was so upsetting to wonder what was going to happen to Casey next. This rarely happens to me: I kept randomly taking a peek at pages ahead of where I was in the story … so worried about Casey, even tho I knew that she and Dare would get their HEA.

🦘 This is Connie Mason’s first series, and she had only written two standalone HRs before this. The writing is straightforward… not particularly lyrical or complex but the story is BOLD..., entertaining, and it’s interesting to read about actual events that happened in the settlement of Australia. Now onto the next book in the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cover artist for Love Spell 1998 edition: Renato Aime.

[chasc.taylor_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars ✨

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the characters. I did find it a bit long with some plot points that were repetitive. Most of the conflict in this relied heavily on miscommunication. Nonetheless, I’ll definitely read more by Connie Mason. Also, this cover is 😍🔥

[Ilaria 🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice well written but tooo much angst

[Chrisangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've yet to read all of Connie Mason's books, but so far, with only one exception, I've found them so damned entertaining I hate to put them down, and then hate when I finish them. I'm not saying there aren't any flaws, but they can easily be overlooked.

This book is not the exception (note the 4 stars), and one of the reasons for that was the amount of history included, about a subject I didn't have much prior knowledge of: convict labor in early 19thc Australia (the book takes place between 1807 1nd 1810), the Exclusionists vs. the Emancipists, the social and political situation in Sydney and New South Wales, the definition of The rum Corps, and just how difficult the settlers had it, due to corruption and unjust laws. (Civil Rights was an issue in other countries, besides America.) There were historical figures making an appearance, such as John McArthur and Governor (nee Captain) Bligh (yes, the Bounty guy), which always gives an authenticity to a historic novel. This includes bushrangers, escaped convicts turned outlaws, who figure in the story too. (I also learned about wattle, damper and Billy tea.) I like getting a history lesson, while I read about the H and h.

In this case, they were Dare Penrod and Casey O'Cain. She was sent to Australia, convicted of murder. Though it was self-defense, no one took her seriously. (She tried to speak to a judge about preventing her political prisoner father from being hanged; he said he'd grant her request if she became his mistress, then tried to rape her; in the struggle, she pushed him and he fell, hit his head and died.) She becomes a 7 year indentured servant to the Penrod family: patriarch Roy and his sons, Dare and Ben. There's also another convict servant, Martha, as well as Tim O'Malley, a friend of Casey's from Ireland, (who would like to be more) who's sent to the coal mines.

(Another thing I learned: England sent convicts to Australia after America became off limits, when it was no longer their colonies.)

At first, there's a lot of animosity between Dare and Casey, as he believes she's a killer and a whore, and she resents his suspicions and arrogance. Soon, however, they can't fight their feelings, and Dare discovers the "whore" was a virgin! Casey discovers how much she loves him, but fears that for him it's only lust.

Soon, all manner of obstacles appear to keep these two apart, and not just Casey's seven year convict sentence. Casey discovers Tim wounded in the bush, after being shot when he escaped from the mines. She hides him and cares for him (afraid to get the Penrods involved), with the help of Dare's emancipist friend, Robin, not knowing that fellow servant Meg has been spying on her, and uses what she knows to cause trouble. (Meg wants Dare, her former bedmate, to come back to her, and is determined to get rid of Casey. A charge of aiding and abetting an escaped convict, plus a trumped up charge of theft ought to do it.)

From there, it's one event after another, as every time Dare and Casey overcome an obstacle, another's thrown in their way. There's also competition form their affections (though one-sided in both cases) and not just by one person. There's two other men interested in Casey, (not counting two lecherous officers) and four other women who want Dare! While the OM are decent guys who want Casey to be happy, three of the OW cause a lot of trouble, but two of them (a refreshing change from "once a bitch, always a bitch") repent their actions and try to make amends, though one is prevented from doing so.

I don't want to give away details, but there are a lot of twists and turns you might not expect, but I will gladly report that (aside from one incident with Dare, out of anger rather than passion) there's no cheating. The most that happened was Casey got a friendly kiss from one of her suitors, and Dare, at a time when he and Casey were long separated, shared some kisses and caresses with one of the OW, but it got no further than that. They only make love with each other, and if you like love scenes to be hot and steamy, you won't be disappointed.

I'm also happy to report that, despite about five close calls, there wasn't any rape. Poor Casey had quite a few degrading experiences, but something or someone always happened to prevent things from going too far.

I did say before that the book is not without its flaws. Casey and Dare have such a strong physical attraction that it tends to overpower everything else; they don't talk to each other the way they should, and admit their love. Casey holds back because she's not sure Dare really loves her the way she does him, and Dare just assumes she knows how he feels, without saying the words. She was insecure enough that even when he did try to prove it, she couldn't fully trust him. Even so, she had no reason not to trust his father and brother; Ben thought of her like a sister, and Rob was fond of her. Yet, when she was in trouble and needed them, she believed the wrong person and let herself be convinced they didn't care. No matter what doubts she may have had about Dare, she should have known better when it came to Roy and Ben.

There's also a time when Dare becomes jealous of Casey's attentions to Drew, an elderly man (a family friend of the Penrods), who was there for Casey when she needed help, and whom she wanted to care for, while he wasn't well. Dare acted as if she were choosing Drew over him. For a sophisticated man, he sure acted like a silly child!

Both of them were guilty of being too quick to suspect the other of infidelity, despite how strong their love was, and how great the sex was.

But flaws don't take away from the story, as it's got too much going for it. There's a HEA, but it sure took a while to get there! Just read the book and enjoy the adventure!

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

CONNIE MASON STORIES REQUIRE A CERTAIN TYPE OF LOVE AND INTEREST TOWARDS THE KIND OF GENRE SHE WRITES. HER WRITING STYLE HAD A REPETITIVE STYLE THAT I AM GLAD ISN'T QUITE THE SAME HERE.

ANGST, JEALOUSY, DRAMA AND THE TYPICAL HEROINE RUNNING OUT ON THE HERO.

THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD PREPARE YOURSELF FOR WHEN YOU PICK UP ONE OF HER BOOKS. ARE HER CHARACTERS IMPOSSIBLY IRRATIONAL? NO, DESPITE THE DRAMA, THE CHARACTERS CAN STILL BE SENSIBLE AND NO HYSTERICAL ANTICS THAT ANNOYS YOU, UNLESS YOU COUNT THE EVIL TEMPTRESSES.

OUR HERO is rubbed the wrong way the moment he clasped eyes upon the red headed convict. His household is looking for a new slave to help with the house chores because their previous slave has served her penance and will be a free woman soon. He is enraged when his father picks Casey to serve them, when he has already set upon an older convict. Both women goes with Dare and his father, back to their estate. Dare has been denying his attraction that goes beyond lust for his new cook, and it only escalates to the inevitable. To his delight, the attraction is mutual and even more when she's a virgin! But that only covers the first part of the story which has been divided to three phases. In order to achieve their love, there are many obstacles they have yet to face. Dare will have to persevere and practice the patience of a saint when their fate is tempted by devious mistresses, potential suitors and political uprising of their era. As a character, Dare has his faults. Sadly he just seemed more two-dimensional to me, like I'm just watching his life pass by than getting to know him. His persona wasn't complex and honestly can be quite shallow but he makes up for it with all the sacrifices he does for Casey. Case in point, at least he's been faithful to Casey since they met.

OUR HEROINE has been convicted for a murder she may have committed in self defense. Sailed away to Australia, she is abiding her time to receive her notice of where she will be posted to serve her penance. Who knew that Roy and his son would come into her life and soon she's serving as the household cook. Casey is perplexed and troubled by Dare's hostility towards her and becomes wary of him, until the man confronts her about his raging desire and apologizes. Thus, began their romance. Casey is a selfless woman, who places others before herself, ALWAYS and this is partly the reason she finds herself being manipulated by others. Her heart is devastated when Dare marries another for reasons unknown, and she is determined to live a new life without him. Surely there's more than meets the eye to it? The angst was delicious, and thank God for that because if there wasn't that anticipation of what's going to happen next....the story would have fallen flat what with the 320+ pages on ebook.

OVERALL this is what you can expect from any Mason stories but at least this one had a tiny bit of difference than the usual smack dab attraction, angst and misunderstanding. If you don't appreciate bodice rippers, asshole heroes or anti-feminist heroines, don't bother to attempt a Mason story. It may not be bad like some other historical romance authors who make a botch and make a bad name for the poor genre itself, but it may or may not be your cup of tea.

[Su · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but it would have been better if
1) Manner of speeches were more like speech manners of the period that the book has covered.
2) Too much sex (boring and in some cases extremely inappropriate)
3) Missed opportunities with creating feeling of deep love. Like H seeing h after believing she is dead over a year and there is not even mention of an exuberant, over the moon feeling of happiness a normal man who were desperately in-love with believed dead woman would have felt upon seeing her alive. All H felt was astonishment! And he went back home and waited socially more appropriate time to pay her a visit. Secondary character Robin showed more emotion in the same situation.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

***2.5 stars***

First off, I have to say I was hoping this was going to be a great book about Australia. However I was indeed disappointed, by both the storyline, because I found it far fetched; and the fact that Dare, the hero, irritated the crap out of me.

The storyline:

I found the fact that Cassy was captured by bush wranglers, three count 'em three times, and not raped highly unbelievable. Come on how many bad guys would stand around and talk about when they were going to rape a woman? The bush wranglers were rogue convicts who skirted death by pillaging farms and wagons. Add the fact that they hadn't been around any women in a long time, AND the fact that they had it out for Cassy... well she definitely would have been a goner.

Every woman, with the exception of Martha and Beth, tried to sabotage Cassy and Dare's relationship in some horrible catastrophic way. I was reminded of Bonanza. The Cartwright's give the women their all and in turn they were either betrayed or the women dies. When Lydia entered the story I was ready to give up on this book, however I pressed on.

Dare:

What a control freak! He was selfish and frequently went on rampages. I get that in the 1800s women had little to no say in the daily happenings. But by the middle of the book I had had enough. I ended up skipping over scenes with Cassy and Dare just because I was so irritated with him.

This book had potential but I felt the plot repeated itself to many times, and Dare's character needed to be toned down about five bars. A lot could have been edited, cutting down on the page number.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Connie Mason is my go to author when I’m in the mood for a story with drama, heartbreak, betrayal and jealousy.
H: 3 star
h: 3 star
I was annoyed that Meg got away with the jewelry.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Casey O'Cain ignited feelings in Dare Penrod from the moment he saw her. Feelings he was desperate to ignore and hide under hate and disgust. After all Casey was a murderer right?
Casey is a convict transported to Australia to serve out her time. These women often served out their sentences on their backs so it was Casey's lucky day when the kindly Roy Penrod saw something good in her and took her on as his cook.
Soon Dare can't deny his desires any longer and ardently pursues Casey. Happiness doesn't come easy for the couple and will take years to get to.
Almost every woman in the book comes up with some lie or trick to try and get between Dare amd Casey. Casey is kidnapped and almost raped on 3 separate occasions. Both of them keeping things from each other helps to tear them apart as well. But other women, bushrangers, lies, kidnappings, corrupt officials, jail, sea voyages, and even death won't keep them apart.
If you enjoy the classic bodice ripper books then give this one a shot!

[Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1992 historical romance is a great read for those who enjoy sweeping drama and intense feelings. Bold Land, Bold Love is a perfect example of a romance of its time, and I genuinely enjoyed every bit of it.

To completely describe the story would be to take up almost as many pages as the book itself—this book does not lack for content. The author throws her protagonists in front of just about every obstacle possible before giving them their Happily Ever After. Prison sentences, jealous wives, walkabouts, misunderstandings, the Pacific Ocean, presumed death. This book has it all.

At the heart of the story, though, are Casey and Dare (yes, it is a stupid name). They love each other a lot, even when they think they hate each other, even when one thinks the other is dead, or that they married somebody else, or...you get the idea.

The fun of a book like this isn't watching the author craft two characters who then forge a deep emotional connection. Rather, Bold Land, Bold Love is fun because you have absolutely no clue how all of the mess could resolve itself into anything resembling a conclusion. And then when the author pulls it off, you're left satisfied (and slightly bloated, like you had way too much junk food on a ill-advised late night drive-thru binge).

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[Rhiannon Talaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Passionate, thrilling, sensual and a definitive page turner, classic Connie Mason, always making me swoon.

[Sam Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time maybe 12-15 years ago when I was a middle teenager (started young, what can I say). And it always stuck with me as one of my favourites from Connie Mason who at that time was my favourite (probably because I was a hopelessly romantic virgin with a head full of clouds, which wasn’t such a bad thing).

But reading it as an adult I have a few major issues:

1. As an Australian living in Sydney myself it’s extremely clear that Connie didn’t understand Australian history or geography particularly well.

Whilst the historical event, the Rum Rebellion, takes place during the events of the book it’s extremely simplified and ignores a lot about the surrounding context of the time.

The Hawkesbury river isn’t that close to either Parramatta or the Sydney CBD. By car they’re about an hour or more between each. You wouldn’t go to Parramatta for the day from the Hawkesbury river by horse and cart, and the road between Parramatta and Sydney was dotted with many hotels along the way.

And don’t get me started on the Aboriginal people - they don’t have villages, they’re nomadic. They, and their awful interactions with settlers, were very misrepresented.

2. It’s very repetitive.
It makes every, except really Roy and Martha, look kind of bad. All the men are after Casey and all the women are after Dare. The former is more likely given the ratio of men to women in colonial Australia which was sadly sort of known for rape of convict women (particularly in the earlier days by soldiers), but how desperate are all the women supposed to be ?

3. The writing is not good.
I mean it’s trash and it’s enjoyable as trash, but reading it as an adult I can’t enjoy it as much because I can’t ignore the bad writing. The conversation is stilted and boring, and some sentences repeat with a lot of little mistakes that really should have been picked up in editing.

Now don’t get me wrong l don’t hate the book, and it’s still a fun read because it’s light-hearted romantic trash, but it raised a lot of points to me that I couldn’t ignore. I’ve actually not read the sequels (or at least I can’t remember doing so) so I’ll give them a read next to finish it off. I’m not expecting them to be brilliant like I never expected this one to be, but as long as they’re entertaining that’s the most important thing.

I think though that I in context, in the modern conversation surrounding rape culture and feminism, as well as my own background in Heritage and history, will probably never enjoy these books, or rather any of Connie’s books, quite the same way again.

[LHC Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Read

This is the first book in the series and it was a great read. I bought the series so am off to the next one. I have read several of her books and liked them all. This one really keeps you guessing.

[Sarah Ballinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Cindy Woods · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many misunderstandings!

I've read several of Connie Mason's books, and I have to say this is my least favorite. I love that she utilizes actual historic events in her books, but this felt more like she interjected those events in a rather hurried and happenstance manner. The story just didn't flow. It was a jerky attempt to include history.
The relationship of the H and h was silly....I mean, the moment he touches her she crumbles everytime no matter the surrounding circumstances. And Casey is almost raped every chapter! Talk about a bitch in heat! Too much angst.. Too many misunderstandings....too much the "perils of Pauline."
This is not near as good a book as so many other of this author's books, and it seems like a rapid attempt to just add another book to her credit and not well done.
I can't say I'd recommend this book to anyone.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual I enjoy Mason's novels. The romance happens quick (love at first sight doesn't work for me but that is often the way Mason goes) but the plot that allows the characters to develop makes up for it. However, they spend more time apart and her more time not trusting him then they actually do together.

[Gail brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

love all of connie mason books .... great writer

[Mitzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

After several years....I've not forgot this series...One of the few I've read taking place in Australia.

[Greeneyes Belle28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - Love this book

[Jennyjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the change from Dare

[Mim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sooo it was a little like 'Caress and Conquer' ... down under! It was trash but it was melodramatic entertaining trash.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

a good read