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The Copper Lake Series - with the Calloway Brothers #3
Intimate Enemy
God help him, he despised Jamie Munroe…
…but not enough to try to kill her. In court, she'd helped his greedy ex-wife steal his fortune. In town, Jamie pretended he didn't exist. And yet, even she had to remember the hot chemistry they'd once shared in law school. A crazy part of him wanted to remind her…and keep her safe.
Even though Russ Calloway had broken her heart years ago—and she was ashamed how often she watched him from her office window—accepting his protection felt so natural. Especially as her stalker's threats escalated. Where else did she feel safe but in the arms of her enemy?
…but not enough to try to kill her. In court, she'd helped his greedy ex-wife steal his fortune. In town, Jamie pretended he didn't exist. And yet, even she had to remember the hot chemistry they'd once shared in law school. A crazy part of him wanted to remind her…and keep her safe.
Even though Russ Calloway had broken her heart years ago—and she was ashamed how often she watched him from her office window—accepting his protection felt so natural. Especially as her stalker's threats escalated. Where else did she feel safe but in the arms of her enemy?
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Pappano
190 books126 followersAward-winning and bestselling author, international traveler, feted at a Hollywood premiere . . .
All true . . . but my regular life is a whole lot more routine. Deal with the five big puppers who share our house, babysit our grandson, battle the jungle that is our yard, pray for summer in winter and dream of winter in summer, and hunker down at the computer -- that's my real life.
I grew up in Oklahoma and had the fun of living in Georgia, Alabama, California and the Carolinas, thanks to my husband's Navy career. When he retired, we came home to Oklahoma and have lived in the same house for seventeen years. That's a real "Wow!" for someone used to the nomadic military life.
Writing was the perfect career for all that moving. Have computer, will travel. I've set books, or part of them, in every state we've lived in and been inspired by every place I've ever been. I've now written somewhere around 80 books, and I think I've got only about 8,000 stories left to tell.
My biggest hobby is starting new projects -- starting. Not completing. I'm still not done with the cross-stitched Army seal I started when our son joined out of high school. He did tours in Georgia, Colorado, Korea, Italy, Iraq, Afghanistan and Louisiana, and has been out for a few years. So I'm a little slow.
I like to think about getting organized, painting my living room in cool beachy colors, and turning my entire five-acre yard into a garden. I also dream about having every room in my house clean at exactly the same time, but I live by the motto of the woman who taught me to quilt: A clean house is the sign of a bored woman.
And I've never been bored.
All true . . . but my regular life is a whole lot more routine. Deal with the five big puppers who share our house, babysit our grandson, battle the jungle that is our yard, pray for summer in winter and dream of winter in summer, and hunker down at the computer -- that's my real life.
I grew up in Oklahoma and had the fun of living in Georgia, Alabama, California and the Carolinas, thanks to my husband's Navy career. When he retired, we came home to Oklahoma and have lived in the same house for seventeen years. That's a real "Wow!" for someone used to the nomadic military life.
Writing was the perfect career for all that moving. Have computer, will travel. I've set books, or part of them, in every state we've lived in and been inspired by every place I've ever been. I've now written somewhere around 80 books, and I think I've got only about 8,000 stories left to tell.
My biggest hobby is starting new projects -- starting. Not completing. I'm still not done with the cross-stitched Army seal I started when our son joined out of high school. He did tours in Georgia, Colorado, Korea, Italy, Iraq, Afghanistan and Louisiana, and has been out for a few years. So I'm a little slow.
I like to think about getting organized, painting my living room in cool beachy colors, and turning my entire five-acre yard into a garden. I also dream about having every room in my house clean at exactly the same time, but I live by the motto of the woman who taught me to quilt: A clean house is the sign of a bored woman.
And I've never been bored.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 4, 2022
Zero stars for the romance, 2 stars for the suspense plot.
Warning: this review contains SPOILERS for three Pappano novels: Intimate Enemy, Some Enchanted Season, and The Sheriff's Surrender.
Russ, Intimate Enemy's male main character, has been nursing a hate-on for the heroine ever since she successfully represented Russ's cheating wife in their divorce. But three (?) years before she was Russ's wife's divorce attorney, the heroine was Russ's f*ck buddy in law school. Except the heroine didn't realize they were only f*ck buddies and thought they were in a relationship. She was blindsided six years ago when Russ dumped her after returning from a spring break trip to Florida they had planned to take together (except she fell sick and was unable to go). On his first solo day in Daytona Beach, he had met and fallen inbed love with his future ex-wife. The heroine was blindsided again in the current timeline when Russ casually states, "I never dated anyone seriously until Melinda [his ex]." It is only then that she realizes he had never cared about her romantically. (Sort of a contemporary, middle-class twist on the "I'm your mistress?!?" trope.)
Anyway, if I were just reviewing Intimate Enemy, I would say this was a bad romance but a decent suspense story (which I won't spoil). The protagonists are forced into propinquity when Russ's brother guilts him into looking after the heroine, who is being stalked. However, there is really no catalyst for Russ's eventual change of heart toward the heroine. Six years ago she was just friendly sex as far as he was concerned. For the past three years, she's been the target for all his anger about his ex. Now he randomly decides he's in love with her because "things happen when they're supposed to happen." (He literally thinks this while pondering the fact that even if he hadn't met his ex on that fateful Florida trip, he would probably have made no effort to continue the sex with the heroine after law school. She was nothing more than convenient.)
Clearly, Russ is awful. And the whole time I was reading this book, I thought Pappano must have had a bad experience with a guy named Russ because the male lead in Some Enchanted Season is also awful and named Russ. (Spoiler: the male lead in Some Enchanted Season is actually named Ross, but I can be forgiven for forgetting his name because Ross? Is really awful.)
* * Some Enchanted Season SPOILERS * *
Ross married his too-devoted wife and allowed her to work menial jobs, putting her education on hold, first to finance his business degree, then to support them both while Ross started his business. As Ross's business became more successful, he grew more distant from his wife, increasingly sidelining her while denying her the children she yearned for. After 16 (?) years of deferring her dreams, she finally asks for a divorce which is delayed when she is seriously injured in a car accident and needs a year to recuperate.
The horrible, horrible thing about Ross is that there's no event in their marriage which prompted a change from loving husband to self-absorbed ass. He was simply always a narcissist, and their marriage was destined to play out the way it did. And even though is the last of the sins we and Ross's wife discover about him, it is really the least of his sins. It's the 16 years of his selfishness I don't think the marriage can recover from, not his one dramatic betrayal.
So Russ is awful and Ross is worse. Then I saw a comment from boogenhagen that the only Pappano "hero" worse than Russ from Intimate Enemy is the lead in The Sheriff's Surrender. Okay, I thought, this new guy may be worse than Russ, but no way is he worse than Ross.
I was wrong.
* * The Sheriff's Surrender SPOILERS * *
Friends, the male main character in The Sheriff's Surrender was a sheriff's deputy in a relationship with the criminal defense attorney heroine (a romantic relationship, with an eye toward a future with marriage and babies, not just f*ck buddies like good ol' Russ) when one of her clients killed a witness the "hero" was protecting outside the courthouse. The heroine was also shot in the altercation (), but even though this "hero" was on the scene, he didn't go to the heroine. He comforted the woman he was protecting until she was taken off in an ambulance to die at the hospital, then turned his back on the injured heroine for nine years. Out of remorse, she briefly switched to being a prosecutor with the district attorney's office, and one of the criminals she convicted is now trying to kill her. When this "hero" hears someone is trying to kill his ex, his response is "Good! I wish him luck."
But it gets even better. After the heroine recovered from the shooting at the courthouse, the "hero's" former coworkers at the sheriff's department systematically harassed and threatened her, leading to a deliberately plotted attempt on her life which she escaped only because of her torment-induced paranoia. Of course, the "hero" knows nothing about this because immediately after the shooting incident, he left that sheriff's department to take up the position of sheriff in some other county, where he proceeded to screw every eligible woman he encountered.
I grew up on 1980s romance, where a hero could only prove his virility by having a string of lovers, so I'm not normally put off by manwhore male leads. But there's something very off-putting to me about this "hero" being besties with his ex-lover Shay who is now married to another friend of his.
Now for the kicker: this prize specimen's name? This "hero" who thinks the heroine deserves to die for doing her job, who was such a bad deputy he either didn't see or didn't care about the corruption running rampant at his first law-enforcement job? His name is Reese.
Russ, Ross, Reese. The bronze, silver, and gold medallists in Pappano's personal "worst romantic hero ever" Olympiad.
Warning: this review contains SPOILERS for three Pappano novels: Intimate Enemy, Some Enchanted Season, and The Sheriff's Surrender.
Russ, Intimate Enemy's male main character, has been nursing a hate-on for the heroine ever since she successfully represented Russ's cheating wife in their divorce. But three (?) years before she was Russ's wife's divorce attorney, the heroine was Russ's f*ck buddy in law school. Except the heroine didn't realize they were only f*ck buddies and thought they were in a relationship. She was blindsided six years ago when Russ dumped her after returning from a spring break trip to Florida they had planned to take together (except she fell sick and was unable to go). On his first solo day in Daytona Beach, he had met and fallen in
Anyway, if I were just reviewing Intimate Enemy, I would say this was a bad romance but a decent suspense story (which I won't spoil). The protagonists are forced into propinquity when Russ's brother guilts him into looking after the heroine, who is being stalked. However, there is really no catalyst for Russ's eventual change of heart toward the heroine. Six years ago she was just friendly sex as far as he was concerned. For the past three years, she's been the target for all his anger about his ex. Now he randomly decides he's in love with her because "things happen when they're supposed to happen." (He literally thinks this while pondering the fact that even if he hadn't met his ex on that fateful Florida trip, he would probably have made no effort to continue the sex with the heroine after law school. She was nothing more than convenient.)
Clearly, Russ is awful. And the whole time I was reading this book, I thought Pappano must have had a bad experience with a guy named Russ because the male lead in Some Enchanted Season is also awful and named Russ. (Spoiler: the male lead in Some Enchanted Season is actually named Ross, but I can be forgiven for forgetting his name because Ross? Is really awful.)
* * Some Enchanted Season SPOILERS * *
Ross married his too-devoted wife and allowed her to work menial jobs, putting her education on hold, first to finance his business degree, then to support them both while Ross started his business. As Ross's business became more successful, he grew more distant from his wife, increasingly sidelining her while denying her the children she yearned for. After 16 (?) years of deferring her dreams, she finally asks for a divorce which is delayed when she is seriously injured in a car accident and needs a year to recuperate.
The horrible, horrible thing about Ross is that there's no event in their marriage which prompted a change from loving husband to self-absorbed ass. He was simply always a narcissist, and their marriage was destined to play out the way it did. And even though is the last of the sins we and Ross's wife discover about him, it is really the least of his sins. It's the 16 years of his selfishness I don't think the marriage can recover from, not his one dramatic betrayal.
So Russ is awful and Ross is worse. Then I saw a comment from boogenhagen that the only Pappano "hero" worse than Russ from Intimate Enemy is the lead in The Sheriff's Surrender. Okay, I thought, this new guy may be worse than Russ, but no way is he worse than Ross.
I was wrong.
* * The Sheriff's Surrender SPOILERS * *
Friends, the male main character in The Sheriff's Surrender was a sheriff's deputy in a relationship with the criminal defense attorney heroine (a romantic relationship, with an eye toward a future with marriage and babies, not just f*ck buddies like good ol' Russ) when one of her clients killed a witness the "hero" was protecting outside the courthouse. The heroine was also shot in the altercation (), but even though this "hero" was on the scene, he didn't go to the heroine. He comforted the woman he was protecting until she was taken off in an ambulance to die at the hospital, then turned his back on the injured heroine for nine years. Out of remorse, she briefly switched to being a prosecutor with the district attorney's office, and one of the criminals she convicted is now trying to kill her. When this "hero" hears someone is trying to kill his ex, his response is "Good! I wish him luck."
But it gets even better. After the heroine recovered from the shooting at the courthouse, the "hero's" former coworkers at the sheriff's department systematically harassed and threatened her, leading to a deliberately plotted attempt on her life which she escaped only because of her torment-induced paranoia. Of course, the "hero" knows nothing about this because immediately after the shooting incident, he left that sheriff's department to take up the position of sheriff in some other county, where he proceeded to screw every eligible woman he encountered.
I grew up on 1980s romance, where a hero could only prove his virility by having a string of lovers, so I'm not normally put off by manwhore male leads. But there's something very off-putting to me about this "hero" being besties with his ex-lover Shay who is now married to another friend of his.
"I said Shay and her husband Easy are friends of mine. What about it?"So part of this heroine's happily ever after will involve socializing with good ol' Shay and poor, ignorant Easy for the rest of her life. That won't be awkward. *eyeroll*
"Did she become his wife before your affair with her or after?"
A crimson tinge crept into his cheeks. "My relationship with Shay is none of your business."
"Does he know you had an affair with her?"
"They hadn't seen each other in eight years," he said defensively. "He had no claim on her."
Now for the kicker: this prize specimen's name? This "hero" who thinks the heroine deserves to die for doing her job, who was such a bad deputy he either didn't see or didn't care about the corruption running rampant at his first law-enforcement job? His name is Reese.
Russ, Ross, Reese. The bronze, silver, and gold medallists in Pappano's personal "worst romantic hero ever" Olympiad.
October 29, 2024
This one is a mixed bag.
It completely piqued my interest going into it as it has a H who actually hates the h, a woman who was once his lover. Now she’s just 'satan'/'bloodsucker'/'queen of the damned' to him. And NO, she didn't dump/desert/cheat on him. It was quite the other way round.
It completely piqued my interest going into it as it has a H who actually hates the h, a woman who was once his lover. Now she’s just 'satan'/'bloodsucker'/'queen of the damned' to him. And NO, she didn't dump/desert/cheat on him. It was quite the other way round.
avoid
July 14, 2023H fell in love with ow while he was in a F buddy relationship with the h (basically cheated on the h). So he dumped the h, and married the ow.
Avoid.
Avoid.
June 12, 2009
!Warning!! Alot of spoilers!!
***********************************
Russ Calloway hates Jamie Munroe. Everyone knows it, yet when Jamie is threatened by an increasingly aggressive stalker, it's completely natural for him to offer his protection. Not only does he offer, to Jamie's complete surprise, he demands that she allow him to take care of her. While their relationship may have deteriorated almost irrevocably over the years, Russ despises the idea of anyone harming her, and vows to her that no one will get to her while he's there. Once they are again in close proximity, unable to avoid each other, all the memories of their previous love resurfaces and Russ has to wonder why he ever let her go in the first place. Now that he wants to love her again, he's going to have to fight for her, because someone else wants her too...
This was bad, borderline horrible at times. Most of the problem is that our "hero" Russ is a childish little turd with zero amount of common sense. Our hero and heroine used to date in college and Jamie thought she had found the one. He quickly sets that notion straight when he shows up at her door one day and tells her that he's finally found the one that he's going to marry. He ends it with an, it's been fun, sweetie and I hope you get over your sickness in time to catch the wedding! When I read that part my jaw just dropped. Another winner was when he told her that out of all the women he's dated, none of them mattered other than his ex-wife. Don't forget, he's talking to his ex-girlfriend here. An ex-girlfriend who is, sadly, still carrying a torch for him.
I was blown away by this guy. And not in a good way. I don't think I've ever read a more self absorbed and clueless male and if the above is not bad enough, there's more! He's bad mouthing her around town and makes no effort to hide the fact that he despises her. The reason is because Jamie represented his wife during their divorce proceedings and they both took him to the cleaners. Ha! Good! He's upset because he thought they were friends and that she owed him the courtesy of not representing his wife. He wouldn't know courtesy if it jumped up and bit him on the a$$!
But wait!! There's more!!!! Jamie was attacked a while ago. Hardly any one knows of it so Russ didn't know that when he did it. But again, who the flying frick would do something like this! Jamie sees a shadowy figure crouching down by her car. She thinks it's somebody messing with her tires so she goes out to investigate. It's Russ and he's noticed a piece of wood studded with nails underneath her tire. He tells her what he found and she can't help but suspect him. He gets insulted. So he pulls out a switchblade, opens it, and tells her he has better ways of getting to her tires than using a bunch of nails. Now admittedly, he's not waving it in her face, telling her that he was going to get her and her little dog, too. But still! What guy would face a girl alone in an abandoned parking lot at nighttime and expound upon a situation like this by pulling out a knife? Maybe common sense would dictate that he not make any sudden moves and realize that as a woman, she's naturally at a disadvantage without him whipping out the ol switchblade.
Grrrrr.
The actual plot of this story was pretty easy to figure out. No real brains needed here, which was good because after reading about Russ, my brain turned to mush anyway. Unfortunately, Russ kind of redeems himself at the end. He does throw himself into harms way to protect her and he does realize what an immature jacka** he was. So I can't hate this book. Oh, I wanted to. I wanted Jamie to take up her friend's offer and turn lesbian but unfortunately Russ changed just enough to make me kind of, sort of, begrudgingly, resentfully, wholly against my will, like him.
***********************************
Russ Calloway hates Jamie Munroe. Everyone knows it, yet when Jamie is threatened by an increasingly aggressive stalker, it's completely natural for him to offer his protection. Not only does he offer, to Jamie's complete surprise, he demands that she allow him to take care of her. While their relationship may have deteriorated almost irrevocably over the years, Russ despises the idea of anyone harming her, and vows to her that no one will get to her while he's there. Once they are again in close proximity, unable to avoid each other, all the memories of their previous love resurfaces and Russ has to wonder why he ever let her go in the first place. Now that he wants to love her again, he's going to have to fight for her, because someone else wants her too...
This was bad, borderline horrible at times. Most of the problem is that our "hero" Russ is a childish little turd with zero amount of common sense. Our hero and heroine used to date in college and Jamie thought she had found the one. He quickly sets that notion straight when he shows up at her door one day and tells her that he's finally found the one that he's going to marry. He ends it with an, it's been fun, sweetie and I hope you get over your sickness in time to catch the wedding! When I read that part my jaw just dropped. Another winner was when he told her that out of all the women he's dated, none of them mattered other than his ex-wife. Don't forget, he's talking to his ex-girlfriend here. An ex-girlfriend who is, sadly, still carrying a torch for him.
I was blown away by this guy. And not in a good way. I don't think I've ever read a more self absorbed and clueless male and if the above is not bad enough, there's more! He's bad mouthing her around town and makes no effort to hide the fact that he despises her. The reason is because Jamie represented his wife during their divorce proceedings and they both took him to the cleaners. Ha! Good! He's upset because he thought they were friends and that she owed him the courtesy of not representing his wife. He wouldn't know courtesy if it jumped up and bit him on the a$$!
But wait!! There's more!!!! Jamie was attacked a while ago. Hardly any one knows of it so Russ didn't know that when he did it. But again, who the flying frick would do something like this! Jamie sees a shadowy figure crouching down by her car. She thinks it's somebody messing with her tires so she goes out to investigate. It's Russ and he's noticed a piece of wood studded with nails underneath her tire. He tells her what he found and she can't help but suspect him. He gets insulted. So he pulls out a switchblade, opens it, and tells her he has better ways of getting to her tires than using a bunch of nails. Now admittedly, he's not waving it in her face, telling her that he was going to get her and her little dog, too. But still! What guy would face a girl alone in an abandoned parking lot at nighttime and expound upon a situation like this by pulling out a knife? Maybe common sense would dictate that he not make any sudden moves and realize that as a woman, she's naturally at a disadvantage without him whipping out the ol switchblade.
Grrrrr.
The actual plot of this story was pretty easy to figure out. No real brains needed here, which was good because after reading about Russ, my brain turned to mush anyway. Unfortunately, Russ kind of redeems himself at the end. He does throw himself into harms way to protect her and he does realize what an immature jacka** he was. So I can't hate this book. Oh, I wanted to. I wanted Jamie to take up her friend's offer and turn lesbian but unfortunately Russ changed just enough to make me kind of, sort of, begrudgingly, resentfully, wholly against my will, like him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 17, 2018Hero sounds like too big a creep even for me.
April 12, 2025
not bad, but ultimately frustrating.
They were lover in college. He took her everywhere. He even took her to his parents for vacations. And yet he thought they were just F*buddies? So the one time she's sick he goes on spring break alone and meets the love of his life, Melinda. And he actually comes back to the h and tells her all about it, not even noticing that he's crushing her psyche.
Melinda is a self centered B with an 'itch, so they divorce a few years later. And the h takes the case because she's a new lawyer and needs the work. She cleans his clock on behalf of Melinda the B... (Am I feeling sorry for him? Nope)
He of course blames the h and not his ex... for Yeeeearrrrrrs. Cause HE is the whiney little b*tch.
Skip forward to the present. The h has a serious stalker problem and their mutual friend gets her to stay with the H for safety. Cause the world (or even the State) is really that small. But anyways, they are now stuck together and he needs to get over himself. But to be honest, I never felt he did. Even though she wasn't a total noodle, I felt like she did most of the bending, like a good little compliant heroine.
I love this author, but she didn't really get the balance right in this one. Usually her heroines are pretty strong, but sometimes her Heroes are just too stupid to hold up their end of the story.
He realizes he gave her the wrong idea in college but he never apologizes for it. We end up with one of those, I didn't love you then, because the timing wasn't right for us then, endings. No regrets. No, I wish I'd realized what I had when I had it. No, you deserve better than my sorry excuse for a man. Not even an, I'm sorry I took you for granted and hurt you.
Instead, SHE actually, apologizes to HIM for taking wife's case. Really?!??
This is where the suspense clicks in to obfuscate the heroes blame. Except the culprit was pretty obvious and contrived.
So it was OK, but mostly because Ms. Pappano is a terrific writer. She just never managed to get the H out of the hole he'd dug with the h imho.
safety is ok.
They were lover in college. He took her everywhere. He even took her to his parents for vacations. And yet he thought they were just F*buddies? So the one time she's sick he goes on spring break alone and meets the love of his life, Melinda. And he actually comes back to the h and tells her all about it, not even noticing that he's crushing her psyche.
Melinda is a self centered B with an 'itch, so they divorce a few years later. And the h takes the case because she's a new lawyer and needs the work. She cleans his clock on behalf of Melinda the B... (Am I feeling sorry for him? Nope)
He of course blames the h and not his ex... for Yeeeearrrrrrs. Cause HE is the whiney little b*tch.
Skip forward to the present. The h has a serious stalker problem and their mutual friend gets her to stay with the H for safety. Cause the world (or even the State) is really that small. But anyways, they are now stuck together and he needs to get over himself. But to be honest, I never felt he did. Even though she wasn't a total noodle, I felt like she did most of the bending, like a good little compliant heroine.
I love this author, but she didn't really get the balance right in this one. Usually her heroines are pretty strong, but sometimes her Heroes are just too stupid to hold up their end of the story.
He realizes he gave her the wrong idea in college but he never apologizes for it. We end up with one of those, I didn't love you then, because the timing wasn't right for us then, endings. No regrets. No, I wish I'd realized what I had when I had it. No, you deserve better than my sorry excuse for a man. Not even an, I'm sorry I took you for granted and hurt you.
Instead, SHE actually, apologizes to HIM for taking wife's case. Really?!??
This is where the suspense clicks in to obfuscate the heroes blame. Except the culprit was pretty obvious and contrived.
So it was OK, but mostly because Ms. Pappano is a terrific writer. She just never managed to get the H out of the hole he'd dug with the h imho.
safety is ok.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2022
I went into this hoping it would be a rage read, not so much. He doesn’t know this is a “he done her wrong” story, he’s so self involved he thought it was very much the opposite.
Once he knows the truth, there’s just enough guilt to keep it from being a rage read, and the lack of a grovel makes him more than 🔪worthy.
2 she deserves a better HEA stars.
Once he knows the truth, there’s just enough guilt to keep it from being a rage read, and the lack of a grovel makes him more than 🔪worthy.
2 she deserves a better HEA stars.
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July 26, 2019She's just so pathetic. And he's a selfish asshole.
December 31, 2014
Well, this was a nice surprise. Having read the comments on this book on one of the amazon threads I really thought I'd hate this book, but had to read it. How can you not when in the past the H has thrown over the h for another woman.
I liked the h, she had a really mature take on things and about the H treated in the past, but possibly a little too understanding and tolerant. Well the H was interesting, we get his POV so we see his growth, but still he should have made a sincere attempt at an apology for how he treated her in the past.
I liked the h, she had a really mature take on things and about the H treated in the past, but possibly a little too understanding and tolerant. Well the H was interesting, we get his POV so we see his growth, but still he should have made a sincere attempt at an apology for how he treated her in the past.
September 25, 2008
A wonderful little suspense that has that something extra,that talent, magic, whatever you choose to call it, that keeps the reader’s attention. Marilyn Pappano has been on my BOLO list for quite some time and “Intimate Enemy” shows why. With the plot starting out, the female lead is a lawyer who has represented the male leads ex-wife in a divorce settlement, with that improbable situation the author has created a believable story line with interest and depth. A great little book, well worth going in the cart.
August 15, 2008
Good book. Liked the plot of a lawyer and a construction worker. Their past and present battles which were a twist from what you ususally see. A good quick read.
April 15, 2018
A sweet and catching story
October 14, 2025
Not as intense as Sheriff's Surrender but still good! Love this author's style and level of mystery. Not too detailed but enough to draw you in. Reminds me of Diana Palmer.
September 19, 2014
เราไม่ค่อยชอบอ่านหนังสือเล่มเล็กค่ะ เพราะข้อจำกัดทางหน้ากระดาษทำให้กว่าเราจะเข้าถึงเรื่องราว ทุกอย่างก็จบลงหมดแล้ว กระนั้นหนังสือที่เราถือว่า สนุกมากที่สุดหลายเล่ม ก็เป็นหนังสือเล่มเล็กนี่แหละ แต่ถ้าสังเกตให้ดี เรื่องที่ชอบ (และเป็นเล่มเล็ก) มักจะเป็นเรื่องที่ยาวกว่าปกติเสมอ นั่นคือตัวหนังสือจะเล็กมาก ๆ
แต่แล้วสถานการณ์ก็ยิ่งแย่ลง เมื่อช่วงหลายปีที่ผ่านมาทางสนพ.ฮาร์ลิควินใช้กฎเหล็ก บังคับจำนวนคำในต้นฉบับอย่างเข้มงวด ทำให้กระทั่งวิธีการลดขนาดตัวอักษรให้เล็กลงก็ไม่อาจนำมาใช้ได้แล้ว และนี่คือปัญหาใหญ่ที่เราเจอในการอ่านหนังสือชุดนี้จากหนึ่งในนักเขียนเล่มเล็กที่เราชอบมากที่สุดอย่างมาริลีน แพพาโน นั่นเพราะหน้ากระดาษที่จำกัด ทำให้เรื่องราวในหลายส่วนดูรวบรัดมาก ๆ (ดีใจมาก ๆ นะคะ ที่ตอนนี้กฎข้อนี้ได้ถูกยกเลิกไปแล้ว แต่มันก็ทำลายหนังสือไปมากมายจนนับไม่ถ้วน)
หนังสือในชุดนี้เล่าเรื่องของพี่น้องสี่หนุ่มตระกูลคัลโลเวย์ และรวมไปถึงผู้คนที่อาศัยอยู่ในเมืองคอปเปอร์เลค ในรัฐจอร์เจีย เรียกว่า ใครเดินผ่านหน้ากระดาษมีสิทธิกลายเป็นพระเอกนางเอกกันได้หมด โดยเฉพาะคนที่ทำงานให้กับกรมตำรวจเมืองคอปเปอร์เลค
เล่มแรกในชุดเรื่อง One Stormy Night และเล่มที่สอง Forbidden Stranger เราได้เขียนรีวิวไปแล้วค่ะ ตามอ่านได้ค่ะ
เล่มนี้นับเป็นเล่มที่สามในชุดนะคะ แต่เป็นเล่มแรกที่เหตุการณ์เกิดขึ้นในเมืองคอปเปอร์ เลค ที่หลังจากเป็นบ้านเกิดของพระเอกในสองเล่มแรก ในที่สุดคนอ่านก็ได้ไปถึงเมืองเล็ก ๆ แห่งนี้ในที่สุด
เมืองที่ตระกูลคัลโลเวย์ทรงอำนาจ แต่กระนั้นมันก็ไม่ได้ช่วยรัส คัลโลเวย์ ให้ชนะคดีหย่าร้างจากภรรยาเก่าได้ เจมี มันโรทนายความสาวซึ่งว่าความให้กับเมียเก่าของเขา ช่วยให้เจ้าหล่อนได้แบ่งสมบัติของรัสไปครึ่งหนึ่ง ทั้งที่ตัวเมียเก่านั่นแหละเป็นคนที่นอกใจ และต้องการเดินออกจากชีวิตคู่ไป
รัสคงจะไม่เจ็บใจ หรือโกรธแค้นเจมีมากขนาดนี้ หากเขาไม่ได้รู้จักกับเธอตั้งแต่สมัยเรียนโรงเรียนกฎหมายมาด้วยกัน ไม่ได้เป็นเพื่อนกัน การที่เจมีว่าความให้เมียเก่า ก็เหมือนเธอทรยศเขา นั่นทำให้แม้เวลาผ่านไปหลายปี รัสก็ยังโกรธเจมีไม่หาย
สำหรับเจมี การย้ายมาที่เมืองคอปเปอร์ เลค เป็นสิ่งที่เธอต้องการอย่างยิ่ง หลังจากเป็นทนายความในเมืองใหญ่ และถูกทำร้ายจนต้องการเปลี่ยนที่อยู่ คอปเปอร์ เลคเป็นบ้านเกิดของเพื่อนสนิทของเธอ ร็อบบี้ คัลโลเวย์ น้องชายของรัส และแม้มันจะเป็นที่เดียวกับที่รัสอาศัยอยู่ เจมีก็คิดว่าคุ้มค่า
ความเป็นอริของทั้งคู่คงจะดำเนินต่อไปเรื่อย ๆ หากไม่ได้มีคนคิดปองร้ายเจมี จู่ ๆ ก็มีคนลึกลับนำของขวัญ และคำขู่มาทิ้งไว้ให้เธอ จนหญิงสาวรู้สึกถูกคุกคาม และเมื่อมีคนวางยาหมาที่เธอเลี้ยง เจมีก็ตระหนักในอันตรายที่ใกล้มาถึง และสถานที่ที่เธออาจจะปลอดภัยที่สุด กลับกลายเป็นบ้านของรัส เพราะทุกคนรู้ว่า ทั้งสองเป็นศัตรุกัน ดังนั้นคงจะไม่มีใครคิดตามหาเจมีที่บ้านของเขา
นั่นจึงเป็นครั้งแรกที่อริทั้งสองเริ่มมองกันและกัน ด้วยสายตาที่เปลี่ยนไป
เจมีว่าความให้ภรรยาของรัส เพราะนั่นคือ อาชีพของเธอ สำหรับทนายความในเมืองเล็ก เธอไม่มีสิทธิปฏิเสธลูกความคนไหน ถ้าหากคิดจากอยู่รอด และเธอก็ไม่คิดว่า รัสจะโง่พอที่จะว่าความให้ตัวเอง เพราะแม้ชายหนุ่มจะเรียนจบกฎหมาย แต่ก็ไม่เคยทำงานด้านนี้ ในขณะเดียวกันเจมีก็อกหัก เธอและรัสเคยมีความสัมพันธ์กันในช่วงสั้น ๆ ระหว่างที่เรียนกฎหมาย และรัสก็เจอกับเมียของเขา หญิงสาวที่ทำให้รัสทิ้งเจมีไปอย่างไม่แยแส เจมีไม่เคยหายเจ็บปวดจากการโดนทิ้ง ในขณะที่รัสกลับไม่รู้ตัวเลยด้วยซ้ำว่าได้หักอกเพื่อนคนนี้ไปแล้ว
เล่มนี้แปลกดีนะคะ นี่เป็นเรื่องแนวที่พระเอกและนางเอกเคยมีความสัมพันธ์กันมาก่อน และแม้จะจบลง ก็เป็นเพราะพระเอกเจอกับผู้หญิงคนอื่น คนที่เขาคิดว่า เป็นคนที่ "ใช่" สำหรับเขา เล่มนี้มาแนวใหม่ เพราะนางเอกคือ หญิงสาวที่ถูกทิ้งไป ในขณะที่คนที่พระเอกคิดว่า "ใช่" กลับไม่ใช่ของจริง
ด้วยหน้ากระดาษที่จำกัด ทำให้เรื่องนี้ไม่ค่อยลงตัวในส่วนสืบสวน และโรแมนซ์ ด้านนึงเราชอบความ "แปลก" ของเล่มนี้นะคะ ที่รัสไม่รู้เลยด้วยซ้ำว่า หักอกเจมีไป และความรู้สึกที่เขามีให้กับเธอ ก็เหมือนการพัฒนาขึ้นมาใหม่ การที่เขาเรียนรู้ว่า นางในฝันบางทีไม่ต้องพบและตกหลุมรักตั้งแต่แรกเห็น แต่กลับเป็นใครคนนึงที่อยู่ในชีวิตของเขาเป็นเวลานาน เพียงแต่เขาสังเกตเห็น อย่างไรก็ตาม เรารู้สึกว่า เวลาที่มีในเรื่อง มันไม่เพียงพอที่จะทำให้เรารู้สึกว่า ความรู้สึกนี้น่าเชื่อเต็มร้อย เรายังคิดว่า มันดูเร่งรัดเกินไปหน่อย
ทางด้านสืบสวนนี่ถือว่า สอบตกค่ะ เราเดาผู้ร้ายได้ตั้งแต่ครั้งแรกที่เริ่มพูดประเด็นนี้กันด้วยซ้ำ
คะแนนที่ 63
แต่แล้วสถานการณ์ก็ยิ่งแย่ลง เมื่อช่วงหลายปีที่ผ่านมาทางสนพ.ฮาร์ลิควินใช้กฎเหล็ก บังคับจำนวนคำในต้นฉบับอย่างเข้มงวด ทำให้กระทั่งวิธีการลดขนาดตัวอักษรให้เล็กลงก็ไม่อาจนำมาใช้ได้แล้ว และนี่คือปัญหาใหญ่ที่เราเจอในการอ่านหนังสือชุดนี้จากหนึ่งในนักเขียนเล่มเล็กที่เราชอบมากที่สุดอย่างมาริลีน แพพาโน นั่นเพราะหน้ากระดาษที่จำกัด ทำให้เรื่องราวในหลายส่วนดูรวบรัดมาก ๆ (ดีใจมาก ๆ นะคะ ที่ตอนนี้กฎข้อนี้ได้ถูกยกเลิกไปแล้ว แต่มันก็ทำลายหนังสือไปมากมายจนนับไม่ถ้วน)
หนังสือในชุดนี้เล่าเรื่องของพี่น้องสี่หนุ่มตระกูลคัลโลเวย์ และรวมไปถึงผู้คนที่อาศัยอยู่ในเมืองคอปเปอร์เลค ในรัฐจอร์เจีย เรียกว่า ใครเดินผ่านหน้ากระดาษมีสิทธิกลายเป็นพระเอกนางเอกกันได้หมด โดยเฉพาะคนที่ทำงานให้กับกรมตำรวจเมืองคอปเปอร์เลค
เล่มแรกในชุดเรื่อง One Stormy Night และเล่มที่สอง Forbidden Stranger เราได้เขียนรีวิวไปแล้วค่ะ ตามอ่านได้ค่ะ
เล่มนี้นับเป็นเล่มที่สามในชุดนะคะ แต่เป็นเล่มแรกที่เหตุการณ์เกิดขึ้นในเมืองคอปเปอร์ เลค ที่หลังจากเป็นบ้านเกิดของพระเอกในสองเล่มแรก ในที่สุดคนอ่านก็ได้ไปถึงเมืองเล็ก ๆ แห่งนี้ในที่สุด
เมืองที่ตระกูลคัลโลเวย์ทรงอำนาจ แต่กระนั้นมันก็ไม่ได้ช่วยรัส คัลโลเวย์ ให้ชนะคดีหย่าร้างจากภรรยาเก่าได้ เจมี มันโรทนายความสาวซึ่งว่าความให้กับเมียเก่าของเขา ช่วยให้เจ้าหล่อนได้แบ่งสมบัติของรัสไปครึ่งหนึ่ง ทั้งที่ตัวเมียเก่านั่นแหละเป็นคนที่นอกใจ และต้องการเดินออกจากชีวิตคู่ไป
รัสคงจะไม่เจ็บใจ หรือโกรธแค้นเจมีมากขนาดนี้ หากเขาไม่ได้รู้จักกับเธอตั้งแต่สมัยเรียนโรงเรียนกฎหมายมาด้วยกัน ไม่ได้เป็นเพื่อนกัน การที่เจมีว่าความให้เมียเก่า ก็เหมือนเธอทรยศเขา นั่นทำให้แม้เวลาผ่านไปหลายปี รัสก็ยังโกรธเจมีไม่หาย
สำหรับเจมี การย้ายมาที่เมืองคอปเปอร์ เลค เป็นสิ่งที่เธอต้องการอย่างยิ่ง หลังจากเป็นทนายความในเมืองใหญ่ และถูกทำร้ายจนต้องการเปลี่ยนที่อยู่ คอปเปอร์ เลคเป็นบ้านเกิดของเพื่อนสนิทของเธอ ร็อบบี้ คัลโลเวย์ น้องชายของรัส และแม้มันจะเป็นที่เดียวกับที่รัสอาศัยอยู่ เจมีก็คิดว่าคุ้มค่า
ความเป็นอริของทั้งคู่คงจะดำเนินต่อไปเรื่อย ๆ หากไม่ได้มีคนคิดปองร้ายเจมี จู่ ๆ ก็มีคนลึกลับนำของขวัญ และคำขู่มาทิ้งไว้ให้เธอ จนหญิงสาวรู้สึกถูกคุกคาม และเมื่อมีคนวางยาหมาที่เธอเลี้ยง เจมีก็ตระหนักในอันตรายที่ใกล้มาถึง และสถานที่ที่เธออาจจะปลอดภัยที่สุด กลับกลายเป็นบ้านของรัส เพราะทุกคนรู้ว่า ทั้งสองเป็นศัตรุกัน ดังนั้นคงจะไม่มีใครคิดตามหาเจมีที่บ้านของเขา
นั่นจึงเป็นครั้งแรกที่อริทั้งสองเริ่มมองกันและกัน ด้วยสายตาที่เปลี่ยนไป
เจมีว่าความให้ภรรยาของรัส เพราะนั่นคือ อาชีพของเธอ สำหรับทนายความในเมืองเล็ก เธอไม่มีสิทธิปฏิเสธลูกความคนไหน ถ้าหากคิดจากอยู่รอด และเธอก็ไม่คิดว่า รัสจะโง่พอที่จะว่าความให้ตัวเอง เพราะแม้ชายหนุ่มจะเรียนจบกฎหมาย แต่ก็ไม่เคยทำงานด้านนี้ ในขณะเดียวกันเจมีก็อกหัก เธอและรัสเคยมีความสัมพันธ์กันในช่วงสั้น ๆ ระหว่างที่เรียนกฎหมาย และรัสก็เจอกับเมียของเขา หญิงสาวที่ทำให้รัสทิ้งเจมีไปอย่างไม่แยแส เจมีไม่เคยหายเจ็บปวดจากการโดนทิ้ง ในขณะที่รัสกลับไม่รู้ตัวเลยด้วยซ้ำว่าได้หักอกเพื่อนคนนี้ไปแล้ว
เล่มนี้แปลกดีนะคะ นี่เป็นเรื่องแนวที่พระเอกและนางเอกเคยมีความสัมพันธ์กันมาก่อน และแม้จะจบลง ก็เป็นเพราะพระเอกเจอกับผู้หญิงคนอื่น คนที่เขาคิดว่า เป็นคนที่ "ใช่" สำหรับเขา เล่มนี้มาแนวใหม่ เพราะนางเอกคือ หญิงสาวที่ถูกทิ้งไป ในขณะที่คนที่พระเอกคิดว่า "ใช่" กลับไม่ใช่ของจริง
ด้วยหน้ากระดาษที่จำกัด ทำให้เรื่องนี้ไม่ค่อยลงตัวในส่วนสืบสวน และโรแมนซ์ ด้านนึงเราชอบความ "แปลก" ของเล่มนี้นะคะ ที่รัสไม่รู้เลยด้วยซ้ำว่า หักอกเจมีไป และความรู้สึกที่เขามีให้กับเธอ ก็เหมือนการพัฒนาขึ้นมาใหม่ การที่เขาเรียนรู้ว่า นางในฝันบางทีไม่ต้องพบและตกหลุมรักตั้งแต่แรกเห็น แต่กลับเป็นใครคนนึงที่อยู่ในชีวิตของเขาเป็นเวลานาน เพียงแต่เขาสังเกตเห็น อย่างไรก็ตาม เรารู้สึกว่า เวลาที่มีในเรื่อง มันไม่เพียงพอที่จะทำให้เรารู้สึกว่า ความรู้สึกนี้น่าเชื่อเต็มร้อย เรายังคิดว่า มันดูเร่งรัดเกินไปหน่อย
ทางด้านสืบสวนนี่ถือว่า สอบตกค่ะ เราเดาผู้ร้ายได้ตั้งแต่ครั้งแรกที่เริ่มพูดประเด็นนี้กันด้วยซ้ำ
คะแนนที่ 63
November 12, 2008
Liked the romance a lot, but found the heroine's "stalker" to be obvious from the beginning.
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January 20, 2009Quick read about a man who falls for the lawyer who helps his ex wife during his divorce. He considers her the enemy until he gets to know her.
August 5, 2013
This is the 2nd book I read by Marilyn Pappano. The storyline didn't hold my interest like the 1st book. I'm sorry I couldn't finish this one.
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