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The Same Last Name
Marriage means more than sharing the same last name.
April Peters knew that Christopher Ramsey did not love her when they married. But Christopher's genteel Virginian background dictated that a woman about to have your baby became your wife in a hurry.... Innocently, April believed that Christopher would grow to love her once they were a family, until her baby died at birth and she was propelled into cold, harsh reality. She left Christopher without a trace as to her whereabouts and headed toward upstate New York.
Six years later as a successful State Forest Ranger April meets Christopher again. In the serene setting of a natural preserve, old passions turn to mature desires too powerful to be controlled!
April Peters knew that Christopher Ramsey did not love her when they married. But Christopher's genteel Virginian background dictated that a woman about to have your baby became your wife in a hurry.... Innocently, April believed that Christopher would grow to love her once they were a family, until her baby died at birth and she was propelled into cold, harsh reality. She left Christopher without a trace as to her whereabouts and headed toward upstate New York.
Six years later as a successful State Forest Ranger April meets Christopher again. In the serene setting of a natural preserve, old passions turn to mature desires too powerful to be controlled!
255 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 17, 2024
Apparently, the best way to win you ex-wife back is to prioritize the OW again and again. And again. And again. That seems to be the theme of this "second chance" romance. Six years after a shotgun marriage that ended with the tragic death of a preemie baby and the hero's disgusting father attempting to pay off his daughter-in-law while she is still in the hospital trying to recuperate from this nightmare, the hero accidentally stumbles upon heroine when he goes on a camping trip with his new girlfriend and a bunch of friends from his law firm. The heroine is a forest ranger and much more mature and strong than the naive teenager he bedded and then was forced to wed 6 years ago. For some reason, she is still in love with this asshole...sigh.
As if it wasn't bad enough that the other woman is HORRIBLY snide, cold, and unfeeling, actually taunting the heroine for having given birth to a preemie baby who died days after delivery, the heroine then eavesdrops her ex-husband and the OW talking smack about her. How she was so young and immature and the hero thinks she hasn't changed a bit in all these years and how she was an albatross round his neck and how many more sophisticated women who know the score he has dallied over the years since his divorce. It was so disgustingly disloyal. A true hero would never gossip or badmouth his woman, divorced or not, to a cold bitch OW like that. He would have taken the higher road and refused to discuss his wife or marriage, not basically agreeing with all the OW's venomous, nasty innuendos.
After all this, the heroine sleeps with the hero again (only to have him run off with the OW the next day because she is dealing with a violent ex-husband, oh poor her, a lawyer who can't go to court and get a restraining order all by herself like a big girl *rolls eyes*). Then she waits in agony to hear from him. She receives letters from a well-meaning "friend" about how the hero is spending all his time with the OW, now that he is in back in the city.
When the hero is finally ready to make his move, he shows up back to the camp, this time sans girlfriend, and... waits for the heroine to declare herself before he does. He manages to tell her, amidst his "love" declaration, that the first time around, he tried so hard to love her but just couldn't. I guess the 2 weeks vacation in the woods with his girlfriend hanging round his neck the whole time made him fall in love with his ex-wife for the long run this time.
This was a shit-show.
:(
As if it wasn't bad enough that the other woman is HORRIBLY snide, cold, and unfeeling, actually taunting the heroine for having given birth to a preemie baby who died days after delivery, the heroine then eavesdrops her ex-husband and the OW talking smack about her. How she was so young and immature and the hero thinks she hasn't changed a bit in all these years and how she was an albatross round his neck and how many more sophisticated women who know the score he has dallied over the years since his divorce. It was so disgustingly disloyal. A true hero would never gossip or badmouth his woman, divorced or not, to a cold bitch OW like that. He would have taken the higher road and refused to discuss his wife or marriage, not basically agreeing with all the OW's venomous, nasty innuendos.
After all this, the heroine sleeps with the hero again (only to have him run off with the OW the next day because she is dealing with a violent ex-husband, oh poor her, a lawyer who can't go to court and get a restraining order all by herself like a big girl *rolls eyes*). Then she waits in agony to hear from him. She receives letters from a well-meaning "friend" about how the hero is spending all his time with the OW, now that he is in back in the city.
When the hero is finally ready to make his move, he shows up back to the camp, this time sans girlfriend, and... waits for the heroine to declare herself before he does. He manages to tell her, amidst his "love" declaration, that the first time around, he tried so hard to love her but just couldn't. I guess the 2 weeks vacation in the woods with his girlfriend hanging round his neck the whole time made him fall in love with his ex-wife for the long run this time.
This was a shit-show.
:(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2026
Ужасно сладка старомодна история с любимия ми мотив “втори шанс”. И двамата са много мили, грижовни същества, но просто твърде млади, неопитни и страхуващи се да говорят по време на “първия шанс”. Според мен той започна да си я обича още тогава, но тя офейка преди нещо да успее да се развие.
Краят е твърде осемдесетарски, но пак е сладък. И най-вече - героите правят живописни преходи из един от прекрасните щатски природни паркове!
Краят е твърде осемдесетарски, но пак е сладък. И най-вече - героите правят живописни преходи из един от прекрасните щатски природни паркове!
November 23, 2022
2022 Fall Bingo (#FallInLoveBingo🍂): Category Romance
Content Notes:
It is a shame this was never released as an ebook because it’s one of the best 80s romances I have ever read. Definitely worth hunting down a paperback if you’re a KGS fan.
Content Notes:
It is a shame this was never released as an ebook because it’s one of the best 80s romances I have ever read. Definitely worth hunting down a paperback if you’re a KGS fan.
January 27, 2020
My first Katheen Gilles Sidel book and I’m quite pleasantly surprised! It was very good and i liked it a lot. I approached this with a lot of trepidation since one of her other “romance” books from this period is quite a horror (as per reciews) but i like second chance stories so i took the plunge with thjs one.
What i like about the second chance trope is that i like to read about the thrill and excitement of young love and how circumstances can tear them apart. Then i like to see how they build a new relationship that deals with all the old issues.
This is a bit different. The couple hadn’t quite fallen in love yet. The heroine js the prettiest girl in town, head cheerleader and homecoming queen. She has been carefully sheltered by her mother who only wants the best for her. The hero is a little older, son of a prominent family, finishing college and going to law school when he comes home for the weekend and starts dating the pretty heroine. The mother practically throws them together, allowing every opportunity for teenage hormones to run amok. The sheltered, naive heroine promptly gets pregnant. So all Mama’s dreams come true and she forces a marriage.
What I liked is that both characters were such nice decent people who treated each other with consideration and thoughtfulness. Even if the Hero had to marry the heroine he was always gentle and considerate towards her. The heroine was totally infatuated so it was no sweat to marry the hero. They seemed to have a comfortable easy marriage, but never talk or discuss anything. The Hero still clearly sees the heroine as s child, barely out of high school. He feels very guilty about seducing her. But makes the best of his marriage.
When the heroine gives birth prematurely, and the baby dies, there is no longer any obligation to keep them together. She overhears her father in law planning an annulment and a pay off, and is very hurt by this. She loves her husband but realizes that he doesnt love her, and only married her out of obligation.
The heroine leaves the marriage without saying anything to her husband. She contacts him through their minister, but swears him to secrecy on her whereabouts. She does let her husband know she is alright but she returns all his letters and checks unopened. She is determined to become independent and make a life for herself.
Six years later, she has a college education and works in a national park as a forrest ranger. She is completely happy with her life when she runs into her ex husband, as one of the campers. The story actually starts from here.
The husband is now a successful lawyer and he and some of his colleagues have come for a camping holiday at the park. There is a wannabe OW colleague who has set her sights on the Hero but he only ever treats her as a colleague and friend.
The Hero uses this time to ask the heroine about her life since leaving him, he feels especially guilty that she has had a hard time with money. He doesn’t realize that she needed this experience to grow and learn to be self sufficient. He still sees her as the pretty cheerleader that needed to be taken care of.
They use this opportunity to get to know each other again, and this is where the husband really does fall in love with the wife. He had acknowledged to her that he didn’t really love her the first time they married, so she knew it was just guilt and obligation he felt for her. She didn’t want him to continue to feel these for her.
In the end, he realizes that he has fallen in love with a woman, whom he had never forgotten. Whom he now needs to complete his life. Their second chance is lovely and in the epilogue we see them go back to their home town, where they both belong, where they start a family and become active, contributing members of the community.
❤️
What i like about the second chance trope is that i like to read about the thrill and excitement of young love and how circumstances can tear them apart. Then i like to see how they build a new relationship that deals with all the old issues.
This is a bit different. The couple hadn’t quite fallen in love yet. The heroine js the prettiest girl in town, head cheerleader and homecoming queen. She has been carefully sheltered by her mother who only wants the best for her. The hero is a little older, son of a prominent family, finishing college and going to law school when he comes home for the weekend and starts dating the pretty heroine. The mother practically throws them together, allowing every opportunity for teenage hormones to run amok. The sheltered, naive heroine promptly gets pregnant. So all Mama’s dreams come true and she forces a marriage.
What I liked is that both characters were such nice decent people who treated each other with consideration and thoughtfulness. Even if the Hero had to marry the heroine he was always gentle and considerate towards her. The heroine was totally infatuated so it was no sweat to marry the hero. They seemed to have a comfortable easy marriage, but never talk or discuss anything. The Hero still clearly sees the heroine as s child, barely out of high school. He feels very guilty about seducing her. But makes the best of his marriage.
When the heroine gives birth prematurely, and the baby dies, there is no longer any obligation to keep them together. She overhears her father in law planning an annulment and a pay off, and is very hurt by this. She loves her husband but realizes that he doesnt love her, and only married her out of obligation.
The heroine leaves the marriage without saying anything to her husband. She contacts him through their minister, but swears him to secrecy on her whereabouts. She does let her husband know she is alright but she returns all his letters and checks unopened. She is determined to become independent and make a life for herself.
Six years later, she has a college education and works in a national park as a forrest ranger. She is completely happy with her life when she runs into her ex husband, as one of the campers. The story actually starts from here.
The husband is now a successful lawyer and he and some of his colleagues have come for a camping holiday at the park. There is a wannabe OW colleague who has set her sights on the Hero but he only ever treats her as a colleague and friend.
The Hero uses this time to ask the heroine about her life since leaving him, he feels especially guilty that she has had a hard time with money. He doesn’t realize that she needed this experience to grow and learn to be self sufficient. He still sees her as the pretty cheerleader that needed to be taken care of.
They use this opportunity to get to know each other again, and this is where the husband really does fall in love with the wife. He had acknowledged to her that he didn’t really love her the first time they married, so she knew it was just guilt and obligation he felt for her. She didn’t want him to continue to feel these for her.
In the end, he realizes that he has fallen in love with a woman, whom he had never forgotten. Whom he now needs to complete his life. Their second chance is lovely and in the epilogue we see them go back to their home town, where they both belong, where they start a family and become active, contributing members of the community.
❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2011
This was a terrific read about second chance at love,its a story of how a young girl matures in the face if her chosen adversity and how the young man matures in different ways is just a joy to read.
Really liked Chris-April both suffer in their own way,April cause she loved a man who did'nt love her back and Chris cause of his guilt of ruining April's life but when they meet again Chris immediately wants to know how April survived for past 6 years and asks all questions and he always hides his feelings but April knows his small small habits that makes her understand how Chris really feels
April is such a brave woman she did'nt know anything but she learned everything and became self independent and learned so many things,she is a beautiful person not only outside but also from inside and so is Chris
Its a warmer journey of learning to love,even the forest -camping scenes were great to read
All those who are sucker like me for second chance at love,its a must read for them
Great read,definetely a keeper for me
Recommend it
Really liked Chris-April both suffer in their own way,April cause she loved a man who did'nt love her back and Chris cause of his guilt of ruining April's life but when they meet again Chris immediately wants to know how April survived for past 6 years and asks all questions and he always hides his feelings but April knows his small small habits that makes her understand how Chris really feels
April is such a brave woman she did'nt know anything but she learned everything and became self independent and learned so many things,she is a beautiful person not only outside but also from inside and so is Chris
Its a warmer journey of learning to love,even the forest -camping scenes were great to read
All those who are sucker like me for second chance at love,its a must read for them
Great read,definetely a keeper for me
Recommend it
June 12, 2020
Boring with little to no angst. The emotions were so low key I didn't get the feeling at all that the loss of her baby upset her much at all.
May 10, 2025
Low-key - almost comatose - second chance romance between a lawyer and a forest ranger. Heroine is the forest ranger in the Adirondacks. Hero is a New York City lawyer who is camping with a group of fellow lawyers for two weeks*.
They are surprised to see each other. It's been six years since heroine left and four years since the hero divorced her for desertion. Sounds fun and angsty and dramatic, doesn't it?
*sigh*
That isn't this author's style. They might as well be Facebook friends that run into each other at the grocery store. They catch up in several private conversations, which allows the author to unspool the backstory:
H/h are both from a small-town in Virginia. They married young after heroine fell pregnant. Baby died and heroine left after she realized hero didn't love her. Heroine puts herself through school and enjoys her hard-won independence. Hero has been an emotional zombie ever since.
It's a great backstory with coniving parents, but the author doesn't delve into the angst. Instead we get a side-romance, a forest rescue, canoe tutorials, and a wanna be OW.
The death of their baby is barely mentioned. The hero really didn't love her when they were married- not even in hindsight. Now he does, the author did show that. But - it wasn't enough for this reader.
I felt mildly depressed after reading this - not a good sign in a romance.
*Two weeks! In this economy?
They are surprised to see each other. It's been six years since heroine left and four years since the hero divorced her for desertion. Sounds fun and angsty and dramatic, doesn't it?
*sigh*
That isn't this author's style. They might as well be Facebook friends that run into each other at the grocery store. They catch up in several private conversations, which allows the author to unspool the backstory:
H/h are both from a small-town in Virginia. They married young after heroine fell pregnant. Baby died and heroine left after she realized hero didn't love her. Heroine puts herself through school and enjoys her hard-won independence. Hero has been an emotional zombie ever since.
It's a great backstory with coniving parents, but the author doesn't delve into the angst. Instead we get a side-romance, a forest rescue, canoe tutorials, and a wanna be OW.
The death of their baby is barely mentioned. The hero really didn't love her when they were married- not even in hindsight. Now he does, the author did show that. But - it wasn't enough for this reader.
I felt mildly depressed after reading this - not a good sign in a romance.
*Two weeks! In this economy?
October 4, 2019
April Peters was an innocent teenager when her mom set her up with college senior Christopher Ramsey in VA. When she becomes pregnant, they marry and Chris starts law school. She loves him, but he just sees how young she is. When the baby is born prematurely and dies, April overhears her father-in-law discussing an annulment and takes off. Six years later, she's put herself through school and is a NY park ranger when Chris shows up at her park with 5 friends. After hiding from him for years, the reunion is bittersweet. He still thinks she's young and she's determined to prove her independent. She's still in love and he finally realizes he loves her too. Fun backdrop of state park, a little sex.
January 19, 2021
I really enjoyed this story, although the author’s very stilted dialogue (she almost never uses contractions and basically always uses the secondary characters’ first and last names, even in situations where it seems completely unnatural or unnecessary) and the lack of dimensionality in the two leads knocked a few points off.
November 1, 2019
Kathy’s first book. Published in 1983, it’s dated but charming.
June 24, 2010
This is my third read of hers and it works much better than Mirror and Mistakes in my opinion, although of course it is also dated from being set in the 80s. The young man and woman in question make an early mistake and then don't communicate enough, their upbringing constraining how they behave. When they meet six years later it's on much more even terms, and there is none of the artificial suspense some contemporaries have these days - it's just getting to know each other and dealing with some problems in the group of friends they find themselves in.
Bonus points for giving her a fully realised job and having her put herself through training all on her own - without any major horror stories but hard work.
Minus points for not addressing the one huge loss early in their marriage when they get back together, for not even seeming to have to grieve much. With her skill she could have subtly shown that the loss had left some memory for the two.
Also minus points for the heroine having to give up her job, to accommodate the hero's dreams (who at least also decides to give up his high tension job and build a family now) - and being happy to do so as well as being talked into doing it during all of the book by a fatherly friend.
And of course she doesn't take up any other job but mother and homemaker - but then it's the 80s.
Bonus points for giving her a fully realised job and having her put herself through training all on her own - without any major horror stories but hard work.
Minus points for not addressing the one huge loss early in their marriage when they get back together, for not even seeming to have to grieve much. With her skill she could have subtly shown that the loss had left some memory for the two.
Also minus points for the heroine having to give up her job, to accommodate the hero's dreams (who at least also decides to give up his high tension job and build a family now) - and being happy to do so as well as being talked into doing it during all of the book by a fatherly friend.
And of course she doesn't take up any other job but mother and homemaker - but then it's the 80s.
November 10, 2013
Switching to some 1983 old-school series romance: a nice variation on that classic romance novel theme, the shotgun wedding (Paradise! Nobody's Baby But Mine!). After a miscarriage, April flees her law student old-money husband to waitress at diners and put herself through school. Now a forest ranger, when her ex and his lawyer friends end up camping in her park, she seizes the opportunity to demonstrate hard-won competence, strength, and maturity. Meanwhile her ex feeds his guilt complex and broods. The classically-stereotyped other woman is present but humanized 1983-style as a DV victim. Meanwhile, all April's new-found independence wins her is a life in the burbs with her ex and the Garden Club. But for a while the book had intriguing gender politics.
August 6, 2009
OMG, I think I read this book when I was in 6th grade, which was over 20 years ago! I can't believe I remembered the title of the book, but not only do I remember the title, but surprisingly enough, I remember most of the story!
The main character is in for quite a surprise when her ex husband, with his new girlfriend in tow, decides to vacation at the campsite where she works. Being in her element, she manages to rekindle things with her ex. No surprises there!
The main character is in for quite a surprise when her ex husband, with his new girlfriend in tow, decides to vacation at the campsite where she works. Being in her element, she manages to rekindle things with her ex. No surprises there!
Read
June 15, 2010This was one of the better Harlequin romances that I read as a team. It was believable. He was not too mean to her he did not rape her, which happened waay too much in those older romance novels.
I liked them both and understood the motivation for their actions. The fact that I remember it so well also must say something.
I don't read any of these anymore but I would read this again.
I liked them both and understood the motivation for their actions. The fact that I remember it so well also must say something.
I don't read any of these anymore but I would read this again.
January 23, 2008
Kathleen is one of my three favorite living authors. I have never lent one to anyone who didn't like Kathleen, men and women alike. Some of her books are date because she wrote them years ago, but all are still very worth reading - even the Harlequins!
March 18, 2013
+1 for featuring Charlottesville, VA #hometownpride
October 3, 2013
I'm pretty sure I read this close to when it came out...and I still remembered it enough to look here for it.
January 10, 2014
Read it when I was very young. Loaned it to a friend and they never brought it back. I am ordering it. Must read it again. Still remember the plot, the scenes - well written.
May 8, 2015
I bought this on impulse at a library sale. Worst fifty cents I ever spent.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews