Heart racing, Logan Copeland cannot look away from tycoon Rowan Argyros as he declares her life is in danger. All she can think is that Rowan took her virginity, heartlessly rejected her after a night of reckless abandon...and is the father of her child. She must reveal the truth before she's whisked away to Rowan's castle for safety...
Isolated together, Logan finds herself at the mercy of Rowan's unrelenting need to claim her--and their daughter! Logan has known no touch but his, and yearns to feel it again...but to do so, she must agree to meet him at the altar!
Born in Visalia, California, I'm a small town girl at heart. I love central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and the miles of farmland. In my mind, there's nothing sweeter in the world than the heady fragrance of orange blossoms on a sultry summer night.
As a little girl I spent hours on my bed, staring out the window, dreaming of far off places, fearless knights, and happy-ever-after endings. In my imagination I was never the geeky bookworm with the thick coke-bottle glasses, but a princess, a magical fairy, a Joan-of-Arc crusader.
My parents fed my imagination by taking our family to Europe for a year when I was thirteen. The year away changed me (I wasn't a geek for once!) and overseas I discovered a huge and wonderful world with different cultures and customs. I loved everything about Europe, but felt especially passionate about Italy and those gorgeous Italian men (no wonder my first very Presents hero was Italian).
I confess, after that incredible year in Europe, the travel bug bit, and bit hard. I spent much of my high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. South Africa remains a country of my heart, the people, the land and politics complex and heart-wrenching.
After my years of traveling and studying I had to settle down and earn a living. With my Bachelors degree from UCLA in American Studies, a program that combines American literature and American history, I've worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of a non-profit foundation. Later I earned my Masters in Writing from the University of San Francisco and taught jr. high and high school English.
I now live in Seattle and Hawaii with my three sons. I never mind a rainy day, either, because that's when I sit at my desk and write stories about far-away places, fascinating people, and most importantly of all, love. I like a story with a happy ending. We all do.
It has been a while since I read an HP with the intensity that this Jane Porter delivered. From the first to the last page I was hooked to the point where my family had to feed themselves while I simply had to finish this . From an intense night of sex with a stranger whom the heroine ,Logan,bid on at a charity auction,to the acrimonious morning after with a bitter hero,Rowan,this couple had a chemistry that was that hot!The description of Rowan was mouthwatering ,a mix of Irish/Greek and a man who was also haunted by his own past and his past with the heroine's Ponzi schemer of a father.The heroine was not a pushover either.In the 3 years since her callous treatment by the hero,she gave birth to their daughter and carved out a business for herself and grew into a strong woman with her daughter being her number one priority. The story begins 3 years after torrid ons and disastrous morning after.Her father is now dead and the hero comes to break the news to her as the paps would be swarming all over her and her notorious family.No sooner,the hero finds out that she has a daughter and he figures out that the child is his and they are wisked away to the wilds of Ireland to his castle so he can better protect his new found family.The hero is in the business of saving people him being ex military and all. They soon have some pretty scorching sex and for and hp,it was a scorcher! The heroine is still deeply hurt by the hero's cruel words from 3 years ago and will not commit to marriage with him as he does not love her.He explains that he does not love,but she is "home" and has been "home" to him since the beginning.No one else came close to her since they parted.He does however apologize, just 3 short words,but it was powerful.,not a long grovel,but for me quite effective. I loved their comming together finally towards the end when she went to visit her brother in the ICU in London.By this time,thru the hero's actions and deeds,I just knew that he loves her a great deal. The ending was stellar,could not have asked for a better one.
“Sinful is right as this is an intensely sexual HP. Good thing as other than a very cute little plot moppet they don’t have much else going for them.
Three years ago they had an epic one night stand after the h buys him at an auction. The next morning he finds out that she is the daughter of his arch-nemesis and in typical Harley Hero fashion lashes out with some inexcusable things. I mean really bad.
Flash to now, and he’s there to tell her that her father, a Bernie Madoff knockoff, is now dead. No tears for daddy. Big fat H is there to protect and ends up finding our about her little secret, the cute daughter. He essentially kidnaps him to his castle in Ireland as he part Greek, part Irish, and eventually gets her back in bed. Correction, they have sex. I don't think they actually make it to the bed.
He eventually apologizes and grovels but too little, too late for me.
Secret baby story that is full of angst, with a cruel hero and a heartfelt grovel.
The heroine is the daughter of a man who defrauded thousands of clients out of millions of dollars. In fact, the hero's father was sent to prison because of him, giving the hero good reason to hate the family. The hero is head of an international security firm of some sort and is rich, rich, rich.
The H/h met at a charity auction where the heroine "bought" him for one night. Their attraction was so immediate that heroine gave him her virginity and they both thought they had found their soul mate -until the hero found out who she was. He cruelly rejected her the next day and wouldn't take her calls to tell him she was pregnant.
Fast forward three years - the heroine's father is dead. Her brother has been attacked and the hero takes it on himself to tell her the news and protect her. (I didn't get this part at all - hero hates this family, but his company is protecting them? And with whose money?) Heroine faints when she hears the news, hits her head and wakes up in a helicopter.
So why just three stars? That kink I talked about in the spoiler really makes me uncomfortable. The hero's castle with its cameras and its servants that double as soldiers of fortune and the general paranoia surrounding the lives of these characters was really depressing. The author gives the impression that the heroine and her child will always be in danger and the hyper-masculine hero is the only thing that will protect her. Protective alphas are great - but living in fear for the rest of your life isn't. If that is the life of the rich and famous - I'll take not-hungry and obscure any day.
All that being said - this is angsty ride and I couldn't put it down. I do recommend as it is a very engaging story.
I waited for the hero to redeem himself, unfortunately his regret and sorry after three brutish years for heroine didn’t mean much to me. I also didn’t like heroine, she was a complete pushover and hero just kept walking all over her. Their physical relationship was also not of the same power dynamics as hero was an absolute jerk who kept on seducing her unemotionally and heroine just melted EVERY SINGLE TIME. So I skipped those pages as it left a bad taste in my stomach. Cherry on top, he being not celibate during separation (bz he loves sex and women) and heroine staying true to him. Ughh!!!
Only good thing in the book was heroine and her brother’s reunion.
On page 53 I gave up. The heroine was sooo annoying. She ruined a trope I like- secret baby.
What went wrong:
The heroine had a hookup. She reacted as though it was a relationship. I get that this is fiction however it is freaking unreasonable to be mad when a guy who's a stranger doesn't act all in love after a one night stand. The heroine was so coarse upon reuniting with the hero. I like heroines to be more circumspect with their convos with the heroes. This heroine was too vulgar & crass for me. The auction. I am not a fan of the auction trope in romance. I can only tolerate that trope in historical romance
I wanted to finish this book however I grew so annoyed with the heroine and that feeling became a so strong I could not proceed. Sigh.
She sees him for the first time at an auction, she buys him for 20.000 dollars and she has sex with him that same night. And he has to believe her when she says that she was a virgin. 🙄
I hate the auction thing in which a woman buys a man. Couldn’t she stoop any lower. Have some class.
And I also hate the common theme in too many HP’s nowadays where the h jumps into the H’s bed the same day she sees him and she gets pregnant immediately.
And I hate that this h cries or has tears in her eyes almost every other page. She cries and cries and cries. She even cries during the sex in which she willingly participates with him. If she doesn’t cry, she complains or whines.
But it was well written, that saves the book, so still 3 stars.
Wow this is the steamiest Harlequin Presents I have ever read. It was angsty and intense and passionate. What I liked: heroine was a virgin and she was celibate during separation. Hero was not celibate and it made perfect sense since he was sex on legs. He was ruthless and cunning. A true alpha hero. Their baby girl was so adorable and the epilogue super sweet!
*Generic manipulative as*hole H *Millionaire (not billionaire-- maybe there was a recession) *Same old Spineless h *Self employed h (not waitress, not a former PA or secretary either, but still poor and barely managing financially) *Private plane *Castle (not island) *The H threatens court battle over their daughter custody if h will not marry him "tomorrow-- night" (at least there was ample time, lol) I just can't feel any romance between the two, and when they had sex, it feels more like manipulation, extortion of some form, emotional exploitation!
The hero was like james bond but in a ruthless way , the heroine was a good person and a caring mother to an adorable baby girl but I felt like watching a movie not reading an hp.
This book is so much better than its predecessors, and definitely what I expect from this author. Very intense and it held my attention throughout. Of the 3 Copeland sisters, Logan is my favourite. Oh, and the love scenes are super hot, very steamy for a HP. Nice one, Jane.
3.8 - I'm a bit torn on what to say with this one. With "The Disgraced Copelands" series I was expecting.... well - a series! Probably five books, with one for each sibling? There's a considerable gap between each instalment - I've been VERY patient. Book one The Fallen Greek Bride / At the Greek Boss's Bidding was published in 2013, followed by book two His Defiant Desert Queen in 2015 and now book three in 2017.
It's almost like HP decided not to continue the series and as an afterthought then instructed Jane Porter to finish the series, on the last page (this is not a spoiler) of this book. If that wasn't the case, why bother mentioning the other sister - Victoria? Hinting about a (coming?) storyline relating to her conflict with Morgan. And then there's Bronson. A crucial part of this book was centred around Bronson - laying the groundwork for the next in the series? Described as "heartbreakingly handsome", the book finishes with him at what could be best described as a crossroads in his life.
Back to this book, the relationship between Rowan and Logan could best/only be described as sexual accompanied by lots of sexual innuendo dialog! With HP, you can always assume there's a HEA, but the "romance journey" between the hero and heroine is the hook. Jane Porter always manages to write page turners. Once you start, you'll likely read the whole book through in one sitting. I've enjoyed all of her HP books and while I enjoyed reading Logan and Rowan's story, I felt it lacked something - character depth? If it had been the middle book in the series, I'd probably excuse the "slump" and wait patiently for the next instalment but apparently that's not to be.
This well written story is filled with passion and secrets. Logan Copeland was hated because of her father's deeds. She needed someone to see her and want her for herself. She thought that Rowan Argyros was that person. How wrong she was! After one night together, he destroyed her with his brutal condemnation. He hated all the Copelands. Logan struggled to put her life back together. Suddenly Rowan is back to protect her from danger and she's forced to reveal her secret. How will he take the news that he has a daughter? These characters have a love-hate relationship that is so intense that it leaps off the page. Logan wants her little girl to have a happy childhood, not to be a pawn in her parent's battles. I admired her for that and I felt sorry that her own had been so traumatic. Rowan is a stubborn, domineering male who lets his desire for revenge get in his way of happiness. It took me some time to warm up to him. When he had the tea party with his little girl, I relented. I knew that these two were meant for each other if only they could put the past behind them. Jane Porter knows how to pull at your heartstrings. Her characters are well written and draw you into their emotional drama. Rowan's Irish castle provides the perfect setting for this story. I have enjoyed The Disgraced Copeland series and I will miss this larger than life family.
A nice emotional, tugging at your heartstrings book. Overall keeps your interest with some small twists. Though I'm a compulsive have-to-read-series-in-order kind of a person, I read this book without any clue that it was part of a series. I may go back to read the others or.... since I've broken with tradition, I may not read the others..
The secret child premise is something that I'm not sure I like. Plus I also disliked the fact that the hero was not celibate during their separation.
Borrowing a few shelves from Esther - bookshelves: military, angst, contemporary-v, virgin, virgin-heroine, celibate-heroine, emotion-grabber, excellent-epilogue, family, hero-rich, pregnancy, slept-with-ow-during-seperation, some-angst And...I'll need one more shelf - Scorching-the-sheets-chemistry.
Rowan Argyros might not want Logan Lane Copeland, but he has been her protected since their one night together. A perfect night, until he discovered who her family was. Rather, who her father was. And finding that the woman he might have thought was the one, was a spoiled rich kid from his worse enemy did not provoke his finest moment.
Logan's father had betrayed many people. Conned them, and destroyed her family, as well as so many. Try as she might, she could not seem to get past the family history. Rowan had been one to throw her father's crimes at her feet. Destroying her heart, and testing her strength. But he left her with Jax. And he would do anything for her daughter. Even if he takes her back to Rowan.
So I worked through this story being very aggravated with Rowan (Who did he think he was?)Thinking poor Logan, She has been through so much (losing her virginity and then Rowan discovering who she is the morning after. . . He was so rough turning her away) But looking deeper into the dynamics of the two families. Just because you are rich does not make your life any easier than being born poor. Throw a unknown pregnancy into the story and . . . . . . You need to read this one. Didn't make me cry but it came pretty close.
Une histoire qui se lit facilement et sans prise de tête. Le scénario est classique entre aventure d'une nuit, fausses apparences et enfant caché. Une pincée de passion et un soupçon de drame. Sympathique.
When the Copeland family comes under attack from the fallout of what the head of the family did by ripping off his clients, Rowan Argyros comes to Logan Copeland’s rescue. However, she’s not about to give into his demands to whisk her away from her home so easily, especially since if she goes with him she’ll be leaving her child unprotected. Yet, once Rowan learns the truth about what she’s been keeping from him, will he hate her even more or will he do whatever it takes to win Logan back? Read More
This was the hottest, most explicit HP I have ever read. It was wonderful!
I haven’t read the other books in the series, but I absolutely loved this one. I loved the characters, the secret baby trope, the hot sexual tension between the h and H from the very start. Plus, visualizing the H naked was half the fun! And he liked naked time. ;)
I’m putting this book on my read again list because this one is worth revisiting.
Her Sinful Secret by Jane Porter is a true Harlequin Presents story. A classic enjoyment. You have your classic hero that whisks away our heroin to his remote castle and we can only wait for them to fall in love so we can get our classic "ever after" ending. It has action, passion and drama wived into each other in perfect harmony. It´s always a true escape to read a Jane Porter Harlequin.
Beautifully written story of second chance love. Relationship gets off to a bad start with a misunderstanding which leads to rejection and an unintentional secret, but all that goes out the window when lives are threatened. Whisked off to Ireland, the passion is reignited, and when they finally let down their guarded hearts, love wins, and a family is formed.
Loved this story, Logan had one night of passion that she bought from Rowan. A night full of sex and lust, until he found out her last name was Copeland, a name that he detested from her father. Logan, will soon find out that she will have a life long memory of that night that she lost her virginity, Jax. Fast forward three years and Logan's life is in danger. Rowan brings her to safety, against her desire but soon finds out that he is a father to Jax. He wants to do the right thing and marry Logan. now if only Logan will agree to his proposition.
Great characters that I fell in love with. Steamy sex scenes, loved the shower. Rowan is such a good daddy to Jax, loved the tea time.
I was hooked from the very beginning. Right away you find out that Logan's father has been kidnapped and killed. Rowan, a guy she had hot sex with one night and then turned on her storming out of her life, has come to save her. He whisks her and her daughter off to his castle in Ireland. They live there like a family until Logan's brother needs her and she rushes to his bedside. Rowan soon realizes he can't live without them and goes after her to confess his true feelings.
The Copeland family has been scandalized ever since Daniel Copeland swindled people out of millions of dollars. Now Daniel is dead and his family is believed to be in danger.
Three years ago, Logan Copeland won a charity bachelor auction and ended up spending a passion filled night with tycoon Rowan Argyros. It was a night Logan would never forget. Rowan took her virginity and left her pregnant. Logan’s daughter is a secret that she has kept hidden from all but those who are very close to her. Now that Logan’s life is in danger, Rowan has been sent to protect her. When Rowan finds out he has a daughter, he will do what it takes to give her a perfect family, even if it means forcing Logan to marry him.
This story is exactly what you want when you pick up a Harlequin romance. It is passionate and steamy with a great alpha male. I found it hard to put this book down.
I voluntarily read a advanced reader's copy of this book.
I haven't read a Harlequin book in awhile and I was glad I was able to read this one. I really enjoyed this book with this character development, and dialogue. Having not yet read other books in this series I will for sure go back and read them. I've read other Jane Porter books and have always enjoyed them so looking forward to reading any of her other books that I haven't read yet.
Heart racing, Logan Copeland cannot look away from tycoon Rowan Argyros as he declares her life is in danger. All she can think is that Rowan took her virginity, heartlessly rejected her after a night of reckless abandon...and is the father of her child. She must reveal the truth before she's whisked away to Rowan's castle for safety...
Isolated together, Logan finds herself at the mercy of Rowan's unrelenting need to claim her--and their daughter! Logan has known no touch but his, and yearns to feel it again...but to do so, she must agree to meet him at the altar!