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Love's Fugitive
The situation was unbearable
It was intolerable--especially to an independent woman like Victoria.
Exploring the French Pyrenees was meant to be a complete break for her after her recent traumatic experience. And it could have been an inspiration for possible future work.
Only it didn't work out that way. Drugged and robbed, Victoria awoke to find herself at the mercy of Gilles Laroque. As lord of the manor he wielded considerable power, and Victoria was trapped. What could he possibly mean that she had to "pay her dues"?
It was intolerable--especially to an independent woman like Victoria.
Exploring the French Pyrenees was meant to be a complete break for her after her recent traumatic experience. And it could have been an inspiration for possible future work.
Only it didn't work out that way. Drugged and robbed, Victoria awoke to find herself at the mercy of Gilles Laroque. As lord of the manor he wielded considerable power, and Victoria was trapped. What could he possibly mean that she had to "pay her dues"?
- GenresHarlequin
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 4, 2017
Re Love's Fugitive - Rachel Ford is back with an h wrongly accused trope that probably could have used a better outline in the plotting.
The h has recently suffered a big shock and a divorce, so she had a mini meltdown and is wandering around France. She meets up with a group of younger travelers when she stops at a small inn and the next thing she knows, she is being shaken awake by an angry French landowner who thinks she is a drug addict. She isn't a drug addict, she was slipped a mickey while the younger travelers robbed her and stole her rental car and passport.
Now keeping in mind that the h is in FRANCE, and at this time both France and Britain are part of the EU, the h allows the H to bully her into 'paying her debt' by working on the PR for his cheese making business and possibly servicing him in bed. The h doesn't insist on the police, she doesn't make a report about the stolen car and she doesn't call her bank or the English Consulate to report a stolen passport and get money wired to pay her hotel bill. Instead she has hysterics and does what the H orders her to, right up to a semi forced seduction in bed.
Then in the middle of the big bang moment, the H berates the h that her sad story of divorce must be a lie because there were big barriers to the thrust of the lance of lust. The h, in the middle of the barrier breaking process, explains that her husband married her because his mother told him he either married or she would disinherit him. As soon as his mother died, the husband confessed that he was in love with another man and divorced her and thus they never had any intimate relations. The h's mini meltdown was because of the shock of her betrayal.
By now the H has mystically derived the h's utter innocence in the theft and non payment allegations from the pure ether of his French Valley air, but he still orders the h to stay around. She doesn't protest this order, so he takes her shopping to outfit her in the style appropriate to his mistress and the h solemnly promises to pay him back when she gets back to her bank account in Britain. The h does manage to get a reissued passport and then, when the H claims he has to talk to her after the conclusion of his cheese company's PR party, the h runs off to home with the owner of a British PR firm instead.
The h spends some months doing freelance PR work and is approached by her old company to do a show very near the H's French Valley. The h is thinking about it cause she is in love with the H. Then the H sends her an envelope full of cash - with no note inside, so we can conclude that it was probably payment for services rendered because it was way more than the agreed amount the H was paying her for PR work. The h promptly sends a check for the clothes the H bought her, (a few thousand pounds worth,) including the extra amount of cash she got as well. The H returns her check in little pieces via the postal service.
The h decides to do the show in France and goes over to see the H. They have some accusations about dumping each other, the H explains that the h was getting the baggage dump of a now deceased drug addicted first wife who treated him horribly and terminated his baby and they both decide that they are in love and will get married for the HEA.
The most valuable thing we can take from this tour of HPlandia is that if you are drugged and robbed during a mini-meltdown in France, have a calming glass of vino and file a police report, thus saving yourself thousands of pounds in stolen rental car replacement. Cause you can't make an insurance claim without one, or you might find yourself in a poky situation with a hostile French land owner, promoting a rather smelly French cheese instead.
The h has recently suffered a big shock and a divorce, so she had a mini meltdown and is wandering around France. She meets up with a group of younger travelers when she stops at a small inn and the next thing she knows, she is being shaken awake by an angry French landowner who thinks she is a drug addict. She isn't a drug addict, she was slipped a mickey while the younger travelers robbed her and stole her rental car and passport.
Now keeping in mind that the h is in FRANCE, and at this time both France and Britain are part of the EU, the h allows the H to bully her into 'paying her debt' by working on the PR for his cheese making business and possibly servicing him in bed. The h doesn't insist on the police, she doesn't make a report about the stolen car and she doesn't call her bank or the English Consulate to report a stolen passport and get money wired to pay her hotel bill. Instead she has hysterics and does what the H orders her to, right up to a semi forced seduction in bed.
Then in the middle of the big bang moment, the H berates the h that her sad story of divorce must be a lie because there were big barriers to the thrust of the lance of lust. The h, in the middle of the barrier breaking process, explains that her husband married her because his mother told him he either married or she would disinherit him. As soon as his mother died, the husband confessed that he was in love with another man and divorced her and thus they never had any intimate relations. The h's mini meltdown was because of the shock of her betrayal.
By now the H has mystically derived the h's utter innocence in the theft and non payment allegations from the pure ether of his French Valley air, but he still orders the h to stay around. She doesn't protest this order, so he takes her shopping to outfit her in the style appropriate to his mistress and the h solemnly promises to pay him back when she gets back to her bank account in Britain. The h does manage to get a reissued passport and then, when the H claims he has to talk to her after the conclusion of his cheese company's PR party, the h runs off to home with the owner of a British PR firm instead.
The h spends some months doing freelance PR work and is approached by her old company to do a show very near the H's French Valley. The h is thinking about it cause she is in love with the H. Then the H sends her an envelope full of cash - with no note inside, so we can conclude that it was probably payment for services rendered because it was way more than the agreed amount the H was paying her for PR work. The h promptly sends a check for the clothes the H bought her, (a few thousand pounds worth,) including the extra amount of cash she got as well. The H returns her check in little pieces via the postal service.
The h decides to do the show in France and goes over to see the H. They have some accusations about dumping each other, the H explains that the h was getting the baggage dump of a now deceased drug addicted first wife who treated him horribly and terminated his baby and they both decide that they are in love and will get married for the HEA.
The most valuable thing we can take from this tour of HPlandia is that if you are drugged and robbed during a mini-meltdown in France, have a calming glass of vino and file a police report, thus saving yourself thousands of pounds in stolen rental car replacement. Cause you can't make an insurance claim without one, or you might find yourself in a poky situation with a hostile French land owner, promoting a rather smelly French cheese instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2013
2 Stars ~ The opening chapter started out so promising, with our heroine being shaken awake from a drug induced slumber. She'd met a group of young people travelling the French countryside, and they'd drugged her and then stolen all her possessions. Giles, at first, thinks she's a drug addict and that's the reason her friends left her behind, skipping out on paying their bill for their stay at the bed and breakfast. He insists that she'll have to work off the debt for her landlady's hospitality. He quickly comes to realize that this woman with the haunted eyes, is as she claims, a victim of robbery. Learning that Vicki is a copywriter, he hires her to write the promotional brochures for his cheesery, and hopes that spending time together, he can discover the cause of that haunted look.
I think if the beginning of the story had less of Vicky's wild hysterics and actually had her attempting to notify the authorities that she's a victim of robbery, especially reporting the theft of her rental car, I might have warmed up to her. But instead we have this whole wrongfully accused plot that falls flat, with a heroine that is rather childish and a hero acting like a brute. About midway through the book, it does start to come together, with Giles recognizing that he wants to rid her of her haunted look and make her laugh. And then we had to have a few more WTF moments that made me wonder why I kept reading.
What an odd book. This is a first for me by Rachel Ford. While she has a pleasing voice, her plots are way OTT.
I think if the beginning of the story had less of Vicky's wild hysterics and actually had her attempting to notify the authorities that she's a victim of robbery, especially reporting the theft of her rental car, I might have warmed up to her. But instead we have this whole wrongfully accused plot that falls flat, with a heroine that is rather childish and a hero acting like a brute. About midway through the book, it does start to come together, with Giles recognizing that he wants to rid her of her haunted look and make her laugh. And then we had to have a few more WTF moments that made me wonder why I kept reading.
What an odd book. This is a first for me by Rachel Ford. While she has a pleasing voice, her plots are way OTT.
May 7, 2023
Starting off with a staid pace and an element of predictability, this story was full of surprises for me. The first 3-4 chapters were suspenseful as it wasn't obvious what the hero wanted from the heroine and as to what sort of payment he would demand for her being unable to pay her dues as a tenant. Surprisingly, despite the hype, from being painted as a kidnapping rapey stalker, Hero suddenly comes out as a very respectable person who has sex as the last thing in his mind.!?? Another surprise ---why he wasn't letting go of the heroine, after more than half the story- However, i liked that there was great communication between the Mcs as both have had tragic experiences and it was nice to see them confide in each other and right when i thought it was getting really sweet, ofcourse, another surprise Anyhow i enjoyed the descriptions of the H's valley and the scenic mountainside and the ending was nice. Overall, i liked the book and i liked the hero too
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews