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A High Price to Pay
After the death of her father, Alison Mortimer agrees to a marriage in name only to Nick Bristow, who holds the family's mortgage
229 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
9 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Sara Craven
493 books266 followersAnne Bushell was born on October 1938 in South Devon, England, just before World War II and grew up in a house crammed with books. She was always a voracious reader, some of her all-time favorites books are: "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë, "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "The Code of the Woosters" by P. G. Wodehouse.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 12, 2018
There definitely would have been a "high price to pay" if I had followed my impulse to smash my kindle to smithereens at the conclusion of every chapter of this book, as the TSTL doormat heroine incredibly grew to be more stupid and more doormatty instead of less, the further I read.
As for the Gary Stu hero, he might as well have been farting rainbows and riding unicorns into the sunset, given the plausibility of his character. Next to him, Prince Charming looks like Stalin.
As for the Gary Stu hero, he might as well have been farting rainbows and riding unicorns into the sunset, given the plausibility of his character. Next to him, Prince Charming looks like Stalin.
June 1, 2009
I enjoyed this book the first time and on the reread. The heroine is a bit obtuse. I think it was fairly obvious how in love the hero was with her. However, she is used to being in the shadow of her flamboyant, more attractive sister. She thinks the hero married her to have a dogsbody to run his house. I really liked the forced marriage theme, a favorite of mine for some bizarre reason. This book has a classic line that shows how much the hero loves her. He says something to the effect that when he lets her go to the beloved (he thinks she's in love with another man), that he doesn't like that the man will see how her eyes change colors when she climaxes. I was pretty shocked when I read this book as a young, impressionable girl in my early teens. Loved it though.
August 16, 2018
I love a marriage of convenience story but this heroine was annoying. It was obvious that hero was crazy in love but she was clueless and treated him badly! Loved the angst but what a bickerfest.
April 17, 2016
Re A High Price to Pay - Another SC wrecky angst fest - this one involves an h who is described as small and sorta plain - at least in comparison to her ethereal mother and fabulously attractive younger sister and an H who is enigmatic to say the least.
The h's father has died and mortgaged his house against a loan for the family business from the H. Because the big business contract her father was hoping to get fell through and the father is dead, the h and her mum and sis are bankrupt and the H owns the house.
The h finds this out right after the funeral, while trying to organize the family's enormous estate house (which the h could care less about,) and pacify her demanding and neurotically lazy mother and help her sister through her grief as well.
The h does have a part time job selling houses, (which she is rather good at,) and a lukewarm casual dating relationship with her boss-- but her main job has always been being the housekeeper to her parents and pacifying her mum's unreasonable demands.
The h gets the shock of her life when the H tells her he wants to keep the house staff intact and not only does he want her for a housekeeper, he wants her to marry him. He needs someone who can be hostess, etc. He is willing to let her mother stay and pay for her sisters pricey education.
The h is all set to tell him no, she may not have much chance of getting a real marriage but she feels she should at least have the opportunity. The mum's guilt tripping and the fact that her sister (who was hanging all over the H,) needs the money to finish school makes her reconsider. So with a heavy sense of foreboding and the horrible feeling that she is selling herself, she marries the H.
The wedding is a quiet affair, but there is some humor as the h thinks to herself that she doesn't want to become another "Mariana of the Moated Grange" (nice subtle reference to Tennyson there.) Then when she sees the H looking all cranky and earie faced at the altar during the wedding ceremony and has to stifle the urge to touch his face she thinks the tension has finally gotten to her and she is cracking up, wryly telling herself that the whole situation was "a fine way to embark on marriage—as a hopeless neurotic."
The h needs that wry sense of humor, cause the H is anything but nice right after the ceremony. They wind up having to share the bridal suite and the h isn't happy that he crawls into bed with her stark naked. They are supposed to have a MINO, with both parties free to discreetly see other people. (And kudos to the h for insisting on that, she may be the drudge of the family, but she does a good job of negotiations - no wonder she was so good at selling houses.) The H tries it on and she shoots him down - now they only have to get through the month long cruise on a private yacht honeymoon.
The H is nicer to her though and they spend a companionable month doing tourist stuff in Greece. The h is a bit in lust , cause the H is fairly handsome, but there is separate rooms and both spend a lot of time alone. Until the last night, when the H gives the impression that celibacy is wearing on him and tries again to make it with the h. She waits until the H is in a vulnerable position and then she rakes her nails down his chest and draws blood. He runs off and she gets ready to go back to the family home while the H stays in London.
The next bit is the h being run ragged by her mum, running the house and thinking about going back to work part time selling houses. The H stays in London except for an occasional overnight visit. Even her sister avoids coming home at the weekends and things come to a boiling point when the H and h give a dinner party and the h gets stuck running errands for her mum and it starts to pour down rain.
He old boss, who apparently had some big feelings that she did not return, comes to her rescue and gives her a ride home and the H is there and angry. He makes some snide housekeeper comments, her mum gives her grief and the h has just about had enough. She ditches the the dress she was going to wear for a shapeless black thing that doesn't work on her. She does have some nice underwears that she puts on underneath for her own little secret enjoyment.
The H is even more furious, though the dinner party is perfect and later on he shows up to rip the dress off of her. They fight because she doesn't wear his jewelry and points out that she is just the housekeeper and it was time the world knew it too. People already remark how little the H is around. The H rips the dress off, but totally appreciates the underwear and they wind up in bed. The h whispers she loves him as they are both going to sleep.
The next morning the h is embarrassed and the H leaves, for the next three weeks. Then the h goes to visit the H's invalid mum and finds out the H has been spending a lot of time with her almost 18 year old sister - in fact the sister left a scarf and the mum wants the h to return it to her, having no clue the sister has lied about school activities to avoid coming home and that the h hasn't seen the H in almost a month. The h then goes to get the sister from school and finds out the H has been there pretty much every weekend.
The h questions the sister about her activities, but the sister just looks shifty and fobs the h off. The h concludes, based on how enthusiastic the sister is about the H and his handsomeness and the fact that she hasn't said anything about all the visiting, that the sister and the H are involved.
The h is bit upset, cause she is now preggers and being run ragged and so when her boss is very nice to her and gives her extra time off, she kisses his cheek and goes home to find the H. He is all cranky about something and accuses her of catting around with her boss. The h accuses him of romancing her sister and suggests they divorce right away.
The H is apparently astounded, the sheer shock of his "Just like that?" question and his obvious astonishment were highly amusing. The h tries to explain about the boss but the H forces her into bed. She also berates him for cheating on her sister, but the H doesn't care - they wind up making passionate love and then the H walks out, telling her she can have her divorce.
The H leaves again, ( for an HP H this guy runs away a lot, for a little while I suspected him of seekritly being an HP h in male drag,) then the h finds out the next morning that the H has arranged for a companion and driving lessons for the h's mum. The sister admits that she isn't sleeping with the H because he loves the h and only wants to talk about her and that they have been conniving to give the h a break from her mum.
The h goes to London to see the H and feels bad about not making a home for him. He wanders in eventually and they confess their mutual love, the H fell in love with the h in his mum's garden supposedly and then couldn't admit it, (or court the h or even talk to her as well,) because he had made such a big deal about their marriage bargain and housekeeping skills etc. The h confesses she loves him back and they fall into bed and HEA - she doesn't mention the baby yet, she is saving that for later.
Overall I liked this h a lot, she was funny - though she kept that to herself and she had a ton of dignity. She did not throw fits, have conniptions or act irrationally. She acted in a controlled adult manner through some pretty uncomfortable and difficult times. The mum, the sis and the H were all pretty rotten or mediocre - I just did not buy that nothing went on between the H and the little sister.
Srsly, if a man is in love wouldn't he at least try to see more of or talk to the woman he is actually married to? It did not happen here and he spent a ton of time with the sister. I can only think that at almost 17, the H got bored and the other staff and his mum tipped him off to the pregnancy and that was the reason for his little about face.
The whole mother thing with the conniving irked me to no end as well. The H should have talked to the h about the situation, she wasn't the type to turn down any solution, she just did not know what else to do. In fact if he was so in love, he should have been eager to be seen in a savoir light by helping the h sort her mum out - he states at the end that he did know how to counteract the low opinion the h had of him and yet he passes up a golden opportunity.
The problem for me was he knew the h thought he was a louse and wanted to change her mind and yet he still acted like one. The fact that the H talked to the sister about it, and more importantly, went behind the h's back to set up the whole companion thing doesn't bode well for the long term.
The h wasn't a child by any measure and she deserved a lot more respect from this H and did not get it, he tried his best to infantilize her and it was a pretty gross insult. I just did not think he was really passionate about the h, and I liked her a lot and felt she deserved better.
Still the story was engaging and I bough the HEA cause the h wanted it and SC said so. So while the believability issue is somewhat of a question mark, the rest of the book was very engaging and forced marriage is always a favorite while visiting HPlandia. An afternoon with this one would not be a waste of time and the h was pretty good at avoiding the dreaded HP doormat syndrome.
The h's father has died and mortgaged his house against a loan for the family business from the H. Because the big business contract her father was hoping to get fell through and the father is dead, the h and her mum and sis are bankrupt and the H owns the house.
The h finds this out right after the funeral, while trying to organize the family's enormous estate house (which the h could care less about,) and pacify her demanding and neurotically lazy mother and help her sister through her grief as well.
The h does have a part time job selling houses, (which she is rather good at,) and a lukewarm casual dating relationship with her boss-- but her main job has always been being the housekeeper to her parents and pacifying her mum's unreasonable demands.
The h gets the shock of her life when the H tells her he wants to keep the house staff intact and not only does he want her for a housekeeper, he wants her to marry him. He needs someone who can be hostess, etc. He is willing to let her mother stay and pay for her sisters pricey education.
The h is all set to tell him no, she may not have much chance of getting a real marriage but she feels she should at least have the opportunity. The mum's guilt tripping and the fact that her sister (who was hanging all over the H,) needs the money to finish school makes her reconsider. So with a heavy sense of foreboding and the horrible feeling that she is selling herself, she marries the H.
The wedding is a quiet affair, but there is some humor as the h thinks to herself that she doesn't want to become another "Mariana of the Moated Grange" (nice subtle reference to Tennyson there.) Then when she sees the H looking all cranky and earie faced at the altar during the wedding ceremony and has to stifle the urge to touch his face she thinks the tension has finally gotten to her and she is cracking up, wryly telling herself that the whole situation was "a fine way to embark on marriage—as a hopeless neurotic."
The h needs that wry sense of humor, cause the H is anything but nice right after the ceremony. They wind up having to share the bridal suite and the h isn't happy that he crawls into bed with her stark naked. They are supposed to have a MINO, with both parties free to discreetly see other people. (And kudos to the h for insisting on that, she may be the drudge of the family, but she does a good job of negotiations - no wonder she was so good at selling houses.) The H tries it on and she shoots him down - now they only have to get through the month long cruise on a private yacht honeymoon.
The H is nicer to her though and they spend a companionable month doing tourist stuff in Greece. The h is a bit in lust , cause the H is fairly handsome, but there is separate rooms and both spend a lot of time alone. Until the last night, when the H gives the impression that celibacy is wearing on him and tries again to make it with the h. She waits until the H is in a vulnerable position and then she rakes her nails down his chest and draws blood. He runs off and she gets ready to go back to the family home while the H stays in London.
The next bit is the h being run ragged by her mum, running the house and thinking about going back to work part time selling houses. The H stays in London except for an occasional overnight visit. Even her sister avoids coming home at the weekends and things come to a boiling point when the H and h give a dinner party and the h gets stuck running errands for her mum and it starts to pour down rain.
He old boss, who apparently had some big feelings that she did not return, comes to her rescue and gives her a ride home and the H is there and angry. He makes some snide housekeeper comments, her mum gives her grief and the h has just about had enough. She ditches the the dress she was going to wear for a shapeless black thing that doesn't work on her. She does have some nice underwears that she puts on underneath for her own little secret enjoyment.
The H is even more furious, though the dinner party is perfect and later on he shows up to rip the dress off of her. They fight because she doesn't wear his jewelry and points out that she is just the housekeeper and it was time the world knew it too. People already remark how little the H is around. The H rips the dress off, but totally appreciates the underwear and they wind up in bed. The h whispers she loves him as they are both going to sleep.
The next morning the h is embarrassed and the H leaves, for the next three weeks. Then the h goes to visit the H's invalid mum and finds out the H has been spending a lot of time with her almost 18 year old sister - in fact the sister left a scarf and the mum wants the h to return it to her, having no clue the sister has lied about school activities to avoid coming home and that the h hasn't seen the H in almost a month. The h then goes to get the sister from school and finds out the H has been there pretty much every weekend.
The h questions the sister about her activities, but the sister just looks shifty and fobs the h off. The h concludes, based on how enthusiastic the sister is about the H and his handsomeness and the fact that she hasn't said anything about all the visiting, that the sister and the H are involved.
The h is bit upset, cause she is now preggers and being run ragged and so when her boss is very nice to her and gives her extra time off, she kisses his cheek and goes home to find the H. He is all cranky about something and accuses her of catting around with her boss. The h accuses him of romancing her sister and suggests they divorce right away.
The H is apparently astounded, the sheer shock of his "Just like that?" question and his obvious astonishment were highly amusing. The h tries to explain about the boss but the H forces her into bed. She also berates him for cheating on her sister, but the H doesn't care - they wind up making passionate love and then the H walks out, telling her she can have her divorce.
The H leaves again, ( for an HP H this guy runs away a lot, for a little while I suspected him of seekritly being an HP h in male drag,) then the h finds out the next morning that the H has arranged for a companion and driving lessons for the h's mum. The sister admits that she isn't sleeping with the H because he loves the h and only wants to talk about her and that they have been conniving to give the h a break from her mum.
The h goes to London to see the H and feels bad about not making a home for him. He wanders in eventually and they confess their mutual love, the H fell in love with the h in his mum's garden supposedly and then couldn't admit it, (or court the h or even talk to her as well,) because he had made such a big deal about their marriage bargain and housekeeping skills etc. The h confesses she loves him back and they fall into bed and HEA - she doesn't mention the baby yet, she is saving that for later.
Overall I liked this h a lot, she was funny - though she kept that to herself and she had a ton of dignity. She did not throw fits, have conniptions or act irrationally. She acted in a controlled adult manner through some pretty uncomfortable and difficult times. The mum, the sis and the H were all pretty rotten or mediocre - I just did not buy that nothing went on between the H and the little sister.
Srsly, if a man is in love wouldn't he at least try to see more of or talk to the woman he is actually married to? It did not happen here and he spent a ton of time with the sister. I can only think that at almost 17, the H got bored and the other staff and his mum tipped him off to the pregnancy and that was the reason for his little about face.
The whole mother thing with the conniving irked me to no end as well. The H should have talked to the h about the situation, she wasn't the type to turn down any solution, she just did not know what else to do. In fact if he was so in love, he should have been eager to be seen in a savoir light by helping the h sort her mum out - he states at the end that he did know how to counteract the low opinion the h had of him and yet he passes up a golden opportunity.
The problem for me was he knew the h thought he was a louse and wanted to change her mind and yet he still acted like one. The fact that the H talked to the sister about it, and more importantly, went behind the h's back to set up the whole companion thing doesn't bode well for the long term.
The h wasn't a child by any measure and she deserved a lot more respect from this H and did not get it, he tried his best to infantilize her and it was a pretty gross insult. I just did not think he was really passionate about the h, and I liked her a lot and felt she deserved better.
Still the story was engaging and I bough the HEA cause the h wanted it and SC said so. So while the believability issue is somewhat of a question mark, the rest of the book was very engaging and forced marriage is always a favorite while visiting HPlandia. An afternoon with this one would not be a waste of time and the h was pretty good at avoiding the dreaded HP doormat syndrome.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2016
Alison’s father dies leaving the family finances in turmoil. His business had been failing for some time, and he’d taken out loans and more loans. There is no money, and even their family home, a stately country mansion, is no longer their own.
Alison is doing what she can to cope, in the best tradition of Elinor Dashwood. She has a useless mother, and a sister with expensive boarding school fees. Alison herself finished school years ago, because her mother considered higher education to be a waste for her. ‘Sweetie darling,’ her mother said. ‘You’re not pretty, and not bright. It’s a dreadful burden on me, but if you’ll do a few teeny errands for me every now and then, I’ll keep my criticisms of your appearance and talents to a minimum. But darling, it’s good for you that I tell you everything you do wrong, otherwise you’ll never learn, will you? And it’s such a shame isn’t it, that you do everything wrong?’
Alison’s mother is a nightmare. Her father, as well as being useless at business, left all child-rearing responsibility to his wife. Dreadful man.
At least Alison has had some independence. In the face of her mother’s severe disapproval, she’s gone to work as a real estate agent, and is surprisingly good at it. And unlike many Sara Craven heroines, who are miserably downtrodden, Alison at least seems to love and care for her family, especially her beautiful and brilliant younger sister.
Nicholas now owns everything. The business, the house, he’s got it all. Alison’s only met him the once before her father’s funeral, and she stepped out of her usually shy ways to be a tad critical of him. I hadn’t realised how much of an impression this had made. When Nicholas approached Alison with an offer of marriage, an offer to keep her mother in the house and an offer to pay her sister’s school fees, I took him at his word. Nicholas said he would do all of these things, if Alison would organise his dinner parties.
Oh, I thought, once again startled that this is actually a thing, so this is going to be one of those romances where the hero gradually comes to appreciate the heroine beyond his admiration for her domestic skills?
No. Nicholas has fallen instantly in love with Alison, and has basically no idea how to behave around women. Sure, he does manage to be pleasant while they’re on their no sex honeymoon, after Alison clearly established that this is a no sex deal. But he’s pretty stuck in that dictatorial groove, and considers issuing orders to be the best way to get a girl to fall in love with him. When he’s around (and it’s not very often) he’s being cranky pants about how she’s a dogsbody to her mother, and how she insists on keeping her job with the silver fox real estate guy who keeps making eyes at her, and how she wears terrible clothes and says mean things to him.
It takes him a long time to work out that he needs to remove the mother before he can get anything sorted out comfortably.
Finally, the dinner party, the entire (fake) reason for their marriage, is arranged. And it’s a nightmare for everyone involved.
Rather than concerning yourself with Alison and Nicholas, who are inevitably having a horrible time, let’s imagine that you are the wife of one of Nicholas’ business cronies. Don’t imagine that you, a woman, are a business crony. If you were, your suffering would be quadrupled. You would spend the evening looking at Alison’s face. All evening, Alison’s face would say to you: I know you slept with my husband to get your promotion/business deal. I know you’re still sleeping with him. I will never say anything, ever, but I Know.
As a wife, you’re mostly safe from that face, but your evening is still one of intense suffering.
It begins when your husband gets home late from work. You’ve already organised the children’s meals, instructed the baby sitter, been thrown up on and changed at least once. You are wearing appropriate evening attire, although its 4:30 in the afternoon. You left work at 3 pm to get everything ready, and everyone looked at you, because nice for some, isn’t it?
Your husband barely apologises as he rushes to get ready. Then, you begin the (at least, I have no real sense of the distance, just that it’s not that close) two-and-a-half hour drive, through peak hour London traffic, and out into the country.
It gets dark. You have a tense non-argument when you make a mistake reading the map and you take a wrong turn.
It’s not your fault! Why are we doing this anyway, why can’t we do normal business dinners, in town, in a townhouse or at a restaurant?
You arrive, not really late, but stressed. There’s good wine, but as you gloomily predicted the starter is a shrimp cocktail served in an avocado half. It was either this or sliced melon wrapped in parma ham. Yuck.
The next three hours are enlivened by your hostess’s mother in law’s story of how her silly daughter can’t buy the correct shade of cream embroidery silk. It was really a mistake to ask how many shades there were. Ten minutes later, the woman is still listing them.
You spend most of your time baffled as to why your hostess is dressed like Maria on her way to meet the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music, and why from her expression she looks on the point of bursting into Fantine’s song about the tigers coming at night from Les Miz.
What a disaster.
You arrive home in the early hours of the next morning. You drove. Your husband slept off the copious amounts of alcohol your host pressed on him. It’s not his fault, you know he couldn’t have refused business drinking. And it was inevitable that you would lose your way, at least twice.
As you sit at your dressing table and remove what’s left of your makeup, you weep. Your husband wordlessly comforts you.
Days later, he has a chance for a private word with Nicholas. Of course you will extend a reciprocal invitation to dine, but not just yet. Your husband obliquely references your trauma. He also, wordless, conveys his empathy with Nicholas’ dilemma. He understands the ‘married for dinner parties’ gambit. He, after all, is also British.
That Alison manages to stand up for herself and keep her real estate job in the face of Nicholas’s opposition is impressive. She’s more likeable than a number of Sara Craven heroines who share her lot, but she’s equally crazy. She becomes convinced that Nicholas and her younger sister are falling in love. She decides that she will sacrifice her love for their happiness. It gets worse: she actually tells them both that she’s prepared to stand aside, and they are naturally and properly horrified.
I’m all for a heroine going this crazy and indulging in this sort of fantasy, but it’s really awful to inflict it on the two people you claim to love most in the world.
The mother was terrible and made a satisfying villain, although at times I felt she crossed a sympathy line, where she urgently needed professional help for her worsening mental health problems.
I think I wouldn’t have been quite so confused for a good chunk of this book if Nicholas had said ‘dinner parties and babies’ in his proposal. If they don’t mention babies I have zero clue that the hero wants the heroine naked, and I was therefore shocked when he later revealed he’d fallen in love with her at first sight.
Alison is doing what she can to cope, in the best tradition of Elinor Dashwood. She has a useless mother, and a sister with expensive boarding school fees. Alison herself finished school years ago, because her mother considered higher education to be a waste for her. ‘Sweetie darling,’ her mother said. ‘You’re not pretty, and not bright. It’s a dreadful burden on me, but if you’ll do a few teeny errands for me every now and then, I’ll keep my criticisms of your appearance and talents to a minimum. But darling, it’s good for you that I tell you everything you do wrong, otherwise you’ll never learn, will you? And it’s such a shame isn’t it, that you do everything wrong?’
Alison’s mother is a nightmare. Her father, as well as being useless at business, left all child-rearing responsibility to his wife. Dreadful man.
At least Alison has had some independence. In the face of her mother’s severe disapproval, she’s gone to work as a real estate agent, and is surprisingly good at it. And unlike many Sara Craven heroines, who are miserably downtrodden, Alison at least seems to love and care for her family, especially her beautiful and brilliant younger sister.
Nicholas now owns everything. The business, the house, he’s got it all. Alison’s only met him the once before her father’s funeral, and she stepped out of her usually shy ways to be a tad critical of him. I hadn’t realised how much of an impression this had made. When Nicholas approached Alison with an offer of marriage, an offer to keep her mother in the house and an offer to pay her sister’s school fees, I took him at his word. Nicholas said he would do all of these things, if Alison would organise his dinner parties.
Oh, I thought, once again startled that this is actually a thing, so this is going to be one of those romances where the hero gradually comes to appreciate the heroine beyond his admiration for her domestic skills?
No. Nicholas has fallen instantly in love with Alison, and has basically no idea how to behave around women. Sure, he does manage to be pleasant while they’re on their no sex honeymoon, after Alison clearly established that this is a no sex deal. But he’s pretty stuck in that dictatorial groove, and considers issuing orders to be the best way to get a girl to fall in love with him. When he’s around (and it’s not very often) he’s being cranky pants about how she’s a dogsbody to her mother, and how she insists on keeping her job with the silver fox real estate guy who keeps making eyes at her, and how she wears terrible clothes and says mean things to him.
It takes him a long time to work out that he needs to remove the mother before he can get anything sorted out comfortably.
Finally, the dinner party, the entire (fake) reason for their marriage, is arranged. And it’s a nightmare for everyone involved.
Rather than concerning yourself with Alison and Nicholas, who are inevitably having a horrible time, let’s imagine that you are the wife of one of Nicholas’ business cronies. Don’t imagine that you, a woman, are a business crony. If you were, your suffering would be quadrupled. You would spend the evening looking at Alison’s face. All evening, Alison’s face would say to you: I know you slept with my husband to get your promotion/business deal. I know you’re still sleeping with him. I will never say anything, ever, but I Know.
As a wife, you’re mostly safe from that face, but your evening is still one of intense suffering.
It begins when your husband gets home late from work. You’ve already organised the children’s meals, instructed the baby sitter, been thrown up on and changed at least once. You are wearing appropriate evening attire, although its 4:30 in the afternoon. You left work at 3 pm to get everything ready, and everyone looked at you, because nice for some, isn’t it?
Your husband barely apologises as he rushes to get ready. Then, you begin the (at least, I have no real sense of the distance, just that it’s not that close) two-and-a-half hour drive, through peak hour London traffic, and out into the country.
It gets dark. You have a tense non-argument when you make a mistake reading the map and you take a wrong turn.
It’s not your fault! Why are we doing this anyway, why can’t we do normal business dinners, in town, in a townhouse or at a restaurant?
You arrive, not really late, but stressed. There’s good wine, but as you gloomily predicted the starter is a shrimp cocktail served in an avocado half. It was either this or sliced melon wrapped in parma ham. Yuck.
The next three hours are enlivened by your hostess’s mother in law’s story of how her silly daughter can’t buy the correct shade of cream embroidery silk. It was really a mistake to ask how many shades there were. Ten minutes later, the woman is still listing them.
You spend most of your time baffled as to why your hostess is dressed like Maria on her way to meet the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music, and why from her expression she looks on the point of bursting into Fantine’s song about the tigers coming at night from Les Miz.
What a disaster.
You arrive home in the early hours of the next morning. You drove. Your husband slept off the copious amounts of alcohol your host pressed on him. It’s not his fault, you know he couldn’t have refused business drinking. And it was inevitable that you would lose your way, at least twice.
As you sit at your dressing table and remove what’s left of your makeup, you weep. Your husband wordlessly comforts you.
Days later, he has a chance for a private word with Nicholas. Of course you will extend a reciprocal invitation to dine, but not just yet. Your husband obliquely references your trauma. He also, wordless, conveys his empathy with Nicholas’ dilemma. He understands the ‘married for dinner parties’ gambit. He, after all, is also British.
That Alison manages to stand up for herself and keep her real estate job in the face of Nicholas’s opposition is impressive. She’s more likeable than a number of Sara Craven heroines who share her lot, but she’s equally crazy. She becomes convinced that Nicholas and her younger sister are falling in love. She decides that she will sacrifice her love for their happiness. It gets worse: she actually tells them both that she’s prepared to stand aside, and they are naturally and properly horrified.
I’m all for a heroine going this crazy and indulging in this sort of fantasy, but it’s really awful to inflict it on the two people you claim to love most in the world.
The mother was terrible and made a satisfying villain, although at times I felt she crossed a sympathy line, where she urgently needed professional help for her worsening mental health problems.
I think I wouldn’t have been quite so confused for a good chunk of this book if Nicholas had said ‘dinner parties and babies’ in his proposal. If they don’t mention babies I have zero clue that the hero wants the heroine naked, and I was therefore shocked when he later revealed he’d fallen in love with her at first sight.
April 24, 2017
Forced marriage of a business man hero and a plain Jane heroine to save the family house. The heroine is not full of gratitude toward the hero and is downright rude and prickly through most of the book. It doesn't help that the hero keeps putting the moves on the heroine and eventually seduces her - all without an affectionate word.
It's the younger sister who finally sets the heroine straight about the hero's true feelings. To her credit, the heroine does go to the hero and opens up. The hero explains his actions. HEA.
Boogenhagen has a more detailed review. I enjoyed the angst in this - the heroine tied herself in knots about her sensuality and place in the hero's life. It made sense since she had always thought of herself as a plain Jane.
It's the younger sister who finally sets the heroine straight about the hero's true feelings. To her credit, the heroine does go to the hero and opens up. The hero explains his actions. HEA.
Boogenhagen has a more detailed review. I enjoyed the angst in this - the heroine tied herself in knots about her sensuality and place in the hero's life. It made sense since she had always thought of herself as a plain Jane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2020
SC’s HPtP falls into that “okay/meh” territory of Harleys, mainly because it serves up very familiar elements/tropes in an unremarkable way. It’s your standard MoC arrangement, where the not-plain-but-not-obviously-pretty eldest daughter marries the handsome, rich hero to save her baronial home/family. It’s worked in any number of historical and modern category romances, but this book is weakened by the lack of any real underlying need for the hero to marry the heroine. He claims, as so many heroes have before him (certainly almost every Betty Neels self-serving rich doctor type), that he needs a wife to manage his social and household affairs. With Betty Neels’ heroes, who are mostly older and usually gunshy from disastrous prior relationship, our suspension of disbelief works without much more than that. But most other Harley authors don’t have the luxury of passing off an MoC unless there’s a will or sickly grandparent or other compelling reason for the hero to marry the heroine. That compelling reason can even be the unlikely thunderclap of instant and unexpected true love, but even that incredible underpinning doesn't happen here.
In this case, the hero admits at the end to an impulse that he thinks was because he was already falling for the heroine—but SC does a poor job of establishing any basis for this. It’s implied that the hero and heroine had not previously spent much, if any, time together, so there’s no real basis for that burgeoning love. Certainly the heroine succumbs pretty quickly to feelings once they are married, and there’s the usual irresistible attraction between them from quite early on, but again—there needs to be some urgency to underpin the convenient arrangement or it stretches disbelief a bit too far (even for a Harley).
Without a great deal of angst/heat, this familiar trope falls flat too easily. As with many an MoC tale, the heroine, Alison, sacrifices her happiness for the sake of a pretty, idle, selfish mother who would not have been out of place in one of Robyn Donald’s books and to help secure her younger sister’s future (and for once we have a nice sister—I’ll have to make a special tag for it, since they are far rarer than unlikely virgins!). So the heroine marries the cool and enigmatic hero in what she thinks will be a strictly business arrangement. That doesn't last long. There are a few scenes that start off as forced seduction but quickly change to mutual passion, and the heroine even lets an ILY slip out the first time. But this is a low-self-esteem heroine, so she can’t fathom that she might have any lasting appeal for the hero at all and is prone to seeing everything in that light.
It gets tiresome, as she continues to blow hot and cold with the hero, with no regard for his feelings at all and her willingness to assume very nasty things about him (like his supposed relationship with her 17 year old sister). This heroine is so willing to believe the worst of everyone and cut off her nose to spite her own face that her likability is seriously strained for this reader.
It all seemed very going through the motions to me, without the heat and angst needed to drive a good MoC story and with a heroine who is meant to be sympathetic but veers so far into self-pity/self-preservation territory that she's really pretty awful to the hero. So while all the elements of an MoC story are there, it just never seemed to come together in any memorable and admirable way. A generous 2 and 1/2 stars from me.
In this case, the hero admits at the end to an impulse that he thinks was because he was already falling for the heroine—but SC does a poor job of establishing any basis for this. It’s implied that the hero and heroine had not previously spent much, if any, time together, so there’s no real basis for that burgeoning love. Certainly the heroine succumbs pretty quickly to feelings once they are married, and there’s the usual irresistible attraction between them from quite early on, but again—there needs to be some urgency to underpin the convenient arrangement or it stretches disbelief a bit too far (even for a Harley).
Without a great deal of angst/heat, this familiar trope falls flat too easily. As with many an MoC tale, the heroine, Alison, sacrifices her happiness for the sake of a pretty, idle, selfish mother who would not have been out of place in one of Robyn Donald’s books and to help secure her younger sister’s future (and for once we have a nice sister—I’ll have to make a special tag for it, since they are far rarer than unlikely virgins!). So the heroine marries the cool and enigmatic hero in what she thinks will be a strictly business arrangement. That doesn't last long. There are a few scenes that start off as forced seduction but quickly change to mutual passion, and the heroine even lets an ILY slip out the first time. But this is a low-self-esteem heroine, so she can’t fathom that she might have any lasting appeal for the hero at all and is prone to seeing everything in that light.
It gets tiresome, as she continues to blow hot and cold with the hero, with no regard for his feelings at all and her willingness to assume very nasty things about him (like his supposed relationship with her 17 year old sister). This heroine is so willing to believe the worst of everyone and cut off her nose to spite her own face that her likability is seriously strained for this reader.
It all seemed very going through the motions to me, without the heat and angst needed to drive a good MoC story and with a heroine who is meant to be sympathetic but veers so far into self-pity/self-preservation territory that she's really pretty awful to the hero. So while all the elements of an MoC story are there, it just never seemed to come together in any memorable and admirable way. A generous 2 and 1/2 stars from me.
February 26, 2011
This was okay but he gets all bent out of shape because she doesn't love him and doesn't want to sleep with him but never once does he tell her he loves her. The whole book would have been a moot point I suppose if he had but that makes him kind of a weinie in my opinion.
April 27, 2017
Leído el 02/12/2010
Un precio demasiado alto
A Allison Mortimer la muerte de su padre le causó una tremenda impresión. Más aún, cuando descubrió que estaba en bancarrota y que tenía todos sus bienes hipotecados con Nick Bristow.
Al decirle Nick que necesitaba una esposa y que por el bienestar de su madre y hermana, sería mejor que se casara con él, Allison tuvo que aceptar. Él le aseguró que el matrimonio sólo sería un trato de negocios… pero no transcurrió mucho tiempo para que ella comprendiera que daría cualquier cosa porque fuera verdadero.
Un precio demasiado alto
A Allison Mortimer la muerte de su padre le causó una tremenda impresión. Más aún, cuando descubrió que estaba en bancarrota y que tenía todos sus bienes hipotecados con Nick Bristow.
Al decirle Nick que necesitaba una esposa y que por el bienestar de su madre y hermana, sería mejor que se casara con él, Allison tuvo que aceptar. Él le aseguró que el matrimonio sólo sería un trato de negocios… pero no transcurrió mucho tiempo para que ella comprendiera que daría cualquier cosa porque fuera verdadero.
September 4, 2012
I love marriage of convenience theme and I like seeing hero is the one who showed his love by action for the heroine under the "arranged" circumstances.I enjoyed seeing the heroine has absolute no clue at all that the hero loved her and tried to act indifferent (instead of being childish or with emotional outrage such as keep saying "I hate you" but no control of their body's reaction when they are near the hero which I see in too many HP books). Although it is a little bit hard to believe that the hero or heroine didn't try harder to communicate their feelings or situation in order to get the marriage to work a bit more properly (as they both are fairly sensible people), it didn't take away my enjoyment in reading their story.
June 8, 2021
Alison Mortimer had felt there was something going on over and above the appalling reality of her father's sudden death. And Nicholas Bristow's presence confirmed her suspicions.
Her father, she discovered, had lost everything in an attempt to save his business. Even Ladymead, the family home, had gone as security for loans. But Nicholas Bristow, her father's lender, had not come to evict them.
The terms of settlement Nicholas offered took into account Ally's concern for her sister's future and her mother's peace of mind. At the price of their happiness, Ally could hardly refuse to marry him!
Her father, she discovered, had lost everything in an attempt to save his business. Even Ladymead, the family home, had gone as security for loans. But Nicholas Bristow, her father's lender, had not come to evict them.
The terms of settlement Nicholas offered took into account Ally's concern for her sister's future and her mother's peace of mind. At the price of their happiness, Ally could hardly refuse to marry him!
July 16, 2020
5 stars most of all because it reminds me of my teenage years...it was one of my first HP novels.
Our heroine is so shy, insecure, totally devoted to her family home and father.
In her mind, the hero is the "black cruel man" who came to take away everything from her and marries her only to make her a female "butler".
Actually, he does his best to act like a cruel a**hat but deep down a secret passion is burning.
What else? The tropes are the typical of a '80s HP (greek honeymoon included) - loved it and will always do!!
Our heroine is so shy, insecure, totally devoted to her family home and father.
In her mind, the hero is the "black cruel man" who came to take away everything from her and marries her only to make her a female "butler".
Actually, he does his best to act like a cruel a**hat but deep down a secret passion is burning.
What else? The tropes are the typical of a '80s HP (greek honeymoon included) - loved it and will always do!!
Read
February 21, 2021SYNOPSIS:
What choice did she really have?
Alison Mortimer had felt there was something going on over and above the appalling reality of her father's sudden death. And Nicholas Bristow's presence confirmed her suspicions.
Her father, she discovered, had lost everything in an attempt to save his business. Even Ladymead, the family home, had gone as security for loans. But Nicholas Bristow, her father's lender, had not come to evict them.
The terms of settlement Nicholas offered took into account Ally's concern for her sister's future and her mother's peace of mind. At the price of their happiness, Ally could hardly refuse to marry him.
What choice did she really have?
Alison Mortimer had felt there was something going on over and above the appalling reality of her father's sudden death. And Nicholas Bristow's presence confirmed her suspicions.
Her father, she discovered, had lost everything in an attempt to save his business. Even Ladymead, the family home, had gone as security for loans. But Nicholas Bristow, her father's lender, had not come to evict them.
The terms of settlement Nicholas offered took into account Ally's concern for her sister's future and her mother's peace of mind. At the price of their happiness, Ally could hardly refuse to marry him.
December 1, 2020
First of all: I don’t like it when the h becomes physically agressive against the H. She scratches him deliberately very hard. I wouldn’t find that acceptable if the H did that to the h, so why is it acceptable when the woman does the slapping and scratching?
I wonder why the H falls in love with the h. She is insecure, she’s always bitching, she’s not beautiful, she’s not very intelligent, she doesn’t have a job, she’s neurotic, she’s verbally and physically agressive.
They don’t have any normal conversation. I don’t buy this at all that a rich, handsome man like that would fall for a woman like that.
I wonder why the H falls in love with the h. She is insecure, she’s always bitching, she’s not beautiful, she’s not very intelligent, she doesn’t have a job, she’s neurotic, she’s verbally and physically agressive.
They don’t have any normal conversation. I don’t buy this at all that a rich, handsome man like that would fall for a woman like that.
August 26, 2014
Gee those two were as unlovable as a smelly pickle .. well at least they were nice to each other in the last freaking page !!
July 16, 2024
Ok, I hated the book so much that this is actually the first review I ever bothered to write. The author pretty much lifted Gone With The Wind:
• H’s secret crush on h, the way he hides it, his angry outbursts - she copied Rhett( or at least tried to)
• the bed scene
• The words about “chaining her” during pregnancy
• H conspiring with h’s sister and his mother to make h work less
• h going to H’s house after talking to Melly (ha, even the name got copied) to confess her love
• The house - exactly like the house Rhett built for Scarlett.
I’m sure I can find more similarities but I refuse to waste my time analyzing this crap.
An even bigger issue I have is that h is such a miserable and annoying person—how exactly did H fall in love with her? There is not a single redeeming quality about her that would make me believe H fell madly in love with her. It’s just a poor imitation, and it’s extremely annoying. This is it for me with Sara Craven
• H’s secret crush on h, the way he hides it, his angry outbursts - she copied Rhett( or at least tried to)
• the bed scene
• The words about “chaining her” during pregnancy
• H conspiring with h’s sister and his mother to make h work less
• h going to H’s house after talking to Melly (ha, even the name got copied) to confess her love
• The house - exactly like the house Rhett built for Scarlett.
I’m sure I can find more similarities but I refuse to waste my time analyzing this crap.
An even bigger issue I have is that h is such a miserable and annoying person—how exactly did H fall in love with her? There is not a single redeeming quality about her that would make me believe H fell madly in love with her. It’s just a poor imitation, and it’s extremely annoying. This is it for me with Sara Craven
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2023
2.5 star. Somehow, I felt tired reading this book. Many reviewers mentioned how annoying the heroine was, and they were right. I felt like shaking the heroine's shoulders and told her to JUST TALK with the hero, without prejudice. I also blamed her mother, and I think the hero and heroine would still have a long way from them since the heroine's insecurity rooted from waaay earlier. On the other hand, the hero was no better. He did not communicate, and he came up as a d*ckheaded alpha hero who was not above forcing his will to the heroine. I wasn't talking about the sex stuff but their whole interactions.
On a positive note, the angst and misunderstanding in this one is *chef's kiss* (thus, the rounding up to 3 star)! If you're here for the emotion, I highly recommend this!
On a positive note, the angst and misunderstanding in this one is *chef's kiss* (thus, the rounding up to 3 star)! If you're here for the emotion, I highly recommend this!
July 23, 2018
Liked the premise and the Hero. Heroine's mother would have driven anyone to smother her while she slept and the heroine tried my nerves, with her insecurities, more than half the book. She did end up redeeming herself when she came to her senses and realize she was treating her husband selfishly.
Nice HEA.
Nice HEA.
December 28, 2023
There wasn’t anything intrinsically wrong with the story but I found it slow and it seemed to drag.
Nothing stood out (at least for me): The plot was like so many others, the main characters had no traits that made them more memorable than many other main characters.
It was a “nice” read so not bad but not good either.
Nothing stood out (at least for me): The plot was like so many others, the main characters had no traits that made them more memorable than many other main characters.
It was a “nice” read so not bad but not good either.
January 13, 2018
At first the story was appleling and nice but the heroine was too stubborn n tood foolish it made it hard to finish. It is the writer carried on there quarrel to an extent that it lost the track of romance to a quarrel book.
April 25, 2020
Stupid heroine who thinks her husband has a relationship with her 14year old sister. What?????
A bully hero and a door mat heroine, a whiny mother and the result : a high price to pay!!
This book killed half of my brain cells.
A bully hero and a door mat heroine, a whiny mother and the result : a high price to pay!!
This book killed half of my brain cells.
July 13, 2022
3.5
MoC story, well executed. Very English setting, H and h. 70s vibe. There was a sisters thing but thankfully only in h's head. She was a pretty cool customer, as was he, resulting in some sharp, intelligent banter. I think SC excels at that.
MoC story, well executed. Very English setting, H and h. 70s vibe. There was a sisters thing but thankfully only in h's head. She was a pretty cool customer, as was he, resulting in some sharp, intelligent banter. I think SC excels at that.
June 16, 2019
Apparently Sara Craven books are not for me.
September 8, 2024
I couldn't finish this book. I didn't like the heroine at all. I found her very stupid
October 6, 2024
3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 19, 2024
Reread and lowering my rating. This h is not only too full of pride, she's foolish and H suffers from both idiocy and pride. Unlike some reviewers, I believe the H when he says he never had any romantic or sexual interest in her little sister and he was in love with her.
What bothers me the most rereading this time is that H is the one who pays a high price. He pays everything in terms of material goods - home for h and her family, schooling for sister - and offers affection and respect and h throws them in his face. She literally gives him nothing. She the housekeeper/wife but offers him no home, no warmth, no time or attention. She provides everything her revolting selfish, demanding, whiny brat/mother demands and has nothing left for H. Yet she supposedly loves him.
She finally realizes this herself when it is almost too late.
This could have been a collaboration between Betty Neels and Sara Craven. Betty wrote some truly awful parents and Hs and hs that were too full of themselves and too afraid to offer or ask for love. Sara Craven provides the H who quickly slips off his obnoxious H-ness and becomes Mr. I-Wanna-Love-You. Add the crazy plot and yup, a BN/SC co-authored hot mess!
Original Review with rating 4 stars:
Good story, but she lets pride keep her from accepting happiness. She marries the man who took over her father's home to keep her mother, herself and her sister safe, they agree on pure MOC - she's the housekeeper mostly - but on honeymoon they are quite happy together and he asks to change their deal to a real marriage. She wants it but refuses and keeps on refusing similar offers.
What bothers me the most rereading this time is that H is the one who pays a high price. He pays everything in terms of material goods - home for h and her family, schooling for sister - and offers affection and respect and h throws them in his face. She literally gives him nothing. She the housekeeper/wife but offers him no home, no warmth, no time or attention. She provides everything her revolting selfish, demanding, whiny brat/mother demands and has nothing left for H. Yet she supposedly loves him.
She finally realizes this herself when it is almost too late.
This could have been a collaboration between Betty Neels and Sara Craven. Betty wrote some truly awful parents and Hs and hs that were too full of themselves and too afraid to offer or ask for love. Sara Craven provides the H who quickly slips off his obnoxious H-ness and becomes Mr. I-Wanna-Love-You. Add the crazy plot and yup, a BN/SC co-authored hot mess!
Original Review with rating 4 stars:
Good story, but she lets pride keep her from accepting happiness. She marries the man who took over her father's home to keep her mother, herself and her sister safe, they agree on pure MOC - she's the housekeeper mostly - but on honeymoon they are quite happy together and he asks to change their deal to a real marriage. She wants it but refuses and keeps on refusing similar offers.
June 27, 2015
The heroine was really a nasty bit.h!
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