Una amante temporal

by Emma Darcy

Una tarde en las carreras, champán y mujeres. Aquél era otro evento más para Ethan Cartwright, hasta que la muy normal Daisy Donahue pasó ante sus ojos.

Daisy sabía mantener la cabeza baja y ser invisible entre las más famosas australianas vestidas de diseño. Pero el despiadado Ethan estaba intrigado y no pudo evitar acercarse a ella.

Daisy estaba destrozada por haber sido despedida por hablar con Ethan... ¡necesitaba su empleo! Ahí era donde Ethan volvió a aparecer. Tenía un nuevo trabajo para ella: ama de llaves de día, compañera de cama por la noche...

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Harlequin Presents, Audiobook, Harlequin Romance

Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2010

About the author

Emma Darcy is the pseudonym created by the married writing team of Wendy (1940-2020) and Frank Brennan (1936-1995). Their life journey has taken as many twists and turns as the characters in their stories, whose international popularity has resulted in over sixty-million book sales. With more than a hundred titles, Emma Darcy appeared regularly on the Waldenbooks bestseller lists in the U.S.A. and in the Nielson BookScan Top 100 chart in the U.K.

Wendy was born 28 November 1940 in Australia. Her sister was the novelist Maureen Mary (Miranda Lee). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. She obtained an Honours degree in Latin and initially worked as a high school English/French teacher. She married Frank Brennan, an Australian businessman born in 1936. She changed careers to computer programming before marriage and motherhood settled her into a community life. She was reputedly the first woman computer programmer in the southern hemisphere.

As voracious readers, the step to writing their own books seemed a natural progression and the challenge of creating exciting stories was soon highly addictive. They were published since 1983. In 1993, for the Emma Darcy pseudonym's 10th anniversary, they created the "Emma Darcy Award Contest" to encourage authors to finish their manuscripts. After the death of Frank Brennan in 1995, Wendy wrotes books on her own. She lived in a beachside property on the central coast of New South Wales, and liked to travel extensively to research settings and increase her experience of places and people.

Wendy Brennan passed away on December 21, 2020. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and sister, writer Miranda Lee.

Reviews

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Billionaire's Housekeeper Mistress" is the story of Daisy and Ethan.

The hero and heroine meet at a racing event, where she is the PA to a catty socialite, and gets fired due to the hero's attention. He then offers her a job as his housekeeper, sparks fly and the attraction is reciprocated. They then enter into a sexual relationship, he helps her and her family, they fall in love- there is some reluctance from the heroine's side but things end in a HEA.

It was a nice story with likable characters who behaved in a mature manner. No unnecessary angst or miscommunications.

Safe
3.5/5

[Melanie♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Her obsession with disliking wealthy people got really old.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the last recession/financial crash, Daisy Donahue's family lost pretty much everything and she's been working hard to help them meet their obligations. In contrast, Ethan Cartwright has the Midas touch when it comes to finances and he only became richer. This is why Daisy resents him on sight. He of course sees this as a challenge and becomes determined to have her. When he plays a part in Daisy losing her job, he offers her one, hoping to buy himself enough time to woo her into his bed. But he's surprised that after he does, she still wants to leave, honestly believing they have no future together...and he wants more time. So he "manipulates." And he gets a new mistress, so she thinks at least. He just wants some more time to convince her to see things his way.

I didn't love this, nor did I hate it. While the book itself was engaging and there wasn't a whole lot of drama going on, there was something about Ethan that didn't sit right with me. I liked that he was the first to pretty much go head over heels, and while you could say he'd loved Daisy all along, I'm not 100% sure that he did. Definitely lust and definitely determined to woo her. But I didn't like his sort of Machiavellian ways. It gave him a sort of shady pall. And I read a lot of comments about how she "sold herself" but this felt a lot more like blackmail to me. I mean, did she really have a choice? Save your parents that you love more than anything by agreeing to be his mistress or don't? Not much of a choice. Nevermind that Ethan never intended it to be a negative thing...he just wanted more time to get her on board with his plans, but she honestly believed that she was his bought and paid for mistress. She honestly believed he was using her for his pleasure and didn't intend a longer relationship. So while nothing much was happening, this whole greasy, cheap feeling was pervading their relationship because Daisy was constantly worrying about it (and yeah, that makes for angsty reading). But Ethan never once cleared up any of those misconceptions, never apologized for his ends-justify-the-means attitude and Daisy never once made it clear to him how he'd made her feel with his "deal." And that tells me that Daisy with her prejudice that the rich can just take what they want and buy everything else was pretty much spot on and that Ethan didn't really grow out of box she'd originally placed him in. He had other nice qualities, but he still believed he could buy the woman he wanted. That was kinda disappointing to me. Still overall enjoyable, but couldn't really fall in love with this one with such that kind of hero. Daisy was okay. She was quite adaptable and feisty, but not very communicative about her feelings.

[Ayu Wirdha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebenernya iseng-iseng aja baca nih ebook tapi ternyata bagus juga walaupun ceritanya pendek (mungkin karena buat harlequin ya).

Daisy adalah gadis biasa yang bekerja sebagai PA seseorang yg bernama Lynda. Lynda ini tipikal bos tiran yang berlaku kasar, suka merendahkan staf-stafnya termasuk si Daisy ini. Daisy bertahan kerja dengan Lynda pertama karena kerjaan lagi sulit, kedua gajinya yang lumayan bisa membantu ortu-nya yg terancam kehilangan rumah akibat salah investasi. Kakak-kakaknya Daisy tidak ada yang bisa membantu karena sudah berat dengan kondisi perkawinan masing-masing akibat imbas resesi di Australia.

Pas ada acara pacuan kuda, dimana perusahaan Lynda jadi EO-nya (kayaknya ya...soalnya ga dijelasin juga) ketemulah Daisy dengan Ethan yang merupakan konsultan keuangan sukses sekaligus mempunyai kuda yang ikut lomba. Ethan ini terkenal jago membuat investasi-investasi yang menguntungkan klien-kliennya. Dari pertemuan pertama itu Ethan sudah memperhatikan kalo Lynda memperlakukan Daisy seenak udelnya doang apalagi waktu Ethan minta Lynda memperkenalkan Daisy kepadanya. Gara-gara Ethan membela Daisy, Lynda yang udah sewot akhirnya memecat Daisy. Daisy yang shock eh malah pingsan hehehe...ditolonglah ama Ethan.

Singkat cerita, karena merasa bersalah bikin Daisy dipecat, Ethan menghire Daisy untuk jadi housekeeper sekaligus mengawasi renovasi rumahnya, alasannya utama Ethan sih supaya bisa ngerayu Daisy tapi Daisy bener-bener teguh menjaga jarak dengan Ethan karena menganggap Ethan itu bosnya.

Akhirnya karena ga tahan, Ethan bikin perjanjian kalau dia bakal bantu investasi bokapnya Daisy dan kalau berhasil Daisy bakal jadi mistressnya..

Daisy sadar banget kalau dia seperti pungguk merindukan bulan kalau mengharapkan Ethan bakal falling in love dan jadi suaminya. Sedangkan Ethan pengen Daisy melihat dia bukan karena sudah membantu ayahnya keluar dari hutang tapi memang karena Daisy sayang dengan Ethan (karena Ethan trauma mantan tunangannya seperti itu).

Apakah Daisy & Ethan bisa bersatu ? (pasti bisa lah heheh) tapi lebih enak baca sendri gimana cara Ethan meyakinkan Daisy, dijamin sweet deh.

Note : baca ulang di ipusnas di 2018 ini, kok biasaaa banget malah kasih 2🌟, apa lebih bagus baca versi asli daripada terjemahan?

[iamGamz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Saccharine Stars

Got cavities from this one. Waaay too sugary for my tastes.

Ethan meets Daisy while she is working for a witch of a boss and he liberated her. Ok - he gets her fired for his own ends. He wants her and now she hates him cause she has no job so he offers her one. A job where he can see her everyday.

She resists him, and resents him for being wealthy, until she gets to know him better. Although she fought him all the way, he wins and the all live HEA!

Yeah. That's the book. No drama. Daisy was self sacrificing. She stood in her own way to the happy ending. It was sweet. But I won't read it again. Just not my taste.

[April Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Sm · Rating 2 out of 5]

billionaire Ethan meets plain, from the poorer side of the tracks and down on her luck Daisy

title's a misnomer, she's not his housekeeper, I think in the book he calls her his on-site supervisor or some sort ... she essentially keeps an eye on his renovation crew as they renovate his mansion

this was just okay ... a little bit pride and prejudice she's full of pride and he's prejudiced against potentially scheming women out for his money like his ex-fiancee

she tries to deny her attraction to him, he's a little bit more willing to fall into the attraction, but then gets his heckles up thinking she's out for his money. she's all tied up in knots because she's run haggard trying to save her parents after the financial meltdown of 2007. it was kind of ridiculous just how rich Ethan is and how he's got the midas touch - being the only one to have skirted the meltdown and save himself/his clients from the financial disaster. and how he just keeps winning and making more money from his race horse

i don't know ... felt like her situation was too realistic (and mundane) and his was too outrageously on the other side of the spectrum and then of course they end up together, so all her problems go away

just didn't feel like there was anything too exciting here ...

she essentially ends up falling in love with him first and he's still all upset that she's playing him, but he's playing her, so it's okay. he does finally figure out that she has too much integrity for that, but it was all a little ... meh ...

I liked that they didn't try to hide what they were to his friends, but essentially told a version of their meet cute without the details about how she traded herself for him giving his parents some of his midas advice

[Em__Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in Sydney, Australia, this book felt like it was taking place in my backyard. I know the suburbs mentioned, so I felt at home.

The story is just okay. The heroine plays the sacrificial lamb to her family's needs and has an unhealthy dislike of wealthy people that colours her reaction to the hero and others around her.

Nicolette McKenzie's narration is clear and very easy to listen to. Her diction comes across as quite formal - in response to the often formal language used by the characters - but the result is a heroine that sounds stiff and aloof.

I am picking up the odd older M&B audio titles my library has. They're not always book I would pick as a first choice but at 5-6 hours listening time, they are undemanding.

[Radha · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ lovely read
Daisy is the heroine with the backbone..
Ethan was deceived by his exfinancee ,the gold digging socialite..
He wanted Daisy but not trusted, he took his time..
Daisy was also dumped by her ex, when she has to help her parents...
She was not into casual sex, nor in one night stands..

So Ethan came out with a plan..

No spoilers
No cheating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Beautiful read

[Debra Shutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read romance books at all. So I feel like this book was good enought o get me into all the others I own of this genre and authore.

Though to be honest the title was a little misleading as was the blurb on the back of the book.

But I thoroughly enjoyed it and this is the first review I have ever written on Goodreads!

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Letto mezzo estratto. Irritante.

[Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reverse wealth prejudice. Why he continued to pursue her was unfathomable.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good concept sexist execution. Whew the hero is just a bag of misogyny. And never lets the heroine feel on his level with anything. Skip. Read the synopsis and picture a good book.

[Debby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. The woman is prejudiced against rich people.

[A]

DNF

[Mattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, but I wouldn't want to re-read. It was a tad boring. Np.

[Martha B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The insta interest from H’s side. I didn’t buy why he pursued the unwilling heroine that relentless despite the author’s explanation. The curvy heroine is brought victorious vs slender models. I really hate that trope. The heroine feels a resentment because the H is rich and she’s poor and struggling. She also is judgmental. Boring.

[Pauline Destinugrainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ethan Cartwright, seorang pakar finansial, menghabiskan waktu luangnya di sebuah acara pacuan kuda. Ada banyak wanita sosialita di acara itu yang berusaha mendekatinya. Tetapi mata dan pikiran Ethan tertuju pada seorang gadis berbaju coklat.

Daisy Donohue sengaja menggunakan pakaian serba coklat agar tidak terlihat di acara itu. Tugasnya hanyalah sebagai asisten pribadi yang memastikan acara itu berjalan lancar. Ketika matanya menangkap sosok Ethan Cartwright, entah kenapa dia tidak bisa mengalihkannya. Pikirannya langsung dipenuhi dengan keadaan keluarganya saat ini. Seandainya ayahnya dulu bisa bertemu dengan Ethan, tentunya sekarang mereka tidak terlilit utang yang besar. Daisy bekerja untuk membayar utang itu agar rumah tua milik kedua orang tuanya tidak disita oleh bank.

Sejak pandangan pertama itu, Ethan bertekad untuk mendekati Daisy. Ada sesuatu di dalam diri Daisy yang membuatnya ingin memilikinya. Bayangan tubuh sintal Daisy di kamar tidurnya membuatnya tidak ragu mendekati gadis itu. Sayangnya langkah Ethan membuat Daisy kehilangan pekerjaannya. Merasa bersalah, Ethan menawarkan pekerjaan sebagai pengawas renovasi di rumahnya. Mungkin dengan cara itu dia bisa mendapatkan Daisy.

Daisy melakukan pekerjaan apapun agar bisa membayar utang orang tuanya. Sementara Ethan yang kaya raya, baru saja dikhianati oleh kekasihnya yang menganggap uang lebih penting daripada kesetiaan. Didorong oleh nafsunya ingin memiliki Daisy, Ethan menganggap Daisy tidak berbeda dengan gadis lainnya yang tidak akan menolak materi. Ethan berjanji mencari jalan keluar untuk membayar utang orang tuanya, asalkan Daisy menjadi miliknya di waktu luangnya. Daisy tidak punya jalan lain dan terpaksa menerima tawaran itu. Lagipula dia sendiri ingin sekali merasakan berada di pelukan Ethan.

Hubungan yang awalnya dianggap murni bisnis bagi Daisy perlahan berubah.Meski menjadi mistress-nya Ethan tidak membawa kerugian fisik baginya, hatinya sedih jika menyadari bahwa dia hanyalah sekadar selingan bagi Ethan. Kontrak mereka akan berakhir dan dia harus melupakan Ethan. Yang menarik adalah karakter Ethan. Meski tujuan utamanya hanyalah agar bisa memiliki Daisy, tetapi dia juga memperhatikan kebutuhan Daisy. Ethan bahkan mencarikan pekerjaan bagi Daisy setelah renovasi rumahnya selesai.

Rasanya menyenangkan jika membaca buku yang awalnya saya tidak menaruh ekspektasi apa-apa, ternyata mendapatkan kisah yang manis. Itu yang saya rasakan saat membaca kisah Daisy dan Ethan. Bagian favorit adalah ketika Ethan menjumpai keluarga Daisy, dan Ethan mencoba mendekati keponakan Daisy yang autis. Emma Darcy memang paling bisa menyelipkan detail kecil yang sweet di novelnya. Jadi pengen baca karya Emma lainnya deh. I'm craving for sweet story.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy Donahue works as a PA to a very snobby woman when Ethan Cartwright, a financial consultant, meets her. Daisy seems to resent the fact that Ethan save more money for rich people as she has to work hard to help her parents since her siblings are unable to. Ethan is drawn to Daisy and he inadvertently gets her fired, so he offers her a job as a housekeeper of sorts overseeing the remodel on a house he has purchased.

The past has affected them, but not enough to present a large obstacle for these two to overcome – at least not for Ethan. If anything the fact that Ethan has money and Daisy doesn’t seems to be the biggest obstacle in their paths. I did like that he questions her intentions, but realizes it would be out of character for her – he paid attention! When they first met they felt the sparks, but she tried to ignore them. Ethan still wanted her and would have preferred to have a r/s, but he felt responsible for losing her job. He wanted to make her happy.

He defends her is offended for her and takes care of her as much as she will allow. Truly a refreshing read from the angst filled books out there, as there really wasn’t any in this one. He did blackmail her a bit but not like some. She still had a choice because what he was offering would have given her what she was working for only sooner rather than later. They are charming and sweet together and their feelings slowly evolve from lust into something deeper even before they fall into bed together.

He hurts her but realizes immediately and apologizes for it not meaning to come across the way he did. He was hurt in the past, but didn’t let that color any potential r/s w/ Daisy. He felt the potential for something different w/ Daisy and wasn’t going to let anything stop him from getting that connection. He really is so in-tune with her seeing things and roadblocks that she erects, but managing to overcome them and showing her the way it could be and that it will all be okay. He shows her that she can fit into his world, now he needs to show her that he can fit into her world. He is a very sweet man with the right balance of beta and alpha which makes him a winner in my book! Originally he only wanted her, but once he did he never wanted to let her go. Now he has to find a way to keep her and the arrangement to help her family was the way he dealt w/ that. Then other opportunities arose and he proved to her that they could work together in each other’s worlds.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a harlequin novel that is really about class and inequality. I was excited to have a heroine, Daisy, who was aware of the injustice of the 1% having all the wealth of the world, but I was disappointed that she seemed to make excuses for Ethan. As the story progresses Daisy thinks he's really a nice person even though he disregards her family struggles and got her fired because of his own selfishness. Then he had the nerve to act like he had done her a favor! Asswipe!

I think that hardest part of the book for me is when she finally tells him her parents situation and his response is well they made bad decisions so it's their fault that they are having major financial difficulties. They had a financial advisor who advised them badly but it wouldn't matter if they had made the decisions on their own. As Daisy points out, people with money are kept that way even when they are disadvantaging other people to get that money. Daisy does get upset when he dismisses her family's situation but she doesn't say anything.

Then she sells her body to him so that he will give her family financial advice, because he's a financial genius, to help them get out of debt! Let me explain why this is sooo problematic. Daisy really wanted Ethan to help her parents. She hoped he would offer or there would be someway she could bring it up without feeling like she was using him. My problem with her whole thought process is that he owed her for making her lose her job just because he is a spoiled rich white guy who always gets what he wants at any cost. He apologizes to her for making her lose her job but he's not sincere and that's how privilege works.

I was really over Ethan and disappointed in Daisy. She goes from challenging his privilege to being complicit with it. And Ethan doesn't grow in anyway as a character. He realizes that she's not a golddigger but he never understands the troubles or concerns of the working poor or struggling middle class.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Billionaire’s Housekeeper Mistress by Australian author, Emma Darcy, is the third book in the At His Service series. When whiz-kid financier Ethan Cartwright encounters Daisy Donahue at the Magic Millions races, he’s attracted, even though she’s nothing like his usual women. Daisy’s boss, events manager Lynda Twiggley impresses Ethan, but mostly for her mistreatment of her PA. His interference loses Daisy a job she can ill-afford to do without, but his solution is simple: she can work as his housekeeper, giving him the chance to win her heart while she does. Darcy gives the reader a feisty heroine who is not easily won and a chivalrous hero who is not easily deterred. Sparks fly in the interactions between these two, and the minor characters are fun too. This is one of Darcy’s better romances.

[Erica Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do I read so much smut....

[Lady Raven RAVE! · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY LIGHT READ its your typical harlequin present book Daisy and Ethan were good together, not much conflict between them because you always have the big misunderstanding in these books but it went smoothly. its not a wow read but its a late night quickie read.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could have been amazing if it was only longer. I liked the love story and the fact Daisy was so honest and hard working. I like Ethan's character and how topical it was. But it ended so fast! And there was no time for their relationship to develop!

[Tory Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story :)

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: At His Service

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: At His Service

[Tonya Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice story.

[Yui · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read.

[Beeface · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book.