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Alison Masters falls in love with wealthy David Kendall. Sight unseen, older brother Wade decides he must save David from a gold-digging fiancée. He tempts Alison to ride with him to Chicago and as they travel, Wade reveals his already-in-progress plan. An automobile crash leaves her badly injury, unbroken and disillusioned. Wade desperately wants to make amends, but she disappears before he can. After a seven year search, he finds Alison—scarred, crippled, infertile, and filled with disdain for anyone named Kendall. Determined to restore everything she’d lost, Wade blackmails her into marriage—his idea of the perfect method to accept accountability and prove his love—her idea of the perfect revenge. To Alison’s surprise, their marriage brings more confusion than reprisal. They work through problems of vengeance, guilt, family, and love to find happiness on the shores of Lake Michigan.
- GenresContemporary RomanceDark
171 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2014
6 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Violet L. Ryan
8 books3 followersI see you’ve accepted my invitation! Great! Let me tell you just a bit about myself. I live in a small Midwestern town with my husband, Denny. We raised our three beautiful daughters, Lana, Julie, and Debbie, in a bungalow set above Fall Creek a stone’s throw from our lovely city park. We enjoy eating out with friends, Sunday morning church services, and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. My favorite pastimes include photography, painting, drawing, reading, and, of course, writing.
Now, about my work. I’ve created stories all my life. It’s second nature to turn even the smallest detail, like a face in a crowd, or a lonely house on a hill, into a full-blown story. I write short stories and novels in many different genres, but if you like romance, we already share a common bond. Whether I spin a tale of mystery, suspense, fantasy, or plain, honest to goodness romance, a developing relationship between my hero and heroine is necessary to the plot. Even as a tot, when I wove stories of magic kingdoms, there were always heroes to save the day and magical queens bestowing favors on their knights.
Between authoring several books, I’ve written articles for newspapers and Christian communications. Published short stories include Rachel’s Return to Christmas, Santa’s Swan Song, Blackjack, The Snake Slayer, and Family Treasure, along with the occasional poem. You can find more about these figments of my imagination on the Books page.When my work is finished, polished, and published, I schedule signings and appearances, hold events and author chats, and present ideas and information at programs for those who wish to learn a new craft or improve their technique.
Now, about my work. I’ve created stories all my life. It’s second nature to turn even the smallest detail, like a face in a crowd, or a lonely house on a hill, into a full-blown story. I write short stories and novels in many different genres, but if you like romance, we already share a common bond. Whether I spin a tale of mystery, suspense, fantasy, or plain, honest to goodness romance, a developing relationship between my hero and heroine is necessary to the plot. Even as a tot, when I wove stories of magic kingdoms, there were always heroes to save the day and magical queens bestowing favors on their knights.
Between authoring several books, I’ve written articles for newspapers and Christian communications. Published short stories include Rachel’s Return to Christmas, Santa’s Swan Song, Blackjack, The Snake Slayer, and Family Treasure, along with the occasional poem. You can find more about these figments of my imagination on the Books page.When my work is finished, polished, and published, I schedule signings and appearances, hold events and author chats, and present ideas and information at programs for those who wish to learn a new craft or improve their technique.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 2, 2020
3.5 stars because I couldn't look away from this train wreck. The H judges the h harshly when she's presented as his brother's fiance. He decides to trick her, instead he almost kills her. Years later he finally tracks her down, determined to make reparation. She's pathetically sweet, lives with awful disabilities thanks to his actions. He masterfully negotiates a truce, and the wreck continues when he tries to repair his family. It was sort of a modern fade to black bodice ripper, with so many inappropriate actions. I rather enjoyed it.
September 15, 2023
I kind of wanted her to die so he could live the rest of his life in guilt and misery. Sad to see that Alison welcomed him back way to quickly in her life 🙃this book could have been so much better if there was proper development
April 14, 2016
I wanted to like this. I really did. The premise is great in an over-the-top soapy, pseudo-harlequin sort of way. It hits a ton of tropes and that's fine! I was hoping for a fun train wreck sort of experience. There was even an intriguing twist in that the hero blackmailed the heroine into marriage to "save her" rather than the typical revenge scheme.
There are editing mistakes, but I could overlook those for the most part. Mostly I think it lacked oomph after the marriage. The heroine caves very quickly after 7 years spent hating this guy. She has a fleeting plan to make his life miserable, but it is very fleeting. The conflict then centers around the little brother who is causing all sorts of drama because big brother has married his old fiance who he apparently never loved to begin with. I suppose I was hoping for more interpersonal drama between the H/h.
There are editing mistakes, but I could overlook those for the most part. Mostly I think it lacked oomph after the marriage. The heroine caves very quickly after 7 years spent hating this guy. She has a fleeting plan to make his life miserable, but it is very fleeting. The conflict then centers around the little brother who is causing all sorts of drama because big brother has married his old fiance who he apparently never loved to begin with. I suppose I was hoping for more interpersonal drama between the H/h.
May 6, 2023
I really enjoyed this angsty romance. It was like a soap opera and I was here for it. The romance was fade-to-black, but there was still a lot of passion between the Mc’s.
David sure was an inexcusable POS. I’m not sure why Allie had to have been such a martyr. She was a perfect paragon. Kimmie was pathetic. Wade was a piece of work, but I enjoyed his purgatory.
David sure was an inexcusable POS. I’m not sure why Allie had to have been such a martyr. She was a perfect paragon. Kimmie was pathetic. Wade was a piece of work, but I enjoyed his purgatory.
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March 11, 2015I actually was the editor for this book, but even so I thoroughly enjoyed it! I very much enjoy Violet Ryan's writing style, the characters and the way they intertwine. It was so easy to pick this book up and not set it down for a while!
July 25, 2023
It was an OK read that satisfies a certain itch
I was in the mood for:
A book where h gets badly hurt because of H and has to live with the injury for a long time or for the rest of her life and this changes something major in the plans she had for her future.
She grows to really hate/resent H
H comes bakc, feels really remorseful and majorly groverls and works to make her life better and tries to win her forgiveness and then they eventually fall for each other and get their HEA.
There were MAJOR issues with the characters and the plot but I won't go into them because it will take me more time to write them than it took me to read the book
But as I said, it scratched an itch
So if you're in the mood for a hurt hand an asshole H, this is it
I was in the mood for:
A book where h gets badly hurt because of H and has to live with the injury for a long time or for the rest of her life and this changes something major in the plans she had for her future.
She grows to really hate/resent H
H comes bakc, feels really remorseful and majorly groverls and works to make her life better and tries to win her forgiveness and then they eventually fall for each other and get their HEA.
There were MAJOR issues with the characters and the plot but I won't go into them because it will take me more time to write them than it took me to read the book
But as I said, it scratched an itch
So if you're in the mood for a hurt hand an asshole H, this is it
November 25, 2014
Heroine (18) meets hero (24) the day her fiancé brings her home to plan their marriage. Hero is sure heroine is a gold digger and only out to hurt his brother (21) so he's determined that the marriage will not happen. Days before the wedding, he leaves a note for his brother to find that says heroine fell for him and is now wanting to marry him. Heroine is devastated that he'd do such a thing and sure her fiancé won't believe such lies. They argue, they're involved in an accident and after finding out the extent of her injuries, hero knows he's royally screwed things up. Wants to make amends. Wants to get his brother and heroine back together but before he can, heroine sneaks out of hospital and it's seven years before he finds her again. He basically blackmails her into marrying him because he still wants to make amends. She wants nothing to do with him but he holds something over her that makes her accept his proposal. They then have to work through what happened in the past. Could have been more angsty, IMO, but it was an OK read for me.
January 28, 2023
Um, no more Aunt Marge? Would love to see her pop in at the end.
RTC
RTC
February 6, 2023
This book had huge Potential to be in leagues with the angsty romsnce masterpieces of the harlequin arena in par with Michelle Reid and Lucy Monroe. The writing was very similar to those veterans. The premise was interesting, although not unique but creative in its own way. But the execution fell flat.
The book started out good, already dripping with angsty doom and heart palpitations. But when the big bomb of the Story came, suddenly everything was blandly done. Not enough sorrow and heartache. The whole post accident interaction felt lacking and robotic. The reactions were shallow and didnt hit the Mark for being gritty and heartwrenching enough.
And to top it off, the h's characterisation was off. Her reaction to the life changing injuries was not enough as it should be. She should hsve serious mental implications after such devastation. She was strong no doubt, but the process of her suffering the shock and grief of losing a child and also inability to concieve was simply not there. I was waiting for a heartwrenching reaction but instead she was angry and upset. Not enough.
Also the last "Nope" factor for me was the H went on those 7 years normally being sexually active when the h had not even been on a single date. Apparantly he was so overcome with guilt and remorse and in search of redemption that he never stopped searching for her. But that didnt stop him from having his sexual appetite fulfilled. I never bought his regret and apparent "love" and attraction he had for the h all those years. How could he have even the mind to date women and have sexual relationship with them all the while knowing he has completely devastated a woman's life and also his own brother's? I mean, can for once authors make the hero celibate for a change?
And should it mean something that all his women were curly blonde petite just like the h was in the beginning? Should I feel happy that he chose women who looked like the h and that his love was genuine? Thats the most disgusting plot device authors use to justify the hero's infidelity. Although its not infidelity in literal sense in this case but I don't think someone who would be consumed by guilt and remorse post s traumatic experience would have a normal dating life. If sex hss nothing to do with mind and heart, then why dont the women hsve casual relationship in the books? Why they hsve to be sworn off of men because they had a bad experience once? The never ending hypocrisy.
I don't buy for a second that he was remotely affected by his guilt so much that he was willing to grovel. No. He just wanted to clear his own conscience. He is a self serving narcissist who cannot live with guilt rubbing his insides so wants to be rid of it as soon as possible. It's not a concern for the h, it's a concern for himself. He had not changed his lifestyle or stopped engaging in "healthy sex" after destroying two lives. He just vomits words, his actions havent changed. And he eventually gets what he wants without breaking a Sweat.
And then they trying to downplay and justify the whole incident and negating the relationship between the h and the brother as "oh but they never did actually love eachother snd it would have been disastrous of they had married" EXCUSE ME?!! That does NOT justify the hero's interference in their life and the subsequent accident that ruined a woman. If they didnt have love and had married then if they didnt get along they would have separated. She was pregnant for god sake! They might have been a happy family by now. And the gaslighting of the h that she may have had cheated on her fiance? Really? Absolutely ridiculous.
The book started out good, already dripping with angsty doom and heart palpitations. But when the big bomb of the Story came, suddenly everything was blandly done. Not enough sorrow and heartache. The whole post accident interaction felt lacking and robotic. The reactions were shallow and didnt hit the Mark for being gritty and heartwrenching enough.
And to top it off, the h's characterisation was off. Her reaction to the life changing injuries was not enough as it should be. She should hsve serious mental implications after such devastation. She was strong no doubt, but the process of her suffering the shock and grief of losing a child and also inability to concieve was simply not there. I was waiting for a heartwrenching reaction but instead she was angry and upset. Not enough.
Also the last "Nope" factor for me was the H went on those 7 years normally being sexually active when the h had not even been on a single date. Apparantly he was so overcome with guilt and remorse and in search of redemption that he never stopped searching for her. But that didnt stop him from having his sexual appetite fulfilled. I never bought his regret and apparent "love" and attraction he had for the h all those years. How could he have even the mind to date women and have sexual relationship with them all the while knowing he has completely devastated a woman's life and also his own brother's? I mean, can for once authors make the hero celibate for a change?
And should it mean something that all his women were curly blonde petite just like the h was in the beginning? Should I feel happy that he chose women who looked like the h and that his love was genuine? Thats the most disgusting plot device authors use to justify the hero's infidelity. Although its not infidelity in literal sense in this case but I don't think someone who would be consumed by guilt and remorse post s traumatic experience would have a normal dating life. If sex hss nothing to do with mind and heart, then why dont the women hsve casual relationship in the books? Why they hsve to be sworn off of men because they had a bad experience once? The never ending hypocrisy.
I don't buy for a second that he was remotely affected by his guilt so much that he was willing to grovel. No. He just wanted to clear his own conscience. He is a self serving narcissist who cannot live with guilt rubbing his insides so wants to be rid of it as soon as possible. It's not a concern for the h, it's a concern for himself. He had not changed his lifestyle or stopped engaging in "healthy sex" after destroying two lives. He just vomits words, his actions havent changed. And he eventually gets what he wants without breaking a Sweat.
And then they trying to downplay and justify the whole incident and negating the relationship between the h and the brother as "oh but they never did actually love eachother snd it would have been disastrous of they had married" EXCUSE ME?!! That does NOT justify the hero's interference in their life and the subsequent accident that ruined a woman. If they didnt have love and had married then if they didnt get along they would have separated. She was pregnant for god sake! They might have been a happy family by now. And the gaslighting of the h that she may have had cheated on her fiance? Really? Absolutely ridiculous.
July 26, 2023
Clean book. No sex.
She’s young, dating the hero’s brother, he thinks she’s a gold digger. His big plan to reveal her as a gold digger was to seduce her, she got freaked out by being hit on by him because she thought he was super nice up to that point, she tried to jump out of the moving car and was severely injured - misscarriage, face scarred, gripple, cant have children - she drops off the face of the earth.
H has major quilt. He broke up his brother and h, killed their child in car accident. The fiance just ran off because H lied about h, mad at his brother, gets OW preggo and later discovers he never lover her. He never even comes to hospital.
Hero tracks her down years later, determined to make it right, blackmails her into marriage, wants to fix her leg, fix her scars, give her a family. brother since married someone else, but is still around, drama drama drama.
In the end they all make up. Brother is happy with his wife and forgives H. h has her scars and leg operated. She also managed to get pregnant.
She’s young, dating the hero’s brother, he thinks she’s a gold digger. His big plan to reveal her as a gold digger was to seduce her, she got freaked out by being hit on by him because she thought he was super nice up to that point, she tried to jump out of the moving car and was severely injured - misscarriage, face scarred, gripple, cant have children - she drops off the face of the earth.
H has major quilt. He broke up his brother and h, killed their child in car accident. The fiance just ran off because H lied about h, mad at his brother, gets OW preggo and later discovers he never lover her. He never even comes to hospital.
Hero tracks her down years later, determined to make it right, blackmails her into marriage, wants to fix her leg, fix her scars, give her a family. brother since married someone else, but is still around, drama drama drama.
In the end they all make up. Brother is happy with his wife and forgives H. h has her scars and leg operated. She also managed to get pregnant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
nope
July 25, 2023Wade read her confusion and took advantage of the opportunity. “Think about it. Makes perfect sense. I ruined your relationship. I give you another one. Only this time, there will be a wedding. After we’re married, we’ll visit each doctor and start the ball rolling.”
“I can’t marry you!”
Wade frowned. She made it sound like the worst prospect of a lifetime. He heaved another fretful sigh. “I’m afraid I can’t give you a choice.”
Are you fucking kidding me 🤣
I picked this up because I love a scarred martyr heroine but it is too over the top even for me. He’s offended that she doesn’t want to marry him when he nearly killed her?! And then she hatches a “brilliant” plan to what, marry him like he demands?? Nope, sorry, too preposterous, I can’t make myself do it for all the angst in the world.
DNF two pages into chapter 9.
“I can’t marry you!”
Wade frowned. She made it sound like the worst prospect of a lifetime. He heaved another fretful sigh. “I’m afraid I can’t give you a choice.”
Are you fucking kidding me 🤣
I picked this up because I love a scarred martyr heroine but it is too over the top even for me. He’s offended that she doesn’t want to marry him when he nearly killed her?! And then she hatches a “brilliant” plan to what, marry him like he demands?? Nope, sorry, too preposterous, I can’t make myself do it for all the angst in the world.
DNF two pages into chapter 9.
November 26, 2022
DNF
(70/201)
this just pissed me off i am actually too lazy to give reviews and rates these months but this book... good heavens. this is fast paced which i dont really mind but the mmc... im speechless it makes me wanna punch someone. EVERYTHING WAS GOING DOWNHILL. and that part when wade tried to explain himself that he did a background check on her or whatever bro do you HEAR YOURSELF. hes so lame and senseless my anger issues cant stand this
(70/201)
this just pissed me off i am actually too lazy to give reviews and rates these months but this book... good heavens. this is fast paced which i dont really mind but the mmc... im speechless it makes me wanna punch someone. EVERYTHING WAS GOING DOWNHILL. and that part when wade tried to explain himself that he did a background check on her or whatever bro do you HEAR YOURSELF. hes so lame and senseless my anger issues cant stand this
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December 31, 2024I think I just didn’t love the characters so much? And like the dude was like I love her but it really just felt like he was driven by guilt…
And idk if she was truly mad enough and she definitely didn’t stick to her guns cause he kissed her and then it didn’t feel like she was truly sticking to her plan so I don’t know how I feel
And idk if she was truly mad enough and she definitely didn’t stick to her guns cause he kissed her and then it didn’t feel like she was truly sticking to her plan so I don’t know how I feel
February 17, 2019
Not bad but still superficial telling of a story that could have been much deeper depicted.
I have found this problem frequently. Sherry Thomas or Layton should teach something to these authors
I have found this problem frequently. Sherry Thomas or Layton should teach something to these authors
February 16, 2020
3.3 stars.
June 14, 2021
Entertaining page turner
I really enjoyed this book. I found it an entertaining read that drew me in from the get go! The characters were relatable and well developed. Would recommend it to anyone looking for a clean romantic read.
I really enjoyed this book. I found it an entertaining read that drew me in from the get go! The characters were relatable and well developed. Would recommend it to anyone looking for a clean romantic read.
October 6, 2022
3.25 stars. This isn’t the most well written book and the characters are a mess (feels like a mills and boon or harlequin book), but it’s still a guilty pleasure for me. I think it’s the grovel fantasy, as the MMC basically starts grovelling about 30% in until the end of the book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews