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Without Trust
She had been hurt too many times
Accused by a malicious cousin of committing a scandalous crime, Lark Cummings was devastated. And, in the British courts, the prosecutor, ruthless James Wolfe, showed her no mercy.
Then, incredibly, the case was dropped. And--out of the blue--impoverished Lark was offered an ideal job by a rich widow. She gladly accepted--unaware that disconcerting James Wolfe was her employer's enigmatic son.
With James's reappearance in her life, Lark feared the powerful currents pulsing between them. She couldn't bear to risk her trust. Not to the man who'd once treated her so callously.
Accused by a malicious cousin of committing a scandalous crime, Lark Cummings was devastated. And, in the British courts, the prosecutor, ruthless James Wolfe, showed her no mercy.
Then, incredibly, the case was dropped. And--out of the blue--impoverished Lark was offered an ideal job by a rich widow. She gladly accepted--unaware that disconcerting James Wolfe was her employer's enigmatic son.
With James's reappearance in her life, Lark feared the powerful currents pulsing between them. She couldn't bear to risk her trust. Not to the man who'd once treated her so callously.
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
47 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,125 books666 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 13, 2022
It took me out that the heroine had more page time with the hero's mother than with the hero. 🤡
Penny Jordan really said:
and one more time, during the H×h first morning-after, just to drive the point home for us losers this evil woman made the MCs have the most awkward breakfast in the company of the hero's mother
#justice_for_old_ladies
I'M FILING A LAWSUIT AGAINST DEAR MISS AUTHOR FOR THE LUST CRIME SHE COMMITTED BY WRITING THE BOOK THE WAY SHE DID.
Who misled dear miss Jordan terribly into believing that intermingling the hottest, tension-filled scenes between the main characters with all these perfectly nice, over-descriptive and boring dialogues the heroine had with the old lady was a good fucking idea? 🤨
The old lady is very nice indeed, but she kinda stood in the way of me being a horny mfkr who enjoyed every drop of chemistry her son and the heroine displayed throughout the story.
She had to play her part of a fairy godmother and leave: ma'am, your job here is done. NOW GOOD RIDDANCE. WE'LL BE NOT MISSING YOU.
Who would have thought? 🤡 This absolutely ruined an otherwise incredibly good book (I'd have given it 3.5 stars this factor aside) filled with chemistry, tension and very well-written sex scenes and, more importantly, power imbalance where the hero is in charge, for which I adore HP novels.
The premise of this story is ridiculously similar to another amazing HP book that I loved—Lady with a Past.The setting, the atmosphere as well as certain scenes and storylines:
— both heroines are wrongly accused of the crime they never committed;
— the heroes are the brilliant, unscrupulous shark-like prosecutors;
— some time later both heroines start working for the heroes' female relatives who absolutely adore them;
— both heroines have the OM who make these heroes extremely jealous;
— at some point both heroes think of the heroines as gold-diggers;
— both men are bulldozer-y and determined to get what or, to be more precise, who they want;
— both relationships are written exactly the way I love, as in they display power imbalance and men who take control.
However, these books vary considerably when it comes to how the plot evolves.
For example, in this story, after the cross-examination the hero, James, believes the heroine innocent of any crime (poor guy fell head over heels forcing the truth out of her in the court sjsksksj), which I found sexy as fuck. A man is a good judge of character, unlike the one from Lillian Cheatham's book due to whom the innocent heroine was sentenced to carry out a punishment. Thus, +100 points to James' karma.
On the bleak side, the hero of Lady with a Past was much more forceful, intense and cruel. 😌 He came to his senses years later, and I might bea little very biased here, but the more villainous and terrible the male character is the more excited I get, so to say. I appreciated the excessive angst his assholery behavior provided. 👉🏻👈🏻 Call my therapist for more details.
Anyways. 🌚
I pretty much loved the hero of this book, James, too because he is very pushy, dominant and takes charge, yet he's so very enamored with the heroine (I legit cried out when I realized he fell in love with herat first sight while he was cross-examining her) that it brings out his soft and caring side. A perfect combination of someone unapologetically pursuing the woman he wants while also being very tender and protective of her. Always in charge, always in control, always having her best interest in mind. Wow. They don't write men like that anymore. 😔
It was so hot how much power James possessed, in professional terms, to be able to convince the plaintiff to refute their allegations, effectively stopping the heroine's prosecution (I don't care how unrealistic this is 💅🏻). On top of this, he made his mother take the heroine on the job as her assistant so that he could court her while also helping the heroine (since her case was notoriously famous, she had little to no chances to find good employment) and his mother (in need of someone who'd be able to assist her in organising charity events) out. Killingtwo three birds with one stone, aren't we? 😌
Besides over-descriptive scenes with the hero's mother, the story has another major downside that caused this book's potential to plummet dramatically: the heroine who fucking loves making assumptions based on her preconceived ideas and notions having nothing to do with reality.
I know vintage HP authors always stuff their books with misunderstandings caused by one main character's infallible ability to jump to conclusions (or, if we're particularly lucky, due to both characters being dumb, blind and deaf to common sense and reason 🥂), but this heroine takes the cake for acting like the most insufferable, rush conclusion-jumper in the history of HP novels. She literally assumed the worst about the hero's motivations and actions when the guy pampered and treated her like a fucking princess. While I approve of never trusting a single man of your life, and I do understand why she would be that wary of men in general (her cousin fucked her up big time with his accusations) and the hero, her prosecutor, in particular, but her misinterpretation of every event and lack of observation reached absurd levels.
To sum it up: heroines falsely prosecuted for the alleged crime and cruel, persistent, obsessive and unapologetic heroes are my weakness so I do recommend Lady With a Past over this book for those who have similar preferences, and Without Trust for people who prefer powerful and obsessive men, yet softer on the inside: with not much spite and nastiness to them.
Penny Jordan really said:
and one more time, during the H×h first morning-after, just to drive the point home for us losers this evil woman made the MCs have the most awkward breakfast in the company of the hero's mother
#justice_for_old_ladies
Who misled dear miss Jordan terribly into believing that intermingling the hottest, tension-filled scenes between the main characters with all these perfectly nice, over-descriptive and boring dialogues the heroine had with the old lady was a good fucking idea? 🤨
The old lady is very nice indeed, but she kinda stood in the way of me being a horny mfkr who enjoyed every drop of chemistry her son and the heroine displayed throughout the story.
She had to play her part of a fairy godmother and leave: ma'am, your job here is done. NOW GOOD RIDDANCE. WE'LL BE NOT MISSING YOU.
Who would have thought? 🤡 This absolutely ruined an otherwise incredibly good book (I'd have given it 3.5 stars this factor aside) filled with chemistry, tension and very well-written sex scenes and, more importantly, power imbalance where the hero is in charge, for which I adore HP novels.
The premise of this story is ridiculously similar to another amazing HP book that I loved—Lady with a Past.The setting, the atmosphere as well as certain scenes and storylines:
— both heroines are wrongly accused of the crime they never committed;
— the heroes are the brilliant, unscrupulous shark-like prosecutors;
— some time later both heroines start working for the heroes' female relatives who absolutely adore them;
— both heroines have the OM who make these heroes extremely jealous;
— at some point both heroes think of the heroines as gold-diggers;
— both men are bulldozer-y and determined to get what or, to be more precise, who they want;
— both relationships are written exactly the way I love, as in they display power imbalance and men who take control.
However, these books vary considerably when it comes to how the plot evolves.
For example, in this story, after the cross-examination the hero, James, believes the heroine innocent of any crime (poor guy fell head over heels forcing the truth out of her in the court sjsksksj), which I found sexy as fuck. A man is a good judge of character, unlike the one from Lillian Cheatham's book due to whom the innocent heroine was sentenced to carry out a punishment. Thus, +100 points to James' karma.
On the bleak side, the hero of Lady with a Past was much more forceful, intense and cruel. 😌 He came to his senses years later, and I might be
Anyways. 🌚
I pretty much loved the hero of this book, James, too because he is very pushy, dominant and takes charge, yet he's so very enamored with the heroine (I legit cried out when I realized he fell in love with her
It was so hot how much power James possessed, in professional terms, to be able to convince the plaintiff to refute their allegations, effectively stopping the heroine's prosecution (I don't care how unrealistic this is 💅🏻). On top of this, he made his mother take the heroine on the job as her assistant so that he could court her while also helping the heroine (since her case was notoriously famous, she had little to no chances to find good employment) and his mother (in need of someone who'd be able to assist her in organising charity events) out. Killing
Besides over-descriptive scenes with the hero's mother, the story has another major downside that caused this book's potential to plummet dramatically: the heroine who fucking loves making assumptions based on her preconceived ideas and notions having nothing to do with reality.
I know vintage HP authors always stuff their books with misunderstandings caused by one main character's infallible ability to jump to conclusions (or, if we're particularly lucky, due to both characters being dumb, blind and deaf to common sense and reason 🥂), but this heroine takes the cake for acting like the most insufferable, rush conclusion-jumper in the history of HP novels. She literally assumed the worst about the hero's motivations and actions when the guy pampered and treated her like a fucking princess. While I approve of never trusting a single man of your life, and I do understand why she would be that wary of men in general (her cousin fucked her up big time with his accusations) and the hero, her prosecutor, in particular, but her misinterpretation of every event and lack of observation reached absurd levels.
To sum it up: heroines falsely prosecuted for the alleged crime and cruel, persistent, obsessive and unapologetic heroes are my weakness so I do recommend Lady With a Past over this book for those who have similar preferences, and Without Trust for people who prefer powerful and obsessive men, yet softer on the inside: with not much spite and nastiness to them.
July 19, 2016
Lark's cousin Gary accuses Lark for a crime she didn't commit. Lark goes to trial but the charges are suddenly dropped and she is offered a job as personal assistant to Mrs. Mayers (whom she's never met before) to help with her charity work. Lark gratefully accepts the job since she desperately needs the money. Then she meets her employer's handsome son James, who, to Lark's dismay, was the prosecutor in her trial! This was a lovely Penny Jordan romance. I really liked the wonderful hero and the London and Boston settings. Enjoyable read!
October 4, 2019
Maybe there's something in my water or perhaps I bumped my head somewhere because my PJ shades aren't working. This is the second in a long string of PJ books with good ratings which did absolutely nothing for me.
Two stars only because Hero was one of PJ's best ever and the sex scenes were steamy without being raunchy. Difficult to pull off for 1989.
So heroine is a complete imbecile. All PJ had to do was make her seventeen and maybe this book could have been fixed.
But at twenty-two, to believe that the Hero must be the devil personified just because he had a job to do as a prosecutor and grill her on her role in the embezzling of funds by her cousin, was just too much.
And she uses this throughout the book as the main reason for assuming the worst of him and not trusting him. Stupido.
So this ninny:
- hired the dumbest possible lawyer to defend her
- didn't rat on the cousin who killed himself but not before instigating that she was the evil mind behind the embezzlement
- withheld information that she caught her cousin cheating with a rich, married woman
- in essence, protected the cheating woman who should have been dragged into court to explain about the cousin
- chose to be victim to tabloids that claimed she slept with her own cousin and blackmailed him incessantly
It didn't help that PJ never explained exactly why the cousin lied and implicated her, just more martyr introspections that he was a douchebag and she felt responsible not to hurt her aunt and uncle who took her in as a child when her parents died even though she realised they, like their offspring, were not exactly models of exemplary behavior.
Hero sees immediately that
PJ makes it clear very early on that H is besotted, reasonable, tender and patient so when this ninny continues with her painfully idiotic judgements and introspections, it didn't make for pleasant reading.
And worst of all, Hero
I guess I'm not a fan of travelogues, of how h was helping H's mum with the admin work for her charity and raising funds, how mum hated computers, blah blah blah why would I give a shit? It ate into quality H and h time.
Mum was as lovely as H. Neither deserved this nincampoop. Sorry, PJ, it was very well-written but I hated your heroine.
Two stars only because Hero was one of PJ's best ever and the sex scenes were steamy without being raunchy. Difficult to pull off for 1989.
So heroine is a complete imbecile. All PJ had to do was make her seventeen and maybe this book could have been fixed.
But at twenty-two, to believe that the Hero must be the devil personified just because he had a job to do as a prosecutor and grill her on her role in the embezzling of funds by her cousin, was just too much.
And she uses this throughout the book as the main reason for assuming the worst of him and not trusting him. Stupido.
So this ninny:
- hired the dumbest possible lawyer to defend her
- didn't rat on the cousin who killed himself but not before instigating that she was the evil mind behind the embezzlement
- withheld information that she caught her cousin cheating with a rich, married woman
- in essence, protected the cheating woman who should have been dragged into court to explain about the cousin
- chose to be victim to tabloids that claimed she slept with her own cousin and blackmailed him incessantly
It didn't help that PJ never explained exactly why the cousin lied and implicated her, just more martyr introspections that he was a douchebag and she felt responsible not to hurt her aunt and uncle who took her in as a child when her parents died even though she realised they, like their offspring, were not exactly models of exemplary behavior.
Hero sees immediately that
PJ makes it clear very early on that H is besotted, reasonable, tender and patient so when this ninny continues with her painfully idiotic judgements and introspections, it didn't make for pleasant reading.
And worst of all, Hero
I guess I'm not a fan of travelogues, of how h was helping H's mum with the admin work for her charity and raising funds, how mum hated computers, blah blah blah why would I give a shit? It ate into quality H and h time.
Mum was as lovely as H. Neither deserved this nincampoop. Sorry, PJ, it was very well-written but I hated your heroine.
March 21, 2020
I do love a falsely accused heroine and the hero who has to change his mind about her. Unfortunately for angst levels in this story, the hero changes his mind about her in an instant and it's off page.
This isn't the story of the heroine being falsely accused - it's the story of the hero making it up to the heroine and trying to win her trust. (Title is accurate) Since heroine is a wounded doe - and just as skittish - he has his work cut out for him.
Heroine is a great PJ heroine - she's sensitive and sweet. Hero is honorable and unable/unwilling to explain himself at crucial moments in order to keep the tension simmering along. Hero's mother is a sweetheart. There is an unconvincing OM and OW to muddy the waters as well.
The detour to Boston seemed really random, so I hope PJ got a free trip out of it.
All in all I enjoyed this and I think it will improve for me on a second reading since I would know this is a story of healing from a false accusation rather than the nightmare itself.
This isn't the story of the heroine being falsely accused - it's the story of the hero making it up to the heroine and trying to win her trust. (Title is accurate) Since heroine is a wounded doe - and just as skittish - he has his work cut out for him.
Heroine is a great PJ heroine - she's sensitive and sweet. Hero is honorable and unable/unwilling to explain himself at crucial moments in order to keep the tension simmering along. Hero's mother is a sweetheart. There is an unconvincing OM and OW to muddy the waters as well.
The detour to Boston seemed really random, so I hope PJ got a free trip out of it.
All in all I enjoyed this and I think it will improve for me on a second reading since I would know this is a story of healing from a false accusation rather than the nightmare itself.
February 1, 2017
Re Without Trust - PJ dips her toe into innocent h's hauled up on the dock for this one. The 22 yr old h stands accused of blackmailing her male cousin with her sensuous charms into embezzling a ton of money by computer from his work place and the H is the prosecuting barrister who takes one look at her standing in the dock and falls instantly in love.
The book opens with the h on trial, for what exactly isn't stated but something vaguely to do with incitement to embezzle. The h is an orphan and was raised by her dubious Aunt and Uncle alongside her rotten cousin. The cousin is the one who embezzled lots of money and then committed suicide by taking a bunch of acetaminophen causing his liver to fail. Since he did not kick it right away, he had plenty of time to accuse the h as the instigator of his crimes. The h is totally innocent , but somehow in PJ's province of HPlandia, the police fail to do a real investigation and big corporations can just haul ladies into court and accuse them whenever they want - they can even hire soon to be Queen's Councils to prosecute the case.
There is a lot about how the h is horrified and frightened and bitter and angry that such a thing has come to pass. She is terrified of the H and upon his questioning of her, she has a total meltdown in the dock. After her testimony is done, she goes off to await the trial's outcome and is joyously relieved when her solicitor comes back and says the charges have been dropped. Since the solicitor did not seem to believe she was innocent, just like the rest of the tabloid reading world, the h has no idear how her dismissal happened, but she will take whatever little grace she can get.
She leaves the court a free lady, but now she has bigger problems. She lost her beginner PR person job when the allegations were made about her, she has little money and lives in the requisite grotty flat. She has been hounded by paparazzi and men are making extremely suggestive propositons and her aunt and uncle have refused to acknowledge her. She has some savings but that won't last long if she can't find employment.
(There is some interesting backstory where the h ponders her aunt and uncle just abandoning her. The h recalls that their son, her cousin, was always trying to get out of any trouble he had started by blaming her while they were growing up, he also broke her toys and threatened her with being put into a home. The h also recalls and speculates that maybe her parents did not leave her as financially impoverished as her aunt an uncle always claimed because her parents owned a nice Chelsea house with a ton of antiques. Supposedly the money was spent on her education, and the h did go to uni, but PJ leaves the deep impression that her aunt and uncle basically stole her inheritance and then dumped her when their son got involved with the wife of a local big business tycoon and blamed her for his theft and died. Unfortunately these hints remain just that for the entire story and the h really never does get her name cleared, nor do we find out what really happened. However the best guess is that the cousin got involved with a greedy married mistress, tried to keep up with the monetary demands she expected, got caught and died and her aunt and uncle were unscrupulous guardians and took money meant for the h.)
Suddenly the h gets a job offer via her skeptical solicitor, she is to work as a live-in assistant to a nice older wealthy lady who runs a charity for a special genetic defect in both the US and GB. The h goes along to the interview and gets the job. The big shocker is that the woman's son is the same barrister who was prosecuting her in court. He shows up at her grotty flat before she knows who he really is and tho she is afraid of him, his roofie kiss is awesome and the h doesn't know how to handle it. So the h moves in with the H's mum and starts her new job. There is a lot of misunderstanding cause the H is dying of love for the h, but she thinks he still believes she is the Jezebel of Soho and inciting men to commit crimes.
There is charity work and computers to be organized and then we all go to Boston. The h is relieved, cause not only does she have to put up with the H's lustful /loathing glances (she can't tell which they are,) there is an OW goddaughter who is a total society witch and making claims on the H while totally dissing the h. In Boston she can escape them and her painful feelings. While in Boston the h meets some of the other board members of the H's mum's charity and one of them is close to her age and really nice but very shy. They have a dinner date and the h is sad that she can't fall in love with such a nice and really wealthy man, but her heart is taken up by the H and he is apparently the property of the OW goddaughter.
The h is on the beach below her employer's Marble Head house after her dinner date and the stars are out and a naked man comes up out the surf. It is the H and the h is eyeballing him in licentious ways, tho she denies this when he asks. This leads to a passionate kissing moment that turns into love on the beach (and somehow no gets icky sand in intimate places,) but the h is chaste no longer. There is some confusion the next day when the H admits he was jealous of the h's totally platonic dinner date and the h is busy running away from the H cause she thinks he was using her for a fling.
The H finally comes right out with his big love confession and the h wants to believe, but she has so much mistrust and thoughts of the OW keep running through her mind. She also is concerned about the differences in her and the H's social class.
(Which she was right to worry about, cause the H's mum was definitely a bit of an unconscious snob - tho I don't think PJ meant it that way. There was definitive exclusions of the 'wrong sort' of people in the story, tho there were servants doing the tugging of the forelock bit. The lifestyle the H's mum has is really not very inclusive to the lower classes and when the h and H and OW and his mother were all dining together, the H and his mother did nothing to stop the OW's social put-downs toward the h, in fact the H was taking the OW out after dinner, so the h had valid reasons to worry.)
The H brushes all that aside tho and he and the h are lurvin it up every chance they get. Then the H returns to England and the h is left in Boston to finish up the US side of the charity work before returning to England to organize the big charity ball at the H's grand Estate.
Eventually after some doubting mopey moments, the h returns to England and the H is ready to lurve her up, but he has to take the OW out first. (The H is a gentleman and this was a long standing prior engagement.) The h is not pleased by that at all and when the OW shows up the next day and claims to be engaged to the H, the h is just flat out horrified. When the H shows up that night at his mum's to hook up with the h, she tells him off and is saved from the H's wrath when the nice man she had dinner with from Boston shows up and she claims she has a dinner date with him. The H decides this means war, and he demands that his mum get the h and herself down to his Estate right away.
We all get to the Estate, and the h is feeling horribly used, tho she did apologize to the nice man for backing her story up, he was very understanding and did not take it personally. Finally the H's mum decides to step in and see what all the drama is about. She is very angry that everyone has just decided to run amok and she wants it sorted.
The h explains about the OW and the engagement, the H's mum tells her that the OW is total liar. The H made the mum take the on as an assistant cause he took one look at the h in court and knew that she was innocent, and that he was instantly in love. The H made the company drop the charges and the h realizes that she has been had.
She runs off to find the H and they declare mutual love and a big HEA since now she knows the H never thought she was guilty - tho he does say that if he had thought she really had done the crime, he would have prosecuted her and put her in prison. So now that the h is sure the H doesn't think she is a tart and we are assured that the H wouldn't break the law for love, we can all bask in a really sweet HEA and another innocent h gets her just rewards.
This one is okay, but it was really, really long and the H and h never really connect until almost three quarters of the way through the book. When the do connect tho, the lurvin is intense and the OW drama was pretty well done. There was just too much unfilled back story to really make this one excellent and the h never really gets a public clearing of her name, so while the love story is sweet cause the H was totally nice and lost in love, it wasn't as good as Carole Mortimer's Love's Duel and just amounts to an okay read if you can't find CM's take on the innocent but accused h trope.
The book opens with the h on trial, for what exactly isn't stated but something vaguely to do with incitement to embezzle. The h is an orphan and was raised by her dubious Aunt and Uncle alongside her rotten cousin. The cousin is the one who embezzled lots of money and then committed suicide by taking a bunch of acetaminophen causing his liver to fail. Since he did not kick it right away, he had plenty of time to accuse the h as the instigator of his crimes. The h is totally innocent , but somehow in PJ's province of HPlandia, the police fail to do a real investigation and big corporations can just haul ladies into court and accuse them whenever they want - they can even hire soon to be Queen's Councils to prosecute the case.
There is a lot about how the h is horrified and frightened and bitter and angry that such a thing has come to pass. She is terrified of the H and upon his questioning of her, she has a total meltdown in the dock. After her testimony is done, she goes off to await the trial's outcome and is joyously relieved when her solicitor comes back and says the charges have been dropped. Since the solicitor did not seem to believe she was innocent, just like the rest of the tabloid reading world, the h has no idear how her dismissal happened, but she will take whatever little grace she can get.
She leaves the court a free lady, but now she has bigger problems. She lost her beginner PR person job when the allegations were made about her, she has little money and lives in the requisite grotty flat. She has been hounded by paparazzi and men are making extremely suggestive propositons and her aunt and uncle have refused to acknowledge her. She has some savings but that won't last long if she can't find employment.
(There is some interesting backstory where the h ponders her aunt and uncle just abandoning her. The h recalls that their son, her cousin, was always trying to get out of any trouble he had started by blaming her while they were growing up, he also broke her toys and threatened her with being put into a home. The h also recalls and speculates that maybe her parents did not leave her as financially impoverished as her aunt an uncle always claimed because her parents owned a nice Chelsea house with a ton of antiques. Supposedly the money was spent on her education, and the h did go to uni, but PJ leaves the deep impression that her aunt and uncle basically stole her inheritance and then dumped her when their son got involved with the wife of a local big business tycoon and blamed her for his theft and died. Unfortunately these hints remain just that for the entire story and the h really never does get her name cleared, nor do we find out what really happened. However the best guess is that the cousin got involved with a greedy married mistress, tried to keep up with the monetary demands she expected, got caught and died and her aunt and uncle were unscrupulous guardians and took money meant for the h.)
Suddenly the h gets a job offer via her skeptical solicitor, she is to work as a live-in assistant to a nice older wealthy lady who runs a charity for a special genetic defect in both the US and GB. The h goes along to the interview and gets the job. The big shocker is that the woman's son is the same barrister who was prosecuting her in court. He shows up at her grotty flat before she knows who he really is and tho she is afraid of him, his roofie kiss is awesome and the h doesn't know how to handle it. So the h moves in with the H's mum and starts her new job. There is a lot of misunderstanding cause the H is dying of love for the h, but she thinks he still believes she is the Jezebel of Soho and inciting men to commit crimes.
There is charity work and computers to be organized and then we all go to Boston. The h is relieved, cause not only does she have to put up with the H's lustful /loathing glances (she can't tell which they are,) there is an OW goddaughter who is a total society witch and making claims on the H while totally dissing the h. In Boston she can escape them and her painful feelings. While in Boston the h meets some of the other board members of the H's mum's charity and one of them is close to her age and really nice but very shy. They have a dinner date and the h is sad that she can't fall in love with such a nice and really wealthy man, but her heart is taken up by the H and he is apparently the property of the OW goddaughter.
The h is on the beach below her employer's Marble Head house after her dinner date and the stars are out and a naked man comes up out the surf. It is the H and the h is eyeballing him in licentious ways, tho she denies this when he asks. This leads to a passionate kissing moment that turns into love on the beach (and somehow no gets icky sand in intimate places,) but the h is chaste no longer. There is some confusion the next day when the H admits he was jealous of the h's totally platonic dinner date and the h is busy running away from the H cause she thinks he was using her for a fling.
The H finally comes right out with his big love confession and the h wants to believe, but she has so much mistrust and thoughts of the OW keep running through her mind. She also is concerned about the differences in her and the H's social class.
(Which she was right to worry about, cause the H's mum was definitely a bit of an unconscious snob - tho I don't think PJ meant it that way. There was definitive exclusions of the 'wrong sort' of people in the story, tho there were servants doing the tugging of the forelock bit. The lifestyle the H's mum has is really not very inclusive to the lower classes and when the h and H and OW and his mother were all dining together, the H and his mother did nothing to stop the OW's social put-downs toward the h, in fact the H was taking the OW out after dinner, so the h had valid reasons to worry.)
The H brushes all that aside tho and he and the h are lurvin it up every chance they get. Then the H returns to England and the h is left in Boston to finish up the US side of the charity work before returning to England to organize the big charity ball at the H's grand Estate.
Eventually after some doubting mopey moments, the h returns to England and the H is ready to lurve her up, but he has to take the OW out first. (The H is a gentleman and this was a long standing prior engagement.) The h is not pleased by that at all and when the OW shows up the next day and claims to be engaged to the H, the h is just flat out horrified. When the H shows up that night at his mum's to hook up with the h, she tells him off and is saved from the H's wrath when the nice man she had dinner with from Boston shows up and she claims she has a dinner date with him. The H decides this means war, and he demands that his mum get the h and herself down to his Estate right away.
We all get to the Estate, and the h is feeling horribly used, tho she did apologize to the nice man for backing her story up, he was very understanding and did not take it personally. Finally the H's mum decides to step in and see what all the drama is about. She is very angry that everyone has just decided to run amok and she wants it sorted.
The h explains about the OW and the engagement, the H's mum tells her that the OW is total liar. The H made the mum take the on as an assistant cause he took one look at the h in court and knew that she was innocent, and that he was instantly in love. The H made the company drop the charges and the h realizes that she has been had.
She runs off to find the H and they declare mutual love and a big HEA since now she knows the H never thought she was guilty - tho he does say that if he had thought she really had done the crime, he would have prosecuted her and put her in prison. So now that the h is sure the H doesn't think she is a tart and we are assured that the H wouldn't break the law for love, we can all bask in a really sweet HEA and another innocent h gets her just rewards.
This one is okay, but it was really, really long and the H and h never really connect until almost three quarters of the way through the book. When the do connect tho, the lurvin is intense and the OW drama was pretty well done. There was just too much unfilled back story to really make this one excellent and the h never really gets a public clearing of her name, so while the love story is sweet cause the H was totally nice and lost in love, it wasn't as good as Carole Mortimer's Love's Duel and just amounts to an okay read if you can't find CM's take on the innocent but accused h trope.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2017
Lark, the heroine, could give some Greek, Italian, fill-in-the-blank-Mediterranean-country tycoons a lesson on jumping to stupid conclusions and inner monologuing. There will hardly be any need for the H and h to converse in the future as she always knows exactly what he's thinking and how he feels. Ugh!
Plot: The heroine was set up by her lying and now dead cousin in some kind of scheme. He blames her for his larceny as he commits suicide. Why he committed suicide, who knows, as it is just one dropped plot line among many. So is the evil OW he supposedly stole for in the first place. The h is grilled by the H as he is the prosecuting barrister. Lark has decided to focus all her anger and hate on him, the guy who is simply doing his job, rather than focus on Gary the lying, dying cousin crook or the aunt and uncle who may or may not have stolen some of her parents furniture and/or money. Charges are dropped and she just knows how angry the H must be.
A miraculous opportunity with a sweet older woman in charge of a small charity pops up for the now unemployable Lark. Turns out her son is the prosecuting attorney Lark inner monologues ad nauseam about how the H wants her fired, how he despises her, how he... Who cares.
For some ungodly reason, the H is in love with Miss Cranky Pants. Toss in a lying vapid OW and you have a standard Harlequin. It's the rarely seen Harley where the H is the more deserving of happiness.
Plot: The heroine was set up by her lying and now dead cousin in some kind of scheme. He blames her for his larceny as he commits suicide. Why he committed suicide, who knows, as it is just one dropped plot line among many. So is the evil OW he supposedly stole for in the first place. The h is grilled by the H as he is the prosecuting barrister. Lark has decided to focus all her anger and hate on him, the guy who is simply doing his job, rather than focus on Gary the lying, dying cousin crook or the aunt and uncle who may or may not have stolen some of her parents furniture and/or money. Charges are dropped and she just knows how angry the H must be.
A miraculous opportunity with a sweet older woman in charge of a small charity pops up for the now unemployable Lark. Turns out her son is the prosecuting attorney Lark inner monologues ad nauseam about how the H wants her fired, how he despises her, how he... Who cares.
For some ungodly reason, the H is in love with Miss Cranky Pants. Toss in a lying vapid OW and you have a standard Harlequin. It's the rarely seen Harley where the H is the more deserving of happiness.
April 19, 2016
Heroine is being accused of a crime she didn't do. The prosecutor is James Wolfe a ruthless well known lawyer. Suddenly the case is dropped and Lark returns back to her life but now she is jobless and as poor as a church mouse. Luckily she is offered an ideal job by a rich widow. She accepts and she is happy until she realizes that her prosecutor James Wolfe is her employer's son.
Penny Jordan is definitely my favorite Harlequin author! her books are full of passion, angst and romance. However James is not your usual Penny Jordan hero. He is beta and caring and kind. He loves Lark and pursues her. He is jealous and possessive and sexy. In other words Lark is one lucky heroine cause James is totally my dream man!
Penny Jordan is definitely my favorite Harlequin author! her books are full of passion, angst and romance. However James is not your usual Penny Jordan hero. He is beta and caring and kind. He loves Lark and pursues her. He is jealous and possessive and sexy. In other words Lark is one lucky heroine cause James is totally my dream man!
October 8, 2019
4.5 stars
I'd looked forward to reading this based on the plot and Kindle excerpt, and am happy to say that neither the romance nor the hero, James, disappointed.
James's romantic machinations were endearing. I could totally see why Lark had fallen in love with him. He was compassionate, caring, successful and unafraid to show how passionately in love he was. Lark, meanwhile, was a sympathetic and brave heroine worthy of James. She'd been abandoned by everyone important to her, but never seemed to wallow in self-pity. So I was very happy when she finally found happiness with the delicious James.
I haven't read any of the author's historical romances under her other pseudonyms, but this category romance seemed inspired by the Regency romances written by Georgette Heyer. The plot, atmosphere and characterization of the protagonists reinforced that impression, with the major differences being the sex and contemporary setting of course.
With Without Trust, Jordan proves once again why I love her romances. In my humble opinion, no other Harlequin Presents author wrote more passionate, sexy, and romantic category romances than the late, great Penny Jordan. Sometimes she could be off—with over 180 Harlequin romances to her credit it was bound to happen—but when she was on, be prepared to be entertained!
I'd looked forward to reading this based on the plot and Kindle excerpt, and am happy to say that neither the romance nor the hero, James, disappointed.
James's romantic machinations were endearing. I could totally see why Lark had fallen in love with him. He was compassionate, caring, successful and unafraid to show how passionately in love he was. Lark, meanwhile, was a sympathetic and brave heroine worthy of James. She'd been abandoned by everyone important to her, but never seemed to wallow in self-pity. So I was very happy when she finally found happiness with the delicious James.
I haven't read any of the author's historical romances under her other pseudonyms, but this category romance seemed inspired by the Regency romances written by Georgette Heyer. The plot, atmosphere and characterization of the protagonists reinforced that impression, with the major differences being the sex and contemporary setting of course.
With Without Trust, Jordan proves once again why I love her romances. In my humble opinion, no other Harlequin Presents author wrote more passionate, sexy, and romantic category romances than the late, great Penny Jordan. Sometimes she could be off—with over 180 Harlequin romances to her credit it was bound to happen—but when she was on, be prepared to be entertained!
May 6, 2020
“Without Trust” is the story of Lark and James.
Our heroine is an innocent dove, who is falsely framed by her relatives and undergoes a long ordeal in court- where her confidence, career and happiness- all take a beating. The biggest hurdle she faces is the vicious prosecutor, our hero, who scares the heroine so much that he haunts her nightmares. She finally has an outburst of denial, and miraculously finds her charges dropped.
The heroine is then suddenly offered a job to be a widow’s assistant, which proves to be a lifesaver for her. How she realized the hero’s role (who turns out to be the widows son) and feelings forms the story.
A very sad, naive and sweet heroine, who had a terrible background- hence craved love and wore her heart on her sleeve. This belle is captured by our totally smitten hero! The drama was just their insecurities as the confession for love happened much earlier than the ending. Some OM/ OW jealousy that were baseless, a matchmaking mamma and a lovely ending.
Thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Safe
4.5/5
Our heroine is an innocent dove, who is falsely framed by her relatives and undergoes a long ordeal in court- where her confidence, career and happiness- all take a beating. The biggest hurdle she faces is the vicious prosecutor, our hero, who scares the heroine so much that he haunts her nightmares. She finally has an outburst of denial, and miraculously finds her charges dropped.
The heroine is then suddenly offered a job to be a widow’s assistant, which proves to be a lifesaver for her. How she realized the hero’s role (who turns out to be the widows son) and feelings forms the story.
A very sad, naive and sweet heroine, who had a terrible background- hence craved love and wore her heart on her sleeve. This belle is captured by our totally smitten hero! The drama was just their insecurities as the confession for love happened much earlier than the ending. Some OM/ OW jealousy that were baseless, a matchmaking mamma and a lovely ending.
Thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Safe
4.5/5
August 30, 2016
The poor h criminally charged with something she has no hand in, the ruthless judgmental lawyer/prosecutor H out to nail her innocent behind and then we are told that the strong hostile vibe in the court was actually passion and not hate. Sounds familiar? One of my favorite tropes, but not my favorite book of that trope!
The book took it’s own sweet time to find it’s groove, and when it did it blew me – at least on the hotness scale! I am not a big PJ fan (a minority, I know) but even I know for a ‘vintage’ writer she could do passion like none of her contemporaries could!
Coming back to the book, the h was at her irritating prickly best for most of the book, but more so in the first half. Why do these 80s hs have to so hateful (only) to the H? Okay, we are given to understand it is a sublimated feelings thing but still, it makes for a highly disagreeable read.
The H was basically a sweet nice guy – a rarity in PJland. He goes behind scenes to get her case dismissed and then enlists his mother to employ her as a PA/companion. All this is unknown to the h who goes on alternating between her bitchy and poor-me moods. I almost did a dnf with this one as the H was almost absent for the first half and the all the talk about charities and arranging benefits and balls and whatevers was a big snore.
But then the mother and the h fly off to Boston (to my despair) but happily the fun begins here with the H following them. So she misses out on the famous local clam chowder, but gets to experience other things!
An ow is suitably recruited to do the venomous bit(e). And like countless other hs before her, she falls prey to the by now weared-thin machinations. Aarghh!
But the ending is sweet and the H even sweeter. Definitely a keeper – the H!
The book took it’s own sweet time to find it’s groove, and when it did it blew me – at least on the hotness scale! I am not a big PJ fan (a minority, I know) but even I know for a ‘vintage’ writer she could do passion like none of her contemporaries could!
Coming back to the book, the h was at her irritating prickly best for most of the book, but more so in the first half. Why do these 80s hs have to so hateful (only) to the H? Okay, we are given to understand it is a sublimated feelings thing but still, it makes for a highly disagreeable read.
The H was basically a sweet nice guy – a rarity in PJland. He goes behind scenes to get her case dismissed and then enlists his mother to employ her as a PA/companion. All this is unknown to the h who goes on alternating between her bitchy and poor-me moods. I almost did a dnf with this one as the H was almost absent for the first half and the all the talk about charities and arranging benefits and balls and whatevers was a big snore.
But then the mother and the h fly off to Boston (to my despair) but happily the fun begins here with the H following them. So she misses out on the famous local clam chowder, but gets to experience other things!
An ow is suitably recruited to do the venomous bit(e). And like countless other hs before her, she falls prey to the by now weared-thin machinations. Aarghh!
But the ending is sweet and the H even sweeter. Definitely a keeper – the H!
April 29, 2022
On a re-read this wasn't a whole lot better. Too many unanswered questions and the heroine left a lot to be desired. She was willing to be trodden on by people who were worthless, but ended up growing a spine and being mean to those who were trying to help her.
PJ's heroines are always a bit wacky, but this one felt more wacky than most.
2.5 stars, rounding to 3 stars
PJ's heroines are always a bit wacky, but this one felt more wacky than most.
2.5 stars, rounding to 3 stars
October 24, 2022
Update
October 24th/2022
To tell you the truth I can't remember a lot of the whole story. I think the first time I read it was 6/7 years ago, and I was in a hurry to complete the Goodreads' Reading Challenge that I used to postpone to write the reviews and after a few years I found out I didn't write anything 😬🙈
Maybe I can skim the book to post something decent 🤔 What I'm sure is that I always try to use a lot of tags to give information about the story to help myself and other readers what they would find in the book.
First Reading
2015/2016 (I will check later)
Score: 3.5 🌟
Other shelves: betta-hero, hero-in-his-30's, hero-is-not-mean
Review to come...
October 24th/2022
To tell you the truth I can't remember a lot of the whole story. I think the first time I read it was 6/7 years ago, and I was in a hurry to complete the Goodreads' Reading Challenge that I used to postpone to write the reviews and after a few years I found out I didn't write anything 😬🙈
Maybe I can skim the book to post something decent 🤔 What I'm sure is that I always try to use a lot of tags to give information about the story to help myself and other readers what they would find in the book.
First Reading
2015/2016 (I will check later)
Score: 3.5 🌟
Other shelves: betta-hero, hero-in-his-30's, hero-is-not-mean
Review to come...
March 9, 2017
An old harlequin books with lots of potentials. The starting of the book is good but in the middle somehow it lost the potentiality. I was hoping to get more of Lark and James scenes that's why when Lark felt that she is in love with James I wasn't convinced. There were so many internal monologues about Lark but there wasn't one for James. It would have been great if the author wrote it as a dual POV because I am actually confused about James like how he knows that Lark is innocent? Yeah, I understand that for James it was like love at first sight but still James POV was needed.
Some Scenes like Lark breakdown in front of James is very well written. I like Mrs. Mayer, James mother very much. Another thing is there was no epilogue, this book at least deserves a sweet little epilogue. Overall The book wasn't bad.
Some Scenes like Lark breakdown in front of James is very well written. I like Mrs. Mayer, James mother very much. Another thing is there was no epilogue, this book at least deserves a sweet little epilogue. Overall The book wasn't bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2023
Stupid fng girl. Nothing else to say. A re-read and I realized why I’d originally not bothered with a review. PJ needed to know when to stop with her unbearable jarring of the H’s good intentions and tender love for the h.
The H is the prosecutor and the h is being wrongly convicted. Last minute she gets a pardon and can walk off freely. The h is wary of her own shadow and is forever in a case of trembles and fear of someone putting her in prison. I’d have been glad if someone had done the well deserved honours. She was such an utter loony case that there wasn’t any place else where she’d be at peace.
This woman while not being imprisoned still lived in a prison of her mental incapacity. She comes to work for the H’s mother but wrongfully assumes the absolute lethal worse of people’s actions towards her. Anyone who talks to her must be a fob if they’re talking to “her”. “Her” who could’ve been imprisoned and committed of a crime.
The h needed psychological help to get her out of her misery in which she wasn’t in to begin with. The entire length of the book is the h telling people off, esp the besotted H and his kind mother, because why would they be nice to her, her who was almost convicted of her crime.
I found the h selfish and unbecoming with her accusations and assumptions. I’d have liked to stab her a little to prick her bubble of a high opinion of herself and the absolute worst of others.
The H served his head, heart and soul at her quivering toes and she rudely rejected him, all thanks to some OW lies. Nothing at all changed in the H’s love for her or his actions. I abhorred the h and she ruined the entire book for me. Also when needed she was a total hussy but then went back to being a schizophrenic. Such a fng tool and so not deserving of an HEA.
The H is the prosecutor and the h is being wrongly convicted. Last minute she gets a pardon and can walk off freely. The h is wary of her own shadow and is forever in a case of trembles and fear of someone putting her in prison. I’d have been glad if someone had done the well deserved honours. She was such an utter loony case that there wasn’t any place else where she’d be at peace.
This woman while not being imprisoned still lived in a prison of her mental incapacity. She comes to work for the H’s mother but wrongfully assumes the absolute lethal worse of people’s actions towards her. Anyone who talks to her must be a fob if they’re talking to “her”. “Her” who could’ve been imprisoned and committed of a crime.
The h needed psychological help to get her out of her misery in which she wasn’t in to begin with. The entire length of the book is the h telling people off, esp the besotted H and his kind mother, because why would they be nice to her, her who was almost convicted of her crime.
I found the h selfish and unbecoming with her accusations and assumptions. I’d have liked to stab her a little to prick her bubble of a high opinion of herself and the absolute worst of others.
The H served his head, heart and soul at her quivering toes and she rudely rejected him, all thanks to some OW lies. Nothing at all changed in the H’s love for her or his actions. I abhorred the h and she ruined the entire book for me. Also when needed she was a total hussy but then went back to being a schizophrenic. Such a fng tool and so not deserving of an HEA.
Want to read
March 7, 2019"La sentencia"
September 24, 2022
This was so familiar, yet at the same time new PJ! I originally expected anotherAn Unforgettable Man - Hero using his power to blackmail heroine into sleeping with him. PJ surprised me (and dissappointed me equally), and shut some of the critics' mouths by writing absolutely dreamy Hero!
Where James was unique and not too typical PJ's character (great judgement, sweet and loving), Lark was the very same heroine as usual - submissive, "I can't defend myself"-like approach, and overall a bit idiotic. 😬 Instead of approaching James and asking about the OW in his life, who wasn't really OW at all, she assumed the worst and didn't even confront him.
Overall it's a typical PJ angsty romance with a bit too much H's mother involvement. Penny could also address the case a bit more, though. When the heroine's name was dragged in a mud because of her dead jerk cousin, there should have been some resolution. Getting the guy is nice, but it doesn't balance the injustice of losing good reputation and career IMO.
August 9, 2017
Yep Penny Jordan is definitely one of my favorite authors! When I read /reread most of the vintage HPs I always try to read between the lines or check to see any clues of the H's love/jealousy /thoughts on the H now, of there was any hint of it. Well let me assure you you'll have no confusion on what the H feels heeheehee! Yeah I'm still giddy from the HEA. The H is definitely a top notch hero!!! Now as for the h, I liked her too. In the beginning of the story I felt really sad for her. Her life, her loneliness and she was so starved for family affection and of course the injustice of her situation. And I really felt her loneliness that she had NO ONE. Awwww... Poor h's life just seemed to suck. And then of course the story started to get rolling and boom :) of course she got OM and OW to mess things up. The only thing I'm confused about is the H's declaration
June 3, 2018
There is definitely something to be said about old harlequin novels. The tumultuous angst and well orchestrated drama, the flow, the superior editing and writing (compared to books written now), all result in an enjoyable couple hours of utter escapism. However, Penny Jordan for me has been hits and mostly misses. Case in point this book with the extremely tstl heroine. It also just wasn't finished properly. And the comeuppance with the inevitable OW/OM drama wasn't as satisfying as it could be.
February 14, 2015
Lots of misunderstandings where the heroine is blind to the truth and the intelligent hero isn't quite smart enough to tell her everything.
It started out really good and I wish the court case had been reopened and the heroine had been publicly exonerated.
The Hero wasn't the typical HP asshole, so that was a nice change.
The heroine was extremely insecure with good cause.
It started out really good and I wish the court case had been reopened and the heroine had been publicly exonerated.
The Hero wasn't the typical HP asshole, so that was a nice change.
The heroine was extremely insecure with good cause.
May 10, 2020
1.5 stars.
Repetitive with one of my least favourite tropes: MCs who fall in love with each other without even really knowing one another. All of it really begs the question: are they in love or lust? You really can't love a complete stranger (can you tell I don't believe in love at first sight?). Anyhoo, this story was just ok. No real OP drama and no details on the H's past.
Repetitive with one of my least favourite tropes: MCs who fall in love with each other without even really knowing one another. All of it really begs the question: are they in love or lust? You really can't love a complete stranger (can you tell I don't believe in love at first sight?). Anyhoo, this story was just ok. No real OP drama and no details on the H's past.
August 8, 2025
This was good, though the author put too much conflict into the end of the book that should have been more in the middle. You have the confrontation between the h and the OW (who tells the h lies about her and the H), the h jumping to the wrong conclusion and making the H think she wants the OM to save her pride and get back at him, the anger and misunderstanding followed by the truth coming out, recon ciliation and HEA, all in the last 25 pages. It was just too much crammed in, as if the author decided there wasn't enough drama in the book and decided on a quick last-minute fix.
It would have been better if she had fleshed out the whole theme of the story more, which was the title of the book. The h had trouble trusting the H because he was prosecuting her case (she was set up by her late cousin, whose death was no great loss) and she was sure he believed her to be guilty, even when the trial was suddenly discontinued and she was cleared of the charges.
It's apparent that there's an attraction between them from the start (though she fights it and can't face her feelings) and when she starts working for his mother (not knowing who she was, of course), they soon end up lovers, the fact that they don't discuss the trial keeps getting in the way of their relationship. The H says they should give it two months to build a real relationship (as they made love too soon) and while she realizes she loves him, she doesn't know if she can trust him to not want just an affair (between the difference in their backgrounds, the OW and her being convinced he still thinks she was guilty), and that keeps things at a standstill. More time should have been devoted to the two of them building their relationship and gaining trust, instead of letting misunderstandings and silliness (like him thinking she was interested in the OM because he was wealthy and her letting him think so to get back at him).
I felt sorry for the OM, he really cared for her, and she was only dating him at first to try and forget the H (but slept with the H later on that same night) and then went out to dinner with him to get back at the H because she was jealous of the OW. The poor guy took her out for a fancy dinner and had to listen to her tell him all about her feelings for the H! (Even with the several drinks she had loosening her tongue, that was still pretty crummy). Then, when he takes her home, she told him it was better if they didn't see each other again. Pretty tough on the poor guy's ego!
I liked the H's mother best of all, and the whole story of how she started her charity work, due to a genetic disorder that killed both her first husband and her son (the half-brother who died before the H was born). I would have liked to know more about the research work as well as how the charity ball they were planning turned out.
Not a bad story, but enough room for improvement.
It would have been better if she had fleshed out the whole theme of the story more, which was the title of the book. The h had trouble trusting the H because he was prosecuting her case (she was set up by her late cousin, whose death was no great loss) and she was sure he believed her to be guilty, even when the trial was suddenly discontinued and she was cleared of the charges.
It's apparent that there's an attraction between them from the start (though she fights it and can't face her feelings) and when she starts working for his mother (not knowing who she was, of course), they soon end up lovers, the fact that they don't discuss the trial keeps getting in the way of their relationship. The H says they should give it two months to build a real relationship (as they made love too soon) and while she realizes she loves him, she doesn't know if she can trust him to not want just an affair (between the difference in their backgrounds, the OW and her being convinced he still thinks she was guilty), and that keeps things at a standstill. More time should have been devoted to the two of them building their relationship and gaining trust, instead of letting misunderstandings and silliness (like him thinking she was interested in the OM because he was wealthy and her letting him think so to get back at him).
I felt sorry for the OM, he really cared for her, and she was only dating him at first to try and forget the H (but slept with the H later on that same night) and then went out to dinner with him to get back at the H because she was jealous of the OW. The poor guy took her out for a fancy dinner and had to listen to her tell him all about her feelings for the H! (Even with the several drinks she had loosening her tongue, that was still pretty crummy). Then, when he takes her home, she told him it was better if they didn't see each other again. Pretty tough on the poor guy's ego!
I liked the H's mother best of all, and the whole story of how she started her charity work, due to a genetic disorder that killed both her first husband and her son (the half-brother who died before the H was born). I would have liked to know more about the research work as well as how the charity ball they were planning turned out.
Not a bad story, but enough room for improvement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2020
This is one of the best and one of the most disappointing Harlequin romances. I loved the characters, the unusual plot and most of all, the clear emotional connections the characters made with each other and thus with us. The story is great.
The disappointment is that this novel has an excellent plot and back story that, combined with the emotional appeal, could be built into a truly excellent book. The two main characters connect the first time in court, when he prosecutes her for supposedly coercing and blackmailing her now-dead cousin into embezzling tens of thousands of pounds. They both feel the connection but Lark is so terrified that James will convince the jury she is guilty that Lark can feel nothing. James wants to follow up after the trial is dismissed but Lark pushes him away.
Of course there is a romance here and a sex scene and of course there are complications galore. But a longer novel outside the Harlequin structure could explore exactly who is guilty, why did her cousin embezzle, did her aunt and uncle help themselves to Lark's inheritance.
I felt a real sense of caring for both characters. Jordan tells the story primarily from Lark's point of view, with a couple paragraphs from James' viewpoint, and a longer novel could tell James' story too. Jordan adds the delightful James' mother, a kindhearted would-be other man and a devious other woman to round out the charm of the novel.
You can read a longer review covering the same points here: https://www.morebooksthantime.com/a-s...
The disappointment is that this novel has an excellent plot and back story that, combined with the emotional appeal, could be built into a truly excellent book. The two main characters connect the first time in court, when he prosecutes her for supposedly coercing and blackmailing her now-dead cousin into embezzling tens of thousands of pounds. They both feel the connection but Lark is so terrified that James will convince the jury she is guilty that Lark can feel nothing. James wants to follow up after the trial is dismissed but Lark pushes him away.
Of course there is a romance here and a sex scene and of course there are complications galore. But a longer novel outside the Harlequin structure could explore exactly who is guilty, why did her cousin embezzle, did her aunt and uncle help themselves to Lark's inheritance.
I felt a real sense of caring for both characters. Jordan tells the story primarily from Lark's point of view, with a couple paragraphs from James' viewpoint, and a longer novel could tell James' story too. Jordan adds the delightful James' mother, a kindhearted would-be other man and a devious other woman to round out the charm of the novel.
You can read a longer review covering the same points here: https://www.morebooksthantime.com/a-s...
September 30, 2024
3.5 star.
For a Penny Jordan, this one is not that verbose. I mean, to me it's "the right amount of words". There are long sentences, but not too long. Just enough so it doesn't disturb my reading experience.
The story itself is quite unique for a HQ: the judge and the defendant. Although of course the judge in question was already a very rich man thanks to his family, so it gave a modern-historical-romance vibe. As usual, I like Penny Jordan's heroine. One tiny ick is the age gap (10 years). Oh well, I guess it was the HQ era (maybe it's impossible to find a virgin after the age of 22?). I like that the story doesn't end after they got together. They still had to overcome the trust issue and the miscommunication. Too bad the real culprit never got to get her just desert.
For a Penny Jordan, this one is not that verbose. I mean, to me it's "the right amount of words". There are long sentences, but not too long. Just enough so it doesn't disturb my reading experience.
The story itself is quite unique for a HQ: the judge and the defendant. Although of course the judge in question was already a very rich man thanks to his family, so it gave a modern-historical-romance vibe. As usual, I like Penny Jordan's heroine. One tiny ick is the age gap (10 years). Oh well, I guess it was the HQ era (maybe it's impossible to find a virgin after the age of 22?). I like that the story doesn't end after they got together. They still had to overcome the trust issue and the miscommunication. Too bad the real culprit never got to get her just desert.
September 3, 2017
Too much unnecessary inner thoughts/Monologue mentioned like the description of each person of the characters she met, scenery and places. And a few scenes of them together until I got in 65% of the book.
January 31, 2020
😒 just okay.
Read
April 30, 2020Read another edition.
June 11, 2021
A Penny Jordan vintage HP. Always one of the best.
Unfortunately they don’t write HP’s like this anymore.
Unfortunately they don’t write HP’s like this anymore.
December 10, 2024
I didn't like it. Np.
July 20, 2017
You know, when this book was originally released in 1988 as Without Trust it was part of a large collection of Penny Jordan Harlequins. I thought it was great and carried all the books with me through every move of my life. So, now that it's been almost thirty years I purchased it as a Kindle book so I could donate the paper version to the Friends of the Library in my district. ( ‾ʖ̫‾)
I would say this is a 2.5. Ms. Jordan wrote well, but Lark made me crazy. Again, when I was a teenager I thought she was awesome, but now not so much. I didn't stop reading the book, nor will I stop re-reading Ms. Jordan's books as they go digital, but this is what in 2017 I call a period romance. As long as you keep that in mind then you will deal with Lark and her story.
I would say this is a 2.5. Ms. Jordan wrote well, but Lark made me crazy. Again, when I was a teenager I thought she was awesome, but now not so much. I didn't stop reading the book, nor will I stop re-reading Ms. Jordan's books as they go digital, but this is what in 2017 I call a period romance. As long as you keep that in mind then you will deal with Lark and her story.
May 5, 2019
A Scandalous Innocent
I needed to re-read this story before giving it a honest review. The woman was accused of enticing her cousin into fraudulent activity in his work place. When he was caught he blamed her. This part happens before the beginning of the story. Now she has the charges against her dropped. And is now working with a woman who needs a companion. Unbeknownst to her the woman's son was the lawyer who interrogated her on the stands. Now she must decide if she wants to stay with the job or move on. She is tired of the hurt she feels about her cousin and his lies. She doesn't think anyone believes her. Will the lawyer be the one for her or is he using her to get the truth out of her in the end?
I needed to re-read this story before giving it a honest review. The woman was accused of enticing her cousin into fraudulent activity in his work place. When he was caught he blamed her. This part happens before the beginning of the story. Now she has the charges against her dropped. And is now working with a woman who needs a companion. Unbeknownst to her the woman's son was the lawyer who interrogated her on the stands. Now she must decide if she wants to stay with the job or move on. She is tired of the hurt she feels about her cousin and his lies. She doesn't think anyone believes her. Will the lawyer be the one for her or is he using her to get the truth out of her in the end?
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