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By Love Bewitched
From childhood, Dinah had been under the spell - and under the thumb - of her stern guardian Jason Devrel. But it was not until that never to be forgotten Hallowe'en night that everything changed - for Dinah, at any rate. And now, as a result, she was actually married to Jason! But not for love; never for love. It was, as he had made only too clear, only for the sake of their unborn child that Jason had taken such a step. And he had made it clear that if ever Dinah wanted to be free of him, it would only be on condition that she surrender that child to him. Which way would Dinah choose?
190 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1984
4 people are currently reading
425 people want to read
About the author
Violet Winspear
175 books140 followersViolet Winspear was a British author renowned for her prolific output of romance novels, publishing seventy titles with Mills & Boon between 1961 and 1987. In 1973, she became a launch author for the Mills & Boon-Harlequin Presents line, known for its more sexually explicit content, alongside Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, two of the most popular and prolific British romance writers of the time. Winspear began writing while working in a factory and became a full-time novelist in 1963, producing her works from her home in South East England, researching exotic settings at her local library. She famously described her heroes as lean, strong, and captivating, “in need of love but capable of breathtaking passion and potency,” a characterization that provoked controversy in 1970 when she stated that her male protagonists were “capable of rape,” leading to considerable public backlash. Her novels are celebrated for their vivid, globe-spanning settings and dramatic tension, often employing sexual antagonism to heighten conflict between the alpha male hero and the heroine, who is frequently portrayed as naïve or overwhelmed by his dominance. Winspear never married or had children, and she passed away in January 1989 after a long battle with cancer, leaving a lasting influence on the romance genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
March 7, 2017
Wow was this one messed up!
She ran away after he raped her on Halloween night she calmly decides to have an abortion.
Like being a shop girl was a great choice of career!? Is she nuts???
He would have had to pay and I would have had him up on charges.
He needed to rethink his methods.
Really? Like she was going to find you more acceptable after you rape her asshole!
Read at your own risk but don't say you weren't warned. Unless, you're reading this review after you already read the book, then I'm really sorry.
We win some we lose some.
She ran away after he raped her on Halloween night she calmly decides to have an abortion.
Like being a shop girl was a great choice of career!? Is she nuts???
He would have had to pay and I would have had him up on charges.
He needed to rethink his methods.
Really? Like she was going to find you more acceptable after you rape her asshole!
Read at your own risk but don't say you weren't warned. Unless, you're reading this review after you already read the book, then I'm really sorry.
We win some we lose some.
June 5, 2009
This is a guardian/ward romance, and it's a little twisted, I suppose. I must confess that I always feel a little kinky for liking this book. Oh, well. So this is how the story goes, Dinah came to live with Jason Devrel when her parents die. He sees her grow up, and plans to marry her when she gets old enough. In his mind, she is his. It doesn't even occur to him that she might want to move away and have her own life separate from him. I don't think Jason really realized that he fell in love with her as a child and the natural progression is to marry her as a woman. Dinah has feelings of hero worship and awe for her guardian, and it never occurs to her that he has marriage plans for him. In her mind, he's too far above her. When she has her coming of age party, she overhears women putting her down, and decides she doesn't want to live in the high class world that she doesn't fit in with her bookish nature, awkward looks, and her owl-eyed, glasses-wearing self. Jason comes in when she is packing and is livid that she is going to try to run away. For the first time in their relationship, he loses that cool, withdrawn demeanor that is typical for him. In his mind, she belongs to him. He shows her that physically. And Dinah is pretty traumatized. Afterwards, he feels remorse, but Dinah runs off.
The book actually starts a few months after this incident on Halloween night. Jason finds Dinah working in a department store. It turns out he got her pregnant. He convinces her to come back home, and to marry him so that his heir can be legitimate. He promises he will let her go when the baby is born.
This romance may not work for everyone. For one thing, it's a little kinky to seduce your guardian. And this book has rape, or forced seduction. It's not horribly done or wince-worthy to read. You really don't see anything, just that vague description that the older books give when there is a sensual moment.
Winspear doesn't write like modern writers. There is an old fashioned feel to her writing. The sensuality is very mild, and more suggestive than anything. The relationship develops slowly, and there's that whole paternalistic vibe in Jason's treatment of Dinah.
The reason why I like this book is because of the fact that Jason is a cold, withdrawn man who doesn't care about much of anything, but Dinah somehow comes into his lonely life and gives him life and inspires love in him. I really like romances where the hero is the one who's more in love than the heroine. He's not expecting to fall and love, but it hits him like a semi. And I must admit, there is something about the older Harlequin Presents that always gets to me. They are so dramatic and out there. I mean in real life, who has a rich guardian who's going to marry you when you come of age? Who gets a painter to come make a portrait of his wife? Only in the pages of a Harlequin Presents book.
It's one of those books where the heroine doesn't fall head over heels first. It takes her a while to realize that she does love Jason, and that love had been hidden in her heart because of their relationship, and also because of the very cold, standoffish demeanor that Jason has. Plus she's holding a grudge that he got her pregnant and now she has to be married to him until the baby is born. At first she isn't too keen on being pregnant, but then she realizes when has a fall that she really does want the baby. In a way, it's kind of refreshing to have a heroine who is reluctant to be a wife and mother. Not all women are instantly maternal and have dreams of happy wifedom.
While I don't defend what Jason did, and I thought Dinah was pretty immature and withdrawn, I like reading this book. The thing about fiction is that you don't always agree with what is done or what you read about, but at the same time, you can enjoy a book and get something out of reading it. This is one of those books. For that reason, it is a keeper for me.
The book actually starts a few months after this incident on Halloween night. Jason finds Dinah working in a department store. It turns out he got her pregnant. He convinces her to come back home, and to marry him so that his heir can be legitimate. He promises he will let her go when the baby is born.
This romance may not work for everyone. For one thing, it's a little kinky to seduce your guardian. And this book has rape, or forced seduction. It's not horribly done or wince-worthy to read. You really don't see anything, just that vague description that the older books give when there is a sensual moment.
Winspear doesn't write like modern writers. There is an old fashioned feel to her writing. The sensuality is very mild, and more suggestive than anything. The relationship develops slowly, and there's that whole paternalistic vibe in Jason's treatment of Dinah.
The reason why I like this book is because of the fact that Jason is a cold, withdrawn man who doesn't care about much of anything, but Dinah somehow comes into his lonely life and gives him life and inspires love in him. I really like romances where the hero is the one who's more in love than the heroine. He's not expecting to fall and love, but it hits him like a semi. And I must admit, there is something about the older Harlequin Presents that always gets to me. They are so dramatic and out there. I mean in real life, who has a rich guardian who's going to marry you when you come of age? Who gets a painter to come make a portrait of his wife? Only in the pages of a Harlequin Presents book.
It's one of those books where the heroine doesn't fall head over heels first. It takes her a while to realize that she does love Jason, and that love had been hidden in her heart because of their relationship, and also because of the very cold, standoffish demeanor that Jason has. Plus she's holding a grudge that he got her pregnant and now she has to be married to him until the baby is born. At first she isn't too keen on being pregnant, but then she realizes when has a fall that she really does want the baby. In a way, it's kind of refreshing to have a heroine who is reluctant to be a wife and mother. Not all women are instantly maternal and have dreams of happy wifedom.
While I don't defend what Jason did, and I thought Dinah was pretty immature and withdrawn, I like reading this book. The thing about fiction is that you don't always agree with what is done or what you read about, but at the same time, you can enjoy a book and get something out of reading it. This is one of those books. For that reason, it is a keeper for me.
December 15, 2025
Disturbingly tragic, horrifically realistic
You know how non-con has been used as a sort of taking back power by women who have gone through a traumatic SA experience? They say it helps some process their trauma.
This books feels like it could be used the same way even if
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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You know how non-con has been used as a sort of taking back power by women who have gone through a traumatic SA experience? They say it helps some process their trauma.
This books feels like it could be used the same way even if
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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September 10, 2024
Suddenly the petals of the reluctant flower sprang open and the bee slithered inside, emitting a triumphant buzzing as he plundered the pollen. Jason abruptly shifted his gaze to Dinah...
All at once, she felt her heart pounding beneath her casual shirt and a potent little quiver went through her, placing its dart at the apex of her body.
Well, nobody can accuse Violet Winspear of lacking humor. Her ubiquitous honey bee has been sucking the nectar of quivering flowers through most of her books (one was even titled "Love is the Honey") just as her broody Alpha males have been forcing their way into the hearts and other anatomical regions of their honeyed ladies.
Like most vintage romance books, the age gap, and dubious consent between the protagonists will creep out most modern readers. The heroine of By Love Bewitched actually ponders on how the hero has been "training" her to be his wife since she became his orphaned ward at the tender age of nine. Eww.
Strangely, Jason reminded me less of Humbert Humbert and more of a lost, lonely, and socially awkward Charles Foster Kane: a lonely figure, left to fend for himself in a gloomy, gigantic mansion, cut off from ordinary social interaction due to his unimaginable wealth and status.
Rosebud!...
Dinah certainly was no shrinking violet. There is a streak of cruelty in her that is pretty stomach-curdling. Other readers might not agree with me but for all her constant whining that she was at the mercy of a controlling, autocratic Jason, I saw her as the one holding the whip in that relationship and mercilessly cracking it on him. In the true manner of an OW, she even resented the baby she was carrying, jealous of the baby potentially usurping her primary role in his life. She reminded me of the savage, greedy, obsessive psychopath played by Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven.
There's nothing wrong with her. It's just that she loves too much.
All at once, she felt her heart pounding beneath her casual shirt and a potent little quiver went through her, placing its dart at the apex of her body.
Well, nobody can accuse Violet Winspear of lacking humor. Her ubiquitous honey bee has been sucking the nectar of quivering flowers through most of her books (one was even titled "Love is the Honey") just as her broody Alpha males have been forcing their way into the hearts and other anatomical regions of their honeyed ladies.
Like most vintage romance books, the age gap, and dubious consent between the protagonists will creep out most modern readers. The heroine of By Love Bewitched actually ponders on how the hero has been "training" her to be his wife since she became his orphaned ward at the tender age of nine. Eww.
Strangely, Jason reminded me less of Humbert Humbert and more of a lost, lonely, and socially awkward Charles Foster Kane: a lonely figure, left to fend for himself in a gloomy, gigantic mansion, cut off from ordinary social interaction due to his unimaginable wealth and status.
Rosebud!...
Dinah certainly was no shrinking violet. There is a streak of cruelty in her that is pretty stomach-curdling. Other readers might not agree with me but for all her constant whining that she was at the mercy of a controlling, autocratic Jason, I saw her as the one holding the whip in that relationship and mercilessly cracking it on him. In the true manner of an OW, she even resented the baby she was carrying, jealous of the baby potentially usurping her primary role in his life. She reminded me of the savage, greedy, obsessive psychopath played by Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven.
There's nothing wrong with her. It's just that she loves too much.
July 18, 2010
It has all my fav ingredients, Guardian - Ward, May - December (37 y/o hero / 20 y/o heroine), forced seduction (reminiscent of Anne Mather = Melting Fire - 1 of my all-time fav step-sibs theme), uber Alpha / dominant / over-protective hero (who can play piano ! be still my heart !), bespectacled heroine, but there's a tinge of cweepiness to it, 'cuz the hero inexplicably keeps calling heroine : "child / my child / my dear child". These terms of endearment are prolly equal to "baby" in contemps / erotica, which I have no objections to, but when U read @ least a dozen of this in the span of a 190-page HP & the sulky heroine shows her young age in the silly, hurtful darts she throws @ hero, it's hella weird. Talk 'bout lack of variety. Controlling Hero also utters a classic line : "U'll come to my bed whenever I click my fingers." Hey, how about "Sit, Ubu, sit !... Good dog!" ?!? WOOF ! Plus, we have the recycled near-miscarriage scene most prevalent in HPlandia, heroine tumbles down the stairs. And whazzup w/ the distant relation thingy ? Not a fan of that angle. It pains me to rate it lower than 5* 'cuz the writing is luvly & has lotsa entertainment values, but I couldn't quite get past the innumerable mentions of "child", as if VW wanted to remind the readers that despite their huge age disparity & personalities incompatibility, Luv is blind =)~
April 26, 2013
Something about this book just felt off key to me, almost like an untuned piano.
Heroine is raped by her guardian, on the night she decides to leave him. She decides to flee because she overhears two nasty women discussing how unattractive she is, and speculating that the hero (most eligible man about town) can't possibly love her. It seems our heroine is not your average HP beauty queen. I guess it's true that those that eavesdrop never hear anything good about themselves. Bent out of shape by these comments, she packs her suitcases and hands back the engagement ring to our Hero. Hero, blindsided and angered by her actions, stoops low and commits the unthinkable and unforgivable.
Six weeks later, the hero searches out the heroine to bring her back home and discovers she is in a delicate situation. They are forced to marry. Hero agrees to give heroine a divorce if she leaves the child with him. The rest of the book is actually the heroine berating the hero.
Not that I condone rape, but this actually could have been a wonderfully written "angst fest" that just never materialized. The heroines fits of anger, came off more like a child denied a piece of candy than a woman who was brutally assaulted by someone she should have been able to trust. Her constant fixation on her looks and the deprecating comments about wearing glasses was absurd. Finally, I never really felt the chemistry between the two. It felt anything but electric and at times a bit incestuous.
There are some great HP's out there written in the 60's and 70's, that have stood the test of time. But for me, this just isn't one of them.
Heroine is raped by her guardian, on the night she decides to leave him. She decides to flee because she overhears two nasty women discussing how unattractive she is, and speculating that the hero (most eligible man about town) can't possibly love her. It seems our heroine is not your average HP beauty queen. I guess it's true that those that eavesdrop never hear anything good about themselves. Bent out of shape by these comments, she packs her suitcases and hands back the engagement ring to our Hero. Hero, blindsided and angered by her actions, stoops low and commits the unthinkable and unforgivable.
Six weeks later, the hero searches out the heroine to bring her back home and discovers she is in a delicate situation. They are forced to marry. Hero agrees to give heroine a divorce if she leaves the child with him. The rest of the book is actually the heroine berating the hero.
Not that I condone rape, but this actually could have been a wonderfully written "angst fest" that just never materialized. The heroines fits of anger, came off more like a child denied a piece of candy than a woman who was brutally assaulted by someone she should have been able to trust. Her constant fixation on her looks and the deprecating comments about wearing glasses was absurd. Finally, I never really felt the chemistry between the two. It felt anything but electric and at times a bit incestuous.
There are some great HP's out there written in the 60's and 70's, that have stood the test of time. But for me, this just isn't one of them.
June 24, 2014
The lead female character's name should have been changed to Sybil, it would have been a better fit for her various personalities. She was full of hate, immature, spoiled, sadistic, ungrateful and unrealistic about life in general.
July 19, 2021
"By Love Bewitched" is the story of Dinah and Jason.
The book begins with the hero rediscovering the heroine, and finding out about her pregnancy.
Orphaned heroine lived under the hero's guardianship, until she grew up.. and he decided to marry her. However, she eavesdropped on some mean comments on a dark Halloween night, accusing the hero of falsely wanting her- an encounter that resulted in a forced seduction. The heroine then runs away.
Two months later, the hero blackmails finds her to marry him, so that he can have a legitimate heir. The rest of the book is the heroine reminding the hero of that night, threatening to abort the child and doing everything to hurt the hero. He seemed broken, and genuinely hurt throughout the book. Not condoning his actions, but she was quite immature and spiteful, while he was too secretive of his feelings.
Safe
3.5/5
The book begins with the hero rediscovering the heroine, and finding out about her pregnancy.
Orphaned heroine lived under the hero's guardianship, until she grew up.. and he decided to marry her. However, she eavesdropped on some mean comments on a dark Halloween night, accusing the hero of falsely wanting her- an encounter that resulted in a forced seduction. The heroine then runs away.
Two months later, the hero blackmails finds her to marry him, so that he can have a legitimate heir. The rest of the book is the heroine reminding the hero of that night, threatening to abort the child and doing everything to hurt the hero. He seemed broken, and genuinely hurt throughout the book. Not condoning his actions, but she was quite immature and spiteful, while he was too secretive of his feelings.
Safe
3.5/5
March 6, 2017
I'm usually really into these guardian-ward, he's-obsessed-with-her kinds of stories, but this one... He was crazy, she was crazy, it was too much. He raped, chased, and controlled her with all the smothering singlemindedness of a basement-dungeon sicko. She hated him with zero sign of love underneath and wielded her pregnancy like a sledgehammer to beat him with.
Basically, I didn't find it terribly romantic. Kinda fun, but not romantic.
Basically, I didn't find it terribly romantic. Kinda fun, but not romantic.
June 9, 2014
Heroine was hero's ward. He decides he wants to marry her when she gets older, even though she is plain. He rapes her on Halloween night when she tries to leave him. Actually this could have been good in a sick, kinky sort of way but the plain, mousey heroine kinda ruined it. Plus I never felt his supposed 'love' for her.
October 10, 2011
I don't have any problem with this premise, but I skimmed most of the book because it was so silly. Mostly the heroine berating the hero childishly.
August 24, 2019
Both H&h need skilleting
Read
March 24, 2011I read the first 30 pages and then skim read to the end.
This was pretty dire and the heroine was beyond annoying.
She grows up as jason's ward. He then asks her to marry him. Dinah overhears 2 old biddies saying he is only marrying her out of pity and for some reason decides that this must be right and that she will run away. She tells him that she is leaving for London. It turns out that her ultimate ambition in life is to work in a department store - I kid you not. They argue and he then forces himself upon her. She runs away.
Two months later Jason finds her, in the department store ( living the dream) . They meet up. She tells him she hates him. He wants her to come home and marry him so he can make it up to her. He becomes suspicious and it emerges she is pregnant. She talks about a termination but he convinces her to marry him on the basis that he will look after the baby and she can get a divorce if she wants after the birth.
for the next 100 or so pages, dinah complains constantly about everything. She hates the hero, she hates being married, she wants to be independent ( in the department store?), she makes continual reference to the rape, she hates being pregnant, she hates the jewelry he gives her, she hates the house etc etc etc
Throughout this Jason is remarkably patient and forbearing due to his guilt over what happened. Although in many respects he should be the bad guy, the heroine is such a pain in the neck and such an immature moany wind bag that the reader's sympathy lies with Jason. If dinah was so opposed to him, she should not have married him.
In the end she finally comes around and they have the requisite hea.
I really didn't care.
If she had taken a flying leap off a cliff, I would have cheered.
Not a keeper.
This was pretty dire and the heroine was beyond annoying.
She grows up as jason's ward. He then asks her to marry him. Dinah overhears 2 old biddies saying he is only marrying her out of pity and for some reason decides that this must be right and that she will run away. She tells him that she is leaving for London. It turns out that her ultimate ambition in life is to work in a department store - I kid you not. They argue and he then forces himself upon her. She runs away.
Two months later Jason finds her, in the department store ( living the dream) . They meet up. She tells him she hates him. He wants her to come home and marry him so he can make it up to her. He becomes suspicious and it emerges she is pregnant. She talks about a termination but he convinces her to marry him on the basis that he will look after the baby and she can get a divorce if she wants after the birth.
for the next 100 or so pages, dinah complains constantly about everything. She hates the hero, she hates being married, she wants to be independent ( in the department store?), she makes continual reference to the rape, she hates being pregnant, she hates the jewelry he gives her, she hates the house etc etc etc
Throughout this Jason is remarkably patient and forbearing due to his guilt over what happened. Although in many respects he should be the bad guy, the heroine is such a pain in the neck and such an immature moany wind bag that the reader's sympathy lies with Jason. If dinah was so opposed to him, she should not have married him.
In the end she finally comes around and they have the requisite hea.
I really didn't care.
If she had taken a flying leap off a cliff, I would have cheered.
Not a keeper.
August 16, 2009
Creepy as heck but I found it rather compelling. Needless to say, damn unPC but Winspear is a very good writer, if a bit on the poetical, flowery side.
There are references to The Honey is Bitter in the book. Too bad Barry Sothern never got his own HEA.
There are references to The Honey is Bitter in the book. Too bad Barry Sothern never got his own HEA.
January 20, 2013
My only issue with this novel was the hero raped the heroine. It isn't taken seriously in the novel and the heroine is plenty angry when she finds out she must marry the hero because he made her pregnant. I can see exactly how the heroine felt and although her insults and quick whips of tongue, she was underlined betrayed by a man she loved. Eventually it all turned out well.
November 22, 2024
This book must have been on my TBR for ages because I remember reading the synopsis a long time ago and adding it on Goodreads. And it has a romantic cover that is eye catching!
But the plot is kinda insane. It’s about the insecure young ward Dinah who got raped by her guardian Jason Devrel on the Halloween night she tried to leave him. The rest of the story is him chasing her and blackmailing her into marriage, making a deal that they will stay married for 7 months after she gives birth to their child, and leave if she so wishes. Dinah is bitter and spiteful towards her guardian now turned husband, rightly so while Jason tries to do what he should have done in the first place, gain her forgiveness and love. One thing that totally made this special was the honest dialogue between Jason & Dinah, how they would talk about their past and their characteristics and their honest thoughts on life.
But the plot is kinda insane. It’s about the insecure young ward Dinah who got raped by her guardian Jason Devrel on the Halloween night she tried to leave him. The rest of the story is him chasing her and blackmailing her into marriage, making a deal that they will stay married for 7 months after she gives birth to their child, and leave if she so wishes. Dinah is bitter and spiteful towards her guardian now turned husband, rightly so while Jason tries to do what he should have done in the first place, gain her forgiveness and love. One thing that totally made this special was the honest dialogue between Jason & Dinah, how they would talk about their past and their characteristics and their honest thoughts on life.
April 8, 2012
Dinah has been Jason Devrel's ward since she became an orphan at nine years old. Once she finished college they ended up getting engaged but one night she overhears two women speculating on Jason's reasons for marrying her; the women believe that the only reason a rich, attractive man like Jason would marry the quiet and plain Dinah is to avoid gossip about their guardian/ward relationship. At this point I started to actively dislike Dinah. She is incredibly immature. She just goes ahead and believes what she has heard and decides to run away with a broken heart without even confronting Jason. The whole thing doesn't even make sense. If he's worried about his reputation, he could always marry someone else, or encourage Dinah to get a job and move out. Anyway, Jason finds Dinah madly packing her bags to leave and they get into an argument concluding with Jason raping her. Yes, he rapes her. This is no "forced seduction" but straight out violent rape. It was at this point that I started to actively dislike Jason. Not surprisingly, in the morning Dinah runs away. Two months later, Jason manages to track her down only to discover that she is pregnant. He persuades her to marry him and give the baby to him, after which he will give her a divorce with a healthy settlement.
This book was incredibly disturbing. Jason himself says that he has tried to be a father to Dinah, and he is constantly calling her "child" or "my girl". In fact he addresses her using those terms right before he rapes her. Dinah is naturally quite traumatised by this; bad enough to be raped, but to have it done by the man who raised her whom she loved and trusted is obviously much worse. Also, keeping in mind that this book was written in a time when girls who had illegitimate children were ostracised and you can see Dinah's turmoil and the reason why she agrees to marry Jason. Both of them are quite frank that he raped her, though Jason tries to imply at one point that he suspects she enjoyed some of it. This just made me sick. It's common for child abusers to claim the complicity of their victims. Dinah is not a child, but she is about 17 years younger than Jason and obviously sees him as an authority figure. Jason concedes that Dinah has every reason to hate him now and claims to accept it, yet he then goes on to reprimand her for her bitterness and lack of joie de vie. Gee, you think being raped and impregnated by your father figure then forced to marry and live with him might just spoil your mood? As for Dinah, she gets all caught up in "dealing" with now having to see Jason as her husband instead of her father. I found this quite odd considering they were actually planning on getting married before he raped her anyway. Surely she would already have worked through those conflicts? Apparently not. Generally speaking, I found Dinah's responses reasonable, even her conflicted emotions regarding Jason. She is simultaneously attracted to and revolted by him. She feels used and dirty and wants to feel attractive, but he's the only man around. I actually found her quite realistic, but then before you know it she's happily jumping into bed with him and declaring her love. That's about when I wanted to throw up. This relationship was sick. Don't bother reading this unless you want an interesting psychological study.
This book was incredibly disturbing. Jason himself says that he has tried to be a father to Dinah, and he is constantly calling her "child" or "my girl". In fact he addresses her using those terms right before he rapes her. Dinah is naturally quite traumatised by this; bad enough to be raped, but to have it done by the man who raised her whom she loved and trusted is obviously much worse. Also, keeping in mind that this book was written in a time when girls who had illegitimate children were ostracised and you can see Dinah's turmoil and the reason why she agrees to marry Jason. Both of them are quite frank that he raped her, though Jason tries to imply at one point that he suspects she enjoyed some of it. This just made me sick. It's common for child abusers to claim the complicity of their victims. Dinah is not a child, but she is about 17 years younger than Jason and obviously sees him as an authority figure. Jason concedes that Dinah has every reason to hate him now and claims to accept it, yet he then goes on to reprimand her for her bitterness and lack of joie de vie. Gee, you think being raped and impregnated by your father figure then forced to marry and live with him might just spoil your mood? As for Dinah, she gets all caught up in "dealing" with now having to see Jason as her husband instead of her father. I found this quite odd considering they were actually planning on getting married before he raped her anyway. Surely she would already have worked through those conflicts? Apparently not. Generally speaking, I found Dinah's responses reasonable, even her conflicted emotions regarding Jason. She is simultaneously attracted to and revolted by him. She feels used and dirty and wants to feel attractive, but he's the only man around. I actually found her quite realistic, but then before you know it she's happily jumping into bed with him and declaring her love. That's about when I wanted to throw up. This relationship was sick. Don't bother reading this unless you want an interesting psychological study.
June 3, 2013
Well, my friend happen to be own it and between classes, she loaned it to me so I read it. Quite quick reading and.. I don't like it.
Dinah's 9 years old when she come and stay under Jason's (wait, does the name right?) protection. But then she bloomed and Jason asked her to marry him. She said yes gladly but she heard bad words about her soon-to-marriage, she left. But right before she left him, he forced himself to her and now she's pregnant..
I'm intrigued at first. I kind of like the idea when Hero "forced" himself to heroine and ended up with humongous guilt, but this book failed in delivering those idea.
There are practically NO happy moment right until the very end. If I were Dinah, I ran and ran and only stop when he kneel before me to beg for my apology. I admire her stubborness and the way she sticks to her feelings that he hurt her. So, nice one.
And Jason (it's his name, right?), he's a pure jackass. Don't like him at all. Zilch.
Could've been better.
Dinah's 9 years old when she come and stay under Jason's (wait, does the name right?) protection. But then she bloomed and Jason asked her to marry him. She said yes gladly but she heard bad words about her soon-to-marriage, she left. But right before she left him, he forced himself to her and now she's pregnant..
I'm intrigued at first. I kind of like the idea when Hero "forced" himself to heroine and ended up with humongous guilt, but this book failed in delivering those idea.
There are practically NO happy moment right until the very end. If I were Dinah, I ran and ran and only stop when he kneel before me to beg for my apology. I admire her stubborness and the way she sticks to her feelings that he hurt her. So, nice one.
And Jason (it's his name, right?), he's a pure jackass. Don't like him at all. Zilch.
Could've been better.
Read
July 29, 2025This book could have become one of my favorite but I stopped reading in the middle of it because the h was too cruel, she said such hurtful things it made me really sorry for the H. The irony of it is that the H raped the h and yet it was the h that I hated. She was really hateful, stupid and ungrateful so I just couldn't blame the H. Also HOW could she believe some gossiping, jealous women that didn't knew ANYTHING about her and the H's situation and relationship?!
Btw, now after I have stopped reading and analyse a little it I feel like the h was being a bitch because she WANTED to have sex with the H, like she was almost begging for it when he raped her, then she kept blaming him but it felt more like sadistic behavior than if she really meant it. This whole book was about the h provoking the H to make him do just something.
The H also lost his parents quite early, I felt that he was a very, very lonely man and the h accused him of being cold, unfeeling and dictatorial. So what?! The H bought her everything she had, took care of her, gave her a home, security and shared almost everything he had with her both feelings and materialistic things when he could have left her at an orphanage. Everything has a price so the H had almost every right to control her life for everything he has done for her. I would have liked to see how her life would have turned out if the H hadn't taken her in. She would have probably went, crawling on her knees to the H after she turned 18 in orphanage and begged him to help her as a relative.
Also she wanted to abort their child without telling him anything. I think that every man deserves to know if he has fathered a child. Usually a girl aborts a child because she is too young or doesn't have money but that bitch h was lucky enough that the father of her child wanted to marry her and that he is a rich man. But guess what, it still wasn't enough for her, she wanted to become independent by working in a shop and would get fired if her boss found out that she is pregnant. WTF..., just WTF?!
It must have hurt him very much hearing the cruel things the h has said and done, coming from the girl he loves.
PS. this book is connected with The Honey is Bitter
Btw, now after I have stopped reading and analyse a little it I feel like the h was being a bitch because she WANTED to have sex with the H, like she was almost begging for it when he raped her, then she kept blaming him but it felt more like sadistic behavior than if she really meant it. This whole book was about the h provoking the H to make him do just something.
The H also lost his parents quite early, I felt that he was a very, very lonely man and the h accused him of being cold, unfeeling and dictatorial. So what?! The H bought her everything she had, took care of her, gave her a home, security and shared almost everything he had with her both feelings and materialistic things when he could have left her at an orphanage. Everything has a price so the H had almost every right to control her life for everything he has done for her. I would have liked to see how her life would have turned out if the H hadn't taken her in. She would have probably went, crawling on her knees to the H after she turned 18 in orphanage and begged him to help her as a relative.
Also she wanted to abort their child without telling him anything. I think that every man deserves to know if he has fathered a child. Usually a girl aborts a child because she is too young or doesn't have money but that bitch h was lucky enough that the father of her child wanted to marry her and that he is a rich man. But guess what, it still wasn't enough for her, she wanted to become independent by working in a shop and would get fired if her boss found out that she is pregnant. WTF..., just WTF?!
It must have hurt him very much hearing the cruel things the h has said and done, coming from the girl he loves.
PS. this book is connected with The Honey is Bitter
September 13, 2012
3.5 stars
This one had slow moments but I liked it overall. I'm sure many might be squicked out by the idea that he became her guardian starting at the age of 9 but then ended up wanting to marry her. However, for me, the transition from one type of relationship to another was believeable. I actually really loved the flashbacks to when she first came to live with him. Melted my heart. That being said, I also like that there was a realism with how, even after they entered their adult relationship, they would often revert back into old patterns (him being paternal (aka controlling) and directive - her running to him for comfort).
This book has a big mother of often avoided topics which was related early on in the story, that will turn some off this book altogether or they will at least never forgive him. I personally felt that the H was redeemable and that the h's forgiveness was warranted.
If you can get past that biggie, I think that there's a lot to like about this book if you enjoy dark, brooding, controlling, alpha males (actually gamma because he can have a sensitive side also).
But I'm mad that we never got to find out about the painting!
This one had slow moments but I liked it overall. I'm sure many might be squicked out by the idea that he became her guardian starting at the age of 9 but then ended up wanting to marry her. However, for me, the transition from one type of relationship to another was believeable. I actually really loved the flashbacks to when she first came to live with him. Melted my heart. That being said, I also like that there was a realism with how, even after they entered their adult relationship, they would often revert back into old patterns (him being paternal (aka controlling) and directive - her running to him for comfort).
This book has a big mother of often avoided topics which was related early on in the story, that will turn some off this book altogether or they will at least never forgive him. I personally felt that the H was redeemable and that the h's forgiveness was warranted.
If you can get past that biggie, I think that there's a lot to like about this book if you enjoy dark, brooding, controlling, alpha males (actually gamma because he can have a sensitive side also).
But I'm mad that we never got to find out about the painting!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2022
Where to start? First it's creepy that he apparently fell for her when she was a young teen, although he obviously didn't realize exactly what was happening to him being cold. He convinces her to marry him, then forcibly seduces her when she changes her mind. That's horrible.
It's creepy that she's planning an abortion because she can't face giving her child up for adoption. (Really? Why is that worse than killing it?)
It's really really creepy when he humiliates her in front of guests because he objects to her wearing a dress made for a lady who died in a car accident that he witnessed. (I get why he objected to the dress.)
Finally they end up together but she has to figure out that she loves him despite his over-controlling ways and unpleasant temper.
I read a couple other Violet Winspear books and didn't think I'd ever try another of her books but this is actually readable and if you can get by the creepy idea of a guardian seducing his ward it's pretty good.
I reread this - the title always appeals to me - and liked it much more. Upping rating to four stars for intense emotional connection.
It's creepy that she's planning an abortion because she can't face giving her child up for adoption. (Really? Why is that worse than killing it?)
It's really really creepy when he humiliates her in front of guests because he objects to her wearing a dress made for a lady who died in a car accident that he witnessed. (I get why he objected to the dress.)
Finally they end up together but she has to figure out that she loves him despite his over-controlling ways and unpleasant temper.
I read a couple other Violet Winspear books and didn't think I'd ever try another of her books but this is actually readable and if you can get by the creepy idea of a guardian seducing his ward it's pretty good.
I reread this - the title always appeals to me - and liked it much more. Upping rating to four stars for intense emotional connection.
wishlist
November 16, 2011liked the book,characters Jason n Dinah are so real n the cirsumstances n way Dinah realises the love its good
June 14, 2017
I think the descriptions of loving the girl that was so young and lost was very well written ....lots of good angst
November 8, 2017
I won't lie. Taboo lust-mances flick my switch. But this was a little too twisty for my likes. Not to mention that the heroine got on my nerves.
November 22, 2023
LOVE????? HELL NO!!!!! You'll find more love in the heart of a serial killer than in the two weirdos that try to pass themselves off as a H and h!!!
Don't bother with this!!!
Don't bother with this!!!
Read
May 21, 2024Dnf
August 15, 2025
Twisted, yet enjoyable. I wish there was a few more chapters, but as with all Violet Winsoesr novels, the ending is quite abrupt.
October 15, 2025
The h is a brat, but the dialogue is superb
November 25, 2025
OMG, I just read a few pages and couldn't believe the level of stupidity, the so called heroine was the worst kind of stupid bitch that I have ever read about, so I didn't bother to continue reading
April 29, 2018
Oh god this was awful. To illustrate why, let me quote a few excerpts:
All that was just in Chapter 1 . From the rest of the book:
If the obsession with the heroine's visual deficiencies wasn't irksome enough, there was also:
* the pregnancy advice from the (teenage, unwed) maid: "You have to learn how to relax yourself and when the time comes the little mite will pop out like a nut from a shell, you mark me." Yeah. There's a reason they invented epidurals.
* the female doctor who is the least professional medical professional ever with no notion whatsoever of patient confidentiality or appropriate questions or basic social boundaries
* the constant use of one another's names when characters speak to one another: "You like being alive too much, Dinah. You've always been a vibrant child." "I'm no longer a child, Jason." or "I think you have a very interesting face, Barry." "You have a kind heart, Dinah." This happens relentlessly throughout the novel.
Ultimately By Love Bewitched was a big disappointment. There's no true guardian/ward theme, because he's already knocked her up by the start of the book, so the entire thing is just about a sort of angry marriage of convenience. And really, married people having sex when she's already pregnant anyway, where's the interest or thrill in that? Winspear also makes extensive reference to the characters in The Honey is Bitter, which I recall being a far more enjoyable read.
Oh yes - one final irk. The portrait that we spend half the bloody reading about, that Barry is painting of Dinah? We never see the damn thing. We never even get to hear how it turned out.
her spectacles half-way down her nose as usual
she nervously pushed her spectacles into place
her eyes blazed at him behind the rims of her spectacles
owlish in her spectacles with the big round frames
"it's a wonder he hasn't arranged for her to have contact lenses"
her blue myopic eyes
All that was just in Chapter 1 . From the rest of the book:
"men don't make passes at girls wearing glasses"
the catch of the county in tandem with a girl in glasses!
"I'm not going to fall down the stairs even if I do need glasses"
"spectacles and all"
"girls in specs get lots of sex"
she was so shortsighted and had to wear spectacles
"I'm myopic. I can see things at a distance only if I wear my specs"
"There's an operation these days that can correct it, you know"
"Won't my glasses detract from the effect?"
"Don't all shortsighted people look as though they're peering through a mist?"
he had such definition despite her hazy eyesight
her hazy eyes searched his face
"my silly eyes that can't see for looking"
If the obsession with the heroine's visual deficiencies wasn't irksome enough, there was also:
* the pregnancy advice from the (teenage, unwed) maid: "You have to learn how to relax yourself and when the time comes the little mite will pop out like a nut from a shell, you mark me." Yeah. There's a reason they invented epidurals.
* the female doctor who is the least professional medical professional ever with no notion whatsoever of patient confidentiality or appropriate questions or basic social boundaries
* the constant use of one another's names when characters speak to one another: "You like being alive too much, Dinah. You've always been a vibrant child." "I'm no longer a child, Jason." or "I think you have a very interesting face, Barry." "You have a kind heart, Dinah." This happens relentlessly throughout the novel.
Ultimately By Love Bewitched was a big disappointment. There's no true guardian/ward theme, because he's already knocked her up by the start of the book, so the entire thing is just about a sort of angry marriage of convenience. And really, married people having sex when she's already pregnant anyway, where's the interest or thrill in that? Winspear also makes extensive reference to the characters in The Honey is Bitter, which I recall being a far more enjoyable read.
Oh yes - one final irk. The portrait that we spend half the bloody reading about, that Barry is painting of Dinah? We never see the damn thing. We never even get to hear how it turned out.
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