What do you think?
Rate this book
Her Sister'S Baby
When Dray Carlisle turned up unexpectedly, Cass knew there must be trouble afoot. She hadn't seen Dray for three years, after their brief but intensely passionate affair had ended.
However, Cass wasn't prepared for Dray's news: her younger sister, from whom she'd become estranged, had died in childbirth. Cass couldn't turn her back on her newborn niece . . . and that meant Dray -- and the irresistible sexual attraction between them -- would also be part of her life once more . . .
However, Cass wasn't prepared for Dray's news: her younger sister, from whom she'd become estranged, had died in childbirth. Cass couldn't turn her back on her newborn niece . . . and that meant Dray -- and the irresistible sexual attraction between them -- would also be part of her life once more . . .
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 7, 2019
Re Her Sister's Baby - Alison Fraser does some decent angst on this one, the H and h are former lovers meeting again at the wholly deserved death of the h's younger sister.
There is a lot of flashback in this one and a LOT of tart shaming drama. The h is in her late twenties and currently a junior doctor getting ready to do her GP internship. The H, not knowing anything about her life now except for what the deceased sister mentioned, tracks the h down to break the news and indulge in a bit of tart shaming.
The h, who is anything but a tart and was massively in love with the H three years earlier, is hurt, angry and not too keen on hearing anything from the H. That these two strike lots of sparks off each other is very clear, but we have to wait a bit to get to the big misunderstanding explanation.
It turns out that the h and her sister had a poverty sticken childhood. The h tried her best to look out for her beautiful, but narcissistic, younger sibling and ultimately was pushed out of the girl's life when her looks and her HP OW ways won over a young and impressionable wealthy young man.
To the sister's great dismay, the h managed to catch the eye of the H - our wealthy young man's older brother- this drove the little sister nuts and she deliberately went out of her way to ruin the relationship.
The sister's lies included letting the h go to wait for the H at a restaurant, knowing that the H had to fly out of town on urgent business with the sister's husband and had asked the little sister to let the h know.
After the h had waited for an hour and returned very upset, the sister then went on about how the H had dumped the h to go to France with another woman. Then the sister manipulated the h into visiting relatives, right after she gave the h an earful about the H's womanizing ways.
(To be fair, the H IS a womanizer. He flat out says he meets ladies and if he likes them, he sleeps with them for a while and then sends them on their way. So like all good liars, the sister was injecting just enough truth into the situation to make the h believe it.)
The h was also uncomfortable with the H and his friends because they are all wealthy, most of the H's friends seemed to be pretty snobbish when dealing with the h, so there is a bit of social class warfare going on too.
The h's sister, loving to stir the pot further, then proceeded to tell the H that the sister has lots of men and likes to drop them for the next flavor that comes along. For some reason, this really bothers the H - apparently he is only one allowed to love em' and dump them and he takes great exception by thinking that the h dumped him first.
All that is in the past tho, as the h's sister is now dead after having a darling little girl. The big problem now is that both the h and the H's widowed brother are convinced that the H is the father of the sister's child.
The H's brother refuses to have anything to do with the baby and the h is up to her ears in student loan debt and getting her final qualifications. She loves her niece, but she can't help thinking that love wasn't enough to save her sister and that the H is awfully quick to jump in and care for a child that he claims isn't his.
As this is HPlandia and we need to have some H and h interaction to make the romance work, the h soon finds herself drafted to be the night time nanny for her niece in the H's house. She does her Dr. qualifications at a GP practice close to the H's home and cares for the baby at night.
The H flitters in and out and there is lots of taunting and near roofie kissing moments, but the h just can't seem to forgive the H for what she believes is his very bad behavior. The H has his nasty moments too, his continual accusations of the h of all kinds of absurd behavior makes the h super defensive and she refuses to answer to any of them.
The h refuses to explain that the baby her sister had at 16 was NOT her child, as the sister told the H; nor will she explain her side of what happened three years earlier. I kinda can't fault her for the first bit, because she was trying to protect the H's brother. (He had asked the h not say anything.)
But I found the h's belief the H had an affair with her sister and fathered her child was just ludicrous for the length of time, (most of the book,) that the h clung to it. AF makes it pretty clear that the h is just trying to protect herself, so I guess I can't blame her, but the h's idiocy wasn't helping me root for this couple's HEA.
Eventually the H and h wind up in bed again and after the h dismisses the encounter as just a sex thing, AF decides to enact Rule #1, as per the HP Standard Lead Up to the Required Mopey Moment. (Which was kinda unnecessary as this book has been one looong drawn out Mopey Moment for almost all of it.)
Anyhows, the H's brother gets the paternity test results and we learn that he really is the baby's daddy, the h finally figures out that her sister really was a narcissistic liar no matter how much the h loved her and that the H really does care about his brother too much to sleep with his life.
The H turns all his bad behavior around by blaming the h's insecurities and low self esteem for breaking them up - even after the h explains what really happened with the sister - and the h is so overwhelmed with the lurve force mojo that when the H claims he doesn't care if she is a tart because he loves her anyway, the two of them decide to marry and keep lurvin it up for the HEA.
This book isn't too terrible, even tho I was pretty snarky about a lot of it, I did have a great time reading about the shameless antics of the deceased sister and I was touched by the adoration that the H's brother felt the first time he really looked at his baby.
What I have a harder time getting over is that the h was pretty silly in her persistent belief about the H sleeping with her sister and I had a REALLY hard time with the H condemning the h for being a tart when he was no better.
Naturally we have to have some conflict to get an HP outing, but the H condemning the h so frequently throughout the story for having a fling with him and then moving on was too much for me.
He spells it out that he does the EXACT same thing, yet it is his prerogative to be a Tarty Tramp while the h is a vile cesspit of moral turpitude.
I am not sure I wanted this h to even be with this H and I wasn't holding out much hope for a great relationship between them once the passion died in the future.
I did take comfort in the fact that the h, like the H, did not sit around and pine for three years - she did try another relationship, but I also wasn't really feelin' the lurve OR the HEA on this little jaunt through HPlandia.
There is a lot of flashback in this one and a LOT of tart shaming drama. The h is in her late twenties and currently a junior doctor getting ready to do her GP internship. The H, not knowing anything about her life now except for what the deceased sister mentioned, tracks the h down to break the news and indulge in a bit of tart shaming.
The h, who is anything but a tart and was massively in love with the H three years earlier, is hurt, angry and not too keen on hearing anything from the H. That these two strike lots of sparks off each other is very clear, but we have to wait a bit to get to the big misunderstanding explanation.
It turns out that the h and her sister had a poverty sticken childhood. The h tried her best to look out for her beautiful, but narcissistic, younger sibling and ultimately was pushed out of the girl's life when her looks and her HP OW ways won over a young and impressionable wealthy young man.
To the sister's great dismay, the h managed to catch the eye of the H - our wealthy young man's older brother- this drove the little sister nuts and she deliberately went out of her way to ruin the relationship.
The sister's lies included letting the h go to wait for the H at a restaurant, knowing that the H had to fly out of town on urgent business with the sister's husband and had asked the little sister to let the h know.
After the h had waited for an hour and returned very upset, the sister then went on about how the H had dumped the h to go to France with another woman. Then the sister manipulated the h into visiting relatives, right after she gave the h an earful about the H's womanizing ways.
(To be fair, the H IS a womanizer. He flat out says he meets ladies and if he likes them, he sleeps with them for a while and then sends them on their way. So like all good liars, the sister was injecting just enough truth into the situation to make the h believe it.)
The h was also uncomfortable with the H and his friends because they are all wealthy, most of the H's friends seemed to be pretty snobbish when dealing with the h, so there is a bit of social class warfare going on too.
The h's sister, loving to stir the pot further, then proceeded to tell the H that the sister has lots of men and likes to drop them for the next flavor that comes along. For some reason, this really bothers the H - apparently he is only one allowed to love em' and dump them and he takes great exception by thinking that the h dumped him first.
All that is in the past tho, as the h's sister is now dead after having a darling little girl. The big problem now is that both the h and the H's widowed brother are convinced that the H is the father of the sister's child.
The H's brother refuses to have anything to do with the baby and the h is up to her ears in student loan debt and getting her final qualifications. She loves her niece, but she can't help thinking that love wasn't enough to save her sister and that the H is awfully quick to jump in and care for a child that he claims isn't his.
As this is HPlandia and we need to have some H and h interaction to make the romance work, the h soon finds herself drafted to be the night time nanny for her niece in the H's house. She does her Dr. qualifications at a GP practice close to the H's home and cares for the baby at night.
The H flitters in and out and there is lots of taunting and near roofie kissing moments, but the h just can't seem to forgive the H for what she believes is his very bad behavior. The H has his nasty moments too, his continual accusations of the h of all kinds of absurd behavior makes the h super defensive and she refuses to answer to any of them.
The h refuses to explain that the baby her sister had at 16 was NOT her child, as the sister told the H; nor will she explain her side of what happened three years earlier. I kinda can't fault her for the first bit, because she was trying to protect the H's brother. (He had asked the h not say anything.)
But I found the h's belief the H had an affair with her sister and fathered her child was just ludicrous for the length of time, (most of the book,) that the h clung to it. AF makes it pretty clear that the h is just trying to protect herself, so I guess I can't blame her, but the h's idiocy wasn't helping me root for this couple's HEA.
Eventually the H and h wind up in bed again and after the h dismisses the encounter as just a sex thing, AF decides to enact Rule #1, as per the HP Standard Lead Up to the Required Mopey Moment. (Which was kinda unnecessary as this book has been one looong drawn out Mopey Moment for almost all of it.)
Anyhows, the H's brother gets the paternity test results and we learn that he really is the baby's daddy, the h finally figures out that her sister really was a narcissistic liar no matter how much the h loved her and that the H really does care about his brother too much to sleep with his life.
The H turns all his bad behavior around by blaming the h's insecurities and low self esteem for breaking them up - even after the h explains what really happened with the sister - and the h is so overwhelmed with the lurve force mojo that when the H claims he doesn't care if she is a tart because he loves her anyway, the two of them decide to marry and keep lurvin it up for the HEA.
This book isn't too terrible, even tho I was pretty snarky about a lot of it, I did have a great time reading about the shameless antics of the deceased sister and I was touched by the adoration that the H's brother felt the first time he really looked at his baby.
What I have a harder time getting over is that the h was pretty silly in her persistent belief about the H sleeping with her sister and I had a REALLY hard time with the H condemning the h for being a tart when he was no better.
Naturally we have to have some conflict to get an HP outing, but the H condemning the h so frequently throughout the story for having a fling with him and then moving on was too much for me.
He spells it out that he does the EXACT same thing, yet it is his prerogative to be a Tarty Tramp while the h is a vile cesspit of moral turpitude.
I am not sure I wanted this h to even be with this H and I wasn't holding out much hope for a great relationship between them once the passion died in the future.
I did take comfort in the fact that the h, like the H, did not sit around and pine for three years - she did try another relationship, but I also wasn't really feelin' the lurve OR the HEA on this little jaunt through HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2018
On re read I upped this to three stars. Even though neither was celibate while they were apart, I kind of understood it. It was because of the lies of her sister who was a truly evil person. She lied to everyone, even to herself. I felt sorry for her sisters husband who was devastated by her unfaithfulness and couldn't look at the child that she had before she died. The H and h both bought her lies and that frustrated me too. If they just would have talked to each other but then the novel wouldn't be. I did get a little frustrated with the h because she never explained anything to him. He'd ask her questions and she'd just let him think what he wanted. I wanted to shake her. It was just all so much betrayal and all by the same person, the dead sister. She wrecked everyone's life with her lies. I liked at the end that the H just finally said he didn't care, he still loved her. The h would have kept running away from him but he caught her and kept her of course. He was pretty mean to the h throughout the book though because he was still believing the lying sister. I had a hard time with that but when she wouldn't explain her actions, i felt she deserved it. I did like it at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2016
Finally doing the review for this.
Someone needs to die. Unfortunately it is the heroine's sister and she's already dead. And fictional.
If you enjoy angst, failure to communicate, long separations, and manipulative and fracking EVIL relatives then look no further.
Someone needs to die. Unfortunately it is the heroine's sister and she's already dead. And fictional.
If you enjoy angst, failure to communicate, long separations, and manipulative and fracking EVIL relatives then look no further.
June 17, 2019
Her Sister’s Baby is the twelfth romance novel by British author, Alison Fraser. Drayton Carlisle is the last person Cassandra Barker wants to see, but if he is here, it must be something to do with her estranged younger sister, Penelope. Indeed, the news he brings is a shock: Pen has died in childbirth. Dray wants her to attend the funeral and talk to his heart-broken younger brother, Cass’s erstwhile brother-in-law, Tom.
Cass will have to stiffen her resolve if she is to spend time in Dray’s company as they have a history: a short-lived affair that ended when he dropped her. At the time, she decided she must have been the rich playboy’s bit of rough, easily discarded. Now though, Cass is a junior doctor, and she vows to make this encounter as brief as possible. Until, that is, Tom reveals he wants Cass to take her sister’s baby, the baby he swears isn’t his.
Fraser is an expert hand at the feisty heroine who has a veritable armoury of cutting put-downs for the hero. This one has them at odds for quite a while before they realise they have both been lied to, and lied about, and the love they have been putting down to lust is the genuine article. One of Fraser’s better romances.
Cass will have to stiffen her resolve if she is to spend time in Dray’s company as they have a history: a short-lived affair that ended when he dropped her. At the time, she decided she must have been the rich playboy’s bit of rough, easily discarded. Now though, Cass is a junior doctor, and she vows to make this encounter as brief as possible. Until, that is, Tom reveals he wants Cass to take her sister’s baby, the baby he swears isn’t his.
Fraser is an expert hand at the feisty heroine who has a veritable armoury of cutting put-downs for the hero. This one has them at odds for quite a while before they realise they have both been lied to, and lied about, and the love they have been putting down to lust is the genuine article. One of Fraser’s better romances.
March 13, 2014
Another great read by A.F! I loved the h, she was sarcastic and fiesty and a DOCTOR! Usually in HP u get hs who r intellectuals but when it comes to the Hs their IQ drops dramatically and they turn into pathetic doormats.
Not this h, boy did she make the H work for their HEA. I love AF heroines they r no pushovers and that my friends is rare in HP! Lol
The h sis is POW awful just awful!
Highly rec'd!
Not this h, boy did she make the H work for their HEA. I love AF heroines they r no pushovers and that my friends is rare in HP! Lol
The h sis is POW awful just awful!
Highly rec'd!
March 18, 2014
This book was fraught with misunderstandings. An evil woman goes out of her way to wreck her sister's love life because she is jealous that the man she wanted preferred her sister. Both H/h are gullible to her machinations so the fall prey to the lies and their love affair goes up in smoke. All is unveiled when sister dies three years later.
This is not one of my favorites by this author. I found it too implausible that a sister could so easily forgive all the treachery and that these two could actually find their way to a HEA given all the pain that went before.
This is not one of my favorites by this author. I found it too implausible that a sister could so easily forgive all the treachery and that these two could actually find their way to a HEA given all the pain that went before.
June 19, 2017
I hate too many misunderstandings and this got just way too many of them . sigh* Nothing out of Harlequin regulars except for a h with sharp tongue .
November 7, 2022
He was too everything. Handsome, smart, sexy, rich. And she was hardly enough - a passing pretty, small town girl.
I know what to expect from Hplandia and what not to expect. Nonetheless, it could be too much.
The story of the past (how Cass and Dray met and fell in love) was charming.
The idea that misunderstandings creating by a jealous person and by prejudice can split two lovers had potential.
The character of Pen was really interesting.
But...
--> There were too many and some too dumb misunderstandings. Moreover, they (Cass and Dray) had some information about how someone lied but they still assumed that other things this person said were true. I would have done the opposite, after caching someone on lying (and I mean a big lie) I would at least consider if another statement was a lie or not.
--> Pen (as a character) would have been better in a different genre, here it wasn't used as it should have been.
So, although I have had fun reading some parts of the book, for the most parts I was annoyed. To me, Alison Fraser went too far into drama, ignoring too many absurdities.
November 30, 2018
This was a much better story than the last Alison Fraser book I read. An emotional and riveting read.
I felt bad for the Hero because he was so clearly besotted although the heroine can’t see it. Everyone else including the reader can see he is smitten.
They break up due to a misunderstanding deliberately fostered by the lies and manipulation of the evil slut younger sister. I still am not sure though of her true motivations. I guess it’s envy, and her actions are very extreme, but hey we are in harlequin land.
I liked that the heroine was a doctor, and a very clever one at that. The Hero could never get the upper hand with her. This is a major part of his attraction towards her, right from the start. Though she is attractive, she is very intelligent and slays him with her mind.
Recommended reading, not disappointed.
I felt bad for the Hero because he was so clearly besotted although the heroine can’t see it. Everyone else including the reader can see he is smitten.
They break up due to a misunderstanding deliberately fostered by the lies and manipulation of the evil slut younger sister. I still am not sure though of her true motivations. I guess it’s envy, and her actions are very extreme, but hey we are in harlequin land.
I liked that the heroine was a doctor, and a very clever one at that. The Hero could never get the upper hand with her. This is a major part of his attraction towards her, right from the start. Though she is attractive, she is very intelligent and slays him with her mind.
Recommended reading, not disappointed.
April 27, 2018
Dray and Cass broke up three years before the novel started because of Cass's sister. I was worried this was going to be a book where the hero takes up with the heroine's sister after misunderstandings. I find that gross because maybe don't date every woman in the family and call it romance?
Anyway, Dray is a great hero. If you've read a lot of books with arrogant H's who are more predators than lovers then you'll like Dray because he's a breath of fresh air. He actually told the heroine he loved her long before the book started, he was clear about his feelings and he kept trying to win her over until she pushed him away.
Even after they met, the biggest issue for him was the heroine's clear flighty tendencies than anything her sister ever did or said. It is rare and nice to see a hero who knows what he wants.
The heroine was nice too. Definitely very insecure and always looking for reasons to get away from the hero despite loving him. However, you can overlook all that because you can understand what she's going through.
The hero and heroine had an interesting relationship. I loved the scenes where they kept fighting about this and that. It was cute.
I thought this book would be more serious than it actually is. It isn't so angst-ridden and heartbreaking. It's a lovely book.
Anyway, Dray is a great hero. If you've read a lot of books with arrogant H's who are more predators than lovers then you'll like Dray because he's a breath of fresh air. He actually told the heroine he loved her long before the book started, he was clear about his feelings and he kept trying to win her over until she pushed him away.
Even after they met, the biggest issue for him was the heroine's clear flighty tendencies than anything her sister ever did or said. It is rare and nice to see a hero who knows what he wants.
The heroine was nice too. Definitely very insecure and always looking for reasons to get away from the hero despite loving him. However, you can overlook all that because you can understand what she's going through.
The hero and heroine had an interesting relationship. I loved the scenes where they kept fighting about this and that. It was cute.
I thought this book would be more serious than it actually is. It isn't so angst-ridden and heartbreaking. It's a lovely book.
September 12, 2020
So either the deceased sister had the subtly persuasive malevolence of a shakespearean villain or her older sister, brother-in-law, husband et al. are dumber than a box of rocks. spoiler: it's option number two.
I'm not a fan of sweet heroines so usually I enjoy Fraser's h's, like Cass, who don't bother to sublimate their hostility. Why should they when they are surrounded by hypocritical former lovers and a man baby brother-in-law. Though Dray has more emotional intelligence than Cass, the absurdity of the pair of them being manipulated by a teenage horror, who they know lies and lies, is just too frustrating.
I'm not a fan of sweet heroines so usually I enjoy Fraser's h's, like Cass, who don't bother to sublimate their hostility. Why should they when they are surrounded by hypocritical former lovers and a man baby brother-in-law. Though Dray has more emotional intelligence than Cass, the absurdity of the pair of them being manipulated by a teenage horror, who they know lies and lies, is just too frustrating.
February 24, 2023
I rather like this author. Dray is one of my favourite kind of Hs: dry humoured, harder, older brother who is absolutely smitten. The younger brother is married to the h's flighty sister who dies in childbirth. This is her second baby - her first was conceived with someone else when she was 16 and died soon after, due to some condition which means she shouldn't have children - and the husband rejects the baby as he believes it wasn't his. Believes, in fact, that it's Dray's. Prior to their wedding, the flighty sis had had a big crush on Dray (who has seen the cut of her jib and run a mile) and had asked the h not to let on about baby #1. Anyhow, that's really all by the by. Cass, the sensible big sister/parent and Dray got off on the wrong foot when he'd been to see her before the wedding and Cass felt it was rich man being a snob and suspecting her sister was a gold digger (she unashamedly was). There is instant chemistry, even though at this point Cass has interrupted her medical studies to work in a supermarket and so in theory a snob should have run a mile. Turns out she just really has a chip on her shoulder, and frankly a plank in her eye if she couldn't see how hard he'd fallen for her.
There is a miscommunication misunderstanding caused (of course) by jealous little sis who is none too pleased to return from honeymoon to find Dray and Cass an item. Cue three year hiatus in which Cass becomes a doctor and little sis runs around behind her husband's back whilst (unknown to Cass) using her "good time girl" sister as an alibi. The death of little sis brings them back together and the passion is still strong.
I quite liked it, even though it was all a bit tenuous. AF writes well and some of her scenes and dialogues have the x factor for me.
"Another?" He held the bottle of wine to her empty glass.
"Why not?"
"Why not indeed?...Let's you and I get drunk, then we can both blame the wine."...
"Blame the wine for what?"...
"For what's about to happen. "
I paraphrase but you get the gist. It's nicely done.
There is a miscommunication misunderstanding caused (of course) by jealous little sis who is none too pleased to return from honeymoon to find Dray and Cass an item. Cue three year hiatus in which Cass becomes a doctor and little sis runs around behind her husband's back whilst (unknown to Cass) using her "good time girl" sister as an alibi. The death of little sis brings them back together and the passion is still strong.
I quite liked it, even though it was all a bit tenuous. AF writes well and some of her scenes and dialogues have the x factor for me.
"Another?" He held the bottle of wine to her empty glass.
"Why not?"
"Why not indeed?...Let's you and I get drunk, then we can both blame the wine."...
"Blame the wine for what?"...
"For what's about to happen. "
I paraphrase but you get the gist. It's nicely done.
April 29, 2019
3.5 Stars
This book turned out to be much better than I expected.
Cass and Dray has a whirlwind romance that had a lot of promise until her sister, SelfishBitch, ruined it.
Three years later, Dray shows up on Cass’s doorstep to tell her that SelfishBitch (SB) was dead. She died giving birth. That’s when the fun started.
SB was married to Dray’s brother. Now there is a question of the paternity of the child that she gave birth to. Everyone assumes that Cass knows who the father actually is because SB has been using Cass as her cover story when she went out slutting around. Poor Cass had no idea.
There was a lot of contempt throw Cass’s way and she never tried to deny the negative acquisitions. For reasons only God knows, she tried to protect her dead sister’s reputation. Whhhyy?!
Cass was independent and stubborn as a mule. She refused to defend herself and she was quick to throw accusations at Dray. I liked her, but wanted to shake the poop out of her too. How do you just walk away from your newborn niece? It took her months before she tried to see the baby. That pissed me off.
Dray was a typical HP hero. All anger and testosterone. Although, where Cass was concerned, you could see him soften and hope. It was touching. But those moments didn’t last cause these two knew how to push each other’s buttons.
As I said earlier, this was better than I expected. It made me feel all the feels, and left me with some satisfaction.
This book turned out to be much better than I expected.
Cass and Dray has a whirlwind romance that had a lot of promise until her sister, SelfishBitch, ruined it.
Three years later, Dray shows up on Cass’s doorstep to tell her that SelfishBitch (SB) was dead. She died giving birth. That’s when the fun started.
SB was married to Dray’s brother. Now there is a question of the paternity of the child that she gave birth to. Everyone assumes that Cass knows who the father actually is because SB has been using Cass as her cover story when she went out slutting around. Poor Cass had no idea.
There was a lot of contempt throw Cass’s way and she never tried to deny the negative acquisitions. For reasons only God knows, she tried to protect her dead sister’s reputation. Whhhyy?!
Cass was independent and stubborn as a mule. She refused to defend herself and she was quick to throw accusations at Dray. I liked her, but wanted to shake the poop out of her too. How do you just walk away from your newborn niece? It took her months before she tried to see the baby. That pissed me off.
Dray was a typical HP hero. All anger and testosterone. Although, where Cass was concerned, you could see him soften and hope. It was touching. But those moments didn’t last cause these two knew how to push each other’s buttons.
As I said earlier, this was better than I expected. It made me feel all the feels, and left me with some satisfaction.
June 9, 2020
The author's bio is quite interesting, yep, that is the first thing I came across after opening this book! This is my first read by Alison Fraser.
The blurb doesn't give away anything but, I will, coz we readers just can't swallow the fact of a single hero being with both the sisters one after another, or vice versa. So, don't worry, the baby in the blurb isn't the hero's.
Quite an interesting start to the book, Cass Barker almost mistakes Drayton Carlisle for an intruder at her doorstep, just as she is returning from her long weekend at work. He is there to deliver both good and bad news. Her sister, Pen, who had married Dray's younger brother, Tom (Thomson), has died in childbirth, leaving behind a baby girl. Cass' relationship with her sister is complicated, the reactions to her death a proof in itself. The Barkers had a secret, which Pen didn't want to come out, ever, hence she gave the cold shoulder to Cass, especially after her association with the Carlises.
Dray and Cass have a past too. (Aww... They affectionately call each other Dray and Cassie.) He believes she does a menial job while she has changed careers in the three years since they last met. She has no one in her family now, and no one in her life. Such has M&B done with most of the heroines, depicting them as nothing more than a sidekick to the hero, that I was really very surprised when I read ... Dr. Barker ... OMG! It seems there is no limit to how insulting can Dray be to Cass's profession, without knowing of course, what she actually does. After Dray delivers the news about her sister to Cass, for the next many hours, she remembers her relationship with Dray. There's a long flashback here, folks.
Pen had had a whirlwind romance while in her teens with a not much older, but immature Tom. But before that, comes the secret. As a result of which Cass had to sacrifice so much for her sister. Pen was a horrible sister, defaming Cass behind her back. The estranged years between the sisters were spent by Pen spitting fire against her own sister in front of Dray, like if she couldn't have him, neither could Cass. And it was something to do with Pen that their relationship ended in three weeks. First there was Pen, in the past, and then Tom in the present. Keeping her promises to the wrong people cost Cass her happiness. Talk about doing damage from beyond! But, the chemistry between Dray and Cass is fire! Though it's unbelievable how a single person can hurt so many lives.
P.S. If you like books with babies, be warned, the baby doesn't come to play before half of he book is done with. In fact, the baby doesn't have much of a starring role.
This was somewhat like an Indian soap opera. A big book of misunderstandings.
A second chance romance. Dray and Cassie's exchanges are humorous, angtsy, and everything in between. An epilogue would have been nice though.
Recommended only for the banter they share, while for me this one is for keeps!
The blurb doesn't give away anything but, I will, coz we readers just can't swallow the fact of a single hero being with both the sisters one after another, or vice versa. So, don't worry, the baby in the blurb isn't the hero's.
Quite an interesting start to the book, Cass Barker almost mistakes Drayton Carlisle for an intruder at her doorstep, just as she is returning from her long weekend at work. He is there to deliver both good and bad news. Her sister, Pen, who had married Dray's younger brother, Tom (Thomson), has died in childbirth, leaving behind a baby girl. Cass' relationship with her sister is complicated, the reactions to her death a proof in itself. The Barkers had a secret, which Pen didn't want to come out, ever, hence she gave the cold shoulder to Cass, especially after her association with the Carlises.
Dray and Cass have a past too. (Aww... They affectionately call each other Dray and Cassie.) He believes she does a menial job while she has changed careers in the three years since they last met. She has no one in her family now, and no one in her life. Such has M&B done with most of the heroines, depicting them as nothing more than a sidekick to the hero, that I was really very surprised when I read ... Dr. Barker ... OMG! It seems there is no limit to how insulting can Dray be to Cass's profession, without knowing of course, what she actually does. After Dray delivers the news about her sister to Cass, for the next many hours, she remembers her relationship with Dray. There's a long flashback here, folks.
Pen had had a whirlwind romance while in her teens with a not much older, but immature Tom. But before that, comes the secret. As a result of which Cass had to sacrifice so much for her sister. Pen was a horrible sister, defaming Cass behind her back. The estranged years between the sisters were spent by Pen spitting fire against her own sister in front of Dray, like if she couldn't have him, neither could Cass. And it was something to do with Pen that their relationship ended in three weeks. First there was Pen, in the past, and then Tom in the present. Keeping her promises to the wrong people cost Cass her happiness. Talk about doing damage from beyond! But, the chemistry between Dray and Cass is fire! Though it's unbelievable how a single person can hurt so many lives.
P.S. If you like books with babies, be warned, the baby doesn't come to play before half of he book is done with. In fact, the baby doesn't have much of a starring role.
This was somewhat like an Indian soap opera. A big book of misunderstandings.
A second chance romance. Dray and Cassie's exchanges are humorous, angtsy, and everything in between. An epilogue would have been nice though.
Recommended only for the banter they share, while for me this one is for keeps!
March 7, 2012
The heroine Cass is surprised to find the her Dray waiting for her when she arrives home one night. But her surprise turns to grief when he informs her that her sister recently died during childbirth. Cass had barely seen her sister in the last three years after their relationship became strained following her sister's marriage to Dray's brother. Having to deal with the grief over her sister's death and seeing Dray again reminds Cass of the brief but doomed relationship she and Dray had, as well as the pain and humiliation she felt when it ended. She tries to stay away from Dray and his family as much as she can, but when her grief stricken brother-in-law asks her to take baby Ellie away with her, thinking that he is not the father, Cass is forced into spending more time with Dray. Cass is confused by Dray's scorn towards her, but it's clear that the desire is still between them but Cass knows that there isn't a future for them.
I really enjoyed this book, it pulled me in right from the start. Don't be mislead by the title and blurb, it is a lot more than what it is made out to be. The past story between the hero and heroine is nicely portrayed, although the segues into flashback scenes felt a little clunky, but once there I really got a grip of all the past betrayal between them. There is plenty of chemistry between them, and what was particularly interesting about this book is that they didn't consummate too early, this helped to build the tension throughout the whole book. The writing is descriptive and has a nice pace, I would have liked a bit more POV from the hero though. I did like that in this book we had a Doctor heroine - this rarely appears outside of the Medical line, and it was a nice refreshing change to have a Modern/Presents heroine with a professional and important career.
My only complaint is that I couldn't understand the motivation behind the heroine's sister's actions, they were destructive and malicious and it isn't really explained why - this made the story feel a little incomplete.
Nevertheless a very enjoyable book.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
July 21, 2020
Well this book contains lots of my pet peeves, flashbacks, (a prologue would have been better). The main couple separated for a long time. Being controlled by another person whom they both knew was a manipulative self centred liar, and worst of all the misunderstanding is not resolved for almost the whole story, and for them to take what had happened so calmly especially the heroine as it was her younger sister at the root of it all was IMO totally unrealistic, unless of course you’re a saint lol.
So overall this was very annoying.
So overall this was very annoying.
Read
July 1, 2013 رماد الحب
آليسون فرايزر
عندما ظهر داري على عتبة بابها أدركت كاس أن المتاعب عادت .. فلم تكن رأت دراي منذ ثلاث سنوات بعد أن انتهى كل ما كان بينهما ..ولكنها لم تكن مهيأة البتة لما يحمله من أخبار.. فأختها قد ماتت وعليها أن تعود .. وجددت أنها غير قادرة على إدارة ظهرها له رغم أن ذلك يعني عودة التجاذب الذي ربط بينهما سابقا .. فهل يا ترى سيعود دراي جزءا من كيانها وحياتها مرة أخرى ؟ أم أن قلبها تحصن ضده أخيرا؟
الطبيبه عليها الاعتناء بطفل اختها المتوفاه مع عم الطفل
آليسون فرايزر
عندما ظهر داري على عتبة بابها أدركت كاس أن المتاعب عادت .. فلم تكن رأت دراي منذ ثلاث سنوات بعد أن انتهى كل ما كان بينهما ..ولكنها لم تكن مهيأة البتة لما يحمله من أخبار.. فأختها قد ماتت وعليها أن تعود .. وجددت أنها غير قادرة على إدارة ظهرها له رغم أن ذلك يعني عودة التجاذب الذي ربط بينهما سابقا .. فهل يا ترى سيعود دراي جزءا من كيانها وحياتها مرة أخرى ؟ أم أن قلبها تحصن ضده أخيرا؟
الطبيبه عليها الاعتناء بطفل اختها المتوفاه مع عم الطفل
March 17, 2013
it was downright boring !!
