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حلم صعب المنال
A devil's bargain
James Sanderson is domineering, handsome and cold as black stone. But beneath all his polish, gloss and sophistication, Gemma knows there lurks a savage, untamed jungle cat who takes what he wants. And he wants her.
Her father's death and mitigating circumstances give James the upper hand. Gemma makes it clear she neither loves nor likes him, but the only way of gaining time is to agree to his proposition of marriage. After all, she has a great sense of self-preservation and some terms of her own that she's prepared to deliver...
James Sanderson is domineering, handsome and cold as black stone. But beneath all his polish, gloss and sophistication, Gemma knows there lurks a savage, untamed jungle cat who takes what he wants. And he wants her.
Her father's death and mitigating circumstances give James the upper hand. Gemma makes it clear she neither loves nor likes him, but the only way of gaining time is to agree to his proposition of marriage. After all, she has a great sense of self-preservation and some terms of her own that she's prepared to deliver...
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
Patricia Wilson
240 books180 followersPatricia Wilson (1929 – 2010) was a best-selling writer of 53 romance novels for the Mills & Boon publisher from 1986 to 2004. She placed her novels primarily in England, Spain or France.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 12, 2018
Thank goodness these two got together because the author drew every arrow from her catastrophe quiver. The heroine fainted, fell into a trench, had surgery for appendicitis, and almost drowned. The hero dodged a fatal plane crash for the heroine to wake up to her feelings.
(LOL - PW just killed off 100 plus fictional people just so this ditzy heroine could admit she loved him. How Game of Thrones of you, PW)
This is the story of a smitten, stalker hero who has been celibate for two years - ever since he saw the heroine and decided he would marry her. The heroine is a poor little rich girl and needs a keeper. They are a match made in heaven.
Apros to nothing - why do I love an opening with the heroine standing broken-hearted over an open grave and then catching the glowering hero's eye? It's cat nip to me.
(LOL - PW just killed off 100 plus fictional people just so this ditzy heroine could admit she loved him. How Game of Thrones of you, PW)
This is the story of a smitten, stalker hero who has been celibate for two years - ever since he saw the heroine and decided he would marry her. The heroine is a poor little rich girl and needs a keeper. They are a match made in heaven.
Apros to nothing - why do I love an opening with the heroine standing broken-hearted over an open grave and then catching the glowering hero's eye? It's cat nip to me.
April 5, 2014
Intangible Dream is the kind of Harlequin Presents that old-school fans will enjoy. Despite the lack of descriptive love scenes, there is plenty of passion in this novel. And enough true love to make a diehard romantic sigh when they finish the last sentence.
It has a strong, fascinating hero who's pretty much obsessed with the heroine. Readers who love heroes who are stone cold in love with the heroine will find this book very romantic and James irresistible. Wilson maintains the tension of the reader sensing the hero's feelings, although we don't get his point of view. You feel like Gemma has underestimated his feelings for her, even though you don't find out how much until later on. Despite that, he conveys just enough and says enough to make it clear that he's crazy about Gemma. While Gemma puts up quite a fight against falling in love with James and into his plans for her, I could understand her reasons, even though I knew just how crazy James was about her. She was a bit too hurtful at times, although I think it was because she felt like she was a mouse caught in the lion's paws, out of self-defense.
Gemma has a sweet shyness and awkwardness about that I found really appealing. I could definitely see myself in her shoes, especially when I was younger. I am sure I would feel a bit overwhelmed by James' powerful personality, especially if I was youngish and very sheltered by an overprotective father (she's a very sheltered 24-yr-old) . The scenes in which James teases Gemma and draws her out of her shell are really appealing. They have a warmth and made me smile. Some readers don't care for young and innocent heroines, but they don't bother me, especially if their naivety makes sense and feels authentic. While Gemma is definitely naive, she wants to gain some agency in her life, and she has a lot of courage considering. After a life of being in a gilded cage with her dad, she doesn't want to change it to a gold cage as James' trophy wife. When she realizes his love is genuine and that she feels the same, that makes a big difference to her, and it shows in the denouement.
I think this might be one of my favorites by this author so far. I think James is a Class A Stalkerific hero (shows the possessive/jealous/obsessed traits I find a guilty pleasure, but not in a really psycho way that's too disturbing). I also liked Gemma a lot. They make a good couple and they made me root for things to work out for them. I recommend this to fans of the older Harlequin Presents, and for any fan of stalkerific romance novel heroes.
Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.
It has a strong, fascinating hero who's pretty much obsessed with the heroine. Readers who love heroes who are stone cold in love with the heroine will find this book very romantic and James irresistible. Wilson maintains the tension of the reader sensing the hero's feelings, although we don't get his point of view. You feel like Gemma has underestimated his feelings for her, even though you don't find out how much until later on. Despite that, he conveys just enough and says enough to make it clear that he's crazy about Gemma. While Gemma puts up quite a fight against falling in love with James and into his plans for her, I could understand her reasons, even though I knew just how crazy James was about her. She was a bit too hurtful at times, although I think it was because she felt like she was a mouse caught in the lion's paws, out of self-defense.
Gemma has a sweet shyness and awkwardness about that I found really appealing. I could definitely see myself in her shoes, especially when I was younger. I am sure I would feel a bit overwhelmed by James' powerful personality, especially if I was youngish and very sheltered by an overprotective father (she's a very sheltered 24-yr-old) . The scenes in which James teases Gemma and draws her out of her shell are really appealing. They have a warmth and made me smile. Some readers don't care for young and innocent heroines, but they don't bother me, especially if their naivety makes sense and feels authentic. While Gemma is definitely naive, she wants to gain some agency in her life, and she has a lot of courage considering. After a life of being in a gilded cage with her dad, she doesn't want to change it to a gold cage as James' trophy wife. When she realizes his love is genuine and that she feels the same, that makes a big difference to her, and it shows in the denouement.
I think this might be one of my favorites by this author so far. I think James is a Class A Stalkerific hero (shows the possessive/jealous/obsessed traits I find a guilty pleasure, but not in a really psycho way that's too disturbing). I also liked Gemma a lot. They make a good couple and they made me root for things to work out for them. I recommend this to fans of the older Harlequin Presents, and for any fan of stalkerific romance novel heroes.
Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.
February 3, 2018
Re Intangible Dream - Patricia Wilson does her standard day at the HP office outing. We have her very usual cuddlesome h and an uber possessive, madly infatuated H who won't stop ordering her about until she agrees to be his forever.
The book opens with the h's father's funeral. The h is very sad, but also very disturbed cause her father was rather strange. On one hand he had a nice business and a lovely stately home, on the other, ever since the h's very beloved mother died, her father has had a secret life where he ran with wild women and gambled heavily.
He also kept the h cloistered in her childhood home. Tho PW glosses over it in the nicest possible way, the understanding is that the h is the image of her dead mother and her father was obsessive about his lost love, so he kept the h under tight control in the hopes of keeping her safe and untouched in the image of his beloved wife.
However, all the women and drinking and gambling have left the h and her faithful housekeeper without any sort of income and the house will have to be sold to make a dent in the left over debts. The h is scared and a bit worried, but she is making plans to remove to a grotty flat in London and eat bean and crumbs cause she might not be able to afford toast.
The H, who was her father's BFF, says nay to that plan of going forward. The h's father debts are all paid and he owns the h's house, cause he bought it. The beloved housekeeper can keep right on running things and he will marry the h cause he needs an heir and dinner parties.
The h knows the H is DANGEROUS - she avoids him like the plague and has every time he comes around. She also knows the other ladies fall all over themselves to be next to him and she is certainly not going to do that. She doesn't like him, he makes her feel threatened and she is NOT going to marry him and have heirs and dinner parties either.
She is tired of feeling useless and she managed to sneak a business course and some typing classes in while her dad was off indulging his dark side. So now that the housekeeper can keep her job, the h is taking herself off to London and going to do things.
This sends the H into a panic, mainly cause she has been warding off men for years at her father's behest. But now in an office where anybody could just grab on to her, (much as he wants to do himself,) she could meet someone else or get beguiled into escaping him.
The H has had a very tough life, his father was abusive, while his mother stood by and did nothing and he is now really successful cause he fought his way to the top. This is his h and no one else can have her, he just needs to reinforce that with her. The H is persistent and used to winning, so he will make a deal with the h.
She will go to work for him at her father's old firm, that he bought out, and then she can have until Christmas to decide to marry him. The H is utterly certain that the h can't handle the real world or a real job and she will concede to marry him in a few weeks. He thinks she is refusing to marry him because of his humble origins, even when the h flat out tells him he is a Dangerous Man and he likes too many women and she isn't going to be married to a man who has mistresses.
So the h, knowing she needs a reference and some job experience, agrees to work for the H. He tells her she can stay in her family home until the marriage question is decided and the h agrees. She also figures out that she can sell all of a not insignificant jewelry collection and probably finance a small country for a year - so if things go south (and she is certain they will,) she will be okay.
She begins working for the H and she learns the different departments and is surprisingly good at it. The h may be getting a little too much experience and too good at things, cause the H soon has her at his side as his personal assistant and since he travels a lot for business, the h is soon running things like a total Boss. The h likes running things, people listen to her now and nobody ever did before. She doesn't feel useless.
She even manages to come up with an OM to torment the H with. He was an old friend from before when her father was alive and he had recently been posted to Australia. He is back for a visit and ready to give it another shot with the h. She likes him, he is nice to her and she doesn't like the H, so she goes out with her young friend and it drives the H into a frenzy.
He makes the h go out to a job site with him in the miserable cold and wet, she falls into a big hole and gets banged up and then the H has to take care of her. He feels kinda ashamed of himself because he made her go so she wouldn't go to lunch with her date.
The h isn't happy about this and tho there is a big roofie kissing moment, she isn't going to start liking the H and she still isn't going to marry him. So the H has to run the OM off later when he calls, he tells the man to go back to Australia, cause he isn't letting his h go. The h isn't happy about that either, so when she starts getting little pains in her side, she doesn't go to the doctor.
Instead she almost collapses and the H has to take her into hospital for appendicitis. The H is very growly at people and the h is sorta relieved. The doctor is always condescending to her and the nurse was not very empathetic about her pain until the H made her get the h some pain relief.
Then the H wants the h to meet his aunt, she lives in the islands and he wants the h to pretend they are engaged. But the aunt has a very glamorous nurse/companion with her too and the h is wildly jealous, as she and the H seem very familiar.
She likes kissing the H, but all these women around him just reinforce her decision that he is a lady buffet kinda guy and she isn't marrying that. Tho she does sell one of her rings to buy the H a very nice little Monet for a Christmas present, she even brought perfume for the maybe OW nurse and a lovely piece of jewelry for the H's aunt.
Then there are fights and more kisses and the H lies and tells the h that he is going off with the OW when he isn't and the h does kiss him some more, but she is still hurt by his OW comments and she is really sincere when she tells him she isn't marrying him. He storms off again, cause he knows the h means it.
We all go back to England and the H leaves on an emergency business trip. When he is on his way back, the plane he was supposed to take crashes and the h thinks he is dead. She is very upset cause she figured out she loved the H and never told him. There is a really bad snow storm, but the h drives thru it behind a police vehicle to get to London and the airport.
She has to wait at the H's flat as there is no news about the passengers in the plane crash yet and as she is waiting and having a mopey mourning moment, the H comes home. They have a big purple passion lurve mojo moment and the H explains that there were no other women.
One lady just wanted his money to finance her business and his aunt's nurse was just that, his aunt's nurse and nothing else. He gave up other women as soon as he saw her, cause while he wasn't innocent any more, he could certainly change and he only wanted the h anyways.
The H saw the h a few years earlier with her father when she met him at the airport. The H fell in love at first sight and followed them home and found out all about them and then insinuated himself into her life. The h is too in love to be creeped out, tho she does tell the H that they should sell her childhood home and get another house to be married in and fill with children - and she will try not to take advantage of their relationship at work either.
The H tells her she is fired cause he has better things for her to do and they both happily lurve it up for the pink sparkly PW HEA.
This one is pretty average on the PW scale of things. I thought the whole dramatic plane crash/tragedy plot point was kinda overdone, but it got us to the HEA in the end and so it was a good day at the office for a PW HP outing.
The book opens with the h's father's funeral. The h is very sad, but also very disturbed cause her father was rather strange. On one hand he had a nice business and a lovely stately home, on the other, ever since the h's very beloved mother died, her father has had a secret life where he ran with wild women and gambled heavily.
He also kept the h cloistered in her childhood home. Tho PW glosses over it in the nicest possible way, the understanding is that the h is the image of her dead mother and her father was obsessive about his lost love, so he kept the h under tight control in the hopes of keeping her safe and untouched in the image of his beloved wife.
However, all the women and drinking and gambling have left the h and her faithful housekeeper without any sort of income and the house will have to be sold to make a dent in the left over debts. The h is scared and a bit worried, but she is making plans to remove to a grotty flat in London and eat bean and crumbs cause she might not be able to afford toast.
The H, who was her father's BFF, says nay to that plan of going forward. The h's father debts are all paid and he owns the h's house, cause he bought it. The beloved housekeeper can keep right on running things and he will marry the h cause he needs an heir and dinner parties.
The h knows the H is DANGEROUS - she avoids him like the plague and has every time he comes around. She also knows the other ladies fall all over themselves to be next to him and she is certainly not going to do that. She doesn't like him, he makes her feel threatened and she is NOT going to marry him and have heirs and dinner parties either.
She is tired of feeling useless and she managed to sneak a business course and some typing classes in while her dad was off indulging his dark side. So now that the housekeeper can keep her job, the h is taking herself off to London and going to do things.
This sends the H into a panic, mainly cause she has been warding off men for years at her father's behest. But now in an office where anybody could just grab on to her, (much as he wants to do himself,) she could meet someone else or get beguiled into escaping him.
The H has had a very tough life, his father was abusive, while his mother stood by and did nothing and he is now really successful cause he fought his way to the top. This is his h and no one else can have her, he just needs to reinforce that with her. The H is persistent and used to winning, so he will make a deal with the h.
She will go to work for him at her father's old firm, that he bought out, and then she can have until Christmas to decide to marry him. The H is utterly certain that the h can't handle the real world or a real job and she will concede to marry him in a few weeks. He thinks she is refusing to marry him because of his humble origins, even when the h flat out tells him he is a Dangerous Man and he likes too many women and she isn't going to be married to a man who has mistresses.
So the h, knowing she needs a reference and some job experience, agrees to work for the H. He tells her she can stay in her family home until the marriage question is decided and the h agrees. She also figures out that she can sell all of a not insignificant jewelry collection and probably finance a small country for a year - so if things go south (and she is certain they will,) she will be okay.
She begins working for the H and she learns the different departments and is surprisingly good at it. The h may be getting a little too much experience and too good at things, cause the H soon has her at his side as his personal assistant and since he travels a lot for business, the h is soon running things like a total Boss. The h likes running things, people listen to her now and nobody ever did before. She doesn't feel useless.
She even manages to come up with an OM to torment the H with. He was an old friend from before when her father was alive and he had recently been posted to Australia. He is back for a visit and ready to give it another shot with the h. She likes him, he is nice to her and she doesn't like the H, so she goes out with her young friend and it drives the H into a frenzy.
He makes the h go out to a job site with him in the miserable cold and wet, she falls into a big hole and gets banged up and then the H has to take care of her. He feels kinda ashamed of himself because he made her go so she wouldn't go to lunch with her date.
The h isn't happy about this and tho there is a big roofie kissing moment, she isn't going to start liking the H and she still isn't going to marry him. So the H has to run the OM off later when he calls, he tells the man to go back to Australia, cause he isn't letting his h go. The h isn't happy about that either, so when she starts getting little pains in her side, she doesn't go to the doctor.
Instead she almost collapses and the H has to take her into hospital for appendicitis. The H is very growly at people and the h is sorta relieved. The doctor is always condescending to her and the nurse was not very empathetic about her pain until the H made her get the h some pain relief.
Then the H wants the h to meet his aunt, she lives in the islands and he wants the h to pretend they are engaged. But the aunt has a very glamorous nurse/companion with her too and the h is wildly jealous, as she and the H seem very familiar.
She likes kissing the H, but all these women around him just reinforce her decision that he is a lady buffet kinda guy and she isn't marrying that. Tho she does sell one of her rings to buy the H a very nice little Monet for a Christmas present, she even brought perfume for the maybe OW nurse and a lovely piece of jewelry for the H's aunt.
Then there are fights and more kisses and the H lies and tells the h that he is going off with the OW when he isn't and the h does kiss him some more, but she is still hurt by his OW comments and she is really sincere when she tells him she isn't marrying him. He storms off again, cause he knows the h means it.
We all go back to England and the H leaves on an emergency business trip. When he is on his way back, the plane he was supposed to take crashes and the h thinks he is dead. She is very upset cause she figured out she loved the H and never told him. There is a really bad snow storm, but the h drives thru it behind a police vehicle to get to London and the airport.
She has to wait at the H's flat as there is no news about the passengers in the plane crash yet and as she is waiting and having a mopey mourning moment, the H comes home. They have a big purple passion lurve mojo moment and the H explains that there were no other women.
One lady just wanted his money to finance her business and his aunt's nurse was just that, his aunt's nurse and nothing else. He gave up other women as soon as he saw her, cause while he wasn't innocent any more, he could certainly change and he only wanted the h anyways.
The H saw the h a few years earlier with her father when she met him at the airport. The H fell in love at first sight and followed them home and found out all about them and then insinuated himself into her life. The h is too in love to be creeped out, tho she does tell the H that they should sell her childhood home and get another house to be married in and fill with children - and she will try not to take advantage of their relationship at work either.
The H tells her she is fired cause he has better things for her to do and they both happily lurve it up for the pink sparkly PW HEA.
This one is pretty average on the PW scale of things. I thought the whole dramatic plane crash/tragedy plot point was kinda overdone, but it got us to the HEA in the end and so it was a good day at the office for a PW HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It was obvious from the start that the hero was bat-shit crazy for the heroine only she couldn't see it, having been sheltered by her father. After his death she loses everything and the hero comes to the rescue and wants to marry her. She doesn't want to marry him. She becomes independent and though I did fault her blindness sometimes, the hero was awesome. Oh, also the hero was celibate ever since he met her 2 years ago.
“Oh, yes, there have been women, but not after I saw you. Form the moment I saw you my life changed. I couldn’t offer you innocence but I could damned well change, and I did. In any case,” he added ruefully, “I couldn’t have you so I didn’t want anyone lese. There are no women, my sweet Gemma, and there never will be…only you.”
“Oh, yes, there have been women, but not after I saw you. Form the moment I saw you my life changed. I couldn’t offer you innocence but I could damned well change, and I did. In any case,” he added ruefully, “I couldn’t have you so I didn’t want anyone lese. There are no women, my sweet Gemma, and there never will be…only you.”
December 8, 2016
In Intangible Dream, Patricia Wilson tries to emulate those crazed, possessive, psycho Alphas that Charlotte Lamb perfected in her HPlandia books, with uneven results. Yes, the hero here is definitely going to win HPlandia awards for the singular amount of stalking, grabby hands, and dominance he exercises over the heroine. But if he is so intent on convincing her that marriage to him would be the best thing, why then go about it by mocking her poor little rich girl ways and dangling countless, yucky OWs under her nose? Didn't his mama teach him that you can catch more flies with honey?
I had a moment where I almost rooted for the heroine, when she cleverly makes a deal of her own with the hero, challenging him to give her a few months to see if she can stand up on her own two feet, with a job of her own, after he taunts her about being as capable of surviving in the real world as a china doll.
The deal is that if she does succeed, then he will have to let her go. If she falls flat on her face, then she will agree to a marriage of convenience.
Unfortunately, the author squanders this opportunity to show some development in the heroine by glossing over her learning curve at her job, and quite literally, having her fall flat on her face when she stumbles on a construction site and falls into a muddy ditch. *sigh* The rest of the time, she throws temper tantrums and screeches around like the spoiled brat that he constantly berates her for being.
This wasn't a bad book but in my humble opinion, Patricia Wilson did not pull off this trope and I prefer Charlotte Lamb, who has the knack for making you root for the most evil of her anti-heroes as well as emotionally relate to her heroines.
I had a moment where I almost rooted for the heroine, when she cleverly makes a deal of her own with the hero, challenging him to give her a few months to see if she can stand up on her own two feet, with a job of her own, after he taunts her about being as capable of surviving in the real world as a china doll.
The deal is that if she does succeed, then he will have to let her go. If she falls flat on her face, then she will agree to a marriage of convenience.
Unfortunately, the author squanders this opportunity to show some development in the heroine by glossing over her learning curve at her job, and quite literally, having her fall flat on her face when she stumbles on a construction site and falls into a muddy ditch. *sigh* The rest of the time, she throws temper tantrums and screeches around like the spoiled brat that he constantly berates her for being.
This wasn't a bad book but in my humble opinion, Patricia Wilson did not pull off this trope and I prefer Charlotte Lamb, who has the knack for making you root for the most evil of her anti-heroes as well as emotionally relate to her heroines.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2012
Anotha good 1. Insta unrequited luv, damaged hero, damsel perpetually in distress just like in Dangerous Obsession, this time the hero gotta take care of her after falling @ muddy work site, acute appendicitis, drowning. He saw the sheltered, good-4-nuffink heroine @ airport when she was picking up daddy 2 yrs ago, followed 'em home, planned an elaborate scheme to be her daddy's partner, spend Xmasses @ her home, all to conquer her. After daddy expires, uneducated & jobless heroine makes a deal w/ hero that she'll learn the ropes by working in her dad's company that's now owned by hero. By Xmas if she turns out to be an epic fail, she'll marry him. The single-minded hero is quite a sweetie considering all the cwap he gotta put up w/ & oblivious ninny keeps kicking him where it hurts till she has the epiphany she lurrves him but gets a wake up call when watching tv news hero might've been in a plane crash. Jealous heroine thinks hero's a chick magnet but he fesses up he's been celibate since he 1st laid eyes on her. Aaaawwww.
November 7, 2016
Grief-stricken Gemma is burying her father and contemplating her life post-devastation. She was rich and cosseted, now she isn't. She’s discovered that her father had this entire secret life without her – an expensive one of yachts and beautiful women. Now the Press are going to want pictures and comments, and she’ll need to sell the house and move herself and housekeeper Jessie to a grotty flat.
She’s making her miserable plans, when the hated James Sanderson interrupts. He’s handsome and wealthy and alpha and her father’s friend and partner. He’s not the right class, but Gemma doesn’t care about that as much as she cares about the fact that he’s dangerous. She’s known it from the moment she laid eyes on him, two years ago. He’s trouble for women, and non-specifically awful. She’s sure of it.
There’s this BIG undercurrent about the father, and some synergies with potential murkiness in James Sanderson’s own childhood experience. Gemma’s dad was obsessed with her dead mother, and Gemma is an exactly replica of her. James explains Gemma’s dad’s entire secret life as his escape from the idyllic but claustrophobic life with Gemma, and there’s all these layers of hurt and muck that could have exploded into a quite grim exploration of the human psyche, but are instead swept back under the carpet.
James Sanderson has a plan. He’s bought the family country house and all its antiques and art. On his deathbed, Gemma’s father approved their marriage. James Sanderson wants to marry Gemma for dinner parties! He quite likes the idea of a posh dinner party wife.
Gemma’s not sold. Okay, James Sanderson says. Also for heirs! Rich men need dinner parties and heirs, that’s totally on the table, let’s get married.
Nope. Gemma would prefer a grotty flat with a cranky housekeeper to dinner parties and babies. Fine then. James Sanderson says. Sexy times. You have a virgin face, and I will take that virginity and in exchange you will enjoy the delights of my flesh connecting with your flesh.
Gemma very carefully puts off thinking about smoulder, and maintains she doesn’t like him. She will, however, accept a job at his company. He can teach her to be an employed person. And yes, if she doesn’t like it by Christmas: marriage.
Gemma has all the dramatic silliness I love in a Patricia Wilson heroine, and that iron core of determination that makes her likeable. She also gets massively jealous of James’s other women, and is acid to them about it. She’s got her own mini alpha possessive thing going on.
I like the way Patricia Wilson handles this plot. Sara Craven uses it too, but her heroines are all so frustratingly defeatist about the whole thing. They’ll agree to marry the hero for the house and to keep some needy and hideously selfish relative from some mild inconvenience, and spend most of the book abjectly miserable. The whole point of this plot, this offer by the hero to keep the heroine in exactly the life to which she has become accustomed, with the occasional imposition of a dinner party and an orgasm, is that the heroine must grow a bit of spine and go out and do something for herself. And then take the hero, not because she has to, but because now she’s just as desperate for those flesh connections as he is, only with the added ganache of romantic forever love.
It’s well handled, and I liked the addition of the scenes with the other man, so Gemma can see just how constrained she was by her old life, and how only the hero really understands that she needs some freedom and independence.
And James Sanderson is just lovely. Sure he’s alpha and arrogant and bossy and says stupid things, but he’s so clearly over the top in love with Gemma and has been for years, and he is so clearly fighting his own desires so she’ll have the freedom to make choices. It’s not a battle he’ll win of course, but it’s so pleasant to see an alpha hero put in a bit of effort in this direction.
And of course: the other guilty pleasure of a Patricia Wilson romance is the heroine being carried around like a baby. We don’t get far into the book before James is sweeping Gemma into his arms, carrying her upstairs to bed and then making sure she eats. Gemma has injuries and illnesses so that James can carry her around and nurture her and I really feel that it is wrong for me to love the fact that the heroine gets treated like she’s five years old, but I do. It’s just so nice and relaxing, and at least here, Gemma’s also learning to be an employee and learning she enjoys it. Maybe it’s a little artificial, since she doesn’t have to worry about moving or paying any bills, but she does blossom as a character, so maybe it’s fine she wasn’t made to live in a grotty flat and cook an occasional omelette.
This is another weirdly titled (I mean, did they just randomly select a word from column a and a word from column b to come up with this?) vintage gem.
October 3, 2013
Enjoyable, but somehow not one of my favorites by this author because:
1) a lot of internal dialogue by the heroine that got on my nerves
2) heroine was too weak for my fancy always fainting, drowning, ruptured appendix, you name it..
3) hero was stalkerfic to the point that it gave me the creeps (I love a "me love you long time" theme, but this one was a bit too much)
4) heroine acted like she was 10, not 24
5) sex scene was thrown in at the end, more as a prerequisite checkmark for the author, rather than truly belonging in the actual flow of the story.
6) author struggled with her geography. On page 80 they were headed to Bermuda to visit his aunt. Yet on page 82, they landed in Hawaii, but wait on page 88, they really were in Bermuda. Then on page 111 he tells her to fly home with him to LA (which would make sense if they were really in Hawaii) yet they arrive back in London (still on page 111).
7) and finally,
1) a lot of internal dialogue by the heroine that got on my nerves
2) heroine was too weak for my fancy always fainting, drowning, ruptured appendix, you name it..
3) hero was stalkerfic to the point that it gave me the creeps (I love a "me love you long time" theme, but this one was a bit too much)
4) heroine acted like she was 10, not 24
5) sex scene was thrown in at the end, more as a prerequisite checkmark for the author, rather than truly belonging in the actual flow of the story.
6) author struggled with her geography. On page 80 they were headed to Bermuda to visit his aunt. Yet on page 82, they landed in Hawaii, but wait on page 88, they really were in Bermuda. Then on page 111 he tells her to fly home with him to LA (which would make sense if they were really in Hawaii) yet they arrive back in London (still on page 111).
7) and finally,
November 18, 2011
I kind of feel like nothing happened in this book, like there was so much repetitive conversation that I barely noticed the plot or setting. And sheesh, I know this is an older book, but could the heroine be any weaker? She was fainting and falling and drowning every other page. And I love how the book ends with their mutual hilarity over the idea that she could possibly continue working once they got married. Despite all that it was an angsty read and I always like a hero who is obviously crazy about the heroine. So, not bad.
December 21, 2016
Okay, this was a skimmer.
Perfect little daddy's princess meets uber-alpha self made man and is a strident bitch. It doesn't happen often, but there are time when it's the heroine who should grovel more.
Granted, I was skimming after the first couple of encounters between the H and h so I may not have comprehended the 4 star-ness of the story that some see. To me, she was a spoiled little princess with no skills, forced to give up her home and lifestyle because daddy couldn't cut it, and blames the self-made man who wants to make it all better for her.
So, maybe it doesn't help that he comes across as a shut-down, unemotional jackass, but EVERYONE but the heroine gets the fact he is in over his head.
No time for this.
Perfect little daddy's princess meets uber-alpha self made man and is a strident bitch. It doesn't happen often, but there are time when it's the heroine who should grovel more.
Granted, I was skimming after the first couple of encounters between the H and h so I may not have comprehended the 4 star-ness of the story that some see. To me, she was a spoiled little princess with no skills, forced to give up her home and lifestyle because daddy couldn't cut it, and blames the self-made man who wants to make it all better for her.
So, maybe it doesn't help that he comes across as a shut-down, unemotional jackass, but EVERYONE but the heroine gets the fact he is in over his head.
No time for this.
February 19, 2021
“Oh, yes, there have been women, but not after I saw you. Form the moment I saw you, my life changed. I couldn’t offer you innocence, but I could damned well change, and I did. In any case,” he added ruefully, “I couldn’t have you, so I didn’t want anyone else. There are no women, my sweet Gemma, and there never will be…only you.”
Wow. This book was surprisingly enjoyable! When Ms. Patricia Wilson gets it right, she gets it right. It was so apparent that the hero was crazily into her. He’s been wearing his heart on his sleeve from the start. She was just too blind to notice it. Oh well, I'm always a sucker for a smitten/besotted hero who could manage to hide his feeling so well. It will surely give you a great, angsty read! And this book was no exception!
June 14, 2015
4 stars even though the heroine got on my nerves. Poor hero was so smitten and so devoted to her I felt sorry for him. She was so mean to him, a real bitch. Still I couldn't put this book down so 4 stars for this and for the dreamy hero!
January 26, 2018
A very charming romantic contemporary love-story with a very worthy hero,we all love smitten,possessive,jealous and demanding heroes..they are the best!
After the death of Gemma Lyle`s father James Sanderson buys their mansion and pays all the depts,leaving Gemma the first choice to marry him.She makes him a deal that if she works hard enough until christmas he would have to let her go,or else she will have to marry him.But what she didn`t know was that James used all hos power to make her fall in love with him..!
My first book by this author are "Dark Illusion" which i really LOVE!This book somehow missed the intensity of it,and i found myself not so much charmed as i was in "Dark Illusion".But like how the story goes but was so frustrated when Gemma couldn`t see his obvious love for her,when he in many cases also showed it so well.The ending was really cute,and i think Wilson made a really great love-story out of this one!
(I know that many of you will appreciate the fact that the hero has been celibate ever since he first saw the heroine and fell in love first sight.He says himself:" I couldn’t offer you innocence but I could damned well change, and I did. ".Thats so big of him..SWOON).
After the death of Gemma Lyle`s father James Sanderson buys their mansion and pays all the depts,leaving Gemma the first choice to marry him.She makes him a deal that if she works hard enough until christmas he would have to let her go,or else she will have to marry him.But what she didn`t know was that James used all hos power to make her fall in love with him..!
My first book by this author are "Dark Illusion" which i really LOVE!This book somehow missed the intensity of it,and i found myself not so much charmed as i was in "Dark Illusion".But like how the story goes but was so frustrated when Gemma couldn`t see his obvious love for her,when he in many cases also showed it so well.The ending was really cute,and i think Wilson made a really great love-story out of this one!
(I know that many of you will appreciate the fact that the hero has been celibate ever since he first saw the heroine and fell in love first sight.He says himself:" I couldn’t offer you innocence but I could damned well change, and I did. ".Thats so big of him..SWOON).
dnf
May 16, 2017Ok, nope.
A) hero is almost out of a Charlotte Lamb book, that's not what I read PW for.
B) once again, if it takes someone almost dying for you to give in, you are not worth it, be it your the male OR female lead!!!!
A) hero is almost out of a Charlotte Lamb book, that's not what I read PW for.
B) once again, if it takes someone almost dying for you to give in, you are not worth it, be it your the male OR female lead!!!!
February 17, 2018
“For the moment I say you,” he whispered, “there has been no one but you. I belong to you, Gemma, and to no other woman. I’ll never look at one.”
"Intangible Dream" is the story of James and Gemma.
The common HQN trope of father's-business-partner-blackmails-heroine gets a refreshing twist in this story with an H obsessed with marrying the heroine by proposing a million times and relentlessly pursuing her, a h determined to stand her own grown, a LOT of yes-no-yes trope, OW drama, pushing away, realization of love and mild angst.
Kept me hooked from starting to end, even though I hated that he flirted with OW - his craziness about wanting the heroine from the moment he saw her was oddly endearing.
The h does a LOT of resisting despite having feelings, and she made the hero work *a little bit too much* for it!
SWME
3.5/5
"Intangible Dream" is the story of James and Gemma.
The common HQN trope of father's-business-partner-blackmails-heroine gets a refreshing twist in this story with an H obsessed with marrying the heroine by proposing a million times and relentlessly pursuing her, a h determined to stand her own grown, a LOT of yes-no-yes trope, OW drama, pushing away, realization of love and mild angst.
Kept me hooked from starting to end, even though I hated that he flirted with OW - his craziness about wanting the heroine from the moment he saw her was oddly endearing.
The h does a LOT of resisting despite having feelings, and she made the hero work *a little bit too much* for it!
SWME
3.5/5
November 26, 2025
I love Patricia Wilson's novels, especially Perilous Refuge, but this novel was not as good as most of her novels. The hero was too demanding and domineering I felt like throwing the novel to the wall out of anger! What made it worse is the useless heroine! OMG!
June 22, 2015
A fun old HP. I love a hero who is crazy about the oblivious heroine and plots for years to get her in his grasp.
November 18, 2012
the heroine seemed like 17-18 years old not at all her 24 years !! the age did not suit her at all, quite unbelievable
November 13, 2012
i saw this mentioned on an amazon thread talking about celibate heroes, and it piqued my interest! the hero was a typically arrogant alpha male and his heroine was a very sheltered woman whose father had left her insolvent. she goes to work for him and grows as a person, finally becoming secure in her own worth
November 20, 2014
Poor hero, the heroine made it so hard for him to win her over.
Not original but entertaining.
One thing about Patricia Wilson is that in theses older Harlequins she wrote good dialogue.
Not original but entertaining.
One thing about Patricia Wilson is that in theses older Harlequins she wrote good dialogue.
October 6, 2020
Excellent. I loved seeing the heroine Gemma refuse the easy path to be James's wife and instead demand to carve out a real life for herself and to grow up. Their attraction was clear, especially since she was so aware of James all the time but was too unsure of herself to realize the awareness was attraction, not fear or dislike.
James almost blew it by insisting at the very beginning that Gemma would have his name but never have him. She was plenty smart and capable (once she got out from under her father's suffocating protection) and remembered this. She fought against falling in love or marrying James because she knew she would lose her heart and never have his. He dangled plenty of ladies in front of her and never denied keeping mistresses so she had good reason to think he was interested in her as a trophy, not as a person or as a wife to love and cherish.
James almost blew it by insisting at the very beginning that Gemma would have his name but never have him. She was plenty smart and capable (once she got out from under her father's suffocating protection) and remembered this. She fought against falling in love or marrying James because she knew she would lose her heart and never have his. He dangled plenty of ladies in front of her and never denied keeping mistresses so she had good reason to think he was interested in her as a trophy, not as a person or as a wife to love and cherish.
July 11, 2023
"I'm not nice. Everything I do for you is merely marking time until I own you"
"Marry me and I'll give you everything. Any dream you have I'll make come true"
Sold.
Bit hammy in parts, for sure, but PW showing the KU generation a sexy D/s relationship without any mention of holes works for me.
James Sanderson might be rich now but his humble background gives him a colossal shoulder chip as far as our h, the classy and virginal Gemma is concerned. He pursues her like an exocet (he's bought the family home, reassured her dead father he would look after her) yet all the OW in his life, as well as her youth and inexperience, make her put up a fight. I take my hat off to her because frankly I'm not sure I could have 😂
Leetle bit stop/go in places but I let a massive to do list go hang to finish in one sitting so. Thumbs up from me.
"Marry me and I'll give you everything. Any dream you have I'll make come true"
Sold.
Bit hammy in parts, for sure, but PW showing the KU generation a sexy D/s relationship without any mention of holes works for me.
James Sanderson might be rich now but his humble background gives him a colossal shoulder chip as far as our h, the classy and virginal Gemma is concerned. He pursues her like an exocet (he's bought the family home, reassured her dead father he would look after her) yet all the OW in his life, as well as her youth and inexperience, make her put up a fight. I take my hat off to her because frankly I'm not sure I could have 😂
Leetle bit stop/go in places but I let a massive to do list go hang to finish in one sitting so. Thumbs up from me.
Read
August 12, 2020I'm super conflicted on what to rate this because while I really loved it, I wanted a bit more
Safe
I'll write a more detailed review late ron.
Safe
I'll write a more detailed review late ron.
December 8, 2021
He’s a besotted H, so that’s a positive.
She is another one of Patricia Wilson’s blonde, innocent, virgin h’s. But in this case I feel that Wilson has taken the h’s innocence too far, so that it becomes ignorance and weakness.
This h is a spoilt little rich girl. She’s being called a china doll. She has never worked a day in her life, even though she is 24. It was almost embarrassing to read about a 24-year old woman who is so weak in life in the early 90’s.
And when she cried because he stopped making love to her, that made me cringe.
She is another one of Patricia Wilson’s blonde, innocent, virgin h’s. But in this case I feel that Wilson has taken the h’s innocence too far, so that it becomes ignorance and weakness.
This h is a spoilt little rich girl. She’s being called a china doll. She has never worked a day in her life, even though she is 24. It was almost embarrassing to read about a 24-year old woman who is so weak in life in the early 90’s.
And when she cried because he stopped making love to her, that made me cringe.
April 1, 2021
3.75 stars
I enjoy besotted heroes. I especially enjoy celibate besotted heroes.
I enjoy besotted heroes. I especially enjoy celibate besotted heroes.
September 21, 2021
I enjoyed reading this book
October 13, 2022
Classic PW with an OTT insane obsessive hero. Love it.
September 2, 2025
Not very enjoyable - FMC was too weak to stand up to the MMC, who was a harsh, I-own-you stalker/control freak with no courtship skills whatsoever.
December 30, 2011
This book was so stupid it's unbelievable.
In 189 pages, the main man must have said three pages tops in total of nice things to her yet she fell for him anyway.
The girl herself was an annoying, whiny and pathetic little brat who acted more 2 than 24 most of the time.
The most irritating thing is that had he not have come out and said straight away that he intended to marry her, she would have had no reason to refuse him for so long because he could have just wooed her.
That would have made for an entirely more appealing book in my opinion.
None of the issues she apparently had were adequetly sorted and I honestly just didn't feel the attraction between the two.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sometimes I wonder why I read Mills and Boon at all, if this is all the publishers have to offer.
In 189 pages, the main man must have said three pages tops in total of nice things to her yet she fell for him anyway.
The girl herself was an annoying, whiny and pathetic little brat who acted more 2 than 24 most of the time.
The most irritating thing is that had he not have come out and said straight away that he intended to marry her, she would have had no reason to refuse him for so long because he could have just wooed her.
That would have made for an entirely more appealing book in my opinion.
None of the issues she apparently had were adequetly sorted and I honestly just didn't feel the attraction between the two.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sometimes I wonder why I read Mills and Boon at all, if this is all the publishers have to offer.
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