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The Passionate Escape
"I never want to see you again! "
Try as she might, Emily couldn't escape from the handsome Ludovic for long. Then they were unexpectedly thrown together, fleeing across the rugged African landscape.
Ludovic's mockery of her wealthy background rankled Emily. But her desire for this dangerous man was so intense she realized life without him would be unbearable.
Their time together was running out. And Emily still had not convinced Ludovic her love for him was genuine...
Try as she might, Emily couldn't escape from the handsome Ludovic for long. Then they were unexpectedly thrown together, fleeing across the rugged African landscape.
Ludovic's mockery of her wealthy background rankled Emily. But her desire for this dangerous man was so intense she realized life without him would be unbearable.
Their time together was running out. And Emily still had not convinced Ludovic her love for him was genuine...
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Mary Lyons
127 books20 followersMary-Jo Wormell, whose nom de plume is Mary Lyons, was a popular British writer of over 40 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1983 to 2001. She was also a Conservative Party parlimentary candidate.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 29, 2017
The Passionate Escape covers the delightful and adventurous odyssey of a spoilt young diamond heiress' growth from innocence to womanhood. I loved this when I first read it years ago and I still love it. When I had first read this novel, my initial thought had been for it to be made into a tv movie. It was so romantic and filled with humor, adventure galore and was so exciting. I loved the H Ludovic Vandenberg who is a zoologist and former SAS member. The man was sex on legs; he was that hot ! He was 38 yrs old compared to the heroine's 20 and the novel deals with his efforts to save both their lives after a revolution broke out in the fictional African nation of Ouanda. The heroine Emily Lambouchere is an orphaned diamond heiress who is very spoilt and has just gotten herself out of an engagement with a gold digger. Her former fiance had been hoping that the Lambouchere diamond fortune would help to save his family's insurance company from financial disaster, which included charges of fraud. When Emily realized that he had been using her for her money, she broke the engagement and then his dad committed suicide. Emily fled England because the suicide of her former fiance's dad created a paparazzi hail storm in her daily life.
In Ouanda she meets the H and he is immediately attracted to her. There is so much insta-lust that he kisses her passionately even before finding out her identity. When Ludo discovers that she's the diamond heiress, he becomes very mean and bitter towards her. Emily also acts like a spoilt brat towards him. In her defence, she had only been acting up because she was attracted to him too and was embarrassed when he insulted her in front of others. Her embarrassment caused her to act like a spoilt rich bitch and made Ludo's already low opinion of her decrease even further. Ludo's dislike of Emily stems from his prejudice against rich girls because when he had just finished University years ago, he married a man crazy, vapid socialite. The marriage had lasted only for 2 months and the socialite soon made a career out of marrying and divorcing numerous men until she died of drug overdose. Emily knows nothing about this until nearly the end of the novel, so she is unaware that her spoilt and whiny behavior will only make things worse for her and Ludo.
The bulk of the novel deals with the adventurous journey that takes the MC's from the danger of a civil war ravaged Ouanda to the safety of the Cameroons. Emily was annoying but also enchanting. She was a spoilt rich girl and her silliness was funny most times because she was not a mean or irritating heroine. It was wonderful to see how much she changed and became a better human being as their journey progressed. I really enjoyed the author's depictions of the trials they endured during their journey. The sex didn't start to happen until about two thirds into the novel but the chemistry between Ludo and Emily was always scorching. Ludo can easily become one of my fav book boyfriends because I love a man who is intellectually inclined as well being an alpha male with the body and face of a sex God. What's not to love about Ludo ? He cracked me up continually and the author's portrayal of his gradually growing affection for Emily was beautifully done.
After they reached the safe home of Ludo's friends, I really felt sorry for poor Emily. By this time she had fallen in love with her dashing hunky lover but he had started to pull away from her emotionally. They kept having lots of hot sex but Ludo was clearly struggling with his emotions. Obviously, he was scared of falling for a rich socialite and my heart broke for Emily when she cried and begged him to stay with her. She was so sweet in the scene where she told him she loved him and that she had changed from the spoilt brat she had been when he first met her. Ludo was torn apart as well and I appreciated the way the author depicted his turmoil. Other authors would have simply portrayed him as an arrogant uncaring bastard, but he was so heart-breakingly sweet when he told Emily that she was so young and had her whole life ahead of her. I wanted to kick him and hug him at the same time. Their parting was so sad. It made me almost want to cry for both of them because the author portrayed how difficult a parting it was for the MC's.
Emily spent the next 8 months trying to make a positive change with her life. She went back to Ouanda, after a peaceful regime had taken control, and started charitable campaigns to assist the homeless and to set up an orphanage. She kept grieving for Ludo and unbeknownst to her, he had also started looking for her about a month after their parting. He had realized how much he loved her and couldn't live without her. That's why I loved Ludo so much. He didn't do like many other heroes and simply shrugged and gone back to being a man whore. He started actively searching for Emily but none of her employees would tell him of her whereabouts. When he eventually found her, he asked his cousin Charles to help with a romantic reunion. It was fabulous ! Their reunion was as exciting as their initial meeting and even though he was still worried about their age difference, Ludo asked her to marry him and have his kids. I loved Ludo and Emily's romantic journey - even if the hero's shortened name kept reminding about a certain boardgame...
In Ouanda she meets the H and he is immediately attracted to her. There is so much insta-lust that he kisses her passionately even before finding out her identity. When Ludo discovers that she's the diamond heiress, he becomes very mean and bitter towards her. Emily also acts like a spoilt brat towards him. In her defence, she had only been acting up because she was attracted to him too and was embarrassed when he insulted her in front of others. Her embarrassment caused her to act like a spoilt rich bitch and made Ludo's already low opinion of her decrease even further. Ludo's dislike of Emily stems from his prejudice against rich girls because when he had just finished University years ago, he married a man crazy, vapid socialite. The marriage had lasted only for 2 months and the socialite soon made a career out of marrying and divorcing numerous men until she died of drug overdose. Emily knows nothing about this until nearly the end of the novel, so she is unaware that her spoilt and whiny behavior will only make things worse for her and Ludo.
The bulk of the novel deals with the adventurous journey that takes the MC's from the danger of a civil war ravaged Ouanda to the safety of the Cameroons. Emily was annoying but also enchanting. She was a spoilt rich girl and her silliness was funny most times because she was not a mean or irritating heroine. It was wonderful to see how much she changed and became a better human being as their journey progressed. I really enjoyed the author's depictions of the trials they endured during their journey. The sex didn't start to happen until about two thirds into the novel but the chemistry between Ludo and Emily was always scorching. Ludo can easily become one of my fav book boyfriends because I love a man who is intellectually inclined as well being an alpha male with the body and face of a sex God. What's not to love about Ludo ? He cracked me up continually and the author's portrayal of his gradually growing affection for Emily was beautifully done.
After they reached the safe home of Ludo's friends, I really felt sorry for poor Emily. By this time she had fallen in love with her dashing hunky lover but he had started to pull away from her emotionally. They kept having lots of hot sex but Ludo was clearly struggling with his emotions. Obviously, he was scared of falling for a rich socialite and my heart broke for Emily when she cried and begged him to stay with her. She was so sweet in the scene where she told him she loved him and that she had changed from the spoilt brat she had been when he first met her. Ludo was torn apart as well and I appreciated the way the author depicted his turmoil. Other authors would have simply portrayed him as an arrogant uncaring bastard, but he was so heart-breakingly sweet when he told Emily that she was so young and had her whole life ahead of her. I wanted to kick him and hug him at the same time. Their parting was so sad. It made me almost want to cry for both of them because the author portrayed how difficult a parting it was for the MC's.
Emily spent the next 8 months trying to make a positive change with her life. She went back to Ouanda, after a peaceful regime had taken control, and started charitable campaigns to assist the homeless and to set up an orphanage. She kept grieving for Ludo and unbeknownst to her, he had also started looking for her about a month after their parting. He had realized how much he loved her and couldn't live without her. That's why I loved Ludo so much. He didn't do like many other heroes and simply shrugged and gone back to being a man whore. He started actively searching for Emily but none of her employees would tell him of her whereabouts. When he eventually found her, he asked his cousin Charles to help with a romantic reunion. It was fabulous ! Their reunion was as exciting as their initial meeting and even though he was still worried about their age difference, Ludo asked her to marry him and have his kids. I loved Ludo and Emily's romantic journey - even if the hero's shortened name kept reminding about a certain boardgame...
January 16, 2019
Lively jungle adventure with a socialite heroine and an action man hero who is also a professor. Heroine is the part-owner of a diamond mine in Africa and is trapped in a civil war when the power-mad president wants to make himself king. The author is not afraid to show violence and death as the H/h make a narrow escape in a Land Rover.
The heroine is a spoiled brat at the beginning but shows great character during the journey to safety in a neighboring country. However, this heroine never learned the ways of the British stiff upper lip and is either a watering pot or a shrieking at the top of her lungs.
Hero has tremendous patience for an HP alpha (not much – but this is low bar) and manages to hold off seducing her for the first half of the story. Our big-busted, long-legged blonde didn’t have a bra with her and poor hero didn’t stand a chance.
The heroine is heart-broken to be parted from the hero at the end of their journey, but vows to do something meaningful with her life. The hero has a change of heart and tries to see her, but the heroine has cut off all means of communication.
Hero resorts to kidnapping, gives a great grovel and declaration for a sweet HEA.
I did like this H/h together. The romance is great. The African setting was unsettling since real places were named and real people. Not sure how that would affect a reader with more knowledge of the area.
The heroine is a spoiled brat at the beginning but shows great character during the journey to safety in a neighboring country. However, this heroine never learned the ways of the British stiff upper lip and is either a watering pot or a shrieking at the top of her lungs.
Hero has tremendous patience for an HP alpha (not much – but this is low bar) and manages to hold off seducing her for the first half of the story. Our big-busted, long-legged blonde didn’t have a bra with her and poor hero didn’t stand a chance.
The heroine is heart-broken to be parted from the hero at the end of their journey, but vows to do something meaningful with her life. The hero has a change of heart and tries to see her, but the heroine has cut off all means of communication.
Hero resorts to kidnapping, gives a great grovel and declaration for a sweet HEA.
I did like this H/h together. The romance is great. The African setting was unsettling since real places were named and real people. Not sure how that would affect a reader with more knowledge of the area.
October 6, 2021
The last third of the book was really great, definitely it was worth every tear I jerked. 3,5 stars.
October 18, 2022
"The Passionate Escape" is the story of Emily and Ludovic.
A thrilling ride, filled with adventure, passion, between two characters who spar intensely and love passionately.
Our h is a rich billionaire heiress to Lambouchere Diamond Mine, visiting Ouanda for humanitarian purposes. Having lived a life of privilege and never done a day of hard work, she is infuriated when a stranger mocks her, and fires back at him for his insolence. Soon she realizes that he is Ludovic Vandenberg, Professor of Zoology and after some manhandling, prays to never meet him again. Alas, fates are not with her.
As a revolution breaks out in Ouanda, and Ludo is tasked with rescuing Emily when her companions die, they race against time in the wild forest to fight for their life. Ludo is ruthless and forces Emily to learn the survival techniques, and after initial resistance, Emily decides to fight back with him. As chemistry blooms in wilderness, they give into their carnal desires- but will their newfound love survive till civilization?
An adventurous read where we see both characters grow and improve. The heroine goes from being spoiled and entitled, to crazy in love and charitable. The hero too has his preconceptions challenged. There was also a much needed separation to make them both realize each other's importance.
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
A thrilling ride, filled with adventure, passion, between two characters who spar intensely and love passionately.
Our h is a rich billionaire heiress to Lambouchere Diamond Mine, visiting Ouanda for humanitarian purposes. Having lived a life of privilege and never done a day of hard work, she is infuriated when a stranger mocks her, and fires back at him for his insolence. Soon she realizes that he is Ludovic Vandenberg, Professor of Zoology and after some manhandling, prays to never meet him again. Alas, fates are not with her.
As a revolution breaks out in Ouanda, and Ludo is tasked with rescuing Emily when her companions die, they race against time in the wild forest to fight for their life. Ludo is ruthless and forces Emily to learn the survival techniques, and after initial resistance, Emily decides to fight back with him. As chemistry blooms in wilderness, they give into their carnal desires- but will their newfound love survive till civilization?
An adventurous read where we see both characters grow and improve. The heroine goes from being spoiled and entitled, to crazy in love and charitable. The hero too has his preconceptions challenged. There was also a much needed separation to make them both realize each other's importance.
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
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January 20, 2018No star rating for this one, because I did not get very far at all.
This book is a product of its time, and its time was racist.
Wealthy blonde Emily shows up in a made up African country to visit her diamond mine. She’s in immediate culture shock over the starving children, and while it makes her want to ensure that the workers and families around her mine are being well-treated ... she’s thinking about this at a fancy cocktail party with all-white guests. And those guests are making casually racist references and are informing her that the corrupt leader of this country is about to make himself king while wearing a diamond cape. How colourful!
And look, Emily is only 20 and there’s no Google, so I guess it’s not awful that she’s only mildly surprised that a country’s president would decide to declare himself king and invite her to his coronation. She also didn’t really think about what language they would speak in this country, and it turns out that it’s French. Which is of course fine because Emily is expensively educated and speaks French and German. She’s got a number of big chips on her shoulder and she doesn’t come off well, but usually that’s ok if I think the character’s interesting. I didn’t think she was.
She was also, before she arrived, distracted by the end of her engagement. She’d got engaged to a man she thought was pretty nice, but then read an article about how her money was going to save his struggling family company. She confronts her fiancé, breaks the engagement, and then gets dragged into a scandal when the head of the family commits suicide, the company falls apart, its small investors lose their life savings and many articles are published blaming Emily for withdrawing her hand and finances. And this is exactly the type of thing that I like to get really annoyed about, so it should have been promising.
As should the hero. He was 38, a documentary making gorilla professor, and his name was Ludovic, Ludo for short. I love that name! It reminds me of a very funny Heyer, and of the big hairy muppet in the Labyrinth. I am deliberately not commenting on the 18 year age gap. Whatever, unacknowledged daddy issues as a source of romantic conflict.
Ludovic introduces himself to Emily with a snog. Then they trade flirty insults for a while (you’re too young, you’re too old!) until someone shows up to properly introduce them and Ludovic is horrified by Emily’s wealth. The insults turn real and cutting and I’m over him at this stage, because he’s not at all promising.
Emily’s hurt and not having anything to do with his apology, which is lame. She’s got some Lyon’s feistiness about her and says a couple of cutting things before wishing him good night and flouncing off to her room.
So after that Emily wakes up and there are no servants around to bring her breakfast, and there are literally no people around, because of the apocalypse.
Ok, not quite, but Ludovic shows up to rescue her, and I’m thinking: no. I read that Patricia Wilson book recently, where there’s a cosy romantic escape through a fictional African country in the grip of revolution, and I’m not going there again. Especially not with two people who really haven’t made me interested in them at all.
So, maybe this could be great, and I could come back to it someday when the Wilson book isn’t so fresh in my head. I don’t think so thought, these characters were more irritating than interesting.
This book is a product of its time, and its time was racist.
Wealthy blonde Emily shows up in a made up African country to visit her diamond mine. She’s in immediate culture shock over the starving children, and while it makes her want to ensure that the workers and families around her mine are being well-treated ... she’s thinking about this at a fancy cocktail party with all-white guests. And those guests are making casually racist references and are informing her that the corrupt leader of this country is about to make himself king while wearing a diamond cape. How colourful!
And look, Emily is only 20 and there’s no Google, so I guess it’s not awful that she’s only mildly surprised that a country’s president would decide to declare himself king and invite her to his coronation. She also didn’t really think about what language they would speak in this country, and it turns out that it’s French. Which is of course fine because Emily is expensively educated and speaks French and German. She’s got a number of big chips on her shoulder and she doesn’t come off well, but usually that’s ok if I think the character’s interesting. I didn’t think she was.
She was also, before she arrived, distracted by the end of her engagement. She’d got engaged to a man she thought was pretty nice, but then read an article about how her money was going to save his struggling family company. She confronts her fiancé, breaks the engagement, and then gets dragged into a scandal when the head of the family commits suicide, the company falls apart, its small investors lose their life savings and many articles are published blaming Emily for withdrawing her hand and finances. And this is exactly the type of thing that I like to get really annoyed about, so it should have been promising.
As should the hero. He was 38, a documentary making gorilla professor, and his name was Ludovic, Ludo for short. I love that name! It reminds me of a very funny Heyer, and of the big hairy muppet in the Labyrinth. I am deliberately not commenting on the 18 year age gap. Whatever, unacknowledged daddy issues as a source of romantic conflict.
Ludovic introduces himself to Emily with a snog. Then they trade flirty insults for a while (you’re too young, you’re too old!) until someone shows up to properly introduce them and Ludovic is horrified by Emily’s wealth. The insults turn real and cutting and I’m over him at this stage, because he’s not at all promising.
Emily’s hurt and not having anything to do with his apology, which is lame. She’s got some Lyon’s feistiness about her and says a couple of cutting things before wishing him good night and flouncing off to her room.
So after that Emily wakes up and there are no servants around to bring her breakfast, and there are literally no people around, because of the apocalypse.
Ok, not quite, but Ludovic shows up to rescue her, and I’m thinking: no. I read that Patricia Wilson book recently, where there’s a cosy romantic escape through a fictional African country in the grip of revolution, and I’m not going there again. Especially not with two people who really haven’t made me interested in them at all.
So, maybe this could be great, and I could come back to it someday when the Wilson book isn’t so fresh in my head. I don’t think so thought, these characters were more irritating than interesting.
November 26, 2018
I'd like to rate this book higher but the highly offensive, racist, derogatory language in here REALLY dates this book and I'm amazed that it appears in this story even in the 80's. I don't think even the Yvonne Whittals set in Africa managed to get away with the slang words casually bandied around in here to describe the people of Africa.
Its also strange to see Robert Mugabe name dropped here and what he did to Zimbabwe is almost a forshadowing of what could have happened in this fictional African setting.
The h really was a vacuous bimbo at the start of the story drifting though life bored and dosed up on sleeping pills yet heir to a vast diamond fortune While the H was a Renaissance man with the strange combo of Dr of Zoology and professor at London University slash Sometime SAS uber soldier. (I don't think this is an actual job IRL. I think you are either in the SAS or reservists version or you aren't. I suspect if you are called up for "special work" you're a military contractor) He also had a massive chip on his shoulder regarding rich folk in particular young, rich ladies however in his attendance at an Oxbridge University I suspect he came into contact with rich folks all the time. Must have made his time there very uncomfortable having to socialise/study with toffs.
All in all I just couldn't dismiss the casual racism and I nearly choked on my cup of tea at the greeting he gave his friend Dr James. I'm really quite surprised his "friend" didn't smother him in his sleep no matter how casual the "bants" (Just to clarify I mean banter in the modern sense of the word here and not a reference to the Bantu people who appear in the story).
He was a stubborn idiot to the end despite the growth of the h and yet she seemed to suffer more for the year apart than he did. He did manage a rather good grovel however, I wanted more visible signs of his suffering because that's how I roll on a Monday morning. He also managed to make the 18 year age gap sound even more of an issue and I can't help reflecting that in the "80's" when the h hits 30 he will be nearing retirement age and chasing around after his 6 sprogs and perpetuating the casual racist terms he uses with his friends and the African people.
Its also strange to see Robert Mugabe name dropped here and what he did to Zimbabwe is almost a forshadowing of what could have happened in this fictional African setting.
The h really was a vacuous bimbo at the start of the story drifting though life bored and dosed up on sleeping pills yet heir to a vast diamond fortune While the H was a Renaissance man with the strange combo of Dr of Zoology and professor at London University slash Sometime SAS uber soldier. (I don't think this is an actual job IRL. I think you are either in the SAS or reservists version or you aren't. I suspect if you are called up for "special work" you're a military contractor) He also had a massive chip on his shoulder regarding rich folk in particular young, rich ladies however in his attendance at an Oxbridge University I suspect he came into contact with rich folks all the time. Must have made his time there very uncomfortable having to socialise/study with toffs.
All in all I just couldn't dismiss the casual racism and I nearly choked on my cup of tea at the greeting he gave his friend Dr James. I'm really quite surprised his "friend" didn't smother him in his sleep no matter how casual the "bants" (Just to clarify I mean banter in the modern sense of the word here and not a reference to the Bantu people who appear in the story).
He was a stubborn idiot to the end despite the growth of the h and yet she seemed to suffer more for the year apart than he did. He did manage a rather good grovel however, I wanted more visible signs of his suffering because that's how I roll on a Monday morning. He also managed to make the 18 year age gap sound even more of an issue and I can't help reflecting that in the "80's" when the h hits 30 he will be nearing retirement age and chasing around after his 6 sprogs and perpetuating the casual racist terms he uses with his friends and the African people.
November 13, 2019
First Emily was running away from scandal, then from the guns of African Guerrillas and then...from her own emotions. One thing was clear, though, it was hopeless to seek other than physical protection in the arms of the impregnable Ludovic Vandenberg; whoever he was - and whatever he was really doing in Central Africa - he despised all that she stood for!
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October 6, 2025African guerillas.
African .... guerillas.
African??? guerillas?!
Guerilla is entirely a South American term. It has nothing to do with Africa.
Yes, it can refer to a specific type of warfare, but guerillas are specifically south American, especially in the mid 1980s before the Internet and pop culture kind of erased the origins of the word.
Anyway. Just nitpicky, and I'm not even going to read the book, but just...
African .... guerillas.
African??? guerillas?!
Guerilla is entirely a South American term. It has nothing to do with Africa.
Yes, it can refer to a specific type of warfare, but guerillas are specifically south American, especially in the mid 1980s before the Internet and pop culture kind of erased the origins of the word.
Anyway. Just nitpicky, and I'm not even going to read the book, but just...
September 19, 2014
20 year old spoiled heiress escapes to a african country to avoid a scandal and caught in b/w revolution only to saved by former SAS soldier.She falls in luv wid him but bcoz of his past he discourages her.After a year of separation they reunite.HEA.
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