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Caird #1
A Willing Surrender
She was bewildered by her own reaction
Clary couldn't deny the attraction that flamed between herself and Morgan Caird when they met in England. But she didn't believe in love at first sight.
Neither did she believe that a powerful, experienced man like Morgan would be permanently affected in the same way. So she refused to have anything to do with him and hurried home to New Zealand.
Morgan proved her wrong. His pursuit was relentless, unavoidable, seductive--though she kept on fighting him. It took a long time for Clary to realize it was herself she was fighting-and that their love was real.
Clary couldn't deny the attraction that flamed between herself and Morgan Caird when they met in England. But she didn't believe in love at first sight.
Neither did she believe that a powerful, experienced man like Morgan would be permanently affected in the same way. So she refused to have anything to do with him and hurried home to New Zealand.
Morgan proved her wrong. His pursuit was relentless, unavoidable, seductive--though she kept on fighting him. It took a long time for Clary to realize it was herself she was fighting-and that their love was real.
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
8 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Donald
448 books148 followersRobyn Elaine Donald was born on 14 August 1940 in Northland, New Zealand. She was the oldest child in her family, and as a child, she thrilled her four sisters and one brother with bloodcurdling adventure tales, usually very like the latest book she'd borrowed from the library.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.
The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.
Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.
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January 31, 2017
Re Willing Surrender - Leave it to RD to set an impossible situation for a romance by having the h meet and become totally enraptured at first sight by the H who ran off with her brother's wife. That totally doesn't sound like a win on any level, yet RD manages to make it work AND make it believable.
The story starts with the h doing some au pair work in England, she is a New Zealand native doing the obligatory walk about the world before going home. She is at a gymkhana with her small charges and their mum, when she looks across the field and gets the shock of her life. The most mesmerizing man in the world is staring at her and she can't help but stare right back.
Then she sees the woman clinging to him like candy floss and she writes the whole thing off as an unusual jolt of sexual attraction. The man is obviously a well know patron of the lovely lady buffet, and she has felt similar (but not as intense,) jolts of lust before, so the incident really isn't anything to write home about-- and she doesn't do playtoys.
Then the h gets an unexpected invitation later that evening to a local society party, ostensibly to meet the H, who is a New Zealander as well. It is made clear to the h that the H is a love 'em and leave 'em type, but he is fabulously wealthy and powerful to boot.
The h thinks he reminds her of a somewhat civilized pirate. She goes to the party and the H makes it clear that he wants her, she doesn't deny the attraction, but calmly cuts him down by reminding him of the girlfriend he left in London - the woman she works for had clued the h in prior to arrival.
The H tries to tempt the h into going off with him, but she has a job and he has a girlfriend, it just isn't on. The h leaves the party and the H tries to contact her the next day. She manages to avoid him and is also getting concerned about the lack of news from her recently married brother back home. Her mother's forced cheeriness letters are making the h concerned, her mum only gets that way when bad things are happening in the family. The last time was when her father dumped her, her brother and her mother for a girl half his age.
The girl used the father and his money up, then dumped the father for a richer guy. The father went back home to his wife and died - mourning his lost love the whole time. The h pretty much despises her father for being such a weak slug, she and her brother have her mum's strength of character - tho why the mum took the dad back after the way he treated them, is pretty much beyond me.
The h has birthday coming up and one of the society ladies, who likes to stir things up, recommends a particular London restaurant for the h and her friends to go to. They go and are having a nice dinner when who should walk in but the H. Not only the H tho, his accompaniment for the evening is the h's sister in law, hanging off the H like party streamers. The h is NOT pleased at this situation, and looking like the Archangel of Fiery Death, she goes across the restaurant to confront the two.
It turns out that her sister in law cheated on the h's brother with the H - and he had earlier stated he did not do married women (he lies a bit as we can see,) and the H had brought her to London and set her up as his mistress. The h gives both of them an intense grilling and then dismisses them as lower level parasites of nematode slime. The H is smart enough to figure out he isn't going to get anywhere with the h right now, so he wanders back to New Zealand and the h finishes out her job for the next six months.
She is getting ready to go home when she gets a note from the former sister in law - the sister in law is rather irked that the H had dumped her for the h and really irked that the h was so mean to her at the restaurant. She complains because the h "looked at her like she was something loathsome, something disgusting that you couldn't bear to see." (I had to ask what did the brainless woman think was going to happen? She cheated on the h's brother, then dumped him for a richer guy. That isn't exactly endearing behavior - I would have made sure she was wearing her aperitif before I was done.)
Then she rants about how moralistic the h and her family are and how she never really loved the brother to begin with, he just took care of her. I had no empathy for the brainless little tart, she deserved far worse - however we do get the additional knowledge that the H DID NOT know she was married when she hooked up with him.
He thought she was separated. ( A small difference, and honestly I am not sure it matters given his insistence that he doesn't do married women and then gets named as co-respondent in the h's brother's divorce case.) Then she jealously tries to warn the h off the H, her little ego is hurt that she got pumped and dumped by the now uninterested H.
So the h goes home and is looking for a job, her brother has a new invention that is being funded by a consortium of investors and he hears about an in home temporary nursing job for an older lady recovering from a heart attack. The h goes to meet the lady and is hired on the spot. She travels to the lady's home and is happily settling in, when guess who turns out to be the lady's son?
We all knew that was coming. The h prepares to leave in high dudgeon, but the H tells her if she does, he will make sure her brother loses his investment funds for his new invention. The h reluctantly prepares to stay and the H tells her he wants her willing surrender - in other words he isn't going to force her to be his mistress.
The h is torn, she really, really is into the H and he is just as into her back. However her brother is pretty much falling apart, tho he hides it and buries himself in work. The h is really concerned by how much he HATES the H - so much that her brother is plotting outright war, as soon as he is financially able to compete on an equal level with the H - since her brother is 27 to the H's 33 and her 25, he has plenty of time to do it in.
The h settles into the routines of the house, with the H around and taking her about all the time. He takes her to a party and we have an honorable mention of Rafe and Jennet and Trent and Melodie from RD's previous two books plus the h gets shocked by her savage feelings of jealousy when another woman flirts with the H. (Not to worry tho, it is mentioned several times that the H hasn't been with anyone else since meeting the h - and that has been about seven or eight months.)
The H and h are developing a camaraderie as well as the ever present sexual tension and the h realizes that she has fallen in love. Much against her wishes and she knows it will never go anywhere because she won't betray her brother, but she decides a few nights of passion to ease the torment will help her recover in the long run.
She seduces the H and it is great, until he realizes that she was a virgin and he wants her to marry him. She refuses and so now the H has to get really serious. Plus he gets really romantic around this part too - and he stays that way for the next 30 or pages until the end of the book. There was no doubt he was stalkerifically obsessed before, but now he is romantically stalkerifically obsessed and compulsively in lurve too, he is a driven man and what he is driven to do now is make the h his wife.
He goes off on a business trip and the h's brother finds out who his investor really is. The brother goes to find the h and it is very clear that his hatred is never-ending and vengeful - the h is seriously worried about his sanity - she has already questioned the H's several times, and this whole situation is leaving her very ill indeed.
Plus there is the fact that her family tends to be obsessive, she explained about her father to the H and he had a bit of a different take on things, that her father was so humiliated he died of shame. The h is pacified by that but it won't help her or her brother's extreme violent anger towards the H. She just can't commit to the H, she loves her brother too much to hurt him that way.
So the H gets back from his trip and he decides to force a confrontation with the h's brother. The brother asks the H if he would be willing to let the h go if he loved her and she wanted to leave. The H is forced to admit he would, so the brother backs off and they call it a draw - but he tells the h to be happy with the H. Now that the last barrier to being together is removed and the h no longer fears an obsession with the H cause he is just as obsessive back, they plan for the wedding and the big HEA.
This is an incredibly intense and passionate book. The H is truly, truly obsessed with the h, yet he doesn't try any forcible seductions or resort to rape. The h actually manages to hold her own pretty well - she is no lightweight in the Alpha department either- she could give the H lessons in certain ways. The whole brother's wife thing is pretty tacky, but it is also pretty clear that the H had no idear of what he was getting into with her and he was sorta nice to help her out by getting her a flat and entrance into a beauty school so she could support herself.
This book is really an either love it or hate it one, the circumstance are polarizing and the initial distaste for the H means RD had to work overtime to build a convincing relationship and a believable HEA. I think she pulls it off extraordinarily well, and she does it mainly by the letting the H set his and the h's environment but the real driving force of the relationship is actually the h.
SHE is the seductress, she is the one who takes things to the next level and I really thought she may have wound up dumping both the brother and the H at the big confrontation at the end if they hadn't sorted their issues - she was getting pretty disgusted and RD has shown when this h gets disgusted, Archangels with Fiery Swords are really second best to her temper.
Give this one a go if you like the stalkerific types or if you like a lot of palpable tension with some decent relationship building. So many times in HPlandia it is all insta-lust with sex and no substance, RD gives you both with Wiling Surrender and it makes it worth the read - even with the icky parts.
Not to worry about the brother either, he get his own HEA with a really nice lady in Once Bitten, Twice Shy and we get the H's cousin in RD's book right after this one --Country of the Heart
The story starts with the h doing some au pair work in England, she is a New Zealand native doing the obligatory walk about the world before going home. She is at a gymkhana with her small charges and their mum, when she looks across the field and gets the shock of her life. The most mesmerizing man in the world is staring at her and she can't help but stare right back.
Then she sees the woman clinging to him like candy floss and she writes the whole thing off as an unusual jolt of sexual attraction. The man is obviously a well know patron of the lovely lady buffet, and she has felt similar (but not as intense,) jolts of lust before, so the incident really isn't anything to write home about-- and she doesn't do playtoys.
Then the h gets an unexpected invitation later that evening to a local society party, ostensibly to meet the H, who is a New Zealander as well. It is made clear to the h that the H is a love 'em and leave 'em type, but he is fabulously wealthy and powerful to boot.
The h thinks he reminds her of a somewhat civilized pirate. She goes to the party and the H makes it clear that he wants her, she doesn't deny the attraction, but calmly cuts him down by reminding him of the girlfriend he left in London - the woman she works for had clued the h in prior to arrival.
The H tries to tempt the h into going off with him, but she has a job and he has a girlfriend, it just isn't on. The h leaves the party and the H tries to contact her the next day. She manages to avoid him and is also getting concerned about the lack of news from her recently married brother back home. Her mother's forced cheeriness letters are making the h concerned, her mum only gets that way when bad things are happening in the family. The last time was when her father dumped her, her brother and her mother for a girl half his age.
The girl used the father and his money up, then dumped the father for a richer guy. The father went back home to his wife and died - mourning his lost love the whole time. The h pretty much despises her father for being such a weak slug, she and her brother have her mum's strength of character - tho why the mum took the dad back after the way he treated them, is pretty much beyond me.
The h has birthday coming up and one of the society ladies, who likes to stir things up, recommends a particular London restaurant for the h and her friends to go to. They go and are having a nice dinner when who should walk in but the H. Not only the H tho, his accompaniment for the evening is the h's sister in law, hanging off the H like party streamers. The h is NOT pleased at this situation, and looking like the Archangel of Fiery Death, she goes across the restaurant to confront the two.
It turns out that her sister in law cheated on the h's brother with the H - and he had earlier stated he did not do married women (he lies a bit as we can see,) and the H had brought her to London and set her up as his mistress. The h gives both of them an intense grilling and then dismisses them as lower level parasites of nematode slime. The H is smart enough to figure out he isn't going to get anywhere with the h right now, so he wanders back to New Zealand and the h finishes out her job for the next six months.
She is getting ready to go home when she gets a note from the former sister in law - the sister in law is rather irked that the H had dumped her for the h and really irked that the h was so mean to her at the restaurant. She complains because the h "looked at her like she was something loathsome, something disgusting that you couldn't bear to see." (I had to ask what did the brainless woman think was going to happen? She cheated on the h's brother, then dumped him for a richer guy. That isn't exactly endearing behavior - I would have made sure she was wearing her aperitif before I was done.)
Then she rants about how moralistic the h and her family are and how she never really loved the brother to begin with, he just took care of her. I had no empathy for the brainless little tart, she deserved far worse - however we do get the additional knowledge that the H DID NOT know she was married when she hooked up with him.
He thought she was separated. ( A small difference, and honestly I am not sure it matters given his insistence that he doesn't do married women and then gets named as co-respondent in the h's brother's divorce case.) Then she jealously tries to warn the h off the H, her little ego is hurt that she got pumped and dumped by the now uninterested H.
So the h goes home and is looking for a job, her brother has a new invention that is being funded by a consortium of investors and he hears about an in home temporary nursing job for an older lady recovering from a heart attack. The h goes to meet the lady and is hired on the spot. She travels to the lady's home and is happily settling in, when guess who turns out to be the lady's son?
We all knew that was coming. The h prepares to leave in high dudgeon, but the H tells her if she does, he will make sure her brother loses his investment funds for his new invention. The h reluctantly prepares to stay and the H tells her he wants her willing surrender - in other words he isn't going to force her to be his mistress.
The h is torn, she really, really is into the H and he is just as into her back. However her brother is pretty much falling apart, tho he hides it and buries himself in work. The h is really concerned by how much he HATES the H - so much that her brother is plotting outright war, as soon as he is financially able to compete on an equal level with the H - since her brother is 27 to the H's 33 and her 25, he has plenty of time to do it in.
The h settles into the routines of the house, with the H around and taking her about all the time. He takes her to a party and we have an honorable mention of Rafe and Jennet and Trent and Melodie from RD's previous two books plus the h gets shocked by her savage feelings of jealousy when another woman flirts with the H. (Not to worry tho, it is mentioned several times that the H hasn't been with anyone else since meeting the h - and that has been about seven or eight months.)
The H and h are developing a camaraderie as well as the ever present sexual tension and the h realizes that she has fallen in love. Much against her wishes and she knows it will never go anywhere because she won't betray her brother, but she decides a few nights of passion to ease the torment will help her recover in the long run.
She seduces the H and it is great, until he realizes that she was a virgin and he wants her to marry him. She refuses and so now the H has to get really serious. Plus he gets really romantic around this part too - and he stays that way for the next 30 or pages until the end of the book. There was no doubt he was stalkerifically obsessed before, but now he is romantically stalkerifically obsessed and compulsively in lurve too, he is a driven man and what he is driven to do now is make the h his wife.
He goes off on a business trip and the h's brother finds out who his investor really is. The brother goes to find the h and it is very clear that his hatred is never-ending and vengeful - the h is seriously worried about his sanity - she has already questioned the H's several times, and this whole situation is leaving her very ill indeed.
Plus there is the fact that her family tends to be obsessive, she explained about her father to the H and he had a bit of a different take on things, that her father was so humiliated he died of shame. The h is pacified by that but it won't help her or her brother's extreme violent anger towards the H. She just can't commit to the H, she loves her brother too much to hurt him that way.
So the H gets back from his trip and he decides to force a confrontation with the h's brother. The brother asks the H if he would be willing to let the h go if he loved her and she wanted to leave. The H is forced to admit he would, so the brother backs off and they call it a draw - but he tells the h to be happy with the H. Now that the last barrier to being together is removed and the h no longer fears an obsession with the H cause he is just as obsessive back, they plan for the wedding and the big HEA.
This is an incredibly intense and passionate book. The H is truly, truly obsessed with the h, yet he doesn't try any forcible seductions or resort to rape. The h actually manages to hold her own pretty well - she is no lightweight in the Alpha department either- she could give the H lessons in certain ways. The whole brother's wife thing is pretty tacky, but it is also pretty clear that the H had no idear of what he was getting into with her and he was sorta nice to help her out by getting her a flat and entrance into a beauty school so she could support herself.
This book is really an either love it or hate it one, the circumstance are polarizing and the initial distaste for the H means RD had to work overtime to build a convincing relationship and a believable HEA. I think she pulls it off extraordinarily well, and she does it mainly by the letting the H set his and the h's environment but the real driving force of the relationship is actually the h.
SHE is the seductress, she is the one who takes things to the next level and I really thought she may have wound up dumping both the brother and the H at the big confrontation at the end if they hadn't sorted their issues - she was getting pretty disgusted and RD has shown when this h gets disgusted, Archangels with Fiery Swords are really second best to her temper.
Give this one a go if you like the stalkerific types or if you like a lot of palpable tension with some decent relationship building. So many times in HPlandia it is all insta-lust with sex and no substance, RD gives you both with Wiling Surrender and it makes it worth the read - even with the icky parts.
Not to worry about the brother either, he get his own HEA with a really nice lady in Once Bitten, Twice Shy and we get the H's cousin in RD's book right after this one --Country of the Heart
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
Five stars not because I liked the romance all the much. Five stars because of the intensity RD kept up through the entire story. This was next-level writing, even though it was uncomfortable to read and left me feeling like I had been hit by a bus.
The symbol of a heart with an arrow through it sums up the plot. The H/h take one look at each other are immediately struck with a lust/love that gives them no joy. Their pain is intensified when the heroine finds out that the H is her sister-in-law’s lover. That’s right. The hero is a manwhore who took what the sister-in-law was offering after she left the heroine’s brother. On the one hand, the hero didn’t know she was married at the time. On the other hand, what the hell, hero? Why are you such a skank?
The heroine wants to know, too. At one point she muses that she has saved herself for the right person and the hero hasn’t. Why do men get to have a past, but not women?
Robyn Donald asks a lot of thorny questions in this story, which is a direct descendent of the Courtly Love Poems that the troubadours of the Middle Ages used to sing. In that tradition, love and marriage were two separate things. Marriage was a legal contract, encouraged by the church and crown to keep kingdom and estates intact. Love was honest and subversive and destructive.
This is what the heroine is up against as the hero pursues her regardless of morality or her family loyalty to her brother. The heroine resists him with all she’s got until she decides to seduce him after realizing that life is short and this is her chance to live fully. She expects no happy ending. It’s no surprise that RD has them consummate this relationship out of doors, under a full moon, next to water. She uses terms like “goddess coming out of the water” “fertility sacrifices for the land,” etc . . .
Our love struck hero proposes marriage – but his suit is doomed as long the heroine’s brother is teetering on the verge of sanity as he plots his revenge against the hero.
At an impasse, the hero arranges a confrontation with the brother who has to back down when he realizes the heroine’s happiness is more important than his need for revenge. The hero is also humbled. He is forced to admit that he would give up the heroine if it meant her happiness.
So their at-times-unhappy, subversive, intense courtship is now going to transformed into something society and their families can live with. They’ve bottled that lighting into something that will light their way rather than destroy happy homes.
I was struck by how strong all the women were in this novel. The h’s mother had been betrayed by her husband, but she kept going and planted a beautiful garden. The H’s mother had married the love of her life and then she was widowed. Her second marriage was one of expedience – and yet she too created a beautiful garden. The sister-in-law who refused to live in a marriage where the love was one sided is also intent on creating beauty – through hairdressing. Women as destroyer and creator – RD was working overtime with her archetypes.
They say that romance novels are inherently conservative and in the Courtly Love tradition, this one would qualify. All those dangerous emotions are channelled into acceptable outlets. Family members are still speaking to each other. Life will go on. The garden will be tended. What makes this less-than-conservative is that the woman are the ones with the power here. They have made or destroyed the men in their lives – and all of them survived.
The title of this story is “A Willing Surrender.” I think this refers to the hero more than the heroine. Our manwhore has surrendered to marriage and to fidelity. He’s going no where with that arrow stuck in his heart.
The symbol of a heart with an arrow through it sums up the plot. The H/h take one look at each other are immediately struck with a lust/love that gives them no joy. Their pain is intensified when the heroine finds out that the H is her sister-in-law’s lover. That’s right. The hero is a manwhore who took what the sister-in-law was offering after she left the heroine’s brother. On the one hand, the hero didn’t know she was married at the time. On the other hand, what the hell, hero? Why are you such a skank?
The heroine wants to know, too. At one point she muses that she has saved herself for the right person and the hero hasn’t. Why do men get to have a past, but not women?
Robyn Donald asks a lot of thorny questions in this story, which is a direct descendent of the Courtly Love Poems that the troubadours of the Middle Ages used to sing. In that tradition, love and marriage were two separate things. Marriage was a legal contract, encouraged by the church and crown to keep kingdom and estates intact. Love was honest and subversive and destructive.
This is what the heroine is up against as the hero pursues her regardless of morality or her family loyalty to her brother. The heroine resists him with all she’s got until she decides to seduce him after realizing that life is short and this is her chance to live fully. She expects no happy ending. It’s no surprise that RD has them consummate this relationship out of doors, under a full moon, next to water. She uses terms like “goddess coming out of the water” “fertility sacrifices for the land,” etc . . .
Our love struck hero proposes marriage – but his suit is doomed as long the heroine’s brother is teetering on the verge of sanity as he plots his revenge against the hero.
At an impasse, the hero arranges a confrontation with the brother who has to back down when he realizes the heroine’s happiness is more important than his need for revenge. The hero is also humbled. He is forced to admit that he would give up the heroine if it meant her happiness.
So their at-times-unhappy, subversive, intense courtship is now going to transformed into something society and their families can live with. They’ve bottled that lighting into something that will light their way rather than destroy happy homes.
I was struck by how strong all the women were in this novel. The h’s mother had been betrayed by her husband, but she kept going and planted a beautiful garden. The H’s mother had married the love of her life and then she was widowed. Her second marriage was one of expedience – and yet she too created a beautiful garden. The sister-in-law who refused to live in a marriage where the love was one sided is also intent on creating beauty – through hairdressing. Women as destroyer and creator – RD was working overtime with her archetypes.
They say that romance novels are inherently conservative and in the Courtly Love tradition, this one would qualify. All those dangerous emotions are channelled into acceptable outlets. Family members are still speaking to each other. Life will go on. The garden will be tended. What makes this less-than-conservative is that the woman are the ones with the power here. They have made or destroyed the men in their lives – and all of them survived.
The title of this story is “A Willing Surrender.” I think this refers to the hero more than the heroine. Our manwhore has surrendered to marriage and to fidelity. He’s going no where with that arrow stuck in his heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ four stars -
Keeping with my original mantra that I’m not reviewing every single Harlequin that I’ve been reading lately (those that follow me will note that I’ve been on an HQ read-fest of these old-school romances), but solely the ones I enjoy; I’m reviewing this outstanding romance from Kiwi writer, Robyn Donald.
This romance is most definitely old fashioned, vintage Harlequin. Originally published as Mills and Boon back in 1986, the story is one I would encourage anyone that loves classic romance to read.
Donald is a very good descriptive writer, and I just loved the descriptions of long-forgotten New Zealand. Her descriptions of the lushness of the land make me long to visit and take in all the scenery. It also makes me nostalgic for the time period of the latter half of the twentieth century, as I’m sure that a lot of the countryside that’s described here is probably now taken over by unsightly, encroaching condominiums 🥲
What can I say to get you to source a copy of this book (try eBay - that’s where I get my copies)? How about these points:
✔️ vintage England - London suburbia. Complete with well-thought-out descriptions of the upper-class lifestyle and inherent snobbery. Very Jilly Cooper-esque
✔️ an intelligent, educated heroine. One who has her wits about her and whose thought processes added to the complexity of the story
✔️ an instantly smitten Hero. I normally cannot stand the insta-love trope, but this one was more in the style of love at first sight, and I just loved this aspect. Highly romantic in its delivery - * le sigh
✔️ the love at first sight storyline was written as a meeting of souls. It is highly descriptive as a coming together of soulmates, and I found this to be highly romantic. What more could you ask for in a HQ? This is exactly why I’m reading these stories 💁♀️
✔️ the drama in the story centers around an OW, and shockingly this OW is our h’s sil!! The drama! The angst! I LOVED IT! lol
✔️ Donald finesses this story as only she can. It’s all wrapped up in the end in high romantic style, complete with heartfelt declarations.
In sum, this one was highly romantic to me. I did not have the problems with the Hero that a lot of my fellow HQ reviewers did. I was able to accept the explanation that he knew his heart as soon as he saw our h, and that he immediately went about ending his affair with said OW. I found his actions to be romantic actions that added to the development of the relationship between our H and h, and just went with it.
Overall, this is one that I would most definitely recommend for my fellow romance readers. If you also like og romance, then this is one vintage HQ you’ll definitely want to go through the trouble of sourcing.
Four bright, romantic stars. Do recommend.
Keeping with my original mantra that I’m not reviewing every single Harlequin that I’ve been reading lately (those that follow me will note that I’ve been on an HQ read-fest of these old-school romances), but solely the ones I enjoy; I’m reviewing this outstanding romance from Kiwi writer, Robyn Donald.
This romance is most definitely old fashioned, vintage Harlequin. Originally published as Mills and Boon back in 1986, the story is one I would encourage anyone that loves classic romance to read.
Donald is a very good descriptive writer, and I just loved the descriptions of long-forgotten New Zealand. Her descriptions of the lushness of the land make me long to visit and take in all the scenery. It also makes me nostalgic for the time period of the latter half of the twentieth century, as I’m sure that a lot of the countryside that’s described here is probably now taken over by unsightly, encroaching condominiums 🥲
What can I say to get you to source a copy of this book (try eBay - that’s where I get my copies)? How about these points:
✔️ vintage England - London suburbia. Complete with well-thought-out descriptions of the upper-class lifestyle and inherent snobbery. Very Jilly Cooper-esque
✔️ an intelligent, educated heroine. One who has her wits about her and whose thought processes added to the complexity of the story
✔️ an instantly smitten Hero. I normally cannot stand the insta-love trope, but this one was more in the style of love at first sight, and I just loved this aspect. Highly romantic in its delivery - * le sigh
✔️ the love at first sight storyline was written as a meeting of souls. It is highly descriptive as a coming together of soulmates, and I found this to be highly romantic. What more could you ask for in a HQ? This is exactly why I’m reading these stories 💁♀️
✔️ the drama in the story centers around an OW, and shockingly this OW is our h’s sil!! The drama! The angst! I LOVED IT! lol
✔️ Donald finesses this story as only she can. It’s all wrapped up in the end in high romantic style, complete with heartfelt declarations.
In sum, this one was highly romantic to me. I did not have the problems with the Hero that a lot of my fellow HQ reviewers did. I was able to accept the explanation that he knew his heart as soon as he saw our h, and that he immediately went about ending his affair with said OW. I found his actions to be romantic actions that added to the development of the relationship between our H and h, and just went with it.
Overall, this is one that I would most definitely recommend for my fellow romance readers. If you also like og romance, then this is one vintage HQ you’ll definitely want to go through the trouble of sourcing.
Four bright, romantic stars. Do recommend.
April 8, 2013
My feelings about this book are conflicted. I did like the intensity with this story. I felt that the connection between Clary and Morgan was fated in an impossible to rationalize away. However, I just couldn't reconcile the relationship with Susan away. I know that Morgan didn't know that Susan was married when they got together, but he continued to sleep with her after he knew and was willing to take a separation as enough to continue his adulterous relationship with another man's wife. I know my issues stem from my incredible distaste for adultery. I tried to tell myself what Clary told herself, what Morgan did prior to her was his business, but it was too sordid for me to just chalk away. So I could understand how hard it was for Clary, on multiple levels. In addition to unresolved issues from her father's destruction of his own marriage, I think that she was in a very difficult situation with her love for Morgan in direct conflict with her loyalty and love for her brother, the wronged husband. I like that Donald didn't minimize this issue, but it was something they both had to deal with face on. Morgan's way of dealing with it was interesting, and in a forceful way, probably the most direct solution to the problem.
I love a possessive, jealous, obsessed hero, but something about Morgan didn't sit right with me. Maybe I didn't detect enough vulnerability from him early enough on. He seemed a lot more controlling than I like in a hero. While I love a stalkerific hero, I don't like controlling heroes, and Morgan is definitely that. On the good side, his devotion for Clary was undeniable. He showed that what he felt for her was different from what he'd felt for women in the past. This is one of those books where I can say definitively that I wouldn't be happy with a man like this in real life. I'm not sure how many women could be happy with a man like Morgan, with his controlling, somewhat inflexible (the world bends to him and he doesn't bend to the world), and yes, manipulative personality. As an only child, he has a hard sort of self-absorption that expects others to fall in with his own wants and needs. That is not to say he is incapable of generosity or acts of kindness. They are just on his terms. Not sure that would be the ideal marriage partner, honestly.
I decided to give this book four stars because it has a lot of intensity and depth to it, which does appeal to me as a reader. Additionally, I felt a mixture of very vivid emotions as I read it. When I read books, I want to experience the books on a visceral level, and I did feel that with A Willing Surrender. Yes, this is one for readers who can't resist a stalkerific hero, but there were aspects about Morgan's character that compromised my ability to like him as a hero, especially his unethical response to the issue of sustaining an adulterous relationship with another man's wife. He even admitted his jealousy and possessive feelings towards Clary. Put on the other man's shoes! It was like he didn't consider what that might do to another man whose wife he was sleeping with. And it wasn't like he was in love with Susan and truly couldn't let her go. That's undesirable to me.
I know I have massively over-thought this book. What can I say? I can't leave my brain behind when I read books.
I love a possessive, jealous, obsessed hero, but something about Morgan didn't sit right with me. Maybe I didn't detect enough vulnerability from him early enough on. He seemed a lot more controlling than I like in a hero. While I love a stalkerific hero, I don't like controlling heroes, and Morgan is definitely that. On the good side, his devotion for Clary was undeniable. He showed that what he felt for her was different from what he'd felt for women in the past. This is one of those books where I can say definitively that I wouldn't be happy with a man like this in real life. I'm not sure how many women could be happy with a man like Morgan, with his controlling, somewhat inflexible (the world bends to him and he doesn't bend to the world), and yes, manipulative personality. As an only child, he has a hard sort of self-absorption that expects others to fall in with his own wants and needs. That is not to say he is incapable of generosity or acts of kindness. They are just on his terms. Not sure that would be the ideal marriage partner, honestly.
I decided to give this book four stars because it has a lot of intensity and depth to it, which does appeal to me as a reader. Additionally, I felt a mixture of very vivid emotions as I read it. When I read books, I want to experience the books on a visceral level, and I did feel that with A Willing Surrender. Yes, this is one for readers who can't resist a stalkerific hero, but there were aspects about Morgan's character that compromised my ability to like him as a hero, especially his unethical response to the issue of sustaining an adulterous relationship with another man's wife. He even admitted his jealousy and possessive feelings towards Clary. Put on the other man's shoes! It was like he didn't consider what that might do to another man whose wife he was sleeping with. And it wasn't like he was in love with Susan and truly couldn't let her go. That's undesirable to me.
I know I have massively over-thought this book. What can I say? I can't leave my brain behind when I read books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2015
I found nothing redeeming in the hero. He was an adulterous, cheating, lying, sorry excuse for a man.
I kept hoping the heroine would grow a spine, but that's atypical of RD heroines. So, no surprises here.
Sorry - I have to give this 1.5 stars simply because the hero, was no hero. At least not in my view.
I kept hoping the heroine would grow a spine, but that's atypical of RD heroines. So, no surprises here.
Sorry - I have to give this 1.5 stars simply because the hero, was no hero. At least not in my view.
March 6, 2025
I reread this book today after I don't know how many years. The 3 star rating stands. It is an intense story and it is very well written. Robyn Donald is a compelling story-teller, even when she writes about garbage people that you would want to throttle in real life.
What struck me upon second reading was just how sleazy, embarrassingly weak and hollow the character of the sister-in-law was. It was cringey to read about her affair with the hero, how enthralled she was with him sexually, how she let herself be paid off by him, and how she made all the justifications and excuses in the world to place the entire blame on her husband for driving her away by the magnitude of his.... love for her Oh For Pete's sake!
The hero came off as supremely manipulative and even more unlikable upon second reading. I am now convinced he paid off his mistress (the heroine's sister-in-law) to set up a meeting to downplay their affair. No way would the dumb, selfish, wildly jealous sister-in-law attempt to meet up with heroine and placate her if not for the "hero" applying some pressure. I mean, the fact that she was trying to convince the heroine to give the hero a chance while in the same breath, she was reminiscing about their own wild sexual connection that turned her world "from black and white to color" was truly a typhoon of tackiness of epic proportions that I have seldom seen EVEN in this genre that is rife with it.
The hero was a manipulative, entitled, narcisstic, ruthless Alpha asshole and RD sure knows how to write them! How the heroine let him dip his quill into her inkbottle knowing that the last recipient was her sister in law, I'll never know.
The secondary characters of the flaky parents, and the sleazy, malicious OW wanna be in the person of Lady Something or Other were just the final touches to make this world building believable and complete.
This is a book worth reading if only to see a masterclass in writing about lust and obsession but if you are looking for romance, something filled with tenderness and affection, some whimsy and some magic, look elsewhere…
What struck me upon second reading was just how sleazy, embarrassingly weak and hollow the character of the sister-in-law was. It was cringey to read about her affair with the hero, how enthralled she was with him sexually, how she let herself be paid off by him, and how she made all the justifications and excuses in the world to place the entire blame on her husband for driving her away by the magnitude of his.... love for her Oh For Pete's sake!
The hero came off as supremely manipulative and even more unlikable upon second reading. I am now convinced he paid off his mistress (the heroine's sister-in-law) to set up a meeting to downplay their affair. No way would the dumb, selfish, wildly jealous sister-in-law attempt to meet up with heroine and placate her if not for the "hero" applying some pressure. I mean, the fact that she was trying to convince the heroine to give the hero a chance while in the same breath, she was reminiscing about their own wild sexual connection that turned her world "from black and white to color" was truly a typhoon of tackiness of epic proportions that I have seldom seen EVEN in this genre that is rife with it.
The hero was a manipulative, entitled, narcisstic, ruthless Alpha asshole and RD sure knows how to write them! How the heroine let him dip his quill into her inkbottle knowing that the last recipient was her sister in law, I'll never know.
The secondary characters of the flaky parents, and the sleazy, malicious OW wanna be in the person of Lady Something or Other were just the final touches to make this world building believable and complete.
This is a book worth reading if only to see a masterclass in writing about lust and obsession but if you are looking for romance, something filled with tenderness and affection, some whimsy and some magic, look elsewhere…
May 7, 2023
I may be a avid Harlequin reader, but this actually is my first book by Robyn Donald. She writes with a expressive and poetic language that shows the world in this book with a different demeanour. Clary Grey surely refused to surrender to the ferocious passion between her and the sexy and enigmatic Morgan Caird. Having fallen in love in first sight with Clary, Morgan takes on the mission to have Clary surrender to him in the most delicious way...
The part about Morgan having had a affair with Clary`s sister-in-law doesn`t concern me, because he didn`t know. And when he knew, Angus and Susan had already separated. All this is before he even knew or met Clary. But many readers seems to find it disturbing anyways.
I love how Morgan was so open and avid with his feeling for Clary, and his desperation for her heart. He wanted all or nothing, and the way he says "i love you" first to her stole my breath away. Clary could not have been that stupid as to not have known that from the start, he never hided it.
Everything is fair in love and war, and however a cad Morgan may have been before he met Clary, he does indeed suffer for it. The reader realizes instantly that these two joining forces are soulmates, and their journey to a HEA is indeed a entertaining one, and so deeply romantic and so sexy!If you want a book full of angst, a hate-love relationship with a hard-core possessive Alpha-male...then i highly recommend this book!
'The smooth voice was cut off as his finger lifted her blind face. 'Clary,' he muttered, holding her close to the warm length of him, 'don't, darling, please don't. I don't want you to be unhappy—'
'Will you let me go?'
'If I do, will you go out with me?' Her eyes flew open to meet the grave question in his.
'No,' she whispered.
He gave himself no time for thought. 'Then my answer is the same. No. You stay here.'
-Morgan and Clary
The part about Morgan having had a affair with Clary`s sister-in-law doesn`t concern me, because he didn`t know. And when he knew, Angus and Susan had already separated. All this is before he even knew or met Clary. But many readers seems to find it disturbing anyways.
I love how Morgan was so open and avid with his feeling for Clary, and his desperation for her heart. He wanted all or nothing, and the way he says "i love you" first to her stole my breath away. Clary could not have been that stupid as to not have known that from the start, he never hided it.
Everything is fair in love and war, and however a cad Morgan may have been before he met Clary, he does indeed suffer for it. The reader realizes instantly that these two joining forces are soulmates, and their journey to a HEA is indeed a entertaining one, and so deeply romantic and so sexy!If you want a book full of angst, a hate-love relationship with a hard-core possessive Alpha-male...then i highly recommend this book!
'The smooth voice was cut off as his finger lifted her blind face. 'Clary,' he muttered, holding her close to the warm length of him, 'don't, darling, please don't. I don't want you to be unhappy—'
'Will you let me go?'
'If I do, will you go out with me?' Her eyes flew open to meet the grave question in his.
'No,' she whispered.
He gave himself no time for thought. 'Then my answer is the same. No. You stay here.'
-Morgan and Clary
December 15, 2025
Welp, this was disagreeable
First, I got the Mills and Boons copy and look at it:
Absolutely ✨zero✨ regrets.
The content, though...
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
First, I got the Mills and Boons copy and look at it:
Absolutely ✨zero✨ regrets.
The content, though...
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
December 16, 2022
Love at first sight, soulmates trope. Loved it.
February 25, 2017
I liked the book, I'm giving it 4 stars, but fair warning this review is gonna be full of complaints.
Arrrgh Robyn Donald can really set my teeth on edge, even though she's such a good writer, even when she writes a story I enjoy. Something about her heroines... they all have this certain brittle quality, like they're one step away from a nervous breakdown. They're good at stiffly, tight-lippedly obeying the Hero's every command or otherwise languishing around waiting for him, and they're all so tightly wound telling themselves to be strong yet they completely lose their heads at every smoldering glance from the Hero. And the Heroes... sometimes she writes winners. She has written some sweet, lovely heroes, I remember a few with great fondness. But too often they're such... they're so... they get away with too much in the sex-with-OW department! There, I said it. They tie the high-strung heroines up in knots with their sexcapades and then all is forgiven or forgotten or brushed over because they're-men-and-it's-natural, and I'm left grinding my teeth.
In this story, I'm prepared to overlook a lot considering the H was completely thunderstruck and altogether a changed man after his first glimpse of the h. His past is the past. However, it started grating on me when it kept being emphasized that he doesn't mess with married women, he's got scruples about adultery. I mean... The whole premise is that he made a mistress of the h's sister-in-law. Okay, so he didn't know she was married at first, and was angry upon learning it. Did he break up with her after finding out? NO! He kept right on shacking up with her, a married woman, publicly enough that everybody in the world knew it, including her husband, the h's brother. So where does he get off ever making the claim of not messing with married women? If he wants to truly say that with a straight face, surely he has to break up with a mistress who turns out to be married, no? And that's where all their supposed morals went down the drain for me. The h's obsessively-embittered brother was the only one with his head on straight in my eyes, actually.
I know, I know, I'm a righteous shrew, a parade-pisser, bees up my bonnet, whatever. Honestly though, I wouldn't have had a problem if it was just agreed that after the H met the h he became a changed man and cast off his old dirtbag life. That would have been fine! But nooo they had to keep saying he's got integrity and never screwed around with marriages... He seduced a woman, turns out she has a husband, he still keeps her as a mistress. He's consciously being an adulterous cheater, END of STORY, and pretending he isn't makes him and all the excusing excusers around him equally deluded. So maybe the wife left her husband, they're separated. When did marriage lines get so fluid? Glad to know if I don't sleep under the same roof with my husband, it means I'm no longer married. Saves a lot of paperwork, sweet!
Let me repeat, I had no problem with him being a scumbag in the past; it was the insistence that he was all moral and scrupulous that got me so het up. The hypocrisy really annoyed me! What I wouldn't have given for the heroine to just once ask him, "Hey my moral man, how come you didn't dump her after you found out she had a husband?" What could he have possibly said to that, I wonder? "Oh I was already addicted to having tons of sex with her in our cozy little apartment where I was keeping her high on sex and luxury, so I couldn't spare a thought for the man she was married to." Best part? Heroine probably would've gnashed her teeth and cried herself to sleep and then blanked it out of her mind so she could be his happy little wife, a la classic RD-style. Betcha ten quid.
Anyway with that lil thang off my chest... it was a great story! Lol. Really, I liked it. Nice angst, and yummily-overwhelming passion on the Hero's part. Enjoyable read!
Arrrgh Robyn Donald can really set my teeth on edge, even though she's such a good writer, even when she writes a story I enjoy. Something about her heroines... they all have this certain brittle quality, like they're one step away from a nervous breakdown. They're good at stiffly, tight-lippedly obeying the Hero's every command or otherwise languishing around waiting for him, and they're all so tightly wound telling themselves to be strong yet they completely lose their heads at every smoldering glance from the Hero. And the Heroes... sometimes she writes winners. She has written some sweet, lovely heroes, I remember a few with great fondness. But too often they're such... they're so... they get away with too much in the sex-with-OW department! There, I said it. They tie the high-strung heroines up in knots with their sexcapades and then all is forgiven or forgotten or brushed over because they're-men-and-it's-natural, and I'm left grinding my teeth.
In this story, I'm prepared to overlook a lot considering the H was completely thunderstruck and altogether a changed man after his first glimpse of the h. His past is the past. However, it started grating on me when it kept being emphasized that he doesn't mess with married women, he's got scruples about adultery. I mean... The whole premise is that he made a mistress of the h's sister-in-law. Okay, so he didn't know she was married at first, and was angry upon learning it. Did he break up with her after finding out? NO! He kept right on shacking up with her, a married woman, publicly enough that everybody in the world knew it, including her husband, the h's brother. So where does he get off ever making the claim of not messing with married women? If he wants to truly say that with a straight face, surely he has to break up with a mistress who turns out to be married, no? And that's where all their supposed morals went down the drain for me. The h's obsessively-embittered brother was the only one with his head on straight in my eyes, actually.
I know, I know, I'm a righteous shrew, a parade-pisser, bees up my bonnet, whatever. Honestly though, I wouldn't have had a problem if it was just agreed that after the H met the h he became a changed man and cast off his old dirtbag life. That would have been fine! But nooo they had to keep saying he's got integrity and never screwed around with marriages... He seduced a woman, turns out she has a husband, he still keeps her as a mistress. He's consciously being an adulterous cheater, END of STORY, and pretending he isn't makes him and all the excusing excusers around him equally deluded. So maybe the wife left her husband, they're separated. When did marriage lines get so fluid? Glad to know if I don't sleep under the same roof with my husband, it means I'm no longer married. Saves a lot of paperwork, sweet!
Let me repeat, I had no problem with him being a scumbag in the past; it was the insistence that he was all moral and scrupulous that got me so het up. The hypocrisy really annoyed me! What I wouldn't have given for the heroine to just once ask him, "Hey my moral man, how come you didn't dump her after you found out she had a husband?" What could he have possibly said to that, I wonder? "Oh I was already addicted to having tons of sex with her in our cozy little apartment where I was keeping her high on sex and luxury, so I couldn't spare a thought for the man she was married to." Best part? Heroine probably would've gnashed her teeth and cried herself to sleep and then blanked it out of her mind so she could be his happy little wife, a la classic RD-style. Betcha ten quid.
Anyway with that lil thang off my chest... it was a great story! Lol. Really, I liked it. Nice angst, and yummily-overwhelming passion on the Hero's part. Enjoyable read!
March 14, 2022
This is one of my RD favorites.
It has everything I want in a romantic book.
Insta love.
Totally besotted hero.
Both celibate after meeting.
A lil bit of drama.
Some nasty behavior from the hero, but only because he’s mad about the heroine.
So, our h/H meet and it’s love at first sight.
She works as a nanny and the hero is a rich man who has a mistress, as some good soul tells the heroine.
For this reason she’s prejudiced against him, especially since her father left the family for another woman, a younger one and when she left him a year later he was ruined and died in a short time.
The hero asks to be introduced to the heroine and both are stunned by the strength of their reciprocal attraction.
He asks her to go with him but she refuses.
Some weeks later the heroine is dining out with friends on her birthday and guess who comes in? The hero of course! And not alone.
With a woman, of course.
And guess who’s the woman?
But her sister in law of course.
Really?
Really!
So the hero’s mistress is the heroine sister in law!
Oh and there’s a scene at the restaurant because our heroine is no shy violet. She goes to their table and makes the walls tremble with her rage.
Ah ah hero, not a good move.
So now the heroine knows that her sil left her brother because of the hero, or at least she became the hero’s mistress while she was still married to her brother.
Which brother is now very hurt and suffering and plans a revenge against his wife and the hero.
So this love seems really doomed from the start.
But the hero doesn’t give up.
He hires the heroine as his mother’s nurse, and then blackmails her to work for him or else he will ruin her brother.
The heroine accepts, and even if her sil told her that H didn’t know she was married when they first started their affair, the heroine knows she can’t betray her brother and have an affair with the hero.
For the rest of the book the hero will try to persuade the heroine he loves her and he wants to marry her and eventually he will talk to her brother telling him he truly loves the heroine.
That was good.
The hero was sort of a womanizer and he paid for his attitude very dearly because this almost cost him the only woman he ever loved.
Even if he completely changed his behavior after meeting the heroine what he was before affected very heavily his relationship with the heroine.
This is a case of insta love but also insta karma.
If the hero hadn’t been a womanizer who had casual affairs and didn’t care anything about his women he wouldn’t have found himself in that predicament. He would have had relationships and not meaningless sex.
I loved the heroine because she wasn’t a doormat and she had principles.
I loved the hero because was the first to say I love you and pursued the heroine relentlessly.
Very well done, very angsty, I appreciated it very much.
It has everything I want in a romantic book.
Insta love.
Totally besotted hero.
Both celibate after meeting.
A lil bit of drama.
Some nasty behavior from the hero, but only because he’s mad about the heroine.
So, our h/H meet and it’s love at first sight.
She works as a nanny and the hero is a rich man who has a mistress, as some good soul tells the heroine.
For this reason she’s prejudiced against him, especially since her father left the family for another woman, a younger one and when she left him a year later he was ruined and died in a short time.
The hero asks to be introduced to the heroine and both are stunned by the strength of their reciprocal attraction.
He asks her to go with him but she refuses.
Some weeks later the heroine is dining out with friends on her birthday and guess who comes in? The hero of course! And not alone.
With a woman, of course.
And guess who’s the woman?
But her sister in law of course.
Really?
Really!
So the hero’s mistress is the heroine sister in law!
Oh and there’s a scene at the restaurant because our heroine is no shy violet. She goes to their table and makes the walls tremble with her rage.
Ah ah hero, not a good move.
So now the heroine knows that her sil left her brother because of the hero, or at least she became the hero’s mistress while she was still married to her brother.
Which brother is now very hurt and suffering and plans a revenge against his wife and the hero.
So this love seems really doomed from the start.
But the hero doesn’t give up.
He hires the heroine as his mother’s nurse, and then blackmails her to work for him or else he will ruin her brother.
The heroine accepts, and even if her sil told her that H didn’t know she was married when they first started their affair, the heroine knows she can’t betray her brother and have an affair with the hero.
For the rest of the book the hero will try to persuade the heroine he loves her and he wants to marry her and eventually he will talk to her brother telling him he truly loves the heroine.
That was good.
The hero was sort of a womanizer and he paid for his attitude very dearly because this almost cost him the only woman he ever loved.
Even if he completely changed his behavior after meeting the heroine what he was before affected very heavily his relationship with the heroine.
This is a case of insta love but also insta karma.
If the hero hadn’t been a womanizer who had casual affairs and didn’t care anything about his women he wouldn’t have found himself in that predicament. He would have had relationships and not meaningless sex.
I loved the heroine because she wasn’t a doormat and she had principles.
I loved the hero because was the first to say I love you and pursued the heroine relentlessly.
Very well done, very angsty, I appreciated it very much.
October 11, 2015
this was about one of those obsessive heroes who cud not get the heroine out of his mind. he was completely gaga over her ! Clary was scared lest she became obsessive like her dad or her brother, but it was really Morgan who was obsessive and did all the pursuing ! his feelings for Clary were never under doubt! however I cud not condone the fact dat he slept wid Susan in the past. I got a nasty feeling about him first sleeping wid the sister-in-law and now wanting to replace her by Clary ! I thought he was quite disgusting as he did not stop seeing Susan when he discovered she had lied about being married. to top dat, Morgan revealed dat at first he believed Clary was married but he wud have pursued her regardless ! his attitude towards married women left a lot to be desired. the less said, the better! now, my favourite moment in the book was when they met a bunch of friends, and were discussing their favourite holiday spots, and Morgan said his was a field,not far from London, where they held pony-club events. when asked why, to dat he replied: "I first saw the love of my life there". awww <3
May 29, 2017
The sister-in-law of heroin is the hero's mistress. Her brother hates the hero.
December 24, 2020
Loved, loved the twist with the OW ...
and the developing love story between H and h was beautiful ...
and the developing love story between H and h was beautiful ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2017
"A Willing Surrender" is the story of Clary and Morgan.
When Morgan spots Clary across a horse ranch, it is instant attraction. He pursues her relentlessly, until she comes to know about his past with her present and runs away.
He however chases her, and they fall heavily into one another.
If you like insta love in HQN romances, this is for you. The hero is crazily obsessed with the heroine, chases her until she's with him and is utterly devoted to her. The heroine shares the same for the hero, however, she is weighed down by her family loyalties.
The draw between them is HOT, and so is their chemistry. I enjoyed the back and forth, as well as the dilemma.
Safe BUT
4.25/5
When Morgan spots Clary across a horse ranch, it is instant attraction. He pursues her relentlessly, until she comes to know about his past with her present and runs away.
He however chases her, and they fall heavily into one another.
If you like insta love in HQN romances, this is for you. The hero is crazily obsessed with the heroine, chases her until she's with him and is utterly devoted to her. The heroine shares the same for the hero, however, she is weighed down by her family loyalties.
The draw between them is HOT, and so is their chemistry. I enjoyed the back and forth, as well as the dilemma.
Safe BUT
4.25/5
January 31, 2018
Read this while on cold and flu meds and Hannibal Lecter kept popping into my head ... “Hello Clarice.”. “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.".
Even with Hannibal Lecter in the background, I still enjoyed this book. I loved Clary. She was seriously stuck between a rock and a hard place. I did not envy her.
Morgan, man whore that he was, got smacked upside the head with luuurve the moment he first saw Clarice. He just wanted her. What he didn’t realize is that his man whoring ways were gonna come back and bite him in the ass.
It was wonderful watching him try his best to redeem himself in Clary’s eyes. I also loved Morgan’s mom. She was a firecracker!
A fun read, even when you’re all drugged in with cold and flu meds. Lol
Even with Hannibal Lecter in the background, I still enjoyed this book. I loved Clary. She was seriously stuck between a rock and a hard place. I did not envy her.
Morgan, man whore that he was, got smacked upside the head with luuurve the moment he first saw Clarice. He just wanted her. What he didn’t realize is that his man whoring ways were gonna come back and bite him in the ass.
It was wonderful watching him try his best to redeem himself in Clary’s eyes. I also loved Morgan’s mom. She was a firecracker!
A fun read, even when you’re all drugged in with cold and flu meds. Lol
December 30, 2010
Although I am wary of love-at-first-sight romances, this one worked for me on several levels. Both the H/H are affected and it shows in the dialog. There are a couple of situations where you can't help but feel sorry for the hero since he's giving it all he's got to win the heroine over....
I'e read this one many times over and it hasn't lost its impact as yet
I'e read this one many times over and it hasn't lost its impact as yet
March 19, 2018
This is another one of RDs instant lustful soulmates books that make me wish she’d written paranormal. It’s not too late Robyn Donald! NZ werewolves (not swear wolves) and vampires!
I also liked that while Clary is judgemental and has huge moral issues with dating the man her sister in law ran away with, she does listen to the woman’s side of things and gives her a hug when she’s through.
I also liked that while Clary is judgemental and has huge moral issues with dating the man her sister in law ran away with, she does listen to the woman’s side of things and gives her a hug when she’s through.
September 11, 2014
Really enjoyed this one I know Morgan isn't for everyone but I love ruthless obsessed hero's who will do anything to get their women! I didn't like the adultery aspect of this book but I could see why this book had to have it.
July 21, 2017
This was a really powerful story. I would never have read this book if not for the high reviews by the good reads friends I follow. I did not like that the H willingly continued a love affair with the h's soon to be ex sister in law once be found out she was married. First off she lied to you. H may have really had loads of fun/enjoyed sex with OW to keep on going. I'm sorry but that's just too close to home for the h. Really how can you have a HEA with that kind of scandal? If I was the brothers h I'm sorry but I will always feel pissed off and want to bash your head. Family get togethers would be very awkward! In the H's defence he did not initially know she was married. And it looks like after he knows the OW already left her husband... But the way the story is written I can really connect to. It just seems so realistic because I can relate to the H. I am/was similar to the h. I believe/believed in waiting until you are married to have sex, sex was like a dirty little secret, losing yourself in passion was undignified and makes you vulnerable, never reveal everything about yourself to a guy because they can hurt you /don't show all your cards Yada Yada. I really like the h. She truly stood her ground and did her absolute best to resist the hero. Sure she eventually folded but I admire her strength and holding out as long as she could against the H's relentless pursuit. I also truly admire her loyalty to her brother. Bravo for not running to the H when she was unfairly forced to make the decision. Now as for the H if i had to block out the nasty ick factor I would have said OMG that is truly a die hard, obsessed love awwww and yay for revealing his love first and wow for going all out and goddamn! However, H truly is obsessed and madly and possessively in love with the h that I fear for her. Look at one of these conversations. The h asks what happens if h goes with another man: 'I'd kill him,' he said simply.
So quietly ferocious was his voice that she gaped. The implacable words sent a shiver of fear through her but she pushed on. 'And me? Would you kill me too?'
'You?' His teeth were bared in a simulacrum of a smile. 'Oh, no, I wouldn't kill you. Never. But I'd make you wish for death over and over again, Clary.'
'You're crazy,' she whispered, mesmerised by the primitive ferocity of his face. He was all barbarian, transfixed by a basic and ungovernable possessiveness. And then, as she watched, the rage was replaced by an appalled astonishment.
'No,' he muttered, extending a hand to stop her as she took a backwards step. 'No, don't look at me like that. Oh, Clary, what you do to me! I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry. God, all these threats...'
Whoa H, intense!! Anywhoo, the H basically will do and did(!) WHATEVER it takes/took to have the heroine body and really soul to have her. That is why I don't know if I believe the H's declaration that if h decides to leave him H will let her go if that is what she wants. Hell I really believe h already decided to choose her brother over him so H had to force the situation with the brother. I just know in real life I'm not sure if I like how the H is with his attitude and his past. I've had a guy who really wanted me. Because he knew I was conservative he hid the fact that he was 18 years older than him and was divorced with a family. (Yeah I'm not good with ages hahaha) He wanted me to get to know him as a person and bind me emotionally and not think about beliefs /society and it wouldn't be easy to just turn him down as a suitor. So in regards to the story I feel the H just totally disregarded the h's convictions. she's mine we belong together and by God nobody can say otherwise! So though H truly bared the shocking reality of how much he loved the H to the point of madness do you really love her that you have to force her hand like that?! I think the H was a selfish one. Anywhoo yeah I related to this story. I rated it 4 stars because it was really well written - all the characters and side characters even the H.
So quietly ferocious was his voice that she gaped. The implacable words sent a shiver of fear through her but she pushed on. 'And me? Would you kill me too?'
'You?' His teeth were bared in a simulacrum of a smile. 'Oh, no, I wouldn't kill you. Never. But I'd make you wish for death over and over again, Clary.'
'You're crazy,' she whispered, mesmerised by the primitive ferocity of his face. He was all barbarian, transfixed by a basic and ungovernable possessiveness. And then, as she watched, the rage was replaced by an appalled astonishment.
'No,' he muttered, extending a hand to stop her as she took a backwards step. 'No, don't look at me like that. Oh, Clary, what you do to me! I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry. God, all these threats...'
Whoa H, intense!! Anywhoo, the H basically will do and did(!) WHATEVER it takes/took to have the heroine body and really soul to have her. That is why I don't know if I believe the H's declaration that if h decides to leave him H will let her go if that is what she wants. Hell I really believe h already decided to choose her brother over him so H had to force the situation with the brother. I just know in real life I'm not sure if I like how the H is with his attitude and his past. I've had a guy who really wanted me. Because he knew I was conservative he hid the fact that he was 18 years older than him and was divorced with a family. (Yeah I'm not good with ages hahaha) He wanted me to get to know him as a person and bind me emotionally and not think about beliefs /society and it wouldn't be easy to just turn him down as a suitor. So in regards to the story I feel the H just totally disregarded the h's convictions. she's mine we belong together and by God nobody can say otherwise! So though H truly bared the shocking reality of how much he loved the H to the point of madness do you really love her that you have to force her hand like that?! I think the H was a selfish one. Anywhoo yeah I related to this story. I rated it 4 stars because it was really well written - all the characters and side characters even the H.
August 29, 2018
Hero was besotted with heroine. He has flaws but which one of us without ?
March 13, 2019
Before reading this I read the reviews a lot of them were much in praise of the heroine Clary who resists the hero Morgan because he’s had an affair with Clary’s brothers wife. Well I must have read a different book, because although to start with she does sort of resist him and yes it’s because he was with her brothers wife, but once she’s tricked into working for Morgan’s mother and he blackmails her so she can’t leave, it’s a totally different story, I agree that he doesn’t bed her straight away, but they share plenty of other sexual intimacies. In fact she melts every time he touches her, once she’s so overwhelmed by his kiss he has to help the poor woman to a chair because her legs give out, and when they do eventually have sex it’s Clary who initiates it. I’d hardly call that resisting.
The main issue I had with this was I found it unbelievable that once Morgan had an affair with her brothers wife, that she would even let him touch her. That had the yuck factor for me.
The main issue I had with this was I found it unbelievable that once Morgan had an affair with her brothers wife, that she would even let him touch her. That had the yuck factor for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2021
Well written, intense story. Loved it despite the faintly lingering bad taste as a result of the hero having had an affair with the heroine's sister in law (1 star docked because of that) but I guess there would be no story to tell if it weren’t for that fact.
June 7, 2012
This was the last in a 3 part series, but does not really need the other 2...I really enjoyed the relationship between these two. I loved the 'love at first sight' aspect and how he pursues her is just good romance. There were a few parts that I thought were a little slow and I wish they had cleared up everything for her brother a little better.
January 23, 2012
3.5 stars maybe. I'm not sure I bought into the super dramatic immediate attraction/love (I don't think I've ever seen it described so intensely before), which is why this was not a great one for me. But it was still an engaging read.
December 9, 2015
Good love story - but quick read
December 18, 2022
Sweet, love at first sight romance. I didn’t know Robyn Donald was capable of such sweetness.
July 12, 2020
A recent reread of this Robyn Donald romance because I didn't really remember it vividly, and was in the mood for some obsessive love that Donald writes so well. Unfortunately, once I got into this one, the memories came flooding back and the rating went from 3 to 2 stars, because, though I am always up for some RD craziness, this one just did not work for me. I love RD, I think she is one of the strongest HP writers ever, but her heroes take a good bit of work. They tend toward the obsessive, controlling, judgmental side and it is only through her careful peeks into their psyche, and her ability to have them explain and justify their wretched behavior in the name of love, that I can enjoy them at all.
I am not sure what it is about Morgan, the hero of A Willing Surrender, that failed for me, but he was never able to make me believe that Clary would not end up miserable in their eventual marriage. I was OK with the instalust/love thing, but the way that he manipulated her and the fact that his obsession never felt like love, more like the need to possess, made me believe that once the novelty of "ownership" wore thin, Morgan would be back on the prowl. The relationship that seemed most interesting in this book, was actually the one between Morgan and the heroine's brother. It was quite the contest those two had going, Clary just seemed to be a pawn they used to try and one up each other. I did find it worth noting that the obsessive qualities and over the top possessiveness, that caused Clary's SIL, Susan to leave Clary's brother and embark on an affair with Morgan, were very much mirrored in Clary and Morgan's relationship. Donald is such a smart writer, I found myself wondering if she was slipping these little bits in there to keep herself amused after writing so many of these. Either way, there are better RD books if you want obsessive and controlling heroes, that DO make you believe it is all in the name of real love. This one, not so much.
I am not sure what it is about Morgan, the hero of A Willing Surrender, that failed for me, but he was never able to make me believe that Clary would not end up miserable in their eventual marriage. I was OK with the instalust/love thing, but the way that he manipulated her and the fact that his obsession never felt like love, more like the need to possess, made me believe that once the novelty of "ownership" wore thin, Morgan would be back on the prowl. The relationship that seemed most interesting in this book, was actually the one between Morgan and the heroine's brother. It was quite the contest those two had going, Clary just seemed to be a pawn they used to try and one up each other. I did find it worth noting that the obsessive qualities and over the top possessiveness, that caused Clary's SIL, Susan to leave Clary's brother and embark on an affair with Morgan, were very much mirrored in Clary and Morgan's relationship. Donald is such a smart writer, I found myself wondering if she was slipping these little bits in there to keep herself amused after writing so many of these. Either way, there are better RD books if you want obsessive and controlling heroes, that DO make you believe it is all in the name of real love. This one, not so much.
June 8, 2021
She was bewildered by her own reaction.
Clary couldn't deny the attraction that flamed between herself and Morgan Caird when they met in England. But she didn't believe in love at first sight.
Neither did she believe that a powerful, experienced man like Morgan would be permanently affected in the same way. So she refused to have anything to do with him and hurried home to New Zealand.
Morgan proved her wrong. His pursuit was relentless, unavoidable, seductive--though she kept on fighting him. It took a long time for Clary to realize it was herself she was fighting-and that their love was real.
Clary couldn't deny the attraction that flamed between herself and Morgan Caird when they met in England. But she didn't believe in love at first sight.
Neither did she believe that a powerful, experienced man like Morgan would be permanently affected in the same way. So she refused to have anything to do with him and hurried home to New Zealand.
Morgan proved her wrong. His pursuit was relentless, unavoidable, seductive--though she kept on fighting him. It took a long time for Clary to realize it was herself she was fighting-and that their love was real.
November 20, 2014
I find it weird that so many romance readers dislikes stories that involve love at first sight. Very unromantic of them.
I thought that was fine, but too much of the story was about that and nothing else. It had the makings of being good, but fell short and I was bored most of the time, skimming paragraphs.
SPOILER!
I did think it was realistic how much the heroine had trouble getting over the fact that the hero had an affair with her sister-in-law.
This book could have been way better.
I thought that was fine, but too much of the story was about that and nothing else. It had the makings of being good, but fell short and I was bored most of the time, skimming paragraphs.
SPOILER!
I did think it was realistic how much the heroine had trouble getting over the fact that the hero had an affair with her sister-in-law.
This book could have been way better.
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