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Two years ago Rudolph Brink had shattered Janey's life and broken her heart into the bargain before deserting her. To do him justice,he had not known that she had had his child - and now that he did know he was insisting that they should marry. But although he was prepared to go so far to make amends, it was to be a marriage in name only, and meanwhile his old love, Sybil Rampling, seemed to be as much a part of his life as ever. And certainly he seemed neither to realise or to care that Janey still loved him. What hope had she of ever finding happiness with him?
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Yvonne Whittal
56 books80 followersYvonne Whittal was born and raised in South Africa, the setting of most of her romances. She started writing stories at a young age, but didn't really get serious about writing until after she married and had children. She got many rejection letters from publishers, until a friend who loved romances gave her to encouragement to continue.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 14, 2021
"The Broken Link" is the story of Janey and Rudolph.
My god this will give you a migraine.
Want to watch an evil OW fool a gullible heroine, forcing the latter to destroy a really nice hero's life and behave like an ice queen for 50 minutes- this is your book.
Frustrating, exasperating and fury inducing.
Safe
2/5
My god this will give you a migraine.
Want to watch an evil OW fool a gullible heroine, forcing the latter to destroy a really nice hero's life and behave like an ice queen for 50 minutes- this is your book.
Frustrating, exasperating and fury inducing.
Safe
2/5
April 23, 2016
This is a secret baby story, with no real need for the baby to be secret except for the heroine's stupid jealousy and gullibility.
The stalkerific hero of the flashback (which I liked), just doesn't line up with his coldness after their forced marriage. I'm not the biggest fan of secret babies in general, and this one in particular was hard to justify the heroine's behavior. I really like Whittal's writing, so I gave it three stars. But plot-wise it probably doesn't deserve it.
The stalkerific hero of the flashback (which I liked), just doesn't line up with his coldness after their forced marriage. I'm not the biggest fan of secret babies in general, and this one in particular was hard to justify the heroine's behavior. I really like Whittal's writing, so I gave it three stars. But plot-wise it probably doesn't deserve it.
March 12, 2013
This is a lovely reunion, forced marriage plot. The interference of another woman makes it impossible for Janey to reveal to Rudolph she is carrying his child and she gets on with her life with the help of her parents. They had fallen in love but his father's illness dragged him away before all was settled.
When Rudolph comes to Cape Town from Johannesburg two years later he comes looking for Janey and finds she's kept his son Andrew a secret. Forced into marriage, Janey believes it is only a matter of time before it comes unstuck with Sybil playing the other woman to the hilt.
This is one of those angsty 1970's reads with a hero who comes across as quite aggressive at times but we see he is a real softy underneath.
The ending was really sweet and very satisfactory.
When Rudolph comes to Cape Town from Johannesburg two years later he comes looking for Janey and finds she's kept his son Andrew a secret. Forced into marriage, Janey believes it is only a matter of time before it comes unstuck with Sybil playing the other woman to the hilt.
This is one of those angsty 1970's reads with a hero who comes across as quite aggressive at times but we see he is a real softy underneath.
The ending was really sweet and very satisfactory.
January 24, 2021
As written on the last sentence of the book "foolish doubts and fears" broke the link if it ever existed. LOL
December 26, 2013
This is a reunion, second chance at love story.
However, it is not one of the better ones out there and certainly not one of Whittal's better work. The heroine was too silly for words. She takes the word of a woman she has never met and decides to break up with the hero. Even though she knows she is pregnant. So she basically robs him of his rights to his child, all on the whim of a woman she has never met who happens to be lying through her teeth.
I would avoid this one at all costs. Not worth the time. I kept waiting for the hero to hook up with someone else who was worthy of him.
However, it is not one of the better ones out there and certainly not one of Whittal's better work. The heroine was too silly for words. She takes the word of a woman she has never met and decides to break up with the hero. Even though she knows she is pregnant. So she basically robs him of his rights to his child, all on the whim of a woman she has never met who happens to be lying through her teeth.
I would avoid this one at all costs. Not worth the time. I kept waiting for the hero to hook up with someone else who was worthy of him.
June 8, 2020
Two years ago Rudolph Brink had shattered Janey's life and broken her heart into the bargain before deserting her. To do him justice,he had not known that she had had his child - and now that he did know he was insisting that they should marry.
But although he was prepared to go so far to make amends, it was to be a marriage in name only, and meanwhile his old love, Sybil Rampling, seemed to be as much a part of his life as ever. And certainly he seemed neither to realise or to care that Janey still loved him. What hope had she of ever finding happiness with him?
But although he was prepared to go so far to make amends, it was to be a marriage in name only, and meanwhile his old love, Sybil Rampling, seemed to be as much a part of his life as ever. And certainly he seemed neither to realise or to care that Janey still loved him. What hope had she of ever finding happiness with him?
December 8, 2013
2.5 stars and that is very generous.
Wasn't well thought out. Hated the heroine. What a pathetic piece of work. He should've stuck with the OW. There are numerous Harleys out there with this theme that are well done. Read one of those.
Wasn't well thought out. Hated the heroine. What a pathetic piece of work. He should've stuck with the OW. There are numerous Harleys out there with this theme that are well done. Read one of those.
August 12, 2014
Heroine was an evil bitch! Poor hero he deserved so much better!
October 5, 2015
Stupid. Most normal people would have asked for an explanation from the horse's mouth instead of taking the words of a stranger as truth. The heroine lacks intelligence and common sense. On the basis of one conversation by phone with a woman whom she had never met and who claims she and the hero are in love with each other, the heroine deprives a little boy of his daddy. Just plain stupid.
December 1, 2020
The heroine is too stupid to convert oxygen.
October 10, 2023
Hard going. Stupid belief in poisonous ow by Tstl Janey deprives her child of its father and herself of the H, blunt S African chainsmoker Rudolph. I almost felt sorry for him. A waste of time.
April 16, 2022
Quiz time. Your older, more sophisticated boyfriend asks you to marry him several times. You agree but want him to meet your folks and his dad has a stroke. You discover you are pregnant. He seems distracted and unenthusiastic when he calls you several times over the next couple months. You decide to call him and say you are pregnant when you get a call from a lady you don’t know and he never mentioned. Lady tells you she and he will marry, that you must tell him that to you it was only a holiday romance and let him off the hook. Oh and you mustn’t tell him about OW’s call. She never says that he thought it a holiday romance, or that he wants to break the engagement.
Do you:
A) Do as she says?
B) Call him and ask about OW’s comments?
C) Call him, tell him you are pregnant, ask about his plans regarding lady?
D) Laugh uproariously at OW on the phone and point out that he’s a grown man who can handle his own dirty work.
E) Anything except A.
Our heroine chooses A. Duh…. I suppose we wouldn’t have a harlequin romance if she used any of her brain cells.
She remains gullible. OW tells her she and H weren’t married because H was full busy getting family finances and company in shape - for several months. It’s been two years and even if “several months” was 15-18 months H had plent of time to marry OW if he wanted once he secured the company.
H tries to break through to h and she keeps talking about his deceit, yet she had zero evidence of deceit, only the OW’s statements. H doesn’t help his case either. He says nothing will come between him and OW. So they both are stupid and untrusting.
Not once does h ask H why he didn’t marry OW. After h and H marry she says “I trusted you once before and you failed me.” No, H didn’t fail h, but the reverse.
I usually enjoy Yvonne Whittal romances, even her stories with jerk Hs, but I do expect a modicum of intelligence in her characters and this novel fails. She’s unbelievably gullible and stupid and he isn’t much better.
Do you:
A) Do as she says?
B) Call him and ask about OW’s comments?
C) Call him, tell him you are pregnant, ask about his plans regarding lady?
D) Laugh uproariously at OW on the phone and point out that he’s a grown man who can handle his own dirty work.
E) Anything except A.
Our heroine chooses A. Duh…. I suppose we wouldn’t have a harlequin romance if she used any of her brain cells.
She remains gullible. OW tells her she and H weren’t married because H was full busy getting family finances and company in shape - for several months. It’s been two years and even if “several months” was 15-18 months H had plent of time to marry OW if he wanted once he secured the company.
H tries to break through to h and she keeps talking about his deceit, yet she had zero evidence of deceit, only the OW’s statements. H doesn’t help his case either. He says nothing will come between him and OW. So they both are stupid and untrusting.
Not once does h ask H why he didn’t marry OW. After h and H marry she says “I trusted you once before and you failed me.” No, H didn’t fail h, but the reverse.
I usually enjoy Yvonne Whittal romances, even her stories with jerk Hs, but I do expect a modicum of intelligence in her characters and this novel fails. She’s unbelievably gullible and stupid and he isn’t much better.
December 27, 2017
بحر الشك
روايات عبير الجديدة
قبل سنتين , رودلف, كان قد بعثر حياة جاين وكسر قلبها قبل ان يهجرها, ولنكون عادلين معه , فهو لم يكن يعرف انها كانت تحمل طفله في احشائها.
الآن وقد عرف , اصر على ان يتزوجا , لكن بالرغم من قيامه بهذه الخطوة الكبيرة ليعيد تصليح الأمور إلا ان زواجهما كان مجرد زواجاً صورياً.
فيما حبه القديم , سيبيل راميلنغ , ظلت جزءاً لا يتجزأ من حياته كما كان دائماً , وبالطبع بدا كأنه لا يدرك ولا يهتم بأن جاين لا تزال مغرمة به , ماهو الأمل الذي تملكه هي بإيجاد سعادة لها معه ؟
روايات عبير الجديدة
قبل سنتين , رودلف, كان قد بعثر حياة جاين وكسر قلبها قبل ان يهجرها, ولنكون عادلين معه , فهو لم يكن يعرف انها كانت تحمل طفله في احشائها.
الآن وقد عرف , اصر على ان يتزوجا , لكن بالرغم من قيامه بهذه الخطوة الكبيرة ليعيد تصليح الأمور إلا ان زواجهما كان مجرد زواجاً صورياً.
فيما حبه القديم , سيبيل راميلنغ , ظلت جزءاً لا يتجزأ من حياته كما كان دائماً , وبالطبع بدا كأنه لا يدرك ولا يهتم بأن جاين لا تزال مغرمة به , ماهو الأمل الذي تملكه هي بإيجاد سعادة لها معه ؟
September 24, 2017
Oldy and goody (in that particular sense of dont clobber the herione because of her stupidity!)
June 28, 2019
Heroin is a dumb bitch. #UFF
January 14, 2025
This could have been a really good story, but Ms. Whittal goofed by having the h act too much out of character for most of the book, going against her gentle, sweet nature and coming across (at least to the H) like a cynical, snarky bitch. To the H's credit, he was an alpha type, but didn't overdo it with the domineering attitude. (He did get a bit forceful when it came to sex, but he only started things that way, to make her face what she still felt. It wasn't one of those scenes where she's desperate to get away and he overpowers her, as she got into it very fast.)
The early scenes where Janey and Rudolph meet are the best in the book, as they were both their true selves, and were both puzzled and thrilled by the feeling of recognition they felt from the start, as if they'd known each other before. (Ms. Whittal gives a possible explanation later on.)
But then - naturally - the misunderstanding occurs, and it was so damned ridiculous! Rudolph has to get back home and take charge of the family business (which was near bankruptcy) when his father suddenly died, so he and Janey had to part for a while. After one night together, he wants to marry her right away, but Janey says it wouldn't be fair to her parents, as she met him while on vacation and to suddenly spring a son-in-law on them would be a bit much. Not to mention the turmoil in his own family right now. So, for the next two months, they're confined to phone calls, but when the calls come less often, and Rudolph sounds a bit distant, Janey - always a shy loner on the insecure side - starts suspecting he's losing interest. Ironically, at the time she's thinking this, she discovers she's pregnant. Having decided to tell Rudolph, she gets an unexpected phone call from the OW, Sybil, whom she had never heard of before, who informs her that she's the woman Rudolph intends to marry, what he felt for Janey was just a holiday fling, but since he feels a bit guilty would Janey be a good sport and write him a letter saying she's changed her mind and wants nothing more to do with him? No reason to mention Sybil, of course!
And Ms. TSTL does just that!!! She sends Rudolph a "Dear John" letter, then decides that, since he'll marry and have a family with Sybil, there's no use telling him about her baby, as he would consider it an unwanted burden. So, she'll raise the baby herself.
My butt! If it weren't for her parents, she'd have been in a real mess! She lives with them, gets free babysitting service while she works (not to mention free room and board), and yet has the nerve to talk about how "independent" she is! She's independent of brains, as it never occurred to her to write or phone Rudolph and ask him point blank where they stand, if he'd rather break up, etc. She just takes Sybil's word, and never suspects an ulterior motive!
I guess it never occurred to her either, that if Rudolph wanted to marry Sybil, and thought of her (Janey) as just a holiday fling, then WHY THE HELL DID HE PROPOSE TO HER??? He managed to get her into bed, so if he were using her, it would be "mission accomplished", time to move on, no need for declarations of love and marriage.
He did say he was concerned about "consequences" (i.e. pregnancy) but if he were a player, he'd have most likely told her that if she finds out she's pregnant, to get in touch and he'd send her any money she needed for an abortion, or to consider adoption, and then - grudgingly - offer financial assistance for her and the baby if she decided to keep it, but he would NOT have offered to marry her, especially at a point in time where her being pregnant was just speculation.
Add to that, the fact that he suggested more than once that they get married before he leaves for home, and each time she turned him down. Does that sound like a man who doesn't care, and wants another woman? If anything, it sounds like Janey's the one with the cold feet.
Like a lot of innocent and inexperienced h's, Janey lives in a bit of a fantasy world, where the H is supposed to be a white knight all the way, and if (Heaven forbid) his armor should need even a bit of polish, she just can't handle it. HOW DARE HE NOT BE PERFECT!!!! Sometimes the OW, for all her faults, is at least seeing the H as a real man, not a romantic fantasy figure!
I also didn't appreciate the attitude Janey took with her parents. She didn't tell them anything about Rudolph, keeping them in complete ignorance of their grandchild's father, and actually threatened them, by saying if they keep badgering her, she'd leave, and they wouldn't see the baby! Real nice way to treat the people you need to help support you and your kid! True, she was upset about Rudolph's supposed betrayal, but that's no excuse to go into bitch mode so fast! I happen to think she owed them better, instead of leaving them completely blindsided when Rudolph suddenly showed up, two years later, bearing a striking resemblance to their grandson!
Business in the area brought him there and curiosity made him look her up, and he got a real shock when he saw little Andrew! Janey, too, got a surprise, but (naturally) she covers up her true feelings (even hides them from herself, if that's possible) by being nasty, bitchy and full of the "we don't need you, we're doing fine without you", etc., comments, not to mention the ridiculous: "What makes you think he's your son?" What a joke!! No DNA test needed with that much resemblance!!
Naturally, Rudolph wants his son, even if it means marrying Janey, which doesn't sound too thrilling! It seems Rudolph was a bit TSTL himself! When he got Janey's break-up letter, it was at a time when it looked like he may not be able to salvage the company, and he assumed the thought of marrying a man with financial difficulties was unappealing to her, so she dumped him. Like Janey, it didn't seem to occur to him to call her and demand a real reason, not her weak claim of mistaking infatuation for the real thing. And would someone so down-to-earth and unpretentious suddenly turn into a heartless gold-digger? For a savvy businessman, he could be pretty dense!
Not to mention that, despite all the nonstop work and travel he had to do to save the business, he still should have taken time out to explain things fully to Janey, made a quick trip to see her, or at the very least a long letter or phone call! (Short, infrequent phone calls, where he sounded like a zombie didn't do the trick.) Saying how exhausted he was at the time is really stretching it, since he was only in his early 30's, far from an elderly man! No energy even for a long phone conversation with the woman he's supposed to love? COME ON!!!
The author wastes so much time in having these two on the outs, despite their getting married. It doesn't help that Rudolph's mother and sister aren't very welcoming at first, though her mother-in-law soon warms up and gets to like her. Esme, however, gives her new sister-in-law a tough time for a while (she's Team Sybil) but later changes, and she adores her little nephew! But Janey and Rudolph stay in separate rooms, often go without speaking, and don't even bond much over their son. Janey seems to resent Andrew taking to Rudolph so fast, and goes into bitch mode again, when he's teething and Rudolph shows concern, grudgingly letting him take over while she gets some rest. She's just determined to be cold and nasty, as a cover-up for the fact that she (surprise!!!) never stopped loving him. She eventually lets her in-laws know (far from stupid, they could tell all wasn't well with the couple), but of course, she won't let her husband know, because she believes he only married her because of Andrew, and that he really loves Sybil, who's around pretty often, with plenty of hostile looks for Janey. She's told Janey to her face that her marriage won't last, then she'll have Rudolph, the way it was meant to be! Janey at least shows a backbone where her "rival" is concerned and gives as good as she gets, but she should have stopped to think that, despite Sybil making her feelings clear, and both Rudolph and Sybil's families having thought they'd end up together, Rudolph NEVER asked Sybil to marry him!! Once the company was on its feet and thriving again (before he knew about Andrew) why didn't he propose to her then? Perhaps because he didn't want to??? How come Janey (not to mention Sybil) never considers that???
The story goes on too long (like my review, sorry about this), and doesn't get anywhere. Janey acts cold and bitchy, Rudolph gets angry and threatens to make her sorry, he wonders where the sweet, gentle girl he met has gone, she snarks that he killed her, they end up almost having angry sex, then actually having it, but the author then jumps to a couple of weeks later, so you don't see the aftermath of that passion! Pretty dumb on her part!
Rudolph had no problem with making lunch dates with Sybil, inviting her over for tea and dinner, letting her flirt with him, and taking her out to play golf (though he did offer to teach Janey, how thoughtful of him) and Janey ends up retaliating by accepting a sightseeing invitation from a guy named Tony that they met at a dinner party given by one of Rudolph's business associates. Of course, she didn't tell Rudolph and soon regretted accepting, but felt she couldn't get out of it, since she didn't have his number to cancel (Tony was meeting her in the lobby of the hotel where she and Rudolph stayed), and it would be rude to tell him to forget it after he shows up. (Why??? She hardly knows the man, why worry about his feelings, especially since Rudolph had mentioned he had a rep as a womanizer, and besides, she knows Rudolph will be furious when she tells him about the date later on. Yet she still goes! Makes perfect sense!)
I think Ms. Whittal decided at the last minute to throw the OM into the mix, since the OW had gotten so much attention. But this guy Tony was a real joke! He tells Janey from the minute he saw her, he knew there was something special between them (COUGH! COUGH!), of all the women he's known, he's never felt this way before (CHOKE! CHOKE!), and he thinks, despite only having just met her, he's fallen in love with her! (BARF! BARF!) Talk about a pile of smelly crap! Any other woman would have laughed in his face, but Janey - who's a cold bitch to her husband - is warm and gentle to this loser, reminding him that she's married. (Married, but on a date with a strange man, and I do mean STRANGE!) But when he says he can tell she's not happily married (otherwise why would she have accepted his invitation, he must have been thinking), she says she still loves her husband very much. Tony then puts on the role of confidant, assuring her if she needs a shoulder to cry on, his is available. OH, BROTHER!!!
She'll tell this jerk she loves Rudolph, she'll tell her mother-in-law she loves Rudolph, she'll tell Esme she loves Rudolph, but will she tell Rudolph? HELL NO! She's waiting for a sign that he loves her first. But why she thinks he'll give a sign to her, when she continues to act like a bitch is beyond me!
Later, when she gets back to the hotel and Rudolph is furious, that's when they have the hot sex, followed by a jump to a few weeks later, figure that one out!
By now you're probably sick of this review, which is how I felt reading this book, when it finally got around to the unbelievable HEA, as Janey's FINALLY convinced that Rudolph never intended to marry Sybil, never stopped loving her, etc., and then the cold bitch immediately transforms into the warm sweet woman he loves!
And pigs fly!!
Even more ridiculous, after the truth about Sybil's deceptive phone call and manipulative behavior is out, Rudolph seems to take it in stride, not getting particularly angry with her. He had recently told her to stop coming on to him, as he wasn't interested, so maybe he figured that Sybil having to accept that he'll never be hers was punishment enough??? Who knows!!
BTW: there was a bit of a side story, about a Victorian era portrait in the attic, of a woman who looked a lot like Janey (explaining in part Rudolph's feeling that he knew her from somewhere, when they first met). It sounded as if it would be intriguing, but it turned out to be a real dud!
Just like this book!
The early scenes where Janey and Rudolph meet are the best in the book, as they were both their true selves, and were both puzzled and thrilled by the feeling of recognition they felt from the start, as if they'd known each other before. (Ms. Whittal gives a possible explanation later on.)
But then - naturally - the misunderstanding occurs, and it was so damned ridiculous! Rudolph has to get back home and take charge of the family business (which was near bankruptcy) when his father suddenly died, so he and Janey had to part for a while. After one night together, he wants to marry her right away, but Janey says it wouldn't be fair to her parents, as she met him while on vacation and to suddenly spring a son-in-law on them would be a bit much. Not to mention the turmoil in his own family right now. So, for the next two months, they're confined to phone calls, but when the calls come less often, and Rudolph sounds a bit distant, Janey - always a shy loner on the insecure side - starts suspecting he's losing interest. Ironically, at the time she's thinking this, she discovers she's pregnant. Having decided to tell Rudolph, she gets an unexpected phone call from the OW, Sybil, whom she had never heard of before, who informs her that she's the woman Rudolph intends to marry, what he felt for Janey was just a holiday fling, but since he feels a bit guilty would Janey be a good sport and write him a letter saying she's changed her mind and wants nothing more to do with him? No reason to mention Sybil, of course!
And Ms. TSTL does just that!!! She sends Rudolph a "Dear John" letter, then decides that, since he'll marry and have a family with Sybil, there's no use telling him about her baby, as he would consider it an unwanted burden. So, she'll raise the baby herself.
My butt! If it weren't for her parents, she'd have been in a real mess! She lives with them, gets free babysitting service while she works (not to mention free room and board), and yet has the nerve to talk about how "independent" she is! She's independent of brains, as it never occurred to her to write or phone Rudolph and ask him point blank where they stand, if he'd rather break up, etc. She just takes Sybil's word, and never suspects an ulterior motive!
I guess it never occurred to her either, that if Rudolph wanted to marry Sybil, and thought of her (Janey) as just a holiday fling, then WHY THE HELL DID HE PROPOSE TO HER??? He managed to get her into bed, so if he were using her, it would be "mission accomplished", time to move on, no need for declarations of love and marriage.
He did say he was concerned about "consequences" (i.e. pregnancy) but if he were a player, he'd have most likely told her that if she finds out she's pregnant, to get in touch and he'd send her any money she needed for an abortion, or to consider adoption, and then - grudgingly - offer financial assistance for her and the baby if she decided to keep it, but he would NOT have offered to marry her, especially at a point in time where her being pregnant was just speculation.
Add to that, the fact that he suggested more than once that they get married before he leaves for home, and each time she turned him down. Does that sound like a man who doesn't care, and wants another woman? If anything, it sounds like Janey's the one with the cold feet.
Like a lot of innocent and inexperienced h's, Janey lives in a bit of a fantasy world, where the H is supposed to be a white knight all the way, and if (Heaven forbid) his armor should need even a bit of polish, she just can't handle it. HOW DARE HE NOT BE PERFECT!!!! Sometimes the OW, for all her faults, is at least seeing the H as a real man, not a romantic fantasy figure!
I also didn't appreciate the attitude Janey took with her parents. She didn't tell them anything about Rudolph, keeping them in complete ignorance of their grandchild's father, and actually threatened them, by saying if they keep badgering her, she'd leave, and they wouldn't see the baby! Real nice way to treat the people you need to help support you and your kid! True, she was upset about Rudolph's supposed betrayal, but that's no excuse to go into bitch mode so fast! I happen to think she owed them better, instead of leaving them completely blindsided when Rudolph suddenly showed up, two years later, bearing a striking resemblance to their grandson!
Business in the area brought him there and curiosity made him look her up, and he got a real shock when he saw little Andrew! Janey, too, got a surprise, but (naturally) she covers up her true feelings (even hides them from herself, if that's possible) by being nasty, bitchy and full of the "we don't need you, we're doing fine without you", etc., comments, not to mention the ridiculous: "What makes you think he's your son?" What a joke!! No DNA test needed with that much resemblance!!
Naturally, Rudolph wants his son, even if it means marrying Janey, which doesn't sound too thrilling! It seems Rudolph was a bit TSTL himself! When he got Janey's break-up letter, it was at a time when it looked like he may not be able to salvage the company, and he assumed the thought of marrying a man with financial difficulties was unappealing to her, so she dumped him. Like Janey, it didn't seem to occur to him to call her and demand a real reason, not her weak claim of mistaking infatuation for the real thing. And would someone so down-to-earth and unpretentious suddenly turn into a heartless gold-digger? For a savvy businessman, he could be pretty dense!
Not to mention that, despite all the nonstop work and travel he had to do to save the business, he still should have taken time out to explain things fully to Janey, made a quick trip to see her, or at the very least a long letter or phone call! (Short, infrequent phone calls, where he sounded like a zombie didn't do the trick.) Saying how exhausted he was at the time is really stretching it, since he was only in his early 30's, far from an elderly man! No energy even for a long phone conversation with the woman he's supposed to love? COME ON!!!
The author wastes so much time in having these two on the outs, despite their getting married. It doesn't help that Rudolph's mother and sister aren't very welcoming at first, though her mother-in-law soon warms up and gets to like her. Esme, however, gives her new sister-in-law a tough time for a while (she's Team Sybil) but later changes, and she adores her little nephew! But Janey and Rudolph stay in separate rooms, often go without speaking, and don't even bond much over their son. Janey seems to resent Andrew taking to Rudolph so fast, and goes into bitch mode again, when he's teething and Rudolph shows concern, grudgingly letting him take over while she gets some rest. She's just determined to be cold and nasty, as a cover-up for the fact that she (surprise!!!) never stopped loving him. She eventually lets her in-laws know (far from stupid, they could tell all wasn't well with the couple), but of course, she won't let her husband know, because she believes he only married her because of Andrew, and that he really loves Sybil, who's around pretty often, with plenty of hostile looks for Janey. She's told Janey to her face that her marriage won't last, then she'll have Rudolph, the way it was meant to be! Janey at least shows a backbone where her "rival" is concerned and gives as good as she gets, but she should have stopped to think that, despite Sybil making her feelings clear, and both Rudolph and Sybil's families having thought they'd end up together, Rudolph NEVER asked Sybil to marry him!! Once the company was on its feet and thriving again (before he knew about Andrew) why didn't he propose to her then? Perhaps because he didn't want to??? How come Janey (not to mention Sybil) never considers that???
The story goes on too long (like my review, sorry about this), and doesn't get anywhere. Janey acts cold and bitchy, Rudolph gets angry and threatens to make her sorry, he wonders where the sweet, gentle girl he met has gone, she snarks that he killed her, they end up almost having angry sex, then actually having it, but the author then jumps to a couple of weeks later, so you don't see the aftermath of that passion! Pretty dumb on her part!
Rudolph had no problem with making lunch dates with Sybil, inviting her over for tea and dinner, letting her flirt with him, and taking her out to play golf (though he did offer to teach Janey, how thoughtful of him) and Janey ends up retaliating by accepting a sightseeing invitation from a guy named Tony that they met at a dinner party given by one of Rudolph's business associates. Of course, she didn't tell Rudolph and soon regretted accepting, but felt she couldn't get out of it, since she didn't have his number to cancel (Tony was meeting her in the lobby of the hotel where she and Rudolph stayed), and it would be rude to tell him to forget it after he shows up. (Why??? She hardly knows the man, why worry about his feelings, especially since Rudolph had mentioned he had a rep as a womanizer, and besides, she knows Rudolph will be furious when she tells him about the date later on. Yet she still goes! Makes perfect sense!)
I think Ms. Whittal decided at the last minute to throw the OM into the mix, since the OW had gotten so much attention. But this guy Tony was a real joke! He tells Janey from the minute he saw her, he knew there was something special between them (COUGH! COUGH!), of all the women he's known, he's never felt this way before (CHOKE! CHOKE!), and he thinks, despite only having just met her, he's fallen in love with her! (BARF! BARF!) Talk about a pile of smelly crap! Any other woman would have laughed in his face, but Janey - who's a cold bitch to her husband - is warm and gentle to this loser, reminding him that she's married. (Married, but on a date with a strange man, and I do mean STRANGE!) But when he says he can tell she's not happily married (otherwise why would she have accepted his invitation, he must have been thinking), she says she still loves her husband very much. Tony then puts on the role of confidant, assuring her if she needs a shoulder to cry on, his is available. OH, BROTHER!!!
She'll tell this jerk she loves Rudolph, she'll tell her mother-in-law she loves Rudolph, she'll tell Esme she loves Rudolph, but will she tell Rudolph? HELL NO! She's waiting for a sign that he loves her first. But why she thinks he'll give a sign to her, when she continues to act like a bitch is beyond me!
Later, when she gets back to the hotel and Rudolph is furious, that's when they have the hot sex, followed by a jump to a few weeks later, figure that one out!
By now you're probably sick of this review, which is how I felt reading this book, when it finally got around to the unbelievable HEA, as Janey's FINALLY convinced that Rudolph never intended to marry Sybil, never stopped loving her, etc., and then the cold bitch immediately transforms into the warm sweet woman he loves!
And pigs fly!!
Even more ridiculous, after the truth about Sybil's deceptive phone call and manipulative behavior is out, Rudolph seems to take it in stride, not getting particularly angry with her. He had recently told her to stop coming on to him, as he wasn't interested, so maybe he figured that Sybil having to accept that he'll never be hers was punishment enough??? Who knows!!
BTW: there was a bit of a side story, about a Victorian era portrait in the attic, of a woman who looked a lot like Janey (explaining in part Rudolph's feeling that he knew her from somewhere, when they first met). It sounded as if it would be intriguing, but it turned out to be a real dud!
Just like this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2025
As others have noted, the TSTL h was the problem. She was entirely wrong to have hidden the baby from the H (it really boggles the mind how these Harlequins casually normalized the “secret baby” trope, among other bad behaviours), and entirely wrong to blame the H for the broken engagement when she blindly took the word of a complete stranger, never even bothering to question the H. I would have said the H deserved better, but when a 32y old doggedly pursues an immature 21y old because he’s physically attracted to her (instant love, my eye), then maybe he does deserve the silly nitwit he gets.
February 11, 2021
I can take the books with a cruel even sometimes cheating H if there is enough grovel but I have no tolerance for a stupid heroine.
She was TSTL. I was sorry for the H. She deserved to suffer. The plot made the whole reading tedious and frustrating.
She was TSTL. I was sorry for the H. She deserved to suffer. The plot made the whole reading tedious and frustrating.
March 28, 2018
open library.
i waited 100 days to read this book and was disappointed.....
DNF, nothing noteworthy here.
i waited 100 days to read this book and was disappointed.....
DNF, nothing noteworthy here.
September 13, 2025
Why are all the much awaited OW comeuppences hidden from the h in the Yvonne Whittal books. Like that's the juiciest part. Don't take that away from me!
June 9, 2016
Like all other reviewers I am disappointed with the reason for the H/h split. Sybil (OW) calls and claims an ownership of Rudolph (H) and Janey (h) simply hands him over on a plate. But I can understand the reasoning behind it.
The book starts out showing us how insecure and lacking in self-confidence Janey is. When Rudolph sweeps her off her feet, she falls in love and believes him but only because he is there and constantly reassuring her all the time that he wants her and loves her. The suddenness of it all makes it convincing for me when Janey feels that it was just a holiday romance for him and that he regrets/used her. Also the stagnated and one-sided conversations they had prior to Sybil's call also added to all her insecurities so much so that by the time she received that call she was waiting for something like that to happen, especially because she found out she was pregnant and was unsure of the feelings Rudolph has for her. I also felt it was a way for her to avoid a possibly nasty situation. However, it doesn't make her any less an idiot.
I really liked Rudolph and felt bad for him. I thought he needed to spend more time with his son though and less time with Sybil. I understand he had this notion to make Janey jealous but then he cannot blame Sybil and Janey for believing he has an interest in Sybil! So this is where his stupidity comes in. However, this ginger-haired hero (which is a rarity) was really likable even though he was being mean to Janey. I couldn't blame him - he wasn't the typical rape-you-and-emotionally-abuse-you mean, just I-am-obviously-in-love-with-you-and-hurt mean which is justifiable.
I really enjoyed this book and am rating it with four stars for the adorable child they had, the love between them, the hero and the wonderful family he has. It's a classic love story gone bad by misunderstandings.
The book starts out showing us how insecure and lacking in self-confidence Janey is. When Rudolph sweeps her off her feet, she falls in love and believes him but only because he is there and constantly reassuring her all the time that he wants her and loves her. The suddenness of it all makes it convincing for me when Janey feels that it was just a holiday romance for him and that he regrets/used her. Also the stagnated and one-sided conversations they had prior to Sybil's call also added to all her insecurities so much so that by the time she received that call she was waiting for something like that to happen, especially because she found out she was pregnant and was unsure of the feelings Rudolph has for her. I also felt it was a way for her to avoid a possibly nasty situation. However, it doesn't make her any less an idiot.
I really liked Rudolph and felt bad for him. I thought he needed to spend more time with his son though and less time with Sybil. I understand he had this notion to make Janey jealous but then he cannot blame Sybil and Janey for believing he has an interest in Sybil! So this is where his stupidity comes in. However, this ginger-haired hero (which is a rarity) was really likable even though he was being mean to Janey. I couldn't blame him - he wasn't the typical rape-you-and-emotionally-abuse-you mean, just I-am-obviously-in-love-with-you-and-hurt mean which is justifiable.
I really enjoyed this book and am rating it with four stars for the adorable child they had, the love between them, the hero and the wonderful family he has. It's a classic love story gone bad by misunderstandings.
walai
March 24, 2016ดอกรักไม่เคยโรย / วลัย นวาระ
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June 25, 2018"You won't get away from me this time."
Rudolph's voice was arrogant. "Because if you try running away, I'll come after you. You're going to marry me, Janey, and give our son a name!"
Janey had to agree for the child's sake. Perhaps, even, for her own. She had loved Rudolph desperately when they had met more than a year ago. And she loved him even more now.
But she couldn't forgive him for having promised to marry her when he had been committed to another woman. A woman he still seemed to want!
Rudolph's voice was arrogant. "Because if you try running away, I'll come after you. You're going to marry me, Janey, and give our son a name!"
Janey had to agree for the child's sake. Perhaps, even, for her own. She had loved Rudolph desperately when they had met more than a year ago. And she loved him even more now.
But she couldn't forgive him for having promised to marry her when he had been committed to another woman. A woman he still seemed to want!
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