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The Youngest Sister
Her Prince Charming? Cressy Vale was the youngest in a family of thin, glamorous, beautiful women. Only she wasn't thin or glamorous, and only the kindest of souls would ever call her beautiful. Which was why Nicolas Talbot's interest in her was so surprising. Yet since meeting Cressy he had become a regular knight in shining armour... offering her a place to stay and his undivided attention. Cressy was half in love with him already. But did Nicolas regard Cressy as merely a damsel in distress or his modern-day Cinderella?
- GenresHarlequin RomanceRomance
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1987
14 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Anne Weale
227 books49 followersJay Blakeney
aka Anne Weale, Andrea Blake
Jay Blakeney was born on Juny 20, 1929. Her great-grandfather was a well-known writer on moral theology, so perhaps she inherited her writing gene from him. She was "talking stories" to herself long before she could read. When she was still at school, she sold her first short stories to a woman's magazine and she feels she was destined to write. Decided to became a writer, she started writing for newspapers and magazines.
At 21, Jay was a newspaper reporter with a career plan, but the man she was wildly in love with announced that he was off to the other side of the world. He thought they should either marry or say goodbye. She always believed that true love could last a lifetime, and she felt that wonderful men were much harder to find than good jobs, so she put her career on hold. What a wise decision it was! She felt that new young women seem less inclined to risk everything for love than her generation.
Together they traveled the world. If she hadn't spent part of her bridal year living on the edge of a jungle in Malaysia, she might never have become a romance writer. That isolated house, and the perils of the state of emergency that existed in the country at that time, gave her a background and plot ideally suited to a genre she had never read until she came across some romances in the library of a country club they sometimes visited. She can write about love with the even stronger conviction that comes from experience.
When they returned to Europe, Jay resumed her career as a journalist, writing her first romance in her spare time. She sold her first novel as Anne Weale to Mills and Boon in 1955 at the age of 24. At 30, with seven books published, she "retired" to have a baby and become a full-time writer. She raised a delightful son, David, who is as adventurous as his father. Her husband and son have even climbed in the Andes and the Himalayas, giving her lots of ideas for stories. When she retired from reporting, her fiction income -- a combination of amounts earned as a Mills & Boon author and writing for magazines such as Woman's Illustrated, which serialized the work of authors -- exceed 1,000 pounds a year.
She was a founding member of the The Romantic Novelists' Association. In 2002 she published her last novel, in total, she wrote 88 novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Andrea Blake. She loved setting her novels in exotic parts of the world, but specially in The Caribbean and in her beloved Spain. Since 1989, Jay spent most of the winter months in a very small "pueblo" in the backwoods of Spain. During years, she visited some villages, and from each she have borrowed some feature - a fountain, a street, a plaza, a picturesque old house - to create some places like Valdecarrasca, that is wholly imaginary and yet typical of the part of rural Spain she knew best. She loved walking, reading, sketching, sewing (curtains and slipcovers) and doing needlepoint, gardening, entertaining friends, visiting art galleries and museums, writing letters, surfing the Net, traveling in search of exciting locations for future books, eating delicious food and drinking good wine, cataloguing her books.
She wrote a regular website review column for The Bookseller from 1998 to 2004, before starting her own blog Bookworm on the Net. At the time of her death, on October 24, 2007, she was working on her autobiography "88 Heroes... 1 Mr. Right".
aka Anne Weale, Andrea Blake
Jay Blakeney was born on Juny 20, 1929. Her great-grandfather was a well-known writer on moral theology, so perhaps she inherited her writing gene from him. She was "talking stories" to herself long before she could read. When she was still at school, she sold her first short stories to a woman's magazine and she feels she was destined to write. Decided to became a writer, she started writing for newspapers and magazines.
At 21, Jay was a newspaper reporter with a career plan, but the man she was wildly in love with announced that he was off to the other side of the world. He thought they should either marry or say goodbye. She always believed that true love could last a lifetime, and she felt that wonderful men were much harder to find than good jobs, so she put her career on hold. What a wise decision it was! She felt that new young women seem less inclined to risk everything for love than her generation.
Together they traveled the world. If she hadn't spent part of her bridal year living on the edge of a jungle in Malaysia, she might never have become a romance writer. That isolated house, and the perils of the state of emergency that existed in the country at that time, gave her a background and plot ideally suited to a genre she had never read until she came across some romances in the library of a country club they sometimes visited. She can write about love with the even stronger conviction that comes from experience.
When they returned to Europe, Jay resumed her career as a journalist, writing her first romance in her spare time. She sold her first novel as Anne Weale to Mills and Boon in 1955 at the age of 24. At 30, with seven books published, she "retired" to have a baby and become a full-time writer. She raised a delightful son, David, who is as adventurous as his father. Her husband and son have even climbed in the Andes and the Himalayas, giving her lots of ideas for stories. When she retired from reporting, her fiction income -- a combination of amounts earned as a Mills & Boon author and writing for magazines such as Woman's Illustrated, which serialized the work of authors -- exceed 1,000 pounds a year.
She was a founding member of the The Romantic Novelists' Association. In 2002 she published her last novel, in total, she wrote 88 novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Andrea Blake. She loved setting her novels in exotic parts of the world, but specially in The Caribbean and in her beloved Spain. Since 1989, Jay spent most of the winter months in a very small "pueblo" in the backwoods of Spain. During years, she visited some villages, and from each she have borrowed some feature - a fountain, a street, a plaza, a picturesque old house - to create some places like Valdecarrasca, that is wholly imaginary and yet typical of the part of rural Spain she knew best. She loved walking, reading, sketching, sewing (curtains and slipcovers) and doing needlepoint, gardening, entertaining friends, visiting art galleries and museums, writing letters, surfing the Net, traveling in search of exciting locations for future books, eating delicious food and drinking good wine, cataloguing her books.
She wrote a regular website review column for The Bookseller from 1998 to 2004, before starting her own blog Bookworm on the Net. At the time of her death, on October 24, 2007, she was working on her autobiography "88 Heroes... 1 Mr. Right".
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 21, 2024
A solid, compelling read until a very abrupt ending.
The heroine in this one is a beautiful woman of Juno-esque proportions who has always been looked down upon by her mother and two older sisters. When she meets the suave H on a flight to Spain, she can't believe he finds anything attractive about her too tall, too curvy figure. But H is indeed besotted. He thinks she looks like Jane Digby (look her up, it's a compliment) and can't wait to take her to bed.
Problem is, h is a romantic young woman who has been saving her virginity for Mr. Right, not for Mr. Right Now. Hero has a cold, calculated, and very soulless approach to the countless ephemeral liaisons he has engaged in over the years, in between all his world adventures. He LITERALLY has a little black book filled with horny divorcees and widows who are interested in no strings affairs when hero isn't too busy bungee jumping or climbing the Kilimanjaro. To make matters worse, H had an affair with one of heroine's sisters ten years ago and it takes him a real effort to even remember her name, once h realizes the connection.
Throughout the book, the author is "subtly" pushing her usual agenda that modern, career-minded feminists are empty shells who are ruining their lives, corrupting nice men who have been forced to discard their chivalrous manners under the threat of being torn limb to limb by these man-haters, and who will likely end up lonely, shriveled up spinsters. Thankfully, h is the old-fashioned type of girl who revives the protective macho instincts that had been deadened inside H's heart and that's how our Cinderella gets her Prince Charming in the end!
The heroine in this one is a beautiful woman of Juno-esque proportions who has always been looked down upon by her mother and two older sisters. When she meets the suave H on a flight to Spain, she can't believe he finds anything attractive about her too tall, too curvy figure. But H is indeed besotted. He thinks she looks like Jane Digby (look her up, it's a compliment) and can't wait to take her to bed.
Problem is, h is a romantic young woman who has been saving her virginity for Mr. Right, not for Mr. Right Now. Hero has a cold, calculated, and very soulless approach to the countless ephemeral liaisons he has engaged in over the years, in between all his world adventures. He LITERALLY has a little black book filled with horny divorcees and widows who are interested in no strings affairs when hero isn't too busy bungee jumping or climbing the Kilimanjaro. To make matters worse, H had an affair with one of heroine's sisters ten years ago and it takes him a real effort to even remember her name, once h realizes the connection.
Throughout the book, the author is "subtly" pushing her usual agenda that modern, career-minded feminists are empty shells who are ruining their lives, corrupting nice men who have been forced to discard their chivalrous manners under the threat of being torn limb to limb by these man-haters, and who will likely end up lonely, shriveled up spinsters. Thankfully, h is the old-fashioned type of girl who revives the protective macho instincts that had been deadened inside H's heart and that's how our Cinderella gets her Prince Charming in the end!
March 1, 2016
Cressy goes to Spain to help an aged aunt. She meets Nicolas on the plane who is more than helpful to her. He offers to driver her around and translate and even offers her his home when her aunt's place is inhabitable. Cressy has an inferiority complex (her mother and sisters are smarter and way more attractive) so she doesn't see herself as lovely or that Nicolas is very attracted to her although all his actions show that he is. As in many of Anne Weale books, the romance is very tepid at best. But I liked how the hero was so solicitous of her.
MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
Lost a star since it turns out that Nicolas had an affair with her older sister a long time ago. I find this quite distasteful. Although one can't help who One falls in love with, and indeed Cressy was able to overcome it and ask for an explanation, Personally I would never consider anyone who had slept with a sister or cousin of mine. To think that each time they got together as a family, to be reminded of this is just too disgusting.
MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
Lost a star since it turns out that Nicolas had an affair with her older sister a long time ago. I find this quite distasteful. Although one can't help who One falls in love with, and indeed Cressy was able to overcome it and ask for an explanation, Personally I would never consider anyone who had slept with a sister or cousin of mine. To think that each time they got together as a family, to be reminded of this is just too disgusting.
January 21, 2014
As is common with earlier books. Places descriptions given in detail. Some of them:
The book starts of with London and proceeds to Majorca.
Description - Majorca was the largest island in a group called the Balearics. Airport is in Palma. Palma to Polensa takes less than an hour.
'Welcome to Mallorca... illa dels vuit vents.. It's Mallorquin for "island of the' eight winds". We've been using wind-power since the fourteenth century, and our eight winds are also the reason so many yachtsmen come here.'
Other places mentioned briefly:
(1) Galapagos Islands - a sanctuary for rare wildlife in the Pacific.
(2) The Jungfrau - For a moment her heart stood still, the way it had the first time she saw the soaring white summit. In a hundred years' time it would still be stopping the hearts of impressionable schoolgirls.
(3) South America's a fascinating continent. I want to get to the summit of Aconcagua. It's the highest point in the western hemisphere...the highest mountain outside Asia.'
(4) Pennine way - Walking trail / Trekking
A healthy dose of General Knowledge is also imparted.
(1) 'It's called Noria entre Almendros, which means "noria among almond trees". A noria is a water wheel, worked by a donkey plodding round in a circle, with buckets attached to the rim for raising water from a well into irrigation canals. You saw them all over Spain when I was a child. They must have been introduced by the Moors because the name comes from the Arabic "na'ara" which means to creak.'
(2) It's a I934 Bentley, the twin of one ordered by Prince Bira, the Prince of Siam—now Thailand
A bit of name dropping:
'The way the blossom is painted reminds me of Samuel Palmer. He painted my favourite picture, The Magic Apple Tree'
'I like that picture too,' said Nicolas. 'I first saw it in the Fitzwilliam Museum when I was at Cambridge.'
Attention is also paid to describing food
'On my first night home, Catalina always starts supper with what, in a restaurant, is called entremeses del pais,' said Nicolas as the housekeeper appeared carrying a tray, on which were many small dishes. These she arranged so that all were within their reach while he described their contents.'Cabbage salad with raisins and carrots, chopped olives, quails' eggs, dried cod pate, cucumber in sweet and sour sauce, pickled onions, mountain ham from the mainland, butifarra—which is a spicy pork sausage— and the bright coral sausage is chorizo, which you may have had in England. The pink bread is called pa amb oli and the colour comes from tomato pulp. It's very garlicky but, as all Mallorqums eat garlic every day, the only people who notice it are the foreigners, who refuse to try it.'
The meal ended with two cheeses. Nicolas explained that the one wrapped in fig leaves was cabrales, a soft goat's cheese, and the hard one was an extra-mature Manchego, taking its name from La Mancha on the mainland, although this particular cheese had come from Menorca, the neighbouring island.
Nicholas comes across as having only one thing on his mind - Getting horizontal with Cressy.Then mid-way he has a change of heart and becomes tender and wooing.
.
I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt. Was looking for a few more pages of HEA.
The book starts of with London and proceeds to Majorca.
Description - Majorca was the largest island in a group called the Balearics. Airport is in Palma. Palma to Polensa takes less than an hour.
'Welcome to Mallorca... illa dels vuit vents.. It's Mallorquin for "island of the' eight winds". We've been using wind-power since the fourteenth century, and our eight winds are also the reason so many yachtsmen come here.'
Other places mentioned briefly:
(1) Galapagos Islands - a sanctuary for rare wildlife in the Pacific.
(2) The Jungfrau - For a moment her heart stood still, the way it had the first time she saw the soaring white summit. In a hundred years' time it would still be stopping the hearts of impressionable schoolgirls.
(3) South America's a fascinating continent. I want to get to the summit of Aconcagua. It's the highest point in the western hemisphere...the highest mountain outside Asia.'
(4) Pennine way - Walking trail / Trekking
A healthy dose of General Knowledge is also imparted.
(1) 'It's called Noria entre Almendros, which means "noria among almond trees". A noria is a water wheel, worked by a donkey plodding round in a circle, with buckets attached to the rim for raising water from a well into irrigation canals. You saw them all over Spain when I was a child. They must have been introduced by the Moors because the name comes from the Arabic "na'ara" which means to creak.'
(2) It's a I934 Bentley, the twin of one ordered by Prince Bira, the Prince of Siam—now Thailand
A bit of name dropping:
'The way the blossom is painted reminds me of Samuel Palmer. He painted my favourite picture, The Magic Apple Tree'
'I like that picture too,' said Nicolas. 'I first saw it in the Fitzwilliam Museum when I was at Cambridge.'
Attention is also paid to describing food
'On my first night home, Catalina always starts supper with what, in a restaurant, is called entremeses del pais,' said Nicolas as the housekeeper appeared carrying a tray, on which were many small dishes. These she arranged so that all were within their reach while he described their contents.'Cabbage salad with raisins and carrots, chopped olives, quails' eggs, dried cod pate, cucumber in sweet and sour sauce, pickled onions, mountain ham from the mainland, butifarra—which is a spicy pork sausage— and the bright coral sausage is chorizo, which you may have had in England. The pink bread is called pa amb oli and the colour comes from tomato pulp. It's very garlicky but, as all Mallorqums eat garlic every day, the only people who notice it are the foreigners, who refuse to try it.'
The meal ended with two cheeses. Nicolas explained that the one wrapped in fig leaves was cabrales, a soft goat's cheese, and the hard one was an extra-mature Manchego, taking its name from La Mancha on the mainland, although this particular cheese had come from Menorca, the neighbouring island.
Nicholas comes across as having only one thing on his mind - Getting horizontal with Cressy.Then mid-way he has a change of heart and becomes tender and wooing.
.
I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt. Was looking for a few more pages of HEA.
November 20, 2020
3 Stars ~ Before writing this review I browsed through my other reviews of books written by Ms. Weale. Her career spans 50 years, and she was very prolific, however, so far I've only read 7 of her 84 titles. Those that I have read are from each decade, and as time moved on, so did Ms. Weale's heroines. This romance was published in the late 90's and I was surprised that there is a reference to the heroine's sister having had an abortion, a taboo when Ms. Weale was first published.
Before boarding the plane from London to Majorca, Cressy finds herself ogling the back (and backside) of the man in front of her. She's sure that his face won't match his scrumptious rear, but is pleasantly surprised to see she's wrong. Nicolas seated in the waiting area for his flight, glances around and sees someone unexpected. Her shyness makes her appear quite young and her figure was unfashionably Amazonian... But her curves were firm and well-proportioned, and would be a cuddly armful.
From their meeting to the end, there is a sexual tension that builds. Cressy nearly abandons her vow to wait until marriage several times, but each time there is a distraction that pulls her back to reality, much to Nicolas' frustration. When he finally accepts that Cressy is serious in not wanting a frivolous relationship, he begins to realize she's gotten under his skin and he wants her always.
I enjoyed how their friendship grew, for though their sexual attraction was always there, they also truly liked each other. One thing Ms. Weale has not changed in her writing career is her speedy HEA's. While this one is satisfying, I would have liked it to be drawn out, instead the mere two pages.
Before boarding the plane from London to Majorca, Cressy finds herself ogling the back (and backside) of the man in front of her. She's sure that his face won't match his scrumptious rear, but is pleasantly surprised to see she's wrong. Nicolas seated in the waiting area for his flight, glances around and sees someone unexpected. Her shyness makes her appear quite young and her figure was unfashionably Amazonian... But her curves were firm and well-proportioned, and would be a cuddly armful.
From their meeting to the end, there is a sexual tension that builds. Cressy nearly abandons her vow to wait until marriage several times, but each time there is a distraction that pulls her back to reality, much to Nicolas' frustration. When he finally accepts that Cressy is serious in not wanting a frivolous relationship, he begins to realize she's gotten under his skin and he wants her always.
I enjoyed how their friendship grew, for though their sexual attraction was always there, they also truly liked each other. One thing Ms. Weale has not changed in her writing career is her speedy HEA's. While this one is satisfying, I would have liked it to be drawn out, instead the mere two pages.
June 27, 2022
This book was a complete gip! It was written in 1997 and even then it would have been considered old fashioned. 75% of the book is filler, on settings, famous people and quotes, criticism of people’s lives or out right snobbery, food and travel, it was all nonsense. I mean the MMC when ever he spoke it was to give a history lesson or a recipe on everything. I found it pompous and bougie.
The remaining 25% was of them in each other’s company but there was no heart in it. It was superficial responses to each other. Yes there was sweet attraction but no depth. This entire story encompasses 5 days and the first 50% of the book was day one! They had a whooping total of six kisses and only three of those were on page, barely. The book was basically over once the real relationship began which was in the last 20 pages of the book. Honestly, this book could have work better if it was only 50 pages long because that is the total amount of true couple time that was on page. Everything else was nonsense.
There was nothing to invest in. Not worth the money or the time I spent. And honestly why was it translated to ebook as it couldn’t have possibly been a successful publication. Smdh. Good luck.
The remaining 25% was of them in each other’s company but there was no heart in it. It was superficial responses to each other. Yes there was sweet attraction but no depth. This entire story encompasses 5 days and the first 50% of the book was day one! They had a whooping total of six kisses and only three of those were on page, barely. The book was basically over once the real relationship began which was in the last 20 pages of the book. Honestly, this book could have work better if it was only 50 pages long because that is the total amount of true couple time that was on page. Everything else was nonsense.
There was nothing to invest in. Not worth the money or the time I spent. And honestly why was it translated to ebook as it couldn’t have possibly been a successful publication. Smdh. Good luck.
September 24, 2017
Uncomplicated story. Accomplished writer , man of the world hero helps out the simple virginal, heart of gold heroine in a foreign land.
She promptly falls for him, whereas her family warns her of the hero being a rogue who ruined the family reputation.
Turns out that the hero had an affair with the heroine's sister a long long time ago. And the sister is a slutty character who unscrupulously used the hero to hide her mistakes.
The heroine however decides that love means trust. She loves him so she implicitly trusts him too. The hero is moved, declares undying love for her and HEA.
Only unpalatable part of the story was reliance on a bizarre coincidence. That out of all people in the wide world, the heroine meets the hero at a foreign land and he is just the guy who has a history with her sister !!
Decent read. 3 stars.
She promptly falls for him, whereas her family warns her of the hero being a rogue who ruined the family reputation.
Turns out that the hero had an affair with the heroine's sister a long long time ago. And the sister is a slutty character who unscrupulously used the hero to hide her mistakes.
The heroine however decides that love means trust. She loves him so she implicitly trusts him too. The hero is moved, declares undying love for her and HEA.
Only unpalatable part of the story was reliance on a bizarre coincidence. That out of all people in the wide world, the heroine meets the hero at a foreign land and he is just the guy who has a history with her sister !!
Decent read. 3 stars.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
May 10, 2021Cressida "Cressy" Vale was the youngest in a family of thin, glamorous, beautiful women. Only she wasn't thin or glamorous, and only the kindest of souls would ever call her beautiful. Which was why Nicolas Talbot's interest in her was so surprising. Yet since meeting Cressy he had become a regular knight in shining armour..offering her a place to stay and his undivided attention.
July 15, 2021
Couldn't get into this one, skimmed a few pages at the end and it was boring too.
April 12, 2023
Tohle je slátanina.
Hrdinka je velmi citlivá. Když u hrdiny, kterého zná pár hodin, jen tak hodí očkem a spatří knihu „Prehistorie sexu“: To znovu podnítilo její nejistotu ohledně toho, zda by dokázala odmítnout případné Nicolasovy sexuální návrhy, aniž by ho urazila. Už několikrát to musela udělat.
Autorka tak úplně neudržela myšlenku. Hrdinka je chudina, která je v rodině tou pověstnou Popelkou. Ale ono se jí nic neděje.
Je vysoká a baculatá, takže ji muži přehlížejí.
Ale musí odmítat hromady komplimentů a muži netouží po ničem jiném, než utrhnout její věneček.
Který si ale chce zachovat, dokud nepotká toho pravého. I když to tak celou dobu nevypadá, protože pokud by hrdina kývl, tak by nad tím nepřemýšlela a rovnou se svlékla.
Ona s ním jako tak nechce velice nic mít. Ale zase si ho nechce pohněvat. Ale ať už ji chce využít (nebo ne), tak jí se líbí a ona ho chce poznat lépe.
Navíc je jí už 23 let a život má v podstatě za sebou.
s. 50 je jediná, koho osud neobdařil bystrostí a inteligencí, a občas je to nepříjemné
Tohle bych podepsala, protože Cressy dala slovům „blbá hrdinka“ nový význam.
I když prošla hrdinovým „testem inteligence“.
Nicolas cítí, že Cressy bude „vášnivá povaha“ a večer už bude tak ochotná a dychtivá se s ním milovat stejně jako on. (s. 53)
Když už mělo dojít k mechtlím, zkazila to kočka, která lapila ptáčka. Ale zatímco do teď se Cressy tvářila, že ono to nějak dopadne, na s. 75 si vzpomněla, že věneček musí uchránit. A to byl hrdina ochotný se přičinit, aby se to líbilo i jí.
A čím víc byla Cressy opálenější, tím větší to byla lásečka.
s. 51 a břicho pevné a ploché jako chlapec
s. 130 Držel kotletu v ruce a krásnými bílými zuby z ní okusoval maso. Cressy by se na něj takhle vydržela dívat donekonečna.
Po tomhle ženy touží? No nevím.
Pak se tak nějak obecně na její straně barikády předpokládá, že ji požádá o ruku. I když občas se objeví myšlenka, že jeho by to ani ve snu nenapadlo.
Přesto je smutná, že ji nepožádal.
I když aspoň jí nabídl něco jiného.
Po čtyřhodinové večeři se vrací domů a zatímco ona se rozplývá nad „krásnou výlohou“ s drahými koženými doplňky: všimla si, že se nedívá na drahé kabelky, ale na ni. Než uhnul očima, spatřila jeho výraz – něžný zájem o její bezpečí a zdraví. (s. 143)
Na závěrečné drama si autorka nechala stěží dvě strany.
No, drama.
Sestra jí sdělí, že hejsek zbouchnul jejich další sestru a opustil ji, takže šla na potrat, chtěla spáchat sebevraždu a do teď se z toho nevzpamatovala. K tomu přidá vlastní trauma, když ji po půl roce opustil chlap.
Ale Cressy to ví líp. Řekne mu, co se dozvěděla a že ví, že si bude muset vybrat mezi jejich přátelstvím a rodinou (ne že by ji o to někdo žádal, ale co už). On vypadá upjatě a chladně. Ale ona ho miluje, takže je jasné, že mu důvěřuje. On ji taky miluje, akorát jí to ještě nechtěl říct.
S rodinou se naštěstí rozejít nemusí, pokud sestra řekne pravdu.
On – jak jinak – nikdy předtím nikoho nemiloval a ani teď se nebude měnit, ale s tím je hrdinka ochotná se smířit.
Takže ji ani nepřekvapí, že hrdina, který si ještě nedávno nedokázal vzpomenout na jméno její sestry, se kterou měl poměr, najednou vytáhne z rukávu podrobnosti.
Zlá sestra č. 1 měla jiného a dítě nebylo jeho, bo on si vždycky dával pozor a není žádný začátečník.
Navíc si pamatoval i jméno svého soka, které bylo tak unikátní, že si hrdinka hned uvědomila, že je to ten zlosyn, který opustil její druhou sestru.
A hrdina byl obětním beránkem.
Pak padne věta: „Takže jsme zasnoubení, co ty na to?“ (s. 151).
Bum, bác, hepík.
Hrdina má poněkud znepokojivou zálibu v pastelových barvách. Třeba pro korálově růžovou košili a o odstín světlejší kravatu. (s. 139)
Spousta jeho známých jsou napůl vegetariáni.
A to je jako tak co?
špatné dělení slov - s. 44, 49, 71, 74, 86,
ji/jí - s. 129
mě/mně - s. 150
Hrdinka je velmi citlivá. Když u hrdiny, kterého zná pár hodin, jen tak hodí očkem a spatří knihu „Prehistorie sexu“: To znovu podnítilo její nejistotu ohledně toho, zda by dokázala odmítnout případné Nicolasovy sexuální návrhy, aniž by ho urazila. Už několikrát to musela udělat.
Autorka tak úplně neudržela myšlenku. Hrdinka je chudina, která je v rodině tou pověstnou Popelkou. Ale ono se jí nic neděje.
Je vysoká a baculatá, takže ji muži přehlížejí.
Ale musí odmítat hromady komplimentů a muži netouží po ničem jiném, než utrhnout její věneček.
Který si ale chce zachovat, dokud nepotká toho pravého. I když to tak celou dobu nevypadá, protože pokud by hrdina kývl, tak by nad tím nepřemýšlela a rovnou se svlékla.
Ona s ním jako tak nechce velice nic mít. Ale zase si ho nechce pohněvat. Ale ať už ji chce využít (nebo ne), tak jí se líbí a ona ho chce poznat lépe.
Navíc je jí už 23 let a život má v podstatě za sebou.
s. 50 je jediná, koho osud neobdařil bystrostí a inteligencí, a občas je to nepříjemné
Tohle bych podepsala, protože Cressy dala slovům „blbá hrdinka“ nový význam.
I když prošla hrdinovým „testem inteligence“.
Nicolas cítí, že Cressy bude „vášnivá povaha“ a večer už bude tak ochotná a dychtivá se s ním milovat stejně jako on. (s. 53)
Když už mělo dojít k mechtlím, zkazila to kočka, která lapila ptáčka. Ale zatímco do teď se Cressy tvářila, že ono to nějak dopadne, na s. 75 si vzpomněla, že věneček musí uchránit. A to byl hrdina ochotný se přičinit, aby se to líbilo i jí.
A čím víc byla Cressy opálenější, tím větší to byla lásečka.
s. 51 a břicho pevné a ploché jako chlapec
s. 130 Držel kotletu v ruce a krásnými bílými zuby z ní okusoval maso. Cressy by se na něj takhle vydržela dívat donekonečna.
Po tomhle ženy touží? No nevím.
Pak se tak nějak obecně na její straně barikády předpokládá, že ji požádá o ruku. I když občas se objeví myšlenka, že jeho by to ani ve snu nenapadlo.
Přesto je smutná, že ji nepožádal.
I když aspoň jí nabídl něco jiného.
Po čtyřhodinové večeři se vrací domů a zatímco ona se rozplývá nad „krásnou výlohou“ s drahými koženými doplňky: všimla si, že se nedívá na drahé kabelky, ale na ni. Než uhnul očima, spatřila jeho výraz – něžný zájem o její bezpečí a zdraví. (s. 143)
Na závěrečné drama si autorka nechala stěží dvě strany.
No, drama.
Sestra jí sdělí, že hejsek zbouchnul jejich další sestru a opustil ji, takže šla na potrat, chtěla spáchat sebevraždu a do teď se z toho nevzpamatovala. K tomu přidá vlastní trauma, když ji po půl roce opustil chlap.
Ale Cressy to ví líp. Řekne mu, co se dozvěděla a že ví, že si bude muset vybrat mezi jejich přátelstvím a rodinou (ne že by ji o to někdo žádal, ale co už). On vypadá upjatě a chladně. Ale ona ho miluje, takže je jasné, že mu důvěřuje. On ji taky miluje, akorát jí to ještě nechtěl říct.
S rodinou se naštěstí rozejít nemusí, pokud sestra řekne pravdu.
On – jak jinak – nikdy předtím nikoho nemiloval a ani teď se nebude měnit, ale s tím je hrdinka ochotná se smířit.
Takže ji ani nepřekvapí, že hrdina, který si ještě nedávno nedokázal vzpomenout na jméno její sestry, se kterou měl poměr, najednou vytáhne z rukávu podrobnosti.
Zlá sestra č. 1 měla jiného a dítě nebylo jeho, bo on si vždycky dával pozor a není žádný začátečník.
Navíc si pamatoval i jméno svého soka, které bylo tak unikátní, že si hrdinka hned uvědomila, že je to ten zlosyn, který opustil její druhou sestru.
A hrdina byl obětním beránkem.
Pak padne věta: „Takže jsme zasnoubení, co ty na to?“ (s. 151).
Bum, bác, hepík.
Hrdina má poněkud znepokojivou zálibu v pastelových barvách. Třeba pro korálově růžovou košili a o odstín světlejší kravatu. (s. 139)
Spousta jeho známých jsou napůl vegetariáni.
A to je jako tak co?
špatné dělení slov - s. 44, 49, 71, 74, 86,
ji/jí - s. 129
mě/mně - s. 150
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2018
Not very memorable and not much going on in this book. A week after reading it, when I went to put my reviews in I had to read the blurb a couple of times before I even remembered the book. That's not a book I would recommend!
February 12, 2017
Treasure (ha!) of an old skool Harlequin. Engaging, pragmatic heroine and adventurer/writer hero. Familial complications.
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