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Such Sweet Poison
"I'M JUST ASKING YOU TO DINNER."
Morgan didn't understand Catherine's reaction to his invitation. "I'm not asking you to go to bed with me."
Yet Catherine was wary. After a failed marriage, despite her continued sense of guilt, she'd finally pulled the pieces of her life together. Now, content with her quiet life, in spite of the urging of well-meaning friends, she wasn't interested in finding a new man.
Morgan Lynch --- attractive, articulate and clearly haunted by an unhappy past --- was a man, however, who intrigued and challenged her. But involvement? Catherine just wasn't sure.
Morgan didn't understand Catherine's reaction to his invitation. "I'm not asking you to go to bed with me."
Yet Catherine was wary. After a failed marriage, despite her continued sense of guilt, she'd finally pulled the pieces of her life together. Now, content with her quiet life, in spite of the urging of well-meaning friends, she wasn't interested in finding a new man.
Morgan Lynch --- attractive, articulate and clearly haunted by an unhappy past --- was a man, however, who intrigued and challenged her. But involvement? Catherine just wasn't sure.
188 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Anne Mather
798 books358 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 2, 2017
Re Such Sweet Poison - This is probably Anne Mather's best H and she includes a cat bonus with a cute Persian named Hector who is about a gazillion times smarter than the h. Mainly cause Hector, His Imperial Highness, is way, way, way better at picking out the good people from the bad and the h has no clue whatsoever for 90% of the book - so she makes some big mistakes. Fortunately the H and Hector are there to rescue her.
The h is a divorced 29 yr old investment analyst who gets argued into making up the fourth person for a dinner party for a pseudo-friend from work. The wife works in the same office as the h and her husband, who is a slime swiller and has made several passes at the h, works in the Diplomatic corp.
These people were also friends with the h's ex-husband, who told her she was too tall and too fat and barren as he broke up their five year marriage to marry his piece on the side secretary. (Hector hates and hisses at all these people, the h should have paid attention. Listen to your cat is the lesson here.)
The h shows up for the dinner party and to her surprise, the other man invited is a handsome American guy who is some sort of cousin to the slime swiller. Dinner is very strained as the slime swiller tries to makes digs at the h, and both the H and h shoot him down while his clueless and useless wife fitters around looking distressed and vacant. The H and h both take their leave at the same time and the H declares his intention to walk. It is pouring rain outside and the h manages to track the H down and get him to get into her car.
He is soaked and he knows his address, but he can't direct the h on how to get there. So she winds up taking him home and lending him her bathrobe and her shower. Hector loves the H right away and makes friends with his lap when the h forgets it is raining and puts him outside and the H lets him back in. The h thinks Hector is being a traitor, but she should have paid more attention to Hector's insights, instead of obsessing how ugly she is to men and not wanting to be involved with any.
The H falls asleep on the h's couch, she covers him up and goes to bed and has inner wars over her undeniable attraction to the H vs her long held and completely fictitious belief that she is ugly cause she wears glasses and has a high powered nerdy job. Then Hector makes a yowl in the middle of the night and when the h wakes up, she realizes that Hector is yowling cause the H is howling downstairs. She goes down to check things out and eventually figures out that the H isn't a mad person, he is having horrible nightmares.
The H wakes up and the h tries to smooth over the situation. He asks her out and she obfuscates and doesn't give a firm answer. She is more stuck on her uglyness and thinks the H might think she is an easy tarty time. The H wanders off, but send lots of lovely flowers and the h has to ward off her meddling mother, overly interested co-workers and the wife of the slime swiller in the office.
The H shows up to take the h to lunch and there are roofie kisses in the car. The h reacts badly, the H wanders off again and there is pages of the h's torment over her attraction to the H and his very mysterious behavior. He won't answer direct questions, he is very vague about what he is doing in England and he seems equally torn about whether he wants to see the h again or not.
Eventually the slime swiller wife lectures the h about getting involved with the H. She calls him poison and we find out that the H's dad is a retired American General. The H was married at 18 and then enlisted to go to Vietnam. He served for two years and then was a prisoner of war for five and then had to spend a few years getting inpatient therapy after a suicide attempt.
The slime swiller wife is just plain nasty and the h is highly offended, but she doesn't tell the woman that her husband is a cheating sewer slurper or tell the woman that she herself is just a fool. Then the h's cheating ex-husband shows up and tries to tell the h to leave the H alone. The h stupidly invites him in and actually listens to him before she tells him to go. (Hector hisses at him too, and the h AGAIN doesn't pay attention.)
The h decides to go see the H, she has his address and when she shows up at his flat, he is kinda mixed about seeing her. There are more roofie kisses and the h has a singular lurve mojo passion moment inspired by the H, but there is no H conjoining love connection cause the H is impotent after all his trials. The H gets upset and the h doesn't know how to fix things, she shares that she is barren and so he isn't the only broken person, but the H isn't ready to try. So the h leaves and the H disappears. The h has huge piney mopey moments until her aunt shows up and gives her a nice sounding board and tells her to take a chance. (Hector loves the h's aunt, so we know this lady has it going on and the h should do what she says.)
The h goes back to the H's apartment, but the H isn't there. She meets his father outside instead and his father, the General, explains that he made mistakes with his son growing up and insulted his manliness. The H married a gold digger and enlisted and then the golddigger divorced him when he got captured and his mother died of cancer while he was imprisoned. The General wanted to make his son do the things he wanted him to do, but he was wrong and now he wants the h to help him find the H as she is the first person he has connected with in years and he wants to try and mend his relationship with his son.
The General thinks the H might be in Florida and the h agrees to go if the H is actually there. She goes home and her evil nematode blobfish pustule ex shows up and yells at the h about hanging out with old guys and how his piece on the side wife isn't preggers yet. Then he kicks Hector (but he misses,) tosses the h around to where she hits her head on the fire hearth after she knees him hard and then he tries to rape her.
The H walks in on this and then proceeds to roundly and deservedly make the blobfish pustule burst and throws him in the gutter like the trash he is. The H saves the day and Hector is fine and the aftermath of fighting leads to a full consummation of the H and h's lurve connection.
The H is now saved too and the H and h marry and move to Florida. Where the General bought the H a vacation resort to manage and own and the h finds out that she wasn't the barren one in her marriage.
She is having the H's baby, tho he would have been fine with only Hector and Hector is living it up on the coast, cause he gets fresh fish every day and we all hang out to watch the sunset on another HP HEA. Hector was great, the H was great and the h finally listened to her cat in the end, it only took a big blow to the head once, so it was a nice little HP outing.
The h is a divorced 29 yr old investment analyst who gets argued into making up the fourth person for a dinner party for a pseudo-friend from work. The wife works in the same office as the h and her husband, who is a slime swiller and has made several passes at the h, works in the Diplomatic corp.
These people were also friends with the h's ex-husband, who told her she was too tall and too fat and barren as he broke up their five year marriage to marry his piece on the side secretary. (Hector hates and hisses at all these people, the h should have paid attention. Listen to your cat is the lesson here.)
The h shows up for the dinner party and to her surprise, the other man invited is a handsome American guy who is some sort of cousin to the slime swiller. Dinner is very strained as the slime swiller tries to makes digs at the h, and both the H and h shoot him down while his clueless and useless wife fitters around looking distressed and vacant. The H and h both take their leave at the same time and the H declares his intention to walk. It is pouring rain outside and the h manages to track the H down and get him to get into her car.
He is soaked and he knows his address, but he can't direct the h on how to get there. So she winds up taking him home and lending him her bathrobe and her shower. Hector loves the H right away and makes friends with his lap when the h forgets it is raining and puts him outside and the H lets him back in. The h thinks Hector is being a traitor, but she should have paid more attention to Hector's insights, instead of obsessing how ugly she is to men and not wanting to be involved with any.
The H falls asleep on the h's couch, she covers him up and goes to bed and has inner wars over her undeniable attraction to the H vs her long held and completely fictitious belief that she is ugly cause she wears glasses and has a high powered nerdy job. Then Hector makes a yowl in the middle of the night and when the h wakes up, she realizes that Hector is yowling cause the H is howling downstairs. She goes down to check things out and eventually figures out that the H isn't a mad person, he is having horrible nightmares.
The H wakes up and the h tries to smooth over the situation. He asks her out and she obfuscates and doesn't give a firm answer. She is more stuck on her uglyness and thinks the H might think she is an easy tarty time. The H wanders off, but send lots of lovely flowers and the h has to ward off her meddling mother, overly interested co-workers and the wife of the slime swiller in the office.
The H shows up to take the h to lunch and there are roofie kisses in the car. The h reacts badly, the H wanders off again and there is pages of the h's torment over her attraction to the H and his very mysterious behavior. He won't answer direct questions, he is very vague about what he is doing in England and he seems equally torn about whether he wants to see the h again or not.
Eventually the slime swiller wife lectures the h about getting involved with the H. She calls him poison and we find out that the H's dad is a retired American General. The H was married at 18 and then enlisted to go to Vietnam. He served for two years and then was a prisoner of war for five and then had to spend a few years getting inpatient therapy after a suicide attempt.
The slime swiller wife is just plain nasty and the h is highly offended, but she doesn't tell the woman that her husband is a cheating sewer slurper or tell the woman that she herself is just a fool. Then the h's cheating ex-husband shows up and tries to tell the h to leave the H alone. The h stupidly invites him in and actually listens to him before she tells him to go. (Hector hisses at him too, and the h AGAIN doesn't pay attention.)
The h decides to go see the H, she has his address and when she shows up at his flat, he is kinda mixed about seeing her. There are more roofie kisses and the h has a singular lurve mojo passion moment inspired by the H, but there is no H conjoining love connection cause the H is impotent after all his trials. The H gets upset and the h doesn't know how to fix things, she shares that she is barren and so he isn't the only broken person, but the H isn't ready to try. So the h leaves and the H disappears. The h has huge piney mopey moments until her aunt shows up and gives her a nice sounding board and tells her to take a chance. (Hector loves the h's aunt, so we know this lady has it going on and the h should do what she says.)
The h goes back to the H's apartment, but the H isn't there. She meets his father outside instead and his father, the General, explains that he made mistakes with his son growing up and insulted his manliness. The H married a gold digger and enlisted and then the golddigger divorced him when he got captured and his mother died of cancer while he was imprisoned. The General wanted to make his son do the things he wanted him to do, but he was wrong and now he wants the h to help him find the H as she is the first person he has connected with in years and he wants to try and mend his relationship with his son.
The General thinks the H might be in Florida and the h agrees to go if the H is actually there. She goes home and her evil nematode blobfish pustule ex shows up and yells at the h about hanging out with old guys and how his piece on the side wife isn't preggers yet. Then he kicks Hector (but he misses,) tosses the h around to where she hits her head on the fire hearth after she knees him hard and then he tries to rape her.
The H walks in on this and then proceeds to roundly and deservedly make the blobfish pustule burst and throws him in the gutter like the trash he is. The H saves the day and Hector is fine and the aftermath of fighting leads to a full consummation of the H and h's lurve connection.
The H is now saved too and the H and h marry and move to Florida. Where the General bought the H a vacation resort to manage and own and the h finds out that she wasn't the barren one in her marriage.
She is having the H's baby, tho he would have been fine with only Hector and Hector is living it up on the coast, cause he gets fresh fish every day and we all hang out to watch the sunset on another HP HEA. Hector was great, the H was great and the h finally listened to her cat in the end, it only took a big blow to the head once, so it was a nice little HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2016
Page and a DNF at least for now.
Just not interested. I don't know whether it's the heroine's crankiness and defensiveness or the hero's lack of personality so far or the simple fact that I am a little sad and depressed that Princess Leia died.
RIP Carrie Fisher!
Just not interested. I don't know whether it's the heroine's crankiness and defensiveness or the hero's lack of personality so far or the simple fact that I am a little sad and depressed that Princess Leia died.
RIP Carrie Fisher!
June 4, 2013
3 stars..... This probably was a strong 5 star read back in the days when it was first written. It certainly isn't your traditional mother's HP. The context is intriguing, a Vietnam POW struggling with post traumatic stress, a heroine scarred from a previous marriage, mental illness, impotence and unrequited love. I'm not sure there is much more left in the area of angst, But in spite of all this, the book actually felt a little flat. Something that could have been off the charts ended up just so, so. I'm still pondering why I felt this way. I can't quite put my finger on it. I think the heroine had something to do with it. In the first half of the book she was so annoying, I almost couldn't finish it. However, when it picked up, it really picked up and I found I couldn't wait to finish it.
For those of you looking for something different, with a little more depth, this one is for you.
For those of you looking for something different, with a little more depth, this one is for you.
April 13, 2012
I think this is my favourite harlequin ever.
The characters are so real and human, and it is so refreshing to find and read those good Harlequins from 20 years ago. This is a story of real love between two people that have been hurt, and their struggle to find happiness. So sweet.
The characters are so real and human, and it is so refreshing to find and read those good Harlequins from 20 years ago. This is a story of real love between two people that have been hurt, and their struggle to find happiness. So sweet.
July 13, 2023
Not quite enough together time but an interesting and slightly unusual story for a HP because the alpha H, Morgan (Vietnam vet) has a very unalpha problem. The h, Catherine, an investment analyst, also has some self esteem issues after a divorce. They meet at a dinner party given by a creepy couple and then play a game of alternating running away and getting together until the Hs General father gets involved. It's the kind of hea people with these issues don't often get in real life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2018
Spoilers ahead!
I was rather disapointed by the ending of the book. I mean why throw impotency in a book If you're just going to miraculously cure it?
I was rather disapointed by the ending of the book. I mean why throw impotency in a book If you're just going to miraculously cure it?
March 29, 2011
It was not bad. A bit old-fashioned maybe and so English!! This is my first AM's book, the thing that left me perplexed is her use of short sentences. Her dialogues are continually interrupted, and I found it a bit disturbing. I don't know if it's her normal writing style or this book is a fluke. We'll see.
June 1, 2016
My most favourite Mills and Boon.
The thing i loved best about this book was that Morgan was so so so human!
I'm not into heroes with Islands, Jets and all tycoon aura. So i guess its understandable why i absolutely loved Morgan Lynch. and Kat!!!
The thing i loved best about this book was that Morgan was so so so human!
I'm not into heroes with Islands, Jets and all tycoon aura. So i guess its understandable why i absolutely loved Morgan Lynch. and Kat!!!
June 22, 2021
Η ιστορία μου βγήκε πρόχειρη και ρηχή ,κάτι που δεν μας έχει συνηθίσει η συγγραφέας....Θα ήθελα να δω τουλάχιστον άλλες 50 σελίδες για να μην γράψω 80 και φανώ υπερβολική .Λύθηκαν όλα τα προλήματα(σοβαρά προβλήματα ) ως δια μαγείας στις τελευταίες σελίδες του βιβλίου, με αποτέλεσμα να μην υπάρχει καμία αληθοφάνεια στο κείμενο.
Είχε ένα δυνατό κορμό που όμως δεν αναπτύχθηκε σωστά.
2,5/5
Είχε ένα δυνατό κορμό που όμως δεν αναπτύχθηκε σωστά.
2,5/5
October 24, 2019
Cute, Simple Romance
(Spoilers, duh)
The Heroine: Catherine is your typical neurotic big-city divorcee who owns a cat and thinks herself overweight and undeserving of male attention because of her piece-of-garbage ex husband who dumped her for a younger, more conventionally attractive woman, and also blamed the failure of their marriage on her supposed infertility (utter failure as a female!) and insistence of having a career of her own. Terrible, nasty woman. Obviously, she totally deserves to be alone and miserable until she’s old, fat, and infirm with no one to care for her and only her cat to eat her half-dead when her neighbors start complaining about the smell coming from her tiny bedsit. Naturally, she won’t allow her well-meaning friend–who has the most awful, obnoxious, punchable husband ever–to set her up on a date with anyone because who would want poor Catherine with a cat and also, who in their right mind would trust a woman to set them up with anyone decent when she clearly has terrible taste in men?!?!?
The Hero: Oh, Morgan Lynch. Give me a second, my heart hurts. He has some major stalkerrific tendencies and pulls some asshole maneuvering in the middle of the book, but bless his heart, he thought he had a good reason. He was a bit misguided, I’m afraid. I actually liked Morgan.
Morgan comes off as kind of a dick at first (don’t they all), but that’s because he’s a shell-shocked Vietnam vet. Stationed in London where our little story takes place, he works for the US Embassy and comes from a wealthy family. He’s good-looking, educated, slick, tough, and the first time he sees Catherine, he falls in looooove. But he’s got a tragic back story and a dark secret. He and Catherine can never be together! Oh noes!
The Plot: Catherine is convinced she’s going to die alone with her cat because she’s fat and gross or something, the silly bitch. She has a well-meaning, but over-bearing mother who is constantly harping at her to go out more and get back to dating, while her closest friend is a secretary at the securities firm where she works and only seems to invite her to dinner parties when she needs to complete a set. The friend’s husband is awful and has hit on Catherine before, but Catherine has never told her friend–so when the friend needs a fourth to complete a dinner party because an old Army buddy of her husband is coming into town, she invites Catherine. Catherine doesn’t want to go, but the friend insists it’s not a date–she just really needs a filler for her dinner party, so it wouldn’t be awkward. Fine, Catherine says, she’ll go. Naturally, her mother asks a million questions after she finds out about the dinner party and after hanging up the phone, Catherine’s like, why is this my life?
She goes to the dinner party and this Morgan Lynch guy is GORGEOUS. SOOOOO GOOD-LOOKING. Naturally, the friend’s husband goes into his default asshole mode and starts bullying Catherine as though to show off or something and Morgan shuts that garbage down. He doesn’t really talk to anyone and is kind of awkward and the whole dinner is tense and weird and Catherine is sorry she attended, so she tries to bug out early, but her friend is like, Oh help, take Morgan with you. Catherine is like, are you crazy because no, bye, I’m leaving. Morgan is like, whatever bitches, I’m walking in the rain because I’m cool like that. So Catherine is about to drive off in her Peugeot only it really is raining because London LOL and she tells that crazy Yank bastard in his nice smart suit to get into her Peugeot before he drowns in the rain.
Because Morgan has only moved to London, he doesn’t really know where he’s going, so he can’t direct Cat where to drive (and this is before mobile phones). His clothes are soaked wet from the rain and Cat tells him she can’t have him sitting drenched in her car, so right there and then, he starts taking off his clothes like a crazy person. Flustered in a very British way, Cat takes this guy to her flat (I swear, he’s only getting away with this because he’s very good-looking), so she can dry his clothes for him and she could give him something warm to drink. Morgan takes her up on the offer.
I’ve seen horror movies with less sketchier premise.
Morgan and Cat talk a little bit, but not much because Morgan is doing his mysterious stranger bit since he doesn’t want to get too close to Cat even though he’s super attracted to her. Meanwhile, Cat thinks Morgan is just chatting her up for shits and giggles, since she can’t actually believe that Morgan sees anything in her, because her self-esteem is in the toilet. While she is taking care of his wet clothes, Morgan falls asleep on her couch, so Cat goes to her own bed herself, secure in the knowledge that Morgan can’t possibly be a serial killer because her cat likes him. She is awoken in the middle of the night by Morgan making strange noises, so she creeps downstairs and discovers he is having very bad dreams. Instead of freaked out, Cat finds herself intrigued.
Cat doesn’t expect to see Morgan again after the strange, awkward night, but he shows up at her place later to say hello. Then he drops by at her work with a picnic basket. Then he sends her a huge bouquet of flowers. Meanwhile, Cat’s ex is still hanging around to remind her that she’s garbage and no man would ever want her, so Cat is not entirely convinced that Morgan is serious about her, especially since he’s so handsome, rich, and being so… mysterious. Why won’t he talk about himself? Why won’t he answer anything personal himself? What kind of game is he playing?
So finally, Cat is like… you know what, I’m just going to take care of business my own damn self. She goes to Morgan’s house to confront him, to find out once and for all what he wants from her, and they get it all out in the open, almost get it on, then Morgan’s like, wait, I have a big Dark Secret. Here it is! Cat’s like, oh, that’s okay, I’m half a woman because I can't have kids! We can make this work. Morgan’s like, no, we can’t! Cat’s like, we can! Morgan’s like, we can’t. Go away, Cat! Cat’s like, noooo!! Then Morgan disappears.
The Verdict: Sigh. This was a nice, pleasant read. There wasn’t really much angst. Compared to a lot of the old vintage Mills and Boons and HP stuff that I enjoy reading, this one is actually a happy one. Morgan and Catherine are fairly simple people, who just needed a little bit more time to get to know each other and talk to each other. They get some time apart and I think it’s a good thing because it gives them both the necessary perspective. My favorite scene is the one where Morgan comes back like the avenging hero right at the nick of time, just like a hero is supposed to, to give Cat’s dickhead ex-husband his comeuppance. It would have been a tad bit more satisfying if it was Cat who gave him the asskicking, but I’m a stickler like that. I really wanted Cat to kick her ex-husband's ass and literally unman him for half the crap he puts her through...
Classic Anne Mather. Strong heroine who needed a self-esteem boost. Swoon-worthy hero who needed a boost of his own. 85/100.
(Spoilers, duh)
The Heroine: Catherine is your typical neurotic big-city divorcee who owns a cat and thinks herself overweight and undeserving of male attention because of her piece-of-garbage ex husband who dumped her for a younger, more conventionally attractive woman, and also blamed the failure of their marriage on her supposed infertility (utter failure as a female!) and insistence of having a career of her own. Terrible, nasty woman. Obviously, she totally deserves to be alone and miserable until she’s old, fat, and infirm with no one to care for her and only her cat to eat her half-dead when her neighbors start complaining about the smell coming from her tiny bedsit. Naturally, she won’t allow her well-meaning friend–who has the most awful, obnoxious, punchable husband ever–to set her up on a date with anyone because who would want poor Catherine with a cat and also, who in their right mind would trust a woman to set them up with anyone decent when she clearly has terrible taste in men?!?!?
The Hero: Oh, Morgan Lynch. Give me a second, my heart hurts. He has some major stalkerrific tendencies and pulls some asshole maneuvering in the middle of the book, but bless his heart, he thought he had a good reason. He was a bit misguided, I’m afraid. I actually liked Morgan.
Morgan comes off as kind of a dick at first (don’t they all), but that’s because he’s a shell-shocked Vietnam vet. Stationed in London where our little story takes place, he works for the US Embassy and comes from a wealthy family. He’s good-looking, educated, slick, tough, and the first time he sees Catherine, he falls in looooove. But he’s got a tragic back story and a dark secret. He and Catherine can never be together! Oh noes!
The Plot: Catherine is convinced she’s going to die alone with her cat because she’s fat and gross or something, the silly bitch. She has a well-meaning, but over-bearing mother who is constantly harping at her to go out more and get back to dating, while her closest friend is a secretary at the securities firm where she works and only seems to invite her to dinner parties when she needs to complete a set. The friend’s husband is awful and has hit on Catherine before, but Catherine has never told her friend–so when the friend needs a fourth to complete a dinner party because an old Army buddy of her husband is coming into town, she invites Catherine. Catherine doesn’t want to go, but the friend insists it’s not a date–she just really needs a filler for her dinner party, so it wouldn’t be awkward. Fine, Catherine says, she’ll go. Naturally, her mother asks a million questions after she finds out about the dinner party and after hanging up the phone, Catherine’s like, why is this my life?
She goes to the dinner party and this Morgan Lynch guy is GORGEOUS. SOOOOO GOOD-LOOKING. Naturally, the friend’s husband goes into his default asshole mode and starts bullying Catherine as though to show off or something and Morgan shuts that garbage down. He doesn’t really talk to anyone and is kind of awkward and the whole dinner is tense and weird and Catherine is sorry she attended, so she tries to bug out early, but her friend is like, Oh help, take Morgan with you. Catherine is like, are you crazy because no, bye, I’m leaving. Morgan is like, whatever bitches, I’m walking in the rain because I’m cool like that. So Catherine is about to drive off in her Peugeot only it really is raining because London LOL and she tells that crazy Yank bastard in his nice smart suit to get into her Peugeot before he drowns in the rain.
Because Morgan has only moved to London, he doesn’t really know where he’s going, so he can’t direct Cat where to drive (and this is before mobile phones). His clothes are soaked wet from the rain and Cat tells him she can’t have him sitting drenched in her car, so right there and then, he starts taking off his clothes like a crazy person. Flustered in a very British way, Cat takes this guy to her flat (I swear, he’s only getting away with this because he’s very good-looking), so she can dry his clothes for him and she could give him something warm to drink. Morgan takes her up on the offer.
I’ve seen horror movies with less sketchier premise.
Morgan and Cat talk a little bit, but not much because Morgan is doing his mysterious stranger bit since he doesn’t want to get too close to Cat even though he’s super attracted to her. Meanwhile, Cat thinks Morgan is just chatting her up for shits and giggles, since she can’t actually believe that Morgan sees anything in her, because her self-esteem is in the toilet. While she is taking care of his wet clothes, Morgan falls asleep on her couch, so Cat goes to her own bed herself, secure in the knowledge that Morgan can’t possibly be a serial killer because her cat likes him. She is awoken in the middle of the night by Morgan making strange noises, so she creeps downstairs and discovers he is having very bad dreams. Instead of freaked out, Cat finds herself intrigued.
Cat doesn’t expect to see Morgan again after the strange, awkward night, but he shows up at her place later to say hello. Then he drops by at her work with a picnic basket. Then he sends her a huge bouquet of flowers. Meanwhile, Cat’s ex is still hanging around to remind her that she’s garbage and no man would ever want her, so Cat is not entirely convinced that Morgan is serious about her, especially since he’s so handsome, rich, and being so… mysterious. Why won’t he talk about himself? Why won’t he answer anything personal himself? What kind of game is he playing?
So finally, Cat is like… you know what, I’m just going to take care of business my own damn self. She goes to Morgan’s house to confront him, to find out once and for all what he wants from her, and they get it all out in the open, almost get it on, then Morgan’s like, wait, I have a big Dark Secret. Here it is! Cat’s like, oh, that’s okay, I’m half a woman because I can't have kids! We can make this work. Morgan’s like, no, we can’t! Cat’s like, we can! Morgan’s like, we can’t. Go away, Cat! Cat’s like, noooo!! Then Morgan disappears.
The Verdict: Sigh. This was a nice, pleasant read. There wasn’t really much angst. Compared to a lot of the old vintage Mills and Boons and HP stuff that I enjoy reading, this one is actually a happy one. Morgan and Catherine are fairly simple people, who just needed a little bit more time to get to know each other and talk to each other. They get some time apart and I think it’s a good thing because it gives them both the necessary perspective. My favorite scene is the one where Morgan comes back like the avenging hero right at the nick of time, just like a hero is supposed to, to give Cat’s dickhead ex-husband his comeuppance. It would have been a tad bit more satisfying if it was Cat who gave him the asskicking, but I’m a stickler like that. I really wanted Cat to kick her ex-husband's ass and literally unman him for half the crap he puts her through...
Classic Anne Mather. Strong heroine who needed a self-esteem boost. Swoon-worthy hero who needed a boost of his own. 85/100.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2019
Ah! Red faced and ashamed, yet this read cost me 50c from an op-shop and it was the best ROI 😊 I don’t do romance nor what is considered ‘low brow’ (well, often anyway) but this was a good clean tale of a London wall flower who is not pathetic and a ‘Nam veteran who finally hit it off after many a misdemeanour. 👌
July 18, 2025
Vintage Love Story 1991:
What a beautiful love story and aptly titled.
Hero shows his attraction to the Heroine without any show of pretense or trying to impress her even when he anonymously sent her flowers. Hero just being himself, sincere and frank without being arrogant or pushy. Whether or not Hero and Heroine realizes it, he was actually courting her! Skillfully written that even the reader just slowly realizes it, too! So SWEET without being sappy.
But what torment both Hero and Heroine have to go through that could “POISON ” the progression of their relationship!
- Faced with seemingly hopeless circumstances that does not diminish the powerful pull of attraction between Hero and Heroine makes this romantic story tinged with sensuality carry the signature stamp of an Anne Mather Romance. Bliss (Sigh).
CYA’58
What a beautiful love story and aptly titled.
Hero shows his attraction to the Heroine without any show of pretense or trying to impress her even when he anonymously sent her flowers. Hero just being himself, sincere and frank without being arrogant or pushy. Whether or not Hero and Heroine realizes it, he was actually courting her! Skillfully written that even the reader just slowly realizes it, too! So SWEET without being sappy.
But what torment both Hero and Heroine have to go through that could “POISON ” the progression of their relationship!
- Faced with seemingly hopeless circumstances that does not diminish the powerful pull of attraction between Hero and Heroine makes this romantic story tinged with sensuality carry the signature stamp of an Anne Mather Romance. Bliss (Sigh).
CYA’58
September 9, 2025
After two years of divorce, Catherine wanted to live her life peacefully with her Persian cat, secure job and convenient house. Therefore, she didn't like her friend's invitation to join her party of four with a mysterious man called Morgan Lynch! It was certainly a big mistake since not only was it a lousy gathering, but she felt troubled to leave Morgan walk on the rain to his house and had to take him to her house to dry his clothes!! That act of kindness startled her because it made her be aware she was still a woman!!
Honestly, the story hasn't got much real events to weave a plausible love story upon, but Anne Mather did a great job of not making it boring or conventional and hence I gave it three stars. It's not a waste of time to read it.
Honestly, the story hasn't got much real events to weave a plausible love story upon, but Anne Mather did a great job of not making it boring or conventional and hence I gave it three stars. It's not a waste of time to read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2021
I quite liked this one by Anne Mather. Some of her books are a bit violent and tense for me. Our heroine here is a financial consultant who is invited to dinner by a work colleague. She doesn't like the woman's husband but can't turn them down. They have also invited a "second" cousin to Denzil. He is American (unusual for a Harlequin) named Morgan Lynch. The two surprisingly hit it off, even though both are reluctant to get involved. The tension has to do with Morgan being a veteran of the Vietnam War and having issues with his father. But, of course, all gets worked out in the end. I really liked the ending. It was romantic and also realistic.
May 2, 2023
One of the best romances I've ever read!
September 7, 2023
So…what?! What is with the title? Terrible plotting. Bland characters. Each of the leads have “health” issues…that magically resolve themselves by the last chapter. Skip. Bland, boring, and not fun.
August 13, 2012
I made it all the way through this novel but it was really hard. It was very old english and old school in general. It kind of reminded me of some victorian times. It was well written and I assume it was an amazing classic back when it was written but it just doesn't apply in todays times.
April 16, 2013
read over 30 years ago so i dont remember much about this book, it was fluff however a little fluff should fall in everyones life from time to time
January 7, 2019
Such a lovely romance. Relatable real characters. Wish the book was longer but still definitely enjoyable read.
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