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With His Ring
The ruse and the ring!
Yorke Mackinnon was determined to get back his grandmother's emerald ring.... Grandma had given him two choices: return the ring to her, or give it to the woman he wanted to marry.
Sabina was safekeeping her best friend's engagement ring. When Yorke turned up with some wild story that the ring had been stolen, Sabina wouldn't just tamely hand it over.
So Yorke was prepared to make a deal: Sabina got to keep the ring, but only if she wore it - and pretended to be his fiancée!
186 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1996
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Steele
339 books113 followersJessica Steele was born on May 9, 1933 in the elegant Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa. She has two super brothers, Colin and George, and a lovely sister, Elizabeth. She was a delicate child and missed a lot of school. In fact, she left school at aged 14, when she was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. At 16, she started work as a junior clerk. In 1967, Jessica married with her husband, Peter and within a very short space of time they had moved from her hometown to the lovely area where they now live. Their house is built into the side of a hill, and has beautiful views over more hills and valleys. Her brothers and her sister are very close and she has plenty of nephews and nieces to make up for the fact that she and her husband have no children of their own. Both she and her husband are more than a little dog-oriented, and their current dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier named Florence. Florence is gorgeous. She loves everybody but, since she is 40 pounds of dynamite and would hurl her boisterous self at everyone she meets - given half a chance - she has to be restrained (as much as possible). She is fun.
Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (the rejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work for her. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session. A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background for her books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.
Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (the rejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work for her. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session. A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background for her books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 13, 2020
"With His Ring" is the story of Sabrina and Yorke.
Another disappointment.
This started out as a very silly but charming book. The heroine lives with a ditsy but sweet friend, who has bad luck with men. When she finally gets engaged and is whisked off for a vacation, she leaves the expensive ring her fiance gave her with the heroine as it does not fit her. The hero shows up, claiming that his cousin stole the ring from him and it belongs to his dying grandmother. The heroine is too hung up on the ring and how it would affect her friend, refuses to give it up. The hero then asks the heroine to be his pretend fiance to appease his sick grandma, and she agrees. Soon they enter in a pretend engagement, families get involved, misunderstandings occur and the rest is predictable.
My biggest grievance is the heroine. She kept dating and kiss OM throughout the book, and I did not like that at all. Her romance with the hero was underwhelming, and their chemistry was lukewarm.
Another dud.
SWE
2/5
Another disappointment.
This started out as a very silly but charming book. The heroine lives with a ditsy but sweet friend, who has bad luck with men. When she finally gets engaged and is whisked off for a vacation, she leaves the expensive ring her fiance gave her with the heroine as it does not fit her. The hero shows up, claiming that his cousin stole the ring from him and it belongs to his dying grandmother. The heroine is too hung up on the ring and how it would affect her friend, refuses to give it up. The hero then asks the heroine to be his pretend fiance to appease his sick grandma, and she agrees. Soon they enter in a pretend engagement, families get involved, misunderstandings occur and the rest is predictable.
My biggest grievance is the heroine. She kept dating and kiss OM throughout the book, and I did not like that at all. Her romance with the hero was underwhelming, and their chemistry was lukewarm.
Another dud.
SWE
2/5
March 24, 2013
Republished as an e-book recently, I read the paperback eons ago and kept it -- along with every book this author has written. I love how Jessica Steele creates conflict in her heroes, who end up wholeheartedly adoring the very one they initially distrusted and/or despised. Then they must grovel a little. :-) Her heroes can be ruthless, rude, insulting...and tender, charming, hot. Her heroines are not doormats.
Jessica Steele is now about 80 years old, sad to say. Her sentence construction is sometimes ... unusual. She missed a lot of school as a sickly child, and dropped out when TB developed. But IMO, she is among the best authors at Harlequin: good dialogue, strong conflict, slowly steaming sexual awareness, and some humor (but be prepared for introspection from the heroine -- I skim over it). Most of her books follow a formula, ending with a true confessions scene at the end (wish they weren't quite so long, these tell-alls).
With His Ring: Yorke is a wealthy, debonaire Brit (think Cary Grant) who gets into conflict with Sabina, a secretary (not his). She's single and a virgin (of course).
Sabina won't give Yorke the emerald ring that she is safeguarding for Natalie, her best friend who is backpacking in Brazil. York insists the ring belongs to his grandmother, and that Natalie's fiancé stole it, but Sabina has no proof of this, so she digs her heels in. Yorke tries to bully her into giving him the family heirloom (by being rude, commanding, bossy), then tries to explain the situation, and then tries to charm and coax her, but Sabina won't budge. When nothing works, he realizes he's dealing with an Unusual Woman -- beautiful and spunky and loyal, with a sense of humor and a soft spot for old ladies -- especially frail old ladies who are recovering from major heart surgery (Yorke's grandmother, in this case).
As these two go toe-to-toe, an attraction builds, but neither will admit it. Yorke starts telling a few white lies and not revealing some pertinent news to keep Sabina at his side. He's never been prone to fibbing. On top of that, he finds himself surly and possessive because Sabina goes out with Oliver. Jealousy!? This "most eligible bachelor" is in a welter.
Steele is pretty good at building chemistry and emotional intensity. Her love scenes -- even getting only to 2nd or 3rd base -- are more sizzling than some erotica I've read. Excerpt:
"Sweet love," he groaned, and caressed her, moulding her breasts, teasing... And Sabina was reduced, seduced into just holding onto him, while his mouth and tongue and gentle teeth teased and tormented each hard, throbbing nipple....and as one of his hands caressed down to her thigh..."
But, wait! She's a virgin (!!) and he's an honorable man! (Dammit!!)
In some of Steele's Hqn Presents, they go all the way, and in a few Hqn Romances, they do. For example, see Wife In Waiting for tender sizzling sex scenes, fully completed. It's out in e-book form, too.
Flaw: I didn't like how Yorke brought an end to the lovemaking scene. Needlessly harsh and hurtful.
******
Jessica Steele is now about 80 years old, sad to say. Her sentence construction is sometimes ... unusual. She missed a lot of school as a sickly child, and dropped out when TB developed. But IMO, she is among the best authors at Harlequin: good dialogue, strong conflict, slowly steaming sexual awareness, and some humor (but be prepared for introspection from the heroine -- I skim over it). Most of her books follow a formula, ending with a true confessions scene at the end (wish they weren't quite so long, these tell-alls).
With His Ring: Yorke is a wealthy, debonaire Brit (think Cary Grant) who gets into conflict with Sabina, a secretary (not his). She's single and a virgin (of course).
Sabina won't give Yorke the emerald ring that she is safeguarding for Natalie, her best friend who is backpacking in Brazil. York insists the ring belongs to his grandmother, and that Natalie's fiancé stole it, but Sabina has no proof of this, so she digs her heels in. Yorke tries to bully her into giving him the family heirloom (by being rude, commanding, bossy), then tries to explain the situation, and then tries to charm and coax her, but Sabina won't budge. When nothing works, he realizes he's dealing with an Unusual Woman -- beautiful and spunky and loyal, with a sense of humor and a soft spot for old ladies -- especially frail old ladies who are recovering from major heart surgery (Yorke's grandmother, in this case).
As these two go toe-to-toe, an attraction builds, but neither will admit it. Yorke starts telling a few white lies and not revealing some pertinent news to keep Sabina at his side. He's never been prone to fibbing. On top of that, he finds himself surly and possessive because Sabina goes out with Oliver. Jealousy!? This "most eligible bachelor" is in a welter.
Steele is pretty good at building chemistry and emotional intensity. Her love scenes -- even getting only to 2nd or 3rd base -- are more sizzling than some erotica I've read. Excerpt:
"Sweet love," he groaned, and caressed her, moulding her breasts, teasing... And Sabina was reduced, seduced into just holding onto him, while his mouth and tongue and gentle teeth teased and tormented each hard, throbbing nipple....and as one of his hands caressed down to her thigh..."
But, wait! She's a virgin (!!) and he's an honorable man! (Dammit!!)
In some of Steele's Hqn Presents, they go all the way, and in a few Hqn Romances, they do. For example, see Wife In Waiting for tender sizzling sex scenes, fully completed. It's out in e-book form, too.
Flaw: I didn't like how Yorke brought an end to the lovemaking scene. Needlessly harsh and hurtful.
******
December 5, 2013
A prolific romance writer. A pleasant read.
July 1, 2019
First book by Jessica Steele and I have to say, she sure does know how to write--and sustain/draw out scenes/tension within a story.
I sometimes wanted the writing to be more direct--but I believe this was to have the reader get directly into the mind of the Heroine.
I found myself willing to continue to read because the author has very interesting ways of phrasing situations and a way of writing love scenes/tension poetically and realistically. I wanted to see how the writer would tie everything together, and I was not let down!
I loved the tug of war (wits) between the Hero and Heroine....I wished sometimes that the Heroine wasn't driven so much by her loyalty to her friend...and more imput from her family--she is completely swept up into the Hero's world, and perhaps that is what she needed and the author intended?
Recommended! :-)
I sometimes wanted the writing to be more direct--but I believe this was to have the reader get directly into the mind of the Heroine.
I found myself willing to continue to read because the author has very interesting ways of phrasing situations and a way of writing love scenes/tension poetically and realistically. I wanted to see how the writer would tie everything together, and I was not let down!
I loved the tug of war (wits) between the Hero and Heroine....I wished sometimes that the Heroine wasn't driven so much by her loyalty to her friend...and more imput from her family--she is completely swept up into the Hero's world, and perhaps that is what she needed and the author intended?
Recommended! :-)
March 2, 2021
Oh , just some hogwash about a ring. The hero's granny's ring.
Stolen by the hero's cousin and given to his girlfriend. The girl friend is the heroine's roomie. The friend takes off on a trip, leaving the ring in the heroine's care.
Hero comes looking for it, heroine refuses to part with it, she cant just hand over an expensive heir loom ring to a stranger you see.
Right, cant get the ring? Never mind, get the girl along with the ring and present them to the granny together. That's the hero's marvelous idea. And yes, the girl falls in line with this brilliant plan.
So all the fake engagement tropes follow. Some jealous rants, some show case kissing, some real kissing, and finally "lets make the fake engagement real".
Nope, the story did not make an impression. Just became a chore to be completed after a while.
Stolen by the hero's cousin and given to his girlfriend. The girl friend is the heroine's roomie. The friend takes off on a trip, leaving the ring in the heroine's care.
Hero comes looking for it, heroine refuses to part with it, she cant just hand over an expensive heir loom ring to a stranger you see.
Right, cant get the ring? Never mind, get the girl along with the ring and present them to the granny together. That's the hero's marvelous idea. And yes, the girl falls in line with this brilliant plan.
So all the fake engagement tropes follow. Some jealous rants, some show case kissing, some real kissing, and finally "lets make the fake engagement real".
Nope, the story did not make an impression. Just became a chore to be completed after a while.
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
July 23, 2022The ruse and the ring!
Yorke Mackinnon was determined to get back his grandmother's emerald ring.... Grandma had given him two choices: return the ring to her, or give it to the woman he wanted to marry.
Sabina was safekeeping her best friend's engagement ring. When Yorke turned up with some wild story that the ring had been stolen, Sabina wouldn't just tamely hand it over.
So Yorke was prepared to make a deal: Sabina got to keep the ring, but only if she wore it - and pretended to be his fiancée!
Yorke Mackinnon was determined to get back his grandmother's emerald ring.... Grandma had given him two choices: return the ring to her, or give it to the woman he wanted to marry.
Sabina was safekeeping her best friend's engagement ring. When Yorke turned up with some wild story that the ring had been stolen, Sabina wouldn't just tamely hand it over.
So Yorke was prepared to make a deal: Sabina got to keep the ring, but only if she wore it - and pretended to be his fiancée!
October 18, 2025
This one is very run of the mill Jessica Steele, with her heroine (22) being the only daughter of clingy parents and the hero (mid 30s) running a business and being a serial dater. Of course the heroine is a virgin and the hero knows all the moves, only realising at the end that he is in love. He dates a skinny blonde and she dates a man from work.
It's not awful, but it's commonplace.
It's not awful, but it's commonplace.
Read
February 14, 2020h was a bit silly as she was very well protected by her parents. As if reading a teen romance.
August 9, 2021
Sleeping bore
This was a sleepy bore. A complete waste of time. But I finished it since it was a purchase. The story was dragged out. It could have been told in a few chapters.
This was a sleepy bore. A complete waste of time. But I finished it since it was a purchase. The story was dragged out. It could have been told in a few chapters.
May 9, 2022
2.5 🌟⭐️⭐️ The ending and lackluster plot lost a 1/2 star
July 29, 2020
It’s nice, it’s funny, the banter between the main characters is entertaining. Yorke is hot. Their chemistry is great :)
-1 star for spending the last 20 pages recapping the whole book from the hero’s POV. It was boring.
Safety:
Will be reading more of this author.
-1 star for spending the last 20 pages recapping the whole book from the hero’s POV. It was boring.
Safety:
Will be reading more of this author.
September 29, 2010
Sabrina as a good and sincere friend agree to keep her best friend`s engagement ring bt later find that her friend`s fiance stole the ring from his cousin......lovely story.
June 12, 2012
It a cute book. I find the charaters likable.
January 28, 2013
Very disappointing and I am usually a huge fan of this author.
June 8, 2014
It was pretty good. The only thing that kinda annoyed me was that for the last 20 pages or so you got the explanation for everything. It was a bit too long for me.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews