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Love's Reward #1
Love's Reward
She'd been taught never to trust anyone
Wealthy socialite Cathy Durrant had grown up in a family where the ability to dominate was regarded as an art.
Eventually her acquired ruthlessness had led to a failed marriage, and wreaked havoc with innocent lives.
But after five remorse-filled years, Cathy had changed.
Try telling that to New Zealand playwright Jake Ferrers, though. He was sure she was still a predatory siren -- and bent on destroying his sister's marriage to a childhood friend of Cathy's.
Faced with Jake's suspicions, Cathy was distressed by the sizzling currents flowing between them. She knew that she and Jake were scarred souls for whom trust would come slowly -- if ever.
Wealthy socialite Cathy Durrant had grown up in a family where the ability to dominate was regarded as an art.
Eventually her acquired ruthlessness had led to a failed marriage, and wreaked havoc with innocent lives.
But after five remorse-filled years, Cathy had changed.
Try telling that to New Zealand playwright Jake Ferrers, though. He was sure she was still a predatory siren -- and bent on destroying his sister's marriage to a childhood friend of Cathy's.
Faced with Jake's suspicions, Cathy was distressed by the sizzling currents flowing between them. She knew that she and Jake were scarred souls for whom trust would come slowly -- if ever.
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 13, 1989
1 person is currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Donald
448 books149 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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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 2, 2022
This is the sequel to Long Journey Back. The heroine of this story is the first wife of the hero from LJB. At 18 she blackmailed that hero into marrying her and then was left a virgin divorce after she came to her senses. She went to Vietnam and worked in an orphanage for two years and is now back in NZ with plans to take a business degree so she can responsibly take over the trust her wealthy grandparents left her.
The h has a childhood friend, our weak-chinned OM. He is married to the hero's neurotic sister who is convinced the two are having an affair. Big bro hero comes storming into the h's life determined to keep this jezebel away from his sister's marriage.
Luckily, he's a rich, successful writer so he has plenty of follow the heroine to the family bach (on its' own island) and to teach her how to milk a cow. We know how this is going to go. The h falls in love, but is certain he will reject her so she plays it cool. The H does reject her after his sis and OM find them the first time they attempted to go to bed together. (This was to wake the OM up to the h's bad character). The heroine feels betrayed by the OM for the confidences he told his wife and the hero about her. She doesn't think the hero was in on any kind of set up, although the hero's sis says he was. The hero makes the h promise to never see the OM again, which isn't a hard promise to keep since she disgusted with all of them.
The H's sis finally has her nervous breakdown and gets treatment, so the H can now finish seducing the h - which he does - only to reject her again. Unfortunately her v-card didn't work. The hero thought that because she was so passionate, she must have been with a lot of men.
Now the heroine is really devastated. A year passes. The h is determined to forget the H and pursues her business degree. She also makes a sequel bait friend.
The hero turns up to give lectures and to finally get the h out of his system. The h holds out until she is given word that the hero has died in a boating accident. Since this an HP, I knew that uncertainty would only last a page or two - he's back and the salt water has finally cleared his brain. He realizes the h never lied to him and that he's the only one and he loves her, etc. . .
The author pushes it by pointing out how odd their wedding was with the bride's ex-husband giving her away. And her supposed other lover there with his pregnant wife, the hero's sister.
This was great until the second rejection and the year apart. The story lost energy then and I was annoyed with both of them for playing games when they finally were reunited. Still, it was a diverting story and kept me reading, even though I don't think all of those couples would be that harmonious.
The h has a childhood friend, our weak-chinned OM. He is married to the hero's neurotic sister who is convinced the two are having an affair. Big bro hero comes storming into the h's life determined to keep this jezebel away from his sister's marriage.
Luckily, he's a rich, successful writer so he has plenty of follow the heroine to the family bach (on its' own island) and to teach her how to milk a cow. We know how this is going to go. The h falls in love, but is certain he will reject her so she plays it cool. The H does reject her after his sis and OM find them the first time they attempted to go to bed together. (This was to wake the OM up to the h's bad character). The heroine feels betrayed by the OM for the confidences he told his wife and the hero about her. She doesn't think the hero was in on any kind of set up, although the hero's sis says he was. The hero makes the h promise to never see the OM again, which isn't a hard promise to keep since she disgusted with all of them.
The H's sis finally has her nervous breakdown and gets treatment, so the H can now finish seducing the h - which he does - only to reject her again. Unfortunately her v-card didn't work. The hero thought that because she was so passionate, she must have been with a lot of men.
Now the heroine is really devastated. A year passes. The h is determined to forget the H and pursues her business degree. She also makes a sequel bait friend.
The hero turns up to give lectures and to finally get the h out of his system. The h holds out until she is given word that the hero has died in a boating accident. Since this an HP, I knew that uncertainty would only last a page or two - he's back and the salt water has finally cleared his brain. He realizes the h never lied to him and that he's the only one and he loves her, etc. . .
The author pushes it by pointing out how odd their wedding was with the bride's ex-husband giving her away. And her supposed other lover there with his pregnant wife, the hero's sister.
This was great until the second rejection and the year apart. The story lost energy then and I was annoyed with both of them for playing games when they finally were reunited. Still, it was a diverting story and kept me reading, even though I don't think all of those couples would be that harmonious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2021
İI loved it. I’d read in tears and excitement. I love h & H. Of course H was cruel because as usual he didn’t want to love her.(Usual HPlandia’s hero trait) She was great character, redeemed and matured through experience (not sexual) and pain. She had flaws but she was good person and had a backbone (except melting when H kissed her but this is also a common flaw in HPlandia lol) Anyway, I think it was the best RD book I’ve read.
February 24, 2017
RE Love's Reward - so RD is back with more of the vaguely incestuous hot mess that is her Hollingworth mini-series. We have already covered Captives of the Past, Long Journey Back and now are on the third of the quartet, which covers the fate of the OW from LJB- this h is one who blackmailed the H of LJB into marriage while he was supposedly in love with his own h. In LR, the h who behaved so badly in the last book has done her Vietnamese orphanage time and now gets to get betrayed and lurved up by the brother of the wife of her skeevey childhood friend.
Cue up the people behaving badly shot glasses, cause this one doesn't really have any good behavior for any of the major characters. In fact the only ones who come across as semi respectable are the H and h of the last book, who are lurved up and expecting and the h of the next book, A Bitter Homecoming, who is a maths genius and becomes a roommate of this h late in the book.
The h becomes the lust club mojo target of the H when his hysterical and srsly neurotic sister accuses the h of having an affair with her weak, skeevy, whiny husband - who is the h's long time childhood friend and whom the h has zilch lurve mojo interest in. When there are one too many little scenes between the estranged husband and wife and he keeps running to the h to whine, the h takes herself off to the family private island to sort out some goals for her life. Cause now that the h has served her being the evil OW penance by helping deprived, starving orphan children, she has to find some worthy socially beneficial goals for herself.
The H, who has accused the h several times of extreme tarty hood and sleeping with her married childhood friend, follows the h to the family island. Ostensibly to teach the h to milk cows. This time tho the h wants to learn to milk the cow-- thus proving her OW redemption-- and I am sure Bessie (the hitherto unnamed cow,) was very grateful.
(Tho I do think the h's generosity to the elderly couple who truck farm the h's family island and are currently in hospital with the husband's ill health could have extended to buying the couple a cow approved back massaging automatic milking machine. The h apparently has more money than Bill Gates, so maybe she isn't as reformed as RD wants us to believe. I was a bit irked that RD did not even name the cow in the story, Bessie deserved better really and a cow back massager would have gone a long way.)
So the h and H spend some quality time together, milking cows, feeding pigs and chickens and watching glow worms on the bluff banks at night. There is a budding attraction growing between the two, and right at the pivotal consummation moment, the H's hysterical sister bursts in with the hubby in tow and has hysterics. She insists her hubby get a good look at his mistress cheating on him with her brother. She is accusing the h of being tarty right, center and left and everyone else is just looking at her like she is nuts - which she is - but then she also implies that she and the H worked together to lead the h on and set the situation up.
(Obviously it never occurs to either the idiot sister or the H that if the h is the tarty harlot they are accusing her of being, she wouldn't give a pigeon dropping about who or what the silly sister dragged in or did. She would blow both of them off, and still shag around with who ever she wanted to, including the sister's milquetoast husband, if she so desired. Cause both the H and the silly sis seem to think the h is a force of nature. As we know from Pirates of the Caribbean and Calypso, forces of nature don't really care about what kind of games they play with mortals, they are just going to do what they want. So isn't it fortunate for them that the h is just a really rich semi nice person who is a virgin, and not an angry Pacific Goddess.)
The H finally hauls his crazy sister off, the abashed hubby trails like a puppy and the h goes to hang out at her ex-husband's house. The crazy sister shows again and the h from LBJ has to threaten to call the police before the H hauls her off. The H sneaks back a little while later to make the h promise not to see the sister's hubby anymore and to steal a few roofie kisses while he is at it. The h is pretty disgusted with all of them, tho she doubts the H set up the prior scene with his sister, so she kicks them all to the curb. In the meanwhile, silly crazy sis is spreading the rumor all over town that the h blackmailed LJB's H into marriage. Like any worth her salt HP former OW, this h just laughs and tosses it off.
The h returns to her family island to contemplate her career path and her unfulfilled physical frustrations over the H. She decides to go to college and get a very useful business degree to run the conglomerate her dead family left her and she tries to stifle her yen for the H.
The H does manage a quick sneak onto the h's island, and gets his long awaited pump and dump moment - tho since the h is so good at it, it is obvious she really is a tart and the H makes sure he points that out. Since the h does't have to wit to enquire about just how many card carrying virgins the H has de-carded in his many lady buffet samplings, we have to make do with a mutual sulky storming off moment and the h vows not to be used again. The H votes himself off the island and wanders around for a bit. The h buys a house, starts uni and gets a new roomie in the shape of the maths geniuses h for the next book, all the while having a year long mopey moment cause she loves the H.
Then the H returns and joins the h's uni as a lecturer cause he writes books and is a genius. He and the h are verbally baiting and physically enticing each other and we find out the sister and the h's childhood friend have managed to repair their marriage and are intent on polluting the HP gene pool by having an ill considered mini silly sis contribution- but they are continuing therapy so the kid may miss the neurotic gene or get adopted by a Penny Jordan parent and become a PJ h.
The H and h bait each other some more with taunts and flaunts of other people and the H is determined to lurve club his way out of his obsession with the h and she is equally determined to make him her personal lurve club toy. But before anyone can boudoir bounce there way to either love or disinterest, the H gets lost at sea and is presumed dead, tragically he doesn't have the good taste to stay dead and drowned. Tho the h does have some big sads for a few pages while she waits for news. Unfortunately some poor secondary unknown guy had to die in the H's place to keep this story moving.
The H returns, the h sneaks uninvited into the airport to spy on his happy homecoming, cause she has no place in his life and they run into each other and the H decides to go home with the h. Cue the big I love you speech that RD usually manages to do a better job at than what she did here. The H confesses he was just playin' about the h being a harloty tart cause he liked her, after he lurves her up a bit she and he can be married cause he wants her now forever.
There is a rather dubious epilogue where we are at the H and h's wedding and all the crazy people are let loose with the regular people and the HP gene pool is growing by leaps and bounds and it is all an unlikely kumbaya singalong with holding hands for the HEA.
This one is okay, but since I didn't really like the h because of her prior appearances and could have cared less about the H or his insane, bratty sister, I just didn't have a strong belief in the HEA. Then again I did not really care all that much either. However RD does do her usual excellent writing job and there was certainly a good amount of patented RD angst, so give this one a go if you are doing the series - it isn't terrible for RD and pretty good for overall HPlandia outings.
Cue up the people behaving badly shot glasses, cause this one doesn't really have any good behavior for any of the major characters. In fact the only ones who come across as semi respectable are the H and h of the last book, who are lurved up and expecting and the h of the next book, A Bitter Homecoming, who is a maths genius and becomes a roommate of this h late in the book.
The h becomes the lust club mojo target of the H when his hysterical and srsly neurotic sister accuses the h of having an affair with her weak, skeevy, whiny husband - who is the h's long time childhood friend and whom the h has zilch lurve mojo interest in. When there are one too many little scenes between the estranged husband and wife and he keeps running to the h to whine, the h takes herself off to the family private island to sort out some goals for her life. Cause now that the h has served her being the evil OW penance by helping deprived, starving orphan children, she has to find some worthy socially beneficial goals for herself.
The H, who has accused the h several times of extreme tarty hood and sleeping with her married childhood friend, follows the h to the family island. Ostensibly to teach the h to milk cows. This time tho the h wants to learn to milk the cow-- thus proving her OW redemption-- and I am sure Bessie (the hitherto unnamed cow,) was very grateful.
(Tho I do think the h's generosity to the elderly couple who truck farm the h's family island and are currently in hospital with the husband's ill health could have extended to buying the couple a cow approved back massaging automatic milking machine. The h apparently has more money than Bill Gates, so maybe she isn't as reformed as RD wants us to believe. I was a bit irked that RD did not even name the cow in the story, Bessie deserved better really and a cow back massager would have gone a long way.)
So the h and H spend some quality time together, milking cows, feeding pigs and chickens and watching glow worms on the bluff banks at night. There is a budding attraction growing between the two, and right at the pivotal consummation moment, the H's hysterical sister bursts in with the hubby in tow and has hysterics. She insists her hubby get a good look at his mistress cheating on him with her brother. She is accusing the h of being tarty right, center and left and everyone else is just looking at her like she is nuts - which she is - but then she also implies that she and the H worked together to lead the h on and set the situation up.
(Obviously it never occurs to either the idiot sister or the H that if the h is the tarty harlot they are accusing her of being, she wouldn't give a pigeon dropping about who or what the silly sister dragged in or did. She would blow both of them off, and still shag around with who ever she wanted to, including the sister's milquetoast husband, if she so desired. Cause both the H and the silly sis seem to think the h is a force of nature. As we know from Pirates of the Caribbean and Calypso, forces of nature don't really care about what kind of games they play with mortals, they are just going to do what they want. So isn't it fortunate for them that the h is just a really rich semi nice person who is a virgin, and not an angry Pacific Goddess.)
The H finally hauls his crazy sister off, the abashed hubby trails like a puppy and the h goes to hang out at her ex-husband's house. The crazy sister shows again and the h from LBJ has to threaten to call the police before the H hauls her off. The H sneaks back a little while later to make the h promise not to see the sister's hubby anymore and to steal a few roofie kisses while he is at it. The h is pretty disgusted with all of them, tho she doubts the H set up the prior scene with his sister, so she kicks them all to the curb. In the meanwhile, silly crazy sis is spreading the rumor all over town that the h blackmailed LJB's H into marriage. Like any worth her salt HP former OW, this h just laughs and tosses it off.
The h returns to her family island to contemplate her career path and her unfulfilled physical frustrations over the H. She decides to go to college and get a very useful business degree to run the conglomerate her dead family left her and she tries to stifle her yen for the H.
The H does manage a quick sneak onto the h's island, and gets his long awaited pump and dump moment - tho since the h is so good at it, it is obvious she really is a tart and the H makes sure he points that out. Since the h does't have to wit to enquire about just how many card carrying virgins the H has de-carded in his many lady buffet samplings, we have to make do with a mutual sulky storming off moment and the h vows not to be used again. The H votes himself off the island and wanders around for a bit. The h buys a house, starts uni and gets a new roomie in the shape of the maths geniuses h for the next book, all the while having a year long mopey moment cause she loves the H.
Then the H returns and joins the h's uni as a lecturer cause he writes books and is a genius. He and the h are verbally baiting and physically enticing each other and we find out the sister and the h's childhood friend have managed to repair their marriage and are intent on polluting the HP gene pool by having an ill considered mini silly sis contribution- but they are continuing therapy so the kid may miss the neurotic gene or get adopted by a Penny Jordan parent and become a PJ h.
The H and h bait each other some more with taunts and flaunts of other people and the H is determined to lurve club his way out of his obsession with the h and she is equally determined to make him her personal lurve club toy. But before anyone can boudoir bounce there way to either love or disinterest, the H gets lost at sea and is presumed dead, tragically he doesn't have the good taste to stay dead and drowned. Tho the h does have some big sads for a few pages while she waits for news. Unfortunately some poor secondary unknown guy had to die in the H's place to keep this story moving.
The H returns, the h sneaks uninvited into the airport to spy on his happy homecoming, cause she has no place in his life and they run into each other and the H decides to go home with the h. Cue the big I love you speech that RD usually manages to do a better job at than what she did here. The H confesses he was just playin' about the h being a harloty tart cause he liked her, after he lurves her up a bit she and he can be married cause he wants her now forever.
There is a rather dubious epilogue where we are at the H and h's wedding and all the crazy people are let loose with the regular people and the HP gene pool is growing by leaps and bounds and it is all an unlikely kumbaya singalong with holding hands for the HEA.
This one is okay, but since I didn't really like the h because of her prior appearances and could have cared less about the H or his insane, bratty sister, I just didn't have a strong belief in the HEA. Then again I did not really care all that much either. However RD does do her usual excellent writing job and there was certainly a good amount of patented RD angst, so give this one a go if you are doing the series - it isn't terrible for RD and pretty good for overall HPlandia outings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2022
This is about ow that forced the hero of another romance to marry her pretending a compromising situation.
So I don't know if I cared about her.
This seems to be where she was redeemed and she tries to be a good woman.
Sadly she doesn't seem to understand that she has to stay away from married men and that they are not her business.
The hero's sister is married to her bf, but this bf is a loser and he keeps on going to the heroine when he has issue with his wife, so of course, the poor wife is jealous and asks her brother to help her getting rid of the heroine.
So starts this story of redemption and revenge that I didn't just care.
Because, truly, there's no way I care for a heroine who caused so much unhappiness for her selfish desire for a man who never showed her interest, trapping him in a marriage while he suffered and another woman who was in love with him and he loved suffered too.
Then this hero was not convincing at all.
He is the typical RD hero, unable to recognize his feelings and leaving the heroine alone after bumping her.
I didn't feel he loved her at all. He stayed away so long.
And anyway, the hea where everyone is happy, and the heroine is forgiven and friend with the couple she divided years before is everything but realistic.
So I don't know if I cared about her.
This seems to be where she was redeemed and she tries to be a good woman.
Sadly she doesn't seem to understand that she has to stay away from married men and that they are not her business.
The hero's sister is married to her bf, but this bf is a loser and he keeps on going to the heroine when he has issue with his wife, so of course, the poor wife is jealous and asks her brother to help her getting rid of the heroine.
So starts this story of redemption and revenge that I didn't just care.
Because, truly, there's no way I care for a heroine who caused so much unhappiness for her selfish desire for a man who never showed her interest, trapping him in a marriage while he suffered and another woman who was in love with him and he loved suffered too.
Then this hero was not convincing at all.
He is the typical RD hero, unable to recognize his feelings and leaving the heroine alone after bumping her.
I didn't feel he loved her at all. He stayed away so long.
And anyway, the hea where everyone is happy, and the heroine is forgiven and friend with the couple she divided years before is everything but realistic.
April 4, 2012
3.5 stars. This was decent, but as I read a few of Robyn Donald's old HPs, I see a pattern. And what's missing is the hero groveling at the end. This hero made all kinds of assumptions and said many cruel things to the heroine -- he needs to grovel! They can't just both explain their thoughts and nod knowingly and forgivingly when the hero says something like that he was fighting his own feelings and that's why he treated her like crap -- that may be true, but why should the heroine have suffered for it?? I just wish at least there would be a scene where the hero shows some concern for her or you get a better glimpse into his feelings for her before the end. There are hints about desperate/haunted looks in his eyes, etc., but I'd prefer some action. The author does do a good job of having characters from other books appear in the stories, but I keep following a trail of characters backward, reading in the wrong order I guess. Still, an ok read.
June 6, 2020
I've been reading a lot of RD's novels recently, and visiting with oh-so-many former and soon-to-be MCs from her other novels, and while I haven't read Long Journey Back yet (Boogenhagen's awesome review here), this book lays out the history well enough to follow. The h of this book, Cathy, was the OW of LJB, causing all kinds of mayhem for the H and h of that book. Despite all that, they are her friends and part of her support system in this book, as she gets put through the wringer that is RD's idea of romance. Lots of angst in this one, and lots of familiar elements that work pretty well but for me were a little too reminiscent of similar RD books (especially since I've been devouring them pretty quickly).
I liked this one. (I have too much liking for asshat, slut-shaming, threatening Hs and should be very ashamed of myself, I know.) Maybe not as much as Smoke in the Wind, whose H made this one look a little lightweight, but that might be because I've been going through RD's books like they're a bag of Oreos lately, so my H mean-ahole meter is a little skewed, and I need to take a break and read some post-2000 Harleys to remind myself that Hs are supposed to grovel more and have REASONS for being alphaholes and are revealed to be tough-but-tender gammas in the end. Naaaaah... who am I kidding. A good outing from RD that's guaranteed to infuriate those who hate her mean, chauvinistic, double-standard Hs and give those of us who can't get enough guilty pleasure out of her angstfests a nice bang for our buck.
I liked this one. (I have too much liking for asshat, slut-shaming, threatening Hs and should be very ashamed of myself, I know.) Maybe not as much as Smoke in the Wind, whose H made this one look a little lightweight, but that might be because I've been going through RD's books like they're a bag of Oreos lately, so my H mean-ahole meter is a little skewed, and I need to take a break and read some post-2000 Harleys to remind myself that Hs are supposed to grovel more and have REASONS for being alphaholes and are revealed to be tough-but-tender gammas in the end. Naaaaah... who am I kidding. A good outing from RD that's guaranteed to infuriate those who hate her mean, chauvinistic, double-standard Hs and give those of us who can't get enough guilty pleasure out of her angstfests a nice bang for our buck.
April 20, 2024
It is a terrible book. Terribly boring. There are too many other characters. It feels like odds and ends from many stories have been thrown into a pot and this story then came out.
There is no sense in the plot. The heroine goes and tells her lawyer that she will do management. Study it. But then she goes away to a farm where the hero is teaching her to milk cows. She goes to refurbish the farm but the author forgot. So there is no refurbishment. Instead a trip by hero and heroine to see glow worms. That whole boring trip to the farm house was quite superfluous to the plot.
The heroine had a massive guilt complex and donated her wealth to orphans or something.
All very enraging.
The hero was a complete asshole. Horrible. Totally unlikeable. The heroine was just as stupid.
I gave up and tried to skim through. Gave up on that too.
The hero basically decided to entrap heroine to save his sister’s marriage. The heroine was the other woman to too many female characters in the story.
I almost felt bugged. She’s the heroine. I don’t want to read details of other men’s marital problems vis a vis her. Where she comes out the pitiable loser.
Hero kept on and on misjudging her.
She was the stupid woman who ran to every man for support rather than sit down and shake sense into the zero hero .. No she did not do that.
It irritated me that the author was romanticising the Trent character and his wife so much. They appeared more interesting and worth reading about.
The hero and heroine of this book?
They deserved each other.
I never understood exactly what the hero did.
There were at least two tracks which were unnecessary to story.
A trip to the farmhouse. The sharing of house with heroine from another story.
Very terrible writing.
Thoroughly underwhelming story. Read if you want to get enraged
Very very very bad writing.
I learnt a thing or two about how NOT TO WRITE.
Read only if you want a hero who is so handsome perfect brilliant etc. etc. a Mary Sue equivalent hero. Then he goes and he’s Milking cows.
The whole story will bore you out of your skull
To top it all they went and had sex behind a rock .. why???? and then the hero accused heroine of being a slut and went away for a year.
Then he met her accidentally. Or on purpose. I didn’t wait to find out.
After that I abandoned the book. If I had a paper copy I would bin it.
Such an aggravating pair. Not worth a whole story. Idiots. Dimwits. Bores.
They were beyyyyyond boring.
There is no sense in the plot. The heroine goes and tells her lawyer that she will do management. Study it. But then she goes away to a farm where the hero is teaching her to milk cows. She goes to refurbish the farm but the author forgot. So there is no refurbishment. Instead a trip by hero and heroine to see glow worms. That whole boring trip to the farm house was quite superfluous to the plot.
The heroine had a massive guilt complex and donated her wealth to orphans or something.
All very enraging.
The hero was a complete asshole. Horrible. Totally unlikeable. The heroine was just as stupid.
I gave up and tried to skim through. Gave up on that too.
The hero basically decided to entrap heroine to save his sister’s marriage. The heroine was the other woman to too many female characters in the story.
I almost felt bugged. She’s the heroine. I don’t want to read details of other men’s marital problems vis a vis her. Where she comes out the pitiable loser.
Hero kept on and on misjudging her.
She was the stupid woman who ran to every man for support rather than sit down and shake sense into the zero hero .. No she did not do that.
It irritated me that the author was romanticising the Trent character and his wife so much. They appeared more interesting and worth reading about.
The hero and heroine of this book?
They deserved each other.
I never understood exactly what the hero did.
There were at least two tracks which were unnecessary to story.
A trip to the farmhouse. The sharing of house with heroine from another story.
Very terrible writing.
Thoroughly underwhelming story. Read if you want to get enraged
Very very very bad writing.
I learnt a thing or two about how NOT TO WRITE.
Read only if you want a hero who is so handsome perfect brilliant etc. etc. a Mary Sue equivalent hero. Then he goes and he’s Milking cows.
The whole story will bore you out of your skull
To top it all they went and had sex behind a rock .. why???? and then the hero accused heroine of being a slut and went away for a year.
Then he met her accidentally. Or on purpose. I didn’t wait to find out.
After that I abandoned the book. If I had a paper copy I would bin it.
Such an aggravating pair. Not worth a whole story. Idiots. Dimwits. Bores.
They were beyyyyyond boring.
February 11, 2019
She'd been taught never to trust anyoneWealthy socialite Cathy Durrant had grown up in a family where the ability to dominate was regarded as an art. Eventually her acquired ruthlessness had led to a failed marriage and wreaked havoc with innocent lives. But after five remorse-filled years, Cathy had changed.
Try telling that to New Zealand playwright Jake Ferrers, though. He was sure she was still a predatory siren--and bent on destroying his sister's marriage to a childhood friend of Cathy's.
Faced with Jake's suspicions, Cathy was distressed by the sizzling currents flowing between them. She knew that she and Jake were scarred souls for whom trust would come slowly--if ever
Try telling that to New Zealand playwright Jake Ferrers, though. He was sure she was still a predatory siren--and bent on destroying his sister's marriage to a childhood friend of Cathy's.
Faced with Jake's suspicions, Cathy was distressed by the sizzling currents flowing between them. She knew that she and Jake were scarred souls for whom trust would come slowly--if ever
May 24, 2015
i liked it though jake was really mean to cathy! it was ridiculous dat a woman wid cathy's past was still naive sexually! sometimes HP authors fabricate lots of things/events just to make heroine a virgin.lol! which is the appeal, i guess! very melodramatic one, where cathy was confused for a femme fatale as she behaved so badly wid trent in the past. anyone know in which book i can read about her tricking trent into marriage ?? she also did not seem like dat kinda person now. can someone change dat much!? so i felt really awful dat jake treated her like a common slut!
May 16, 2021
Ooooh. Cathy, the other woman from the last story, who basically blackmailed the hero, Trent, into marriage despite his being madly in love with Melly, is the heroine of this story. So it's her turn. Since Long Journey Back, Cathy has reformed herself completely and is trying to make her way in the world independently. Unfortunately, because of her friendship with a guy, that guy's wife is convinced that Cathy the husband-stealer is trying to steal her husband. And because of this, that wife's brother, Jake Ferrers comes after Cathy. He accuses Cathy of being a promiscuous marriage wrecker and follows her around a lot for the first part of the book. He clearly disdains her, but he also can't seem to resist her. But then Cathy learns that Jake was possibly just setting her up for a downfall in front of her supposed lover and feels the betrayal, since she'd honestly started to love him. But it's not the end for Jake and Cathy. Cathy matures further and tries to become independent and get over Jake, but he's not done with her by a longshot.
These two did not exactly feel "in love" at any point of the story. Jake feels like an angry, hate-filled guy who is trying to manipulate Cathy and get her into bed so he can finally get a taste of that promiscuous marriage wrecker. And he even admits there at the end that it was all he wanted until he had an accident and realized how much he loved her. Even up to that moment though, he never really seemed in love. Not to mention he's barking up the wrong tree if he's trying to save his sister's marriage...if you don't want her husband sleeping around (not that he was), try talking to the husband! This was definitely some trainwreck worthy drama and highly entertaining to read, but you don't really end up routing for them to get together.
These two did not exactly feel "in love" at any point of the story. Jake feels like an angry, hate-filled guy who is trying to manipulate Cathy and get her into bed so he can finally get a taste of that promiscuous marriage wrecker. And he even admits there at the end that it was all he wanted until he had an accident and realized how much he loved her. Even up to that moment though, he never really seemed in love. Not to mention he's barking up the wrong tree if he's trying to save his sister's marriage...if you don't want her husband sleeping around (not that he was), try talking to the husband! This was definitely some trainwreck worthy drama and highly entertaining to read, but you don't really end up routing for them to get together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2021
Book 3 of the Hollingsworth series: First was Captives of the Past, followed by Long Journey Back. LJB introduces Cathy, our heroine, and her spoiled ways.
This book focuses on Cathy’s metamorphosis into a good girl. Well, bravo to Cathy for changing into a a better person. She is an inspiration to all the mean girls who show up at school reunions to live their glory days.
Cathy stats:
Age: 23
Marital Status: Divorced
Sexual experience:None A work in progress
Work Experience: None(independently wealthy)
Volunteer Experience: Worked 2 years at an orphanage
School: Just enrolled in business classes at the University
Special Talents: I can milk cows and knit
Ambitions: I want to beTrent’sJake’s wife. Oh, and on my family’s island I plan to build a camp for children who come from different economic backgrounds.
..Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ok, well first off, you may have recently read about me in the newspaper. I don’t come off real good. You see I am super rich and well known. My BFF is Peter(we were childhood friends). Anyhoo, Peter is married to Emma. Emma is even more spoiled than me and suffers from undiagnosed mental illness(like I don’t want to gossip, but she is super crazy). Well, Peter blows off steam at my place, and sometimes he spends the night. This bothers his wife for some reason. So, she leaked the story about my marriage, which my bff must have told her about so now I don’t know what to think about his loyalties. I am not sure why I don’t have friends that are women. Peter told her everything. I know it is bad what I did, but being published in the newspaper is super embarrassing. Plus, Trent, my ex, is one of my really good friends now. His wife, Melly was cold to me at first, but she is warming up to me and trying to guide me as well. Also, I volunteered in an orphanage, which cancels out all of my previous transgressions.
Are you involved with anyone at the moment?
Oh boy. I don’t want to say it’s complicated, but it is complicated.
I am kind of seeing someone. His name is Jake, and he is ever so dreamy.
Jake is older. Experienced. Smart. Handsome. And a best selling author. He is the one who taught me how to milk a cow. The fly in the ointment of our love is his sister. His sister is Emma. He has heard Emma’s version of me and although he was intrigued by a photo he saw of me once, he also believes I am sleeping with his sister’s husband. So, he is being a little mean to me. He ends up on my family’s island, and we bonded. (Not to mention the sexual chemistry between us was off the charts) When we got back to Auckland, Jake took me to a party. I intentionally dressed to kill, hoping that the night would be THE night. It almost happened too! But then Emma and Peter came into my apartment and caught us in bed(right before I was going to officially become a woman) Jake left me to go to his sister, who he is always taking up for, and left me. Then his sister leaked the story of my wedding. I left town, went back to the island. Jake found me several weeks later. We had mind blowing sex(popping my cherry was not painful so he didn’t realize I was a virgin) I gave as good as I got.When done, Jake pushed me away. He basically called me a slut, got on his boat and sailed back to the mainland.
WEll, it sounds like you dodged a bullet with that one. Anyway, I think we have all we…...
But don’t you see I am totes in love with him. I thought when I did the whole orphanage thing, that my karma meter would reset. Obviously, I had to go through the trial of loving Jake and not have him love me in return. So, I decided I was going to open a camp for children on the island. I am going to go to school and expand my mind. I am a survivor. I am a fighter. Plus, Alex has moved in with me, so that’s a good thing.
That’s great. You have moved on with Alex. Where did you meet him?.
Alex is not a him, Alex is my girlfriend.
Oh really? I wasn’t expecting that …
Oh, no silly…Alex is a friend who is a girl. I mean come on this is 1989 HP land. I’m team alpha, asshat male all the way. And after a year apart, Jake and I bumped into each other again. He is lecturing at the University. I guess he can’t get me out of his head, and well, I never have stopped loving him. I just fear he only wants to use me for sex. I am going to fight the good fight and try and resist him. But, I can’t help but think that we will have some sort of defining moment that will lead us to an HEA. I imagine that his sister and I should become great friends. I am sure we will dine at my ex husbands house often. I plan on keeping in touch with Alex. A Bitter Homecoming I definitely see kids somewhere down the road.
Well, you definitely gave us a lot of information. So, I guess um this is where we say, don’t call us, we will call you…
Ok, so overall this was an enjoyable read, and RD is able to give us the angst that is needed. These series usually sucker me in, because when they are done correctly they give me the missing epilogues of the previous characters. I like to know what my previous characters are up to and if they are expanding their families etc….
This book focuses on Cathy’s metamorphosis into a good girl. Well, bravo to Cathy for changing into a a better person. She is an inspiration to all the mean girls who show up at school reunions to live their glory days.
Cathy stats:
Age: 23
Marital Status: Divorced
Sexual experience:
Work Experience: None(independently wealthy)
Volunteer Experience: Worked 2 years at an orphanage
School: Just enrolled in business classes at the University
Special Talents: I can milk cows and knit
Ambitions: I want to be
..Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ok, well first off, you may have recently read about me in the newspaper. I don’t come off real good. You see I am super rich and well known. My BFF is Peter(we were childhood friends). Anyhoo, Peter is married to Emma. Emma is even more spoiled than me and suffers from undiagnosed mental illness(like I don’t want to gossip, but she is super crazy). Well, Peter blows off steam at my place, and sometimes he spends the night. This bothers his wife for some reason. So, she leaked the story about my marriage, which my bff must have told her about so now I don’t know what to think about his loyalties. I am not sure why I don’t have friends that are women. Peter told her everything. I know it is bad what I did, but being published in the newspaper is super embarrassing. Plus, Trent, my ex, is one of my really good friends now. His wife, Melly was cold to me at first, but she is warming up to me and trying to guide me as well. Also, I volunteered in an orphanage, which cancels out all of my previous transgressions.
Are you involved with anyone at the moment?
Oh boy. I don’t want to say it’s complicated, but it is complicated.
I am kind of seeing someone. His name is Jake, and he is ever so dreamy.
Jake is older. Experienced. Smart. Handsome. And a best selling author. He is the one who taught me how to milk a cow. The fly in the ointment of our love is his sister. His sister is Emma. He has heard Emma’s version of me and although he was intrigued by a photo he saw of me once, he also believes I am sleeping with his sister’s husband. So, he is being a little mean to me. He ends up on my family’s island, and we bonded. (Not to mention the sexual chemistry between us was off the charts) When we got back to Auckland, Jake took me to a party. I intentionally dressed to kill, hoping that the night would be THE night. It almost happened too! But then Emma and Peter came into my apartment and caught us in bed(right before I was going to officially become a woman) Jake left me to go to his sister, who he is always taking up for, and left me. Then his sister leaked the story of my wedding. I left town, went back to the island. Jake found me several weeks later. We had mind blowing sex(popping my cherry was not painful so he didn’t realize I was a virgin) I gave as good as I got.When done, Jake pushed me away. He basically called me a slut, got on his boat and sailed back to the mainland.
WEll, it sounds like you dodged a bullet with that one. Anyway, I think we have all we…...
But don’t you see I am totes in love with him. I thought when I did the whole orphanage thing, that my karma meter would reset. Obviously, I had to go through the trial of loving Jake and not have him love me in return. So, I decided I was going to open a camp for children on the island. I am going to go to school and expand my mind. I am a survivor. I am a fighter. Plus, Alex has moved in with me, so that’s a good thing.
That’s great. You have moved on with Alex. Where did you meet him?.
Alex is not a him, Alex is my girlfriend.
Oh really? I wasn’t expecting that …
Oh, no silly…Alex is a friend who is a girl. I mean come on this is 1989 HP land. I’m team alpha, asshat male all the way. And after a year apart, Jake and I bumped into each other again. He is lecturing at the University. I guess he can’t get me out of his head, and well, I never have stopped loving him. I just fear he only wants to use me for sex. I am going to fight the good fight and try and resist him. But, I can’t help but think that we will have some sort of defining moment that will lead us to an HEA. I imagine that his sister and I should become great friends. I am sure we will dine at my ex husbands house often. I plan on keeping in touch with Alex. A Bitter Homecoming I definitely see kids somewhere down the road.
Well, you definitely gave us a lot of information. So, I guess um this is where we say, don’t call us, we will call you…
Ok, so overall this was an enjoyable read, and RD is able to give us the angst that is needed. These series usually sucker me in, because when they are done correctly they give me the missing epilogues of the previous characters. I like to know what my previous characters are up to and if they are expanding their families etc….
November 22, 2022
This book has definitely left me confused. As I was reading it I kept thinking Ms Donald got herself in trouble because her characters were bent on heading in opposite directions and there were no signs of an approaching happy-end in the nearest future. I was afraid a near-death experience was looming on the horizon, the one which miraculously helps the characters see the light. And I wasn’t wrong.
The male protagonist is really confusing; I have acquired severe headaches trying to fathom his words and actions.
The female protagonist is the one I admire. After being betrayed, publicly humiliated and used by unscrupulous people she kept on fighting for herself. She never gave up and hid in the corner.
She certainly deserves a better hero.
The male protagonist is really confusing; I have acquired severe headaches trying to fathom his words and actions.
The female protagonist is the one I admire. After being betrayed, publicly humiliated and used by unscrupulous people she kept on fighting for herself. She never gave up and hid in the corner.
She certainly deserves a better hero.
August 19, 2019
To really enjoy this story more, read Cathy Durrant's back story in "Long Journey Back" (Harlequin Presents, No 936) first, which features Cathy's first husband, Trent Addison. It will help you understand why she is the way she is.
Then after reading this story, read her friend Alexa Severn's HEA in "A Bitter Homecoming" (Harlequin Presents, No 1263).
Then after reading this story, read her friend Alexa Severn's HEA in "A Bitter Homecoming" (Harlequin Presents, No 1263).
April 26, 2025
This book was part of a trilogy of sorts, and the author did NOT save the best for last! Aside from a clever twist of making the OW/Villain of the previous book the h of this one (the only reason I'm giving this book two stars instead of one), the whole story just fell flat.
First of all, considering this h's past: blackmailing the H of the previous book into marrying her by letting her (wealthy, powerful, vengeful, morally bankrupt) grandfather/guardian think he had seduced her, and then standing by and letting Gramps threaten him and his employees with bankruptcy if he didn't make an "honest woman" of his granddaughter, it's difficult to put her in h mode. The author tried to pave the way by pointing out in the previous book that she was young (only 18), both spoiled and neglected by her crap family, and desperate to be loved, but it still doesn't cut it. Neither did her apparent redemption at the end of that book, five years older and wiser. She still comes across as spoiled and pushy, clinging to the H when her grandmother dies (the only relative who cared, though she was also flawed), despite his reconciliation with the h, and expecting him to be there for her while she copes with her loss.
That nonsense is negated in this book, when the OM makes his appearance (before the H comes on the scene) and we find out they've been friends since childhood, and she thought of him as a brother. Then why the heck didn't she turn to him when she was grieving, instead of the H????
Also, the whole silliness of her marriage (which was never consummated as the H refused to sleep with her) was never really dealt with, as you get no flashbacks and no discussions about it, like why was she divorced, when the marriage could easily have been annulled, not only because they didn't sleep together but because of the circumstances that brought it about???
And the author takes an important factor (the h's decision to redeem herself by working at the orphanage in Asia that her late grandmother built) that goes a long way toward making the h more likeable and just lets it go, with no more than a few hints at hardships, horrors, ana a bout with some kind of flu or virus that took a toll. But that's it! No flashbacks, no discussions, she never even tells the H about it! The whole thing's just completely dropped, except for her idea to build a children's camp on the island her family owned, which apparently happens, but there's not much to that, either. Ridiculous!!
What you do get (and way too much of) is one of the most unlikeable, unpleasant, and downright ANNOYING characters in HP history: the OM's wife/H's sister!!! What a WACKADOODLE!!! I won't even bother describing her (I'm guessing other reviewers have done that) but let's just say she should NOT have been allowed to reproduce (this is one case where a miscarriage should have happened) and I feel sorry for that unborn baby, hope it's kidnapped by someone sane, as this mother-to-be definitely is NOT (I don't buy that a short time of therapy straightened her out, when nothing had helped in previous years), and the OM is a weak, waffling beta wimp, (he thought of the h as a sister, but was also attracted to her, but loved his wife, but sort of loved the h too, and as for telling the truth about the h's marriage to his bat crap wife after he promised the h he'd never tell anyone, well gee, he's sorry, but maybe he resented that marriage, just like he resents the H, but not really, well, maybe a little, but Gee Whiz!), you get the idea! That poor baby will soon be yelling "HELP!!!!!"
The H is not without flaws, as he acts a bit like some of the h's in other books, where they're always too quick to think the worst of the H. Her, the H acts like that about the h, believing she's a spoiled rich princess, who plays sex games with men, and has been hitting then sheets with the OM, betraying his beloved sister, while all the time knowing what a mental wreck his sister is! And who was his source for all the crummy thoughts he had about the h? Why, his sister, of course! Who could be more reliable? (BARF!! BARF!!) Ironically, he talks about how coddled the h has been all her life, while he continually coddles his lunatic sister and makes all sorts of excuses for her! He even tries to put the blame for her failing marriage on the OM, who (though no prize) didn't deserve that blame, considering what he had to put up with.
And it got tiring to hear the H talk about the h's lack of morals, character, whatever, while making it clear how much he wanted her, couldn't stay away.... until he did! Right after he seduced her! (Later, he says he realized she was a virgin, but it didn't register because he thought her marriage had been a real one, that the OM had been her lover, that there were others as well, etc. and SO SILLY!!!
So many things didn't fit. At one point, the h said there had never been any men in her life until the H except her ex and the OM, but then she mentions men trying to get their tongue in her mouth when they kissed her, so how does that make sense? She never kissed her ex, and kisses with the OM were the brotherly peck on the cheek, so there had to be others, didn't there???
The H and h go the one step forward/ten steps back too many tomes, and it gets annoying. And there was no necessity for that silly episode toward the end when the h thinks the H is dead, killed in a boating accident. It served no purpose at all, and was so short (one day he's "dead", the very next day you find out they identified the wrong body) it may as well not have been written.
Then again, that's true of the whole book!
First of all, considering this h's past: blackmailing the H of the previous book into marrying her by letting her (wealthy, powerful, vengeful, morally bankrupt) grandfather/guardian think he had seduced her, and then standing by and letting Gramps threaten him and his employees with bankruptcy if he didn't make an "honest woman" of his granddaughter, it's difficult to put her in h mode. The author tried to pave the way by pointing out in the previous book that she was young (only 18), both spoiled and neglected by her crap family, and desperate to be loved, but it still doesn't cut it. Neither did her apparent redemption at the end of that book, five years older and wiser. She still comes across as spoiled and pushy, clinging to the H when her grandmother dies (the only relative who cared, though she was also flawed), despite his reconciliation with the h, and expecting him to be there for her while she copes with her loss.
That nonsense is negated in this book, when the OM makes his appearance (before the H comes on the scene) and we find out they've been friends since childhood, and she thought of him as a brother. Then why the heck didn't she turn to him when she was grieving, instead of the H????
Also, the whole silliness of her marriage (which was never consummated as the H refused to sleep with her) was never really dealt with, as you get no flashbacks and no discussions about it, like why was she divorced, when the marriage could easily have been annulled, not only because they didn't sleep together but because of the circumstances that brought it about???
And the author takes an important factor (the h's decision to redeem herself by working at the orphanage in Asia that her late grandmother built) that goes a long way toward making the h more likeable and just lets it go, with no more than a few hints at hardships, horrors, ana a bout with some kind of flu or virus that took a toll. But that's it! No flashbacks, no discussions, she never even tells the H about it! The whole thing's just completely dropped, except for her idea to build a children's camp on the island her family owned, which apparently happens, but there's not much to that, either. Ridiculous!!
What you do get (and way too much of) is one of the most unlikeable, unpleasant, and downright ANNOYING characters in HP history: the OM's wife/H's sister!!! What a WACKADOODLE!!! I won't even bother describing her (I'm guessing other reviewers have done that) but let's just say she should NOT have been allowed to reproduce (this is one case where a miscarriage should have happened) and I feel sorry for that unborn baby, hope it's kidnapped by someone sane, as this mother-to-be definitely is NOT (I don't buy that a short time of therapy straightened her out, when nothing had helped in previous years), and the OM is a weak, waffling beta wimp, (he thought of the h as a sister, but was also attracted to her, but loved his wife, but sort of loved the h too, and as for telling the truth about the h's marriage to his bat crap wife after he promised the h he'd never tell anyone, well gee, he's sorry, but maybe he resented that marriage, just like he resents the H, but not really, well, maybe a little, but Gee Whiz!), you get the idea! That poor baby will soon be yelling "HELP!!!!!"
The H is not without flaws, as he acts a bit like some of the h's in other books, where they're always too quick to think the worst of the H. Her, the H acts like that about the h, believing she's a spoiled rich princess, who plays sex games with men, and has been hitting then sheets with the OM, betraying his beloved sister, while all the time knowing what a mental wreck his sister is! And who was his source for all the crummy thoughts he had about the h? Why, his sister, of course! Who could be more reliable? (BARF!! BARF!!) Ironically, he talks about how coddled the h has been all her life, while he continually coddles his lunatic sister and makes all sorts of excuses for her! He even tries to put the blame for her failing marriage on the OM, who (though no prize) didn't deserve that blame, considering what he had to put up with.
And it got tiring to hear the H talk about the h's lack of morals, character, whatever, while making it clear how much he wanted her, couldn't stay away.... until he did! Right after he seduced her! (Later, he says he realized she was a virgin, but it didn't register because he thought her marriage had been a real one, that the OM had been her lover, that there were others as well, etc. and SO SILLY!!!
So many things didn't fit. At one point, the h said there had never been any men in her life until the H except her ex and the OM, but then she mentions men trying to get their tongue in her mouth when they kissed her, so how does that make sense? She never kissed her ex, and kisses with the OM were the brotherly peck on the cheek, so there had to be others, didn't there???
The H and h go the one step forward/ten steps back too many tomes, and it gets annoying. And there was no necessity for that silly episode toward the end when the h thinks the H is dead, killed in a boating accident. It served no purpose at all, and was so short (one day he's "dead", the very next day you find out they identified the wrong body) it may as well not have been written.
Then again, that's true of the whole book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2021
In my opinion, this book was extremely unrealistic. I have never in my life seen a male or female so gorgeous, that when they walk into a room, they draw everybody's attention to them.
This book was based a lot on physical attraction and how every female just fell in love with Jake Ferrera because of his good looks. But I don't think that's possible, when I myself disagree with so many people on who's actually handsome or not. Everyone has different opinions, likes and dislikes, so how can every person in the room think the exact same thing?
On a different note, when Cathy was told Jake was dead, she was on the verge of a breakdown. But when she found out he was actually alive, and the person with Jake died instead, she was ready to celebrate. What about the person that did die? Didn't his life matter to anyone? The author should have written something else about him or his family, instead of everyone celebrating Jake being alive.
Overall, an okay read.
This book was based a lot on physical attraction and how every female just fell in love with Jake Ferrera because of his good looks. But I don't think that's possible, when I myself disagree with so many people on who's actually handsome or not. Everyone has different opinions, likes and dislikes, so how can every person in the room think the exact same thing?
On a different note, when Cathy was told Jake was dead, she was on the verge of a breakdown. But when she found out he was actually alive, and the person with Jake died instead, she was ready to celebrate. What about the person that did die? Didn't his life matter to anyone? The author should have written something else about him or his family, instead of everyone celebrating Jake being alive.
Overall, an okay read.
August 21, 2024
So this main couple does not love each other. They don’t fall in love, they don’t grow to love each other, no love. Thats why the author repeatedly in the end keeps them meeting up and it still not working. So she uses the old standby “near death” experience to FORCE these ill suited people together. We spent so much time with other people. The sister was nuts, the male friend was dumb, the poor other couple really don’t want to get involved but are for some reason. And you are telling me while the hero was treading water and about to DIE he was wondering if the heroine was a virgin?! Whoa gotta love a man with skewed priorities. Skip. It’s a hot mess and not in a fun way.
August 1, 2019
Closer to four stars. I found the story interesting but a bit full of too many nearly stories on the side. She never did tell him about her two years overseas and what she was doing. There was an annoyance throughout the whole story and I found the end was rushed.............nearly every loose end was tied up but in such a short space of time.
June 23, 2024
I felt embarrassed that she had no pride. She was his toy. She had a big mouth, but her actions were weak. And he stayed away for a year after they had sex. A year is way too long. And they only met by accident again. He says how mad he is about her but he could stay away from her for a year. I think I liked the book a lot until that year apart.
wish-list
August 20, 2012Comes after Long Journey Back
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