To Love a Man

by Karen Robards

Journalist Lisa Collins is in Africa to cover an armed uprising, but finds herself caught up in a war in this thrilling contemporary romance.

Rescued by rugged mercenary Sam Eastman, whose own mission in the country has gone horribly wrong, the two run for their lives together through the isolated bush country. Once a pampered rich girl, beautiful Lisa must find a way to survive alongside the sexy, lethal soldier of fortune whose only goal is to get both of them out of the country alive. Fighting the explosive chemistry between them as they try to stay one step ahead of the revolutionaries chasing them, Sam and Lisa reluctantly fall in love. Then real life catches up with them....

To Love a Man is the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Contemporary Romantic Novel of the year.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Adventure, Survival, Fiction

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Karen Robards is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than fifty books and one novella. She has won multiple awards including six Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Awards for favorite author.
Karen has been writing since she was very young, and was first published nationally in the December 1973 Reader's Digest. She sold her first romance novel, ISLAND FLAME, when she was 24. It was published by Leisure Books in 1981 and is still in print. After that, she dropped out of law school to pursue her writing career.
Karen was recently described by The Daily Mail as "one of the most reliable thriller....writers in the world."

Reviews

[MelissaB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst. Hero. Ever!

Sam, the “hero” was such a piece of work. Let me count the ways:

- He rescues the heroine, Lisa, in a jungle where he is a mercenary. He seriously contemplates killing her just so he doesn’t have to deal with her while he is trying to avoid the rebels but decides he can’t quite do it.
- Lisa is almost raped by two of his men, when he catches them he says that if he would have known she liked it rough, he would give it that way to her. Then he starts to seduce her (yes right after she was smacked around and almost raped) and walks away calling her a whore who asked for it from his buddies because she responds to him.
- He literally rapes her one time, even though she says no and tries to get him to stop.
- He thinks women are stupid, deceitful, conniving whores because his ex-wife slept around on him and left him with their kid.
- He verbally abuses her the entire book
 

Ahhh Prince Charming – NOT! This story was seriously disturbing but it was like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from. He gets a little better later in the book but he is still a complete donkey’s butt.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

08.11.2022
Припомних си това доста старо и крайно неполиткоректно по новите “мерки” заглавие, след като се опитах да прочета нова книга (за някакъв черен лебед в Париж) от същата авторка в нашумелия напоследък чик лит за втората световна война (сякаш световната история, позволена в дамскире романи, се ограничава само до тази епоха, до захаросаното регентство, до смехотворния див запад и нелепите шотландски “планини”). Разликата е огромна. В старото заглавие има доста повдигащи вежди моменти, но няма надути претенции и драмата си я бива и е доста добра. В новия популярен стил и баба Карън се е повела по поученията и скуката, с безпочвени претенции за “историчност”. Направо съм бясна - щом и на любовните романи посегнаха, работата е лоша..

Първоначално ревю:
Старата истина, че ловко разиграните клишета също могат да произведат добра история.

Тук са поне няколко, и то сръчно и драматично размесени:
- оцеляване във военен конфликт
- значителна възрастова разлика
- значителна разлика в класа, произход, възпитание и манталитет
- втори шанс

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this off of a list of books with a mean hero. Boy were they right. He was an ass to her for a large part of the book. Great reading if you're looking for that, which I was. This was a hero and heroine running from bad guys through a jungle themed book. I love that theme. It was very well written and pretty tightly plotted. I enjoyed watching them fall for each other. He did eventually loosen up and become nicer to her but he always remained very alpha.

They had some problems adjusting to each other once they got back to civilization which was realistic. I think some running in the jungle books end when they make it out and you wonder how they'll deal together without the adrenaline of danger holding them together. Plus this girl was a rich spoiled young woman who hadn't grown out of that element yet and he was about 14 years older so they did need to learn to adjust. That portion was also well written.

Enjoyed it. I might have to read some more off of that list. :-)

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/11/24

Okay I just read this again and didn't remember until the end! I am such a moron! I can't believe it. Very dated. Talks about Vietnam and she loves his Hairy body.
( 🙄). I totally gagged. He was an ass. I really didn't like him at many points in this book and I don't see them with a happy ever after. He really was a caveman!


I think I read this before

Its ringing a bell in my brain but I have read so many books sometimes I get confused. The one thing I do remember is not liking Sam, the H. He was just tooooo much. He was hot and cold and just a caveman, and normally I like those. But this guy was different. Even at the end, I still thought he was was a jerk. He completely threw her out of his life twice! The second one was awful. And then its like four months later and he loves her. Then comes the wooing, and flowers, and uuhhhh! Too much again. I understood her hesitation. For sure. And that leads me to the other part, the heroine was abusive! Slapping him, throwing objects at him and she was a little spoiled. But she had her sorrows too. I can see why she was the way she was. No excuse for abuse though. But he made me want to hurt him too. I wouldn't though. The best part of the book was the kidnapping, getting back to the real world, and all that action. Karen Robards has wrote some of my most favorite books, but also most hated ones too. I stopped reading her years ago. This just caught my attention.

[Applefruit · Rating 2 out of 5]

You will probably have a hard time putting this book down, even though you'll be rolling your eyes or groaning in irritation throughout. You can tell this is an older book (published circa 1985), so you'll have to be very tolerant of the so-called hero's despicable behavior and the TSTL heroine. I'm only giving it two stars b/c it's not boring and you will finish it!

[Gisselle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found myself wanting to hurl this book at the wall a few times. I really dislike men -male chauvinist pigs- like Sam Eastman, and I could not stand Lisa's weak, low self-esteem behavior. I have enjoyed many of Karen Robards books but this one is going into my WILL NEVER READ AGAIN/DONATE TO SOMEWHERE pile. I know it was written in the 80s, era of book is circa late 60's or I believe mid 70's but rape to me is rape, and the so called hero of this story is a savage.

There is no excuse for what he did to Lisa while she was captive in his camp, but what I find hard to understand is Lisa's sex-crazed mentality that she would accept his brutality, enough to interpret his awful behavior as love.

They finally end up escaping one after another horrible ordeal, return to civilization only to make Sam go off the deep-end while in Lisa's family's home -mansion. This brute of a man continues to be a pig headed punk, who is rude, abusive and ungrateful after this woman and her family - for the most part her grandfather, housekeeping folks - bend over backwards to accommodate his mercenary behind!

Nothing, not even the gazillion flowers he sends Lisa towards the end of the novel -after he finally had enough of calling her all kinds of bitches and whores - can redeem Sam in my opinion. Not only is he rude to her while she is pregnant - because to make matters worse she gets pregnant by this idiot - but he still calls her a bitch towards the end of the book, which I found utterly appalling.

As for Lisa, a woman like her needs all kinds of helps. Obviously her issues are not that she is rich or spoiled, her issues way go deeper than that. I wish K.R. would have developed her character a bit more, because I didn't get enough background on Lisa to understand her decisions. I couldn't help but to think that she was an abused, tormented young lady with a real low sense of self-love and dignity. I could go on days about Lisa...but she is helpless and her acceptance of abuse all the way to the ending of the book speaks for itself.

***Good riddance to this one!***

[jenjn79 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm surprised that the average rating of this book is 4.00 (out of 6 votes). Generally I like Robards's books, but this one...UGH!

For one thing, it used my least favorite plot device: stranded in the wilderness. And secondly...I couldn't stand the characters! The plot was better than average, I guess, but the characters...yikes!

Normally I don't mind dominant alpha male heroes, but Sam was an arrogant, domineering, nasty bastard. Some of the things he said and did were just wrong. And Lisa, I had absolutely no respect for her whatsoever. I wanted to yank my hair out when I read the scenes where Sam's just said some particularly awful things to Lisa, then comes on to her and she practically just falls at his feet in supplication. I was offended for women everywhere. When they started saying they loved each other, I rolled my eyes.

It takes a lot for a book to really annoy me, but this one did it. The attitudes of the characters were more suited to some types of historicals...which I suppose makes sense considering this was Robards' first contemporary foray after writing a number of historicals. Knowing that doesn't make me like it any more.

I was glad to finish the book. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Tressa · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, To Love a Man was written in the 1980s so a lot has changed since then. I had a difficult time relating to this story. I know that Lisa was sheltered and naïve, but I had such a hard time comprehending that she was okay with how Sam treated her. I kept thinking that Lisa was experiencing Stockholm Syndrome and I didn't think Same was a nice guy or worth any effort.

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book knowing the guy was gonna be an arse but I was ok with it as I really like reading about that type......and yes Sam wants def a jerk but strangely enough it was Lisa that actually annoyed me more she was so weak and pathetic I just felt like slapping her and telling her to get a backbone and some pride she was a tstl female of epic proportions!!

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

39 year old Sam Eastman is a mercenary soldier working within the borders of Rhodesia, amidst the civil war that was taking place. A single father, Sam is determined that no job is too despicable if it were to get him the money he needed to start over.

25 year old Lisa Bennet Collins is the rich socialite heir apparent, who had pretty much had her life handed to her on silver platter. She had believed that happiness was hers for the taking, and simply followed the steps which she thought would bring her that. Getting engaged to the dreamily handsome football-playing son of a state senator had been the natural progression of that life, until it had all come crashing down, bit by bit.

A lifetime later, when Lisa turns up in Rhodesia as part of an assignment that would propel her into a career where she could write stories that actually mattered, she gets into more trouble than she bargained for, and gets rescued by none other than Sam. Their attraction to each other is instantaneous, their coming together as passionate as it gets, giving Lisa pleasure of the kind she has been denied all her life.

What happens next is what makes the story a hard pill to swallow. Misunderstandings, plus the behavior on the part of both Sam and Lisa makes it difficult to identify which character you should be rooting for. Like many readers, I felt that Sam was an asshole of the first order. Given that, I do have to mention the fact that his past, the scars he carries from a marriage that had eviscerated the man he was, his childhood; all of that contributed towards making him react the way he does. Inexcusable, but I understood where all that stemmed from.

Lisa on the other hand, is just as scarred, but in a different way compared to Sam. It is not easy for Lisa to relate to a man of Sam’s caliber, masculinity, and brashness, but in his arms Lisa does find what she has been craving for, what she had not thought possible all her life. Her scars run just as deep, and somewhere along the way, fall she does, and hard, for Sam and his touch that brands her as his right from the start.

The ending was what saved the story from being categorized as one of those reads that most women wouldn’t find pleasure in reading. I believe that the time apart gave Lisa as a character the time to grow, to learn how to stand on her own, which I see as something important if you are to love someone the way she loves Sam. The groveling was done to a fine art on the part of Sam, with him going after Lisa proving to be the saving grace, which otherwise I would have probably thrown my e-reader to the wall.

Recommended for those who can take a hero who is pretty rough around the edges, who will test your patience, and reforms to a point where you can at least think about forgiving him for all that was said and done.

Rating = 4/5

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[Lynsey A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I've been buying clinch covers by some of my favorite authors. I'm also working through my big pile of paperback books to read. So I picked up this one.

I'm not going to say I loved it and gush about it but it still kept me reading. It was very much written for the times. The hero raped the heroine, was a complete asshat to her at times. I will say, that he did that right after they made love but then got angry with her and she was angry with him. Still.

There is some content warning too in that the heroines first child dies of leukemia.

Decent enough read and added to my book count for the year.

[Jane Thomson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Karen Robards has written many excellent thriller romances. This is not one of them. Had I known it was written in the 1980s, I would not have borrowed it. The hero and heroine both displayed so many characteristics that would not be acceptable in the 2020s. There is a reasonable plot which is the only thing that kept me reading. The characters do change as the story proceeds, but that does not forgive the inappropriate behaviour throughout. Maybe it was a reflection of the times; however, it does not, for me, stand the test of time.

I would not recommend this book.

[Sandra Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic

I know that seems an odd subject line but Karen Robards and I are "of an age" . If you want to take a first hand glimpse of the Baby Boomer mindset. Read almost any of her romances. This is the world your parents, grandparents, and for some of you, great grand parents grew up in. Standards, morals and sex-roles, they are historical for me. This is not among the top stories for me but since my ex husband was Military, it's almost like a memory. Without the romance....

Well, a new day is dawning, hopefully Women in power will do better. Oh, yeah, the book. I encourage you to read it. It'll help you understand life on Mars. AND Ms. Robards is a help of a story teller. I recommend all her books.

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want to preface this by saying that I really, really enjoy Karen Robards' books. I think she is an amazing romantic suspense writer, but I honestly can't believe that she penned this one!

When I realised this was written in 1985 I was wary. Romance has come a long way since then, and modern views of male/female relationships have changed a lot. So I expected for things to be different. I was a huge fan of the ol' Mills & Boon as a pre-teen/teen back in the late 80's/90's so I knew I wouldn't be *that* shocked over a different perspective, even if I did think I'd be rolling my eyes a bit!

What I didn't expect was a book long misogynistic tirade against women!! Particularly coming from a female author, and especially coming from this author!!!

Over the years I've read some crappy books, but I think this is the first time I have truly been angry at a book. I honestly could not believe what I was reading, and I've read and extensively studied some of the most misogynistic works of the ancient/early modern world!

One example (and I mean this isn't even the worst example): The heroine leaves the camp of her 'saviours' (used very loosely) to take a bath in a nearby river. When she comes out she is accosted and nearly raped by two of the soldiers. She fights and is saved by the 'hero' (again a VERY loose usage). Ok, so far so good. Said hero has already expressed (in dialogue with another soldier, not heroine) that he can't trust the men with her as they are likely to assault her. BUT, when the soldiers tell him that it's all her fault, that she led them on (of course she did!) he believes them, slut shames her, and then 'teaches her a lesson' by forcing her to have sex with him but then turns off and slut shames her again for responding to him!!

And that, my friends, is just the icing on the cake. It gets a lot worse from there!

I would seriously, with every fibre of my being, NOT recommend this book. Unless, you're teaching a university level course with a feminism/abuse bent, in which case, this book would be perfect!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Collins is the pampered granddaughter of Amos Bennett and has everything she wants. She volunteers to go to Rhodesia to interview a couple who moved there and set up a farm. She did not think about the civil unrest going on in the country. But she learned quickly when she sees the couple's home going up in flames and hears their screams. Hurrying to the jungle to hide from the rebels, she runs into mercenaries led by Sam Eastman. She is taken by their group as they hurry away from the rebels.

Lisa falls in love with Sam. He is a stern leader and former Marine but falls for her. When their team is betrayed, it is just Sam and Lisa trying to get to South Africa. They get to a boat but Sam is shot several times and is in serious condition. Amos uses his influence to get them back to the US and safety.

Sam is a man used to making and paying his own way and Lisa's wealth becomes a matter of contention between them. When Lisa talks to Amos, he tells her he understands Sam and says he would act the same if he were in Sam's shoes. A man has his pride and wants to be able to provide for his woman. Sam feels that he will not be able to provide Lisa with the life she has grown up with. Lisa has taken it for granted and doesn't understand the workday world.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. I usually love Karen Robards stuff... But this is just bad. It’s one of her earlier writings and it is not up to par with what I know she is capable of.

I feel like I have whiplash from the angry lead male, the “heroine” accepts his truly unacceptable behavior and verbal abuse, not to mention that he physically assaults her and verbally abuses her throughout the ENTIRE book!! Jeez. And the whole he-man thing is not a thing anymore... “you will live off of what I provide for you and nothing more”, yeah, mkay my dude.

But take this book with a grain of salt: 35 years after its original printing, of course the sexual landscape and social norms have changed, and thank God for that! I love plenty of her books, in fact, the reason I even went back to the relic is because I enjoy some of her newer books very much. But do yourself a favor and skip this uncomfortably awful tale. It’s not worth the read at all.

If you want romance that is actually sexy and not just misogynistic drivel, read some of her other books:
Heart of Fire
After the Night
Cry no More
All the Queens Men

[Vera Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa needed a break. Daughter had died and the only thing keeping her marriage going. So decided to accept a jouralist job in Africa. Knew country under war, but area she to go too seemed not to be in the middle and safe. Only a short while, found this not to be true. Family she is staying with home and buildings being torched and family killed. Lisa in an outbuilding, but the smoke and flames seems to be coming right for her. She escapes to the jungle, but trouble follows her. Soldiers find her and take her back to their camp. Take care of her, but at times she is afraid for her safety. This time Grandpa can't help her. Knows nothing about her trouble.
The author keeps you reading, fast pace and even a little romance mixed in. Recommend to others.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

times have changed!

Karen is one of my favorite writers so I snatched this book up on kindle when I found it on sale. It didn’t take me long before I was checking the publication date. Sure enough it was published in 1985, one of her earliest works. So it isn’t fair of me to critique this book on the fact that it was “dated” because it certainly wasn’t at that time. The themes and societal thoughts and prejudices have changed dramatically over the years as has Miss Robards writing style and subject matter. But I still found the action held my attention as did the banter between the main characters until it got a bit repetitive towards the last section of the book. All in all, a pleasant summer read though I will search my kindle now for one of her more current novels.

[Kennaread · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I found it at a book sale and the cover was a old cover in a romantic pose ( reminded me of the covers with Fabio) Also It reminded me of the movie romancing the stone. I love a good enemies to lovers. There was a lot of miscommunication in the book between the two main characters but I felt like it added to the suspense of the story and the realness of how things were between the couple once they were back in civilization. I liked it a lot it was honestly hard to put down. And of course a happy ending.

[Lisa McCullough · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Caveman and the Princess

I've been reading romance novels since the late 70s so I know I used to like books like this one but, wow, it was cringeworthy to read today. To say the hero is a male chauvinist doesnt even begin to cover it. He's abusive. He raped her and called her a bitch and a slut. And she just goimg back for more. Yuck. How they fell in love with each other is beyond me. Being pushed around and verbally abused is not sexy. I know it was another time but still. I skimmed through the book just to finish it.

[Ahgase · Rating 3 out of 5]

ชื่อไทย ทาสรัก ทะเลสวาท
ซึ่งงงหน่อยๆ นึกว่าเรื่องจะเกิดที่ทะเล
แต่สรุปไม่ใช่ นี่คือการอุปมาถึงทะเลแห่งอารมณ์ป่ะ
เพราะเรื่องมันเกิดที่แอฟริกาอะ เอ้อออ 555
ไม่ค่อยสนุกเท่าไหร่ นางเอกงี่เง่าแรกๆ พระเอกก็ตะคอกจัง
สักพักกลับมาดี พูดแรงใส่นางเอกแต่นางเอกไม่โกรธ
ไอ้ที่ไม่สม���วรโกรธ ดันโกรธ กุก็งงเล็กน้อย55
Nc ดีตามมาตรฐานนิยายโรมานซ์
แต่สำนวนแปลยังไม่ค่อยดีอะ ไม่เกี่ยวกับว่าหนังสือมันเก่า
นะ นี่ก็คิดว่าอ่านมาเยอะแล้วถึงพูดได้ บางบทก็สลับชื่อ
แล้วนี่เขียนคำนำว่าคนอื่นซะแซ่บเลย

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author should not have rereleased this book. Not her best work. At one point the lead male who is Sam becomes Sara. There are innumerable typos throughout. Sam is misogynistic and stuck in the 80’s. He is a Viet Nam veteran. Lots of wars since then. Cannot recommend. Her other books are much better.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the way this book started, it is full of action and thankfully no graphic violence. Sam was an interesting character. I found Karen Robards books by accident and have really enjoyed her style. This was very different to the others I had read, not as good in my opinion, it may have been an earlier book of hers..

[Orozcosl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

Don't plan on putting this one down... once you start reading it, every thing else can wait! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, well written and with interesting characters that don't disappoint!

[patricia ann moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍

I loved this story. It took them both a long time to overcome their pasts. It takes a lot of soul searching a d trust to start again. Why does money have to ruin so much? When you find that part of you that has been missing, you need to hold onto found piece of you.

[Meagan Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

The hero essentially rapes the heroine at one point.

Page 109 and 110 ruined this book for me... Angry sex is one thing but RAPE is something completely else.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Robards. However, this just wasn't her best. Personally, both these characters were too stubborn and quite frankly did not make a believable couple for me.

[Shirley Hinderliter · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a horrible book.

[carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

The book had suspense and 2adults not willing to ad.it their love to each other. I enjoyed reading this story

[Elizabeth Mckernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book I enjoyed it!