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The Darling Jade
"I've always wanted to blackmail a beautiful girl. "
Jade Kinnane regretted the day she'd driven into Zan Wykoff, causing him to break his wrist. She'd paid his hospital bills and agreed to help him meet the deadline on his new book. But his demands just kept increasing.
Zan was off beat and exciting--the kind of man who'd accidentally break a heart and never be held responsible. He was too dangerous, even for Jade's usually reckless tastes.
Unlike the more sophisticated women in his life, Jade knew she'd not survive a collision with Zan's kind of loving. And there was no insurance against a broken heart.
Jade Kinnane regretted the day she'd driven into Zan Wykoff, causing him to break his wrist. She'd paid his hospital bills and agreed to help him meet the deadline on his new book. But his demands just kept increasing.
Zan was off beat and exciting--the kind of man who'd accidentally break a heart and never be held responsible. He was too dangerous, even for Jade's usually reckless tastes.
Unlike the more sophisticated women in his life, Jade knew she'd not survive a collision with Zan's kind of loving. And there was no insurance against a broken heart.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 11, 2015
The h and H meet when she collides with him and has no insurance. His wrist is broken and he writes books about racing yachts and his next one is due, so guess who is up to sort him out cause she ran into him? That would be our h, who is also sorta engaged although she really isn't sure about it.
The H doesn't really need her help, he just fell in love at first sight, knows she has an offer and wants to get his shot before the h makes a horrible mistake and marries the wrong guy. He doesn't tell her he loves her, of course - did we expect anything else?
He just says he wants her, and in the h's opinion, judging by all the predatory ex lovers around him, he seems to want a lot of ladies. This one is a good old miscommunication of the sexes situation but it is really well done miscommunication, so I was all for it.
There is wooing while they live in the same house, she is a teacher by profession, but also a painter, so the H encourages her to develop her talent while she is with him. There are several attempts at seduction and a few visits by witchy ex OW but the h emerges with chastity intact, if not her heart.
Finally, there are several weeks of emo-angst longing where the h breaks her engagement, sets her ex up with a woman who really lurves him and wanders around in the fog to the H's old house. Then the H shows up, both of them avow eternal love and we also get an interesting explanation for the title. (this was before the eternal devotion avowals btw)
The Darling Jade in the title comes from a yachtsman racing for the America's Cup and his yacht lost by a teeny little bit, so he got a new one. When he was questioned about missing his old boat, he told them that she "broke my heart, the darling jade". So the inference is that if the h hadn't loved the H back, he would have always missed her and regretted the loss. I thought that was better than the current trend of the mystical HPlandia title generator predicated on the word virgin. In fact it makes me nostalgic for the HPlandia days when the titles actually had something to do with the story line. :P
The H doesn't really need her help, he just fell in love at first sight, knows she has an offer and wants to get his shot before the h makes a horrible mistake and marries the wrong guy. He doesn't tell her he loves her, of course - did we expect anything else?
He just says he wants her, and in the h's opinion, judging by all the predatory ex lovers around him, he seems to want a lot of ladies. This one is a good old miscommunication of the sexes situation but it is really well done miscommunication, so I was all for it.
There is wooing while they live in the same house, she is a teacher by profession, but also a painter, so the H encourages her to develop her talent while she is with him. There are several attempts at seduction and a few visits by witchy ex OW but the h emerges with chastity intact, if not her heart.
Finally, there are several weeks of emo-angst longing where the h breaks her engagement, sets her ex up with a woman who really lurves him and wanders around in the fog to the H's old house. Then the H shows up, both of them avow eternal love and we also get an interesting explanation for the title. (this was before the eternal devotion avowals btw)
The Darling Jade in the title comes from a yachtsman racing for the America's Cup and his yacht lost by a teeny little bit, so he got a new one. When he was questioned about missing his old boat, he told them that she "broke my heart, the darling jade". So the inference is that if the h hadn't loved the H back, he would have always missed her and regretted the loss. I thought that was better than the current trend of the mystical HPlandia title generator predicated on the word virgin. In fact it makes me nostalgic for the HPlandia days when the titles actually had something to do with the story line. :P
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2019
Set in Newport RI, art teacher heroine accidentally drives into best-selling writer hero while he is out jogging. Hero is instantly smitten with heroine (who is engaged) and decides to rope her into helping him with his book over the summer. Heroine has no car insurance and no way to pay for his pain and suffering (he broke his wrist), so she reluctantly agrees to be at his beck and call.
The fun of this story is the intelligent banter between the H/h, unraveling the mystery of the two OWs, and waiting for the heroine come to her senses about her dull fiancé. There is also a delightful travelogue of Newport.
The only thing dated about the story is the $700 emergency room bill.
Boogenhagen has all the details of why this is such a charming story in her excellent review.
The fun of this story is the intelligent banter between the H/h, unraveling the mystery of the two OWs, and waiting for the heroine come to her senses about her dull fiancé. There is also a delightful travelogue of Newport.
The only thing dated about the story is the $700 emergency room bill.
Boogenhagen has all the details of why this is such a charming story in her excellent review.
June 9, 2019
Very cute read, 3.5 rounded to 4.
The Hero is charming, with a really good sense of humor plus smitten with the heroine.
The heroine is a bit conflicted, she is engaged to another man and she has some issues from the past.
The Hero is charming, with a really good sense of humor plus smitten with the heroine.
The heroine is a bit conflicted, she is engaged to another man and she has some issues from the past.
April 21, 2016
4 Stars ~ Schoolteacher and summer-break artist, Jade can't wait to catch the sunrise over the ocean near Newport. In her rush to beat the sun, she pushes her little VW and even cheats at the stops along the way. With the smell of the ocean breezing through her open window, she turns the last bend, and seeing the coast is clear runs the stop completely. Suddenly there's an arm thumping her car and Jade's positive a dark shadow has tumbled off the road. With a squeal of her tires and her heart pounding she climbs out afraid to look under her car. But the voice comes from 20 yards behind, definitely male and between the sarcasm and the pain, Jade realizes she's lost her perfect day. Zan's not about to let this green eyed, red-headed beauty disappear. She's just broken his right arm, and he means to exact justice. When she helps him fill out the forms at the hospital, she learns he has no medical insurance, which means she's responsible for the bill, and when Zan learns she's without auto insurance, he means to make her compensate him for the loss of his arm. Zan's a writer of thrillers and he's on a deadline, without his typing and writing hand, he needs a secretary, and knowing Jade is off work for the summer, she's just earned that job. After extracting a written confession of her negligence, Zan knows he's got her over a barrel, and he expects Jade to jump when he demands it.
This is Ms. Nicholson's debut and I thoroughly enjoyed poor Jade's misadventure. It's not long into the book that we can see Zan would never use Jade's confession to sue her and that he's actually quite smitten. Jade's engaged to a calm quiet man who's off to Greece on an archeological expedition, so when Zan flirts with her outrageously and she's gets a little hot, she begins to compare Zan with her steady Fred. Ms. Nicholson has a fun and fresh style and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books for Harlequin.
This is Ms. Nicholson's debut and I thoroughly enjoyed poor Jade's misadventure. It's not long into the book that we can see Zan would never use Jade's confession to sue her and that he's actually quite smitten. Jade's engaged to a calm quiet man who's off to Greece on an archeological expedition, so when Zan flirts with her outrageously and she's gets a little hot, she begins to compare Zan with her steady Fred. Ms. Nicholson has a fun and fresh style and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books for Harlequin.
May 31, 2014
I wasn't expecting much since I seldom like harlequins past the year 1982 they just seem to be different, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The hero was likeable and you could tell he really had fallen for Jade quickly. The ending was angsty which I love all in all I enjoyed this book very much.
June 4, 2023
3.5 stars!
I would have enjoyed the book more if it didn't follow the pattern.
Every light-hearted flirtation ends in heroine's anger then fury then angry tears!
At first I was willing to make allowances. The heroine is engaged to a patient loving man and I was defending her that once she realises she's flirting with a sexy stranger, she gets angry with herself and then him for not behaving properly.
But it happens so often that I lost count and stopped defending her.
The heroine claims she doesn't want to be like her mother, who has recently divorced her devoted husband to marry some flashy foreigner.
We never get a glimpse of the heroine's parents. And have zero information about them and their backstory, so it's impossible to say if the heroine's mother is selfish and frivolous or simply following her heart after being honest with her husband.
I really love the banter in this book. It's actually funny.
The hero is a famous author, the heroine is an Arts teacher who accidentally runs him over on a lonely road. He demands she becomes his right hand till his broken arm heals. He's not hiding his fascination with the heroine and is prone to sarcastic jokes.
I would have enjoyed the book more if it didn't follow the pattern.
Every light-hearted flirtation ends in heroine's anger then fury then angry tears!
At first I was willing to make allowances. The heroine is engaged to a patient loving man and I was defending her that once she realises she's flirting with a sexy stranger, she gets angry with herself and then him for not behaving properly.
But it happens so often that I lost count and stopped defending her.
The heroine claims she doesn't want to be like her mother, who has recently divorced her devoted husband to marry some flashy foreigner.
We never get a glimpse of the heroine's parents. And have zero information about them and their backstory, so it's impossible to say if the heroine's mother is selfish and frivolous or simply following her heart after being honest with her husband.
I really love the banter in this book. It's actually funny.
The hero is a famous author, the heroine is an Arts teacher who accidentally runs him over on a lonely road. He demands she becomes his right hand till his broken arm heals. He's not hiding his fascination with the heroine and is prone to sarcastic jokes.
December 31, 2021
Fresh and uncomplicated…. Good old school
January 29, 2020
One of my absolute fav Mills & Boon of all time! I read it in 10th grade and still love it almost 30 years later - maybe it’s nostalgia but definitely not just that. It’s funny, cute, well written and definitely not formulaic. Ok so maybe tiny bit so but it wouldn’t be Mills & Boon/ Harlequin otherwise. It’s kind of pathetic really how often I have re read it in just last one week since I found it after decades of thinking about it.
May 9, 2015
Don't drive without car insurance. Fight attraction to the end. Nice little romance
October 8, 2022
This one popped up on my feed and I decided to track it down. I have zero regrets.
The h is a bit of a doofus - she cancels her car insurance to buy a ticket to see her fiance then hits the H with her car breaking his wrist. This in itself is weird for me as you are prosecuted in the UK for driving with no insurance.
The for the H, not only is he hit by the h in the car he is also struck by cupids arrow and he tries all sorts of tricks to spend time with the h.
She takes him to hospital, he has her sign a written confession to hold over her head, blackmails her into typing his book and spending time with him - he literally pulls out all the stops to show her he's fallen for her except using his words, which is a shame as he makes a rather good living out of them.
He is also sabotaged by his aunt (who is younger than him) and an ex ONS who is also his agent. He is madly jealous of her fiance who is off in Greece and he does get a handsy with the h with lots of forced kisses but he never takes it too far and backs off in the end every time.
The H asks her why she doesn't slap him if she really doesn't want his advances and she explains she had a bad experience with a married man who hit her back when she found out he was married when his wife turned up. The H is contrite and angry on the h's behalf.
This really was a lovely book. He was totally and utterly besotted with the h and we as the reader could see that though she was oblivious and trying hard not to fall for him thinking he would also break her heart. The ending was very sweet and it would be nice to have had an epilogue just to see these two loved up in the future.
The h is a bit of a doofus - she cancels her car insurance to buy a ticket to see her fiance then hits the H with her car breaking his wrist. This in itself is weird for me as you are prosecuted in the UK for driving with no insurance.
The for the H, not only is he hit by the h in the car he is also struck by cupids arrow and he tries all sorts of tricks to spend time with the h.
She takes him to hospital, he has her sign a written confession to hold over her head, blackmails her into typing his book and spending time with him - he literally pulls out all the stops to show her he's fallen for her except using his words, which is a shame as he makes a rather good living out of them.
He is also sabotaged by his aunt (who is younger than him) and an ex ONS who is also his agent. He is madly jealous of her fiance who is off in Greece and he does get a handsy with the h with lots of forced kisses but he never takes it too far and backs off in the end every time.
The H asks her why she doesn't slap him if she really doesn't want his advances and she explains she had a bad experience with a married man who hit her back when she found out he was married when his wife turned up. The H is contrite and angry on the h's behalf.
This really was a lovely book. He was totally and utterly besotted with the h and we as the reader could see that though she was oblivious and trying hard not to fall for him thinking he would also break her heart. The ending was very sweet and it would be nice to have had an epilogue just to see these two loved up in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2017
58-كلمات حب
روايات عبير الجديدة
لم تستطع جاين ان تنكر ان قيادتها المتهورة كانت السبب في كسر ذراع زان ويفوك... وبما انه كان في منتصف كتاب، فالحادث سبب له الكثير، ورفض كل العروض التي اقترحتها جاين! وطلب منها ان تساعده بأنهاء الكتاب، ولكن كان من غير العدل ان يجعلها تقع في حبه.
فهو يعرف انها ستتزوج فريد الذي يحبها في اية لحظة... وهي عرفت طوال الوقت ان زان لديه ميريام وايرينا كذلك، فلماذا يريد جاين ذلك؟ الا تكفيه هذه المجموعة ام انه يخطط لشيء جديد!
روايات عبير الجديدة
لم تستطع جاين ان تنكر ان قيادتها المتهورة كانت السبب في كسر ذراع زان ويفوك... وبما انه كان في منتصف كتاب، فالحادث سبب له الكثير، ورفض كل العروض التي اقترحتها جاين! وطلب منها ان تساعده بأنهاء الكتاب، ولكن كان من غير العدل ان يجعلها تقع في حبه.
فهو يعرف انها ستتزوج فريد الذي يحبها في اية لحظة... وهي عرفت طوال الوقت ان زان لديه ميريام وايرينا كذلك، فلماذا يريد جاين ذلك؟ الا تكفيه هذه المجموعة ام انه يخطط لشيء جديد!
September 28, 2025
So tired of doormats who let smarmy, creepy strangers order them around, accompanied by lots of groping.Gross.
November 28, 2025
It’s probably just me but I didn’t care for the groper H and the spineless h who let him order her around and get away with it. Gave up at page 44. Guess I’m in the minority here.
pback-to-read
February 9, 2021"I've always wanted to blackmail a beautiful girl. "
Jade Kinnane regretted the day she'd driven into Zan Wykoff, causing him to break his wrist. She'd paid his hospital bills and agreed to help him meet the deadline on his new book. But his demands just kept increasing.
Zan was off beat and exciting--the kind of man who'd accidentally break a heart and never be held responsible. He was too dangerous, even for Jade's usually reckless tastes.
Unlike the more sophisticated women in his life, Jade knew she'd not survive a collision with Zan's kind of loving. And there was no insurance against a broken heart. (less)
Jade Kinnane regretted the day she'd driven into Zan Wykoff, causing him to break his wrist. She'd paid his hospital bills and agreed to help him meet the deadline on his new book. But his demands just kept increasing.
Zan was off beat and exciting--the kind of man who'd accidentally break a heart and never be held responsible. He was too dangerous, even for Jade's usually reckless tastes.
Unlike the more sophisticated women in his life, Jade knew she'd not survive a collision with Zan's kind of loving. And there was no insurance against a broken heart. (less)
August 9, 2022
I thought this book wrote by Janet Dailey ..i have had the book from long long time ago ... In Indonesin version.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews