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Desire Never Changes
Ever since their passionate encounter, Somer's dreams had been filled with the lean, tanned body of Chase Lorimer. She hadn't been able to look at another man - even though she'd thought she'd never see Chase again. — Now, Chase was back, and this time he wanted marriage - but on his terms. Somer had two choices: she could consent to be a convenient wife, or spend the rest of her life dreaming about him. Although the situation wasn't ideal, she knew she had to take a chance on the real thing...
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,161 books678 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 29, 2015
4.5 STARS
For me, this was one of the better books by Penny.
In this one Somer an innocent girl meets and offers herself to a hot photographer after finding her fiancée in bed with another. He of course refuses as he feels he would be standing in for another man. However, he was very tempted.
His name is Chase which is a play on words here because he does nothing but chase her.
It's really awesome.
He has been looking for her for 5 long years and was carrying a torch for her big time.
She is of course in complete denial how could he want her now?
Read this one as it's an almost perfect book.
Trigger Warning: this book contains elements of dubious content.
For me, this was one of the better books by Penny.
In this one Somer an innocent girl meets and offers herself to a hot photographer after finding her fiancée in bed with another. He of course refuses as he feels he would be standing in for another man. However, he was very tempted.
His name is Chase which is a play on words here because he does nothing but chase her.
It's really awesome.
He has been looking for her for 5 long years and was carrying a torch for her big time.
She is of course in complete denial how could he want her now?
Read this one as it's an almost perfect book.
Trigger Warning: this book contains elements of dubious content.
May 13, 2016
Re Desire Never Changes - PJ is back with a blackmailing H who gets occasional tropical fevers (but no sponging this time around,) and the usual PJ h (a computer programmer and heiress to her father's oil fortune, with a fierce Scottish temper,) who is firmly convinced she is unattractive and unable to achieve full womanhood cause nobody follows through on their punishing kisses.
Yep, this h is stunningly beautiful, rich and elegant and yet she can't make it past first base with a guy - good thing the H is back to change all that.
The story starts when the h is 18 and in love and excitedly flying off to the Isle of Jersey to see her darling beloved who has recently proposed, the h is twinking the tiny diamond chip to prove it. He is a hotel manager and the h has been visiting her dear father, who is rather leery of the young man who is the proposed fiance and has talked the h into waiting another 9 months.
For once in a PJ story, we get an actual concerned and nice parent, tho the requisite death of the mum took place several years earlier. It just isn't a PJ book if both parents are alive, happy and love the h.
The h gets to Jersey and is greeted by an evil witch of woman who was sent by the fiance to show the h around. Needless to say, with the OW appearance and her very sub-par approach to hotel guest relations consisting of snide innuendo and catty remarks, we get the ominous feeling that this little jaunt for the h isn't going to end well.
Indeed, three pages later the h sneaks off to her fiance's room early one morning and slips inside, only to hear the OW and the fiance plotting their future affair after the marriage and planning on spending the h's money on pricey luxury tropical retreats and then discussing the cash set up for the divorce. The fiance is brutal in his comments on how unappealing the h is physically, apparently he is having doubts about his ability to lie back and think of England.
Happily, such a sacrifice won't be necessary, cause the h walks into the bedroom and tosses the diamond chip on to the double occupancy bed and tells the fiance he is finished for her. Then she wanders down to the lobby and chances upon a very handsome famous photographer looking for directions to a hidden cove. The h just happens to know the way and in a bold move spurred by the horrible pain of rejection, she invites herself along on the outing.
The handsome H agrees and the stunned expressions of the OW and the ex fiance as the h takes off with the most attractive man on the Isle is worth the discomfort the h endures for having forced herself upon the H.
They get to the cove and the h vacillates between flirtation and frigidity. She is getting increasingly desperate to escape, but the other part of her is determined that SOMEONE is going to make love to her, so three glasses of wine and few nude photos later, the h is ready to cast her bonnet over the windmill and lie back for England herself.
Then she blurts out that she is just HAS to rid herself of her virginity and the reason is her gallivanting ex, and the H loses his temper. He rejects the h pretty fiercely and accuses her of using his body and not caring about him as a person, (poor baby, and all those lovely ladies he is marking time with were so special and appreciated by him too - all 150 or so of them) and then he takes the h back to the hotel after threatening her with a serious TALK later that evening.
Well the h has had just about all the rejection she can stand and she escapes on the next available flight. She bitterly reflects that she has crossed the line into adulthood but womanhood is forever denied her now, cause she couldn't give her virginity away on a street corner in SoHo. The h returns home and starts a low-key and elegant life style acting as her father's hostess and writes computer programs for some tidy profit. She casually dates but she will never get close to a man again, they just aren't worth the pain of rejection.
Five years on, she gets a note from the H in the mail demanding she show up at his house later that evening or he will show up at her's. The h is shocked and her impulse is not to go, but the h's father is the top contender for an Ambassadorship to an oil-rich but very conservative Middle Eastern country and the h has the uneasy feeling that if she doesn't show up, the H will follow thru on his threats and the events of five years ago might come out.
She goes and is flabbergasted when the H demands marriage, she has no intention of marrying anybody ever and firmly refuses. The H tells her he needs a wife to gain control of his late Uncle's huge inheritance, marriage is a condition of the will. He tells her they will divorce in 12 months. Then the H flashes the nude pics he took of the h at 18 and the h is sunk and she knows it.
Her dad's appointment couldn't stand the scandal if those pictures were made public, since the h's high moral tone is one of the big deciding factors in the dad's favor. (I guess the assumption is that if the dad raised such a proper lady, he will do well with the very conservative culture he is about to enter as the English Ambassador.) The h asks for time to think about it, but the note she sends accepting the next day is pretty anti-climatic, we all know that the wedding is imminent.
The H shows up later that night and springs the announcement on the h's father and god parents and the rush to the wedding is on. At the wedding, the h isn't happy at all and we find out the H is a twin with a very bossy sister and that twins run in the family for generations. So now we all are warned. They marry and the H thinks it will be fun to go back to Jersey and humiliate the h some more.
They arrive and guess who is wandering around the hotel, the ex-fiance and he sure looks happy to see the h. The H is furious and the h is coldly ignoring his tantrums, he forbids the h to sleep with her ex, and snidely assumes that tho she has been a raging tart for the last five years, she can just practice a little restraint going forward.
(Which I did not quite get, because five years earlier the h only gave the H her first name, he never knew who she was until he saw the h's photo in the paper a few weeks ago. She was the daughter of a very famous man and the H owns a television network, if she really was a wild tart she would have been all over the gossip columns and yet her media reputation is that she is something of an old-fashioned moral prude. However these seeming contradictions are the PJ way, so we just have to go with it - The H thinks she is outdoing Debbie in Dallas when it comes to the hookup.)
The H storms off and the ex shows up to invite the h out for the day. Along the way we find out the ex married his OW cause she was preggers, but a little matter of matrimony won't prevent him from enjoying some quality time with the h. The h is amused, the ex hasn't aged well at all and she easily deflects his amorous intent. The ex returns her to her hotel suite, only to be confronted by his jealous OW wife and the equally furious H. There are some words, the unhappily wedded couple depart and the H conducts his forced seduction of the h.
It starts off bad, gets pretty great and then crashes and burns for the h when the H realizes she is still a virgin. Not that the experience did a whole lot for her physically, and the H seems to be rather upset with himself. The h is not too feeling great either and the H decides they are leaving for London.
The honeymoon is over. The next few months are filled with the h and H being distant and the H trying to make the h jealous with HIS ex-lover, a TV star. The h and H-OW and H have a nasty confrontation in the H's office and the h leaves them to renew their former bliss now that the H-OW is getting a divorce and is ready to resume H/OW relations.
The h gets back to the house she and the H share, when who should pop up but HER ex OM. He flew all the way to London to convince the h to hookup with him and the h rejects him, but as he is punishingly kissing her as a final goodbye, the H drives up and sees them.
Looks like turnabout is fair play, the H is NOT happy. The h and H start fighting again and the h finally tells him what all the rejections have done to her and that he forced her into a five year frigidity. Then she goes to bed.
The H sneaks into her bed later and passionate smexxing ensues. Then they go to his uncle's country home. The H demands that the h refurbish it so he can get something out the marriage. The h reminds him he is getting a significant inheritance but that doesn't seem to be much of a panacea. They stay with the H's sister with her bratty, mouthy kids and then they go back to London so the H can see his actress.
The h is miserable but limping along, and then the H and she have some more passionate loving after there is a military crisis in the Middle Eastern country her father is posted to and the H manages to use his contacts to ascertain the father's safety after he was reported missing.
The h thinks things might be turning around when the H asks her out to dinner for that evening, but that happy feeling is quickly banished when the H's OW actress shows up and tells the h that the H won't be home that night. The H-OW's words turn out to be true and the h dismisses the H when he calls and goes back to the country to finish decorating his country house, leaving him to his OW.
She ignores his calls for the next few days and the H sends his sister over to interrogate her. The sister implies the h is preggers and the h continues to work on the house. Late that night the h is suddenly awoken by a sound and manages to faint when it is the H and not an intruder. She wakes in the H's arms and the big confession begins.
The H fell in love with the h five years ago, but she only wanted to get rid of her virginity and then she disappeared. He tried to destroy the pictures he had of the h, but couldn't do it and carried one around in his wallet - even as he was paying for his other ladies on numerous dates.
He finally saw the h's picture in the paper and decided on his blackmail scheme, then he decided to make the h jealous with his old lover, but the h had her own ex to counteract his. He tells the h that love and longing made him crazy. He swears he normally doesn't go around lying about needing a wife for an inheritance - his uncle turned most everything over to him years earlier, as his sister stated when she visited- and he REALLY doesn't go around blackmailing unwilling women into relationships or marriage. (So it isn't him, it is her.) He had to with her because he lurves her just SO MUCH. He also knows the h is attracted to him back, so there IS something there to build a marriage on.
The h confesses that she lurves him back, she wasn't in love with the ex-fiance as she earlier implied, and the house decorating needs to get done soon - she is expecting twins. The HEA is the dual christening of twin baby girls and the H kicking his sister and her wild children out to be alone with his h.
This one is a classic PJ drama, and while I question the H's intelligence when he flaunts his ex lover in front of the h in a bid to jealous her into lurve, I thought this one was a fairly decent read even with all the PJisms - the H did a nice grovel. The h was a bit neurotic, but she held her own corner well and the rest of her anxiety was understandable. The inconsistencies are there but overlookable, and the HEA is pretty believable and not just because PJ said so.
Yep, this h is stunningly beautiful, rich and elegant and yet she can't make it past first base with a guy - good thing the H is back to change all that.
The story starts when the h is 18 and in love and excitedly flying off to the Isle of Jersey to see her darling beloved who has recently proposed, the h is twinking the tiny diamond chip to prove it. He is a hotel manager and the h has been visiting her dear father, who is rather leery of the young man who is the proposed fiance and has talked the h into waiting another 9 months.
For once in a PJ story, we get an actual concerned and nice parent, tho the requisite death of the mum took place several years earlier. It just isn't a PJ book if both parents are alive, happy and love the h.
The h gets to Jersey and is greeted by an evil witch of woman who was sent by the fiance to show the h around. Needless to say, with the OW appearance and her very sub-par approach to hotel guest relations consisting of snide innuendo and catty remarks, we get the ominous feeling that this little jaunt for the h isn't going to end well.
Indeed, three pages later the h sneaks off to her fiance's room early one morning and slips inside, only to hear the OW and the fiance plotting their future affair after the marriage and planning on spending the h's money on pricey luxury tropical retreats and then discussing the cash set up for the divorce. The fiance is brutal in his comments on how unappealing the h is physically, apparently he is having doubts about his ability to lie back and think of England.
Happily, such a sacrifice won't be necessary, cause the h walks into the bedroom and tosses the diamond chip on to the double occupancy bed and tells the fiance he is finished for her. Then she wanders down to the lobby and chances upon a very handsome famous photographer looking for directions to a hidden cove. The h just happens to know the way and in a bold move spurred by the horrible pain of rejection, she invites herself along on the outing.
The handsome H agrees and the stunned expressions of the OW and the ex fiance as the h takes off with the most attractive man on the Isle is worth the discomfort the h endures for having forced herself upon the H.
They get to the cove and the h vacillates between flirtation and frigidity. She is getting increasingly desperate to escape, but the other part of her is determined that SOMEONE is going to make love to her, so three glasses of wine and few nude photos later, the h is ready to cast her bonnet over the windmill and lie back for England herself.
Then she blurts out that she is just HAS to rid herself of her virginity and the reason is her gallivanting ex, and the H loses his temper. He rejects the h pretty fiercely and accuses her of using his body and not caring about him as a person, (poor baby, and all those lovely ladies he is marking time with were so special and appreciated by him too - all 150 or so of them) and then he takes the h back to the hotel after threatening her with a serious TALK later that evening.
Well the h has had just about all the rejection she can stand and she escapes on the next available flight. She bitterly reflects that she has crossed the line into adulthood but womanhood is forever denied her now, cause she couldn't give her virginity away on a street corner in SoHo. The h returns home and starts a low-key and elegant life style acting as her father's hostess and writes computer programs for some tidy profit. She casually dates but she will never get close to a man again, they just aren't worth the pain of rejection.
Five years on, she gets a note from the H in the mail demanding she show up at his house later that evening or he will show up at her's. The h is shocked and her impulse is not to go, but the h's father is the top contender for an Ambassadorship to an oil-rich but very conservative Middle Eastern country and the h has the uneasy feeling that if she doesn't show up, the H will follow thru on his threats and the events of five years ago might come out.
She goes and is flabbergasted when the H demands marriage, she has no intention of marrying anybody ever and firmly refuses. The H tells her he needs a wife to gain control of his late Uncle's huge inheritance, marriage is a condition of the will. He tells her they will divorce in 12 months. Then the H flashes the nude pics he took of the h at 18 and the h is sunk and she knows it.
Her dad's appointment couldn't stand the scandal if those pictures were made public, since the h's high moral tone is one of the big deciding factors in the dad's favor. (I guess the assumption is that if the dad raised such a proper lady, he will do well with the very conservative culture he is about to enter as the English Ambassador.) The h asks for time to think about it, but the note she sends accepting the next day is pretty anti-climatic, we all know that the wedding is imminent.
The H shows up later that night and springs the announcement on the h's father and god parents and the rush to the wedding is on. At the wedding, the h isn't happy at all and we find out the H is a twin with a very bossy sister and that twins run in the family for generations. So now we all are warned. They marry and the H thinks it will be fun to go back to Jersey and humiliate the h some more.
They arrive and guess who is wandering around the hotel, the ex-fiance and he sure looks happy to see the h. The H is furious and the h is coldly ignoring his tantrums, he forbids the h to sleep with her ex, and snidely assumes that tho she has been a raging tart for the last five years, she can just practice a little restraint going forward.
(Which I did not quite get, because five years earlier the h only gave the H her first name, he never knew who she was until he saw the h's photo in the paper a few weeks ago. She was the daughter of a very famous man and the H owns a television network, if she really was a wild tart she would have been all over the gossip columns and yet her media reputation is that she is something of an old-fashioned moral prude. However these seeming contradictions are the PJ way, so we just have to go with it - The H thinks she is outdoing Debbie in Dallas when it comes to the hookup.)
The H storms off and the ex shows up to invite the h out for the day. Along the way we find out the ex married his OW cause she was preggers, but a little matter of matrimony won't prevent him from enjoying some quality time with the h. The h is amused, the ex hasn't aged well at all and she easily deflects his amorous intent. The ex returns her to her hotel suite, only to be confronted by his jealous OW wife and the equally furious H. There are some words, the unhappily wedded couple depart and the H conducts his forced seduction of the h.
It starts off bad, gets pretty great and then crashes and burns for the h when the H realizes she is still a virgin. Not that the experience did a whole lot for her physically, and the H seems to be rather upset with himself. The h is not too feeling great either and the H decides they are leaving for London.
The honeymoon is over. The next few months are filled with the h and H being distant and the H trying to make the h jealous with HIS ex-lover, a TV star. The h and H-OW and H have a nasty confrontation in the H's office and the h leaves them to renew their former bliss now that the H-OW is getting a divorce and is ready to resume H/OW relations.
The h gets back to the house she and the H share, when who should pop up but HER ex OM. He flew all the way to London to convince the h to hookup with him and the h rejects him, but as he is punishingly kissing her as a final goodbye, the H drives up and sees them.
Looks like turnabout is fair play, the H is NOT happy. The h and H start fighting again and the h finally tells him what all the rejections have done to her and that he forced her into a five year frigidity. Then she goes to bed.
The H sneaks into her bed later and passionate smexxing ensues. Then they go to his uncle's country home. The H demands that the h refurbish it so he can get something out the marriage. The h reminds him he is getting a significant inheritance but that doesn't seem to be much of a panacea. They stay with the H's sister with her bratty, mouthy kids and then they go back to London so the H can see his actress.
The h is miserable but limping along, and then the H and she have some more passionate loving after there is a military crisis in the Middle Eastern country her father is posted to and the H manages to use his contacts to ascertain the father's safety after he was reported missing.
The h thinks things might be turning around when the H asks her out to dinner for that evening, but that happy feeling is quickly banished when the H's OW actress shows up and tells the h that the H won't be home that night. The H-OW's words turn out to be true and the h dismisses the H when he calls and goes back to the country to finish decorating his country house, leaving him to his OW.
She ignores his calls for the next few days and the H sends his sister over to interrogate her. The sister implies the h is preggers and the h continues to work on the house. Late that night the h is suddenly awoken by a sound and manages to faint when it is the H and not an intruder. She wakes in the H's arms and the big confession begins.
The H fell in love with the h five years ago, but she only wanted to get rid of her virginity and then she disappeared. He tried to destroy the pictures he had of the h, but couldn't do it and carried one around in his wallet - even as he was paying for his other ladies on numerous dates.
He finally saw the h's picture in the paper and decided on his blackmail scheme, then he decided to make the h jealous with his old lover, but the h had her own ex to counteract his. He tells the h that love and longing made him crazy. He swears he normally doesn't go around lying about needing a wife for an inheritance - his uncle turned most everything over to him years earlier, as his sister stated when she visited- and he REALLY doesn't go around blackmailing unwilling women into relationships or marriage. (So it isn't him, it is her.) He had to with her because he lurves her just SO MUCH. He also knows the h is attracted to him back, so there IS something there to build a marriage on.
The h confesses that she lurves him back, she wasn't in love with the ex-fiance as she earlier implied, and the house decorating needs to get done soon - she is expecting twins. The HEA is the dual christening of twin baby girls and the H kicking his sister and her wild children out to be alone with his h.
This one is a classic PJ drama, and while I question the H's intelligence when he flaunts his ex lover in front of the h in a bid to jealous her into lurve, I thought this one was a fairly decent read even with all the PJisms - the H did a nice grovel. The h was a bit neurotic, but she held her own corner well and the rest of her anxiety was understandable. The inconsistencies are there but overlookable, and the HEA is pretty believable and not just because PJ said so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2013
18 year old Somer is engaged and crazy in love with Andrew. When she finds out the truth about him that he is a cheater who is after her money she is heartbroken and wants revenge and so she decides to sleep with another man a sexy and sophisticated stranger she met at her hotel.
Chase is a photographer who has quite a reputation with women. He is attracted to Somer but when he finds out her reasons for wanting to sleep with him he is reluctant to take her virginity. He rejects her but 5 years later hero is back in her life and blackmails her into a temporary marriage so he can claim his inheritance.
Beautiful love story! I loved how hero was so smitten with Somer he always carried her pic close to his heart. Somer was also amazing. She is strong and mature but her insecurities and vulnerability made her such an endearing heroine. I liked how fast she realized her one true love was Chase and not her asshole cheating fiancé! Gotta love PJ!
Chase is a photographer who has quite a reputation with women. He is attracted to Somer but when he finds out her reasons for wanting to sleep with him he is reluctant to take her virginity. He rejects her but 5 years later hero is back in her life and blackmails her into a temporary marriage so he can claim his inheritance.
Beautiful love story! I loved how hero was so smitten with Somer he always carried her pic close to his heart. Somer was also amazing. She is strong and mature but her insecurities and vulnerability made her such an endearing heroine. I liked how fast she realized her one true love was Chase and not her asshole cheating fiancé! Gotta love PJ!
March 9, 2017
An obsessed hero. An obsessed heroine. They haven't forgotten each other in five years. What could go wrong? Nothing that a little communication couldn't solve, but then we wouldn't have a blackmailed bride, a return-to-the-scene-of-the-crime honeymoon, and a wannabe OW and OM to keep the drama going.
In spite of their less-than-logical life choices(Return to the Isle Jersey where the heroine found her fiance in bed with another woman? Flaunt an actress in front of your wife to make her jealous? Lie and say you're still in love with the fiance who jilted you?), I liked both the H/h. Oh, the h had the typical PJ neurosis that lasts years and the hero was blithely sure that an 18 year-old was sexually sophisticated, but underneath it all they were both vulnerable people who couldn't find the words to declare themselves.
A solid PJ story with lots of intensity and likable characters.
In spite of their less-than-logical life choices(Return to the Isle Jersey where the heroine found her fiance in bed with another woman? Flaunt an actress in front of your wife to make her jealous? Lie and say you're still in love with the fiance who jilted you?), I liked both the H/h. Oh, the h had the typical PJ neurosis that lasts years and the hero was blithely sure that an 18 year-old was sexually sophisticated, but underneath it all they were both vulnerable people who couldn't find the words to declare themselves.
A solid PJ story with lots of intensity and likable characters.
July 20, 2015
First read
January 2016
The book started a little slow, but after a few chapters the story got better. I liked hero's grovelling and LOVED the epilogue 💖🤩
Reread
December 20th/2020
Same rating, I still like it. I added to "my favorites" because it's a memorable story for me (I would like to reread it again in the future), good main characters and an epilogue, which is very uncommon in vintage Penny Jordan's books.
January 2016
The book started a little slow, but after a few chapters the story got better. I liked hero's grovelling and LOVED the epilogue 💖🤩
Reread
December 20th/2020
Same rating, I still like it. I added to "my favorites" because it's a memorable story for me (I would like to reread it again in the future), good main characters and an epilogue, which is very uncommon in vintage Penny Jordan's books.
September 30, 2021
So here we have the hero both slut-shaming and virgin-shaming the heroine.
He tries to seduce her when she’s 18 thinking she’s experienced and promiscuous then when she tells him she’s a virgin he doesn’t want her because she’s inexperienced. And the thing goes on even years later when he blackmails her into marriage pretending he has to get married to inherit. Actually he’s been in love with her for all these years, even if this eternal love didn’t stop him from shagging horde of women, while the heroine remains celibate and frozen.
Since he has the brains of an ant, he thinks she is still a virgin because she was in love with her ex, the same ex she wanted to forget when she met the hero and he tried to seduce her.
And since she’s not much better she doesn’t deny.
In the end between om/ow and lies and pretending I wanted to have a scan of their brains to see if there was still life on at least one of them.
I don’t believe for one moment he was in love with her since he has been with many ow during their separation.
I don’t understand why the heroine was kind to her ex fiancé, a man who coldly planned to marry her and then have his ways with his lover, and the heroine found them in bed together making fun of her. Why did she still accepted to see him? Because he’s snow a friend? A friend who betrayed you like that??
Seriously? Such friend he is.
Anyway nice PJ book if you don’t expect too much, with some sexy scenes her usual style, the oil rubbing on a beach and the after shower see through…
He tries to seduce her when she’s 18 thinking she’s experienced and promiscuous then when she tells him she’s a virgin he doesn’t want her because she’s inexperienced. And the thing goes on even years later when he blackmails her into marriage pretending he has to get married to inherit. Actually he’s been in love with her for all these years, even if this eternal love didn’t stop him from shagging horde of women, while the heroine remains celibate and frozen.
Since he has the brains of an ant, he thinks she is still a virgin because she was in love with her ex, the same ex she wanted to forget when she met the hero and he tried to seduce her.
And since she’s not much better she doesn’t deny.
In the end between om/ow and lies and pretending I wanted to have a scan of their brains to see if there was still life on at least one of them.
I don’t believe for one moment he was in love with her since he has been with many ow during their separation.
I don’t understand why the heroine was kind to her ex fiancé, a man who coldly planned to marry her and then have his ways with his lover, and the heroine found them in bed together making fun of her. Why did she still accepted to see him? Because he’s snow a friend? A friend who betrayed you like that??
Seriously? Such friend he is.
Anyway nice PJ book if you don’t expect too much, with some sexy scenes her usual style, the oil rubbing on a beach and the after shower see through…
May 28, 2022
I was a little underwhelmed by this book because it didn't really make a lot of sense. His goal is to win her back. He knows that his behavior has turned her into an extremely bitter and mistrustful person. So his first thought is to be constantly saying cruel things to her and to set up an OW to try and make her jealous? Is he an idiot or is he simply a sadist? All he had to do was be kind and honest to her and she would have come around. That is all he had to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2017
Parts of it were good, but man I hate how the OW never got told off, and Chase was forgiven for his charade with the OW so easily. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's having the heroine be publicly humiliated. I prefer my Heroes to not stand for anybody disrespecting their heroines! I know it didn't play a major part in the story, but the part where Somer goes to the office and the receptionist and secretary both know Chase is having a cozy scene with the OW really tested my blood pressure. Clancy (nice name for a heifer btw) totally disparaged Somer, his wife, and made fun of her looks, her bed skills, and her femininity, and Chase just backed her up! And now his employees, people who work with him everyday, are going to feel pity and scorn for his stupid wife whom they saw he has no respect for. I understand he wanted to make her feel jealous, but I don't think it's acceptable to make her a public object of ridicule to his workers at the same time. So, minor incident, but it got my goat, especially when they both laughed it off in the neat little ending with barely a one-liner.
March 31, 2014
Dating from 1986, this is a CLASSIC Jordan romance with all of the fantastic components in it which made her such a wonderful author with enduring appeal for fans of the genre. This is obviously a reissue since Jordan's death in 2012 and the preface to this book states: ":… ‘…her [Jordan’s] success were in part because she continually broke boundaries and evolved her writing to keep up with readers’ changing tastes.’ In fact, I've read Jordan's novels extensively, and I'm a huge fan of her stuff, but I've got to say, she really only wrote about 8 books and just changed the tropes around that she used and the characters names to make her stuff seem new. This one is a real case in point. For example, in this one, her hero is subject to outbursts of tropical fever during which he raves about the heroine and how much he loves her; this has come up once or twice before. Also, in this one, the hero is hounded by a vampy more experienced woman who tries to split the couple up and the heroine is hounded by a wimpy ex-fiance (who you knew from the beginning wasn't going to be up to much, because he was too short at 5' 10" and he's got a too ordinary name "Andrew"; i.e. not Chase or Wolfe or Tigre...). All of these are things which she has used in her stories before.
That said, her work DOES always manage to be refreshing and seem new and this is a wonderful example of Jordan's work in the 80s when she was at the height of her powers as a Mills and Boon Novelist. For example, what is new in this one is the very gothic strain to the story which is the first time I've noticed this in Jordan's romances. The heroine is motherless and unprotected (actually, Jordan has used that before too...), like a gothic heroine she is childlike and innocent, Chase uses a species of hypnotic mesmerism (think Dracula/George Du Maurier's Trilby, etc) to subdue her and make her bend to his will, there is a spooky scene where the bedroom door creaks open in a ghostly way (it's him breaking into her bedroom) and at one point, during a row, she states she wants to "dismember him". "Very bloodthirsty" is his response. However, don't get your hopes up - the Gothic strain is not too persistent - this is a mills and boon after all, and the main event is the romance.
And there's plenty of romance to be had here. Chase is sizzlingly sexy and the heroine goes on a fantastic journey in discovering her own sexuality as the obvious adoration of the hero for the heroine becomes clear. I say "obvious" but it isn't all that obvious to Somer (heroine) who has self-esteem issues and clearly doesn't believe that anyone can ever love her. There is some lovely nostalgia in the story (at one point the hero asks the heroine to wear sapphire blue stockings... remember them being popular during the 80s???) and this work really does illustrate just why Jordan was so successful as a novelist - she's giving us all what we would love to happen and are able to vicariously experience through her work - a red-hot, sexy, financially secure man (who's prepared to go out and buy stockings for you, albeit in a dodgy colour) and who is so desperate for you that he's searched for you for five years and is prepared to blackmail you in order to make sure he gets you. Very romantic (sigh).
That said, her work DOES always manage to be refreshing and seem new and this is a wonderful example of Jordan's work in the 80s when she was at the height of her powers as a Mills and Boon Novelist. For example, what is new in this one is the very gothic strain to the story which is the first time I've noticed this in Jordan's romances. The heroine is motherless and unprotected (actually, Jordan has used that before too...), like a gothic heroine she is childlike and innocent, Chase uses a species of hypnotic mesmerism (think Dracula/George Du Maurier's Trilby, etc) to subdue her and make her bend to his will, there is a spooky scene where the bedroom door creaks open in a ghostly way (it's him breaking into her bedroom) and at one point, during a row, she states she wants to "dismember him". "Very bloodthirsty" is his response. However, don't get your hopes up - the Gothic strain is not too persistent - this is a mills and boon after all, and the main event is the romance.
And there's plenty of romance to be had here. Chase is sizzlingly sexy and the heroine goes on a fantastic journey in discovering her own sexuality as the obvious adoration of the hero for the heroine becomes clear. I say "obvious" but it isn't all that obvious to Somer (heroine) who has self-esteem issues and clearly doesn't believe that anyone can ever love her. There is some lovely nostalgia in the story (at one point the hero asks the heroine to wear sapphire blue stockings... remember them being popular during the 80s???) and this work really does illustrate just why Jordan was so successful as a novelist - she's giving us all what we would love to happen and are able to vicariously experience through her work - a red-hot, sexy, financially secure man (who's prepared to go out and buy stockings for you, albeit in a dodgy colour) and who is so desperate for you that he's searched for you for five years and is prepared to blackmail you in order to make sure he gets you. Very romantic (sigh).
January 10, 2019
"Desire Never Changes" is the story of Somer and Change.
The book begins when our naive 18 year old h is madly in love with OM, pressuring her father to let her marry him. She goes away on a vacation to the his workplace, and meets a mysterious stranger, who turns out to be a famous photographer- that is our 28 year old hero.
Her rosy dreams are shattered when she finds her fiance in bed with bitchy OW2, and runs to find solace with our H. They have an almost interlude on the beach, where the H photographs her, almost molests her and realizes that she might be using him to get over her fiance. Verbal beating down occurs, and the h runs away.
5 years later, she is a successful businesswoman, whose father has been elected to a prestigious foreign post. The H then re-enters her life, blackmailing her to marry him so that he can gain his inheritance, and the h reluctantly agrees.
Thus begins a painful reading experience with a couple who refuses to communicate, and spends 90% of the book one-upping each other by throwing OM/OW1 at each other's face to make the latter jealous. Every nice gesture is followed by a taunt, and soon multiple bouts of jealousy. They refuse to confess their feelings, instead bullshitting around each other. Yes, they have sexual chemistry, yes the hero is obsessed but their "nefarious" planning made my head hurt.
Meh.
SWE
2/5
The book begins when our naive 18 year old h is madly in love with OM, pressuring her father to let her marry him. She goes away on a vacation to the his workplace, and meets a mysterious stranger, who turns out to be a famous photographer- that is our 28 year old hero.
Her rosy dreams are shattered when she finds her fiance in bed with bitchy OW2, and runs to find solace with our H. They have an almost interlude on the beach, where the H photographs her, almost molests her and realizes that she might be using him to get over her fiance. Verbal beating down occurs, and the h runs away.
5 years later, she is a successful businesswoman, whose father has been elected to a prestigious foreign post. The H then re-enters her life, blackmailing her to marry him so that he can gain his inheritance, and the h reluctantly agrees.
Thus begins a painful reading experience with a couple who refuses to communicate, and spends 90% of the book one-upping each other by throwing OM/OW1 at each other's face to make the latter jealous. Every nice gesture is followed by a taunt, and soon multiple bouts of jealousy. They refuse to confess their feelings, instead bullshitting around each other. Yes, they have sexual chemistry, yes the hero is obsessed but their "nefarious" planning made my head hurt.
Meh.
SWE
2/5
March 14, 2018
3.75🌟
June 30, 2021
Favorite part was the ending with their twin daughters
October 2, 2014
3-1/2 stars
This was one of those books that I enjoyed but wanted to edit as I went along. The heroine's actions for example. She overreacted to the hero's actions and kept saying words to the effect that "you devastated me by rejecting me sexually" when in fact he had said "now is not the time, you seem to be making a knee jerk reaction to finding your fiance in bed with another woman, let's talk about this." Not really the same thing. So either have her react to what he actually said or have him be more brutal and cutting to her. It's not as if HP heroes haven't been brutal before about young girls, she is 18 here, coming on to them.
But ignoring that it was fun. Especially knowing that the hero totally made up his blackmail scheme to get her to marry him 5 years later.
This was one of those books that I enjoyed but wanted to edit as I went along. The heroine's actions for example. She overreacted to the hero's actions and kept saying words to the effect that "you devastated me by rejecting me sexually" when in fact he had said "now is not the time, you seem to be making a knee jerk reaction to finding your fiance in bed with another woman, let's talk about this." Not really the same thing. So either have her react to what he actually said or have him be more brutal and cutting to her. It's not as if HP heroes haven't been brutal before about young girls, she is 18 here, coming on to them.
But ignoring that it was fun. Especially knowing that the hero totally made up his blackmail scheme to get her to marry him 5 years later.
May 14, 2016
3.75 stars I love Penny Jordan books and this one was no exception. Jordan's books always keep me hooked, hot, sensual and passionate. I can definitely see myself re-reading this book again and again :) I love me some obsessed, controlling, totally in love H and you have that here lol! I especially love epilogues so yay for that. Even though HP's have a limited page count, Penny Jordan really packed it in this book.
January 28, 2012
I punched this book but loved it too
Want to Read
January 6, 2016"El deseo no muere"
June 10, 2014
Oh, my. This is why I had such an overwhelmingly negative impression of the entire genre of romance for so long. The copyright date on Desire Never Changes is 1986, but it seems likely that it was written twenty years earlier, and a handful of sentences were added later, making the heroine a computer programmer, to "update" the book for a modern audience. A couple of reasons why I think this: the heroine is asked whether she's a "women's liberationist;" the hero says he understands "why some parents are so keen on rear seat belts;" and the fact that Somer's supposed career in computer programming is not a part of the story at all. I was a 25-year-old newlywed in 1986. This should have been my era. Even back then, the attitudes of the characters would have seemed antiquated.
That aside, the story was irritating. The heroine is 18, and, admittedly realistically for a teenage girl, absolutely positive she was in love forever with her fiance. When she finds out he's cheating on her, and when her subsequent attempt to seduce the hero falls flat, she decides it's because she's a virgin, and that no man would ever want a virgin, so she dedicates herself to being her father's hostess. Okay, that'll work for a few weeks or months with a teenage drama queen (yes, that's redundant), but for 5 years?
And the hero, despite her bizarre behavior, carries a torch for those 5 years. One thing I did find refreshing is that he did initially call her out on trying to use him to get back at her fiance--that's something that's frequently overlooked. Not that she paid any attention, but at least it was mentioned.
Then there's the language. The heroine's breasts in particular are apparently parasitic alien life-forms attached to her chest, because they DO things like move around of their own accord. And of course, the heroine is self-conscious because they're too big. I was a little creeped out, to be honest. There's more ridiculously overwrought language, but I'll spare you.
Throughout the bulk of the book, the hero and heroine take great pains to hide their emotions from each other. His plan seems to be to manipulate her into falling in love with him, though I'm not sure how that plan is supposed to work. And her plan seems to be to preserve her virginity until she can go back to being her father's hostess.
ARGH. I actually started reading this one night before bed and had to change books because it irritated me so badly it was keeping me awake.
That aside, the story was irritating. The heroine is 18, and, admittedly realistically for a teenage girl, absolutely positive she was in love forever with her fiance. When she finds out he's cheating on her, and when her subsequent attempt to seduce the hero falls flat, she decides it's because she's a virgin, and that no man would ever want a virgin, so she dedicates herself to being her father's hostess. Okay, that'll work for a few weeks or months with a teenage drama queen (yes, that's redundant), but for 5 years?
And the hero, despite her bizarre behavior, carries a torch for those 5 years. One thing I did find refreshing is that he did initially call her out on trying to use him to get back at her fiance--that's something that's frequently overlooked. Not that she paid any attention, but at least it was mentioned.
Then there's the language. The heroine's breasts in particular are apparently parasitic alien life-forms attached to her chest, because they DO things like move around of their own accord. And of course, the heroine is self-conscious because they're too big. I was a little creeped out, to be honest. There's more ridiculously overwrought language, but I'll spare you.
Throughout the bulk of the book, the hero and heroine take great pains to hide their emotions from each other. His plan seems to be to manipulate her into falling in love with him, though I'm not sure how that plan is supposed to work. And her plan seems to be to preserve her virginity until she can go back to being her father's hostess.
ARGH. I actually started reading this one night before bed and had to change books because it irritated me so badly it was keeping me awake.
March 23, 2017
Somer the insecure beauty and Chase the illogical hunk.
The first quarter of the story is their first meeting when she was a guache 18 year old virgin and he was a dashing 28 yr old photographer. She had travelled to be with her fiancee but found him with an OW. (Of course the OWs in this are mean scheming cows.) She was already self conscious of her lack of sexual experience when Andrew and the OW rip into her self esteem. Then she has a botched attempt to seduce Chase where he ruins what little was left. It was a strange dance of miscommunication all around... well except for the OW who knew exactly how to turn the knife.
Fast forward 5 years and Somer is now the ice queen and still a virgin. The virginity, for once, is integral to the story because it is a side effect of her earlier humiliation.
Chase finally finds her again (and he has been looking and wondering for years) but instead of being honest and declaring his true feelings, he blackmails her into marriage. The plot just gets more ridiculous and I felt kinda let down by both MCs and their low levels of maturity. (I agree with another reviewer, that with a bit of editing of Somer's knee jerk reactions, it would have been a better story). Skimmed a fair bit of the second half, til the end, where the truth doesn't come out til the last few pages. But the ending was nice. Not really a grovel or even an apology by either MC though (and for once in a Harlequin, they both needed to apologize) . There is Om and OW stuff that means nothing except to be used by both MCs to create jealousy. So overall kinda disappointing and petty. Yes, petty is the perfect word...
The first quarter of the story is their first meeting when she was a guache 18 year old virgin and he was a dashing 28 yr old photographer. She had travelled to be with her fiancee but found him with an OW. (Of course the OWs in this are mean scheming cows.) She was already self conscious of her lack of sexual experience when Andrew and the OW rip into her self esteem. Then she has a botched attempt to seduce Chase where he ruins what little was left. It was a strange dance of miscommunication all around... well except for the OW who knew exactly how to turn the knife.
Fast forward 5 years and Somer is now the ice queen and still a virgin. The virginity, for once, is integral to the story because it is a side effect of her earlier humiliation.
Chase finally finds her again (and he has been looking and wondering for years) but instead of being honest and declaring his true feelings, he blackmails her into marriage. The plot just gets more ridiculous and I felt kinda let down by both MCs and their low levels of maturity. (I agree with another reviewer, that with a bit of editing of Somer's knee jerk reactions, it would have been a better story). Skimmed a fair bit of the second half, til the end, where the truth doesn't come out til the last few pages. But the ending was nice. Not really a grovel or even an apology by either MC though (and for once in a Harlequin, they both needed to apologize) . There is Om and OW stuff that means nothing except to be used by both MCs to create jealousy. So overall kinda disappointing and petty. Yes, petty is the perfect word...
November 16, 2011
Decent one by Penny Jordan, though I'm kind of a sucker for ones where you can tell the hero has been in love with the heroine for a long time.
May 18, 2019
4 stars
great story although it sort of drag for the first chapters but soon after I'm pretty hooked. the H and h are great although some parts kind of annoy me a little bit but overall I like this book. the H's reaction towards his sis' kids are endearing and quite funny for me. It was cute!
great story although it sort of drag for the first chapters but soon after I'm pretty hooked. the H and h are great although some parts kind of annoy me a little bit but overall I like this book. the H's reaction towards his sis' kids are endearing and quite funny for me. It was cute!
June 15, 2022
I found the OM plotline rather tiresome and I honestly couldn't get on board with the h's logic about her undesirability, nevertheless this was a perfectly decent PJ outing.
August 21, 2025
Graphic:
Moderate:
Mild:
Brace yourself, this is going to be a long one and maybe, might, possibly, probably, will contain a teensy bit of swearing.
Also, this review will contain spoilers. Enter at your own risk.
Full disclosure – I don’t generally read category romance as I don’t enjoy it as much as I do other genres, and I probably wouldn’t have read this one if I weren’t participating in GarbAugust. That said, I suspect most of my issues with the book are specific to this book, rather than having anything to do with the fact it’s a category romance, so I’m willing to give the genre another try.
Because this genre isn’t my usual fare, and because I’ll probably end up reading another category romance for next year’s GarbAugust, I chose not to use my usual ratings system. I was worried my lack of experience with the genre may cause me to grade it unfairly. So, instead, I asked ChatGPT to create a list of criteria that category romance fans generally look for, along with a description of what each might look like done well and what each might look like done poorly. I gave each criteria a score out of five, did some maths, and turned the total score into a percentage. A bit more maths, and I ended up with a star rating out of 5.
So, here are the categories, and my reasons for the scores I assigned:
Chemistry & Emotional Connection = 2.5
While there was a physical connection on their first meeting, yet they managed to fall in love? Not buying it.
Hero Characterisation = 2.75
Chase has some redeeming characteristics. Around his family he's a great person, and he wins points for being truly compassionate when , and genuinely concerned over . However, he loses points for the way he speaks to Somer and the way he treats her outside of those circumstances. He is quite mean to her and behaves cruelly. I just couldn’t connect.
Heroine Characterisation = 2
One guy (Andrew) , and, on the same day, another guy (Chase) , and Somer decides is the best way to deal with it. Overreaction much? Then she spends the entire This is the woman I'm supposed to believe runs her father's empire with skill and confidence? Yeah, not buying that one either.
Conflict & Obstacles = 2.5
Look, I get it. There were times when the universe interfered. But honestly, this entire bloody situation could have been resolved with a single sit-down conversation. Instead, we have Somer Then we have Chase Just stop playing games and talk, people! Sheesh.
Pacing & Structure = 2
As I stated earlier, there was just no progression. Disney might eat up that whole love at first sight thing, but a single afternoon I don’t expect romance novels to reflect reality – that’s not why we read them – but a reasonable level of plausibility would be nice.
Emotional Payoff / HEA = 2.75
I’m not going to beat a dead horse. I’ve said everything that needs to be said already.
Setting & Atmosphere = 3
The marriage part of the story takes place It was one of my favourite parts of the story, to be honest.
Tropes & Genre Promises = 3.5
The main tropes in this story are I mean, the tropes weren't executed perfectly, but they weren’t terrible either. Definitely above average, even if not drastically so.
This leaves us with a total score of 21.2 out of a possible 40, leading to a percentage of 0.5275 (53%), which gives us a raw star rating of 2.6375 out of 5. Which, when rounded up, leaves The Convenient Lorimer Wife rated as follows:
Quarter Star Rating = 2.75
Half Star Rating = 3
Full Star Rating = 3
My final thoughts:
The first chapter reads like one of those high school mean girl dramas that were so popular in the nineties. Fortunately, it improves quite a bit once we hit chapter two.
One issue I had is that I’m not a fan of ‘virgin spice’. I prefer all participants to be experienced. Nor do I care for any kind of media which treats virginity as a liability, a burden, something to be gotten rid of as soon as humanly possible. Had this been indicated in the summary, I’d have chosen a different book. She’s only nineteen when the book opens, for crying out loud! What’s the bloody hurry?
My biggest gripe, though, is that the entire premise rests on a simple misunderstanding. Honestly! All their problems would have been solved if they’d’ve just bloody communicated!
All that said, this isn’t a bad book, and I didn’t hate it. It was a reasonably enjoyable read. It won’t be moved into the pool room, but it didn’t make my list of anti-recs either.
Moderate:
Mild:
Brace yourself, this is going to be a long one and maybe, might, possibly, probably, will contain a teensy bit of swearing.
Also, this review will contain spoilers. Enter at your own risk.
Full disclosure – I don’t generally read category romance as I don’t enjoy it as much as I do other genres, and I probably wouldn’t have read this one if I weren’t participating in GarbAugust. That said, I suspect most of my issues with the book are specific to this book, rather than having anything to do with the fact it’s a category romance, so I’m willing to give the genre another try.
Because this genre isn’t my usual fare, and because I’ll probably end up reading another category romance for next year’s GarbAugust, I chose not to use my usual ratings system. I was worried my lack of experience with the genre may cause me to grade it unfairly. So, instead, I asked ChatGPT to create a list of criteria that category romance fans generally look for, along with a description of what each might look like done well and what each might look like done poorly. I gave each criteria a score out of five, did some maths, and turned the total score into a percentage. A bit more maths, and I ended up with a star rating out of 5.
So, here are the categories, and my reasons for the scores I assigned:
Chemistry & Emotional Connection = 2.5
While there was a physical connection on their first meeting, yet they managed to fall in love? Not buying it.
Hero Characterisation = 2.75
Chase has some redeeming characteristics. Around his family he's a great person, and he wins points for being truly compassionate when , and genuinely concerned over . However, he loses points for the way he speaks to Somer and the way he treats her outside of those circumstances. He is quite mean to her and behaves cruelly. I just couldn’t connect.
Heroine Characterisation = 2
One guy (Andrew) , and, on the same day, another guy (Chase) , and Somer decides is the best way to deal with it. Overreaction much? Then she spends the entire This is the woman I'm supposed to believe runs her father's empire with skill and confidence? Yeah, not buying that one either.
Conflict & Obstacles = 2.5
Look, I get it. There were times when the universe interfered. But honestly, this entire bloody situation could have been resolved with a single sit-down conversation. Instead, we have Somer Then we have Chase Just stop playing games and talk, people! Sheesh.
Pacing & Structure = 2
As I stated earlier, there was just no progression. Disney might eat up that whole love at first sight thing, but a single afternoon I don’t expect romance novels to reflect reality – that’s not why we read them – but a reasonable level of plausibility would be nice.
Emotional Payoff / HEA = 2.75
I’m not going to beat a dead horse. I’ve said everything that needs to be said already.
Setting & Atmosphere = 3
The marriage part of the story takes place It was one of my favourite parts of the story, to be honest.
Tropes & Genre Promises = 3.5
The main tropes in this story are I mean, the tropes weren't executed perfectly, but they weren’t terrible either. Definitely above average, even if not drastically so.
This leaves us with a total score of 21.2 out of a possible 40, leading to a percentage of 0.5275 (53%), which gives us a raw star rating of 2.6375 out of 5. Which, when rounded up, leaves The Convenient Lorimer Wife rated as follows:
Quarter Star Rating = 2.75
Half Star Rating = 3
Full Star Rating = 3
My final thoughts:
The first chapter reads like one of those high school mean girl dramas that were so popular in the nineties. Fortunately, it improves quite a bit once we hit chapter two.
One issue I had is that I’m not a fan of ‘virgin spice’. I prefer all participants to be experienced. Nor do I care for any kind of media which treats virginity as a liability, a burden, something to be gotten rid of as soon as humanly possible. Had this been indicated in the summary, I’d have chosen a different book. She’s only nineteen when the book opens, for crying out loud! What’s the bloody hurry?
My biggest gripe, though, is that the entire premise rests on a simple misunderstanding. Honestly! All their problems would have been solved if they’d’ve just bloody communicated!
All that said, this isn’t a bad book, and I didn’t hate it. It was a reasonably enjoyable read. It won’t be moved into the pool room, but it didn’t make my list of anti-recs either.
July 8, 2011
I usually love PJ's books and this one was no exception. I am also partial to the story's with some kind of misunderstood history between them. Loved that the H carried a photo of her around. Loved the twin sister!
July 7, 2021
Unpopular opinion and sadly yet another average rating book. I expect intensity and angst from PJ which is here but I felt like the h was taking everyone on a trip all throughout the book. I quite disliked her!
Somer is at a hotel destination to meet up with her fiancé but finds him in bed with another woman. She blatantly offers a lunch date to a photographer there on a shoot. She’d rather get off her v-card but the photographer finds out he’s a rebound and refuses. Somer feels rejected and embarrassed. No kidding Somer. But he does offer to take some compromised photos of her as a keepsake.
5 years later the photographer who’s the H, threatens an MOC or else he has the pictures.. Somer agrees but strangely keeps meeting and hanging out with her ex fiancé all the time. I really really abhorred this about Somer. While she was engaged, she was barely even hugging her fiancé (now OM) and now that she’s married to the H, Somer finds every excuse under the sun to secretly meet with the OM to hug, kiss, spend the day together, share confidences with.
I was appalled at Somer. I’ve read a million MoC stories but never one where the h was such a tramp. She let OM kiss her quite a few times while her husband is away and agrees to meeting him repeatedly.
The H obviously cares for her but given that he was a photographer back then and he refused to sleep with Somer, it really wasn’t as insulting as Somer May have felt. It really was nothing to feel “rejected” about and carry that misery in your fake marriage. You meet a stranger and he refuses to sleep with you. Now you will carry that grievance for the rest of your life against him. Well. Why should he have???
The H cares for his wife despite their MoC but Somer keeps provoking him by saying how the OM will appreciate the experience she gained in her husband’s arms. She was a h I solely despised. There wasn’t anything left in the book for me.
A miserable long book with nothing to please the reader! I’ve to say yet another to add to my conviction on why I avoid model/actors/ photographer books.
Somer is at a hotel destination to meet up with her fiancé but finds him in bed with another woman. She blatantly offers a lunch date to a photographer there on a shoot. She’d rather get off her v-card but the photographer finds out he’s a rebound and refuses. Somer feels rejected and embarrassed. No kidding Somer. But he does offer to take some compromised photos of her as a keepsake.
5 years later the photographer who’s the H, threatens an MOC or else he has the pictures.. Somer agrees but strangely keeps meeting and hanging out with her ex fiancé all the time. I really really abhorred this about Somer. While she was engaged, she was barely even hugging her fiancé (now OM) and now that she’s married to the H, Somer finds every excuse under the sun to secretly meet with the OM to hug, kiss, spend the day together, share confidences with.
I was appalled at Somer. I’ve read a million MoC stories but never one where the h was such a tramp. She let OM kiss her quite a few times while her husband is away and agrees to meeting him repeatedly.
The H obviously cares for her but given that he was a photographer back then and he refused to sleep with Somer, it really wasn’t as insulting as Somer May have felt. It really was nothing to feel “rejected” about and carry that misery in your fake marriage. You meet a stranger and he refuses to sleep with you. Now you will carry that grievance for the rest of your life against him. Well. Why should he have???
The H cares for his wife despite their MoC but Somer keeps provoking him by saying how the OM will appreciate the experience she gained in her husband’s arms. She was a h I solely despised. There wasn’t anything left in the book for me.
A miserable long book with nothing to please the reader! I’ve to say yet another to add to my conviction on why I avoid model/actors/ photographer books.
June 9, 2023
Sorry, but I just don't buy this nonsense. In the beginning, being only 18, Somer's behavior makes sense, but five years later, you'd think she'd be mature enough to not judge all men by her crappy ex-fiancé (the OM, Andrew, who only wanted her dad's money and had a girl on the side he was having sex with) and the man she attempted to seduce (the H, Chase) because of Andrew's betrayal. Five years of playing the ice princess with frozen lips is her own fault, not theirs.
As for Chase, for a supposedly sophisticated fashion photographer, he comes across like a clueless fool, when it comes to Somer. Couldn't he see he was dealing with a troubled young woman from the start, not an experienced little femme fatale who wanted a quick hot roll on the beach, in return for getting her pictures in (of all things) porno mags???? Is this DUMBO for real??? Then, when he finds out the truth, that she's really a virgin hoping to be seduced, he lets his ego take over and gets all wounded because her motivation was to get back at Andrew. He feels "used"! (COME ON!!! She's the virgin, not you!!) He takes nude pictures of her in revenge! (Who's the teenager here??? Sounds like he's still part college frat boy!) Then he offers to have a talk with her later, how sweet. No wonder she flew the coop, I can imagine how dry that lecture would have been!
That's when the story flashforwards five years later, and the stupidity really begins, with lies, manipulations, blackmail (remember those nude pix), transparent attempts at jealousy, unbelievable ass Andrew - whose other girl turned unattractive with age - wanting to get in her panties after having no sex desire for her before, and a whole lot of other STUPIDITIES that make me think Ms. Jordan was on some kind of high when she wrote this. Perhaps someone slipped something in her chardonnay?
Skip it, and be glad you did!
As for Chase, for a supposedly sophisticated fashion photographer, he comes across like a clueless fool, when it comes to Somer. Couldn't he see he was dealing with a troubled young woman from the start, not an experienced little femme fatale who wanted a quick hot roll on the beach, in return for getting her pictures in (of all things) porno mags???? Is this DUMBO for real??? Then, when he finds out the truth, that she's really a virgin hoping to be seduced, he lets his ego take over and gets all wounded because her motivation was to get back at Andrew. He feels "used"! (COME ON!!! She's the virgin, not you!!) He takes nude pictures of her in revenge! (Who's the teenager here??? Sounds like he's still part college frat boy!) Then he offers to have a talk with her later, how sweet. No wonder she flew the coop, I can imagine how dry that lecture would have been!
That's when the story flashforwards five years later, and the stupidity really begins, with lies, manipulations, blackmail (remember those nude pix), transparent attempts at jealousy, unbelievable ass Andrew - whose other girl turned unattractive with age - wanting to get in her panties after having no sex desire for her before, and a whole lot of other STUPIDITIES that make me think Ms. Jordan was on some kind of high when she wrote this. Perhaps someone slipped something in her chardonnay?
Skip it, and be glad you did!
July 26, 2024
I actually read this in my teens and thought fondly of it. So I decided to reread it now that I am more matured.
Now I don't know why I liked it in the first place. I mind of find Somer (the FL) unlikable because of how childish and unsophisticated she is. For someone who is supposedly full of pride and temperamental, she acted so mousy and gauche.
Maybe that was the point of the entire plot, that the "rejection" she received when she was 18 gave her this massive inferiority complex that she carried with her until she was in her twenties.
But for someone rich and supposedly not unattractive at all, she had very little guts and couldn't manage her emotions well. If I was Somer, I would have made those who rejected me suffer. I would have improved myself, made myself so fashionable and confident that whoever thought I was anything else but gorgeous and elite will have to crawl into the ground and die.
I also am not convinced with Chase (the ML). He claims that he couldn't get Somer out of his mind but gosh, 5 years?! It took him 5 years to sought her out.
Anyway, I just didn't like how much of a pushover Somer was. I wanted her to be more defiant and proud. I liked that she kept herself a virgin until she got married (I hate promiscuous people) but that is just about it.
Now I don't know why I liked it in the first place. I mind of find Somer (the FL) unlikable because of how childish and unsophisticated she is. For someone who is supposedly full of pride and temperamental, she acted so mousy and gauche.
Maybe that was the point of the entire plot, that the "rejection" she received when she was 18 gave her this massive inferiority complex that she carried with her until she was in her twenties.
But for someone rich and supposedly not unattractive at all, she had very little guts and couldn't manage her emotions well. If I was Somer, I would have made those who rejected me suffer. I would have improved myself, made myself so fashionable and confident that whoever thought I was anything else but gorgeous and elite will have to crawl into the ground and die.
I also am not convinced with Chase (the ML). He claims that he couldn't get Somer out of his mind but gosh, 5 years?! It took him 5 years to sought her out.
Anyway, I just didn't like how much of a pushover Somer was. I wanted her to be more defiant and proud. I liked that she kept herself a virgin until she got married (I hate promiscuous people) but that is just about it.
May 23, 2026
Read this eons ago and I believed I had written a review?! Anyhoo, I did not enjoy this book but take my opinion with a grain of salt because PJ has never been my favorite Harlequin author. Her naive, infantile, shaky heroines almost always frustrate me and the heroine of this story is no exception. A poor little rich girl who is taken in by a fortune hunter and persists in her willful blindness despite all the giant red flags including his floozie mistress who works at the same hotel. She literally has to catch them in flagrante before the veil is pulled from her eyes. The "hero" of the story was no Prince Charming either, a jaded, womanizing photographer who she throws herself at out of "heartbreak." I really did not enjoy this story and I hope this time, my review sticks, so I don't have to borrow it again from Open Library.
September 2, 2019
I actually enjoyed this a rich heiress discovers that not only is her fiancee cheating on her he was only interested in her due to her Father's money, so she seduces a hot photographer who is hurt when he thinks she only wants him for the pictures of her he can take. When he finds out the truth she has already left the hotel and the witch (the woman the fiance was cheating with) behind the reception desk claims she doesn't know her name or how to reach her.
Years later when he sees her picture in the paper when her Father is named Ambassador he blackmails her into marrying him and after many misunderstands they discover they are "in love" with each other. I did I mention the photographer is filthy rich.
Years later when he sees her picture in the paper when her Father is named Ambassador he blackmails her into marrying him and after many misunderstands they discover they are "in love" with each other. I did I mention the photographer is filthy rich.
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June 22, 2019El Deseo No Muere
July 4, 2020
I don't get to read books such as this any longer. This was so good
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