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Forever
Bernadette is surprised to find herself attracted to Colonel Sam Forrester, whom she must rely on to lead them back to safety from the African jungle
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 12, 2023
Story about a couple (teacher-librarian Bernadette Chapman and Colonel Sam Forrester) trying to get through the African jungle while the hero mistakenly thinks Bernadette is a nun. An okay jungle romance by Lynn Turner.
March 21, 2016
RE Forever - LT brings us an African through the jungle road trip romance and for some reason this book always reminds me of the movie The African Queen - if it had been a bit more risque and Kathryn Hepburn had been Lauren Bacall's age at the time- Bogart is Bogart and needs no substitution - Colonel Sam is a great HP replica.
The story starts with our 24 yr old school teacher h stuck in Mombasa, Kenya trying to get herself, six students and a malaria stricken headmistress back to (at the time) Salisbury, Rhodesia which is approximately 1100 miles away. (For the record Salisbury became Harare, Zimbabwe on April 18 1982 - two years after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe under it's own rule after a very long and sometimes brutal conflict with Great Britain.)
The h is making her way through a waterfront dive bar, looking for a specific former SAS Colonel that she has been reliably informed can help her get her and her charges out of the country and back to their school on the QT. The h can't take two of her students on an official flight as they are the daughters of an African Prince who is currently staging a military coup in an effort to regain the rule of his former country. If the Prince's enemies were to find out about the girls, they would try to kidnap or harm them and the h can't let that happen.
She finds her Colonel and though somewhat surly, he agrees to help her find a covert flight out. Later on that evening, she meets up with him again, he has arranged passage out on a cargo plane, the pilot will fly her group and a special cargo out at dawn. The Colonel walks the h back to her room and a miscommunication occurs when she thinks he wants to be paid a fee for his help and he tries to seduce her. She fights him off, kicks him out and breathes a sigh of relief that her business with him is over.
She gets everybody to the plane the next morning, but her elation at leaving is somewhat dampened when it turns out the cargo is gun and ammo and the other passenger is the womanizing Colonel. She resigns herself to his presence and the flight leaves. Except that the plane has been sabotaged and is forced to make an emergency landing. She is injured during the crash landing and the Colonel appears very worried, she cut her head and has a minor concussion - this doesn't stop him from stealing a few kisses though and some interesting banter follows.
The plane is partially repaired but one of the engines is shot and the plane can't carry the weight of the cargo and two adult passengers. The h decides to stay with the Colonel, who hides the cargo in the jungle, and the girls and headmistress will get back to the safety of the school. The pilot warns the h of the Colonel's seducing ways and as a further precaution to protect the h, implies to the Col. that the h is a nun. Our Col. H isn't too happy about this development and more interesting repartee is exchanged between the couple.
The jungle trek begins and the h meets up with giant bugs and a 20ft snake. Then there is the native encounter, where the h is forced to pretend to be the Col. H's lady, she eats dog meat, the Col. H goes on a lion hunt and then she has to sleep with him in a zipped together sleeping bag - to give the natives the correct impression.
After they leave the village, the h and H run across a lion cub and the H is forced to shoot it's mum when the lioness attacks the h. The h feels horrible for playing with the cub and encouraging the attack and the h forces the H to rescue the cub. Which he grumbles about, but he does it.
The trek continues (they have about 150 miles of jungle to get through to reach a place where the h can fly out), until they reach a rough mining town in the middle of nowhere and the H gives the cub to man who will place him in a nature preserve so he can be cared for. They make arrangements for a jeep to drive the rest of the way to civilization and they head for the local watering hole.
The watering hole contains a group of mercenaries who recognize the H and the prerequisite bar fight begins, which the h wins when she knocks half the brawlers out with a beer mug while the H is unconscious from a sucker punch. The H and h make it to the jeep and take off with the h driving and the H takes out his glasses to use his long distance rifle against the shooting mercenaries as they speed away. Then the h hits a tree after the H gets shot.
She drags him and their gear to safety and more witty banter ensues as the H realizes she cleaned his wound with whiskey and did not use his well stocked first aid kit. (She did not know about the first aid kit and was following old movie protocol.) There is more back and forth bantering and the h and H proceed to drink the whiskey - with the H being amazed at the h's capacity for alcohol.
A passionate make-out session ensues with the h getting into a real panic when the H won't stop when she calls a halt and threatens to rape her. There is an actual knock down drag out fight that only ends when the h pulls a gun on the H and threatens to shoot him - he still isn't backing down and so she threatens to shoot herself - and that scares him half to death. (LT periodically intersperses the action with the H's POV and it really enhances the book. )
The h and H calm down and later the h freaks out a bit when she finds out the H gave her an actual loaded gun - she thought the gun was just for show. The h is gradually falling more in love with the H, even though he is 44 and hates most women cause he thinks they are all liars. The H is feeling a lot for her too, he keeps thinking she is the most unusual woman he has ever met and he has a lot of guilt for lusting after a nun.
Since they no longer have a jeep, they have to keep walking. They stop for a rest and the h gets bitten by a venomous snake. The H wears himself out trying to care for her, but she makes it through and in the aftermath they wind up making passionate love. The H really cares for the h by now and it is the h's turn to be racked by guilt for letting him think she is a nun.
The H's story is that his parents were killed by revolutionaries in Kenya when he was a child. He went to England to live with an elderly aunt until he joined the military and traveled the world and then retired in Africa. It is implied that he is a mercenary, but it becomes obvious he has had a very lonely, strife ridden life.
The h feels a lot of compassion for him as well and this mixes with her attraction until she is completely in love with him. However she doesn't see much future with him, especially as she has lied to him and he hates ladies who lie.
After the h recovers enough to move on, they run into the revolutionary African Prince who is the father of her students and who is also the man the H was bringing the guns for. He knows the h isn't a nun, but he doesn't let on he knows and the H is happy to give the impression to the rest of the camp that he and the h are a pair. He zips their sleeping bags together again and more repartee is engaged in.
There is a late night attack on the camp and the H goes out to help and when he comes back the h has a cocked gun pointed at his head - the H makes the comment that he has created the first terrorist nun and he scoops the h up so they can make a hasty exit. They are off again and the H manages to get the h to a neutral airport. He really loves her and the h is sad she can't stay with him, but he has been a bit standoffish and so she loses her courage to tell him the truth.
As she is leaving to board the plane, he shouts after her that she is to use his given name and she shouts back that she isn't a nun, then she gets on the plane as it takes off. Three weeks of moping later, the H shows up at her school with a big box of apples -which is her favorite food. The H sweeps her off her feet into the back of an old truck and they wind up having another passionate encounter.
She promises pecan pie (his favorite food,) and proposes marriage. He says yes and they agree on four kids. Then he tells her he is really a businessman and not a mercenary, he just wanted to help the Prince get his country back and did him a favor by delivering the guns. The h is resigned to a (not really) boring businessman's life and the HEA is now an HPLandia forever.
This is a really funny book, the exchanges between the H and h are hilarious and the h is really very competent for being thrown into a highly tense situation. The build up between the H and h is intense and though some people think the h took way to long to tell the H the truth, I think it heightened the tension and it gave the H a chance to really get to know her as a person and not as another woman to use and discard.
The H thinking she was untouchable gave a nice fillip to a very fast moving story and this really is one of my all time favorite HP's - right after LG's Spanish Groom which is still thirteen years away at this time. I recommend this one a lot, it has all of the elements of a really great romance. Despite the age difference, the H and h are truly well matched together and the back and forth between the two never degenerates into a bitter bickerfest. The ending where the H comes for the h is truly epic and this one is a must read everyone who like HPlandia.
The story starts with our 24 yr old school teacher h stuck in Mombasa, Kenya trying to get herself, six students and a malaria stricken headmistress back to (at the time) Salisbury, Rhodesia which is approximately 1100 miles away. (For the record Salisbury became Harare, Zimbabwe on April 18 1982 - two years after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe under it's own rule after a very long and sometimes brutal conflict with Great Britain.)
The h is making her way through a waterfront dive bar, looking for a specific former SAS Colonel that she has been reliably informed can help her get her and her charges out of the country and back to their school on the QT. The h can't take two of her students on an official flight as they are the daughters of an African Prince who is currently staging a military coup in an effort to regain the rule of his former country. If the Prince's enemies were to find out about the girls, they would try to kidnap or harm them and the h can't let that happen.
She finds her Colonel and though somewhat surly, he agrees to help her find a covert flight out. Later on that evening, she meets up with him again, he has arranged passage out on a cargo plane, the pilot will fly her group and a special cargo out at dawn. The Colonel walks the h back to her room and a miscommunication occurs when she thinks he wants to be paid a fee for his help and he tries to seduce her. She fights him off, kicks him out and breathes a sigh of relief that her business with him is over.
She gets everybody to the plane the next morning, but her elation at leaving is somewhat dampened when it turns out the cargo is gun and ammo and the other passenger is the womanizing Colonel. She resigns herself to his presence and the flight leaves. Except that the plane has been sabotaged and is forced to make an emergency landing. She is injured during the crash landing and the Colonel appears very worried, she cut her head and has a minor concussion - this doesn't stop him from stealing a few kisses though and some interesting banter follows.
The plane is partially repaired but one of the engines is shot and the plane can't carry the weight of the cargo and two adult passengers. The h decides to stay with the Colonel, who hides the cargo in the jungle, and the girls and headmistress will get back to the safety of the school. The pilot warns the h of the Colonel's seducing ways and as a further precaution to protect the h, implies to the Col. that the h is a nun. Our Col. H isn't too happy about this development and more interesting repartee is exchanged between the couple.
The jungle trek begins and the h meets up with giant bugs and a 20ft snake. Then there is the native encounter, where the h is forced to pretend to be the Col. H's lady, she eats dog meat, the Col. H goes on a lion hunt and then she has to sleep with him in a zipped together sleeping bag - to give the natives the correct impression.
After they leave the village, the h and H run across a lion cub and the H is forced to shoot it's mum when the lioness attacks the h. The h feels horrible for playing with the cub and encouraging the attack and the h forces the H to rescue the cub. Which he grumbles about, but he does it.
The trek continues (they have about 150 miles of jungle to get through to reach a place where the h can fly out), until they reach a rough mining town in the middle of nowhere and the H gives the cub to man who will place him in a nature preserve so he can be cared for. They make arrangements for a jeep to drive the rest of the way to civilization and they head for the local watering hole.
The watering hole contains a group of mercenaries who recognize the H and the prerequisite bar fight begins, which the h wins when she knocks half the brawlers out with a beer mug while the H is unconscious from a sucker punch. The H and h make it to the jeep and take off with the h driving and the H takes out his glasses to use his long distance rifle against the shooting mercenaries as they speed away. Then the h hits a tree after the H gets shot.
She drags him and their gear to safety and more witty banter ensues as the H realizes she cleaned his wound with whiskey and did not use his well stocked first aid kit. (She did not know about the first aid kit and was following old movie protocol.) There is more back and forth bantering and the h and H proceed to drink the whiskey - with the H being amazed at the h's capacity for alcohol.
A passionate make-out session ensues with the h getting into a real panic when the H won't stop when she calls a halt and threatens to rape her. There is an actual knock down drag out fight that only ends when the h pulls a gun on the H and threatens to shoot him - he still isn't backing down and so she threatens to shoot herself - and that scares him half to death. (LT periodically intersperses the action with the H's POV and it really enhances the book. )
The h and H calm down and later the h freaks out a bit when she finds out the H gave her an actual loaded gun - she thought the gun was just for show. The h is gradually falling more in love with the H, even though he is 44 and hates most women cause he thinks they are all liars. The H is feeling a lot for her too, he keeps thinking she is the most unusual woman he has ever met and he has a lot of guilt for lusting after a nun.
Since they no longer have a jeep, they have to keep walking. They stop for a rest and the h gets bitten by a venomous snake. The H wears himself out trying to care for her, but she makes it through and in the aftermath they wind up making passionate love. The H really cares for the h by now and it is the h's turn to be racked by guilt for letting him think she is a nun.
The H's story is that his parents were killed by revolutionaries in Kenya when he was a child. He went to England to live with an elderly aunt until he joined the military and traveled the world and then retired in Africa. It is implied that he is a mercenary, but it becomes obvious he has had a very lonely, strife ridden life.
The h feels a lot of compassion for him as well and this mixes with her attraction until she is completely in love with him. However she doesn't see much future with him, especially as she has lied to him and he hates ladies who lie.
After the h recovers enough to move on, they run into the revolutionary African Prince who is the father of her students and who is also the man the H was bringing the guns for. He knows the h isn't a nun, but he doesn't let on he knows and the H is happy to give the impression to the rest of the camp that he and the h are a pair. He zips their sleeping bags together again and more repartee is engaged in.
There is a late night attack on the camp and the H goes out to help and when he comes back the h has a cocked gun pointed at his head - the H makes the comment that he has created the first terrorist nun and he scoops the h up so they can make a hasty exit. They are off again and the H manages to get the h to a neutral airport. He really loves her and the h is sad she can't stay with him, but he has been a bit standoffish and so she loses her courage to tell him the truth.
As she is leaving to board the plane, he shouts after her that she is to use his given name and she shouts back that she isn't a nun, then she gets on the plane as it takes off. Three weeks of moping later, the H shows up at her school with a big box of apples -which is her favorite food. The H sweeps her off her feet into the back of an old truck and they wind up having another passionate encounter.
She promises pecan pie (his favorite food,) and proposes marriage. He says yes and they agree on four kids. Then he tells her he is really a businessman and not a mercenary, he just wanted to help the Prince get his country back and did him a favor by delivering the guns. The h is resigned to a (not really) boring businessman's life and the HEA is now an HPLandia forever.
This is a really funny book, the exchanges between the H and h are hilarious and the h is really very competent for being thrown into a highly tense situation. The build up between the H and h is intense and though some people think the h took way to long to tell the H the truth, I think it heightened the tension and it gave the H a chance to really get to know her as a person and not as another woman to use and discard.
The H thinking she was untouchable gave a nice fillip to a very fast moving story and this really is one of my all time favorite HP's - right after LG's Spanish Groom which is still thirteen years away at this time. I recommend this one a lot, it has all of the elements of a really great romance. Despite the age difference, the H and h are truly well matched together and the back and forth between the two never degenerates into a bitter bickerfest. The ending where the H comes for the h is truly epic and this one is a must read everyone who like HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2018
It starts out a little Father Goose with the H finagled into whisking a group of schoolgirls out of a danger zone…
Add one part stalwart Old School gruff adventurer (pre-Indiana Jones)
One part
The African Queen
And a smudge of
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Summary be damned. I must be in an alternate HP universe as this is my THIRD awesome heroine in a week.
The h tracks down the H so she can get her schoolgirl charges out of the country. She and the H end up having to hack their way out of the jungle as the rest of the crew flies on. The H thinks the h is a nun based on the dropped comments from the charming French pilot who knows the H’s more oink reputation. He’s already put the moves on her. Now that he thinks she’s a nun he doesn’t know what to do with himself. The h loves the dynamic especially when he gets angry about all the none nun-stuff she’s not doing. She doesn’t care if he swears, she doesn’t pray enough, she almost drinks him under the table. He's so confused!
We end up with a trek across Africa, a bar brawl where the heroine makes a name for herself in the fight and ends up getting to do some real heroine stuff like clocking a bad guy and bandaging the hero up. He pitches a fit when he finds out that she went the old school movie route and cleaned his wound with whiskey rather than the sophisticated First Aid kit with antibiotics they have on hand.
Things come to a head as theyalways often do and the H puts the moves on the supposed nun-heroine after they share the rest of the rotgut Scotch. She says no at an unfortunate spot in their making out, and the H wants to teach her a lesson about being a tease and threatens to rape her. He gets a lot more than he bargained for and is terrified for her and him.
All in all, an awesome rocking romance adventure! I’m tempted to 5 star it, but am going to settle in at 4 stars for a great heroine, a hunky old-school hero, adventure, and some great banter.
Oh, what the heck. 5 stars.
Add one part stalwart Old School gruff adventurer (pre-Indiana Jones)
One part
The African Queen
And a smudge of
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Summary be damned. I must be in an alternate HP universe as this is my THIRD awesome heroine in a week.
The h tracks down the H so she can get her schoolgirl charges out of the country. She and the H end up having to hack their way out of the jungle as the rest of the crew flies on. The H thinks the h is a nun based on the dropped comments from the charming French pilot who knows the H’s more oink reputation. He’s already put the moves on her. Now that he thinks she’s a nun he doesn’t know what to do with himself. The h loves the dynamic especially when he gets angry about all the none nun-stuff she’s not doing. She doesn’t care if he swears, she doesn’t pray enough, she almost drinks him under the table. He's so confused!
We end up with a trek across Africa, a bar brawl where the heroine makes a name for herself in the fight and ends up getting to do some real heroine stuff like clocking a bad guy and bandaging the hero up. He pitches a fit when he finds out that she went the old school movie route and cleaned his wound with whiskey rather than the sophisticated First Aid kit with antibiotics they have on hand.
Things come to a head as they
All in all, an awesome rocking romance adventure! I’m tempted to 5 star it, but am going to settle in at 4 stars for a great heroine, a hunky old-school hero, adventure, and some great banter.
Oh, what the heck. 5 stars.
May 25, 2024
This book started like an Indiana Jones/Romancing the Stone/Crocodile Dundee caper and I was here for it. This author writes compellingly, with great character development, a believable setting, and intense conflict. The gist of the story is that the schoolteacher heroine and the soldier of fortune hero find themselves stranded in an African jungle in the middle of a civil war and have to make it to safety using their wits, courage, and stamina, while fighting their strong sexual chemistry. To add to the tension, heroine pretends to be a nun to keep the hero from making a pass at her.
I was set to five-star it but unfortunately three scenes in the book ruined it for me: first, they encounter an African tribe and spend the night at their village. It was really cringey to have the heroine describe them as ugly savages :( I understand these older books are not politically correct and I have to almost expect nine times out of ten that there will be racistish elements. Since I rate books according to my emotional response to them though, I have to be honest and have my rating reflect the fact that it was an ugly to read scene that totally took me out of my escapist bubble.
The second awful scene is when hero shoots a lioness protecting her cub and then these two decide that they will “rescue” the cub by selling it to an exotic animal dealer who will send it to a wildlife park in Florida. Gaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Finally, the scene where hero is seducing the heroine (still believing she is a nun eeeek) and when the heroine changes her mind, he literally tells her, too late, he is not changing his. He proceeds to violently try to pin her down while she is scratching, kicking, and biting, culminating in her grabbing a gun and threatening to shoot herself. The hero disarms her and later apologizes, claiming he never intended to go through with the rape but he just wanted to teach her (a nun!!!) a lesson not to tease men. I still read the book til the end but for me, the romance died at that point.
I was set to five-star it but unfortunately three scenes in the book ruined it for me: first, they encounter an African tribe and spend the night at their village. It was really cringey to have the heroine describe them as ugly savages :( I understand these older books are not politically correct and I have to almost expect nine times out of ten that there will be racistish elements. Since I rate books according to my emotional response to them though, I have to be honest and have my rating reflect the fact that it was an ugly to read scene that totally took me out of my escapist bubble.
The second awful scene is when hero shoots a lioness protecting her cub and then these two decide that they will “rescue” the cub by selling it to an exotic animal dealer who will send it to a wildlife park in Florida. Gaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Finally, the scene where hero is seducing the heroine (still believing she is a nun eeeek) and when the heroine changes her mind, he literally tells her, too late, he is not changing his. He proceeds to violently try to pin her down while she is scratching, kicking, and biting, culminating in her grabbing a gun and threatening to shoot herself. The hero disarms her and later apologizes, claiming he never intended to go through with the rape but he just wanted to teach her (a nun!!!) a lesson not to tease men. I still read the book til the end but for me, the romance died at that point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2017
An incredibly fun story about a school teacher and a soldier of fortune who find themselves stranded in the African wilderness. The heroine lets the hero think she is a nun in order to protect herself from her strong attraction to the hero.
Lots of great dialogue. Lots of fun scenes - finding the lion's cub, the snake that dropped on her, the bar fight, the bit where the hero thinks he is teaching her a lesson about teasing and gets his own lesson. These two just belonged together - and even bogus vows and pretend prayers couldn't keep them apart. The ending is adorable and I loved how the hero was masquerading just as the heroine was. A keeper for me.
Lots of great dialogue. Lots of fun scenes - finding the lion's cub, the snake that dropped on her, the bar fight, the bit where the hero thinks he is teaching her a lesson about teasing and gets his own lesson. These two just belonged together - and even bogus vows and pretend prayers couldn't keep them apart. The ending is adorable and I loved how the hero was masquerading just as the heroine was. A keeper for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2022
This plummeted from a five star read to a one star because I was revolted by a few things.
It was very well written and seemed like a nice adventure with likeable main characters, something along the lines of an Indiana Jones movie. That is, until the casual racism of two white people messing about in Africa became obvious. They even talked about the "natives," (cringe)
There were real "heart of darkness" elements in it with the heroine even thinking of a group of Africans who had given them hospitality in their village as "savages." Seriously. This was written in the 1990s. Disgraceful, shame on HP.
The hero was unashamedly delivering weapons for one side in the various factions which make up the tragedy of civil wars in African countries. A dealer in death and misery in Africa. I was sickened. I really hope there is a special place in hell reserved for arms dealers to desperately poor countries.
Then there was the ridiculousness of them trekking through rainforest jungle somewhere in Congo, and meeting a lion. Come on, that's basic grade 4 biology. Lions live in the savannah not rainforests.
Then they shot and killed a lioness defending her young. It just got even more repulsive.
There was also an insane physical fight when he was trying to rape her (though he claimed he was only trying to frighten her) which also involved her being prepared to use a gun on either him or her. Jeepers! I was gobsmacked. This is a romance?
It's shame because this could have been a great story if it had been sensitively written and not written as if the author was from 1890. I'd give it minus stars if I could.
It was very well written and seemed like a nice adventure with likeable main characters, something along the lines of an Indiana Jones movie. That is, until the casual racism of two white people messing about in Africa became obvious. They even talked about the "natives," (cringe)
There were real "heart of darkness" elements in it with the heroine even thinking of a group of Africans who had given them hospitality in their village as "savages." Seriously. This was written in the 1990s. Disgraceful, shame on HP.
The hero was unashamedly delivering weapons for one side in the various factions which make up the tragedy of civil wars in African countries. A dealer in death and misery in Africa. I was sickened. I really hope there is a special place in hell reserved for arms dealers to desperately poor countries.
Then there was the ridiculousness of them trekking through rainforest jungle somewhere in Congo, and meeting a lion. Come on, that's basic grade 4 biology. Lions live in the savannah not rainforests.
Then they shot and killed a lioness defending her young. It just got even more repulsive.
There was also an insane physical fight when he was trying to rape her (though he claimed he was only trying to frighten her) which also involved her being prepared to use a gun on either him or her. Jeepers! I was gobsmacked. This is a romance?
It's shame because this could have been a great story if it had been sensitively written and not written as if the author was from 1890. I'd give it minus stars if I could.
February 10, 2016
Amazing!! Wow amazing it was fantastic. The heroine pretended to be a nun so that the hero would stay away and the hero is a commando type. They get stuck in the jungle together and him thinking she was a nun he tries to keep it in his pants. Ah men! Anyways lots of action and she is kick ass heroine who is as hard drinking and she loving. This was one awesome book. Fav quote when the hero says to the heroine " I mean it from the bottom of my rock!" Classic. I hope she has more and they are just as good. I will go hunting for it for sure.
June 1, 2017
Okay I just read this again because I read that he had slept with an island girl but the guy never slept with anyone else. I changed my rating because of that. I am glad I reread it. I loved the story. It was a very cute story and I loved the banter between them. I loved that he was just a business man and she wasn't a nun and that they both were pretending to be something they are not. It reminded me of a movie I loved when I was a little girl with a guy and a woman on an island with kids. It was called Father Goose. Same sort of vibe for sure. Loved the ending. Kind of like Romancing the Stone. He shows up and they live happily ever after. Great story and one of my new favorites. Anne Stuart has a story like this one and I may have to go reread it too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2011
Forever by Lynn Turner is a novel that I stumbled upon in my attempts to find more jungle-trek themed romances. Published in 1986, this is an old-school romance that does a good job of the character development, the setting as well as the romance and passion between the main characters.
44 year old Colonel Sam Forrester is sought out by the prim and proper 24 year old Bernadette Chapman whose a teacher and a librarian to find out whether Sam could help her out in her current predicament. Stranded with 6 school girls and their headmistress who had taken ill with Malaria, the only thing Bernadette wants is for all of them to safely get back home. Though she doesn’t know what to expect when it comes to Sam, there is no hiding from the fact that he is unlike any man Bernadette has ever encountered before, a man who has been hardened by his experiences in life.
A chain of events sees Sam and Bernadette traipsing through the dense African jungle, making their way towards civilization. The prickling awareness that they have of each other is always a constant presence, the desire to explore where the heady feelings each invokes in the other making a situation fraught with danger even more tense. The only thing that saves Bernadette from making a fool of herself and succumbing to the sensual demands of her body when it comes to Sam is the fact that Sam thinks her to be a Nun, a lie that Bernadette makes full use of in order to protect herself from a sensual and emotional assault that she knows would be devastating on her.
With just the right amount of action in between the pages of taut sensuality, Forever is a novel that proved to be both captivating and thrilling at the same time. The first half of the book kept me on tenterhooks, Sam’s surly nature and possessive jealousy when it comes to Bernadette who remains unaware of the fact such a thrill delve into. But when the “lie” about Bernadette came into the picture and seemed to drag on for quite a long while, some of the joy I felt with Bernadette’s character diminished. When it comes to romances, what I want for my hero and heroine is to want each other to the point of no-return, in spite of each and every obstacle that stands in their way. For me, dragging on the lie for just a tad too long didn’t seem to sit that well.
Sam’s character was one I fell instantly in love with. He is gorgeous looking, cynical as they come and has that growling thing down to a fine art which had my insides going on red alert every single time. Though he is a bit older than the usual heroes you encounter in these types of romances, for me his character worked well in the story. With his background and expertise as a soldier, Sam proves to be a hero worthy of the various sighing sessions that I indulged in whilst reading Forever.
Bernadette was an okay heroine for me. There were times I loved her for wanting to comfort Sam even though he seems like the last man on Earth who would want any sort of comfort she might have to offer. And then there were times I wanted to scream in frustration because she continued with the facade of being a Nun when it was obvious that misleading a man who confesses to being tired of women’s manipulations and lies would hardly prove to be the best way to go about winning the said man’s affections. However, in the end, it all seemed to work out. I loved how Sam goes after Bernadette in the end lending this romance a pretty good ending.
The one thing that I absolutely loved was the banter between the characters. I found myself smiling through a lot of their conversations, at one time eliciting the question from my husband why was I smiling so much! I loved how Sam’s teasing side came into play with Bernadette, plain evidence of his obvious affection and growing feelings towards her though the story is told almost 99% of the time from Bernadette’s point of view.
Since I loved Sam’s character so much, and because I loved how everything turned out in the end, I am willing to forgive the lapse in what happened towards the latter part of the story and rate this a great read, recommended for fans of jungle-trek themed romances featuring a tortured & cynical hero who falls like a ton of bricks for the right woman!
Rating=4/5
Original review posted on MBR's Realm of Romance
My Quotes included below the review
44 year old Colonel Sam Forrester is sought out by the prim and proper 24 year old Bernadette Chapman whose a teacher and a librarian to find out whether Sam could help her out in her current predicament. Stranded with 6 school girls and their headmistress who had taken ill with Malaria, the only thing Bernadette wants is for all of them to safely get back home. Though she doesn’t know what to expect when it comes to Sam, there is no hiding from the fact that he is unlike any man Bernadette has ever encountered before, a man who has been hardened by his experiences in life.
A chain of events sees Sam and Bernadette traipsing through the dense African jungle, making their way towards civilization. The prickling awareness that they have of each other is always a constant presence, the desire to explore where the heady feelings each invokes in the other making a situation fraught with danger even more tense. The only thing that saves Bernadette from making a fool of herself and succumbing to the sensual demands of her body when it comes to Sam is the fact that Sam thinks her to be a Nun, a lie that Bernadette makes full use of in order to protect herself from a sensual and emotional assault that she knows would be devastating on her.
With just the right amount of action in between the pages of taut sensuality, Forever is a novel that proved to be both captivating and thrilling at the same time. The first half of the book kept me on tenterhooks, Sam’s surly nature and possessive jealousy when it comes to Bernadette who remains unaware of the fact such a thrill delve into. But when the “lie” about Bernadette came into the picture and seemed to drag on for quite a long while, some of the joy I felt with Bernadette’s character diminished. When it comes to romances, what I want for my hero and heroine is to want each other to the point of no-return, in spite of each and every obstacle that stands in their way. For me, dragging on the lie for just a tad too long didn’t seem to sit that well.
Sam’s character was one I fell instantly in love with. He is gorgeous looking, cynical as they come and has that growling thing down to a fine art which had my insides going on red alert every single time. Though he is a bit older than the usual heroes you encounter in these types of romances, for me his character worked well in the story. With his background and expertise as a soldier, Sam proves to be a hero worthy of the various sighing sessions that I indulged in whilst reading Forever.
Bernadette was an okay heroine for me. There were times I loved her for wanting to comfort Sam even though he seems like the last man on Earth who would want any sort of comfort she might have to offer. And then there were times I wanted to scream in frustration because she continued with the facade of being a Nun when it was obvious that misleading a man who confesses to being tired of women’s manipulations and lies would hardly prove to be the best way to go about winning the said man’s affections. However, in the end, it all seemed to work out. I loved how Sam goes after Bernadette in the end lending this romance a pretty good ending.
The one thing that I absolutely loved was the banter between the characters. I found myself smiling through a lot of their conversations, at one time eliciting the question from my husband why was I smiling so much! I loved how Sam’s teasing side came into play with Bernadette, plain evidence of his obvious affection and growing feelings towards her though the story is told almost 99% of the time from Bernadette’s point of view.
Since I loved Sam’s character so much, and because I loved how everything turned out in the end, I am willing to forgive the lapse in what happened towards the latter part of the story and rate this a great read, recommended for fans of jungle-trek themed romances featuring a tortured & cynical hero who falls like a ton of bricks for the right woman!
Rating=4/5
Original review posted on MBR's Realm of Romance
My Quotes included below the review
December 17, 2022
Definitely 80s vibes!
September 4, 2016
I really wish Hq would republish this old fave in Kindle format and in Audible. Sam Forrester is so in lust with a nun (wink, wink). He's rough, earthy, sexy, all male. The Congo setting reminds me of several jungle love books: Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard and Dangerous to Hold: Night of the Jaguar by Merline Lovelace, The Soldier And The Baby and On Thin Ice, by Anne Stuart.
He's a soldier of fortune. Not very nice. An anti-hero. She's a nun. Not. He helps her escape the whack jobs in the jungle. For Harlequin, this is as good as it gets. Action, relationship, good dialogue, chemistry, sexual tension. Too much fun!
***************
I copied a review from Amazon
Review by Sabrina:
4 1/2 STARS You can't really say it about a lot of romance books but I do agree with the other reviewer about this one being made into a movie. As I was reading I kept thinking darn this should be made into a movie. It has everything - romance, plenty of humor and adventures galore in Africa. I had never read anything from this author before so I didn't know what to expect but was quite pleasantly surprised. The hero is quite macho and a ladies man and he is led to believe (by his pilot friend) that the heroine is a nun. She is actually a teacher. The friend misled the hero because he knew that once he left them alone, (pilot had no choice but to leave them behind after their plane was tampered with and he could only continue on with some very important "cargo") the hero would try to seduce the heroine. And boy did our hero have to fight his desire for her! It was a riot reading how the heroine played along (she tried very hard to act like a nun, praying and the works) But there were many times when she forgot to which left the poor man confused to say the least. They also met up with one disaster after another but no matter how bad things got it still made you want to laugh. They were that funny as a couple! I totally enjoyed it.
He's a soldier of fortune. Not very nice. An anti-hero. She's a nun. Not. He helps her escape the whack jobs in the jungle. For Harlequin, this is as good as it gets. Action, relationship, good dialogue, chemistry, sexual tension. Too much fun!
***************
I copied a review from Amazon
Review by Sabrina:
4 1/2 STARS You can't really say it about a lot of romance books but I do agree with the other reviewer about this one being made into a movie. As I was reading I kept thinking darn this should be made into a movie. It has everything - romance, plenty of humor and adventures galore in Africa. I had never read anything from this author before so I didn't know what to expect but was quite pleasantly surprised. The hero is quite macho and a ladies man and he is led to believe (by his pilot friend) that the heroine is a nun. She is actually a teacher. The friend misled the hero because he knew that once he left them alone, (pilot had no choice but to leave them behind after their plane was tampered with and he could only continue on with some very important "cargo") the hero would try to seduce the heroine. And boy did our hero have to fight his desire for her! It was a riot reading how the heroine played along (she tried very hard to act like a nun, praying and the works) But there were many times when she forgot to which left the poor man confused to say the least. They also met up with one disaster after another but no matter how bad things got it still made you want to laugh. They were that funny as a couple! I totally enjoyed it.
July 13, 2010
This is a good story. Bernadette and Sam are running from bad guys through a jungle, one of my favorite story themes. She pretends to be a nun to keep him from coming on to her. But they end up together and he suffers great guilt for it before she fesses up. Really like this oldy.
April 19, 2022
Old HP with all the tropes of my comfort read: cold-gruff/cruel-chauvinist H, sweet-innocent but sassy h, sizzling attraction, deception/misunderstanding, punishing kisses/hairy chests....... and HE changes for her only!!
February 6, 2019
"Forever" is the story of Bernadette and Sam.
Ah what a FABULOUS read!
This book is just what I needed to end this gloomy day. It has all the tropes I love:
-An engaging plot ✓
-A fantastically brave heroine ✓
-A valiant, resourceful and righteous hero ✓
-Jungle feverrr baby! ✓
-Loads of Indiana Jones-esque adventures ✓
-Unstoppable attraction ✓
-Snake chronicles ✓
-h pretends to be a chaste nun giving the hero moral dilemmas/ sleepless nights ✓
-Amazing ending ✓
I really, really enjoyed this book. The heroine was a fiesty and smart school teacher, the hero was a cheroot smoking mercenary. They get trapped in the African jungle, and have all sorts of escapades. I laughed, cried and throughly loved it.
Some of my favorite scenes include
-When the H realizes h is a "nun"
-The pre-sleep "praying" ritual
-When the h crashes the jeep/ breaks up the fight/ has a clawing match with the H
-The rescuing of the lion cub
-The post snake bite passion incident
-The revelation in the end
Funny in many parts, with scenes that might induce angst and anxiety.
A must read.
Safe
5/5
Ah what a FABULOUS read!
This book is just what I needed to end this gloomy day. It has all the tropes I love:
-An engaging plot ✓
-A fantastically brave heroine ✓
-A valiant, resourceful and righteous hero ✓
-Jungle feverrr baby! ✓
-Loads of Indiana Jones-esque adventures ✓
-Unstoppable attraction ✓
-Snake chronicles ✓
-h pretends to be a chaste nun giving the hero moral dilemmas/ sleepless nights ✓
-Amazing ending ✓
I really, really enjoyed this book. The heroine was a fiesty and smart school teacher, the hero was a cheroot smoking mercenary. They get trapped in the African jungle, and have all sorts of escapades. I laughed, cried and throughly loved it.
Some of my favorite scenes include
-When the H realizes h is a "nun"
-The pre-sleep "praying" ritual
-When the h crashes the jeep/ breaks up the fight/ has a clawing match with the H
-The rescuing of the lion cub
-The post snake bite passion incident
-The revelation in the end
Funny in many parts, with scenes that might induce angst and anxiety.
A must read.
Safe
5/5
June 16, 2011
** 3 1/2 stars**
The good parts of the book:
- The African jungle setting was very interesting and there was lots of action.
- The writing was pretty good and the characters were well drawn.
The not-so-good:
- The hero was too 80's style mean, he just was not a nice man for most of the book.
- The heroine let the "nun" deceit go on for too long plus there was a scene where I was questioning her reasoning.
Overall, it was a decent older Harly as long as you don't mind the 80's style hero.
The good parts of the book:
- The African jungle setting was very interesting and there was lots of action.
- The writing was pretty good and the characters were well drawn.
The not-so-good:
- The hero was too 80's style mean, he just was not a nice man for most of the book.
- The heroine let the "nun" deceit go on for too long plus there was a scene where I was questioning her reasoning.
Overall, it was a decent older Harly as long as you don't mind the 80's style hero.
September 25, 2013
Full review at: Forever - Review
June 6, 2021
There is not much I can say about this one that Boogenhagen hasn't covered in her awesome review.
I'm only going to add I felt sorry for the poor lion cub getting shipped off to Florida after its mumma was shot (due to the h doing a dumb thing). You just know that means the poor lion ended up with Joe Exotic or that other guy who had a cult/harem.
I also wasn't 100% sure if the H wasn't actually a dodgy arms dealer as he never explained what his business was and he was delivery guns and ammo as his cargo to his mate a Prince who seemed to be staging some kind of Coup to regain his old lands and create an independent country. Pretty sure his behaviour was massively illegal.
Both these together mean I docked it a star (but mainly for the poor lion cub)
I'm only going to add I felt sorry for the poor lion cub getting shipped off to Florida after its mumma was shot (due to the h doing a dumb thing). You just know that means the poor lion ended up with Joe Exotic or that other guy who had a cult/harem.
I also wasn't 100% sure if the H wasn't actually a dodgy arms dealer as he never explained what his business was and he was delivery guns and ammo as his cargo to his mate a Prince who seemed to be staging some kind of Coup to regain his old lands and create an independent country. Pretty sure his behaviour was massively illegal.
Both these together mean I docked it a star (but mainly for the poor lion cub)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 21, 2011
This was a good, solid adventure-thru-the-jungle romance. Unfortunately for me, it's like if you read one, you read 'em all. I gave an extra .01 star for the Monty Python reference.
3.5 stars
Tropes: older man (he's 44, she's "almost 25")
3.5 stars
Tropes: older man (he's 44, she's "almost 25")
September 19, 2017
Jungle-trek HPs aren't my top-tier choice of fare, but I trusted in reviews for this one and it paid off! Super-fun read.
June 13, 2011
I really liked this book. Thought the h/H were both great characters. The h had a fun sense of humor and was great fake nun. I would actually rate it 4.5
June 28, 2011
I was in the mood for some jungle romance, so this fit the bill. I did have some issues with both the H and h, but overall a fast read.
October 2, 2020
Unpopular opinion but even with the right vintage feels, I couldn’t rate it any higher. A very thorough African jungle expedition-on-accident based romance of a sniping h and an apparent womanizer H, who instead seemed pretty stable and decent to me. I will gladly overlook the prevalent sensitivities back in the 80’s when this book was written and what deemed a man a debaucher.
My qualms are more based on the quality of “romance”. The h was a school teacher but not demure in any way. Rightfully she’s thrown in the middle of a jungle unexpectedly and has to trek her way back to civilization, but I never saw colonel Forrester as a threat to her even once. So my point: her hysterics at self preservation were really not needed. She plays herself to be a “nun” to save herself from this man who would’ve ravished her otherwise. Right.
The book and their adventures fair well mid way and every time the romance picked up, this apparent nun would start screaming bloody rape, while the gentlemanly H was but barely looking at her, infact looking out for her is more apt.
Sadly the h kept getting on my nerves. Her questions to me came as those of a petulant child. I hated how she picked up that lion cub and causes what she causes. Given she lived in Africa she could possibly not have been this clueless to know better of that. She was more bi polar than many h I’ve read of in a book. I will end it with this: she certainly was way more trouble than she was ever worth!
My qualms are more based on the quality of “romance”. The h was a school teacher but not demure in any way. Rightfully she’s thrown in the middle of a jungle unexpectedly and has to trek her way back to civilization, but I never saw colonel Forrester as a threat to her even once. So my point: her hysterics at self preservation were really not needed. She plays herself to be a “nun” to save herself from this man who would’ve ravished her otherwise. Right.
The book and their adventures fair well mid way and every time the romance picked up, this apparent nun would start screaming bloody rape, while the gentlemanly H was but barely looking at her, infact looking out for her is more apt.
Sadly the h kept getting on my nerves. Her questions to me came as those of a petulant child. I hated how she picked up that lion cub and causes what she causes. Given she lived in Africa she could possibly not have been this clueless to know better of that. She was more bi polar than many h I’ve read of in a book. I will end it with this: she certainly was way more trouble than she was ever worth!
July 21, 2017
My thoughts: I read this book really fast and when that happens I sometimes miss a few things and I have to re-read it again. But I really love it so I figure I'd write a quick review before re-reading - yay! Initially I was a little turned off by the hero - I wasn't used to him (i guess I've been reading too many rich dissillusioned businessmen, etc. etc.) This particular hero I was like huh? Colonel? renegade? and plus he seemed too rough on the edges, brash and forceful. There maybe a a couple of scenes where you might get mad at him SPOILERS almost forced rape/seduction but I was ok with it. Well anyway, this hero actually suited the story and the heroine! LOL! And they had quite a spark/ chemistry with each other. As mentioned this could sorta be a movie, LOL. I liked the heroine too. She was pretty spunky and they had good comebacks with each other. There were a few instances where you actually got to see the hero's point of view. Enjoyable book and will definitely keep this in my favorites pile.
May 9, 2024
I wasn’t feeling it much until nearly the end of the book they really stole my heart 😩 i was kinda shook tho at discovering that he’s 20 years older than her
September 3, 2023
Oh dear. Either I wasn't in the right mood or I just have different taste. I think maybe because of the 3 mules for Sister Sara/African Queen style premise it kind of felt cartoonish. Sam was just too tongue in cheek in execution for me to find him a proper H and I really, really hated the rape threat scene when he wants to teach her a lesson for calling a halt. I'm not generally uber sensitive to forced seductions (being an avid vintage HP type) but this gave me the ick. She had to gouge his face to get him off her. I finished it but it was a no from me. Also, not fond of petting lion cubs. Leave wild animals alone, they aren't toys.
I was definitely grumpy reading this because 60 pages in to an Open Library borrow that I was actually enjoying the sods wouldn't renew my one hour borrow and it's been coming back not available every time I've tried it since. 'Forever' was the next on the list so is definitely copping for some of my OL ire.
I was definitely grumpy reading this because 60 pages in to an Open Library borrow that I was actually enjoying the sods wouldn't renew my one hour borrow and it's been coming back not available every time I've tried it since. 'Forever' was the next on the list so is definitely copping for some of my OL ire.
January 24, 2021
First of all I can’t improve on Boogenhagen’s, St. Margaret’s, and Vintage’s reviews! I’ll just do my quick check off on things.
What you will or will not find in this story...
May/December romance-YES-20 years!!!!✅
Hero- Alpha male, no family...I just kept picturing Harrison Ford...I totally see him substituting princess with the word sister!
He struggles to keep his physical responses/feelings towards the h in line. At times, he crosses the line....✅
Heroine- 24 year old virgin school teacher pretending to be a nun, she is not a simpering, weak h. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t have some vulnerabilities, it’s just not caused from a lack of character✅
Pilot Friend- he plants the falsehood that the h is a nun so she is safe with hero when they are alone traipsing through the African wilderness✅
Evil Ow-NO
OM- NO
Meddling Family-NO
Misunderstandings- Yes he thinks she is a nun and she thinks he is a rogue who probably wouldn’t commit to anything long term
Happily Ever After- while there is no epilogue, they discuss their future plans and it looks believable and lovely. The banter between these two is solid...the fact that the story doesn’t need a lot of help from outside characters to move it along says a lot about the writing.
What you will or will not find in this story...
May/December romance-YES-20 years!!!!✅
Hero- Alpha male, no family...I just kept picturing Harrison Ford...I totally see him substituting princess with the word sister!
He struggles to keep his physical responses/feelings towards the h in line. At times, he crosses the line....✅
Heroine- 24 year old virgin school teacher pretending to be a nun, she is not a simpering, weak h. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t have some vulnerabilities, it’s just not caused from a lack of character✅
Pilot Friend- he plants the falsehood that the h is a nun so she is safe with hero when they are alone traipsing through the African wilderness✅
Evil Ow-NO
OM- NO
Meddling Family-NO
Misunderstandings- Yes he thinks she is a nun and she thinks he is a rogue who probably wouldn’t commit to anything long term
Happily Ever After- while there is no epilogue, they discuss their future plans and it looks believable and lovely. The banter between these two is solid...the fact that the story doesn’t need a lot of help from outside characters to move it along says a lot about the writing.
June 9, 2021
Together they faced a dangerous ordeal
Somehow Bernadette knew she could stake her life on Colonel Sam Forrester. And when their plane was sabotaged and she and Sam were left behind in the jungle so that the plane could take off again, she knew she would have to.
Fortune had it that a devious, conniving guardian angel led Sam to believe Bernadette was a nun. How else could safe passage be guaranteed for the woman who set Sam's renegade heart on fire?
An affair with Sam would be assuredly glorious--but brief. And Bernadette wanted Sam's love to last forever
Somehow Bernadette knew she could stake her life on Colonel Sam Forrester. And when their plane was sabotaged and she and Sam were left behind in the jungle so that the plane could take off again, she knew she would have to.
Fortune had it that a devious, conniving guardian angel led Sam to believe Bernadette was a nun. How else could safe passage be guaranteed for the woman who set Sam's renegade heart on fire?
An affair with Sam would be assuredly glorious--but brief. And Bernadette wanted Sam's love to last forever
April 30, 2012
Rating 3.5
February 21, 2013
Good, fun jungle read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews