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السعادة الضائعة
She Desperately Wanted to Believe in His Love.
Secretly Jaime still regretted having walked out on Blake. But his four-year silence had confirmed her fears - that Blake didn't love her or their child. So naturally Jaime was suspicious when Blake turned up and began campaigning to win back his rights - both as father and husband. And she was hurt and confused when he appeared to be involved in an even more sinister campaign to silence Jaime's opposition to the sale of the local abbey. Jaime had never been able to interpret Blake's motives. And she still didn't trust himto return her love.
Secretly Jaime still regretted having walked out on Blake. But his four-year silence had confirmed her fears - that Blake didn't love her or their child. So naturally Jaime was suspicious when Blake turned up and began campaigning to win back his rights - both as father and husband. And she was hurt and confused when he appeared to be involved in an even more sinister campaign to silence Jaime's opposition to the sale of the local abbey. Jaime had never been able to interpret Blake's motives. And she still didn't trust himto return her love.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1984
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84 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,125 books668 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 9, 2019
Campaign for Loving - subtitled :
Two tstl people who listened to EVERYONE e but each other - including jealous ex lovers
and also subtitled :
"Thank goodness this was not a horror novel because the H and h would be worm food in the first five pages from really dumb decisions."
You can already tell where this one is going, only the really smouldering love scenes make this readable - but you just wanna cringe in the interim between them.
The story starts with our h being separated from her H for the last 4 years, they had been married for 18 months and had a big fight about the H going to El Salvador to cover a story. As she had just found out she was preggers (which the H did not want her to be,) and was a very young 22 and a bit hormonal and insecure she wants the H to stop going on dangerous foreign assignments - they have a huge fight and the H walks out.
In her favor, I was empathetic to that feeling - she did not intend to get pregnant but the H was such a stud puppy that it just happened - I wouldn't want to be pregnant and have my hubby off in war-torn country either. But this small empathy is immediately lost when the H's ex-lover shows up and taunts the h, telling her he is leaving the country and dumping her.
This being PJ and the most illogical choice is always the one the h makes, the h packs her bags , moves in with a friend and sends the H a letter informing him of her pregnancy and he needs to come get her if he wants her. She doesn't call him at work, take the jealousy of the ex into account, or wait for him to come home and hurl dishes at his head - she just leaves and mails a letter weeks later.
The H doesn't reply, the h's mum gets her to move back home so she can help her out. I must say the mum was sorta off for me, she was a very competent person but she seemed to be manipulating the h a lot - on one hand she encourages the h to independent, but in the next she wanted her to be very dependent - until she decides she wants to remarry that is - it was almost like the mum needed the h to lean on her until she made up her mind on how she wanted to live her life, then she drops the h like a hot potato.
The h is also involved with a local group that wants to preserve listed homes, there is one in the village that the current owner is thinking of selling to developers. The H also happens to be renting a part of that same estate, supposedly to write a book and get to know his daughter.
Which is sorta weird cause the little girl is three and he has had no interest in her at all and he also seems to be very intimately involved with the female owner of the estate.
The h runs a dancing school and is doing pretty well at it, then she starts getting threats from mysterious people warning her off continuing to discourage the sale of the estate.
Her school is trashed, her car brake lines are cut - resulting in a big crash for the h, and harm is threatened to her daughter. She doesn't call the police and she doesn't tell anyone, then she overhears the H and his landlady OW talking about threatening tactics to discourage the preservation committee.
So now the h has a very good idea who is behind these threats and the OW estate owner also insists the H is behind the attacks in conjunction with the developers. -- Had this been suspense, it would have been very good, I certainly believed the H was capable of it-- unfortunately we're still in HPLandia and that means that the h can't go to the police, (not even to save her kid,) and report the H because she is so in lurve with him she has to support him no matter what.
Take a drink here please - I needed two.
By now the whole village knows the h and H are supposedly reconciled and the mum is selling the family cottage to buy a business with her new husband so the H decides to take the h off for a bit. They don't communicate for a few weeks until a big rainstorm causes a leak in the h's room and she is forced to sleep with the H, which turns into a big love scene. The next morning the h goes off on her own and returns some hours later with the H thinking she had left him.
He then confesses to his own really bad decisions when he let his ex lover convince him the h did not want anything to do with him and that the h said she would kill herself if he tried. The h's mum also told him to keep away too - all the while he was supposedly pining away and only wanted the h and really did want to be a dad.
The ex-lover lied to the h too, the H did turn down the foreign assignment initially - until he came home and the h was gone, so he left the next day and then decided to write novels after he finished - he did not decide to go talk to the h or get to know his kid.
I had three drinks and two cookies here.
Why on earth would you listen to a woman who obviously wanted to rekindle her affair with you?!? - and he was an experienced adult too - where was your responsibility to your child if nothing else?!? The h did not get preggers on her own, yet you complain she doesn't act like an adult - well how adult is it to abandon your child and never even check, especially if you were concerned about the h's maturity?!?
Of course the h forgives him and HEA-- but the really bad decisions and the four year separation made me wish this were a horror novel, it probably would have been more fun to root for a psycho slasher and I wouldn't have had a hangover.
Two tstl people who listened to EVERYONE e but each other - including jealous ex lovers
and also subtitled :
"Thank goodness this was not a horror novel because the H and h would be worm food in the first five pages from really dumb decisions."
You can already tell where this one is going, only the really smouldering love scenes make this readable - but you just wanna cringe in the interim between them.
The story starts with our h being separated from her H for the last 4 years, they had been married for 18 months and had a big fight about the H going to El Salvador to cover a story. As she had just found out she was preggers (which the H did not want her to be,) and was a very young 22 and a bit hormonal and insecure she wants the H to stop going on dangerous foreign assignments - they have a huge fight and the H walks out.
In her favor, I was empathetic to that feeling - she did not intend to get pregnant but the H was such a stud puppy that it just happened - I wouldn't want to be pregnant and have my hubby off in war-torn country either. But this small empathy is immediately lost when the H's ex-lover shows up and taunts the h, telling her he is leaving the country and dumping her.
This being PJ and the most illogical choice is always the one the h makes, the h packs her bags , moves in with a friend and sends the H a letter informing him of her pregnancy and he needs to come get her if he wants her. She doesn't call him at work, take the jealousy of the ex into account, or wait for him to come home and hurl dishes at his head - she just leaves and mails a letter weeks later.
The H doesn't reply, the h's mum gets her to move back home so she can help her out. I must say the mum was sorta off for me, she was a very competent person but she seemed to be manipulating the h a lot - on one hand she encourages the h to independent, but in the next she wanted her to be very dependent - until she decides she wants to remarry that is - it was almost like the mum needed the h to lean on her until she made up her mind on how she wanted to live her life, then she drops the h like a hot potato.
The h is also involved with a local group that wants to preserve listed homes, there is one in the village that the current owner is thinking of selling to developers. The H also happens to be renting a part of that same estate, supposedly to write a book and get to know his daughter.
Which is sorta weird cause the little girl is three and he has had no interest in her at all and he also seems to be very intimately involved with the female owner of the estate.
The h runs a dancing school and is doing pretty well at it, then she starts getting threats from mysterious people warning her off continuing to discourage the sale of the estate.
Her school is trashed, her car brake lines are cut - resulting in a big crash for the h, and harm is threatened to her daughter. She doesn't call the police and she doesn't tell anyone, then she overhears the H and his landlady OW talking about threatening tactics to discourage the preservation committee.
So now the h has a very good idea who is behind these threats and the OW estate owner also insists the H is behind the attacks in conjunction with the developers. -- Had this been suspense, it would have been very good, I certainly believed the H was capable of it-- unfortunately we're still in HPLandia and that means that the h can't go to the police, (not even to save her kid,) and report the H because she is so in lurve with him she has to support him no matter what.
Take a drink here please - I needed two.
By now the whole village knows the h and H are supposedly reconciled and the mum is selling the family cottage to buy a business with her new husband so the H decides to take the h off for a bit. They don't communicate for a few weeks until a big rainstorm causes a leak in the h's room and she is forced to sleep with the H, which turns into a big love scene. The next morning the h goes off on her own and returns some hours later with the H thinking she had left him.
He then confesses to his own really bad decisions when he let his ex lover convince him the h did not want anything to do with him and that the h said she would kill herself if he tried. The h's mum also told him to keep away too - all the while he was supposedly pining away and only wanted the h and really did want to be a dad.
The ex-lover lied to the h too, the H did turn down the foreign assignment initially - until he came home and the h was gone, so he left the next day and then decided to write novels after he finished - he did not decide to go talk to the h or get to know his kid.
I had three drinks and two cookies here.
Why on earth would you listen to a woman who obviously wanted to rekindle her affair with you?!? - and he was an experienced adult too - where was your responsibility to your child if nothing else?!? The h did not get preggers on her own, yet you complain she doesn't act like an adult - well how adult is it to abandon your child and never even check, especially if you were concerned about the h's maturity?!?
Of course the h forgives him and HEA-- but the really bad decisions and the four year separation made me wish this were a horror novel, it probably would have been more fun to root for a psycho slasher and I wouldn't have had a hangover.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2020
I almost passed on this book because of the negative reviews, but actually kind of liked it and didn't hate the hero as I'd expected to. Because, really, what kind of respectable father and person knowingly stays away from their own child?! It's ridiculous, but somehow the author convinced me the hero had good intentions in doing so. . . .
*some spoilers*
When it comes down to it, both main characters were responsible for the breakdown of their marriage. Heroine's insecurity worked against her when the hero's ex lover told him the heroine hated him and that heroine would kill herself if he ever tried contacting her. Hero believed it because it fit the heroine's neurotic personality then (and I totally understood). Heroine inadvertently corroborated this lie when she told her mother she hated the hero. When hero contacted the heroine's mum after returning home to England from an overseas assignment, mum said it wasn't a good idea for hero to step back into her daughter's life. So hero stayed away from his family hoping heroine would stop hating him and start loving him again. (Alpha hero "logic" is at work here, you see.) Heroine left because she believed the ex's lie that hero was tired of her.
In the present, heroine acknowledges the separation gave her time to mature, while hero kept tabs over the heroine from a distance. He finally returns to stop the dry-as-toast OM from hooking up with his wife and to begin his own "campaign for loving", because the love force between them has never died. Ah, truue wuv.
*some spoilers*
When it comes down to it, both main characters were responsible for the breakdown of their marriage. Heroine's insecurity worked against her when the hero's ex lover told him the heroine hated him and that heroine would kill herself if he ever tried contacting her. Hero believed it because it fit the heroine's neurotic personality then (and I totally understood). Heroine inadvertently corroborated this lie when she told her mother she hated the hero. When hero contacted the heroine's mum after returning home to England from an overseas assignment, mum said it wasn't a good idea for hero to step back into her daughter's life. So hero stayed away from his family hoping heroine would stop hating him and start loving him again. (Alpha hero "logic" is at work here, you see.) Heroine left because she believed the ex's lie that hero was tired of her.
In the present, heroine acknowledges the separation gave her time to mature, while hero kept tabs over the heroine from a distance. He finally returns to stop the dry-as-toast OM from hooking up with his wife and to begin his own "campaign for loving", because the love force between them has never died. Ah, truue wuv.
January 9, 2019
Second chance story that never added up.
Virgin heroine married an older adventurer newspaper man. She felt guilty and insecure about their marriage since she felt she “forced” him to marry her (no ring, no sex). Hero didn’t like her clinging ways and didn’t want children. Heroine gave him an ultimatum to quit his job, and he left for El Salvador without another word. A former OW told heroine that hero was tired of her.
Heroine left after two weeks without hearing from the hero. She found out she was pregnant and moved in with her mother. She sent the hero a letter about their daughter, but by the time he answered, she angrily didn’t open them.
It’s been four years and hero is renting a cottage on a estate near the heroine’s house in order to write his third novel. He’s now a millionaire. Heroine has a dry stick OM who wants her to divorce the H. She runs a dance/exercise studio.
There is a community committee trying to preserve the old Abbey where the hero is renting a cottage from a wannabe OW. Wannabe OW is willing to sell the Abbey to an unscrupulous developer, but the community is fighting it.
*sigh*
PJ adds in some unconvincing suspense and the heroine’s doubts about the H in league with the unscrupulous developers. (Wait, what?) Still that doesn’t stop her from having sex with the H.
Where this doesn’t add up:
Hero never bothered to see the h or his daughter in four years – even though he was no longer traveling.
Everyone treats the heroine like she is an imbecile – her mother, the hero, even her own daughter!
Heroine takes all the blame for the disintegration of her marriage and the hero lets her.
I still didn’t know why the hero chose to see the heroine at this point in his life – motivations are murky.
There are touches of PJ’s charm, but this isn’t one of her better efforts.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
Virgin heroine married an older adventurer newspaper man. She felt guilty and insecure about their marriage since she felt she “forced” him to marry her (no ring, no sex). Hero didn’t like her clinging ways and didn’t want children. Heroine gave him an ultimatum to quit his job, and he left for El Salvador without another word. A former OW told heroine that hero was tired of her.
Heroine left after two weeks without hearing from the hero. She found out she was pregnant and moved in with her mother. She sent the hero a letter about their daughter, but by the time he answered, she angrily didn’t open them.
It’s been four years and hero is renting a cottage on a estate near the heroine’s house in order to write his third novel. He’s now a millionaire. Heroine has a dry stick OM who wants her to divorce the H. She runs a dance/exercise studio.
There is a community committee trying to preserve the old Abbey where the hero is renting a cottage from a wannabe OW. Wannabe OW is willing to sell the Abbey to an unscrupulous developer, but the community is fighting it.
*sigh*
PJ adds in some unconvincing suspense and the heroine’s doubts about the H in league with the unscrupulous developers. (Wait, what?) Still that doesn’t stop her from having sex with the H.
Where this doesn’t add up:
Hero never bothered to see the h or his daughter in four years – even though he was no longer traveling.
Everyone treats the heroine like she is an imbecile – her mother, the hero, even her own daughter!
Heroine takes all the blame for the disintegration of her marriage and the hero lets her.
I still didn’t know why the hero chose to see the heroine at this point in his life – motivations are murky.
There are touches of PJ’s charm, but this isn’t one of her better efforts.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
February 7, 2016
Now this one was just too stupid to be believe what kind of an asshole lets his pregnant wife have a baby without him cause she hurt his feelings??? What an asshole and then wait 3 years to see her and the baby girl. He was not a hero but a total coward. I can stand a lot of bullshit in the name of love but I don't tolerate the weak men and a coward to boot. She should have filed for divorce and tried again. He did not deserve to be forgiven he did not work for it. He missed out on 3 years of his daughter s life because he was a selfish coward. I hated this book
Will never read again.
Will never read again.
August 13, 2012
Ratings:3.5*
This was a very good read for me,enjoyed it from the start till the end.The only disappointing thing was the culprit was never confronted and the truth only came out in the end,would have liked it more if it would have exposed earlier.
Recommend it.
This was a very good read for me,enjoyed it from the start till the end.The only disappointing thing was the culprit was never confronted and the truth only came out in the end,would have liked it more if it would have exposed earlier.
Recommend it.
July 15, 2015
I liked it but didn't love it.
April 12, 2012
The hero and heroine split up after being married for almost two years because of their immaturity and having no understanding in their relationship. When the heroine found out she was pregnant and the hero didn't want her to get pregnant at all, she left to go to her moms. After three years the hero is now back in their lives and wants to get to know his daughter. The heroine doesn't know that the hero also wants his wife back. The hero doesn't know that the heroine has always and still is in love with the hero and might always be.
The book was decent but it seemed a bit slow moving to me at times. I quite enjoy Penny Jordan's books and this one was no exception. I only wish Penny was still alive to write more wondrous tales.
The book was decent but it seemed a bit slow moving to me at times. I quite enjoy Penny Jordan's books and this one was no exception. I only wish Penny was still alive to write more wondrous tales.
May 16, 2021
Secretly Jaime Templeton still regretted having walked out on her husband Blake. But his four-year silence had served only to confirm her fears—that Blake had never loved her… or their daughter.
So naturally Jaime is suspicious when Blake returns, fighting for his rights—both as father and husband.
Jaime had never been able to interpret Blake's motives, but dare she believe him now? Can she take the greatest risk of all and believe in his campaign for her love
So naturally Jaime is suspicious when Blake returns, fighting for his rights—both as father and husband.
Jaime had never been able to interpret Blake's motives, but dare she believe him now? Can she take the greatest risk of all and believe in his campaign for her love
March 22, 2017
This was very similar to The Inward Storm, but with child. Young immature heroine marries stud muffin journalist hero and is insecure, especially as he keeps running off being a brave journalist in war zones and stuff.
It comes to the point when she falls pregnant, accidentally, and she doesn't want stud muffin to go to war zone. At this point evil OW drops by and tells insecure heroine that Blake is bored with his naive wife when he could have sophisticated her for the asking.
Jaime, our heroine, promptly packs her bags and leaves, expecting hero to come running. Only evil OW tells a tell so he goes off to dangerous war zone. Disappointed at the failure of her gambit, Jaime makes a new life for herself and her daughter Fern.
Fast forward four years and Blake turns up doing writing stuff in a cottage owned by local sexy sophisticate which whom he appears to be more than friends. Of course.
We get a little suspense in this one when the heroine is victimized by someone because she is lobbying against the sale of sexy sophisticates historic mansion to evil developers.
Some plot points don't bear too close scrutiny but the ending was satisfying.
It comes to the point when she falls pregnant, accidentally, and she doesn't want stud muffin to go to war zone. At this point evil OW drops by and tells insecure heroine that Blake is bored with his naive wife when he could have sophisticated her for the asking.
Jaime, our heroine, promptly packs her bags and leaves, expecting hero to come running. Only evil OW tells a tell so he goes off to dangerous war zone. Disappointed at the failure of her gambit, Jaime makes a new life for herself and her daughter Fern.
Fast forward four years and Blake turns up doing writing stuff in a cottage owned by local sexy sophisticate which whom he appears to be more than friends. Of course.
We get a little suspense in this one when the heroine is victimized by someone because she is lobbying against the sale of sexy sophisticates historic mansion to evil developers.
Some plot points don't bear too close scrutiny but the ending was satisfying.
July 14, 2024
I'm giving this an extra star because of the landmark preservation subplot. I adore historic buildings and would gladly been part of that committee to save the Abbey. In fact, I would have liked more details, and seen the "villain" company - Barrons - get a terrible comeuppance.
But, as far as the story goes, there were just too many weak points. The h, Jaimie, was a bundle of insecurities, from the very start of her relationship with the H, Blake. She was a shy virgin, he was a sexy, sophisticated guy, so right away she had trouble believing he really cared; with so many women attracted to him, why waste time with her? Then, after they made love, he asked her to marry him and though she adores him (or she never would have slept with him), she assumes he's asking because he feels obligated. (She must be in a time warp; if it were the 1890's that would make sense, but not in the 1980's.) Afterward, she has such low self-esteem, she gets too clingy and needy, convinced he can't possibly love her, must just feel sorry for her. The fact that their sex life is extremely HOT makes her feel worse, believing that if he didn't desire her body so much, he'd leave her in an instant. It made her yearn for his lovemaking even more, feeling that was her only real link to him.
What a mess! It gets worse, when - as a reporter - Blake gets assignments in other countries, making Jaimie believe he takes them in part to get away from her for a bit. And while it's natural for her to be concerned, and even upset, when assignments put him in dangerous situations, that doesn't mean she should have meltdowns about it! She was more a teenager than a young woman in her early 20's. Whenever she felt insecure or threatened (which was way too often) she'd act childish and start arguments.
It comes to a head when Jaimie discovers she's pregnant at the same time Blake gets assigned to
El Salvador. They have a huge fight, and when he stormed off to work, she stormed off to a friend's house, to cool down and have some time apart to think. She hadn't mentioned the baby, because he had said before that he didn't want to talk about having children, which she assumed meant he didn't want to be tied to her by that bond. When she decides to write and tell him, and doesn't hear from him right away, she assumes that's his answer, and goes home to mom. She does hear from him later, but now she's in a too-little-too-late mood and refuses to even read his letters. Convinced he doesn't love her or want the baby; she determines to make a life without him.
One thing I credit is the way Jaimie (four years later, and with a three-year-old daughter, Fern), rather than put all the blame on her ex, acknowledges she was much to blame, for acting like an insecure schoolgirl rather than a grown young woman, and she knows she was too clingy and needy, too afraid he'd walk out on her, and also too selfish. She even admitted to herself that part of the reason she wanted to be a mom was so she could have someone who was dependent on her, couldn't leave her.
With all her insecurity issues, if I were a therapist, I'd have to question how she was raised. She had a mother who was the exact opposite. Sarah was confident, independent, very secure. She bounced back fast when she was left a widow with a young daughter and made a good living in the antiques business. She even admitted that she liked her independence and preferred it to marriage. Yet, she had a daughter who was so emotionally fragile, and she didn't seem to notice? Too busy or too dense?
After the separation, she takes Jaimie in, helps get her on her feet, and supports her while Jaimie sets up a dance studio. Jaimie changes somewhat, becoming more confident and self-sufficient, but at the same time, she's a bit intimidated by her mother and even by her daughter! She felt her mother was - and her daughter would someday be - everything that she herself wasn't. Three-year-old Fern has her father's looks, her grandmother's personality, and the only thing she got from her mom was her style of walking! Oh, brother!
As for Blake, he's supposed to be a sophisticated man, yet he falls for the oldest trick in the book: believing the troublemaking OW. In this case, it's photojournalist Suzy, who's also his ex-lover. Blake had intended to turn down the El Salvador assignment, but after finding Jaimie gone, Suzy tells him that she spoke with Jaimie, who made it clear she wanted Blake to stay away, or she might do something drastic. (She had also told Jaimie a few tales, too.) Knowing Jaimie's maturity level (or lack thereof), he just assumed this to be the truth. (He takes Suzy's words at face value, knowing she still has a thing for him? It never occurs to him she may be lying? COME ON!!!)
Even more silly, he decides to take the El Salvador assignment, seemingly out of spite. ("Well, I was going to turn it down, to be nice, but since you walked out, I'll take it! So there!!") Now, who's being childish???
Another thing: Blake was forever claiming that he was waiting for Jaimie to grow up, to stop being insecure, to be more independent and self-confident, and claims that's why he would get emotionally distant from her, and take assignments that kept him away, so she'd learn to grow as a person, stand on her own two feet, be confident enough to know he was doing his job, and he'd be coming back home to her because he wanted to, not because he felt it was his duty. Didn't he realize that, in her emotional state, she'd think just the opposite??? Did it ever occur to him to talk to her, REALLY talk, and make her understand??? Instead, he assumed communicating in bed would be enough, that she'd know through his lovemaking how he really felt, but all that did was convince her more that sex attraction was all he felt, leading her to believe he'd want to end their marriage when he stopped feeling that way. If he had spent more time with her out of bed it would have probably helped her feel better about herself.
What a mess!!! But what really didn't make sense, is Blake staying away from his daughter for three years, because he was waiting for Jaimie to reach out to him. It seems she did such a good job of convincing her mother that she "hated" Blake, that when he got in touch with her (Sarah), sometime after they separated, she told him it wouldn't be a good idea to approach Jaimie, it was better to wait a while longer. So, Dumbo kept waiting for a sign from Jaimie, when he should have confronted his estranged wife, told her he intended to get to know his daughter, and demanded visitation rights. He seemed content to bide his time and miss out on Fern's first words, first step, first tooth, etc. Are we really supposed to buy this???? (It sounds more like Jaimie was right, and he didn't want children.)
There's also the (pretty much obligatory) OM, but why did it have to be someone as boring and stodgy as Charles? How could Blake think for one minute that Jaimie (or any woman, for that matter) could have a romantic interest in him???
There's also another OW, glamorous Caroline, who owns the Abbey and wants to unload it, and who makes her share of snarky remarks, but things aren't what they seem.
You'll have to read the book for the whole story.
P.S. I would have liked the little side story of Sarah and her romance with her business partner, Henry, if the timeline hadn't been so unbelievable. I could understand him being in love with a woman who seemed to just want friendship and waiting for her to hopefully change her mind for a few years, maybe four or five, but fifteen!!!! Come on now, that's ridiculous!! No one (who wasn't either desperate, emotionally stunted, had an ulterior motive or was just plain ridiculous) would wait that long!!
Now, I'll shut up!
But, as far as the story goes, there were just too many weak points. The h, Jaimie, was a bundle of insecurities, from the very start of her relationship with the H, Blake. She was a shy virgin, he was a sexy, sophisticated guy, so right away she had trouble believing he really cared; with so many women attracted to him, why waste time with her? Then, after they made love, he asked her to marry him and though she adores him (or she never would have slept with him), she assumes he's asking because he feels obligated. (She must be in a time warp; if it were the 1890's that would make sense, but not in the 1980's.) Afterward, she has such low self-esteem, she gets too clingy and needy, convinced he can't possibly love her, must just feel sorry for her. The fact that their sex life is extremely HOT makes her feel worse, believing that if he didn't desire her body so much, he'd leave her in an instant. It made her yearn for his lovemaking even more, feeling that was her only real link to him.
What a mess! It gets worse, when - as a reporter - Blake gets assignments in other countries, making Jaimie believe he takes them in part to get away from her for a bit. And while it's natural for her to be concerned, and even upset, when assignments put him in dangerous situations, that doesn't mean she should have meltdowns about it! She was more a teenager than a young woman in her early 20's. Whenever she felt insecure or threatened (which was way too often) she'd act childish and start arguments.
It comes to a head when Jaimie discovers she's pregnant at the same time Blake gets assigned to
El Salvador. They have a huge fight, and when he stormed off to work, she stormed off to a friend's house, to cool down and have some time apart to think. She hadn't mentioned the baby, because he had said before that he didn't want to talk about having children, which she assumed meant he didn't want to be tied to her by that bond. When she decides to write and tell him, and doesn't hear from him right away, she assumes that's his answer, and goes home to mom. She does hear from him later, but now she's in a too-little-too-late mood and refuses to even read his letters. Convinced he doesn't love her or want the baby; she determines to make a life without him.
One thing I credit is the way Jaimie (four years later, and with a three-year-old daughter, Fern), rather than put all the blame on her ex, acknowledges she was much to blame, for acting like an insecure schoolgirl rather than a grown young woman, and she knows she was too clingy and needy, too afraid he'd walk out on her, and also too selfish. She even admitted to herself that part of the reason she wanted to be a mom was so she could have someone who was dependent on her, couldn't leave her.
With all her insecurity issues, if I were a therapist, I'd have to question how she was raised. She had a mother who was the exact opposite. Sarah was confident, independent, very secure. She bounced back fast when she was left a widow with a young daughter and made a good living in the antiques business. She even admitted that she liked her independence and preferred it to marriage. Yet, she had a daughter who was so emotionally fragile, and she didn't seem to notice? Too busy or too dense?
After the separation, she takes Jaimie in, helps get her on her feet, and supports her while Jaimie sets up a dance studio. Jaimie changes somewhat, becoming more confident and self-sufficient, but at the same time, she's a bit intimidated by her mother and even by her daughter! She felt her mother was - and her daughter would someday be - everything that she herself wasn't. Three-year-old Fern has her father's looks, her grandmother's personality, and the only thing she got from her mom was her style of walking! Oh, brother!
As for Blake, he's supposed to be a sophisticated man, yet he falls for the oldest trick in the book: believing the troublemaking OW. In this case, it's photojournalist Suzy, who's also his ex-lover. Blake had intended to turn down the El Salvador assignment, but after finding Jaimie gone, Suzy tells him that she spoke with Jaimie, who made it clear she wanted Blake to stay away, or she might do something drastic. (She had also told Jaimie a few tales, too.) Knowing Jaimie's maturity level (or lack thereof), he just assumed this to be the truth. (He takes Suzy's words at face value, knowing she still has a thing for him? It never occurs to him she may be lying? COME ON!!!)
Even more silly, he decides to take the El Salvador assignment, seemingly out of spite. ("Well, I was going to turn it down, to be nice, but since you walked out, I'll take it! So there!!") Now, who's being childish???
Another thing: Blake was forever claiming that he was waiting for Jaimie to grow up, to stop being insecure, to be more independent and self-confident, and claims that's why he would get emotionally distant from her, and take assignments that kept him away, so she'd learn to grow as a person, stand on her own two feet, be confident enough to know he was doing his job, and he'd be coming back home to her because he wanted to, not because he felt it was his duty. Didn't he realize that, in her emotional state, she'd think just the opposite??? Did it ever occur to him to talk to her, REALLY talk, and make her understand??? Instead, he assumed communicating in bed would be enough, that she'd know through his lovemaking how he really felt, but all that did was convince her more that sex attraction was all he felt, leading her to believe he'd want to end their marriage when he stopped feeling that way. If he had spent more time with her out of bed it would have probably helped her feel better about herself.
What a mess!!! But what really didn't make sense, is Blake staying away from his daughter for three years, because he was waiting for Jaimie to reach out to him. It seems she did such a good job of convincing her mother that she "hated" Blake, that when he got in touch with her (Sarah), sometime after they separated, she told him it wouldn't be a good idea to approach Jaimie, it was better to wait a while longer. So, Dumbo kept waiting for a sign from Jaimie, when he should have confronted his estranged wife, told her he intended to get to know his daughter, and demanded visitation rights. He seemed content to bide his time and miss out on Fern's first words, first step, first tooth, etc. Are we really supposed to buy this???? (It sounds more like Jaimie was right, and he didn't want children.)
There's also the (pretty much obligatory) OM, but why did it have to be someone as boring and stodgy as Charles? How could Blake think for one minute that Jaimie (or any woman, for that matter) could have a romantic interest in him???
There's also another OW, glamorous Caroline, who owns the Abbey and wants to unload it, and who makes her share of snarky remarks, but things aren't what they seem.
You'll have to read the book for the whole story.
P.S. I would have liked the little side story of Sarah and her romance with her business partner, Henry, if the timeline hadn't been so unbelievable. I could understand him being in love with a woman who seemed to just want friendship and waiting for her to hopefully change her mind for a few years, maybe four or five, but fifteen!!!! Come on now, that's ridiculous!! No one (who wasn't either desperate, emotionally stunted, had an ulterior motive or was just plain ridiculous) would wait that long!!
Now, I'll shut up!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2021
Weird dynamics. The H and h are married and have been apart 4 years but when they meet up the situation is just glossed in the name of plot? Is there a plot or not? No idea. Its weird conversations that are disjointed and make no sense and no real progress of the plot or the story. For plot convenience, there is a threat against their child and the dance studio as the h is part of protesting against a historic building being sold to developers. She is not the one pressing charges or anything. She has no skin in the game. Her wannabe other man/solicitor does. Yet another Secondary character is the H's current landlady/Caroline is yet another wanna other woman and the owner of the said historic building. The h's mom is another weird character with her cryptic advises to her daughter.
I confess to not being able to read beyond Chapter 4 and was so hoping something will start to make sense and just was disappointed.
I confess to not being able to read beyond Chapter 4 and was so hoping something will start to make sense and just was disappointed.
February 4, 2021
This book is different from other HP’s, because usually it’s only the h who is stupid. In this book however it’s not only the h, but also the H and the h’s mother who are stupid.
The only intelligent one is the 3-year old daughter of the h and H. In fact, looking at the things that this 3-year old says and the questions she asks, she is a little Einstein. This 3 year old girl will probably be graduating from college next month.
This book is not boring, so I’ll still give it three stars. Mainly for the erotic scenes. They are well written. Erotic, but also leaving something to the imagination. So without making it look like porn. It’s sexy how much the H is sexually attracted by her that he can’t keep his eyes and hands off her.
The only intelligent one is the 3-year old daughter of the h and H. In fact, looking at the things that this 3-year old says and the questions she asks, she is a little Einstein. This 3 year old girl will probably be graduating from college next month.
This book is not boring, so I’ll still give it three stars. Mainly for the erotic scenes. They are well written. Erotic, but also leaving something to the imagination. So without making it look like porn. It’s sexy how much the H is sexually attracted by her that he can’t keep his eyes and hands off her.
May 5, 2017
3.5 stars
January 26, 2018
3.5 Stars
August 11, 2018
Pathetic... A sure miss.
June 20, 2019
Definitely a PJ classic
July 4, 2020
It was OK, a few plot twists but nothing great.
January 16, 2018
Star Rating: ★★½☆☆
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