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Snowfire
Mills & Boon are excited to present The Anne Mather Collection – the complete works by this classic author made available to download for the very first time! These books span six decades of a phenomenal writing career, and every story is available to read unedited and untouched from their original release. In love with a younger man!
Running into Conor Brennan after eleven years produced a disturbing uneasiness Olivia couldn’t quite understand. The boy she once knew had grown into a man. A very sexy man.
Olivia had grown up too. A bad marriage and shattering accident had ravaged her emotionally. She felt old, jaded, and convinced she had nothing to offer a man like Connor. So why did the delicious warmth he kindled in her make her feel so wonderfully alive?
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1993
About the author
Anne Mather
814 books366 followersAnne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson, a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
Mildred Grieveson began to write down stories in her childhood years. The first novel that she actually finished, Caroline (1965), was also her first book to be published. Her novel, Leopard in the Snow (1974), was developed into a 1978 film.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 31, 2016
There may be some minor spoilers....!
This is the first ever Mills & Boon book I have read that has the heroine being older than the hero!!!! Amazing to think this book, Snowfire" by one of my fav authors, Anne Mather, was first published in 1993 before the “Cougar Age” but before you think it’s about a older woman in love with a much younger man…stop…it’s not!!!
Though Olivia had been friends with Conor’s mother and had known him since he has a baby, there is only a 9 year age difference.
After the tragic death of Conor’s parents when he was fifteen and Olivia in her early twenties, he had left Paget and gone to live with his uncle and aunt in Florida.
Ten years later, Olivia is now a lawyer and is going through a sad divorce and trying to get over a car accident that has left her scarred and with a limp.
She decides to go back to Paget trying to remain anonymous and one day decides to walk to the house she used to live with grandmother who has died and was next door to Conor’s house.
The last time she had seen Conor was when he was 17 and had visited her and had behaved rather badly. She had always wondered if he had sold the house and if he was still in Florida.
They meet again when Conor helps her after she had slipped on the road across from his house.
He’s no longer the teenager she remembered discovers that he has moved back to Paget and his a psychologist working with disturbed drug addicts at a local hospital.
Olivia tries hard to fight the attraction she feels for Connor as she feels that nothing could come out of a relationship with him due to her being so old and boring and crippled!!!!
But Conor only sees a woman he has always loved since he had grown up. He did not see her as his aunt but as a woman who he loves and wants to be with forever. But somehow the age gap really worries Olivia even though he tries to tell her that it does not matter to him.
After many obstacles – Olivia’s horrible horrible soon to be ex-husband making an appearance at her hotel, Conor believing she is still married, Olivia deciding to end their relationship….Olivia discovers she is pregnant with Conor’s child.
Why she took so long to tell him about it really angered me!!!!! Only after getting a phone call from the nosy hotel owner in Paget that there was something wrong with Conor, did she get into a car and drive non-stop to his house, breaking in through the cellar and having thought he had done something to himself when she found him in his bed.
Really Olivia….what kind of woman are you??????
Anyway, love wins in the end and they find their HEA.
I was going to give this book a 5 star review but I was really freaked out by the scene where Olivia mistakenly believes Conor does not want the baby and she tells him that she will have an abortion if that’s what it takes to get him back!!!!! I hated that!!!! It spoilt it all for me…..but I still think it’s a great book and it will definitely be added to my favorites shelf in my library.
Lastly, Mills & Boon and Silhouette….please can’t we have more stories about the older woman in love with a younger man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the first ever Mills & Boon book I have read that has the heroine being older than the hero!!!! Amazing to think this book, Snowfire" by one of my fav authors, Anne Mather, was first published in 1993 before the “Cougar Age” but before you think it’s about a older woman in love with a much younger man…stop…it’s not!!!
Though Olivia had been friends with Conor’s mother and had known him since he has a baby, there is only a 9 year age difference.
After the tragic death of Conor’s parents when he was fifteen and Olivia in her early twenties, he had left Paget and gone to live with his uncle and aunt in Florida.
Ten years later, Olivia is now a lawyer and is going through a sad divorce and trying to get over a car accident that has left her scarred and with a limp.
She decides to go back to Paget trying to remain anonymous and one day decides to walk to the house she used to live with grandmother who has died and was next door to Conor’s house.
The last time she had seen Conor was when he was 17 and had visited her and had behaved rather badly. She had always wondered if he had sold the house and if he was still in Florida.
They meet again when Conor helps her after she had slipped on the road across from his house.
He’s no longer the teenager she remembered discovers that he has moved back to Paget and his a psychologist working with disturbed drug addicts at a local hospital.
Olivia tries hard to fight the attraction she feels for Connor as she feels that nothing could come out of a relationship with him due to her being so old and boring and crippled!!!!
But Conor only sees a woman he has always loved since he had grown up. He did not see her as his aunt but as a woman who he loves and wants to be with forever. But somehow the age gap really worries Olivia even though he tries to tell her that it does not matter to him.
After many obstacles – Olivia’s horrible horrible soon to be ex-husband making an appearance at her hotel, Conor believing she is still married, Olivia deciding to end their relationship….Olivia discovers she is pregnant with Conor’s child.
Why she took so long to tell him about it really angered me!!!!! Only after getting a phone call from the nosy hotel owner in Paget that there was something wrong with Conor, did she get into a car and drive non-stop to his house, breaking in through the cellar and having thought he had done something to himself when she found him in his bed.
Really Olivia….what kind of woman are you??????
Anyway, love wins in the end and they find their HEA.
I was going to give this book a 5 star review but I was really freaked out by the scene where Olivia mistakenly believes Conor does not want the baby and she tells him that she will have an abortion if that’s what it takes to get him back!!!!! I hated that!!!! It spoilt it all for me…..but I still think it’s a great book and it will definitely be added to my favorites shelf in my library.
Lastly, Mills & Boon and Silhouette….please can’t we have more stories about the older woman in love with a younger man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 14, 2018
Re Snowfire - Anne Mather does a semi reversal on the guardian/ward trope -with her usual dramatic twist.
The h in this is 35yrs old to the H's 27 yrs old. The older h/younger H trope isn't often seen in HPlandia, but it has been done before. Notably by both Daphne Clair in Take Hold of Tomorrow and Susan Napier in Secret Admirer - both books feature unicorn grooming H's.
But by far and away the most liberal pursuer of the trope is Anne Mather - who must have loved White Palace and The Graduate and always has room to add a little mum/daughter/H triangle to her family drama. There isn't any mum/daughter conflict in this one, but there is plenty of other wrecki drama to keep us turning the pages.
The book opens with a prologue where the 24 yr old h is trying to console the 15 yr old H over the loss of his parents. The h is the girl next door and an orphan herself, who was raised by her grandmother. The h became very good friends with the H's mother over the course of time, but now with her and the father's death, the H is going to have to move to the US with his maternal uncle.
The H is taking it very badly and the h wishes that she could take over the care and feeding of the H. In a sad little scene, he even asks her if she will take him in - but the h lives in a shared flat and is currently doing her law studies to be a solicitor - she wasn't named the H's legal guardian and so she has to tell him no. The H gets angry and cries and the h feels terrible, but it seems these two are destined to part for a while.
Life goes on and eventually the h marries, eleven years on the h is three weeks away from her final divorce decree - her husband dumped her after she had a big car wreck and seriously damaged her leg with a permanent injury. (Or so she thinks, mostly it was cause he was having it on with his boss's wife.)
The h decides to go back to her own hometown to recover in peaceful surroundings and it is while she is out walking that she literally falls at the H's feet again. The H is surprised to see her, the last time they met the H was in his late teens and rather bolshy with it - so their meeting did not go well.
Now it looks like the H has moved back to his parent's home and has a young girlfriend or maybe the young lady is his wife. The h pretends she was just catching up on the reminiscence of her grandmother's old cottage and the H maneuvers things where he takes the h out to dinner - along with his perky twenty something girlfriend who is giving off definite "keep off my man" vibes.
The h is attracted to the H, but fighting it. She fails to mention that she is a week or so off from the final divorce decree as a shield against the H's serious Lurve Mojo Force and she spends a lot of time trying to figure out if the H's seeming pursuit is serious or not.
The H, for his part, is serious in his pursuit of the h, he even dumps the current bed warmer to prove it. He had some teen drug issues and became a medical doctor who now works with addicts. In another HPlandia first, we learn about drug dependencies and crack cocaine, as the H describes his work with his patients.
The h is torn between her feeling that she is cradle robbing, her worries over her physical appearance after such a severe car wreck and trying to keep her soon to be ex-husband from trying to stall the divorce.
The nematode soon to be ex-hubby shows up to harass the h and try to stop the divorce when it looks like his boss has figured out the ex is sneaking around with the boss's wife. (The man is pretty scary and the h is a little concerned that her nematode ex might be severely beaten or gain a pair of cement shoes to go wading in the Thames.)
The H wants the h to divorce her husband and be with him and in true HP H style, he overwhelms the h with roofie kisses and then big lurve club moments ensue. The h has a freak out moment and runs off for awhile - until she realizes she is preggers after her divorce is final.
The H has been attacked by one of his patients and the busybody hotelier calls the h in London to come help the H - he has refused to see anyone else and he was sliced across his stomach. So the h arrives at the H's in a state of panic and big lurve declarations ensue.
The h explains her fears that she was too damaged physically to be attractive to him and her guilt over his age, the H responds that he has been in love with her since he was fifteen, but he thought he messed things up when he acted like an idiot a few years earlier.
But they both love each other madly and the h is preggers - the H thinks maybe the h only wants a name for the baby, but the h tells him she will have a termination if that is what it takes to keep him. The H believes her and decides that she really loves him - since her divorce is final and has been for a while, they will marry and lurve it up for the big HEA.
This one is pretty engaging and AM stretches the age difference here as well. The HP standard prior to this book is an h who is about five years older than the H, but AM pushes it out to eight or nine and will continue to do that in her future books.
This isn't a really big HP trope, but it is always an interesting one. Sometimes I am not sure if the HEA is really an HEA, but it works well enough for an HP outing.
If you want more voyages in HPlandia like it, Anne Mather has a whole selection as follows: Stolen Summer, Sinful Pleasures, Treacherous Longings, Trial Of Innocence' Guilty; Méndez's Mistress, The Rodrigues Pregnancy and All Night Long.
The h in this is 35yrs old to the H's 27 yrs old. The older h/younger H trope isn't often seen in HPlandia, but it has been done before. Notably by both Daphne Clair in Take Hold of Tomorrow and Susan Napier in Secret Admirer - both books feature unicorn grooming H's.
But by far and away the most liberal pursuer of the trope is Anne Mather - who must have loved White Palace and The Graduate and always has room to add a little mum/daughter/H triangle to her family drama. There isn't any mum/daughter conflict in this one, but there is plenty of other wrecki drama to keep us turning the pages.
The book opens with a prologue where the 24 yr old h is trying to console the 15 yr old H over the loss of his parents. The h is the girl next door and an orphan herself, who was raised by her grandmother. The h became very good friends with the H's mother over the course of time, but now with her and the father's death, the H is going to have to move to the US with his maternal uncle.
The H is taking it very badly and the h wishes that she could take over the care and feeding of the H. In a sad little scene, he even asks her if she will take him in - but the h lives in a shared flat and is currently doing her law studies to be a solicitor - she wasn't named the H's legal guardian and so she has to tell him no. The H gets angry and cries and the h feels terrible, but it seems these two are destined to part for a while.
Life goes on and eventually the h marries, eleven years on the h is three weeks away from her final divorce decree - her husband dumped her after she had a big car wreck and seriously damaged her leg with a permanent injury. (Or so she thinks, mostly it was cause he was having it on with his boss's wife.)
The h decides to go back to her own hometown to recover in peaceful surroundings and it is while she is out walking that she literally falls at the H's feet again. The H is surprised to see her, the last time they met the H was in his late teens and rather bolshy with it - so their meeting did not go well.
Now it looks like the H has moved back to his parent's home and has a young girlfriend or maybe the young lady is his wife. The h pretends she was just catching up on the reminiscence of her grandmother's old cottage and the H maneuvers things where he takes the h out to dinner - along with his perky twenty something girlfriend who is giving off definite "keep off my man" vibes.
The h is attracted to the H, but fighting it. She fails to mention that she is a week or so off from the final divorce decree as a shield against the H's serious Lurve Mojo Force and she spends a lot of time trying to figure out if the H's seeming pursuit is serious or not.
The H, for his part, is serious in his pursuit of the h, he even dumps the current bed warmer to prove it. He had some teen drug issues and became a medical doctor who now works with addicts. In another HPlandia first, we learn about drug dependencies and crack cocaine, as the H describes his work with his patients.
The h is torn between her feeling that she is cradle robbing, her worries over her physical appearance after such a severe car wreck and trying to keep her soon to be ex-husband from trying to stall the divorce.
The nematode soon to be ex-hubby shows up to harass the h and try to stop the divorce when it looks like his boss has figured out the ex is sneaking around with the boss's wife. (The man is pretty scary and the h is a little concerned that her nematode ex might be severely beaten or gain a pair of cement shoes to go wading in the Thames.)
The H wants the h to divorce her husband and be with him and in true HP H style, he overwhelms the h with roofie kisses and then big lurve club moments ensue. The h has a freak out moment and runs off for awhile - until she realizes she is preggers after her divorce is final.
The H has been attacked by one of his patients and the busybody hotelier calls the h in London to come help the H - he has refused to see anyone else and he was sliced across his stomach. So the h arrives at the H's in a state of panic and big lurve declarations ensue.
The h explains her fears that she was too damaged physically to be attractive to him and her guilt over his age, the H responds that he has been in love with her since he was fifteen, but he thought he messed things up when he acted like an idiot a few years earlier.
But they both love each other madly and the h is preggers - the H thinks maybe the h only wants a name for the baby, but the h tells him she will have a termination if that is what it takes to keep him. The H believes her and decides that she really loves him - since her divorce is final and has been for a while, they will marry and lurve it up for the big HEA.
This one is pretty engaging and AM stretches the age difference here as well. The HP standard prior to this book is an h who is about five years older than the H, but AM pushes it out to eight or nine and will continue to do that in her future books.
This isn't a really big HP trope, but it is always an interesting one. Sometimes I am not sure if the HEA is really an HEA, but it works well enough for an HP outing.
If you want more voyages in HPlandia like it, Anne Mather has a whole selection as follows: Stolen Summer, Sinful Pleasures, Treacherous Longings, Trial Of Innocence' Guilty; Méndez's Mistress, The Rodrigues Pregnancy and All Night Long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2020
I have heard lovely things about Anne Mather`s "Snowfire" and decided to pick it up.It is somehow unique with its trope that the heroine is older than the hero,and that causes much insecurity in her.Something that kinda bothered me (but i let it go when i saw how they fit together) was that Olivia Perry had known Conor Brennan since he was a baby and she had been 8 years old and taken care of him when he was a boy.I have taken care of many friends kids when i was 8-12 years old and would NEVER imagine myself being in love with them when they grow up to adult-hood.In this case Olivia only saw Conor as a kid even when he was a orphaned teenager and only became attracted to him in their reunion 9 years later when he turned 26 years old and had become a successful doctor.
Anne Mather sure knows how to deal with angst and pain and creates a delicious chemistry between Olivia and the very sexy blond-haired Conor.Conor had to deal with unrequited love all his life for Olivia,and i am happy for him that he finally got his HEA with the woman of his dreams.
Anne Mather sure knows how to deal with angst and pain and creates a delicious chemistry between Olivia and the very sexy blond-haired Conor.Conor had to deal with unrequited love all his life for Olivia,and i am happy for him that he finally got his HEA with the woman of his dreams.
August 10, 2021
This was - to use a professional term - yucky. Okay, it’s Ann Mather, but I had hope for some kind of hijinks considering this is an older woman/younger man scenario. Nope, no humor, no banter, just two charmless characters that end up getting together.
Unlike some of the old skool Harley H’s, the heroine hasn’t been grooming the young hero since he was in diapers and driving away other women. But, and it’s a big but, she’s eight years older and still has fond memories of him as a two year old and bathing him and, again, yucky. She wallows in her older woman status a lot. When the H asks her out for dinner she goes all out.
The dress was a warm Laura Ashley print, in shades of russet, green and brown. Its main attraction to Olivia was that it had a high neck and long sleeves, and the hem was only a few inches off her ankles. With opaque black tights to complete her cover, Olivia was reasonably satisfied with the result.
Get on with your bad self, you Sister Wife seductress. The H’s hot little friends with benefit chick who he invited for some unknown reason wears a scarlet mini-skirt suit.
As for the H, there’s no getting around the fact he has a big crush on her but I can’t help but feel she’s the link to the family he lost as a teenager which is kind of sad. He hasn’t exactly been waiting by the phone for the past few decades as he confesses that he needs sexual satisfaction just like anybody else, even her. Like I said, charmless.
AM doesn’t leave crankiness with just her main characters. There is more than one nosy busybody as well as the red skirted OW, but the heroine’s MIL provides the best line. At the death of her son, she tells the heroine...she had made it known that she considered Olivia was responsible for the divorce. No reasonable woman expected a man to be totally faithful, she said.
That's some kind of marital advice.
We pull into the end with a tawdry little HEA because nothing says “I love you” like I’ll get an abortion if you want me to.
Unlike some of the old skool Harley H’s, the heroine hasn’t been grooming the young hero since he was in diapers and driving away other women. But, and it’s a big but, she’s eight years older and still has fond memories of him as a two year old and bathing him and, again, yucky. She wallows in her older woman status a lot. When the H asks her out for dinner she goes all out.
The dress was a warm Laura Ashley print, in shades of russet, green and brown. Its main attraction to Olivia was that it had a high neck and long sleeves, and the hem was only a few inches off her ankles. With opaque black tights to complete her cover, Olivia was reasonably satisfied with the result.
Get on with your bad self, you Sister Wife seductress. The H’s hot little friends with benefit chick who he invited for some unknown reason wears a scarlet mini-skirt suit.
As for the H, there’s no getting around the fact he has a big crush on her but I can’t help but feel she’s the link to the family he lost as a teenager which is kind of sad. He hasn’t exactly been waiting by the phone for the past few decades as he confesses that he needs sexual satisfaction just like anybody else, even her. Like I said, charmless.
AM doesn’t leave crankiness with just her main characters. There is more than one nosy busybody as well as the red skirted OW, but the heroine’s MIL provides the best line. At the death of her son, she tells the heroine...she had made it known that she considered Olivia was responsible for the divorce. No reasonable woman expected a man to be totally faithful, she said.
That's some kind of marital advice.
We pull into the end with a tawdry little HEA because nothing says “I love you” like I’ll get an abortion if you want me to.
September 2, 2011
No matter if you're a teenager or in your 40s - this book gives you hope
September 10, 2012
A nice older woman story. In this case she lived next door to him growing up. They meet 10 years later after his parents died and he went to live with an uncle. Come to find out that he'd always loved her. She had been injured in an accident and was almost divorced from her husband when they meet again. There's cheating here if that's a hot button to you since she's not technically divorced yet. Could have used a bit more time on their new relationship and less on the ex husband's craziness but hey I didn't write it right? Good story and worth the read.
November 13, 2019
Hot, young studly doctor telling your skinny, bony ass that he's been in love with you since he was sixteen and you've been the star of all his sexual fantasies? Uh, yes please!
Olivia was twenty-three years old when her closest neighbors died, leaving behind a fifteen-year-old son, Connor, who is now an orphan. Olivia was best friends with Connor’s mom and has basically known Connor since he was a baby, so she’s very fond of him. Connor wants to stay with Olivia, but of course he can’t because Olivia isn’t a relative and he has to go off with his uncle, who is his dad’s brother and lives in Florida. Connor is also in love with Olivia, but that doesn’t matter because she thinks he’s just a kid, so he goes off with his uncle and gets on with his life.
Meanwhile, Olivia gets married, but not happily because she gets cheated on by her ratbag husband and also gets in an accident that gives her a bad limp. Eleven years later, she’s depressed and wallowing in self-pity, so she decides to go back to her hometown for a vacation. While there, she visits her grandma’s old house, which is next door to Connor’s old house, just for nostalgia’s sake, and sees a young woman with groceries pull up in a car in front of Connor’s house and sees grown-up, handsome Connor coming out to help her. Just as she’s about to hurry away, she slips on her bad leg and falls down on the ground, unable to get up on her own. To her horror, Connor comes to her rescue and takes her back to his place where he takes care of her and invites her to dinner, introducing her to his hot girlfriend. Even more horrifying, Olivia finds herself sexually attracted to Connor, the kid she used to babysit and someone who is most assuredly not a kid anymore. He is a doctor now and looking at Olivia like he’d like to take a bite out of her. Of course, Connor has a bitchy girlfriend who just has to point out how old Olivia is and how nice it is of Connor to take care of one of his mom’s old friends.
Thus the relationship of Connor and Olivia develops like this: Connor tells Olivia she’s desirable and sexy and he’s always had a crush on her, while Olivia resists and pushes him away, insisting that she’s one of his mother’s cronies and that she’s too old for him. Repeat ad nauseam. Meanwhile, Olivia’s ex-husband is in trouble because he slept with his boss’s wife and he needs an alibi, so he’s trying to get Olivia let him stay with her, much to Olivia’s chagrin. He’s also there to remind Olivia that she’s old, undesirable, and that no man would ever want her. Olivia, he would like to reiterate, cannot have children and therefore, is useless as a woman, which was why he left her for a younger, hotter woman. But as it turned out, he’s having trouble having babies with his new wife, too, so maybe he had been a little too hasty in dumping Olivia and Olivia should give him another chance. The guy is scum of the earth, of course, and more than a little gross. What was Olivia thinking when she married the guy anyway?
Connor, on the other hand, is a cool guy. He works at a drug rehabilitation hospital because when he first got to London, he got into drugs a little bit and made a fool of himself with Olivia, which drove her away, so he cleaned up his act, and decided he was going to help others. He’d been in love with her since he was a teen, but she didn’t take him seriously because she’d always just thought of him as a kid and nothing more. But now he’s a man and he’s going to prove to her that he can take care of her like no one can and he’ll do a damn sight better than her douchebag husband.
Olivia is a bit of a sad-sack and mopes around a lot, but her self-esteem has taken a lot of beating. Still, she’s not a lot of fun to read about, unless Connor is around and even then she does a lot of whingeing and hand-wringing, telling him he’s too good for her because he could do a lot better than an old cripple, but then Connor shuts her up with a kiss and good-lovin’ and everything is all well and good for a while, until Olivia gets doubtful yet again of her abilities to make Connor happy.
This isn’t a true How-Stella-Got-Her-Groove-Back story because Olivia isn’t a lot of fun. She’s such a depressing character, while Connor is so sexy and hot. This is one of those rare Mills and Boon when I can actually say that the hero deserves better because otherwise, it's just a lot of boring, repetitive nonsense.
Olivia was twenty-three years old when her closest neighbors died, leaving behind a fifteen-year-old son, Connor, who is now an orphan. Olivia was best friends with Connor’s mom and has basically known Connor since he was a baby, so she’s very fond of him. Connor wants to stay with Olivia, but of course he can’t because Olivia isn’t a relative and he has to go off with his uncle, who is his dad’s brother and lives in Florida. Connor is also in love with Olivia, but that doesn’t matter because she thinks he’s just a kid, so he goes off with his uncle and gets on with his life.
Meanwhile, Olivia gets married, but not happily because she gets cheated on by her ratbag husband and also gets in an accident that gives her a bad limp. Eleven years later, she’s depressed and wallowing in self-pity, so she decides to go back to her hometown for a vacation. While there, she visits her grandma’s old house, which is next door to Connor’s old house, just for nostalgia’s sake, and sees a young woman with groceries pull up in a car in front of Connor’s house and sees grown-up, handsome Connor coming out to help her. Just as she’s about to hurry away, she slips on her bad leg and falls down on the ground, unable to get up on her own. To her horror, Connor comes to her rescue and takes her back to his place where he takes care of her and invites her to dinner, introducing her to his hot girlfriend. Even more horrifying, Olivia finds herself sexually attracted to Connor, the kid she used to babysit and someone who is most assuredly not a kid anymore. He is a doctor now and looking at Olivia like he’d like to take a bite out of her. Of course, Connor has a bitchy girlfriend who just has to point out how old Olivia is and how nice it is of Connor to take care of one of his mom’s old friends.
Thus the relationship of Connor and Olivia develops like this: Connor tells Olivia she’s desirable and sexy and he’s always had a crush on her, while Olivia resists and pushes him away, insisting that she’s one of his mother’s cronies and that she’s too old for him. Repeat ad nauseam. Meanwhile, Olivia’s ex-husband is in trouble because he slept with his boss’s wife and he needs an alibi, so he’s trying to get Olivia let him stay with her, much to Olivia’s chagrin. He’s also there to remind Olivia that she’s old, undesirable, and that no man would ever want her. Olivia, he would like to reiterate, cannot have children and therefore, is useless as a woman, which was why he left her for a younger, hotter woman. But as it turned out, he’s having trouble having babies with his new wife, too, so maybe he had been a little too hasty in dumping Olivia and Olivia should give him another chance. The guy is scum of the earth, of course, and more than a little gross. What was Olivia thinking when she married the guy anyway?
Connor, on the other hand, is a cool guy. He works at a drug rehabilitation hospital because when he first got to London, he got into drugs a little bit and made a fool of himself with Olivia, which drove her away, so he cleaned up his act, and decided he was going to help others. He’d been in love with her since he was a teen, but she didn’t take him seriously because she’d always just thought of him as a kid and nothing more. But now he’s a man and he’s going to prove to her that he can take care of her like no one can and he’ll do a damn sight better than her douchebag husband.
Olivia is a bit of a sad-sack and mopes around a lot, but her self-esteem has taken a lot of beating. Still, she’s not a lot of fun to read about, unless Connor is around and even then she does a lot of whingeing and hand-wringing, telling him he’s too good for her because he could do a lot better than an old cripple, but then Connor shuts her up with a kiss and good-lovin’ and everything is all well and good for a while, until Olivia gets doubtful yet again of her abilities to make Connor happy.
This isn’t a true How-Stella-Got-Her-Groove-Back story because Olivia isn’t a lot of fun. She’s such a depressing character, while Connor is so sexy and hot. This is one of those rare Mills and Boon when I can actually say that the hero deserves better because otherwise, it's just a lot of boring, repetitive nonsense.
November 20, 2014
This just didn't work for me.
Going in, I knew this was an older woman/younger man story, which is rare in the Harlequin world.
Not only was he a young studly doctor, but the author had to make her 9 years older and supposedly she looked even older than her age. She also had a scrawny figure and a limp.
Yeah, he loved her, but I feel like it was more of a stubborn love that carried over from his teenage years. I'm not so sure how he'll feel after awhile and he's finally obtained his obsession.
It would've been more believable if she hadn't been so worn out looking.
Going in, I knew this was an older woman/younger man story, which is rare in the Harlequin world.
Not only was he a young studly doctor, but the author had to make her 9 years older and supposedly she looked even older than her age. She also had a scrawny figure and a limp.
Yeah, he loved her, but I feel like it was more of a stubborn love that carried over from his teenage years. I'm not so sure how he'll feel after awhile and he's finally obtained his obsession.
It would've been more believable if she hadn't been so worn out looking.
August 13, 2012
This novel was definitely made of different stuff. I imagine it caused a lot of controversy and conversations when it was written. A hero being younger than the heroine is pretty much blasphemy for harlequins yet I couldn't help loving that it was different and I needed to read it. It didn't disappoint, great read.
October 28, 2013
I have several "go to" comfort books that I have read and re-read because they're my literary Linus blankets. This is one of them.
February 27, 2018
4.5🌟
Connor was not your typical hero! This was different but really good!
Connor was not your typical hero! This was different but really good!
September 2, 2011
The premise of a younger man with the older women is so rare in Harlequins, I couldn't help but like it!
The storyline and characters were all well conceptualized, totally recommend!
The storyline and characters were all well conceptualized, totally recommend!
September 2, 2016
reread for the umpteenth time.
<3 Anne Mather and Penny Jordan
<3 Anne Mather and Penny Jordan
August 14, 2014
I was a little bit surprised with this Anne Mather hero.
December 29, 2024
I am reluctantly giving it three stars though I want to give two. Perhaps out of loyalty to the author and also in comparison to anything that is written these days.
Ok.
My grouses ?
The hero was sixteen and heroine 24 when they parted at the death of his parents. His parents were her friends. She literally bathed the hero and tucked him in. How?? When he was two she must have been ten.
But the author writes it as if there is a much much bigger age gap. I don’t think that’s ok. It’s misleading. And then at end to call them both children together
The heroine was the hero’s mother’s best friend.
It’s just downright weird.
Ok let that aside.
I can believe that the hero had a fixation for her from when he could develop such fixations.
But she didn’t. Did she?
Then she sees him eight years later. Now he’s 25. She is 34. She just sees him and she’s attracted.
She knows he’s her friend’s son but she still allows intimacy to develop.
He is so attractive. That she can’t resist? She forgets all the times she held him as a baby?? How??
But when we read of the same age gap and interaction between an older man and a girl we accept it.
So why balk at this?
I just didn’t understand her insta love aspect of it.
Also the ending was horrid.
The whole book. She has a horrid accident that leaves one leg crippled. Then her husband dies of heart attack. Then the hero is stabbed and she finds him lying in a bloody bed with pills scattered around him at the ending.
Come on.
This is like a soap opera.
Too much drama.
I just could not stomach it.
Just no.
Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it though I had expected to. It was very disappointing.
The age gap wasn’t that much that she kept carrying on like Miss Marple.
So that’s my review.
Ok.
My grouses ?
The hero was sixteen and heroine 24 when they parted at the death of his parents. His parents were her friends. She literally bathed the hero and tucked him in. How?? When he was two she must have been ten.
But the author writes it as if there is a much much bigger age gap. I don’t think that’s ok. It’s misleading. And then at end to call them both children together
The heroine was the hero’s mother’s best friend.
It’s just downright weird.
Ok let that aside.
I can believe that the hero had a fixation for her from when he could develop such fixations.
But she didn’t. Did she?
Then she sees him eight years later. Now he’s 25. She is 34. She just sees him and she’s attracted.
She knows he’s her friend’s son but she still allows intimacy to develop.
He is so attractive. That she can’t resist? She forgets all the times she held him as a baby?? How??
But when we read of the same age gap and interaction between an older man and a girl we accept it.
So why balk at this?
I just didn’t understand her insta love aspect of it.
Also the ending was horrid.
The whole book. She has a horrid accident that leaves one leg crippled. Then her husband dies of heart attack. Then the hero is stabbed and she finds him lying in a bloody bed with pills scattered around him at the ending.
Come on.
This is like a soap opera.
Too much drama.
I just could not stomach it.
Just no.
Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it though I had expected to. It was very disappointing.
The age gap wasn’t that much that she kept carrying on like Miss Marple.
So that’s my review.
September 2, 2023
I do not care if the age gap between them was 20 years rather than 8 ,nor do I care that she babysat him when he was a child nor that she was his mother's friend.. the chemistry between these two was beyond amazing.
And Anne Mather, you have done Diana Palmer proud .
Conor’s hand dropped to his chest, drawing her unwilling attention to the fine pale hair nestling in the opened V of his shirt
her hands lingered on his chest, and on the fine pelt of honey-coloured hair that arrowed so enticingly down to his navel. It felt so clean—so good—that she wanted to bury her face in its downy softness.
the hair-roughened skin of his chest was unbearably erotic
unable to prevent herself from stroking the silky hair that shadowed his rib-cage.
“All right,’ he said, completely unaware of the provocation of the growth of golden hair in his armpits. It was ridiculous, she thought, but there was something so sensual about Conor’s body hair.
And we do not have a hero with a magical penis nor super human Sexual stamina.
so this happens after a minute or so
LOL And she says this to him
’It’s all right,’ she breathed, hanging on to his shoulders when he would have dragged himself away. ‘I don’t mind, honestly.’ And, in spite of her own unrequited needs, it was true. She had wanted to please him and she had. And that was what mattered
One thing i did not like was the abortion thing, no need for it at all, it proved nothing. And we did not get an explanation of why he did not look her up- unless finding out she was married was a good enough reason ( which was not for me). Also the ending was rushed, i mean we could have done with less descriptive writing and more narrative. A chapter or two of their life after marriage would have been great because we know it is not going to be easy, so that would have seen them overcome these obstacles together and proving to each other that they are there for the long run no matter what .
But all in all in was a good read. The chemistry made up for all the shortcomings.
And Anne Mather, you have done Diana Palmer proud .
Conor’s hand dropped to his chest, drawing her unwilling attention to the fine pale hair nestling in the opened V of his shirt
her hands lingered on his chest, and on the fine pelt of honey-coloured hair that arrowed so enticingly down to his navel. It felt so clean—so good—that she wanted to bury her face in its downy softness.
the hair-roughened skin of his chest was unbearably erotic
unable to prevent herself from stroking the silky hair that shadowed his rib-cage.
“All right,’ he said, completely unaware of the provocation of the growth of golden hair in his armpits. It was ridiculous, she thought, but there was something so sensual about Conor’s body hair.
And we do not have a hero with a magical penis nor super human Sexual stamina.
so this happens after a minute or so
LOL And she says this to him
’It’s all right,’ she breathed, hanging on to his shoulders when he would have dragged himself away. ‘I don’t mind, honestly.’ And, in spite of her own unrequited needs, it was true. She had wanted to please him and she had. And that was what mattered
One thing i did not like was the abortion thing, no need for it at all, it proved nothing. And we did not get an explanation of why he did not look her up- unless finding out she was married was a good enough reason ( which was not for me). Also the ending was rushed, i mean we could have done with less descriptive writing and more narrative. A chapter or two of their life after marriage would have been great because we know it is not going to be easy, so that would have seen them overcome these obstacles together and proving to each other that they are there for the long run no matter what .
But all in all in was a good read. The chemistry made up for all the shortcomings.
February 23, 2020
I enjoyed this, though I wish the ex had suffered more. I liked the older woman/younger man dynamic.
May 10, 2022
Very unsympathetic heroine. Ik couldn't relate to her. Didn't understand what he saw in her.
November 3, 2019
Olivia was recuperating from a dreadful accident that left her left leg almost paralyzed after discovering her husband's unfaithfulness and asking for divorce. in order to have peace and quietness, she went to her long ago village where she used to live next to the Brennan's, her best friends, when they were alive. There, she recalled Conor, their son, and how much she adored him and how much she was devastated to separate from him when he was sixteen years old after his parents' untimely death. She was curious to know who owned their house now and so she went to see the house and discovered that Conor was back. Meeting him was utterly embarrassing, but it sailed her fate because he didn't seem willing to leave her be as she hoped he would after meeting her briefly.
A beautiful novel and well written. The events are smooth and wonderful that I couldn't leave the book till I finished it. It has a satisfying ending as well which leaves a ridiculous contented smile in ones face. The only thing against it is that Conor courted Olivia in a time when he thought she was still married and not in a verge of divorce. Nevertheless, this novel is highly recommended.
A beautiful novel and well written. The events are smooth and wonderful that I couldn't leave the book till I finished it. It has a satisfying ending as well which leaves a ridiculous contented smile in ones face. The only thing against it is that Conor courted Olivia in a time when he thought she was still married and not in a verge of divorce. Nevertheless, this novel is highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2019
A most reluctant cougar! In my family it is not uncommon for the wives to be older so my perspective is a little different. And as I have often been the elder in relationships I enjoyed the story very much.
Surprisingly the story has aged well in that some of the topics addressed are in the news today. Connor's work involved counseling in a drug rehab facility. In the story it is heroin and cocaine with a reference to marijuana; today it is the opioid addiction crisis and marijuana is being legalized in various states.
Definitely a keeper.
Surprisingly the story has aged well in that some of the topics addressed are in the news today. Connor's work involved counseling in a drug rehab facility. In the story it is heroin and cocaine with a reference to marijuana; today it is the opioid addiction crisis and marijuana is being legalized in various states.
Definitely a keeper.
January 15, 2022
The protagonist was absolutely insufferable. A hot shot lawyer but a complete fool when it came to men. I get it, everyone’s got insecurities but my goodness this woman. Anyway, still gave it a lot of stars because it had the romance fix I craved.
April 8, 2022
I liked the older woman/younger man theme (8yr gap) because it was written 30 years ago before it was fully acknowledged anything men can do ...women can do better. I couldn't warm to the story and the characters though.
April 29, 2020
Will be reviewed and shelved later when i have find time and energy after this tiring times.
November 5, 2025
Very enjoyable- lots of tension and I got invested in the story. But the ending…that stupid ending ruined things for me. Ugh.
May 24, 2022
well, i liked it !!
Want to Read
May 28, 2017p 77
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