February 4, 2018
Uhm this couple is very foolish. They both believe a huge liar for their information. The hero uses this wall the entire book until the last chapter. Then...marriage? K...no.
June 11, 2020
I enjoyed this although it was frustrating that their misunderstandings went unresolved for so long!
I liked the verbal sparring between Dray and Cass and I felt their love for one another.
Recommended read.
I liked the verbal sparring between Dray and Cass and I felt their love for one another.
Recommended read.
June 20, 2023
I didn't like the H in this book he was a toad, I bet he wasn't celibate to the heroine and was sleeping around after her with dozens of women adding to hundreds before her. Who is he to call her a tart and slut-shaming a selfless and hard-working heroineW Did he hasn't a mirror to see who is the whore? Double-standard.
It's big of him that he would forgive her if she were a tart. Really? She should make him bleed. Double standards and should make him have tests to see if he has STD.
It's big of him that he would forgive her if she were a tart. Really? She should make him bleed. Double standards and should make him have tests to see if he has STD.
June 25, 2017
Her Sister's Baby
This story was about two people who were separated by her manipulating sister. Torn apart and then brought together by death. And a little girl who's own father rejected not believing she was truly his. Can the sand caslte of his and deceit cost them true love?
This story was about two people who were separated by her manipulating sister. Torn apart and then brought together by death. And a little girl who's own father rejected not believing she was truly his. Can the sand caslte of his and deceit cost them true love?
May 15, 2022
My least favorite Alison Fraser novel thus far. They had to rehash the past too many times, too many misunderstandings, too soap-operaish with the evil sister of sorts. It was the angsty that I go for.
June 18, 2020
With a sister like Pen, you really do not need enemies. Both the H and h were manipulated by Pen and both believed her lies. The h went back to school and became a doctor and held the H accountable. Enjoyable story line and well developed.
January 18, 2021
I love this one and I did enjoy reading it. I liked the heroine's personality and the hero wasn't bad as well.
November 5, 2025
YOUR MAN DRAY SAID IT! THEY FIGHT BECAUSE THEY'RE GOOD AT IT AND THEN THEY MAKE LOVE BECAUSE THEY'RE EVEN BETTER AT THAT!
December 11, 2013
This is a reunion romance. Neither of them were faithful over the three years apart which sort of spoiled it a little for me. The story itself was quite engaging. Cass learns her sister Pen has died leaving a baby.
There is confusion over who is the father of the child and Cass suspects Dray is responsible especially when he takes the child home when Tom, Pen's husband, rejects her. This is helped along by the fact that Pen always fancied him.
There is a lot of sorting out to do and some clunky flashbacks (I had to check a few times to figure out when I was) give us the picture of what happened three years ago. The heroine had a bit of a chip on her shoulder over being poor which made her resentful of the hero.
The sister Pen was a piece of work and Cass is slow to realise just how selfish and nasty she could be.
The hero Dray was a nice guy under the alpha-ish exterior. The ending was nice.
There is confusion over who is the father of the child and Cass suspects Dray is responsible especially when he takes the child home when Tom, Pen's husband, rejects her. This is helped along by the fact that Pen always fancied him.
There is a lot of sorting out to do and some clunky flashbacks (I had to check a few times to figure out when I was) give us the picture of what happened three years ago. The heroine had a bit of a chip on her shoulder over being poor which made her resentful of the hero.
The sister Pen was a piece of work and Cass is slow to realise just how selfish and nasty she could be.
The hero Dray was a nice guy under the alpha-ish exterior. The ending was nice.
August 3, 2014
3.5 stars! Read this 2 years ago actually, but I still remember that, even though, the plot was ok, the heroine didn't do it for me. The h was more on the cold side and the H was ok but blinded by appearances.
October 4, 2024
Good except the conflict was manufactured not real.
Tried to reread, so bad, I hate when people throw happiness away with both hands.
Tried to reread, so bad, I hate when people throw happiness away with both hands.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews