What do you think?
Rate this book
سارقة القلوب
When Nick Menendez discovered that beautiful Liza Summers was working for the prime suspect in a diamond robbery case, the Spanish security tycoon took matters into his own hands--and Liza into his custody! He decided the simplest way to uncover the truth and protect her was to take her to his bed--and keep her there until he knew her full involvement....
159 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
15 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Baird
277 books258 followersJacqueline Baird was born on the 1st of April at home in a small village Northumbria, England, UK, where she raised. She went to the local village school, and later an all-girls' grammar school where she passed the University of Oxford General Certificate of Education in various subjects. On leaving school she joined the civil service in the then Post Office department.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 8, 2018
Half-baked diamond smuggling story that brings the H/h together again after parting badly when hero slut-shamed the 16 year-old heroine for kissing the stable boy. Their mothers were boarding school friends and heroine had had a crush on the hero until that moment.
Ten years later, when the hero sees the heroine's name as a possible accomplice to her boss's diamond smuggling operation, he decides to protect her by getting her out of the way of an ongoing investigation. Heroine is wary but her hormones kick in as she allows the hero to spirit her away to Spain from the Canary Island hotel where she is supposed to wait for her boss.
Hero seduces her on the plane and then keeps up the seduction routine even though they are in his mother's home for a family anniversary party.
Hero is beyond tacky and his conversations were alllll about sex. I honestly don't think they had anything else in common, since they didn't talk about anything else.
By the time the misunderstandings have been ironed out and the H/h's mothers have been told the whole story, it's the heroine's obligation to apologize to the hero for lying to her and slut shaming her. When she doesn't fall into his bed after he magnanimously accepts her apology, he leaves in a snit to go para-skiing. Heroine has to chase him down and declare her love so he won't risk his life. *rolls eyes*
I hated that the hero was never called out on his slut-shaming and his tacky, tacky bedroom behavior. Plus, he lied to her - I don't care if he was "protecting" her. He seduced her to get her out of the way and patted her head when she asked any questions. He never treated her with respect or tenderness.
A big nope from me.
Ten years later, when the hero sees the heroine's name as a possible accomplice to her boss's diamond smuggling operation, he decides to protect her by getting her out of the way of an ongoing investigation. Heroine is wary but her hormones kick in as she allows the hero to spirit her away to Spain from the Canary Island hotel where she is supposed to wait for her boss.
Hero seduces her on the plane and then keeps up the seduction routine even though they are in his mother's home for a family anniversary party.
Hero is beyond tacky and his conversations were alllll about sex. I honestly don't think they had anything else in common, since they didn't talk about anything else.
By the time the misunderstandings have been ironed out and the H/h's mothers have been told the whole story, it's the heroine's obligation to apologize to the hero for lying to her and slut shaming her. When she doesn't fall into his bed after he magnanimously accepts her apology, he leaves in a snit to go para-skiing. Heroine has to chase him down and declare her love so he won't risk his life. *rolls eyes*
I hated that the hero was never called out on his slut-shaming and his tacky, tacky bedroom behavior. Plus, he lied to her - I don't care if he was "protecting" her. He seduced her to get her out of the way and patted her head when she asked any questions. He never treated her with respect or tenderness.
A big nope from me.
March 22, 2010
WARNING ! The review below contains some classified info, so beware !
Liza inadvertently becomes a suspect in a diamond heist case ‘cuz she has no idea that his boss is a crook. Nick owns a security company & is assisting his BFF in the case. He’s hot on the trail & persuades his pal that he’s da best man to subject the prime suspect’s P.A. to a 3rd-degree inquisition. H/H have known each other since she’s 8 y/o (he’s 10 yrs older). Their moms are BFFs. Typical of hero-worship cases in HPlandia, heroine has had a huge crush on hero since she was a teen. This will be their 1st meeting in 6 yrs. Let’s go down memory lane. We’re supposed to believe that she’s been fascinated w/ him since their 1st meeting. He’s the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. So beautiful that she tripped over & skinned her knee. He started to notice Liza’s attractiveness the older she got. He lost his marbles when he witnessed 16 y/o Liza kissing a stable boy. Nick interrupted the cozy scene, kissed Liza & groped her, as an outlet. Nice. In reality, he’d be slapped w/ a sexual harassment lawsuit. He called her a cheap slut to her face & this label had stuck to Liza like super glue since then on. It doesn’t matter that she’s only had 1 sexual encounter w/ her fiancé & her engagement only lasted 3 days ‘cuz she’s a frigid bedmate. The hero’s motto : Once a slut, always a slut. Killing 2 birds w/ 1 stone, not only he has a professional reason to stick to her side, he gets to nail her delectable @$$ too. Liza gives naïve HP heroines a bad name. She melts like a roasted candle, clings to him like a barnacle, stammers like a village idiot & turns incoherent whenever Nick kisses her to shut her trap. He’s 1 moody SOB, whose 1-track mind & actions are led by his ding-a-ling. His temperament changes as easy as flipping a switch. He’s supposedly a daredevil, he gets his adrenaline rush from pursuing death-defying sports that jeopardizes his poor mama’s heart. He’s a bit dense / prolly just suffering from a short-term memory, ‘cuz he almost picks diamonds for engagement ring .
I didn’t like the H/H @ all, I thought they were annoying & deserved each other ‘cuz they’re both miserable as a couple & independently. There’s 1 incident, 30 pages from the ending, that absolutely crosses the thin line from dwamatic to over-the-top. Heroine is so enraged upon eavesdropping hero’s phone conversation & discovering hero’s deception, that she decks him & he almost becomes a roadkill. Athletic bloke that he is, he saves himself from plunging 30-feet to the snow-covered ground @ the last minute (I wondered if his life flashes before his eyes @ that moment, like “This is it, I’m gonna keel over right here, right now, thanx to this raging beyotch.” LOL…). I like playfully combative H/H but this is taking it to the extreme. Here’s a prime example of an unhealthy, volatile sexual relationship. I say sexual, ‘cuz from beginning to the ending, I was not really convinced of their ever-lasting luv. I was not fond of the fact that the hero calls her ‘slut’ & ‘bitch’ even if the circumstances warrant it. She almost slaps him when she’s incensed, Chauvinistic pig that he is, true to form, he sneers, he cuts her down to size, he kidnaps her for her own good ‘cuz the 2 baddies are still out there. His crispy one-liners are cheezier than BK’s cheesy tots that I mentally cringed from the cheez overload. I often wanted to drag heroine by her hair to ‘How to develop a spine 101’ class. She’s v. much in self-denial that she’s no man’s push-over, yet her contradictory actions speak more eloquently than her internal dialogue. A suave next-door James Bond wannabe, he ain’t. If James Bond spins craptacular sexual innuendoes like Nick does to Pussy Galore here, the franchise woulda been 6-feet under & the audience woulda had a bad hangover =^2
"Now, that is a picture worth saving."
"I wish I had a camera."
"U'd make a great centrefold."
"U might have become a porn star or a lap dancer, U certainly have a figure for it."
To sum it all up, I was shaken by Nick's giggle-worthy persona, but not stirred into reading the other JB in my TBR (the 2nd one I've just read is even worse but that's a whole different story, don't even go there).
Liza inadvertently becomes a suspect in a diamond heist case ‘cuz she has no idea that his boss is a crook. Nick owns a security company & is assisting his BFF in the case. He’s hot on the trail & persuades his pal that he’s da best man to subject the prime suspect’s P.A. to a 3rd-degree inquisition. H/H have known each other since she’s 8 y/o (he’s 10 yrs older). Their moms are BFFs. Typical of hero-worship cases in HPlandia, heroine has had a huge crush on hero since she was a teen. This will be their 1st meeting in 6 yrs. Let’s go down memory lane. We’re supposed to believe that she’s been fascinated w/ him since their 1st meeting. He’s the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. So beautiful that she tripped over & skinned her knee. He started to notice Liza’s attractiveness the older she got. He lost his marbles when he witnessed 16 y/o Liza kissing a stable boy. Nick interrupted the cozy scene, kissed Liza & groped her, as an outlet. Nice. In reality, he’d be slapped w/ a sexual harassment lawsuit. He called her a cheap slut to her face & this label had stuck to Liza like super glue since then on. It doesn’t matter that she’s only had 1 sexual encounter w/ her fiancé & her engagement only lasted 3 days ‘cuz she’s a frigid bedmate. The hero’s motto : Once a slut, always a slut. Killing 2 birds w/ 1 stone, not only he has a professional reason to stick to her side, he gets to nail her delectable @$$ too. Liza gives naïve HP heroines a bad name. She melts like a roasted candle, clings to him like a barnacle, stammers like a village idiot & turns incoherent whenever Nick kisses her to shut her trap. He’s 1 moody SOB, whose 1-track mind & actions are led by his ding-a-ling. His temperament changes as easy as flipping a switch. He’s supposedly a daredevil, he gets his adrenaline rush from pursuing death-defying sports that jeopardizes his poor mama’s heart. He’s a bit dense / prolly just suffering from a short-term memory, ‘cuz he almost picks diamonds for engagement ring .
I didn’t like the H/H @ all, I thought they were annoying & deserved each other ‘cuz they’re both miserable as a couple & independently. There’s 1 incident, 30 pages from the ending, that absolutely crosses the thin line from dwamatic to over-the-top. Heroine is so enraged upon eavesdropping hero’s phone conversation & discovering hero’s deception, that she decks him & he almost becomes a roadkill. Athletic bloke that he is, he saves himself from plunging 30-feet to the snow-covered ground @ the last minute (I wondered if his life flashes before his eyes @ that moment, like “This is it, I’m gonna keel over right here, right now, thanx to this raging beyotch.” LOL…). I like playfully combative H/H but this is taking it to the extreme. Here’s a prime example of an unhealthy, volatile sexual relationship. I say sexual, ‘cuz from beginning to the ending, I was not really convinced of their ever-lasting luv. I was not fond of the fact that the hero calls her ‘slut’ & ‘bitch’ even if the circumstances warrant it. She almost slaps him when she’s incensed, Chauvinistic pig that he is, true to form, he sneers, he cuts her down to size, he kidnaps her for her own good ‘cuz the 2 baddies are still out there. His crispy one-liners are cheezier than BK’s cheesy tots that I mentally cringed from the cheez overload. I often wanted to drag heroine by her hair to ‘How to develop a spine 101’ class. She’s v. much in self-denial that she’s no man’s push-over, yet her contradictory actions speak more eloquently than her internal dialogue. A suave next-door James Bond wannabe, he ain’t. If James Bond spins craptacular sexual innuendoes like Nick does to Pussy Galore here, the franchise woulda been 6-feet under & the audience woulda had a bad hangover =^2
"Now, that is a picture worth saving."
"I wish I had a camera."
"U'd make a great centrefold."
"U might have become a porn star or a lap dancer, U certainly have a figure for it."
To sum it all up, I was shaken by Nick's giggle-worthy persona, but not stirred into reading the other JB in my TBR (the 2nd one I've just read is even worse but that's a whole different story, don't even go there).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2023
Nope. The hero is a chauvinist and a lecher. Hes known the heroine since she was a child and he lusted after her when she was 15 and he was older. Not acceptable. When she was 16 he caught her making out with a boy and he told her she was a slut. She was a normal 16 yo who was experimenting with a boy her age. She was traumatized and never had sex. Now she’s 25 and he thinks she works with a diamond smugglers. She actually has no idea of what her new boss does but the hero doesn’t trust her and decides to have some fun with her while watching her moves.
He’s sleazy and crude all the times with a lot of unnecessary innuendos. The heroine is no virgin but sadly she had only one bad sexual experience. Why? So he can tell her repeatedly she was no virgin as if she was a hooker.
Not at all. She becomes his mistress while he realizes she’s innocent, but he wants only sex anyway. Eventually she finds out he only approached her because he thought she was guilty and leaves him, best move of the book.
Sadly it doesn’t last. She goes back to him because she finds out he wanted to protect her from dangerous criminals. Forgetting that he only wanted to have sex with her and was never serious. So she also does the groveling.
Seriously? Sad and disappointing sexist book.
He’s sleazy and crude all the times with a lot of unnecessary innuendos. The heroine is no virgin but sadly she had only one bad sexual experience. Why? So he can tell her repeatedly she was no virgin as if she was a hooker.
Not at all. She becomes his mistress while he realizes she’s innocent, but he wants only sex anyway. Eventually she finds out he only approached her because he thought she was guilty and leaves him, best move of the book.
Sadly it doesn’t last. She goes back to him because she finds out he wanted to protect her from dangerous criminals. Forgetting that he only wanted to have sex with her and was never serious. So she also does the groveling.
Seriously? Sad and disappointing sexist book.
to-buy
July 16, 2019At the Spaniard's Pleasure by Jacqueline Baird
سارقة القلوب لجاكلين بيرد
سارقة القلوب لجاكلين بيرد
December 18, 2021
Mostly sex, little story. Icky and dull. I’ve lost what little taste I ever had for this type of character
March 23, 2013
WTAF? Seriously. This book was walking the border of rapey a few too many times for my peace of mind. To be fair, it never crossed that line and pulled back from it really quickly. But really dude? you're going to avoid ? Puh-lease. This book had potential to be good, but *shakes heads* No. Just...No. I'd be willing to give the author another try, but would not recommend this book.
September 21, 2019
2 Stars
Didn't like it and I find it boring
Didn't like it and I find it boring
June 18, 2023
#101 - 2023
Genre: Romance, Harlequin
Genre: Romance, Harlequin
December 27, 2023
nick me cayó mal casi todo el tiempo y me hacían dar rabiaaaaa pero la historia estuvo entretenida
January 15, 2015
Skimmed most of the book because it was really boring and uninteresting. Lots of telling and not showing and lots of background story info dump and internal musings with little plot movement or character interaction. Pity, could have been a really good book if it had been better written. Three stars because the ending was okay and the characters had potential - I love childhood friend stories - and there was nothing that truly insulted my sensibilities as a lot of HPs tend to do, but really not one of JB's most inspired or well-wirtten novels.
own-but-wont-read-or-wallbanger
September 5, 2018Diamond smuggling. When Nick Menendez discovered that beautiful Liza Summers was working for the prime suspect in a diamond robbery case, the Spanish security tycoon took matters into his own hands--and Liza into his custody! He decided the simplest way to uncover the truth and protect her was to take her to his bed--and keep her there until he knew her full involvement....
January 4, 2018
411- سارقة القلوب
روايات احلام
هل فقد نك مانتديز المليونير الإسباني رشده،و إلا كيف سيشرح لصديقه أنه مأخوذ بواحدة من المشتبهين الأساسيين في قضية سرقة الماس سيعتقد صديقه أنه مجنون و لكنه سيفعل أي شيء و سيدفع أي ثمن ليبقي ليزا بعيدة عن السجن و إن كان ذلك سيجعل منه أحمق سواء أكانت ليزا محتالة أم لا يعلم نك أن تأثيرها عليه كبير فهل يكون إدخالها السجن هو الحل الوحيد لإبعادها عن حياته.
روايات احلام
هل فقد نك مانتديز المليونير الإسباني رشده،و إلا كيف سيشرح لصديقه أنه مأخوذ بواحدة من المشتبهين الأساسيين في قضية سرقة الماس سيعتقد صديقه أنه مجنون و لكنه سيفعل أي شيء و سيدفع أي ثمن ليبقي ليزا بعيدة عن السجن و إن كان ذلك سيجعل منه أحمق سواء أكانت ليزا محتالة أم لا يعلم نك أن تأثيرها عليه كبير فهل يكون إدخالها السجن هو الحل الوحيد لإبعادها عن حياته.
June 14, 2008
kisah cinta yg seksi dan menggelora ;-)
January 7, 2013
agak ogah2an nyeleseinx...
October 22, 2014
seharusnya mereka berdua bisa bersama sejak masih kecil dulu.. namun keadaan selalu tidak tepat.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews